Page 63 of Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Five

Now it’s like I’m trying to protect him from Sam.

Her finger is directed at him, her voice raised. “You will not dictate what I do with my life!” she’s saying when I step between them.

“Sam. Hey. Hi.”

She blinks and looks over at me. There’s still tension in her face and she’s just on the edge of grinding her teeth, something she does when she’s really, really mad.

“Jess.” She steps back and crosses her arms over her chest. Her stance nearly mirrors that of the Alpha behind me.

“What’s going on?” I ask even though I already know. Sometimes vampire hearing really does come in handy. Bran’s already told me all the details of this argument. If only I wasn’t on the Alpha’s side.

Cal doesn’t want Sam to risk her life and march into the fae realm with us, on my behalf, and I definitely don’t disagree with him.

But how hypocritical could I be? Considering I just argued with Bran about letting Bianca come with us to aid in our plan.

I can’t be all female empowerment yay and then deny my best friend the right to join the fight.

If only I wasn’t so worried about her very mortal body getting crushed in the middle of the fight.

“He’s trying to control my life,” Sam says. “And I told him to fuck off. No one tells me what to do.”

“Can we talk?” I ask her and then glance at Cal over my shoulder. “Alone?”

The Alpha sucks in a deep breath through his nose and gives me a quick nod of his head. “You’ll find the most privacy at my cabin.”

I hook my arm through Sam’s, steering her away, down the steps, across the yard. I sense Bran trailing us but don’t bother to tell him to buzz off.

He won’t listen to me anyway and I can’t really blame him, what with a fae queen trying to kidnap me or off me, depending on the day of the week.

Sam and I follow the trail around the Pack’s property and back through the woods to Cal’s cabin. The door is unlocked and inside, a few table lamps are flicked on. The place is clean and cozy.

She sits down at the table and lets out a sigh.

“Hi,” she says. “You look like shit.”

I snort. “I could say the same about you.”

It’s not really true though. Sam’s always been gorgeous in an effortless sort of way. She’s wearing her favorite jeans, the vintage Guess, threadbare and tearing at the knees, along with chunky white sneakers and an oversized plain black t-shirt.

She doesn’t look dressed ready for war. She looks like she should be lounged back reading Kerouac in Rita’s coffee shop.

“Cal just wants to protect you,” I tell Sam.

She rolls her eyes. “Not you too.”

“Well yeah, I also want to protect you, but he’s got a better chance of making it happen. Those big Alpha biceps and all.”

She gives me a blank look. How the hell is she immune to the gorgeousness of the Midnight Alpha? She must have some kind of blind spot where he’s concerned because everyone in Midnight Harbor would kill to have the undying devotion of the Alpha.

“Your vampire boyfriend must have told you what we were arguing about?”

“He gave me the highlights.”

She sits forward, props her elbows on the table. When I look down, I realize there are claw marks in the wood. Old rivets of splintered pine.

“I feel like I barely see you anymore,” she admits, her voice low, almost like this admission is a secret.

“I know.”