I needed to clear my head.

The King had been so abrupt with me, I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do. He’d just left, and after sitting there like a fool for a few minutes, I’d realized that that was it—that was all that was going to happen, and I'd excused myself to the room that had been prepared for me.

The day—or night? Things were backwards here—had progressed so far without a word from Grayson. He was gone when I woke up, and I had no idea if I was supposed to seek him out or if it would be best for me to wait in the suite for him.

After a few hours, I’d given up on the idea of waiting for him to return. That was a recipe for boredom, and I couldn’t handle sitting around and doing nothing. I was an active person. I had to have something to do or I’d just about die.

So, I found myself in the library at midday, running my fingers over the spines of old books and reading their titles, trying to find something that would challenge my mind.

I might not be able to get the exercise I wanted while I was here, but I could at least keep my mind sharp.

“The McCalls, a History... Hm, no. Don’t know who they are. Probably not interesting,” I murmured as I passed yet another book on the shelf.

The library was full of stuffy material, but that was OK. I could read a stuffy book as long as it had something in it that I was mildly curious about.

Low standards and all. I had them.

“Ah! The Old Wars. What could this be about?”

I pulled the book off the shelf and flipped it open to the first page, the prologue.

This book contains a complete account of the Old Wars, when werewolves plagued the Earth and we fought for freedom. It is this author’s intent to provide as unbiased a view as possible regarding the origin of the war and the subsequent events.

That sounded interesting enough.

I carried the book over to an overstuffed chair and kicked off my shoes, sat down and curled my feet under me. I opened the book and thumbed past the prologue, then devoured the first few pages.

Then the door opened and the sound of footsteps pulled me from the book.

I frowned, and my heart started to beat a little faster—no way did I want to deal with another vampire. I knew that was going to become a normal part of my life while I was here, but I wasn’t ready to accept it.

A vampire with pale blond hair and dark brown eyes approached, his tanned skin shifting a shade here or there as he walked in and out of the lamplight.

“Hello,” he said.

“Oh, uh, hello,” I said. I closed the book, although I kept my thumb on the page I’d been reading to save my spot. “Can I help you?”

“I believe you can. You’re Nina, aren’t you?”

How did he know that? “Yes, I am.”

“Fantastic. I’m Alex.” He bowed slightly. “I’m a friend of the King. Grayson. Or Gray, as I like to call him. You should too. It'll drive him mad.” He winked at me, as if he was sharing an inside joke.

I blinked, totally thrown by this vampire. He was behaving as if we were fast friends, when I knew nothing at all about him. Plus, how would I know he wasn’t trying to get me in trouble with Grayson?

“A friend of the King, hm?” I glanced down at the book before I looked up at him through my lashes. “I don’t think I’ll be using his nickname, thank you.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself. I know he’d love it.”

“You’re a troublemaker, aren’t you?”

He flashed a grin. “For Gray? Always. He needs it.”

Why would he need someone to make trouble?

He picked you out of all the thralls. Clearly, he has a taste for troublemakers.

Fair enough.

“Although I think you’re causing enough trouble all on your own.”

I gaped at him. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve got Gray all...tied up. Perfectly distracted.”

I felt my cheeks flush with heat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The words came out in a mumble, because I did have an idea what he meant.

Gray had been odd around me, and I could definitely see him carrying that through the rest of his interactions. I didn’t know what he found so interesting about me—I was trying to be as bland as possible—but he was definitely curious.

That curiosity must be getting to him, if he was distracted enough for his friend to comment on it.

“What are you reading?” Alex asked, taking a step closer to peer at my book.

“The Old Wars,” I said, lifting it up for him to see.

“Oh, that’s a fantastic book.”

“You’ve read it?”

“Of course. It’s absolutely fascinating, although...well, not quite as much to me as it would be to you, I suppose. Having lived through it, I’m quite familiar with the story. But the author's attempt to depict the wolves’ point of view is quite admirable.” He paused. “I think it’s significantly more interesting that you find it interesting enough to read about.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”

“Well, you’re a thrall.”

“And I have a healthy desire to learn. Why should that surprise you?”

He frowned as if I’d completely missed the point of what he'd said. He opened his mouth as if to say something and then shut it, continuing to look at me with confusion in his eyes.

Why I was confusing everyone?

“Did you think thralls were somehow lacking in intellectual capacity?” I knew I shouldn’t say anything, but I couldn’t hold the comment back.

He barked out a rough laugh. “You're positively delightful, do you know that? No one talks like you do. It’s refreshing, to me, at least. I don’t know that the others will find it so, but what a relief it must be to speak the things that come to your mind the moment they do, hm?”

“I’ve never lived any other way, so I suppose I don’t know.”

He smiled at me. “I can see why Gray is so taken with you.”

I glared at him, choosing to ignore that last comment. “I’m not the only thrall with a brain, you know. It’s nothing special.”

“Is that so?”

“How would you not know that?”

He frowned, then he let out a weak chuckle. “I must confess, I've never tried to talk to a thrall before.”

Wow. Talk about prejudiced.

I let out a sigh and shook my head. “You shouldn’t be so classist,” I chided him.

He chuckled again. “You’ve got me there. I see it will take me some time to acclimate to you, but I do appreciate your honesty.”

“It’s the one thing I’m consistently good at, you know.”

“Somehow, I doubt that’s true. You seem like a girl with many talents.”

If only he knew.

“Well, I must go. But it was quite delightful speaking with you. I hope you have a good day, Nina.”

“And you,” I said, then watched him leave.

When I was alone again, I stared down at the book in my lap. What in the world...

Gray had already been challenging my view on vampires, and now this man had come in and behaved like a regular human being, albeit a prejudiced one?

I had no idea what to do with this new insight.