Page 32 of Little Wing
My plea settled in the air with nowhere to go, yet I hoped that the tug I felt on my heart could be reciprocated to my brother, signaling for him to leave me be.
If it were only that simple, I could have cut the cord from him the moment he betrayed my affection for him.
Never again, I promised myself. Never again would Luca hold that power over me.
For years, Mateo and I grieved the loss of our siblings. While the world continued to evolve and develop with vampires finally accepted into society, we stood in place, stewing in our remorse over not being able to save all of them. Guilt gnawed at our conscience until we eventually got sick of getting drunk night after night. We put our heads together and imagined what it would be like to be back in our nest with Elias, Camille, and our siblings. How comforting it was to have someone show us how to fit in. How safe we all felt knowing our existence was not destined for doom.
That very feeling was the core of what Little Wing stood for. My brother and I saw the way the world changed, and we hated seeing vampiric resources so behind on assisting their newly turned citizens. That’s why we worked so hard to make this drunken dream a reality. Years of dreaming, planning, and rejection after rejection—we finally made it.
Mateo and I stood in the parking lot before a bold new sign that hung above the entrance. It was a black bat with a black and white sunset behind it. In bold white text, the name of our community center hung proudly. As I gazed upon it, I didn’t need to turn my headto know that my brother wore a matching grin, our fangs no doubt peeking out.
“Can you believe it?” Mateo asked, patting me on the shoulder. “Elias let us go and we’re not only existing, but fucking thriving. And because of this, more vampires will have the opportunity, too.”
“A nest for those without one,” I added softly. “I can’t believe we pulled it off.”
“Listen,” Mateo dropped his hand from my shoulder and turned to face me. His young face still holding onto the pride that beamed just moments ago. He tugged on the bottom of his black sport coat to straighten out any wrinkles. “I knew this would work. There’s nothing that we can’t figure out, Silas.”
I nodded. Right, all the loopholes we found just to get there were reason enough to believe that our dreams weren’t that far out of reach. Sure, they were annoying when it came to jumping through all the hoops, but not impossible.
“We never gave up.” Mateo looked over his shoulder as his wife finally stepped forward. She was wearing an equally professional outfit of a skirt and a blazer—certainly a lot less revealing than the last time I saw her. “We didn’t give up coming to the states and we didn’t give up making our way to this very moment.”
“Alright, my dear,” Quinn grinned widely, helping turn Mateo toward the doors. “They’re already waiting for us inside. You coming, Silas?”
“Be right there,” I replied, needing a final moment before following them inside.
As I watched them go inside, I straightened the lapel of my sport coat, took one last glance at the new sign above the doors, and marched forward. Stepping inside meant it was real. It would mean that wemade it, and now we wouldn’t just have to talk about wanting to help other vampires. Now, we could do it.
Inside, the community center looked just as we had envisioned it. The walls were painted a pastel green that wasn’t too light or too dark. It was the right shade that would complement the wall art we decided to hang—celebrating our history and all that we had endured. We also ended up getting the windows treated with a solution that would make it safe for vampires. No sun rays were going to scorch us while trying to get some help. There were tables and couches on one side of the main community area where people could just spend time together. On the other side, we had a few more walls put up to make private meeting areas for counselors. In the back, we created a break area for volunteers as well as an office for Mateo and me to share. From a blank canvas—our contractors and designers were able to work a miracle to get the space to where it was now. Yet another benefit of the treaties; contractors could work around the clock while utilizing human and vampire crews. What normally would have taken weeks, if not months, was accomplished in a much less time.
Opening day was not going to be an extravagant event like it was at the club. The community center was now operational; our services were finally open. Though I could imagine that Mateo wouldn’t skip out on an opportunity to give another speech. If there was one thing he was good at—it was public speaking.
While Mateo and Quinn were speaking to the few volunteers we had for these first few days of operation, I took my time to mingle with any people who were already present and exploring the community space. I admit my eyes did travel to the doors a few times to see if a particular dark-haired beauty would light up the space even more.
“Um, excuse me?” A young man stopped beside me and held out one of the brochure’s that we had set out around the many tables. Hedidn’t look older than fifteen with sandy-blond hair that reached just above his dark eyebrows. From the way his light grey eyes darted back and forth, I could tell he wasn’t human. “Is there someone I could talk to? I need to feed, but I don’t have a job and don’t know where I’m supposed to go.”
“Of course,” I responded, holding back the burst of excitement that I felt at the young man’s question. “You’ve come to the right place. We have some great resources here already that will help get you setup with the feed you need.”
“Really?” he smiled, still cautious. “I’m twenty, but I’ve been on my own since I was turned four years ago. Begging in Seattle just wasn’t cutting it anymore.”
I nodded and helped usher him further into the space, telling him all that he could expect from Little Wing.
And just like that… we were open.
There was little effort needed in convincing Kait and Reina to come to the grand opening with me. Reina saw it as an opportunity to dress up and to “see me in my element.” Kait, on the other hand, was curious about Little Wing, just as she was about all things concerning vampires. She asked questions about the community space that had me acknowledge that she knew way more about vampires—even beyond what she knew from me.
“So, it’s a community center for vampires? Sort of like those queer-friendly spaces?” Reina asked, adjusting her grip on my arm as we walked down the cobblestone streets from The Royal Nomad.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Kait said, looking over at us as she stuck a hand in her pocket. Her typical dress of a flannel top with a band shirt was replaced with a checkered collared shirt that she left partially tucked into the front of her slim slacks. “It’s a safe space for new vampires to learn about what they need to do to survive. I can’t imagine the kind of adjustment all this had to be for you guys. For anyone who is on their own—this can be that safety net that offers help instead of dismissing them as a nuisance.”
I couldn’t agree more. The more I learned from Silas, the more excited I became at the possibility of there being a placethat so many could benefit from. Despite what I had experienced, I felt well-adjusted to human life. However, I knew that wasn’t a common sentiment among many of our people.
“I agree,” I said.
When I smiled at my friends, it was genuine. The excitement around this event had me minding very little about my fangs being visible to them. This was going to be an incredible evening, finally being able to see all the hard work that Silas and his brother put into Little Wing. I had no doubt they were proud of everything they accomplished.
“Hey,” I cleared my throat, calling my friends attention to me. “I wanted to thank you for coming with me tonight. It means a lot that you both wanted to join me. Silas has been so nervous and excited—it has been quite endearing to see.”
“Silas?” Reina cooed, leaning over to wiggle her eyebrows at Kait. “You hear the way she says his name? Is this going to be the first time we get introduced to Lotus’s boyfriend? Officially?”
