Page 5 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

“ I ’m sorry, fellas. They didn’t accept the offer.”

Mateo and I were seated on the other side of the table where Benjamin, our realtor, tapped away on his keyboard.

This was the twelfth offer we had put in on a space for Little Wing and the celebrations were now feeling more like a deflated balloon being dragged along the floor. Guess we celebrated a bit prematurely.

My eyes traveled from his sullen expression and lingered on the desk littered with folders containing other client contracts.

Mateo’s chair squished under his weight as he leaned forward, pressing his clenched fists against the gray wood surface.

I retained my focus on the armrest of my seat, barely concerned about leaving an indent on it from gripping it so firmly.

“Benji, there has to be something else. Did they tell you why they rejected our offer?” Mateo asked, his brow furrowed. He knew what the answer would be. He knew why they kept denying us. And even someone as hopeful as Mateo… he too had a breaking point.

I could tell he was getting more worked up, as he deserved, yet all I could do was say his name wearily. Ha… like that would hold him back.

“No, Silas. I’d like to know. Because this is complete bullshit.”

“Well,” Benjamin started, moving his attention from the monitor and finally back to us. “Big part of it was that they were given a cash offer that they couldn’t refuse.”

“And the other part?” I finally chimed in.

“They didn’t think your business would be a good fit for their plaza.”

“Fucking FUCK!” Mateo cursed and got up with enough force that the chair was knocked over behind him.

Benjamin didn’t even flinch. He looked just as disappointed as I did.

Despite being human himself, he had shown a great deal of respect for vampires.

He was able to accommodate our nocturnal lifestyle and really did try to locate the best listings for our community center.

He had a sister who was recently turned, so he often looked to us when he had questions about how to best support her in this new life.

Because while the treaty worked for much of Fairhaven, there were still many out there who either feared vampires or simply refused to accept us.

There would always be prejudice. Such was life.

When he bowed his head in disappointment, I really didn’t need to hear the reason we were denied but hearing him say it just enforced my desire to keep trying. Even though in that moment defeat felt more certain than anything else, it made Little Wing something worth fighting for.

As soon as Mateo’s anger simmered, I stood up and held out my hand to Benjamin, who shook it without any hesitation.

“We’ll get there,” I said, trying to assure myself more than anyone else.

Benjamin shook my hand firmly and got up from his seat as well.

“You know I won’t stop looking. I’ll find something perfect for you guys. ”

“Thanks, Benji,” Mateo uttered, setting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Disappointment was expected, but twelve rounds of this?

It was impossible not to feel at least a bit discouraged.

We didn’t think that securing a loan and business license was going to be the easy part.

Every day, people setup businesses and spaces were rented out.

All we needed was at least a fraction of their luck, because that’s what it had to be, right?

Once we left, Mateo and I stood outside the office in silence.

Defeat was a weight that sat like a boulder on our shoulders.

I didn’t want to say it, but it felt nearly the same as when we watched our siblings slip from our grasp.

It felt out of our control, and yet the pain crippled us.

Here we were fighting and holding out hope for an opportunity to honor their memory and to help others in ways we failed before.

Whatever we would need to do, I would be ready.

“I don’t really want to go home right now,” I stated, glancing at my watch. It was barely past midnight.

“I gotta go see Quinn,” Mateo sighed. He ran his hand through his sandy hair and turned to look at me. “I’ll need to let her know what happened and I honestly just don’t want to be home. Where are you gonna go?”

“Probably a bar.”

“Drowning your sorrows in booze and pussy?” Mateo’s lips tipped into a smirk.

Though the same disappointment shrouded him, he never stopped trying to make light of any situation.

And he was right—most nights I did walk into a bar for the comfort of crimson and a woman around my arm.

It wasn’t anything serious and they certainly never expected much from me.

Human women wanted the experience of sleeping with a vampire and they often offered themselves up as donors.

I was simply happy to provide such a service .

Tonight, however, I felt fucked enough already by the assholes who were making it close to impossible to find a space for Little Wing.

As I watched Mateo walk away, I knew that I would have to figure something out in order to get Little Wing back on track.

I’d have to find a way, because this was the one thing we couldn’t back down from, not when we were so damn close.

Since Mateo went to go spend his evening with Quinn, I allowed myself to wander Fairhaven before my feet carried me to the closest bar I could find: The Royal Nomad.

It was a human bar, but since all bars were required to carry some form of synthetic blood, I knew I could find a distraction. At this point, anything would do.

The Royal Nomad was just about what you’d expect from a human bar. Live music, a rowdy crowd, and a barkeep who didn’t keep her patrons waiting. It was the perfect setting for me to get lost in, to distance myself away from the disappointment from earlier that afternoon.

I walked up to the bar and ordered a bottle of crimson; it was the only liquor for vampires that gave me a solid buzz.

And after today’s shitshow, I needed to feel…

something. After slipping the woman in plaid a few bills, I grabbed the bottle and stepped to the end of the bar where I could watch the scene of the evening unfold.

Nearly an hour and two bottles of crimson later, I watched as the doors opened to allow a dark-haired woman in. She wasted no time in rushing straight to the bar where she sat and struck up a conversation with the bartender, like she was just one of the locals.

She looked human. No, wait—what the hell?

I lowered the lip of my bottle from my mouth and allowed my evening's focus to shift to the woman who ordered a glass of dark liquid before she got up to serpentine through the human crowd .

I didn’t think I was intoxicated, but the woman who appeared at The Royal Nomad looked to be wearing the features of a human while lacking the warmth that came with having a heart pumping red blood.