Page 3 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

DECISIONS AND DISTRACTIONS

The silence that followed Pearl’s pronouncement was so thick you could have cut it with a silver knife and served it at a vampire dinner party.

Victoria and Samuel were staring at Pearl like she’d lost her feline mind.

“Pearl?” the Hawthorne matriarch said uneasily.

“ What are doing?! ” Samuel hissed at the cat. “We said we wouldn’t let Abby get involved in Alliance matters!”

“ You said you wouldn’t let Abby get involved in Alliance matters,” Pearl retorted. “I know you want to protect your luna, but it’s pretty clear she needs to step up if we want to stop the Alliance from doing something stupid, like the dwarf says.”

“Hear, hear,” Finnic said, waving his tankard unhelpfully.

Every pair of eyes in the room had swiveled to me with an intensity that made me want to crawl under the table. Which, considering the table was occupied by some of the most powerful supernatural creatures on the East Coast, probably wouldn’t have helped anyway.

“Well,” Daria said slowly, her pen hovering over her notepad. She put it down and leaned back in her chair. “That’s a novel perspective.” She fixed me with a penetrating stare. “Even though Abby is not officially an Alliance member, I think we should hear her thoughts on the matter.”

“The white wolf did demonstrate considerable influence over the artifact,” Cornelius agreed with a grunt. “She’s probably the only one who can control it without tapping into a ley line.”

I bit my lip worriedly. It was clear from the Tremaines’s and Portia’s anxious expressions that they were thinking about how the white wolf had commanded an entire ballroom full of supernatural elites to sit down like obedient puppies.

Wendall’s nostrils sparked again. “With respect to Ms. West’s unique abilities, this is hardly her area of expertise.” His tone suggested he was finding this whole situation about as appealing as a root canal performed by a troll.

“Neither is it yours, Wendall,” Melody pointed out with that dangerously sweet smile of hers. “When was the last time any of us dealt with a cursed artifact of this magnitude?”

“The 1800s,” Gregory muttered under his breath.

“Exactly my point,” the witch-fae continued blithely. “We’re all flying blind here. At least Abby has actually used the thing.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I wasn’t sure “used” was the right word. It had been more like desperate improvisation spurred on by my wolf. I said as much.

“That’s the best kind of improv,” Finnic declared, raising his tankard again. “Nothing teaches you about magic quite like nearly dying from it.” His eyes hardened a little. “Ask me how I know.”

I was starting to get the feeling the dwarf had either led an especially dangerous life or was as accident prone as my best friend Ellie.

Samuel leaned forward stiffly, his protective instincts humming through our bond. “Abby’s connection to the skull was circumstantial. She was trying to save lives, not conduct a magical experiment.”

No one missed the slight growl underscoring his voice.

“Nevertheless,” Oscar said from his arena of darkness, “the fact remains that she succeeded where others would have failed. That suggests a natural affinity that shouldn’t be dismissed.” His gimlet eyes studied me like a cat would a mouse it had found wandering inside its food bowl.

“Or it suggests she got lucky,” Wendall shot back.

I was about to express heartfelt agreement with the dragon newt when Samuel spoke.

“Lucky?” An edge had crept into his voice. “You think it was luck that let my luna stop an entire ballroom full of supernatural creatures from tearing each other apart?”

Victoria’s expression turned glassy. “Samuel, you’re meant to be downplaying Abby’s role in that incident.”

Samuel looked like he was past caring at this point.

I had to admit, my alpha coming to my defense made my insides all warm and gooey. Of course, that could also be acid.

The dragon newt had the grace to look slightly abashed at Samuel’s glower. “I merely meant?—”

“You meant that because she’s new to our world, she couldn’t possibly understand the complexities of magical artifacts,” Samuel interrupted.

“Sometimes an outsider’s perspective is exactly what we need, though.

” He scanned the table, his expression stony.

“Everyone in that ballroom was so busy following the rules of engagement they’d established over centuries that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Had it not been for Abby, we’d all be slaves pandering to Camilla’s every whim right now. ”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Daria broke it.

“Which brings us back to my original question,” the witch said succinctly. “What are we going to do about it?”

I became the object of everyone’s stares and realized they wanted an answer from me.

“Sometimes the best solution is the simplest one,” I said hesitantly.

“And what would that be?” Daria asked.

“Lock it away. Somewhere secure. Preferably heavily warded, so it can’t hurt anyone ever again.” I paused. “And then everyone should do their best to forget it even exists.”

The Alliance exchanged wary glances.

“That’s asking a lot from a bunch of supernatural creatures who like to dream up ways of stabbing each other in the back,” Cornelius said with a heavy sigh.

“Exactly,” Oscar added with a surly pout from his alcove of gloom.

“It’s a good thing we have a white luna in town,” Portia said sharply.

Melody ignored her fellow Alliance members and studied me with otherworldly eyes. “You don’t want to understand how it works? How you were able to channel its power?”

“Nope,” I said firmly. “Holding that thing was the spookiest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” I made a face. “Never mind the naked guy that popped out of nowhere straight after.”

Samuel, Victoria, Portia, and the Tremaines shuddered at the memory of a nude Arthur Holt. Pearl looked like she was considering regurgitating a fur ball.

Daria cleared her throat and rapped the table with a gavel. “Alright. All those in favor of securing the crystal skull in our containment facility indefinitely?”

Hands went up around the table. Victoria, Samuel, Gregory, Constantia, Wendall, Cornelius, Portia, Finnic, and somewhat reluctantly, Titania.

“Opposed?”

Oscar raised his hand. Melody hesitated, then did the same.

