Page 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

By the time we arrived home, Shepard was on the phone, coordinating the hunting parties for the new nest Vena had located that morning. He also updated Doc on how the interview recording went.

Cross and I made lunch while he talked, and we discussed Bites and Delights planning while I ate.

Once Shepard hung up, I handed him his sandwich.

“Thanks. How does a watch party at the complex sound? Lisa overheard what happened during the recording and wants to turn it into something positive. It’s short notice since the show will air this afternoon.”

“I’d love to come,” I said.

“You’re invited too, Cross. If you can keep your lips to yourself.”

“I’ll do my best to resist.”

My phone buzzed with a group text with Miles and Vena.

Miles: Check this out!

A picture of a book page came through with the text. The paper was old and yellowed. On it was a drawing of a stone circle with what looked like a circular hula hoop standing upright in it.

The phone buzzed in my hands.

Vena: We need hints. What are we looking at?

Miles: It’s an ancient rendition of a fae portal. And guess what? It says they’re found all over the world.

Vena: Focus, Miles. You’re there to find information about the relic Grandma and Grandpa Hunter were looking for and a cure for vampirism.

Miles: Mom and Dad are sifting through GGH’s research history to check all the books they looked at before they disappeared. They’re hoping we’re missing something that will make it easier to figure out what exactly GGH were looking for or where they went last.

Vena: Is there anything we can do to help? Anywhere you need us to check?

Me: We won’t be checking. Shepard’s people will.

Miles: Nothing yet. I’ll let you know if there is.

“You’re frowning,” Cross said.

“Vena’s bored and going to get in trouble soon if you don’t give her something active to do.”

“Is she asking about that sex relic again?” Shepard asked.

“No, but that might be a good distraction if you can afford to lose Anchor for a few days.”

“I’ll talk to him after the watch party and see what he thinks. If it wasn’t about the relic, what was it about?”

“The other relic—the one Grandma and Grandpa Hunter were looking for. Miles found a book with a picture of a portal in it, and it says they’re found all over the world. He got excited, and Vena reminded him what he was supposed to be looking for.”

As I spoke, I sent Vena a private message.

Me: It’s the first time he’s excited about something. Be supportive. Remember what he’s been through!

Vena: I realized that after I hit send. I’m the worst sister ever.

Me: You know you aren’t. Just tell him good job and ask some questions about the portals. He needs to get lost in some research and forget for a while.

She sent me a thumbs-up.

Setting my phone down, I glanced at Shepard. “Should I make something for the watch party?”

“You don’t have to,” Shepard said. “Lisa will take care of the details. But if you want to, you can. Everyone will gladly eat whatever you make. I swear I feed the entire D.C. population rather than a house full of wolves and their families.”

I looked through the cupboards and refrigerator to see what I had. “How about bacon-wrapped watermelon?”

Shepard nodded his approval, and the pair of them talked as I prepared the shareable. It was mostly about Denise, what people would think of the show, and the protesters. I noticed a hushed conversation as well, but it didn’t last long.

Once I finished the bacon-wrapped watermelon, we headed to the pack house. He escorted us to the empty dining room and took my appetizer to the kitchen while Cross and I looked around.

The large room was ready with a projector pointed at one of the walls. Someone had positioned the tables in their normal checkered rows, but they’d turned all the chairs toward the screen. It reminded me of a comedy club setup, which seemed fitting since the interview had been a bit of a tragic comedy.

When Shepard returned, he said he needed to talk to a few people and would be back in a few minutes. I glanced at Cross, a little nervous about him being there without Shepard present. He flashed his signature smile at me and distracted me with Bites and Delights conversation.

A few people arrived early and started scoping out the snacks on the side tables. Lisa appeared from the kitchen.

“Get your sniffers out of there,” she said. “More is coming.” She bustled back into the kitchen.

Vena and Anchor walked in not long after.

“What did you make?” she asked.

“Bacon-wrapped watermelon.”

She made grabby hands. “Give me.”

“They’re in the kitchen with Lisa. She already scolded people eyeing the snacks that are out. Are you feeling lucky?”

Vena’s gaze darted to the kitchen door, and I smirked, seeing her hesitation.

“Let’s grab seats in front,” she said. “I can’t wait to see the interview. Heard Cross went off script.”

“The entire interview went off script,” Cross said.

Vena picked out a table, and we sat down. As more people showed up, Vena said hello to nearly everyone. It obviously hadn’t taken long to find her place in the pack. Everyone seemed to like her. Some of them even laughed with her at an inside joke they shared.

How did they have inside jokes already?

Was I a little jealous? Yes. But I was also happy for her. Joining any kind of group came with complications, but it seemed like everyone accepted Vena.

I smiled at her and marveled at how our lives were changing.

