"Oh, what now?" I snapped, inserting the bookmark between the pages and closing the book. No peace, no matter where I went. In a castle, you'd think you could hide. Not with Dunston around.

He lifted one brow as he strolled to stand in front of the chair I sat in. "Watch your tone with me. You may be the king's heir, but I'm still your elder. And your sire who turned you and saved your life."

"I'm sorry. It's just that waiting for someone to try to take me out is making me crazy." I hung my head and reopened the book I'd been reading. "And now I get to look forward to a ball in just two days. Can't wait," I added dryly.

Dunston leaned against the bookshelf and crossed one ankle over the other. "And if your Cinderella shows, how will you feel then?"

A slow smile spread over my face at the thought of reuniting with her. "Ecstatic."

"She'll be there." He didn't look too thrilled though.

My head snapped to Dunston. "You found her?" My body hummed at the thought of seeing her again.

"Indeed."

"What's her real name?" I already knew getting anything out of him was nearly impossible. But eventually he might let something slip and I wouldn't be dependent upon him anymore to find Cinderella.

"That I won't say. You'll have to find her at the ball on your own. It will prove to me this isn't just some weird, lifelong obsession." He ran a finger along the spine of an ancient book. "If you don't recognize her, then we'll both know it was fantasy and nothing more. Then you can move on to find a suitable wife."

I didn't like the way he said the last two words. As though Cinderella were the last girl he'd ever approve of. I set the book on the end table and stood. "Will you at least tell me if she's visiting or if she lives here on the island?"

"She lives nearby." Dunston circled the desk and lifted an old photo of my mom. "Your mother was a good woman."

"Yeah, she was." Even eight years later, my heart still ached from missing her.

He returned the picture to its spot on the desk. "What else do you want to know?"

"She couldn't have lived here this whole time. I would've seen her at school."

Dunston paced, stopping now and then to examine a painting or photo on the wall. As if he hadn't looked at each of them a thousand times already.

Then it hit me. He was nervous... over something he didn't want me to discover.

"You've known about her all along, haven't you?" Fury consumed me like a blazing fire and my hands fisted at my sides, but I kept my voice steady. Being disrespectful to my sire would get me nowhere. "You knew who she was and you knew where. And this whole time, you've kept it from me."

He sighed. "That's not entirely true. I did know who she was but right after the incident, she was taken away. She only returned several weeks ago. Remy, you can't possibly expect me to willingly expose the king's son to the same werewolf who's already proven she can't be trusted. One who nearly killed you."

If we were talking about the girl I loved, I could. However, getting into an argument with Dunston wasn't going to make him cooperate and I didn't want to give him an excuse to put up any barriers to getting Cindy to the ball. So I struggled to subdue the rage.

"I suppose I should be happy that you know who she is and that I'll be seeing her soon," I said through a tightened jaw.

"Only if you recognize her. She's not the only pretty redheaded girl on the island."

"I'll know her as soon as she's near. I will." I replaced the photo alb.u.m to its spot on the shelf and walked out.

Chapter Ten.

Cydney Aunt Mina bustled and fussed with Beatrice and Winnie like the ball was the event of the season. Okay, so it was a big deal. I still wasn't going. And sitting around suffering through their excitement wasn't my idea of fun.

After grabbing my iPod, I threw on my hoodie and covered my head. I stopped in the doorway to Beatrice's room where the three of them, giddier than I'd ever seen them, debated how Winnie should wear her hair.

"Aunt Mina?" I waited until she gave me her attention. "I'm going to Pierre's, if that's okay." Exactly what I needed, tonight of all nights - to get jacked up on caffeine.

Her face fell.

"You don't want to see how we turn out?" Winnie asked.

I wrinkled my nose. "Can you take pictures?"

Aunt Mina sighed and turned away.

Winnie gave me a curious look. "Are you okay?" she mouthed.

I nodded, astounded at what a great faker I'd become. "You can tell me all about the ball when you come home. I'll wait up for you guys." I slipped out of the room and down the stairs. In the foyer, I reached for the handle of the wide double door.

The d.a.m.n vampire was there again. Not right outside, but he was close. What would happen when I didn't show up at the ball? Would he come after me? Would he hurt my family?

Since the other day when Aunt Mina had reacted so strangely over not locking me in the bas.e.m.e.nt at night, I hadn't brought up the subject again. Instead, I'd slept every night with the door locked, as usual.