“Abstaining?” Daria asked distractedly for the sake of it while she made notes.

Bo put his paw up. Everyone stared at him, Pearl with a heavy dose of pity.

“You’re not a member of the Alliance,” Daria pointed out coolly.

Bo wagged his tail. “I was trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.”

Daria’s face took on the expression of someone who’d spent far too long in my dog’s company. “Motion carries. The skull will remain in our containment facility.” She glanced at me. “Thank you for your input, Abby. It was illuminating.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or a polite way of saying I’d confirmed everyone’s worst fears about letting newbies into Alliance meetings.

“Right, then.” Daria consulted her agenda. “Next item. Gregory, I believe you have some concerns about recent activities in your territory?”

“Yes. There have been some minor incidents at several of the blood banks in the area. Small amounts of inventory have gone missing.”

“How small?” Wendall asked.

“A few pints here and there. Nothing that would suggest organized theft, but enough to be noticed.”

Finnic waved dismissively. “It’s probably just a hungry fledgling who hasn’t learned proper vampire etiquette yet.”

Cornelius and Titania nodded.

I debated asking how one became a vampire fledging and where blood banks got their blood from but decided to file those questions in my things-I-should-never-ask folder. I pursed my lips.

Judging from recent episodes, this folder should also include never asking supernatural creatures about their lineage, diet, or personal sanitation.

“That was my first thought as well,” Gregory said with a faint frown. “However, the pattern is unusual. The thefts are happening during daylight hours, which suggests either a very bold fledgling or something else entirely.”

“Could be a ghoul,” Melody suggested. “They’re not bound by the same limitations as vampires.”

“Or a human who’s discovered our community,” Oscar added ominously from his belt of gloominess.

“We’re investigating all possibilities,” Gregory said. “We simply wanted to make the Alliance aware of the situation in case anyone knew something that could help us find who’s behind it.”

“Thank you, Gregory.” Daria looked around the table. “Anything else pressing? Or shall we call it a night?” she said with undisguised hope.

“Actually,” Melody said, her voice taking on a dangerous sing-song quality that even I was starting to recognize as meaning trouble, “I wanted to discuss the upcoming winter solstice celebrations. There have been some territorial disputes regarding venue assignments.”

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

It was clear the term “territorial dispute” was a red flag in the Alliance’s world.

I recalled that one of Hawthorne & Associates’s roles was to manage said disputes and shot a wary look at Samuel.

My alpha’s eyes had darkened. “What kind of territorial disputes?”

“Oh, nothing too serious,” Melody said in a tone that made it clear it was in fact deadly serious. “Just the usual disagreements about who gets to use the old cemetery for their rituals. And possibly some hexing. Very minor hexing, really.” She laughed.

The temperature in the room was now rapidly approaching subzero.

“Define ‘minor,’” Samuel said flatly.

“Well, nobody’s been turned into a toad. Permanently, I mean.”

I caught Victoria’s eye. Her expression mirrored my own thoughts about the many different ways this situation could go catastrophically wrong and how badly Samuel was going to react to it. I swallowed a sigh.

And here everyone was worried about how I was going to behave at this meeting.

Bo chose that moment to stick his head up above the table. “Are we almost done? Because I need to pee and I’d hate to do it here, with all of you watching. No offense, but some of you really creep me out.”

The Alliance members stared at my dog, nonplussed. A few faintly accusing gazes switched to me.

“It’s not like I can control his mouth,” I said guiltily.

A handful of frowns suggested I should.

“Right,” Daria said, rubbing her temple. “Perhaps we should table the solstice discussions for now and reconvene next week to address the territorial disputes.”

“Probably for the best,” Cornelius agreed. “These things tend to sort themselves out if you give them time.”

“Or explode spectacularly,” Titania added blithely.

Samuel groaned.

“Thank you for that optimistic assessment,” Wendall muttered.

“Motion to adjourn?” Gregory suggested.

“Seconded,” came from multiple voices around the table.

“All in favor?” Daria asked.

Every hand shot up with suspicious speed.

“Meeting adjourned,” Daria announced, relieved. “Same time next week, assuming we all survive the interim.”

The Alliance members nodded at me curtly as they started filing out of the room. I couldn’t help but notice the way they gave me a wide berth.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” I said. “At least I didn’t offend anyone.”

“Oh, you did, dear,” Victoria murmured.

“I did?” I stared. “But—everyone was being nice. And the building is still standing.”

Samuel, Victoria, and Pearl exchanged a look.

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

“You were doing that thing you did at the ball,” Samuel explained quietly.

I blinked. “What thing?” I froze, my belly clenching as I grasped their meaning. “Wait. You don’t mean that white wolf pacifier thing where I unconsciously soothe supernatural creatures’ emotions?!”

“Yes,” Samuel confirmed stiffly. He faltered. “I don’t think any of them realized it was happening.”

My stomach sank. “And if they had?”

“We’d be scraping bits of you off the burning wall right now,” Pearl said with zero compunction.

Bo’s ears flattened.

That answer was going to keep me up at night.

“If Elizabeth possessed such a power, it was never recorded anywhere,” Victoria said in a troubled voice as we left the conference room. “We should try and figure out what it is.”

Elizabeth Rochester Hawthorne was Victoria’s great-great-grandmother and had been a white luna.

Not only had she united the New England packs during the Shadow War that had coincided with the American Civil War, she was also responsible for creating the town of Amberford and several other supernatural settlements in New England.

“Maybe some things are better left as mysteries,” Samuel suggested.

For once, I had to agree. The way my wolf had gone quiet told me we might regret finding out what that power was.