Rejected By Wolves, Claimed By The Vampire King

in my hair, holding my head gently. "Slowly," he murmured, his voice rough. "You will make yourself sick, little wolf." I pulled away, gasping, embarrassed. Blood was on my lips, on my chin, on his

esigner - a tiny, flamboyant vampire named Milo who squealed when he saw my silver hair - had transformed me. My long silver-white hair had been washed with vampire flower oil that made it shine like moonlight. It was curled slightly at the ends. My scar on my neck - Milo didn't hide it. He said, "Leave it. Let them see what the dogs did to their princess." I was wearing a dress. Not a maid uniform. A real dress. Black and dark red, off-shoulder, with lace that looked like bat wings, tight at the waist, flowing to the floor, with a slit up to my thigh. On my chest, where my mother's jade pendant used to be, Kade had placed a new necklace - a large red diamond, shaped like a drop of blood, surrounded by black diamonds. The Vampire Royal Crest. "Royal red diamond," Milo whispered. "Only royal family can wear it. If you are fake, it will burn you. If you are real, it will glow." I held my breath as he clasped it. It didn't burn. It glowed. Faint red light pulsed against my skin, in rhythm with my heartbeat. My eyes - red with silver rings - my fangs hidden but ready, my claws filed but sharp, my lips painted dark red. I looked... like a Queen. Like the woman in my dreams. Like my mother. "Oh, my Queen," Milo cried, fanning himself. Kade was waiting outside. When I walked out, he stopped talking mid-sentence to his guard. He just stared. His guard - a tall vampire woman with short hair - also stared and then instantly bowed low. "Your Highness." Kade didn't bow. He walked slowly around me, looking at me like he wanted to eat me. "Lin Yue," he said, his voice low and hoarse. "If the Council tries to kill you tonight, I will burn the entire court down to save you. Do you understand? You cannot go in there looking like that. Every male vampire will want to claim you." "Is that bad?" I asked, nervous, tugging at the slit in my dress. "It's very bad for them," he said, "because you are already claimed by me." He offered me his arm. "Are you ready to meet the people who should have protected you and your mother twenty years ago and failed?" I put my hand on his arm. My hand was shaking, but my eyes were steady. "Let's go make them regret it." The Imperial Court was not a building. It was an entire underground city under the Bund. We arrived in Kade's black Rolls Royce, escorted by ten black cars. When we stepped out, hundreds of vampires in black were already kneeling on both sides of the red carpet, heads bowed to Kade. But when they saw me, whispers started. "Silver hair... royal hair..." "Is that... Princess Xiya's daughter? She looks just like her!" "The hybrid? She smells like wolf and vampire both!" Kade's grip on my hand tightened. "Don't listen. Look forward. You are a princess. Princesses don't look at commoners." We walked into a massive hall made of black marble and red crystal. At the far end, eight thrones. Eight o