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15

Thanks to closed doors,I survive my first weekend with Noah. It’s now Monday, and I have an appointment with my new dietitian.

“Why are you nervous?” Noah asks as we walk into a suite of offices that look like they could belong to any group of doctors. You’d never know this place specializes in vampires.

Several sets of eyes fall on me as we enter the waiting room.

“Are all these people vampires?” I whisper.

“No, some are pre-vamps, and others are conservators.” He nods toward a boy stacking blocks. “And that’s probably just someone’s kid.”

There’s an abstract sculpture hanging on the wall, likely picked up at a discount home goods store. The chairs and couches are tan, and an oversized cream-colored rug carpets the barnwood-style laminate floor. There’s a Keurig in the corner, along with a shelf of magazines and kids’ books.

It’s all very normal…except a dental sign outside the office at the far end of the space states the importance of regular fang cleanings.

“Nope.” I turn back to the entrance. “It’s too weird.”

Noah catches my arm and drags me back, somehow making it subtle so we don’t create a scene. He then steers me toward an office. The plaque hanging by the door reads, “Clark Bentley, Registered Dietitian.”

“Hey, Janice,” Noah says to a receptionist, his tone warmer than usual. “Piper Edwards has an appointment at nine.”

“Noah, is that you?” the woman exclaims, her eyes widening with unadulterated joy when she looks up from her computer. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

The receptionist is in her mid-fifties. Her hair is short, blonde, and perfectly styled, with reading glasses tucked into it. Her nails are eggplant purple. She has a plump, smiling face, and according to the lineup of small yellow tubes next to her pen holder, an addiction to lip balm.

“I was transferred to Denver,” he answers.

“I heard you were promoted to hunter. Why are you hanging out with the pre-vamps again?” She smiles warmly at me, like the term is an affectionate one.

“Piper is a special case.” He drops his arm over my shoulders, all friendly-like, and I nearly swallow my tongue.

“Lucky girl,” the woman says, and then she’s all business. “Now, tell me, Piper, is this your first visit with us?”

Noah gives my shoulders an encouraging squeeze, enveloping me in the clean scent of drug-store deodorant, and then he releases me.

Slowly, my brain buzzes back to life. “It is.”

“We’ll need you to fill out some paperwork.” Janice hands me a clipboard. “They’ll call you back in a minute.”

“What do I do with him?” I jerk my thumb at Noah.

The woman smiles. “You’re encouraged to take your conservator into the appointment with you, but of course, it’s entirely up to you. Noah will wait out here if you’d prefer to go in alone.”

“I’m going,” he says matter-of-factly. “I’ve never babysat a vegetarian before.”

“You’re a vegetarian?” the receptionist asks.

“Well…I was,” I say. “I’ve been eating too much cow to really consider myself one anymore.”

“Beef,” Noah corrects. “We carnivores call itbeef.”

“Whatever.”

Noah chuckles, but Janice looks concerned. “Oh, honey. How sick did you get?”

“It was pretty bad, but then my doctor prescribed steak and blood. Now I’m feeling rather human. Ironically.”

“You’re still human,” Noah says.