Page 21 of Bride

I was, of course. Many, many times, and I encountered many, many people who acted like that sparkly bitch. Because the bracelets, the necklaces, the vials of blood, were nothing but messages. Displays of discontentment for an alliance that, while long established, in many pockets of the population was still controversial.

I expected something even worse from the Weres. I wouldn’t have been shocked to see five of us impaled in the yard, slowly bleeding to death. No such thing, though. Just a bunch of sycamores, and the flutter of my new friend Alex’s rabbity heartbeat.

Oh, Alex.

“I know I said this is Lowe’s house, but he’s the Alpha, which means that lots of pack members come and go, and his seconds who live in the area are, um, pretty much always here,” he says, walking me through the kitchen. He’s young, and cute, and wears khaki pants with an improbable number of pockets. When I met Junoearlier today, she clearly wanted to shove me under a giant magnifying glass and burn me alive, but Alex is just terrified at the idea of showing a Vampyre around her new accommodations. And yet, he’s rising to the occasion: running a hand through his mop of light hair to let me know that “There have been, um,suggestions, that you might want to store your, um...thingsin the other fridge over there. So if youpleasecould... If it werepossible... If itisn’ta bother...”

I end his suffering. “Don’t keep my gory blood bags next to the mayo jar. Got it.”

“Yes, thank you.” He nearly slumps in relief. “And, um, there are no blood banks that cater to Vampyres in the area, because, well—”

“Any Vamps in the area would be swiftly exterminated?”

“Precisely. Wait, no.No, that’s not what I—”

“I was kidding.”

“Oh.” He pulls back from the verge of a heart attack. “So, there are no banks, and you’re obviously not at liberty to just walk in and out of our territory—”

“I’m not?” I gasp, and instantly feel guilty when he takes a step back and fingers his collar. “Sorry. Another joke.” I wish I could smile reassuringly at him. Without looking like I’m about to butcher everything that he holds dear, that is.

“Do you, um, have... preferences?”

“Preferences?”

“Like... AB, or O negative, or...”

“Ah.” I shake my head. Common misconception, but cold blood is nearly flavorless, and the only things that would influence its taste would disqualify people from donating in the first place. Illnesses, mostly.

“And when do you...?”

“Feed? Once a day. More when it gets really warm—heat makes us hungry.” He looks queasy at the mention of blood, more so than I’d have expected from someone who turns into a wolf and mauls rabbits by the litterful. So I wander away to give him a minute to recover, taking in the stone accent wall and the fireplace. Despite the chill, there’s something justrightabout this house. As though its place was meant to be here, carved between the trees and the waterfront.

It’s probably the nicest home I’ve ever lived in. Not bad, since there’s a nonzero chance that I’ll also croak in it.

“Are you one of his seconds?” I ask Alex, turning away from the waves lapping at the pier. “More— Lowe’s, I mean.”

“No.” He’s younger, softer than Juno. Not as defensive and buttoned up, but more jittery. I’ve caught him squinting at the points of my ears three times already. “Ludwig is... The second from my huddle is someone else.”

His what? “How many seconds does Lowe have?”

“Twelve.” He pauses to stare at his feet. “Eleven, actually, now that Gabrielle was sent to the...”

Gabrielle, I file away for future perusal. God, is that the mate? Was she his wifeandhis second?

Alex clears his throat. “Gabrielle will be replaced.”

“By you?”

“No, I wouldn’t... And I’m not from her huddle; it’ll have to be someone who...” He scratches his neck and falls silent. Oh, well.

“Are there any close neighbors?” I ask.

“Yeah. But ‘close’ is different for us. Because we can...”

“Transform into wolves?”

“No. Well, yeah, but...” His cheeks have an olive tinge. God, I think he’s blushing. Because of course they’d flush green. “Shift.We call it shifting. We don’t become something else. We just kind of toggle between two settings.”

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