Betrayal Bites (Tales of Sydney Sedrick Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

me a target. The rogues on both sides weren’t big fans of the Selected. They didn’t want to be found by the local vampire coven or werewolf pack. The rogues wanted to run amok all over town, doing whatever they felt like, and they wanted to do it right under the noses of their kind’s local governing bodies. Except, they didn’t want to get caught. The rogues wanted to get rid of me, thereby eliminating my abilities that could detect them.
    When I passed through the door of the storeroom into the store proper, Liam gave me a toothy grin while waving a black clothing bag up in the air to show me he had come bearing a gift.
    “Hey, pretty lady. Are you all ready for the ball?”
    Liam was the easiest going vampire I’d ever met. He wasn’t stuck up, nor was he overly focused on protocol like Aaron, Kieran’s second-in-command. Liam was part of Kieran’s Knights, an elite group of vampires that helped maintain balance in the world of vampires. The Knights were technically under Kieran’s direct command, unless the Elders stepped in and took over. The Elders had the ultimate say over all of the vampires. Now that I knew there was also vampire royalty, I wasn’t sure how they decided who was above the other, nor did I care to find out.
    Liam made me laugh. He was such a joy to be around. He was like a funny kid brother who always had a twinkle of trouble in his eye. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. That wouldn’t be a new dress for me to wear to the ball, would it?”
    No one could ever call me materialistic, but the dresses Kieran sent me for the vampire gatherings he made me go to were always sexy, fun to wear, and way out of my price range. Think red carpet, if everyone was wearing black. Plus, he never expected me to return them. I had to start investing in some serious footwear, though. I could only wear my black-suede boots or black, strappy high-heeled sandals so many times before someone started to notice, not that I’d care. Okay, maybe I’d care, just a little.
    Liam went behind the cash register with the garment bag so he could hang it over the back of the door. It practically draped to the floor.
    “Liam, what kind of dress is it?”
    He’d piqued my curiosity. The bag was overly long, like there was excess material held within. The bag was unlike the ones he usually sent that held slinky, floor-length cocktail dresses. This one was a lot wider and a good two feet longer.
    With one eyebrow raised, he said, “Sydney, don’t tell me you didn’t know the Blood Rites Ball is a masquerade ball? You’re going to love what Kim and Sara picked out for you. They really outdid themselves this time.” He grinned. One of his fangs charmingly caught on his lower lip, making us both laugh.
    A daunting feeling smacked me cold in the face. Masquerade ball? Why would Kieran set something up like that? The attendants would be able to hide their identities behind masks. Kieran had a lot of enemies. Putting together a large number of people, where no one knew who was really there, sounded like a very bad idea to me.
    My confusion must have been clearly written in my expression, because Liam said, “Kieran wants to honor the Elder, Raum. The seventeen hundreds is the Elder’s favorite time period. Kieran believes that by providing such an event, it will make the Elder happy, thus, he may be easier to persuade into making Kieran remain as your assigned protector, and leader of his coven.”
    Kieran’s efforts to go above and beyond to make the Elder happy to ensure that my life remained as un-interfered with as it was now shot an icy cold chill down my entire body. If Kieran were willing to go to such lengths for me and my well-being, it must mean there was more to worry about than I’d thought.
    Kieran had mentioned they were going to discuss his position and the possibility of his roles being given to someone else. But he didn’t say he truly believed the Elders would really do it. As far as I was concerned,