Enemies To Lovers Romance
It’s my job to kill the vampire prince. But he saves me instead.
My parents’ jewelry store has gone bankrupt.
Now we have to pay an enormous debt, or our whole family will be killed.
My friend shows me how to be a bounty hunter – an easy way for someone like me who’s skilled at fighting to earn money.
When I take on the bounty on the fourth vampire prince of Romania I’m led to believe he’s an evil man who murdered his brother and is plotting against the king.
But what if he’s actually a good person?
What should I do about the attraction I feel towards him?
I’ve never been intimate with a man.
How am I supposed to kill the handsome gentleman who saves me from certain death?
Hunting The Vampire Prince is a standalone Paranormal Romance with a HEA and NO cheating!
AmazonExcerpt from Hunting The Vampire Prince © Copyright 2022 Nikki Grey
I bet there was a special place in hell for bounty hunters like me who came to a birthday party to assassinate the birthday boy. Especially if he was a vampire prince, celebrating the 215th year since he had been turned. Should this day even be called a birthday? Wasn’t the 15th of May actually the day Luca Herescu, the fourth vampire prince of Romania, died and became undead? Birthday parties were for being happy that someone was alive.
I put aside the glass of wine I had finished drinking and made my way to stand at the edge of the dance floor. What did I know? Luca was a noble, and rich people could do anything they wished with their time and money. They could even throw masquerade balls where everyone’s faces were half hidden behind elaborate masks with feathers and jewels, just like I was doing right now along with everyone around me.
The lights of the ballroom glittered above my head, illuminating the couples swaying to slow and sensual music. Several men and women, dressed in elegant suits and beautiful gowns, conversed by the drink table. Behind them, through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the moon shone brightly in a sky full of stars. The scene almost belonged in a fairy-tale, if I ignored the fact that most of the people gathered here were vampires, and that the wine glasses they held were full of human blood.
It was easy to forget that I was in this ballroom for a reason. My goal was to find Luca in this colorful crowd and use a willow stake to end his undead life. The deadly weapon felt heavy against my thigh, and every small movement made me remember it was attached to my garter.
Getting into the ballroom was the easy part. My bounty hunting contact and friend, Odeta, had fabricated a fake identity for me. I couldn’t pass as a vampire – the supernaturals had a sixth sense that told them whether someone belonged to their group or not – so I was here as a rich merchant’s daughter. With everyone believing I was more than a simple commoner, I was able to enter the world of noble vampires as one of the few humans who they allowed to walk freely amongst them.
The hard part was finding my target in the elegant gathering. The masquerade had a rule: until the clock struck midnight, the identities of everyone, including the birthday boy, were to be kept secret. I fiddled with the skirt of my red dress. My thoughts went to the picture of Luca I had memorized. He was a tall man with an athletic build, medium-length black hair that curled slightly at the ends, and eyes grey like a stormy sky. He was undeniably handsome, and the only thing I thought he lacked was a smile. But I knew better than to be attracted to my target, especially when Odeta told me what kind of person he really was.
Luca was an evil man who had murdered his brother Mihail and plotted against the King of Romania. This violent act was why the bounty had been placed on his head. I shouldn’t have any qualms about liberating his soul from his undead body. Yet I wasn’t after him only for the money, even though I desperately needed it. Luca’s death would also bring peace to the Kingdom.
I took a deep breath, steeling my resolve. I wouldn’t back down. Surveying the room carefully, I cursed under my breath. Vampires were often tall and athletic, and black hair was the most common color in the hall. Multiple men could fit my description of the target. I was sure I would recognize Luca if I saw his face, but the elaborate masks the men wore made doing so impossible right now.
I would have to wait until midnight. The small watch I wore on my wrist told me I had another hour before the time to take off the masks came. What should I do while I waited? I wasn’t exactly in the mood to relax.
“My lady.” I heard a deep man’s voice behind me. It was low and gravely yet very pleasant at the same time.
I turned around, my heartbeat loud in my ears. How could I be so deep in thought as to let someone approach me from behind without noticing? The man must have been a vampire. The three months I’d spent going after different targets clearly hadn’t taught me enough yet. I was still spooked by how silently the supernaturals moved.
I looked the vampire up and down. He was strongly built, his muscles seeming almost out of place under his civilized outfit. He wore a well-ironed dark navy suit and a white dress shirt with a neatly knotted necktie on. His hair was black and slicked back, and his eyes and nose were covered by a navy mask. Feathers popped out of it to the left and right, and small diamonds dotted the area around his eyes: quite a way to announce how rich he was.
He fitted the image I had of my target, but without seeing his face it was impossible to determine for sure whether he was Luca or not. I couldn’t just jump on any vampire of similar appearance and stake them. I had to be completely sure I had the right person.
As I gave the stranger a good once-over, the vampire returned the gesture. His gaze moved down and up my body, stopping first on my hips, then my waist, then the low neckline of my dress, and finally on the golden velvet mask I wore. Unlike the elaborate piece covering half of his face, I had chosen a simple yet elegant mask. I was hoping it would complement my red hair, which was pulled back on my head in an elegant chignon.
