Page 32 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

Committee Room A turned out to be nothing like the formal conference room where we’d held our previous Alliance meetings.

Instead of a polished table and rigid chairs, the space felt like a supernatural gentleman’s club—leather armchairs, soft lighting, and a fully stocked bar that Finnic had already raided with the enthusiasm of a dwarf on a mission to get totally wasted.

“To victory!” the dwarf chieftain declared, raising his third tankard of the evening. “And to not dying horribly in a mine.”

“To not dying horribly!” Melvina cheered, Hilda and the other three warriors joining in with raucous ululations that made the lights tremble and Daria wince.

Didi lifted her wine glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

Gavin nodded firmly as he sipped a margarita, Detective Johnson holding a beer beside him.

Most of the Alliance had gathered for what Daria had diplomatically called a “post-crisis debrief,” but which felt more like a celebration. Even Oscar had emerged from his usual shadowy corner and was nursing what looked suspiciously like a Cosmopolitan.

“So,” Wendall said, addressing the room in general while pointedly not looking at me, “I suppose we should acknowledge that perhaps our initial skepticism was premature.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that an apology?”

“It’s an admission of tactical error,” he replied stiffly.

I looked at Samuel, who shrugged.

“I’ll take it,” I said grudgingly.

Oscar cleared his throat from his zone of murkiness. “For the record, I also may have been hasty in my judgments.”

“You tried to have her thrown out of her first Alliance meeting,” Melody pointed out sharply.

Oscar avoided everyone’s eyes and took a large gulp of his pink drink.

Finnic grinned smugly. “Some of us had the good sense to back the right horse from the beginning.”

Titania narrowed her eyes. “You were drunk during her first Alliance meeting.”

“He was drunk during all her meetings, including this one,” Portia corrected.

“Are they always like this?” Detective Johnson hissed at Finnic.

The dwarf hiccuped and nodded.

Daria sighed and poured herself another vodka.

Pearl looked supremely satisfied with herself where she lounged across the back of Victoria’s chair. “The rest of you simply lack proper judgment.” She swished her tail lazily. “I could tell how powerful Abby was when I first laid eyes on her.”

Hugh, Ellie, and I exchanged a loaded look at this barefaced lie.

Even Victoria had the grace to look embarrassed.

“Says the cat who spent most of the battle sleeping on Victoria’s lap,” Barney murmured as he drank his Bloody Mary.

“I was recharging my batteries,” Pearl said without missing a beat.

“For what?” Cornelius asked skeptically.

The cat blinked lazily. “To point out what you people did wrong.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Bo protested from the cushion at my feet. “I helped catch the bad guy!”

“So we heard,” Daria said drily.

“Good doggie,” Pearl added with the condescension of a queen.

Cornelius’s mouth had flattened to a thin line.

Victoria sipped her whiskey with the expression of a woman determined to ignore her supernatural pet’s diplomatic infractions.

Samuel took the chair next to mine, a martini in hand. He looked more relaxed than I’d seen him in weeks.

“So what’s the official Alliance position on recent events?”

Daria consulted a tablet that contained proper notes rather than the ones with the doodles she let slip in official Alliance meeting minutes.

“Ludvik Bludworth has been neutralized as a threat to Amberford’s supernatural community.

The ritual sites are in the process of being cleared and cleansed.

The stolen materials have been recovered and are scheduled to be destroyed. ”

Detective Johnson nodded a confirmation at the latter statement.

Constantia’s gaze flicked toward me and Ellie. “And the new developments?”

“Dear,” Gregory protested weakly.

Virgil frowned at his mother.

I swallowed a sigh. Here it came.

“Ah, yes,” Daria said awkwardly. “About that.”

The room grew quieter, though Finnic continued humming what sounded like a drinking song under his breath. Detective Johnson fidgeted nervously in his chair.

“Your abilities,” Portia told me and Ellie carefully. “They’re rather…unprecedented.”

“So I’ve been told,” I replied.

Melody watched me closely. “The question is, what do they mean for the balance of power in Amberford?”