Shepard arrived a couple of minutes before the show’s scheduled air time.

“Can I have your attention?” He waited a moment for the room to quiet. “This interview didn’t go as planned. We’d hoped for an unbiased interview, but that wasn’t the case.

“I still think Cross and I made some good points. But one thing is very clear after this interview, and I will say it now for all of you to hear and understand: The world is changing, and we need to change and adapt with it. Coexisting with vampires will become normalized. If we can’t adapt, we will be shunned like the vampires have been in the past.”

Shock rippled through the room, and Shepard held up his hands.

“I’m not saying you have to befriend vampires, and I’m not saying we will stop hunting them. I’m saying there will be change. Not all vampires are killing humans. Some might deserve a chance to prove themselves.

“Make peace with it. Because peace is our goal.”

He stepped aside and nodded to the projector operator.

Shepard dragged a chair over to our full table and sat next to me as a commercial came on for fake coins to put out for fairies.

He reached out to hold my hand. As his thumb stroked over my skin, I wondered if he was nervous about his pack’s reaction to Cross’ kiss. He’d obviously told a few people about it if Vena already knew.

The room quieted as the opening segment of the show played. When Shepard and Cross appeared, a few of the pack cheered, but Lisa quickly shushed them. The producer hadn’t cut anything out of the recording, leaving it just as it was with a few enhancements, like up close shots of Shepard’s ticcing jaw, a few eye rolls by Cross, which I’d missed, and a slow replay of the kiss and the punch that followed because, in real-time, it was a little hard to see what had happened.

A few women chuckled at the kiss while the men mostly frowned, but when it came to Shepard’s punch, they laughed. Shepard squeezed my hand lightly in an unspoken apology.

The segment didn’t end after Shepard walked off set, but it didn’t show what Cross had said about being an exception, either. It cut to a shot of Denise saying there was obviously more to the hate werewolves had for vampires than they were willing to let on.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Vena asked.

“She made us look like we’re the problem,” Bear said angrily.

Shepard stood as the grumbles increased.

“Like I said, I didn’t expect the interview to be pretty, but Cross kept his cool when I didn’t, and he made some valid points. The fact that a vampire said vampires are dangerous and killers will hopefully hold more weight than having me say it.

“Hugh is already running damage control. Trust me when I say he wasn’t happy with how we were set up for this interview. We’re not liars. He was ready to tell the truth and thought Denise was ready to hear it. A miscalculation on his part that he promised won’t happen again.

“But let’s focus on the positive. We’re more than a novelty TV show, and the world now knows it. We’ve officially stepped out of the shadows. Change always comes with a few bumps, but we can handle it.

“Now, who wants some of this amazing food your mates provided?”

The mass exodus from the chairs was a little chaotic, and Vena jumped into the fray without hesitation. Shepard left to talk to a few people. The conversation turned lighter, and rather than scowls, I saw smiles.

“He’s quite the motivational speaker, isn’t he?” Cross asked.

“He is. But so are you. Come on, let’s make a plate before Vena eats all the bacon watermelon.”

Being at the complex with Cross didn’t feel as weird as I’d thought it would be. Shepard had chased him out of bed the last time he was inside. That’d also been the last time the three of us slept in the same bed together. I wondered if it would ever happen again because I’d kind of liked it.

“You’re distracting us both,” Cross said as he added a finger sandwich to my plate.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking around for Shepard.

He was on the other side of the room, staring at me while someone talked to him about something that needed big hand gestures.

“We both have noses. What were you just thinking about?”

“None of your business. Will you carry that plate to our table for me or surrender it?”

He carried it, and I sat next to Vena, who was scrolling through the comments regarding the werewolf “breaking news.”

“A lot of haters, but more are questioning vampires now. Someone said they tried to go to one of the Night Club meetings, but the people who came to meet him looked sketchy, so he bailed. Finally, people with common sense.”

“Um…aren’t we waiting for a call to meet up with sketchy people?”

“Yes, but it’s different for us. We’re using common sense to ferret out the truth while staying safe. Right, babe?”

Anchor gave her a doubtful look, and she pouted.

“You’re supposed to support everything I do and say.”

“I do. I just doubt your ability to keep yourself safe.”

“That’s why I have you,” she said, hugging his arm.

He flushed and took another bite of his food. At the same time, an alert sounded on her phone. It was the ominous one she’d set up for Orphia.

“Don’t do it,” I said. “Don’t be a mood killer.”

She was already tapping on the notification to open the link to a video. I made a face when I saw Orphia and her fake, chilly smile.

The room quieted as we all listened to Orphia’s rant.

“You may have seen the recent interview between a vampire and a werewolf. Don’t be fooled. It was staged to suppress the truth about the prejudice werewolves have against vampires. It was blatantly obvious in the way the leader of the werewolf organization treated the supposed vampire at his side.

