Page 11 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

T he night I saw her at The Royal Nomad, I knew I wasn’t drunk.

There was something different about that woman—about…

Lotus. I wasn’t able to put my finger on it before, but now I knew.

That strange tint to her face but not her hands—she was covered in makeup.

Those rings around her iris’—she was wearing contacts.

As I clutched the book under my arm, I couldn’t hold back a cackle. What the fuck was going on? Was I not in on some elaborate prank?

“She’s a fucking vampire,” I said to myself.

I knew it in the moment my eyes finally met hers.

There was an absence of a dancing, fluttering pulse.

She had no fragrance of any human blood type.

All I could sense was that quiet hum that could only be heard in immortals.

We bled black and were void of warmth, yet Lotus attempted to obstruct that by painting her face.

Sure, humans likely couldn’t tell just by looking at her perhaps from a distance, but up close?

She was full vampire. No amount of makeup could conceal that.

The intrigue I felt that first night only intensified.

The questions I thought would be answered by seeing her again and hearing her speak only multiplied.

What I thought I could decipher about her completely changed.

I needed to know more about her otherwise I’d work myself up into madness.

A madness brought upon by a woman who barely said a word to me.

Yet in those few words that she did speak, I could feel there was so much more to her, so much more that I wanted to discover. What lay beneath all that camouflage?

But more importantly, who was Lotus?

The morning hours were quickly approaching, so the possibility of catching her at the bar would likely be slim, unless she was so deep in her delusion that she would risk exposure to the sun.

She wouldn’t, right? Surely it couldn’t have been denial of what she was.

As much as I wanted to continue to find out more about her, I wanted to do so without the threat of daylight interrupting us.

The next few weeks kept me and Mateo occupied, but thoughts of Lotus were never too far behind.

Between work and finding a space for Little Wing, I made any excuse I could to drop by the bookstore, even if just to stand and flip through pages of books I had no intention of ever reading.

I still purchased them though, because it forced an interaction with either Lotus or her coworker.

I’d take any chance to get a closer look at her.

But on an evening when I’d normally drop by the bookstore or the bar, Mateo and I finally had an appointment with Benjamin to visit a possible location we could buy.

Renting at that point was proving to be a shitshow.

After so many rejections on the offers we put in for a space for Little Wing, Benjamin finally found a location that made it feel like all those rejections were supposed to have happened.

It was perfect, just minutes outside the heart of Fairhaven.

It was spacious and had plenty of room for renovations to truly make the space our own .

As Mateo and I stood in the empty room only outfitted with a small kitchenette, I could feel the rush in the air. The exhilaration that threatened to explode from my brother unless he finally said something.

“This is perfect!” Mateo exclaimed as he threw his arms up. He grinned with his fangs bright and on display before turning to Benjamin who was leaning against the counter beside the small sink. “Benji, my guy, you’re making dreams come true here!”

Benjamin’s smug expression communicated just that.

He knew how much this meant to us, but also how much it could mean to someone like his sister.

Despite the treaty being in place, this open-armed acceptance still didn’t feel like second nature to many.

Benjamin felt like an exception, one we certainly appreciated.

“Glad you two like it,” he finally said.

As he folded the sheet of paper and placed it in his folder, he stepped away from the kitchenette and approached us.

“The space is reasonably priced—only a few hundred over your budget, but I’d think making that adjustment with your bank on the loan shouldn’t be a big deal.

I think I can help get the price down a little bit more, considering your renovations and such. ”

He continued with more realtor jargon, but I couldn’t focus anymore.

Visions of a future materialized as I wandered around the empty space.

A space that would soon be painted and decorated to welcome anyone who needed a helping hand.

Little Wing would be there for young vampires seeking direction and help, but it would also help humans better understand their vampire neighbors, friends, and family.

Little Wing would be the community hub that would make seeking that assistance more accessible.

Mateo believes in this vision. I believe in it.

And if Benji, and others like him believe in it—then all the hoops we’ve had to jump through will have been worth it .

