Page 20 of Help Wanted, Vampires Inquire Within (Ours Evermore #6)
By now, Skyler had straightened up and taken a chair between Cora and Briar. The book she was holding lifted into the air and floated to the wingback chair. A small, clawed hand grabbed it. Sopek must’ve said something because Skyler smiled and nodded.
“She looks happy, and Sopek has never hurt anyone in the book club,” Mason said. “I’ve heard he gave Imani and her flock void magic.”
Mason didn’t think it was possible, but Jack paled beyond his normal fair complexion. “He infused their auras with magic straight from the void? No, that’s impossible.”
“Not only is it possible but it happened,” Tobias confirmed. “When Imani and her flock get here later, you’ll be able to see it.”
Jack shook his head. “I’m shocked by the amount of magic in this area. Far more than any other place I’ve ever lived.”
“Same,” Tobias agreed. “They’ll be at this for at least a few hours. Come join us. Mikey has some laced blood. It doesn't take away all the worry, but it helps.”
Mason waited for Jack to follow Tobais before he joined them at the end of the bar. He could see the hobgoblin now. It amazed Mason that so much power could be held in such tiny bodies.
“It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?” Jack murmured, picking up Mason’s thoughts. The longer they were together, the better they got at hearing through their bonds. “Nothing should be so powerful. But at least they’re mostly benign.”
“Mostly,” Mason grumbled. “Until they get annoyed and cause a tsunami.”
“That was only once,” Jack said.
“That we know of,” Mason reminded him, then picked up the beer Mikey set in front of him.
He hadn’t felt this tense since first meeting Skyler.
It wasn’t that he thought Sopek would do anything, but he hated the idea of something that powerful so close.
He liked it better when he was one of the most powerful creatures in the room.
He really wanted to relax so Skyler could enjoy this night without feeling his tension.
He picked up the beer and downed half it in one long swallow. “Thanks, Mikey. I’m going to need two more of these and two shots of whatever.”
Mikey gave him a knowing look. “I’ll get you the same stuff I drink every book club. It’s got a bite but won’t make you feel like shit tomorrow.”
“Great,” Mason said as Jack leaned close and rubbed his back with a comforting hand. “Then I’ll take three.”
Skyler
Mason wouldn’t get into the SUV. He wasn’t drunk-drunk, but he wasn’t being cooperative either. He kept trying to get them all to walk to the beach, even though Downward Dog wasn’t anywhere near the beach.
Wrestling a massive gargoyle, even when he was in his human form, wasn’t easy. All the wolves were staying back. Mason didn’t have a soul bond with them, and they liked having all their teeth.
“It’s this way,” Mason said, walking east and trying to drag her and Jack with him. He stumbled a little and came up against a sign post. “Hey, where’d that come from?”
Skyler had an idea. Stepping away from her side of Mason, she moved to the open door of their vehicle. “Mason!”
When he looked at her, he straightened away from the pole and ended up leaning heavily on Jack. Thankfully, the vampire was more than strong enough to support Mason’s bulk.
“Yes?” Mason said, with a big, sloppy smile. “Why are you so far away? We’re going to the beach. You like the beach.”
Skyler lifted her shirt to show off the lacy bra she’d bought last week when she’d gone shopping with Maddy. “Come get me!”
The playful smile disappeared. Mason growled and lunged at her. He wasn’t as coordinated as usual so with a squeak, she let go of her shirt and scrambled into the SUV before he reached her. Jack and the wolves roared with laughter as Mason clambered in after her.
She put herself at the far end of the middle row. In a blur of motion, Mason grabbed her and sat down with her in his lap.
“Pretty,” he mumbled, nuzzling her face and putting a hand up her shirt.
Skyler giggled and pushed his hand away. “Wait till we get home.”
“Okay,” Mason said without resentment. He dropped his hand to her lap but buried his face against her neck. He loved to do that. He claimed the scent of her skin was the best smell ever.
