Page 58 of How to Stake a Vampire

I watched their display of mutual infatuation with mixed feelings. Virgil was practically floating off his chair and Ellie looked like she was ready to start composing sonnets about him.

Bo seemed equally ambivalent beside me.

“I don’t like this,” my dog finally stated a tad sullenly. “One of you gets bitten by a werewolf and the other one is now Miss Succula. I thought my life was going to be normal.”

“So did I, but here we are,” I muttered.

“Normal is overrated.” Pearl glowered at Ellie and Virgil with the look of someone throwing down her napkin. “Also,mustyou two be quite so demonstrative before noon? It’s bad enough Abby keeps trying to drain Samuel’s life force with her loins, now I have to contend with a pair of lovesick vampires under my roof.”

Samuel flushed. Victoria’s eyes glazed over. Hugh sighed heavily. Bernard eyed the pot of coffee like he wanted to lace it with booze and mainline its contents.

My mouth flattened to a thin line.

“I must say I’m still shocked at how well you’re holding up,” Barney told Ellie thoughtfully.

My best friend wrinkled her brow. “What do you mean?”

Barney waved a hand vaguely. “You have a neat appearance, you’re eating with utensils instead of tearing into raw meat with your hands, and you’re demonstrating a conspicuous lack of feral behavior.”

Ellie stopped eating and stared. “Is that how newborn vampires usually behave?”

“Yes,” Barney replied steadily. “Most newborn vampires spend their first few weeks in a state of barely controlled bloodlust. They’re typically violent, unpredictable, and completely unable to integrate into normal society. Not to mention their insane strength.”

I realized I’d missed out on a lot of information last night. It was also dawning on me that Samuel had taken a huge risk bringing Ellie to the Hawthorne estate. I now understood why Victoria, Hugh, and the Hawthorne pack enforcers had looked so anxious. My chest tightened.

I knew they’d done it for me.

“Well, I feel very integrated,” Ellie said firmly as she cut another piece of bloody steak.

“Maybe it’s love,” Bo panted.

We all stared at my dog, Ellie with her fork aloft.

“Like Virgil’s pheromones are keeping her sane, somehow,” Bo added, tail swinging.

“That mutt shows a surprising understanding of vampire psychophysiology,” Pearl grunted.

I stared, not least because I wasn’t expecting the word “psychophysiology” out of a cat’s mouth. “You mean he’s right?!”

Barney frowned. “It makes sense. Virgil’s blood must have created a stabilizing bond that’s overriding Ellie’s naturalnewborn instincts.” He glanced at me. “Your best friend is very lucky.”

I wasn’t sure my best friend turning into a vampire was luck, but I decided to keep that thought to myself.

Samuel sighed. “Well, at least now we can focus on the bigger problems still facing us.”

His serious tone cut through the room like Ellie’s knife though her steak.

“Ludvik is still out there and as dangerous as he was last night.” Samuel’s expression darkened. “I just hope he doesn’t attack more humans.”

Barney drummed his fingers on the table. “He’ll only do that if he needs a reason to create chaos. Though he likely intended to kill Ellie last night, turning her into a feral newborn would have served his purpose too.” He narrowed his eyes. “My great-nephew loves nothing more than a bloodbath where a lot of innocent people die as a distraction from his true goal.”

A fraught hush befell us.

“What’s our next move?” I asked tensely.

Samuel and Barney exchanged a look that made my stomach clench.

“We need to inform the Amberford Alliance at tonight’s meeting,” Samuel said reluctantly. “Gregory and Constantia have a right to know what’s happening, especially since Virgil is now a target.”