Page 63 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

I gave him my most pathetically hopeful look and he sighed. “Fine. But you don’t leave here for anything at all. Swear it?”

We both crossed our chests and he sighed. “If Walker chews me out for this, I’m saying you beat me over the head and threw me in the dumpster.”

I squealed and leapt into his arms in the hallway. I needed this. I’d been chafing under their always watchful gaze. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the shit out of all of them. They treated me like a goddess that walked among them. But sometimes, I just need to shovel popcorn in my face and extol the virtues of Scott Eastwood’s ass in Wrangler jeans in that bull riding flick. Oh yeah, we were definitely streaming that one.

He squeezed me tight, sliding me down his delicious body and kissing me with such intensity that I was beginning to think I didn’t need that girls night after all.

Then Everly cleared her throat and I pulled away. “Take your sexy man mojo somewhere else. I need time with the Alpha Mate,” Everly growled, and I chuckled.

With one more quick kiss, Judge let me go. “Not a single step,” he reminded me, and I nodded vigorously.

“I promise, Judge. It’ll be fine.”

He walked away slowly, making the call me sign with his hands as he turned the corner. Everly squealed as she herded me into the apartment. Maybe her favorite form was some kind of sheep dog?

“Yes! What’s first? I say we have a teen rom-com movie marathon, as much popcorn as we can gorge ourselves on and mac and cheese straight out of the pot. We can top it all off with margaritas.” She opened her fridge door and winced. “Okay, tequila and uh, apple juice? What are your thoughts?”

“Hell yes! But I’ll make the popcorn.”

I lookedat my belly bulge. We’d watched two achingly hopeful teen movies where the slightly awkward main character discovered how to love herself and the hot guy of her dreams at the same time. I’d eaten a double batch of mac’n’cheese, and two bowls of popcorn. It was all churning around in my stomach, and we were about to find out if vampires could actually explode.

Everly, however, was on her fifth ‘margarita’ and she could not hold her booze. “Like I get that Mom wants me to follow her in her footsteps and become a Protector, but I don’t want that. I love the Pack, but I want to see the world. I know it's dangerous, but I want to live. I want to mingle in human society. Go to college, you know? I don’t want twenty-four hour self defense training and following Uncle Brody around making sure he doesn’t get assassinated, like Ghost does.”

This was my Alpha Mate moment, the time when I was supposed to have the answers, and it should be something profound and wise. Problem was, I might be immortal now, but I had twenty years of life experience. That was it.

Still, I frowned and gave her my best contemplative look. “Well, what do you want to do with your life?”

She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth. “I think I’d like to be an architect. I like designing houses for Nîso, new sustainable homes that use what nature gives us to cut our resource consumption.”

Well, shit. “That sounds fucking awesome. Do that.”

“Maybe I’ll just snag me some right immortal vampire sugar daddy and spend my life traveling the world and having a billion orgasms. They must learn a few tricks in all that time, right?” She waggled her eyes at me and I mock-zipped my lips.

“A lady never kisses and tells.” I picked up the remote and flicked through the options. “Okay, this one about the girl who fakes losing her virginity? Or this one about the hot art nerd with glasses who suddenly turns into a hot art nerd without glasses, and catches the attention of the most popular boy in school?”

Everly ponders this way too hard, like I’m asking her which endangered species we should save, forsaking all others. “The first one. It’s funnier.”

I loaded up the movie and picked up my ‘cocktail’. Everly sat with her head in my lap, and I absentmindedly stroked her dark hair. The shifter need for touch was still something I was getting used to. Both Tex and Brody touched me at any opportunity they got, but I always thought in the back of my head it was because they loved me, not because their inner shifter craved it. But, in a way, I kind of liked it too. This platonic closeness.

I challenged anyone to stroke any part of my guys without wanting to ride them. It was freaking impossible.

Someone knocked at the door, and I sighed. Well, at least they’d given me this long. It was about time for Walker’s lunch break. There was no way I could eat another thing though. I wandered over to the door and opened it, a smile on my face.

But it wasn’t Walker and my smile fell a little.

Ashar stood on the other side of the door, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. “Hello?”

He gave a guilty wave. “Sorry to interrupt. I went to the store and it was closed, but I could hear movement up here and thought you might live above the shop?”

I shook my head, and he smiled sheepishly. “Whoops?”

I cocked my head. “What can I do for you Ashar?”

His eyes lit up. “You remembered my name?” Jesus, it was like he’d just won the lottery.

I gave him a soft smile. “Of course.”

Everly walked over, her steps a little staggered. Way too much tequila. “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re busy. I just wanted to ask one more time, if you’d reconsider? I mean, I don’t want to take you away or anything? I’m happy to come and visit you every other week. I’m not too far gone, but it's like a shadow sitting on the outside of my mind, and every day it lurks closer.” He sounded desperate, and my heart constricted with pity.

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