His mouth touched mine and I opened for him. Stretching up on my tip-toes, I tilted my face to take the kiss deeper. No, his metallic scent didn't bother me at all. In fact, I wanted more of him.

What seemed like minutes later, he stopped. I took in a shaky breath as my boneless limbs struggled to keep me standing.

More than anything I wanted to kiss him again. Through the French doors and past the guards, I searched for a clock. Finding one, I exhaled in relief. "We still have a whole hour."

I'd promised Dunston that I'd stay until midnight. I'd keep my word. But when the little hand hit twelve, I'd leave. I had to. I couldn't allow myself to indulge. The wolf in me hadn't threatened to emerge tonight, but it was only a matter of time. Every second I spent at the ball with all those people, I endangered lives. I would rip myself from Remy, even if I had to sneak away - no matter how much I wanted to stay with him.

How could I give him up? I loved him now more than ever, but he deserved better.

He pulled me close and whispered in my ear. "An hour isn't enough, Cydney."

I leaned back to meet his gaze. "It has to be. It's what we agreed."

"My deal was to pretend to be human for a while, the way it used to be with us." Remy shook his head. "The real us never has to end."

"Our worlds are too different, Remy."

"That's not it. Ile de la Paix is probably the only place in the world where being different is practically required. Try again," he said softly.

"Remy, you're asking me to risk doing to others what I did to you." I wiggled out of his embrace. "I get this uncontrollable urge to shift. What if I end up killing someone next time?"

"You worry too much, Cyd." He tried to hold me again, but I took a step back.

"A werewolf can do a lot of damage to someone who's practically human," I said. "You're willing to risk your father's life?"

"It won't happen," he said with confidence.

I rolled my eyes. "How do you know?"

"Same way I knew the moment you arrived tonight." He cupped my face, his palms warm against my skin.

"And how can we be together when people like me are food for you? What if you were starving and you drained me dry?"

His brows furrowed. "Why would I do that to the girl I love?"

My heart fluttered at his words, but I stayed focused.

"If I got that hungry, we have bagged blood or willing donors. If I got desperate enough, animals would do. In any case, I'd never drink from you without your permission." His voice grew gravelly. "Ever."

Something about the way he said it gave me the impression it wasn't about food. "But would you want to drink from me?"

"I... Cydney, I'm a vampire. It's instinct. But it doesn't mean I have no control."

Instinct. His. Mine. The only thing that could change our basic nature was death. It wasn't as if I'd harbored a hope that we could be together. I didn't. But the heart wants what it wants. And time was running out.

"No more talking. Let's just enjoy our last moments together." I raised my chin and leaned into him. "Kiss me again."

Gathering me up, he held me close. Soft kisses rained on my neck and I had the overpowering desire for him to do more. Moments ago, it had seemed dangerous. But Remy said he'd never hurt me. I trusted him. And I wanted him to touch me like that, be connected to me in that way - especially if it gave him pleasure. "You can bite me."

Remy tensed, but instead of withdrawing, his teeth grazed the skin over my jugular.

"Do it. I want you to."

He held me closer. Not as though I was his prisoner, but like a lover he couldn't get enough of. I melted into him and his teeth punctured my skin sending electrical tingles through my body.

I closed my eyes as tiny little ripples of desire coursed through me.

When I knew for certain I wanted him never to stop, he withdrew his fangs and licked my neck. "Vampire saliva heals," he murmured against my skin.

I couldn't see straight. And it wasn't because of loss of blood. "Why did you stop?" I whispered.

"Because the more I have of you, the more I want." He grinned. "And because we're in a public place."

"Oh." Right. I needed to get a grip.

Resigning myself to not kissing him non-stop until midnight, I steered our conversation to the summers we spent in the woods. We filled each other in on the last three years and, eventually, we worked up to the here and now.

"Is your dad really forcing you into getting married or was finding a wife your idea?" It was probably a dumb question, but I had to know for sure.

Remy chuckled. "Throwing a ball to find a bride wouldn't have been my idea. Besides, I was waiting for you."

I sighed happily and snuggled closer to him against the balcony.

We'd been standing there for a while, gazing out at the ocean. Aunt Mina was probably wondering where I'd wandered off to. Or maybe she knew. Maybe she'd peeked through the French door windows and saw me kissing the prince. I felt my face heat up. "I have to go."

"No, you don't." Remy swooped, pressed me against the balcony wall and we were kissing again. Refusing just wasn't in me, not when we only had these last moments together.

