How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks Read Free Book Online

run. Zoltan winced. But he had chickened out. In the throes of lovemaking, she might have been able to catch him off guard. And if she had stabbed him in the heart with that knife, he would be dust.
    She located her bow and quiver, swung them onto her back, then picked up her helmet. Headed downhill, she moved at a quick pace, the cat trotting alongside her.
    Zoltan teleported from tree to tree, following her.
    Jerk, the leopard called up to him.
    He groaned inwardly. He felt like a jerk, spying on her, but how else was he going to find out who she was? And where she lived? She’d made it clear that she didn’t want to tell him anything.
    “Neona!” a female voice called from the bottom of the hill. Three women, all dressed in armor, were waiting by a small stream.
    Neona greeted them in a language he didn’t understand—Tibetan, most likely— and they talked for a moment before traversing the valley. Who were these women, Zoltan wondered. All four of them had quivers on their backs filled with arrows that looked like the one that had killed his father.
    What did they say? he asked the leopard.
    Why should I tell you? the cat sneered back.
    You’re a male. I’m a male. We should be on the same side. Unless you’re just a big momma’s boy.
    The leopard stopped, its fur ruffling. She lied. She told them she didn’t see anyone.
    His heart leaped. Was she trying to protect him? Or forget him?
    The four women approached the other side of the valley where a rock wall extended high overhead. There was a hole in the wall about shoulder high where water gushed out into the valley to join the stream. Above the hole, there was a ledge. The leopard jumped onto the ledge, then scampered from ledge to ledge till it reached the top of the wall.
    Apparently someone was waiting there, for a rope ladder was tossed down. One by one, the women climbed up the ladder and disappeared over the top of the wall.
    Where are they going? Zoltan asked the leopard.
    Home, the leopard called back. Don’t even think about coming here. They’ll kill you. Men are not allowed in Beyul-La.
    Zoltan waited ten minutes, then teleported to the top of the rock wall. His breath caught. Before him lay a beautiful valley, completely hemmed in by mountains. He spotted five women walking toward a village of a half dozen stone houses built in a circle. In the center of the circle, another woman lit a fire.
    The six women stood next to the fire, talking, while the cat lounged on the grass.
    So this was Neona’s home. Beyul-La . Where men were not allowed. Zoltan snorted. They couldn’t stop him from coming back. He still had questions he needed answered. And he needed to see Neona again. One kiss was not enough.

Chapter Four
    “Y ou didn’t see anyone?” Queen Nima asked as she heated up a skillet over the central fire.
    “No, your majesty.” Winifred used her knife to gut the six fish she’d trapped earlier in the stream that traversed their valley.
    “Not a soul,” Freya added, taking the fish from her sister to scale them.
    Neona cast a nervous glance toward Zhan. He was lounging on the grass, his nose twitching at the smell of dinner. Tashi and her mother, Lydia, could both communicate with animals, but since they’d said nothing, it appeared that the leopard was keeping quiet about Zoltan.
    “The owl said the invader came from the north.” Nima looked at Neona. “You didn’t see him?”
    Neona shook her head, then pretended to be entirely focused on stirring the pot of rice. What on earth was she doing? She’d never lied to her mother before. Or her friends. At first, she’d told herself she was simply avoiding unnecessary embarrassment. Who, among the female warriors, would want to admit that she’d captured a prisoner, tied him up, and then managed to lose him?
    It was embarrassing, but now Neona ackowledged there was more to it than that. Meeting Zoltan had been special, and not simply because of his extraordinary strength and