Page 60 of How to Stake a Vampire

And I was going to make damn sure he paid the price for what he did.

19

BLOODY POLITICS

Headingfor the Alliance meeting that evening felt like going to another funeral. This one with potentially more deadly drama. The usual supernatural energy that buzzed through the Chamber of Commerce felt like it had been replaced by something heavier and more ominous as we approached the building.

Or maybe that was just my fevered imagination.

“This place smells funny,” Ellie said uncertainly as we approached the familiar oak doors.

She looked beautiful in a powder-blue dress from Moonlight Couture. Claudette had positively bawled when she’d seen my best friend’s bone structure.

“You get used to it,” Bo huffed.

“You’ve been here exactly once before,” Samuel remarked.

“I’m a fast learner,” Bo said, tail swinging.

“The Alliance members go back a long way,” I explained to Ellie.

“How long?”

“Centuries,” Virgil muttered. “Some of them are like pickles. Well-preserved and sour.”

The Tremaine heir looked handsome but distinctly uncomfortable in a formal suit he’d borrowed from Hugh. Ellie kept looking at him like she wanted to strip him and drag him behind a car.

“Can’t you control her?” Barney told Virgil coolly.

“Yes, her pheromones are making it hard to breathe,” Pearl affirmed with a curled lip.

Virgil flushed.

I shot a wary look at Barney. The vampire had dropped his office-worker facade completely, his usually relaxed demeanor replaced by something far more intimidating. I could vaguely see what the vampire ladies saw in him.

The doorman who had paled at the sight of me last Friday looked positively green this time around when he saw us.

“Good evening,” he managed with a gulp. “The Alliance is gathering in theTwilight Conference Room.”

“Don’t they always meet in theTwilight Conference Room?” I asked, trying to be friendly.

The werewolf froze like a deer in headlights.

Bo wagged his tail hesitantly. “Is that smoke coming out of his ears?”

Samuel sighed. “I think you threw him off his script.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

The doorman came back to life and gave our trio of guests a hesitant look, like he wanted to say something. He elected to open the doors without another word.

“Did that sign sayAll Species Welcome?” Ellie asked Virgil warily as we entered the lobby.

“Yes, it did.”

Ellie gave this some thought. “How many species are we talking about?”

Victoria cut her eyes to Virgil. “I thought you told her about the Amberford supernatural community?”