Nope. She wasn’t gonna go there. “Sorry, but I can’t answer you now, either.”

He straightened, looking slightly offended. “Why?”

“It involves Aden, and you want to kill him.”

“Yeah,” he said, not denying it, “but I’m not going to. My friends like him.”

“Friends?”

“You. And my charge, Victoria. Vampire princess and all-around pain in my—well, just a pain.”

Victoria. The vampire princess Aden had talked about with longing? The vampire princess who had put stars in Aden’s eyes? Must be. Friends, Wol—Riley had called them. “Aden told me a little about her.”

Riley nodded stiffly. “You shouldn’t know about her. No one should. My job is to keep her safe and the more people who know about her, the more unsafe she is and the angrier her father will be with me.”

“Aden and I will keep your secrets, believe me. To talk about them is to paint targets on our backs.”

“No one will make you a target,” he said, and there was so much fury in his tone she was momentarily speechless. He strode to her, sat beside her. Their shoulders brushed, and she shivered.

There was a beat of silence, of utter tension.

She wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do just then; she was only sure she wanted him to do something. Anything but move away from her.

“I just meant,” she said softly, “that they’ll think we’re crazy and gossip about us.” Another thing to drool over: his protective nature. But did that protective nature mean that he and Victoria were more than bodyguard and princess? More than friends? Her hands tightened into fists. Was she…jealous? No. Surely not. “I thought vampires and werewolves were enemies. I mean, Aden said the vampire told him to stay away from you.”

“She’s such a riot, that one.”

“So you’re not enemies?” And why did she suddenly want them to be? What was wrong with her? Were the two dating? Her teeth ground together.

“No. Vlad, the first of the vampires, gave the same blood he had drunk, the blood that changed him, to his beloved pets. They, too, began to change. Soon they were able to take human form, though they retained their animal instincts. In those early days, they were vicious, ferocious, and would try and eat everyone they encountered. Those people who were attacked, the ones that survived, began to change, as well, though they retained their human instincts. Those are my people. Vlad helped them, nursed them. In return, my people pledged to protect his.”

All that history was fascinating. Scary, but fascinating. And yet that wasn’t what her mind focused on. “So why’d you decide to reveal yourself to me now?”

“Because,” was all he said, eyes narrowing.

“Why?” she insisted. So that he could finally touch her with his hands? A girl could dream. Her eyes widened. Where were these thoughts coming from?

“Because. Now, I believe you were going to tell me what you were talking about earlier.”

Frus-trat-ing. But she should be used to his lack of response. Clearly Riley felt entitled to all the info she possessed, but didn’t think it was necessary to return the favor.

He’d said he wouldn’t hurt Aden, but would he help her help him? She could use all the help she could get, and she did trust him. Sighing, she told him some of what Aden was going through. “I think we need to find out, if at all possible, exactly who the people inside him are. The best place to start is with Aden’s parents. From there, we can find out where he was born and who was around him. Only problem is, I don’t know who his parents are.”

“Call and ask him.” He nudged her with his shoulder.

For a moment, she remained unmoving. He’d purposely touched her. And his skin, even through their clothing, had been hot. Wonderfully hot. “I can’t. He lives at a ranch for kids who’ve been in trouble with the law and stuff. A phone call from a girl could maybe get him kicked out since he’s not supposed to think about dating, but about improving his future.”

“You told me you weren’t dating him.” Riley said it quietly, but the words were no less intense.

“I’m not. I was just explaining what the man in charge of his care might think.” Why did Riley care if she was dating Aden? For the same reason she cared if he was dating Victoria? Don’t think about that now. She pondered her options with Aden and almost clapped when an idea took root. “You could visit him without causing any problems. You could ask him about his parents for me.”

Riley was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “Hell, no.”

“Please. You can run to him and run back to me in no time. I’ve seen how fast you are. Please,” she repeated. “Helping Aden will be beneficial to me, as well, you know. The more we learn about his abilities, the more we could learn about mine.”

He scowled. “Stop batting those lashes at me. I’m immune to feminine wiles.”

She was batting her lashes? And she had wiles? She wanted to grin. “I could find out tomorrow at school, I guess. I probably won’t get any sleep tonight, my mind will be so active. And of course, lack of sleep will affect my English test, which is sure to bring down my perfect grade. But I’m sure I’ll get over it. Eventually.”

For a long while, there was only silence.

“I am such a moron.” Riley scowled at her and stood, striding to the bathroom to remove his clothes. “You’ll owe me for this,” he called.

So she really did have wiles. This time, she wanted to laugh.

ADEN HAD THE PAPERS he’d printed off at school, research about Vlad the Impaler, hidden in his geometry book as he lounged on his bed. This was his first peaceful moment since returning home. He’d had homework to complete and chores to do. During said chores, Ozzie had threatened him again—this time with decapitation—if Aden ratted about how he was buying his drugs.

The boy had sounded desperate, and Aden figured it was only a matter of time before Ozzie tried to get rid of him. Not by killing him, of course. Ozzie wasn’t a murderer. At least, he didn’t think so. But a liar? Yeah. Perhaps Ozzie would hide drugs in Aden’s room and send Dan looking for them. Perhaps he’d just claim he’d seen Aden do something vile.

He’d have to stay on guard.

As for now, this moment, he was determined to relax. With a sigh, he buried his nose in the book. But relaxing, he soon realized, was nothing more than a dream. The more he read, the more he realized Victoria was right to fear what her father would do to him if he proved less than useful. A knife in the heart, perhaps, for that was how he would die. Or would the vampire king simply torture him, as was his habit?

Vlad Tepes, Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, had been known—when he’d been human—for his cruel punishments. He’d loved impaling his enemies and leaving them out in the open to die slowly and painfully. Allegedly, he’d done this to over forty thousand men and women.

Not like Aden could really say anything. He cut the heads off corpses. Still.

Some people believed the warrior had been killed in battle against the Ottoman Empire; some believed he’d been assassinated. Bram Stoker had been the first to immortalize him as a vampire, and Aden had to wonder why. Had the two actually crossed paths?

A scratching at the window had him bolting upright. He glanced at the clock. 9:00 p.m. Could it be Victoria? She’d never come to him so early, but her father could have decided it was time to eliminate him. Had she come to warn him?

What has you so afraid? Eve asked.

“An overactive imagination,” he said, forcing himself to calm.

A paw met the glass and the scratching began again. Frowning, he stood and padded over. A stray animal?

When he saw Mary Ann’s wolf, he jolted backward.

More scratching.

So. The wolf had finally come for him. The night would only be better if Vlad decided to join the party. Aden grabbed his daggers from the insides of the boots he’d pushed against his bed.