Page 150 of The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends

“Forgot about yourself in the mix, did you?” they said, lips quirked in a smile. Quinn was bulky and round with buzzed hair, elaborate vines tattooed on their neck. They wore a black-and-gray suit.

That was part of it, and Brennan accepted the pack gratefully, but didn’t dig in, because the other part, the more important part, was: “Where’s Dom?”

Quinn frowned sympathetically and nodded toward a hallway off the side of the ballroom. “Talking with Nellie about her options,” they said. “You should really drink first.”

So Brennan did, while Cole made sure each and every one of their friends was undamaged, offering them Band-Aids and ibuprofen.

“Say, who’s responsible for getting all this blood?” Quinn was saying. “And do you have any interest in helping with blood drives in the future?”

Tony started hooting while Mari turned flustered, and Brennan took the opportunity to slip away from the group, shaking his head when Cole caught his eye with concern. He needed to do this part alone. He headed toward the hallway Quinn had nodded to.

Outside the ballroom, music and laughter muted, Brennan could hear Dom’s shaky breaths. She was on the floor with Nellie crouching beside her, next to the women’s restrooms in an elaborately decorated hallway.

“So,” Brennan said. “Which part of the plan was that?”

Dom sniffled. “I’m sorry. He just—he manipulated me so much. I hate him for that. Ihatehim. And then I saw him and the mess and… I stopped it.”

“You stopped him, Dom,” Nellie soothed. “He endangered secrecy. He knew the penalty would be death this time. It’s what he wanted.”

“He saved my life once,” Brennan said. “He could have been… He was soclose.”

“He was alwayscloseto being good,” Nellie said. “Never quite made it there.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Brennan.”

Fuck. “What now?” Brennan asked.

“You go back to your life,” Nellie said. “Sunny covers our tracks.I write a new pamphlet about today. And Dom… this is only strike one for Dom. She’s getting transferred to a new clan. She’ll try out a few, actually, to figure out what she wants in her life. Afterlife. Kind of a vampireEat Pray Lovesituation. It’ll be amazing for her.”

“Right,” said Brennan. Then, remembering, “What about Rosie?”

The clack of high heels behind him announced Sunny’s presence. “You know, Rosie was actuallymydog before Travis was banished to his domain? It was his one condition of submitting. He took my damn dog.”

Nellie said, “But hey, thanks for holding down the fort, big guy.”

Sunny gave Brennan a narrow-eyed once-over. “It could have gone worse.”

“Aw, Sunny,” said Brennan, “I missed you, too.”

Sunny rolled her eyes, checked her phone, typed out a quick message, then nodded to Dom.

“You ready to go?”

Dom wiped her eyes and started to stand up.

“What, you’re leaving now?” Brennan said.

“She’s kind of a danger to urban clan society,” Sunny said, still texting one-handed. “It’s partially punishment. She can’t hang out to party. And so, neither can I.” She jerked her head toward the lobby. “Let’s go.”

Dom straightened her dress and hovered near Sunny.

“Brennan,” she said. “I’m sorry about Travis. And. Thank you.”

And in a move that shocked Brennan to his core, she surged forward and hugged him. Quick and tight, and then she withdrew again.

“Is that it, then?” Brennan asked. “Will you have your phone, wherever you are?”

Sunny shook her head.

“I’ll find ways to get in touch,” Dom said, smiling slyly, and Brennan had no doubt she would. He wasn’t sure if he was scared or looking forward to it.