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Max shrugged. If it worked, it worked. Besides, saying no to Zander was good for him. Healthy, even.
“You two are so obviously in love it’s cute,” Chase stated, grinning like this amused him. “If I didn’t have Ronan, I might be jealous.”
Max nearly tripped over thin air. Wait. Wait a hot second. Was he in love with Zander?
“Bro, you didn’t just realize this, did you?”
“I…” Max stared at his best friend and honestly was at a loss for words. He may have?
“Seriously?” Chase stopped dead too, eyes wide with incredulity.
“In my defense, I’ve never been in love before, okay?”
“I know, but even I figured it out pretty quickly.”
How had he not realized, though? When he literally spent every free second with Zander. When he worried about the man so much he was willing to put himself in harm’s way to help. How had he missed the obvious?
“I…shit. I need to tell him.”
“He’ll be over the moon when you do.” Chase slapped him on the shoulder. “What are you waiting for? Go! Or, wait,” Chase paused at his car and gestured. “I know you parked across campus, want me to give you a lift over there?”
It was damn hot today so that actually appealed quite a bit. “Yeah please, that way I can get to Zander faster—”
“Mr. Monroe?”
He didn’t recognize the voice and turned automatically to face the speaker.
A smartly dressed woman in a black business suit, blonde hair pulled up in a bun, approached him. There was a hulking man in a matching black suit right at her side.
Max took one look at them and felt the distinct urge to run in the other direction. At his side, he heard Chase let out a groan. Um, what?
“Good afternoon, I’m Vanessa,” she introduced herself with a professional smile. “I’m from the Vampire Society Bureau—”
Oh shit. Max’s nerves jangled at her introduction, and he now understood Chase’s reaction. The bureau had sought him out much faster than he’d anticipated. It had only been five days since they’d figured out he was a vampire’s mate to begin with. And it looked like she’d brought Mr. Muscle with her in case he spooked. This was so not good.
Chase came to stand solidly at his side, already irate. “You again. When will you fucking quit? We’re not interested in some kind of blind dating game, all right? I know Fernando made that clear last time.”
Her bright red lips pursed in aggravation as her eyes switched to Chase. “I may have failed to convince you to pursue other suitors, Mr. Huntington, but Mr. Monroe was bought as a blood slave. His situation is far different from yours.”
“No, it’s really not,” Max negated with a slash of his hand. “My interest in meeting other vampires is nil.”
She looked at him with pity, which rankled. “Mr. Monroe, I don’t think you understand the unique position you’re in—”
Max snorted inelegantly. “I’m one of a hundred and nineteen known vampire mates throughout the entirety of North America. People would pay a small fortune just to be introduced to me. I could literally have my pick of available bachelors, all at the snap of my fingers. Does that adequately sum up my situation, miss?”
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Someone certainly filled you in. Who?”
“Zander. He wanted to make sure I understood what position I held in vampire society.”
“The very one who’s holding onto you?”
“Holding onto me? What a weird way to phrase it. The person who adores and protects me, the man who is my boyfriend—yes. That person.”
Chase took a step back, looking poised for some reason. Max caught his eye, silently asking,Help?Chase gave him a small nod in response. Good, he’d let Chase handle reinforcements. Somehow. Max just had to stall for time. Or make her give up, one of the two. He eyed Mr. Muscles warily. If he had to outrun the man—who was likely a vampire—his odds of succeeding were not good.
She pressed on, growing more determined. “I realize you have a good opinion of your contracted master. And of course, he’d have treated you well once he recognized your status as a potential mate—”
Max’s patience with this conversation was dwindling fast. “First off, lady, Zander has never once referred to himself as my master. In fact, I was precious in his eyes before we even figured out I was a potential mate. Your point is moot.”
