Page 28 of The Vampire and the Tattooist (The Vampire and Series Book 4)

Kevin and Creed were up early, intent on going downstairs and getting breakfast started, but his mum was already there and cooking up a storm.

“Hey, Mum,” Kevin said, walking over and kissing her cheek. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I thought I’d cook breakfast for everyone. Plus, the children are all coming here for breakfast,” she replied. “Morning, Creed, dear,” Lissa said, smiling his way.

“Morning, Lissa,” he replied, kissing her cheek. “Thanks for this.”

“You’re welcome, dear.”

“Mum, the king and queen of the vampires, as well as their two sons, will be visiting today. Plus, Annie and Willard.”

“Oh, how lovely,” Lissa said. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

There was movement by the kitchen door and a young boy stood there. The boy who had helped Seth and took charge of the children.

“Morning, Jack,” Kevin said, smiling at him.

“Hey. Are the vampires that helped us escape coming today?” Jack asked.

Kevin nodded. “Most of them, yes.”

“Good,” Jack said. “I’m going to check on the others. Spencer should be down in a minute.”

“Jack, everyone is safe here on pack grounds. The children will be here for breakfast soon,” Kevin told him.

Jack looked uncertain.

“Why don’t you stay here and check on them when they come in for breakfast?” Lissa suggested softly.

Jack nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the door frame and waiting for the children to arrive.

* * *

Hunter walked into the studio,Owen by his side.

“It’s so light and airy in here,” Owen said, looking round.

Hunter laughed. “You were expecting something dark and depressing?”

Owen laughed. “I honestly didn’t know what I was expecting.”

“Let me show you round,” Hunter said, leading the vampire further in. “Here is the kitchen — help yourself to anything in here.” Hunter led him down a corridor, pointing out rooms. “This is Taha’s room, that’s Shelby’s, Luke’s is there, and this is mine,” he said, opening the door and walking in, Owen following.

Owen looked around. There were two windows on one side of the room, letting in lots of light but with frosted glass so no one could see in. Under one of the windows was a sink and a countertop with different things on its surface. There was a seating area and a table with chairs surrounding it. He also noted the tattoo chair and small roller table and a stool.

“This should be easy enough to protect you. You only have one door, and the windows look secure. Thankfully, your room is quite near the front of the shop. Will your door be open or closed?”

“Closed. There will be some I can keep the door open for, but not this one,” Hunter told him.

“What is different about this one?” Owen asked, curiously.

“The lady I’m tattooing is a cancer survivor, but she had to have both of her breasts removed. Today I’m tattooing her chest to cover up the surgery and treatment scars,” Hunter told him.

“Poor thing,” Owen said. Vampires didn’t get cancer, but he had seen enough people in his long life who had the horrible disease and saw the knock it could do to their self-confidence.

Hunter led them back to the main reception area. There was a reception desk by the far wall with a chair behind it. A sofa was positioned in front of a large window and chairs with a coffee table were at the front of the area. The walls were decorated with pictures of different tattoos, and there were a couple of binders on the table with more pictures inside. There was a price list on the wall behind the reception desk, and large potted plants dotted around. The whole area looked warm and inviting.

The front door opened, making the bell jingle, and two laughing men walked in. They saw Hunter and hurried over, offering hugs.

“Are you alright? And your Gavin?” one of the men asked.

Hunter nodded. “We’re both good, Shell. Did Ta tell you everything?”

Shelby shook his head. “No, just that there were family issues.”

“There are a few issues. Can I introduce Owen to you both? Owen, this is Shelby and Luke. Guys, this is Owen.”

Luke looked from Hunter to Owen and back again. “You have a bodyguard? Just how bad are the family issues?”

“Bad. But you’re both safe, I promise,” Hunter assured them.

“We can see that,” Shelby said, looking back at Hunter. “We have a cute bodyguard here.”

“I’ll keep out of your way,” Owen assured them.

“Well that’s a shame,” Luke said, grinning at him.

Hunter shook his head as he looked at his friends. He was about to say something when the door opened again and Taha walked in. He saw Hunter and grinned. “You made it in, then.”