But it wasn't just about leaving the door unlocked anymore. With the vampire and inevitable upcoming weirdness, I needed to be closer to my family. How could I protect them from a locked bas.e.m.e.nt?

I'd sleep in the extra bedroom tonight. To avoid thrashing about my room and howling, I'd need to go for a run later. I couldn't stay long at Pierre's if I wanted to run and settle into the new room before everyone came home. At least moving my belongings would give me something to do while everyone was out all evening.

Abandoning the front door, I flew up the stairs to Beatrice's room. Winnie was holding a curling iron with her sister's hair wrapped around it. She looked up from her task. "If you're looking for Mom, she went to her room to get something."

Nodding, I resumed my quest to find Aunt Mina. We needed to finish the dreaded conversation I'd been putting off. I prayed it would go better than the other night.

She always left her door open. One of my favorite things about Aunt Mina - she was always so accessible.

My eyes widened when I spotted her standing in front of her full-length mirror in a sleeveless black dress that molded to her body. "Aunt Mina, you're hot."

Her giggle turned into an awkward snort. "Oh, don't be silly. I'm too old for that."

"The men at the ball will disagree, I'm sure." I whistled and watched her face flush.

"I thought you were going to Pierre's." She leaned toward the mirror and arranged a tendril of hair.

"That's still the plan. But I won't be gone that long after all. I'll be back before you leave." Maybe knowing that I'd see them before they left would soften her up. "But I wanted to go over the sleeping arrangements. You know... what we talked about the other night?"

Her pulse quickened and I cursed my werewolf ears for picking up on it.

"Tonight, I'm taking the lavender room," I said softly, hoping not to scare her. "So be sure to lock your bedroom doors before you fall asleep."

Aunt Mina nodded as she uncapped her lip gloss, her gaze fixed on the tiny applicator.

My bravery deserted me. I'd be back before they left for the ball. Maybe after a couple cups of coffee, I'd work up the nerve to say the rest of it.

"I'll see you in a little while." I rocketed down the steps and flew out the door as fast as my legs would go. The vampire may or may not have been there - I'd pa.s.sed too quickly to tell. I wasn't worried. He'd likely be gone by the time I got home anyway. Being the king's right-hand man, he'd have better things to do than stick around to coerce girls like me to the ball. I hoped.

As I neared Pierre's, I tugged on my hood until it left my face in shadows. Inside the coffee shop, I waited in line to order my drink.

Two people were ahead of me and they were both twisted toward the store's gla.s.s window to the commotion on the curb. I didn't care enough to look.

"Is that the king?" someone whispered.

I told myself I didn't care and that I had no reason to look behind me.

But I did care. And something drew me to the murmurs outside. I sensed an energy. Definitely vampire. But not my recent visitor. I didn't know any other vamps, so why did this one feel so familiar?

I gave the barista my order, then glanced over my shoulder.

Two men in suits stepped out of an enormous white Hummer limo. The men wore ear pieces like secret service men.

The person they were protecting had to be the king or prince - or someone mighty important. I tried to ignore the pull I felt from whoever was inside that limo. Had the vampire enlisted one of his vamp buddies to spy on me?

Spinning, I faced the counter again. I gave a five-dollar bill to the barista and picked up the brown mug. The suits approached the cafe door and I scurried to a table in the back of the room. Between the dim lighting and my hoodie, I was as anonymous as anyone could be. I relaxed and took a sip from my cup, letting the warm liquid soothe me.

After several minutes, the suits left with their drinks and the limo cruised away. Muscle by muscle, I relaxed again.

When I'd emptied the mug, it was time to head home if I wanted to see the girls all dressed up. I kept up a brisk jog and as I turned into our long driveway, I spotted a white limo. It was smaller than the one I'd seen in front of Pierre's and the driver was human. Aunt Mina must have ordered it.

My muscles unbunched and I headed through the front door. Rustling satin and lace greeted me. I grinned at my cousins who looked more gorgeous than ever. Gavin was pretty cute too in his tuxedo and bowtie.

I grinned. "You guys clean up nicely."

"You could too, you know." Beatrice gave me a playful shove on my shoulder. "I'm sure we could find a dress for you."

"Nah. When do you have to leave?" I asked.

