Page 52 of Magic and Muffins

When Shepard returned, he said he needed to talk to a few people and would be back in a few minutes. I glanced at Cross, a little nervous about him being there without Shepard present. He flashed his signature smile at me and distracted me with Bites and Delights conversation.

A few people arrived early and started scoping out the snacks on the side tables. Lisa appeared from the kitchen.

“Get your sniffers out of there,” she said. “More is coming.” She bustled back into the kitchen.

Vena and Anchor walked in not long after.

“What did you make?” she asked.

“Bacon-wrapped watermelon.”

She made grabby hands. “Give me.”

“They’re in the kitchen with Lisa. She already scolded people eyeing the snacks that are out. Are you feeling lucky?”

Vena’s gaze darted to the kitchen door, and I smirked, seeing her hesitation.

“Let’s grab seats in front,” she said. “I can’t wait to see the interview. Heard Cross went off script.”

“The entire interview went off script,” Cross said.

Vena picked out a table, and we sat down. As more people showed up, Vena said hello to nearly everyone. It obviously hadn’t taken long to find her place in the pack. Everyone seemed to like her. Some of them even laughed with her at an inside joke they shared.

How did they have inside jokes already?

Was I a little jealous? Yes. But I was also happy for her. Joining any kind of group came with complications, but it seemed like everyone accepted Vena.

I smiled at her and marveled at how our lives were changing.

Shepard arrived a couple of minutes before the show’s scheduled air time.

“Can I have your attention?” He waited a moment for the room to quiet. “This interview didn’t go as planned. We’d hoped for an unbiased interview, but that wasn’t the case.

“I still think Cross and I made some good points. But one thing is very clear after this interview, and I will say it now for all of you to hear and understand: The world is changing, and we need to change and adapt with it. Coexisting with vampires will become normalized. If we can’t adapt, we will be shunned like the vampires have been in the past.”

Shock rippled through the room, and Shepard held up his hands.

“I’m not saying you have to befriend vampires, and I’m not saying we will stop hunting them. I’m saying there will be change. Not all vampires are killing humans. Some might deserve a chance to prove themselves.

“Make peace with it. Because peace is our goal.”

He stepped aside and nodded to the projector operator.

Shepard dragged a chair over to our full table and sat next to me as a commercial came on for fake coins to put out for fairies.

He reached out to hold my hand. As his thumb stroked over my skin, I wondered if he was nervous about his pack’s reaction to Cross’ kiss. He’d obviously told a few people about it if Vena already knew.

The room quieted as the opening segment of the show played. When Shepard and Cross appeared, a few of the pack cheered, but Lisa quickly shushed them. The producer hadn’t cut anything out of the recording, leaving it just as it was with a few enhancements, like up close shots of Shepard’s ticcing jaw, a few eye rolls by Cross, which I’d missed, and a slow replay of the kiss and the punch that followed because, in real-time, it was a little hard to see what had happened.

A few women chuckled at the kiss while the men mostly frowned, but when it came to Shepard’s punch, they laughed. Shepard squeezed my hand lightly in an unspoken apology.

The segment didn’t end after Shepard walked off set, but it didn’t show what Cross had said about being an exception, either. It cut to a shot of Denise saying there was obviously more to the hate werewolves had for vampires than they were willing to let on.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Vena asked.

“She made us look like we’re the problem,” Bear said angrily.

Shepard stood as the grumbles increased.

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