Page 60 of Magic and Muffins

“It is.”

“Great news. We have room for you and your guest if you are still interested in attending a Night Club meetup.”

“We are.”

“Excellent. Are you free tonight?”

“Actually, we are.”

“Great. I will send the details to this number. Be sure to wear something red to show your support of the vampires. It will help the bus driver identify you.”

“Where is the driver taking us?” Vena asked.

“Unfortunately, I can’t say. As you know, the wolves are killing innocent vampires. We keep the location a secret to protect the vampires and their supporters. I hope you understand.”

“I do. It makes sense.”

“I’m so happy to hear that. We’ll see you tonight, Aneva. Thank you again for your support of the endangered vampires. Together, we’ll end the wolves’ oppression.”

She disconnected the call. “Looks like I got a date with my bestie tonight.”

A new message pinged her phone. Cross read it. “The pick-up spot isn’t too far away.”

“I don’t know if I have anything red,” I said.

Vena made a disbelieving sound. “Trust me, you do.”

When I raised a brow at her, she smiled. “Do you really think you could get a wardrobe filled with clothes and not have something red? You’re cohabitating with a vampire. It’s their color.” She pointed to my necklace peeking out from the collar of my shirt.

I automatically placed my hand on it, feeling the rubies.

“Now, back to what’s important,” she said. “Are we thinking Shross, Cropard, or maybe Crosh?”

Shepard shook his head. “I’m going to make a few calls in the study.”

Cross grinned and patted Vena on the head. “Good girl.”

She grinned back until Anchor softly growled. Facing Anchor, she cooed, “Aw, do you feel threatened by the big, bad vampire?”

Anchor stood with Vena in his arms.

“Cross, you need to call me a good girl more often.” She cackled as Anchor took her to their room.

“That’s one way to get rid of her,” I said with a chuckle.

I started picking up our plates.

“I can do that,” Cross said.

“You cooked for us. The least I can do is clean. Maybe you can help Shepard coordinate the details for tonight. I know you’ll both worry. It will help me feel better too. While I know I have you and the pack, as well as the necklace, which I’m charging up before we go, I don’t want any hiccups.”

“You know I’ll get to you if anything happens, right?”

I nodded. “That doesn’t stop my stomach from knotting, though.”

He took the dishes from me and gave me a one-arm hug, pressing his lips to my temple.

“If anything ever happened to you, vampires would be wiped clean from this earth.”