"Miss Marsten," a voice boomed from behind Remy.

Oh, no! We'd been caught kissing. Please let whoever had come outside not be Remy's father. That would be too embarra.s.sing.

I slowly turned. Heat flooded my cheeks and I gently pushed Remy away. I'd seen the king once, years ago as he'd waved from a second story window. I'd been far away, but with my werewolf vision, I'd been able to make out his face. Even if I'd never seen him before now, I'd know him instantly. He looked like an older, slightly taller version of Remy.

"Your Majesty." I managed a curtsy, although I was pretty sure I'd gotten it all wrong. I was just relieved I didn't trip myself as I brought my leg back and bent over. "Please, call me Cydney."

"Thank you. I will." From the open door, he stood over the threshold and watched me until my gaze wavered. Guards stood close behind him.

What should I say to him? Somehow I didn't think 'Your son is such a good kisser and I'm crazy about him' would go over well. Why did I feel this overwhelming desire for Remy's father to like me? I had to shake it. Girls like me didn't get to keep the prince.

What did the king want anyway? Oh, no! If Dunston knew about me, maybe the king did too. Did he intend to punish me for nearly killing his son? My breathing quickened and I picked up the scent of musk and fur, thick and heavy. Werewolves. On an island so heavily populated with werewolves, I expected to get a whiff now and then. But this almost smothered me.

Maybe it was my imagination. Maybe the scent came from inside the ballroom and had followed the king. Maybe I was extra sensitive, because he'd just seen me plastered all over his son.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Cydney. I've been hearing about you for years."

And he wasn't p.i.s.sed that I almost killed his son? Maybe he didn't know. That had to be it or I'd be in the dungeon now.

"I've heard about you too," I said. Heat rushed to my cheeks again. Duh. Of course I'd heard about him. He was our king.

The king chuckled softly and took a step closer to his son. "Well, I hope to see more of you now that you and Remy have reunited. Do you mind if I borrow him for a minute?"

I nodded and they moved toward the French doors.

Something wasn't right. The scent of musk and earth a.s.saulted my senses again. The king whipped around, his elbow inadvertently slamming the door shut behind him and locking out his guards. The same instant, a wolf bounded from the rooftop and landed on the balcony. My instinct kicked in and I morphed into a wolf. The king backed up against the door just as I leaped in front of him to meet the jaws of the werewolf. Claws sc.r.a.ped my chest and teeth sunk into my shoulder. My yelp turned into a growl as flesh tore from my hip.

Three werewolves... then four. Like a wild animal, my jaws snapped at each of them as they struck out at the king. Remy would survive a werewolf bite. But the king was more human than any of us. I had to protect him.

More werewolves jumped onto the balcony. Yelps shrieked in my ears and in my peripheral vision, Remy fought several wolves at once. They backed him against the wall. The smell of blood invaded my nostrils. My blood. Black swirled around me and I snarled at a movement next to me, making a last effort to kill the intruders before I suffered the same fate.

"Cydney!" Remy shouted. "It's okay. It's me."

Remy. They'd had him cornered, but he was okay. I blinked and my vision began to clear. The only movement on the balcony was the rise and fall of the king's chest. Remy stood behind him, his white shirt ripped and b.l.o.o.d.y. But he was standing and that's what counted.

"Cydney, are you all right?" the king asked, dropping to his knees.

Now that the king was no longer in their way, several guards burst through the French doors.

"I got this. Go make certain everything's alright out there and that no one else has been attacked," the king commanded. They left as quickly as they'd come in.

King Lefevre picked up Remy's tuxedo jacket and wrapped it around me. "You're safe. You can shift to human now."

d.a.m.n those synthetic fibers that didn't morph with me. In a moment, I'd be naked. I considered bouncing off the balcony and running home so fast no one could see me, but I wasn't ready to leave Remy yet. Besides, I didn't think I had the strength to run anyway.

I morphed back into a girl and the king tightened the jacket around me.

"You're torn up pretty good, Cyd," Remy said. "You'll be weeks healing this kind of damage and you can't go to the hospital."

Oh, G.o.d. How bad was I hurt? Suddenly, I was so sleepy. My lids lowered and my muscles turned to jelly as my energy drained from me.

"It would be a lot faster with vampire blood," Remy said.

"Listen to Remy," the king said in a soothing voice. "You don't want to get involved with lab tests, since most of the hospital staff are human."

