The Vampire Prince goes to High School (Book 1)

Alliances

It was a strange feeling getting thanked by the Prince. Maybe he was an imposter. That would make a lot of sense. Granted, there was a chance that he was the Prince but the possibility wasn't that high. But what if he wasn't an imposter?

Why the change in heart? What had changed? Clearly, something had happened. But what? Would he even tell me if I asked? I seriously doubted that.

As the day winded down, I half expected for the Prince to appear again but he didn't. A part of me was disappointed. He couldn't say whatever he wanted and leave. That wasn't fair. Besides, why was he being nice? He wanted something from me. Was this his way of backing out of ending the contract?

He was probably going to come up with a loophole. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He never kept his word.

Somewhere behind me, I heard my phone buzz. After a couple of seconds of trying to find it, I finally did answered.

"Hey, Sonia, what's up?"

"What did you do to Carlos?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

For some reason, my heart was racing. What was she talking about? Why did you sound so mad?

"Don't act stupid," she said. "Carlos isn't home. His parents are worried. Have they talked to you?"

"What? No," I told her. "What's going on? Why do you think I have something to do with this?"

"You're asking that?" Sonia scoffed. "Look, if you hear from him, call me."

With that, she ended the call. Dumbfounded, I gaped at my cellphone.

Why was Sonia angry at me? I hadn't done anything that would make her think that. And why was Carlos's grief have anything to do with me? It was unfair.

Biting my lip, I quickly dialed Mr Keys. His office phone rang for a long time before forwarding me to his voicemail. Where was he?

Sighing, I ended the call. I stared at it for the longest time. What if Pat had done something to him? It would be my fault. I was starting to get more and more convinced that last night had been a test and I had failed.

If there was anyone who could have Carlos, it was vampires.

#

"You had a favor to ask?"

It was half past seven. Somewhere downstairs, my mom was making dinner. Dad was probably watching the news; reruns of last night's events. And I was in my room thinking of doing something I would never do.

As soon as the Prince appeared, I crawled out of bed and smoothed out my hair as much as I could. Like before, the Prince stood in my room as arrogant as ever. His arms were crossed over his chest. He looked like he had just gotten out of a runway show.

"I'm waiting," he said.

"Carlos is missing and I need your help finding him," I blurted out.

"That is why you called my lawyers and begged them to get in contact with me?"

I swallowed. "Well, yeah."

"I will only warn you once," he said taking a step forward. "Don't ever summon me for something like this ever again."

"No one summons you unless you want to go somewhere," I said quickly.  "You came because you wanted to come."

His eyes narrowed at me, but he didn't speak.

"Sonia, she called earlier. She was, uh, upset . . . because Carlos is not at home. I think Pat must have done something to him." As I talked, I walked closer to him. "I also think that last night, when the imposter showed, was a test of sorts."

I stopped directly in front of me and met his gaze. "If you help me, I will -" I took a deep breath. My heart was ready to burst. "-I will give you a some of . . . my blood."

I knew it was crazy and stupid to offer him this. I shouldn't be using my blood as a bargaining chip. It was a cheap blow, but what else was I suppose to do? If Carlos was in danger, it was my fault.

I was the one who decided to go undercover without really looking at the full picture. It was reckless and that totally backfired on me. I had to make it up to Carlos somehow.

"No."

The anger in the Prince's voice surprised me. Suddenly, there was no space between us. I stood frozen as the Prince glared down at me.

"Do you think this was a game?" he asked. "You don't even know what you're saying."

He turned away and I was finally able to breathe again.

"I thought you were different, but I guess this is all you amount to."

I flinched. My eyes stung. "He's . . . my friend," I forced out. "You might not know what that even means. I put him in danger. He -"

The Prince turned around. "He put himself in danger. That was his choice, not yours."

"He could be in danger."

"If not for Carlos, then do it for me."

The Prince froze. "What?"

"Fine, don't take my blood. But, help me find him. I just need to make sure he's okay. Sonia -"

"You mean that girl that guilt trips you into everything?" he asked. "At least I don't surround myself with fake friends."

My chin trembled. "That's. . ." I couldn't get the words out. That's not true, I wanted to say. So, why couldn't I? I shook my head as the tears threatened to fall.

"I owe him that much," I choked out.

"You don't owe him anything."

"Please help me."

"Please."