"Not for another fifteen minutes. Beatrice doesn't want to get there too early." Aunt Mina frowned. "Something about a boy named Timmy and how looking too eager is the kiss of death, so we're going to be fashionably late."

Enough time to talk to Aunt Mina. I needed to rea.s.sure her that moving out of the bas.e.m.e.nt was the best option for everyone. As long as they locked their doors, the only one who'd get hurt was an intruder. I couldn't put the conversation off any longer. But the thought of upsetting my aunt or making her any more uncomfortable filled me with dread.

I followed her into the sitting room where she plucked her small beaded purse from the settee.

My stomach churned as I opened my mouth to speak. "I'll make sure I go out every night and work off my excess energy. When I have run of the house during the night, it's less likely I'll disturb everyone if I've been out."

Aunt Mina stared at me, her eyes wide.

I'd barely started and already she looked freaked out. I took a deep breath and forged on. "I'm leaving in a couple minutes. I'll morph and patrol the grounds, make sure nothing bigger than a racc.o.o.n is out there. When I come back, you'll be gone." I slowly lifted my gaze to hers, then verbalized my greatest fear. "When I try to get in, will I be locked out?"

She made a small whimper. "Oh, honey, of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?" She closed the distance and grasped my shoulders. "How could you even think I'd ever do that to you?"

I blinked away the tears that had pooled. "Because you act like you're afraid of what I'll do next. Like you think I'd bite Winnie or Beatrice." My chest felt heavy.

"You left out Gavin. He's mine now, too." She rubbed a runaway tear from my cheek with her thumb. "And so are you."

I'm hers, too? I choked back a sob. "But you're scared of me."

She exhaled softly and gently coaxed me to sit on the edge of the settee before lowering to the spot beside me. "Sometimes, yes. But I know you. And the Cydney I love would rather die than hurt anyone." Her eyes glistened. "Oh, sweetheart. I believe, with every part of my being, that you won't ever lose control again. But it's easy to doubt my own instinct, doubt you, when you don't even trust yourself."

"I don't know how to trust myself." I couldn't seem to stop my voice from shaking. "What if I try and fail? I couldn't live with myself if..."

Aunt Mina brushed a tear-soaked lock of curly hair off my cheek. "Nothing's going to happen. And if you never try, you'll never know how much control you have. Can you live this way forever?"

I just shrugged, because I didn't have an answer. "You don't talk to me anymore. This is the first time in weeks you've said more than a few words to me." My chin quivered and I lowered my head.

"You're right." She blew out a breath. "It's been hard for me, too. Juliette was my sister. Every time I look at you, I see her and I'm reminded all over again that she's gone."

I swallowed and uttered the painful question hanging on my lips. "Do you want me to leave?"

Her mouth dropped open, then she pulled me against her, burying her face in my hair. "Oh, heavens no! I couldn't bear to lose you, too."

"Really?" I squeaked.

"Of course." She gave a watery laugh. "I love you, Cydney, like you were my own. Don't ever forget that."

I wrapped my arms around her. "I love you too."

"I'm so sorry you thought, even for a moment, that you weren't wanted." She gave me another squeeze, then released me. "I'd really like you to go to the ball. You'll have a nice time. I just know it."

I shook my head and stood. "A part of me wouldn't mind dressing up and getting out, even if I did have a gown to wear. But the scared part is still winning. I'll be fine here."

"Yes, you will." She rose from the sofa to stroke my cheek. "But if you change your mind, let me know. I can always have the driver bring me back for you."

"Definitely not. I won't let you go out of your way like that when you could be showing off that hot bod."

Aunt Mina gasped and a quick laugh escaped her lips.

"Ready, Mom?" Beatrice stood in the doorway to the sitting room, clinging to a tiny rhinestone-covered purse.

Winnie appeared behind her. They looked like shimmering angels. Gavin emerged from behind them looking like a mini James Bond in his black tuxedo.

"Timmy's going to just die when he sees you, Bea." I switched to Winnie. "Get ready, because guys will be falling all over you."

Gavin made a series of gagging noises.

"I think Gavin's opinion is more accurate." Winnie snorted. "Let's go."

I followed them outside and waved as gravel crunched under the rolling tires. The limo disappeared into the dark. I leaned against the front door and stared up at the stars. So many of them.

The ball would've been nice. Not that I wanted to mingle with royalty - especially since the prince was a vampire. But it would have been nice to dress up and forget all about my mental scars for a while.