“Nothing,” I said levelly. “I’m not interested in changing any balance of power. To be honest, I just want to go home and pretend the last week didn’t happen.”

Ellie spoke up from beside Virgil. “Same goes for me.” She jutted out her chin. “I didn’t ask to be turned into a vampire. Especially one with freaky powers.”

“You have to understand that pretending none of it ever happened isn’t going to be possible,” Daria said steadily. “What you and Abby demonstrated in that mine”—she glanced around the room—“well, it changes things.”

“It might change people’s expectations of us,” I corrected with narrowed eyes. “It doesn’t change who we are.”

“No,” Cornelius said, “but you have those powers nonetheless.”

Finnic spoke up.

“The pair of them have proven remarkably effective at protecting this community,” the dwarf grunted, raising his tankard.

The moment was ruined by his burp.

Though Samuel’s face remained impassive, I could feel the tension humming through him across our bond.

“When push comes to shove, Amberford could use protectors like them.” He looked at me and Ellie. “Not that I’m suggesting you sign up to the supernatural police force or anything.” He grimaced at Detective Johnson. “No offense.”

“None taken,” the police officer muttered.

I studied the collection of faces watching me with varying degrees of hope, wariness, and calculation.

“If something threatens the people I care about, I’ll deal with it,” I said reluctantly.

“Fair enough,” Daria said. “Miss Martin?”

“I’m still figuring out what being a vampire means,” Ellie replied. “But Abby’s right—if someone threatens my friends or family, they’ll have problems.”

“Speaking of family.” Gregory brightened. “There’s something Virgil wanted to announce.”

Constantia gave her son an encouraging nod.

Virgil flushed slightly under everyone’s gaze. “Ellie and I are moving in together.”

Bo’s head shot up.

My mouth went dry. “Moving in where?” I said numbly.

Ellie gave me a guilty look. “Well, we did talk about me moving into his place at first, but our apartment is bigger.”

“Oh.”

An awkward silence followed.

Victoria fixed me with a stare that spelled trouble. “Now’s a good time to reconsider moving in with us.”

Pearl swished her tail. “Victoria’s right.”

My palms grew clammy.

“She looks like she’s gonna bolt,” Detective Johnson told Didi and Gavin.

Samuel sighed at my hunted expression. He put his glass down and took my hands. “Moving in with me doesn’t mean surrendering who you are, Abby. I think this will be good for us.”

It was right up there at the top of the list of the scariest things I’d ever been asked to consider, but I decided not to tell him lest I hurt his feelings.

“I mean, I really don’t see why you’re making such a big fuss about this,” Didi muttered. “It’s gonna happen anyway, whether you like it or not. Such is the fate of mates.”

“She’s right,” Barney said with a shrug.

I narrowed my eyes. “Fred has a betting pool going, doesn’t he?”

The way Gavin flinched was all the answer I needed.

Oscar raised his Cosmopolitan before I could go super-werewolf on my coworkers. “To young love and questionable life choices.”

“I’ll drink to that too.” Finnic clinked his tankard against Oscar’s glass.

I pursed my lips, uncertain if I wanted my future happiness blessed by a demon and a drunk dwarf.

Samuel watched me with a hopeful expression.

“I won’t say no to a trial period,” I admitted reluctantly.

Bo perked up and wagged his tail enthusiastically. “Does that mean I get to be Fur Ball’s roommate?”

Pearl squinted like she was suddenly having mixed feelings about this.

“Abby’s a braver person than I am,” Wendall muttered.

Samuel lowered his brows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s moving in with your family,” Wendall pointed out. “That includes Hugh.”

“Fair point,” Samuel admitted.

“I heard that,” Hugh called out from where he was constructing some kind of layered drink at the bar. “I’ll have you know I’m a delightful housemate.”

“You set the kitchen on fire last month,” Victoria said sharply.

“That was an accident,” Hugh protested. “And it was a very small fire.”

Victoria scowled. “The fire department disagreed.”

My mouth pressed to a thin line.

I hadn’t even moved in yet and I was already starting to regret my decision.

Samuel clocked my expression.

“No take backs,” my alpha added hastily.