Vail casted the Lady Victoria one more smile over his shoulder as he turned to walk away from her. Even though he knew he hadn’t given her what she’d wanted from him, she was still polite ‘til the last moment. He appreciated her bent to speak so respectfully to a mere stranger, even bothering to compliment his dancing once again before they parted. Though the Lady was bright, she definitely wasn’t the assertive type if she was content with letting her question go unanswered so easily. Her amenable temperament was probably the reason why she had been so entranced with him earlier too. Women who were more submissive by nature were often more susceptible to the pheromones that he and the rest of his kind used to draw them in. He was sure that if he’d chosen to, he could have easily taken advantage of her altered state of mind to get a taste of the rich blood he’d smelled before.

Weaving his way through the crowd, Vail caught wind of a familiar scent that drew his attention to a figure on his right: Lord Spencer was heading in the opposite direction, back to Victoria’s side now that she was alone. He snorted softly and shook his head. After getting to know the Lady a little better during their brief encounter, he felt quite certain that the Wynter was planning to do what he could not; and with a perfect cover, too. He couldn’t help but wonder how the rival vampire had managed to weasel his way so deeply into the Crest family that he was to be betrothed to the heiress. Just the thought of it was baffling to him. Alexander had been high enough up in the Order that he should have known who the members of the Wynter family were, right? He couldn’t imagine that the former Crest head had been careless enough to miss this particular viper.

[i]It doesn’t matter. It’s not my business,[/i] he reminded himself, slowing to a stop by another table to finish off the rest of the drink in his hand. All in all, this party certainly hadn’t turned out at all like he had been expecting. His eyes wandered to the front door. The night was still young, but after his rather ungraceful meeting with Lady Victoria and his unnecessary involvement with her and the vampire she was to marry, he wasn’t feeling as eager to stick around anymore. He’d drawn far too much attention to himself for one day, and the usually stifling Hygrace manor was beginning to sound quite cozy compared to the chaotic ballroom he was standing in now.

Vail glanced over his shoulder one last time, spotting Lord Spencer and Victoria locked in a fast paced dance near the middle of the room. Even from a distance, he could see the hunger in the other vampire’s eyes; that lustful thirst for blood which made the Wynters such a formidable group to the humans who had the misfortune of crossing their path. He couldn’t help but feel some pity for the Lady. While his family handled their predatory appetites with grace and control, their rivals were known to overindulge, often leaving their prey listless if they didn’t bleed them to death first. He doubted Spencer was planning to drain Victoria of her life, since they were supposedly going to be married, but judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn’t going to hold back much more than that.

[i]Not my business,[/i] he reminded himself once more, turning away from the dancers as he set his empty glass down on the table. Whatever was to happen between the couple, he wanted no part of it. In fact, he’d spent far too much time at this masquerade already. It was time for him to go.

Without wasting another second, Vail headed for the door, slipping into the cool night air as he walked back to the Hygrace manor alone.