BLOODHOUNDS #1: THE ABDICATED PRINCE

Chapter 1 - SEATTLE

Luna Morris

"I still can't believe that you're here!" Daisy clapped her hands proudly. I grabbed my shot glass, giving her a nod before inhaling the sting liquid.

I closed my eyes, feeling the alcohol burning my throat. "I can't believe it either." You let out a long sigh. "It still feels like a dream."

Daisy put down her shot glass, grabbed both of my hands and held it tightly like I was on the cliff's edge. "I'm so proud of you."

"Me too."

"Did you contact your grandparents?" She asked as she released her grip on my hands. You nodded at her and turned your head to the bartender, asking for another shot.

"I did."

"What did they say?"

"That they will visit me next month and that they're hoping for me to make lots of new friends." The bartender put a new shot in front of me, my fingers reached for it, but Daisy stole it.

"Hey!"

"I'm the only friend you need, instead of making new friends. You should find a boyfriend." She wiggled her eyebrows and gave me a teasing look. Her eyes then scanned the room, and I didn't even bother to follow her eyes.

"Three more, please..." I said to the bartender. I got an annoyed look in return.

"So... Do you still prefer your type when you were in London, or do you want to make a new type here?" She was still busy looking around, and I shook my head.

"I'm here to continue my career, not to get married." The bartender put the new three shots in front of me perfectly aligned. I glanced at Daisy, who was still busy checking out all the available men in the room.

I drank all the shots in one go, which made my throat burn so bad. "You're an idiot! Why would you do that?!" Daisy pinched my arm.

"Hey! What was that for?!" I rubbed my arm, where she pinched me. I glared at her so hard that she rolled her eyes at me before returning to her hunt.

"Tell me about your work again. I wasn't paying attention," I asked Daisy to stop her from trying to find me, someone, to get laid.

"I told you I'm working on a new project in the making..." Daisy started to ramble about her crazy work as an architect. Daisy and I met at a cafe in Paris 5 years ago. I was traveling alone to find inspiration for my work and accidentally bumped into a jet-black-haired woman dressed like she was going to a fashion show.

I almost spilled my hot chocolate onto her dress that day, but thank God I didn't.

She was fascinated by my eyes that she asked me if I was traveling alone, and I told her that I was. We decided to get lunch together and clicked right away. Ever since then, we have talked almost every day.

She was born and raised in Seattle, so when I moved out of London, she begged me to come here. She even gave me a presentation about Seattle. After months of thinking about it, I decided to go for it.

It's now or never.

I had to move out and never look back.

"Luna, stopppppppp..." Daisy tried to stop my 32nd shot, or was it the 31st? You pushed her hand away and drank it. Put down the glass savagely and ordered more.

"Oh God..." I closed my eyes.

"You're drunk." The man who was sitting beside me said the most obvious thing. I put my hand out, waiting for the bartender to hand me another shot, but it never came.

"Hey! I want more! Do you want more, D?" You slowly turn to Daisy, who's already laid her hand on the table, completely drunk. "You're such a twat!" I rolled my eyes at her.

"DAISY! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" I leaned to her ear. Instead of answering, she pushed my face away. "Loser." I hissed before turning my attention back to the bartender.

"Hey, Louis. Lou... I WANT MORE SHOTS!" I tried to get his attention by waving like a maniac. "Lou... LOU!"

"Luna, you're drunk." The man beside me said again.

"Shut up! I'm not drunk!" I gave him my index finger signing him to be quiet. I waved at Louis, the bartender, again. "Lou... I'm here... GIVE ME MORE SHOTS!" I love alcohol.

"Still a spoilt brat, huh?" The man beside me said.

"Listen, old man. I'm no spoilt brat!" I bit my bottom lip, pissed. I slowly turned to the older man who dared to mock me. When my eyes met him, I blinked a few times. He's not an old man.

His short sandy brown hair is neatly combed, making me want to run my hands through it. God, he's fucking gorgeous. His hazel eyes are trying to hypnotize me into oblivion. I had never seen a man wearing a grey Armani suit this perfectly. It's like it's tailor-made for him. He's so perfect, and I'm hallucinating.

I blink several times at him before returning to the annoying Louis, the bartender, who loves to ignore me.

"Louis! I swear to God, if you don't give me my-"

"I was the one who told him not to." The man said bluntly. I grabbed one of the empty shot glasses in front of me, and I tapped it against the table so hard that Louis turned his attention to me after flirting with a beautiful redhead.

"Give me another shot, or I'll-"

"Luna... You're fucking drunk. Stop asking for another shot! Jesus! I can't believe I'm babysitting this spoilt brat again!" The man beside grumbled. I let out a long sigh before turning my head to him.

"Listen, annoying handsome man, and I don't know what your-" He grins at me, showing me his dimple that is perfectly placed on his left cheek.

No...

You recognize that dimple...

There's only one person who has it...

"Clyde?" It came out as a whisper, but he heard it because his eyes had darkened.

"You're fucking drunk, Luna." He said in his low and husky tone. I gulped nervously.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered, still trying to process the situation. The headache came right when I tried to differentiate between reality and a dream.

"Saving your ass, spoilt brat."