"Drink vampire blood?" I croaked. A week ago, I would have been grossed out. But taking from Remy would require my mouth on him. That didn't seem creepy at all.

"Yes, sooner, rather than later," the king urged.

Remy winced and the next moment his wrist was pressed against my mouth. I opened, then swallowed. And swallowed again. Mmm... it tasted like my blood the last time I bit my tongue. Metallic. But there was something else, too. Sweet and tangy. It flowed through me and my nerves endings came alive.

Remy gently moved me until he had me cradled in his lap. And I didn't let go.

"What the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l happened out here? Your Majesty, are you alright?" Dunston asked, turning the king from one side to the other while he checked for injuries.

The king brushed Dunston's hands away. "Yes, I'm fine. But Remy will need you in a moment. We had to tend to Cydney."

"I'll stay to help him," Dunston said. "What happened?"

"Werewolf attack. About twenty of them," the king said.

"Where did they go?" Dunston asked.

The corner of the king's mouth curled up. He jerked his head toward the sky, but from the ground, I couldn't see what Dunston could. "Send guards up to the roof and around the palace to search for others. Make sure no one leaves the grounds yet, but be discreet."

They were right. Vamp blood had magical properties or something, because I felt much better. Knowing Remy had been injured before I drank from him, I didn't want to take any more than absolutely necessary. I pushed his wrist away and sat up.

Oh, but I would've loved more. It made me feel like I had a part of him even though I knew I'd never have all of him.

Dunston bit into his wrist, leaned over and offered it to Remy.

My hands trembled. The cold probably wouldn't have seemed so intense if I'd been properly dressed. Of course, the shaking probably wasn't from the cold, but that my body needed to finish healing. Remy held me close with one arm, his other hand still clamped onto Dunston's wrist while he fed.

I glanced around the marble balcony floor to see four bodies - either dead or unconscious. This was so not your average Friday night date - unless you live on Ile de Paix. "There were more. So many. The rest of them escaped?"

"They didn't get away. And I don't think they antic.i.p.ated the trouble you'd cause, Cydney." The king's smile turned into a scowl. "You two shouldn't have been out here unprotected."

"The guards were just a few feet away, on the other side of the door. They would've been able to help us if the wolves hadn't backed you against the door," Remy said, relinquishing his hold on Dunston's arm, but he stayed on the cement floor with me. "How'd these guys get by your security people anyway? That's a lot of werewolves to go unnoticed."

The king glanced up, his eyes fixing on something beyond the balcony wall. "They must have come in as human, either as guests or staff, then shifted when they saw Remy go outside."

"I don't understand," Dunston growled. "With that many werewolves, you were outnumbered. What happened?"

That's what I wanted to know. Everything was kind of a blur.

"Cydney sensed them before Remy and I did," the king explained. "She kept them away from me, which gave me enough time to form a shield. While she fought the ones who'd gotten through, I strengthened the barrier and Remy plucked them off one by one."

"So..." Dunston's eyes turned to slits. "You're saying that if she hadn't acted so quickly, the werewolves would've overpowered you?"

"That's exactly what he's saying." Remy turned to me. "And never once did you turn on my father or me and hurt us. You were... spectacular."

I was? Well, it's true I hadn't hurt either of them. I'd been thinking clearly enough to know that I needed to protect Remy and the king. And when the danger was over, I easily became myself again.

"You can control the wolf in you, Cyd," Remy said. "You just proved it."

Remy was right. I'd worried all that time for nothing. And it had been so lonely. My eyes stung.

"Looks like your insistence paid off, Remy," Dunston said. "She was worth waiting for."

My throat thickened, but I didn't want the emotion that was choking me. I didn't want to like the king and I was uncomfortable with the fact that Dunston no longer seemed like such a bad guy. I sure as h.e.l.l didn't want to become even more attached to the prince.

"How are you feeling now? Should we find a place for you to rest?" Remy asked.

"Almost good as new." I stood. Until I could sort out my feelings I needed to get their focus off me. "Do you know who was behind the attack?"

"I'd been about to update Remy when the werewolves attacked," the king said. "We identified the powder on the letter. Chalk, the kind they use at schools. After that, it was a matter of getting DNA samples from the faculty of the schools in the area. We got a match with one of the teachers at your high school, Cydney."

I gasped, wondering if it was anyone I knew.

"Jared Williams, I believe is his name. Apparently, he teaches biology."