Introducing Balthazar--Another Sneak Peak at Wanderlust

Hi everyone,

As promised, here's another glimpse at Wanderlust. Balthazar is one of the new characters in the next book. I've always loved the name and wanted to use it for a character for as long as I can remember. I thought better of it when Claudia Grey gave one of her main characters the same name, but as I was writing Wanderlust, I couldn't think of a name more suited for this particular character.

Sorry for the wait...

Enjoy,
HH


The alley out back was dark and dirty. The only light was that of the moon, which reflected off trash cans and puddles of sludge that oozed from dumpsters and garbage bags. I held the door slightly ajar and fidgeted nervously for a minute. It was a bad idea for me to be waiting around in alleys alone, and I thought twice about my decision to be here. Turning to head back inside, I slammed smack into what appeared to be a brick wall--if walls wore button-down plaid shirts. Slowly, I shifted my gaze upward and was greeted by a menacing glare from one of the most foreboding, yet ridiculously attractive, men I had ever laid eyes upon. I knew instantly what he was--no human could aspire to such rugged perfection--and a desperate desire to be anyplace else shot through my body. Paralyzed by an all-consuming fear, however, I was unable to move even a single step. Finally, I felt the subtle pressure of his cool hands weighted on my hips as he shifted me slightly, gently to the side. He stepped past me into the lane, closing and locking the door behind him with a brassy skeleton key. Suddenly, I was frozen--both literally and figuratively. My arms were covered in goose bumps, and I was too terrified to move a muscle.

“Name’s Balthazar, but everyone calls me Balty,” he said in a smooth baritone that would make Barry White jealous.

I stood in silence staring at the mountain of a man standing before me. He was well over six feet tall--at least 6 feet 5 inches if I were to wager a guess. And, his jet-black hair was shaggy and overgrown, curling up at the nape of his neck and brushing past his eyebrows into his eyes. A slight growth of dark hair--just a tad thicker than a five-o’clock shadow--covered his chiselled jaw. I guessed him to be in his mid-thirties, and he was utterly stunning in a rugged and unkempt way. He must get really good tips as a server--women would love him.

Like, Mina, Chaseyn’s mother, Balthazar was a full vampire. I’m not sure how I knew, but I did. The knowledge terrified me, and the throbbing of my pulse drowned out all other sound. Running would be useless. Balthazar would have the gift of extreme speed--all vampires did. Screaming was out of the question--my voice was stifled in my throat. This was it, I thought. This is how I was going to die.