How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) Read Free Page A

circle. This is so awesome! I didn’t know humans had thoughts. Some of them don’t seem very bright, you know, so I wondered. Have you always been able to do this? Could you do it when you were a puppy? You must be a weird human. I think you smell a little weird. Do you like to eat? I like rabbit. Would you like to be my friend?
    Sure, Zoltan replied as the dog circled him for the fifth time. This was obviously one of the friendly dogs. Can you relax a little bit?
    Why? Are you having trouble keeping up? I’ve always suspected humans are slow. You don’t smell like the other humans I know. I could pee on you so you’d smell better.
    No thank you .
    The dog suddenly jumped and looked to the side. What was that?
    I’m not sure.
    I think it was a rabbit. I like rabbit the best. Are you hungry? I am. If you throw your stick, I’ll bring it back to you.
    Zoltan showed the arrow to the dog. I’d like to know more about this stick and the people who made it.
    The dog sat in front of him and tilted its head. Do you have any food with you?
    No. But I could pat you on the head.
    The dog’s tongue lolled out while it considered. Okay.
    Zoltan patted its head. Good dog. So what do you know about the makers of this arrow?
    The dog’s tail thumped on the ground. They’re hunters. Fierce warriors. The humans here are afraid of them. You should stay away from them.
    Zoltan rubbed the dog’s ears, and its tail wagged so hard that its rear end wiggled. Why should I stay away?
    Because they’ll kill you.
    Zoltan paused. Where are they?
    You stopped petting me. And I shouldn’t tell you, cause you’ll get yourself killed. I’ve always suspected humans aren’t very bright.
    Zoltan patted its head. What a smart dog you are. Where are they?
    In the mountains to the south. Do you want to play with me now?
    I have to go. Thank you for your help.
    You’re leaving? But we just met. And you’re my friend now.
    You’re a good dog. Zoltan gave it another pat, then zoomed out of the village.
    Wow! The dog’s voice grew dimmer. You’re really fast for a human. I bet you could catch a rabbit. Just don’t get yourself killed, okay?
    N eona pressed a hand into the round earthen mound where her twin sister, Minerva, was buried. Two weeks had passed. Two weeks since half her soul had been wrenched from her. Tears sprang to her eyes, and the same litany of questions ran through her mind.
    How can I live without you? How will I face each day? Her hand fisted around a handful of dirt, squeezing it into a hard ball as a jolt of anger ripped into her grief. Why didn’t you fight harder?
    A tear rolled down her cheek, and Neona dropped the clod of dirt. She knew the answer. Seven years earlier, her sister had given birth to a son. Male children were not allowed in Beyul-La, so Minerva had been forced to give the little boy to the Buddhist monastery thirty miles away. Her broken heart had never quite mended.
    At first, Neona had tried her best to alleviate her sister’s pain by putting up a cheerful front. But as Minerva’s despair had grown more entrenched, frustration and regret had seeped into Neona’s heart. She and her sister should have defied the queen and kept the baby boy.
    With a sigh, Neona lay back on the grassy hillside and gazed up at the stars. How could they have defied the queen, when she was their mother? They could have ended up banished from Beyul-La. How could they have left their home and everything it meant to them?
    Neona loved Beyul-La. It was the most beautiful valley in the Himalayas. In all the world, she suspected. It gave them life and purpose, while the outside world seemed to promise only hardship and death. But there had been times when they’d lounged on the grass, stargazing, that Minerva had claimed they were prisoners.
    “Look how vast the sky is,” Minerva had said. “The world around us must be just as wide. Do you not yearn to see it?”
    Neona had attempted to soothe her sister’s unhappiness by