Page 34 of Little Wing
Someone who settled his mind.Did he truly mean me?
“Hey…” Silas stopped and squeezed my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles. “You look beautiful.”
“As do you—you look very handsome. Almost as if you were not nervous at all.” I offered a quick jest to settle my slow-beating heart from speeding up anymore. Any more rapid beats and I could haveeven confused myself with a human. “But—” I whispered as he looked upon me. “Thank you. It’s not quite bare, but—”
“It’s perfect,” he whispered back before placing a ghost of a kiss against my lips. Giving my hand one more squeeze he let go and excused himself to join Mateo on the small platform. They truly did look like a team when they stood next to each other. The pride that they shared was truly infectious. They were two very proud men who were finally seeing their dream realized. Now all they would have to do is watch Little Wing thrive. I could only imagine the excitement that they were trying to keep at bay—the kind that would have them speaking quickly and screaming their joy into the microphone.
That was self-restraint that even I admired.
“Everyone,” Mateo started, giving everyone a few moments to quiet their chatter and turn to face him. “Silas and I wanted to take this time to welcome you to Little Wing. This is our grand opening, and we are beyond thrilled to see you all here.” He paused, looking down at the podium where he likely had some notes to reference. As he continued talking about the services that the community center would be providing, I could not help looking past him to see Silas fidgeting with the cuff of his blazer. Knowing what I knew about his siblings from his nest, I had no doubt that this was a very special moment for them. While his brother sold the excitement with a tone and posture fit for a salesman, Silas looked more reserved and pensive than I had ever seen him.
There was the man whose confidence I envied and admired, but he looked trapped in his thoughts. He was only pulled back to the present when Mateo addressed him to step up to the microphone.
For a long moment, Silas looked at it, and then into the crowd. That same reluctance remained on his face until his eyes stopped on mine.That pensive expression soon faded, turning into a gentle smile that I felt was only for me.
“You got this,” I mouthed with my own smile in response. I pointed to my fangs in a gesture to smile.
Silas nodded and huffed a quick breath. “Well, my brother is definitely the more experienced public speaker,” he chuckled, which earned scattered laughter across the crowd. “I wanted to take a moment to speak from the heart.” His eyes never left mine. “Little Wing is here for those who have ever felt lost in a world that speaks of unity and acceptance without the resources to help you succeed.” He paused and I watched him clench and unclench his fist.
“Little Wing honors those who have left us, because they did not have a nest to support them or teach them how to survive in this rapidly changing world. Little Wing is here to make sure that vampires, both young and old, don’t succumb to a preventable demise. Never again.”
Applause and cheers began to erupt around me.
“Little Wing is here to make sure you never feel like a second-class citizen, never like you are less than." He stopped abruptly, his eyes burning into mine. “That who you are is enough, and you don’t ever need to hide what you are.”
I could sense those around me begin to look around until they noticed that Silas was staring directly at me. For the first time in a long time, I stood in a room full of vampires and did not mind that I was being looked at. None of it mattered because I could only focus on Silas as his gaze made me feel all those words he promised for Little Wing—I felt he promised those things to me too.
Had it not been for the crowd cheering around me, I would have used the fuel of confidence in his promise to walk up to him and kiss him. I settled for clapping. Once the speeches were done and the crowd returned to exploring all the services offered, I watched as Silas andMateo greeted more people and shook more hands. When Silas was up there, he spoke clearly and confidently.
I couldn’t help thinking that I was the reason why, and that thought delighted me more than I ever thought it would.
After all the speeches from Mateo, Silas, and other featured speakers, I watched the crowd disperse. Some took brochures while others went off into private rooms to meet with counselors—really putting Little Wing and its resources to use. I figured Silas would still be busy, so I turned around to go back to where I last saw Reina and Kait. There was no expectation for them to still be around seeing as it was getting late, but before I knew it, Reina was rushing to me.
“Oh my gods!” she squealed and gripped me by the wrists.
“Is she okay?” I laughed nervously, looking to Kait for answers before glancing down to Reina. “Reina? Are you alright?”
“Did you SEE the way he was eye-fucking you?!”
“W-what?” I stammered. I could only hope that Silas was still preoccupied with guests to overhear my friends questions. “He was clearly nervous. You heard him, he needed someone to focus on to keep him calm. You may think he’s very charismatic, but public speaking certainly spooks him a bit.” I knew I was just digging myself a deeper hole.
“I mean…” Kait rubbed her forehead. “That was a pretty intimate stare. I had to unbutton my collar a bit.” Sure enough, the two top buttons on her shirt were undone.
“You too?” I covered my face, feeling incredibly grateful not to be turning many shades of red.
Kait held up her hands in truce once I brought my hands down to flatten out any wrinkles on my dress. She gave Reina’s purse strap a quick tug, getting her attention.
“Right,” Reina smirked. “As much fun as it is giving you crap, we do have to head out now. Kait has work in a bit and I have a date!”
“Oh?” I eyed them both suspiciously.
“Yup! A cute vampire girl. But you know what, I’ll just give you details about it tomorrow at work, unless you call in because you’re too tired from your own hot vampire sex.”
Even as I swatted at Reina playfully, I felt so lucky to have friends like them. Not only were they helping support a business in Fairhaven, but they were also taking the time to come with me. They could have left hours ago or not shown up at all. While they had plans, I chose to remain at Little Wing, watching more people leave or connect with volunteers. Guests whispered excitedly among each other. Perhaps they were coming to realize that they would be safe. That they would have a shot at a normal life despite no longer being human. The thought crept up often—would my life be different had a place like Little Wing existed? Would Luca have help that would keep him from laying an ill hand on me?
Before I could venture even deeper into the thought, I felt a calloused hand gently brush against my arm. Silas was back beside me looking exhausted, but relieved.
“Hey, you.” I cocked my head to the side and watched his body begin to relax. I had no doubt that maintaining that confident grin had to be exhausting. “You did great up there.”
