Mated to Dragons novel

---- 7. ANGEL My nose wrinkled as I stepped into the basement. The smell that assaulted my senses made me feel sick. I hesitated at the bottom of the stairs with the bucket clutched tightly in one hand and the mop in the other. The maid said that the queen ordered me to clean the basement. I supposed it had to be better than being stuck outside under the hot sun, or so I thought. My eyes darted around as I took in the strange equipment.

I sucked in a breath when my eyes locked ona bundle of blood near a bench. It looked fresh. Lowering the bucket to the floor, I dipped the mop inside and started cleaning. The sooner I got things done, the sooner I could get out. I had a few more chores to finish and then I had the rest of the day to myself. It gave me the perfect opportunity to go to the library. Once I figured out where it was. Mason had told me where it was, but I forgot.

I was sure that it wouldn't be so hard to find the library in the daylight. As I cleaned, my mind trailed off to last night. ---- The strange , the guard who offered to help me, had come to see me last night. We had agreed to meet in my room earlier in the day rather than outside in the courtyard where someone might catch us. The man was persistent. He wanted a taste of his payment before he helped me, but I couldn't bring myself to allow him to touch me. Every time he came near me, I panicked.

The man said that he wasn't going to help me if I didn't give him an advance. His patience was running thin, I could tell. Asound snapped me back to reality. Ijerked upright, eyes darting around. There was another sound, a low moan. It sounded like the person was in pain. Lowering the mop, I hurried forward. I glanced around, searching for the person, but the further I walked into the basement, the worse it got. There was blood everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on the strange equipment.

My breathing sped up. Fear made my stomach twist with nausea. There in front of me on the floor, was a girl. A naked ---- girl, covered in blood. She moaned again as she rolled onto her back. "H-hi," I croaked. "D-do you-" "H-help me," she breathed. I hurried forward, which was a mistake. The moment I was within reach, her hand shot out and gripped my arm. I screamed when she jerked me down. She buried her hand in my hair and jerked my head to the side.

Pain shot through me when sharp teeth sunk into my neck. It was just like that first day when I came through the portal and the man had bitten me. I was in shock then. But at the moment I could actually feel the girl sucking the blood from my body. The realization made me snap into action. Pressing my hands to her chest, I tried to push her away. Her fingertips dug into my skin, pulling me closer to her. My eyelids grew heavy as my body went numb. All I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Aloud roar made my ears hurt. The girl jerked and then pushed me away. Too weak to