Jack sat next to Mason. The gargoyle wrapped an arm around the vampire and squished him close. “Also pretty.”
“Thanks,” Jack said with an indulgent smile.
The rest of the wolves got into the vehicle, and Remy settled in the driver’s seat.
They’d only traveled about five minutes before Mason’s head fell back against the headrest, and he started snoring.
Sklyer tried to move off his lap, but he made a grumbling sound so she stayed where she was.
It wasn’t a hardship to sit in Mason’s lap.
Through their bond, she could feel that he wasn’t in a deep sleep.
The feelings coming from him were fuzzy and adorable.
When his phone started to ring, he grumbled but didn’t try to answer it. Because he was half leaning on Jack, Skyler could pull it from his pocket.
“Hi Elena!” Skyer sang into the phone. She loved Mason’s mom. The woman was a joy and made the best food!
“My son must be asleep,” Elena said, clearly amused.
“Yup,” Skyler agreed. She wasn’t going to out a drunk Mason to his mom. That would be rude. Besides, it was better to keep it a secret until she needed blackmail material! “I can give him a message when he wakes up.”
“I want all of you over for dinner on Sunday,” she said. “We have family visiting, and they all want to meet you and Jack.”
“We’d love to,” Skyler said, already looking forward to the feast Mason’s family would put together. They chatted for a while longer before ending the call.
The wolves in the car had gone quiet while she talked to Elena, but with the call finished, they started being noisy again. The Clover Pack didn’t know how to have a quiet conversation. Everything was done at full volume!
“It looked like you had a good time with the book club,” Jack said as the wolves talked around them.
“It was so much fun!” Skyler enthused. “I can’t wait for the next one.”
“Do you guys pick books or read whatever you want?” Jack asked.
“Both,” Skyler explained. “We can talk about the assigned books or the most recent books we read. If enough people are interested, the book could end up on the list for the next meeting.”
“What’s next on the list?” Jack asked.
She dug her phone out of her pocket and opened the book club group chat.
“We’re all going to read either Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, or The Spy in the Struggle by Aya de Leon.
I think they try to pick different genres so more people get to read what they love best, like Tag.
He’s a big fan of mysteries but isn’t really interested in other genres.
Sopek reads everything so he doesn’t care. ”
She felt a spike of curiosity come from Jack and could guess what he was going to say next.
“How do you know Sopek?”
“He came to our land once with Santel. Santel was the hobgoblin that taught us about weaving,” she explained.
She’d been about ten at the time but had been enamored by Sopek’s wingback chair.
“I think he came to talk to Mom and Dad about old apothecary books, but then he and I talked about the Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I’d just finished reading it and felt special that he found my interpretation of it interesting. It’s one of my fondest memories.”
Jack shook his head. “Most of us go our entire lifetimes without ever meeting a single hobgoblin, but not nymphs.”
“I don’t understand why everyone is so afraid of hobgoblins,” Skyler said with a frown. “They’re sweethearts!”
“Oh yes, very sweet,” Jack snorted. “Until they disappear you into the void.”
Skyler rolled her eyes. “They almost never do that. And Sopek wouldn’t do that to any of us book lovers!”
A wave of affection and amusement came through the bond from Jack. “Yes, book lovers are sacrosanct,” he agreed, obviously fighting a smile.
She relaxed against Mason and stuck her tongue out at Jack. “Don’t make fun. Books are the best.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “The best?”
She pretended to think it over. “Well, you and Mason are fun too. But I’ve traveled through time and space in books. I’ve saved worlds and fallen in love many times. How could either of you compete with that?”
“I guess we’ll have to try harder,” Jack purred.
“What’s hard?” Mason asked, half-rousing from his light slumber. Before she could answer, his head fell back against the headrest, and he was out again.
She, Jack, and all the wolves burst out laughing. Pure happiness filled the car and Skyler’s heart. No book she’d ever read ended as happily as her reality.