“And I say ‘supposed’ because a wolf would never willingly sit next to a vampire. The vampire would be dead within seconds. Other than the so-called vampire’s speed, there’s no proof he is one. He might be a werewolf or even an infamous vampire hunter with a fae charm, enabling him to move faster than a normal human. After all, vampires can’t walk around in daylight, which was when the show was pre-recorded.”

She then gave the address of the pack complex and suggested that those who wanted the truth protest until Shepard explained his unjustified hate and duplicity.

“I’m going to kill her,” Vena said.

“You might need to stand in line,” Cross said, glancing around the room.

People had gone from contentedly eating food to looking like they were about to shred clothes and turn into wolf form.

“Protesters are going to start arriving by the bus loads,” Vena said.

Shepard muttered a soft curse and ordered more guards to surround the building. “Do not engage if they are peaceful. We call the police first because they are trespassing. If they turn violent, we detain them quickly and carefully. I don’t want to see any bruises on them if we can help it. Understand?”

The responding chorus of growls seemed to indicate that they understood since Shepard let them go without another word. He came over to us after.

“You should leave now. I need to stay and ensure nothing happens that will make this situation worse.”

I hugged him. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault, but thank you. Once everything is under control, I’ll come to you.” He shared a quick glance at Anchor, who nodded.

Vena caught it. “Wait. I’m leaving, too?”

“Just for tonight,” Anchor said.

“The protesters have been peaceful so far.”

“That doesn’t mean they’ll remain that way,” Shepard said. “Stay with Cross and Everly for tonight.”

“But I have knives.”

“Yeah, I think that’s why they want you to leave,” I said. “You might be the triggering factor.”

Her mouth dropped open for a second before she said, “Fine. I’ll go with the babysitter.”

“Anchor will join you later,” Shepard said.

Vena grinned. “Yay. Come soon,” she said to Anchor, then looked at me. “Get it? Cuz he can’t yet.”

I shook my head at her.

Vena patted Anchor. “Only 399 to go, babe.” She took my arm and ushered me to the door. “Cross’ whole place is soundproofed, right?”

I sighed as we walked out to the SUV.

“Shotgun,” Vena called, running to sit in the front as I moved to the driver’s seat.

“It truly is like babysitting,” Cross said, climbing into the back with a half grin.

When we were halfway down the driveway, I asked, “They’ll be okay, right?”

“I should think so,” Cross said. “Nothing about the protests so far has indicated it will get violent, and Vena found a few people turning in our favor on social media.”

“And if not, our guys are badass wolves that will tear out throats for breakfast,” Vena said unhelpfully. “Can we do a marathon of The Other House tonight? Maybe if we watch a lot of them, the producers won’t cancel the show.”

I agreed since it was barely after four o’clock, and I didn’t want to think about the protesters. Watching The Other House with Vena would be like living at our old house before life turned complicated and dangerous.

“And you’ll make peanut butter popcorn?” she asked.

“One batch and no dropping any on the new couch.”

“Deal.”

After we arrived home, Vena helped herself to a pair of my pajamas, and we both changed. I made the popcorn with Cross’ help as she turned on the TV and navigated the menu. She and I settled on the couch together. It was just like old times.

Cross sat in a comfy leather chair next to us, asking a question about the show now and then but content to just hang out with us.

When I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, Cross quietly told Vena to claim a guest room when she was ready. He picked me up off the couch and carried me to our room.

* * *

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I knew I was no longer snuggling with Cross. At some point in the night, they had switched.

“Morning,” Shepard said sleepily and hugged me even closer to him.

“Morning. When did you get here?”

“A few hours ago.”

“Is everything okay at the pack house?”

“For now. Hugh wants Cross and me to do another spotlight interview in a few days to explain our relationship and the kiss. Especially my reaction to the kiss.” He sighed. “Not looking forward to it.”

He mumbled something about a troublesome vampire and nuzzled into my neck.

The door flew open, and Vena bounded into the room with her hand over her eyes. “Cover your privates!”

Shepard groaned. “The ass didn’t lock it.”

She waited a beat. “Are your bits covered? If they’re not, I don’t care. I’ve seen too much at wolf run night. I’m immune.”

“What? What’s wolf run night?” I asked.

She dropped her hand and grinned. “It’s when the moon is full, and the guys all strip down and run. I’ve never seen so many mate masts in my life. You have to come next time.”

“If I say yes, will you go away?”

“No. I have juicy news.”

“What?”

“Shross is shipping!”

Shepard glanced at me, confused. I returned the look.

“It’s too early for this, Vena. What is Shross?”

“It’s Shepard and Cross. A fan group is shipping them as a couple. You should see the fan art they have already. It’s spicy.”