Heartless (Starcrossed Lovers Trilogy 1)

I scanned the room, weaving my way through the crowd toward getting served a drink in this hovel, but my pretty blonde prey was nowhere to be seen.

I ordered a mineral water and shunted my way back to the side of the dancefloor in order to cast my eyes around me all over again. People were jumping up at the stage, trashed, or tapping their foot to the beat all around the edges, letting out squeals. Bullshit. The whole place was cheap, lousy bullshit.

Still, there was no sign of her.

As I completed my circuit in the shadows at the edge of the room, I wondered if I’d read the diary entry wrong. If she was in the building, I’d have surely seen her from a distance, recognizing the shimmer of blonde curls from a mile away, but no. She was nowhere to be seen.

I didn’t understand why the thought of failure frustrated me so badly. It was a rotten twist in my guts, my heart beating fast as I continued my scanning and mingling. It shouldn’t matter. It would be one pathetic foray in an attempt to track her down, not even worth breaking a sweat over. I had no idea why it felt like so much more.

I’d find her.

Some way, sometime soon, I’d hunt her down and find her. I just hoped damn fucking hard that it would be tonight. I was slavering over the thought of it.

I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to make her beg and squeal and shiver at my touch.

I’d sipped my way through most of my mineral water when I saw a flash of perfect blonde on the other side of the dancefloor. My stomach did a twist, and the rage burned behind my eyes.

Yes.

Fuck, yes.

I knew it was her, even without a clear view. I knew it by instinct – by the hatred rushing through my veins.

I made my way closer, keeping in the shadows. She was standing next to a tall guy who looked like a vintage throwback, attractive, but a pussy of a man, weak enough looking that I could easily break his neck with one simple twist. Elaine was close to him, pressed up tight, but I knew he hadn’t laid a single dirty hand on her, not in any way that counted. It was another flash of instinct in my gut.

She was staring up at the stage, gazing at the loser bellowing into the mic up there. Yes, it was Elaine Constantine, but she looked . . . different. She’d almost have passed for a normal person, for anyone other than a Constantine. Almost.

Her dress was tight, and clearly expensive, but her makeup was . . . cat-like.

Hot.

Fuck, she was a hot little bitch. Even hotter than she’d been at the masked ball.

She was swigging beer from a bottle, chugging it back nice and hard. It reinforced what I already knew – her alcoholic cravings must have been pretty damn desperate for her to be drinking that cheap shit. And there was more. I only needed to watch her move at pussy boy’s side to know she was coked out.

It seemed the rumors were true. She was an addict. She was indeed a disgrace to the Constantines and all their pompous, classy pretentiousness. She was the disgrace that had everyone rolling their eyes and scowling whenever they gossiped about what a useless little bitch she was.

So, why was she still so fucking attractive to me?

I daren’t get any closer, not without catching her eye. I hovered just out of view, soaking her up as I bristled and boiled, imagining all the things I wanted to do with her.

I wanted to sneak my way into her disgusting family and destroy them one by one. I wanted to tell her just what I thought of that repulsive blood flowing through her veins, and then make her pay for it. Slowly. Filthily. Brutally.

I wanted to do so much to her that my mouth was watering. Lust. Hate. Contempt. All of it simmering deep.

Her family had been on a mission to eradicate mine for decades. They’d torn us down once, but never again. We’d all bleed to death before we gave them a single inch of our wealth, or our pride.

I wondered how pretty Elaine Constantine would look with her family blood on her perfect skin. I wondered how her eyes would glisten with tears as she stared up into the malice in mine.

I wondered how much I could make her pussy stretch for me before she screamed.

It was funny, looking around me at all the people in that room, just how evil a monster I was amongst them. So many idiots living their idiot lives, having no idea such a beast was in their midst.

A girl with pink hair banged into me as she swung herself to the beat, slamming hard into my chest and spilling the last of my water over my shirt. She spun around with a sorry, and I had to choke back the need to make her pay.