Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)(23)

He nodded, calmly looking at his mother and father, who sat off to the side. He gave them a little wave. “That way we can go on a real date.”

My heart jumped wildly in my chest at his proclamation. I remembered the note he passed to me in photography class; maybe he also wanted to talk about that. “What’s your plan to escape the royal entourage, my liege?” I gestured to the crowd and he smiled.

“Well, my lady, I was thinking first you should give me a kiss on the cheek. You know, for theatrical reasons.”

“Of course,” I agreed.

“And then walk away from the table and go outside. I will say goodnight to everyone and meet you out the back entrance.” He cracked his knuckles like it was the perfect plan.

I couldn’t help the stupid boy-crazy smile that lit up my face.

“I accept this mission,” I told him.

Leaning in, I kissed his cheek, letting my lips stay there longer than was probably appropriate, and then stood from the table and gave a big fake yawn. “Good night, Sawyer. I’m tired.”

He gave me a halfcocked smirk. “Night, Demi.” Then he winked as I walked away from the table. When I got to the back of the room, I walked toward the exit doors at the left, away from Sage, who was waiting for me. She looked confused, and then grinned. She must have put together what we were doing. Pushing the doors open, I hit the fresh night air just as I heard Sawyer wish everyone a good night.

Creeping around the side of the building in my heels, I found the back entrance. Eugene was waiting there but he didn’t look confused at my approach. “Good evening, Miss Calloway.”

I swallowed. “Hi. Good evening. Er, Sawyer asked me—”

The doors opened and Sawyer walked outside, casually slipping his hand into mine, and butterflies took flight in my stomach. We started to walk down a dark moonlit corridor and headed toward a building I didn’t recognize.

“Did they buy it?” I whispered, leaning into his shoulder, loving the way it felt to touch him, to hold his hand and be close to his body.

Sawyer shook his head. “Meredith looked suspicious, and mother gave me quite the scowl.”

Laughter pealed out of me. “Oh no. Not a scowl.”

“Sawyer!” Meredith’s voice stretched into the night air and we both simultaneously burst into a run, trying to contain our laughter. Running down the hallway, escaping his ex-girlfriend and laughing about it was a highlight of my night.

After a moment, I glanced over my shoulder and I saw Eugene walking briskly behind us but not Meredith.

Whew. Crisis averted.

When we reached a stone arch doorway to what I assumed was his house, we were both panting and out of breath. One of my curls was stuck to my lip gloss, jostled from the run. Reaching out, he tenderly brushed the hair away from my lips.

“So, how are you going to win me over?” I asked. “This better be the best date of my life, because I have a lot of prospects you know.” I gestured to the empty dark night.

A slow grin pulled at his lips. “I like you, Demi. You’re not like the others.”

The others. And just like that he reminded me that I was in a race to win his heart with forty-nine Barbies of various shapes, sizes, and colors.

Gross.

“I was thinking pizza and video games.” He opened the door to the room and I took in the scene before me with a grin.

He must have had someone set this up while we were eating. The space opened up into a small but luxurious apartment, very modern and masculine. On the coffee table was a pizza takeout box, and around it were various video game cases and two controllers.

I couldn’t stop smiling; my cheeks actually hurt.

I spied a game I was exceptionally good at as I stepped into the apartment. “Is that Call of Duty?”

He winced. “Too gory for a first date?”

I chuckled. “I think I’ll be fi—”

My brag was cut off by a hissing sound, and that’s when the coppery scent of vampire stench hit my nose. Someone reached out from behind the dark hallway and grasped my shoulders, sending panic flying through me.

“Eugene!” Sawyer yelled into the courtyard and then burst forward, yanking me by the wrists and wrestling me out of my attacker’s grip. In one quick move, Sawyer tucked me behind him, and then I heard the cracking of bones. But the vampire moved blindingly fast, plowing into Sawyer’s half-shifted form while I watched in horror as they collided.

My wolf clawed at the surface of my skin as I longed to help Sawyer fight him off, but he’d told me not to shift in front of anyone but him … Eugene burst through the door, two silver stakes in hand, and that’s when four other vampires stepped out from the shadows.

Shit.

They were all male, more muscular than the royalty I was accustomed to seeing around Delphi when they came for visits or threw parties. These men were warriors, hired assassins.

“Demi, run!” Eugene shouted, and then turned into a white Jackie Chan. He was a blur of motion as he attacked the oncoming horde of vampires, but I knew from experience they were just too damned fast. Sawyer was in the hallway tearing into the first vamp if those screams were any indication, while Eugene tried to fight off the others.

I backed up into the kitchen, grabbing the first knife handle out of the wooden block by the stove that I could reach.

Please don’t be that useless sharpener stick.