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“An errand? This late?”

“I need to pick up something from a friend.”

“Oh, okay.” She looks a bit disappointed.Does she want to spend more time together?Annoyingly for me, it doesn’t matter if she does, I need blood. Tightening her purse strap on her shoulder she opens the car door and steps out. “Thank youagain.” She dips her head in and slides out, heading for the elevator.

I don’t dare pull away until I know she’s safely inside. Blowing out a breath, a wheeze of pain escapes and I dig out my phone. Speed dialing my contact she picks up in one ring.

“What do you need?” Her voice is young sounding. A stark contrast to her age.

“Five pints. Stat.”

“Rough night, huh?” The teasing lilt in her voice is not appreciated.

“Shut up. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just have it ready.”

My wheels squeal on the road and splash rain everywhere as I drive like a bat out of hell.

“You’re so fucked.” A chuckle and the line goes dead.

An aggressive clang of metal on wood sounds as I throw open the front door to my supplier’s business. The bells tied to the top nearly fall off in my rush to get blood.

“Slow your roll, Speedy.” The blond-haired woman scolds me and places a cooler in front of my face on the countertop.

Without any acknowledgement I tear open the lid and rip into a bag of O negative. A moan slips out as I feel the rush of liquid into my system. I’m sure I look like an absolute savage but the burning in my throat was almost too much to bear up to this point. I haven’t been this close to falling into bloodlust since I was first turned.

“Celine’s really got your panties in a twist, doesn’t she?” Luna arches one perfectly manicured brow and taps her fingers on the table while I start on my second bag.

I give her a scowl while I continue to drink and only when I’m finished with my third bag do I finally feel like myself again. Sighing, I sit down on the barstool of the coffee shop bar and level her with a no nonsense look.

“How’d you know?”

“I could see you perched on the roof of the building across the street like a ginger gargoyle the other day watching her. You’re not slick. You killed one of my patrons.” She raises a brow at me, but I don’t apologize. “I’ve known you for twenty years, Zav, you don’t stick around unless something catches your eye, and I think that something is a five-foot seven-inch-tall brunette. Spill.” Her smile is teasing, but curious.

“You’re too nosey for your own good, Luna.” My empty blood bag lands next to her, narrowly missing her face when I launch it her way.

She wipes a fleck that’s landed on her wrist. “How else do you expect me to live out my eternal life? Gossip is what makes the world go round.” Wavy hair cascades over her shoulder as she grabs all the emptied blood bags and tosses them in the incinerator she keeps in the closet.

Luna and I met in the early 2000’s in New York City. A one-night stand gone wrong solidified her fate as a forever twenty-four-year-old. The bastard was a one pump chump who turned her and ran—the guy nearly drained her by accident and felt bad about it so he turned her.

I’d be lying if I said we didn’t mess around in the beginning, both lonely and needing companionship, but we quickly found we were better as friends. She was someone I made sure to stop and say hello to if I was in town.

Plus, she keeps a blood stock for vamps in the area. A coffee shop by day and blood bar by night, it was the perfect cover. Humans would never be able to fathom what walked among them right under their noses.

“She’s my mate.” I drop the bomb figuring I should get it out of the way.

It’s probably wrong of me that she’s the first person I tell, but I’m pretty sure Celine would run screaming from me if I told her. Or worse, laugh.

A clunk echoes throughout the room when she drops her phone on the ground. Her mouth is a perfectly round “O” shape that would be comical if the shocked expression on her face wasn’t as annoying as it was.

Here come the twenty questions.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” The shrill squeak she lets loose makes me cringe. She gives me a punch in the shoulder.

“Why would I joke about that?” Already exasperated by the conversation I start to sip on my fourth blood bag thankful my fangs have fully retracted now. I’ve already run through my head how ludicrous the situation is, not that I’d trade Celine for anything.

“Zavier Lockwood.” Her face holds the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. “You have a mate. And it’s Celine.” Her face morphs back to shock. “A human. That’s rare!” A slight breeze tousles the hair falling over my glasses when she rushes over in a blur. Plopping down on the barstool in front of me, I lean back when she encroaches into my space. “Tell me everything. How did you find out? Does she know? Of course, she doesn’t know, that means you'd have told her what you are. When are you going to tell her you’re a vampire? You’ll have to since she’s a human! Will you turn her? How will she rea?—”

“Luna. For the love of God shut up.” Already fed up with her questioning I cover her mouth with my palm and pull it away once she stays quiet. Her teeth nip at my hand like a little fledgling and a hiss comes out. I bop her on the nose. “You brat. I’ll tell you if you promise to keep your lips zipped.”