Page 44 of Becoming One
“Stumbled on what?” Orion asked.
Shaking his head Sabien replied, “I don’t know. I told him not to do anything without me. The dumb fuck went ahead anyway, and Strife and I have been searching for him ever since I got finished with my set and he didn’t show.”
“You’re telling me that Rad was a PI guy?” Strife asked in awe.
“He wasn’t a PI, Strife, but he was our friend and because of me, he’s dead,” Sabien said, hanging his head.
“But he was so good at baking,” Strife muttered. “He made those small dairy free cakes I like so much, and his tarts were amazing. Oh! And do you remember the dairy free spinach quiche he would make for me? Now who is going to do that, Sabe? I don’t know how to bake, and you can’t even boil hot water.” Strife started sniffling.
Jewel handed Strife a tissue, and Strife murmured, “Thank you.”
Strife looked up and around the room. “Can I get something to eat? My blood sugar is dropping, I can feel it falling fast. It happens when I get upset.”
Jewel smiled. “Of course. Jael?”
Orion looked up to see his long-time friend staring a hole through Sabien. Orion said a bit louder, “Jael?”
The man seemed to be on another planet until Ezra said, “Jael!”
Jael’s head jerked up. “Yes, Re?”
“Can you have the cook make a plate for our new friend, Strife?” Ezra asked, then looked at Sabien. “Would you like something as well?”
Shaking his head, Sabien replied, “No thank you, Re.”
Jael turned and left the room, and Ezra turned his attention back to Strife. “Have you ever taken a look at Heskel’s coven files, Strife?”
Strife’s gaze darted quickly at Sabien and back, then down at his hands. “Maybe.”
Ezra smiled at the man sitting in front of him, saying, “You’re not going to be in trouble, Strife. I want to know if you found anything that you think might be of interest to me or this situation?”
Strife nodded. “I haven’t had a chance to look through them long enough to find a lot, but I did find an encrypted file. It’s called Operation Capere.”
“That’s Latin for takeover, Ezzy,” Jewel gasped.
Nodding, Ezra replied, “Yes, it is, love.”
“We need that file,” Orion stated.
Strife looked at Ezra and then Sabien. His fear once again palpable. Jael returned with a plate and sat it on the desk in front of Strife then stepped back. Strife looked at Jewel and asked, “Can I have a couple of tissues, please?”
Jewel handed the man his tissue and everyone watched as Strife removed the bacon from his plate and any egg that might have touched it and did the same with the potatoes.
“Is there a problem?” Ezra asked,
Shaking his head, Strife replied, “No sir. It’s just I’m an Ovo-vegetarian which means I don’t eat anything dairy or any type of animal, although I do eat eggs.”
“I thought vegetarians didn’t eat anything that came from animals, including eggs?” Nelson asked in confusion.
Shaking his head, Strife said, “Oh no. You have the Lacto-Ovo. They eat both dairy and eggs. Or the Lacto that can eat dairy but not eggs. Then of course there is the vegan. Now they don’t eat dairy, eggs, or anything produced or coming from animals.”
“Huh,” Nelson muttered, then said, “I’m curious, how is it you’re a part of Heskel’s Coven but you are not a Vampire? I mean Ezra has some members here who aren’t vampires but they are mated to them.”
Strife set his fork down and looked at Nelson. “I’m not exactly a part of the coven.”
Nelson tilted his head to the side, saying, “I can smell you are from the antelope family, but you are not exactly an antelope.”
“I’m an Oryx shifter. However, my herd was killed many years ago. I was on my own until I found Sabien wandering through the forest one day. We’ve been best friends ever since. Heskel doesn’t exactly know I’ve been living on the land,” Strife answered.