“What do you think?” Mateo asked, nudging me with his elbow. “I think we can swing the extra few hundred if we make a few changes, but—” He forced an exhale before he threw his arm around my shoulder. “This is fucking perfect.”

I nodded slowly. “Let’s do it. And even if they refuse—”

Mateo raised his hand and smiled softly. “We have all the time in the world, brother. We’ve seen twelve rejections already and that hasn’t stopped us. Little Wing is happening.”

In the few centuries that I was able to call Mateo my brother, our passion and drive for a better future never changed.

Even if the way and reason we were turned by Elias differed.

Mateo offered himself to save his family while I was saved after being beaten to the brink of death.

My eyes might burn a bright silver while his a gentle blue, but our blood runs the same, laced with Elias’ gift of eternal life.

Whatever our origins were, whatever our past, there was no denying we cherished our life with Elias, Camille, and our siblings.

Even if now only in a memory. There was warmth within those cold stone walls of our home that was only possible because of our makers guiding us and teaching us to be the best we could be.

It was that sense of family and community that remained the foundation of what Little Wing would be.

Despite how things ended, the days when our nest was at its best helped shape our vision that we one day scribbled onto a napkin at a noisy vampire bar.

The knowledge that we were on the precipice of something truly amazing lingered in the air between us.

After agreeing to put in an offer, Mateo provided our verbal agreement to Benjamin to begin the needed paperwork.

I took my leave to wait for them outside.

The cool winter air still felt good on my skin.

In that moment it felt more refreshing than bitter.

Only a few minutes later, Mateo walked out to meet me as we watched Benjamin drive off, likely heading straight home as the sun had set a few hours ago.

“Where’s Quinn tonight?” I asked, still looking ahead. “Trying out any of those moves from the book?”

“Where’s that vampire cosplaying a human? Out donating blood?” Mateo shot back.

“Damn, went for it, didn’t you?” I smirked.

Mateo switched his demeanor between ridiculous and serious without skipping a beat.

Sometimes you had to know him the way that I did to get a sense of which was which.

Lucky for me, I had a few centuries to understand Mateo-speak.

If anyone could roast me without getting their ass handed to them, it was my brother.

In all seriousness, I told Mateo about Lotus and how I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

It had been weeks, and no one caught my interest the way she did.

Thinking of her and craving to be in her presence was starting to sound like the beginnings of an addiction.

I had no problem admitting that I was addicted to her mystery.

She was devastatingly beautiful, and I spent plenty of mornings already pondering what I could possibly find, if I only plucked away a few petals of her facade.

I watched Mateo tap away on his phone, likely ordering a ride to see Quinn, which meant that my evening opened up.

There were no classes, no essays to grade, and no meetings around Little Wing to attend.

I finally had a free evening. Before Mateo’s ride arrived, I pressed my tongue against my front teeth.

The questions I wanted to ask begging to be voiced.

“Hey,” I started.

“What’s up?”

“What do you make of that?” I said, motioning to my face and pointing at my eyes. “The makeup thing I told you about. I can’t stop thinking about it. Have you heard of anyone doing that? Even Mom didn’t do that when she went out around humans.”

Mateo shrugged. “Mom wasn’t in denial about being a vampire. She was just tired of hiding.”

I nodded and scratched my head. “Right.”

“Did this Lotus person deny being a vampire?”

“Well—”

“Did she outright say that she is human and will bleed like one, too?”

Well, he was right. She didn’t, but then again, I never asked.

How could I? Most of my interactions with her were her dismissing me quickly after I made a purchase.

Damn it, my room was full of books I would likely end up donating to Little Wing at some point.

But Mateo was right—I had to ask otherwise I would seriously lose my mind.

I suppose I had more questions to add to my artillery for when I would see her again.

“You good then?” Mateo asked, motioning with his phone to the approaching car service.

“Yeah, brother. I’ll see you at home.”

With that promise, I glanced at my own phone, calculating just how much time it would take for me to walk along the cobblestone path that would eventually bring me to where I knew my bewitched mind would no doubt lead me.

I guess I found my evening plans after all.