Hunter nodded. “Yep, this is Owen,” he said, nodding to Owen.

Taha turned to look at Owen, who suddenly hissed and his eyes swirled red. A moment later, Owen was stood in front of Taha, raising his hand to Taha’s cheek.

“Mine,” Owen said, leaning forward and kissing Taha.

Taha was so momentarily stunned by the declaration and by Owen kissing him that for a few seconds, he froze before kissing the vampire back. His hand went round Owen’s neck and tried to pull him closer.

“What the hell!” Luke exclaimed. “What was that?”

Hunter sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “That was Owen and Taha realising they are made for each other.”

“But Owen hissed, and his eyes went weird,” Shelby pointed out.

“Wait,” Luke said, sounding excited. “Is Owen a paranormal? Is that really a thing? Please tell me the books I read are real.”

“How amazing would that be if there was a whole paranormal world out there,” Shelby said, just as excited.

“You wouldn’t be freaked out if you found there was?” Hunter asked.

“No, I mean can you imagine people that can change into animals? How amazing would that be?” Luke said. “Or finding out wizards and witches are real.”

Hunter turned to look at Taha and Owen, who were just coming up for air, both looking stunned.

Owen smiled and rubbed his thumb over Taha’s lips. “Amazing.”

Taha nodded. “It was indeed. I’m Taha.”

Owen leant in and gave him a quick kiss. “It is so nice to meet you. I would love to continue this, but I’m here to protect Hunter.”

Taha nodded and took a step back. “I’m glad he has someone other than me watching his back.”

“Hey, we have his back as well,” Shelby reminded him.

Taha shot them a smile. “Sorry, I know you do. I think that kiss just addled my brain.”

Owen laughed.

“I should imagine it did. It looked smoking hot,” Shelby said, fanning his face.

“Do you want me to contact David and ask him to send someone else so the two of you can go off and get to know each other?” Hunter asked them.

Both Taha and Owen said no.

“I’ll stay and protect you like I was asked to,” Owen said.

“And I’ll stay as you’re my best friend,” Taha added.

Hunter nodded. “If you’re sure, but the offer is there, and now I have to get ready for my client.” And with that, he left the others and walked back into his room.

He always kept his room sterile and clean, disinfecting it after every client and again before he went home. He also cleaned it when he first got it. After disinfecting all surfaces in his room, he collected his drawing pad and the design he had ready to go on the tattoo transfer paper. He then went to his cupboard and pulled out everything he would need. He kept all his supplies in the cupboard in his room. They did think of having a central storeroom where they could keep everything, but he, Taha, and Luke all liked different equipment.

He wrapped up everything he needed, put foil over his tray, and set everything up. He would pour the ink out while the stencil was setting.

It took a while to set everything up. He had surprised more than one person by how much he had to do before the client came in. Once he was set up, he grabbed his phone and sent a message to Gavin.

H: Hey, sweetheart. Guess what? It would seem that Owen and Taha are mates. Who’d have guessed? xx

He hit send and laughed to himself. Who indeed would have guessed that his best friend would also be the mate of a vampire?

He didn’t have to wait long for Gavin to message him back. He smiled as he opened the message.

G: For real? Sweet. Owen is awesome, and from what I’ve seen of Taha, he seems nice. Just warn Taha that Owen has his shoes handmade and they usually cost upwards of ￡10k.

Hunter”s mouth dropped open. People really pay that for shoes? He hit reply.

H: ￡10k for shoes???? That’s just mad. I think the most expensive pair I have ever brought were ￡150.

A moment later Gavin replied.

G: Same. But Owen does love his footwear collection. Those that are going to the wolf pack have left for the day. I’m going over everything the computer picked up last night, along with Ivan. BE SAFE and go nowhere alone. xx

Hunter smiled to himself. He would stay safe if only to put Gavin’s mind at rest.

H: Promise. Love you, sweetheart.

G: Love you more x

He still wasn’t used to anyone apart from his family saying that to him and hearing it from Gavin gave him a happy glow inside of him. But now he needed to get his head in the game. Danni Sargent was due in a few minutes, and he would need to concentrate. He pulled a hair tie out of his pocket, tied his hair back and left the room.