Page 71 of The Hunger
“Right? I was impressed. Based on the looks he was getting, quite a few of the ladies were impressed, too. You might have some serious competition for his affection soon.”
“Good. I hope he finds someone. Just not Dewy.”
“I wanted to squish her so bad but knew the brownies would stop talking to me if I did.”
“I flicked her out of the air once,” I admitted. “I feel zero guilt. She was going to poke me in the eyes.”
“Meh, I don’t feel even a twinge of wickedness from you, so it was justified.” Megan grinned at me.
“Are you worried about feeling any at the club tonight?”
“Should I be?”
“I honestly don’t know. Regardless of all the protective spells on the place, it’s a feeding ground. I imagine not everyone there will be nice. Eugene made it sound like he had a close call on Friday after I left. He said to thank you, too, for getting him back into school.”
“It’s stupid to make him stay home when everyone else is going about their lives like thousands of banshees didn’t scream a week ago.” She shook her head and was a little aggressive when she cut the tomato.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s frustrating me that the Council isn’t putting a priority on discovering what caused it. And it’s not just the one here. All the strongholds are like, ‘meh, bad shit happens all the time. Used to be worse when the gods were around.’ Oanen’s the only thing keeping me from strangling them all.”
She stopped slicing and looked at me.
“I want to go see the Oracle.”
“But you’re not going to,” Oanen called from the living room.
Megan gave me a do-you-see-what-I’m-dealing-with-here look.
“I think, considering the mermaid graffiti decorating the car, you should only go there as a last resort.”
“Thank you,” Oanen called. “That’s what my parents said too.”
“The mermaids don’t worry me. I can hell gate to the witch’s cave and out without ever touching the water.”
“She’s an oracle, Megan. She can see future events. Who’s to say that the mermaids didn’t do that to my car because the Oracle already told them that you’ll be coming?”
She made a face at me.
“Stop trying to be reasonable, Eliana. Your logic isn’t welcome here.”
I laughed. “How long have you been waiting to say that to me?”
“Since the moment you said it to me,” she said, refocusing on the tomatoes.
We turned our conversation to less serious things like going to check on Kelsey and Zoe soon and speculating how long Adira would continue to absent herself from my business now that Megan was back.
Once the table was set, we called the guys into the kitchen, and the four of us ate a relaxed dinner together. The burgers Megan had made were good, but they weren’t what I needed. As discreetly as possible, I fed from Fenris while I nibbled on my meal. I knew he felt it based on the surge in his lust, but he gave nothing away.
After we cleaned up, Megan dragged me into the guest room so we could change clothes. It felt so good to have her back in my life. She was the same hopeless Megan when it came to fashion and let me dictate her makeup and hair.
When it came time to put on our dresses, she teased me when I turned my back on her, but it wasn’t mean or judgmental. She accepted me as I was, just as Fenris did.
However, when I turned around and she saw the front of my dress, she howled with delight.
“Tell me Fenris hasn’t seen this yet.”
“He has. But with body paint to cover up the middle.” I reached into my bag for the paint, but the jar was missing. Panicked, I dumped the contents onto the bed.
