Rosemary and Asher decided to go along with most of the other witches to the farmhouse, asking Nessa to stay behind and watch over Inboco in her absence. Which meant Holga stayed behind too.

  Before Rory could even find her bag, the old woman completed the portal to the farmhouse with a flick of her wrist.

  Show off. Would’ve taken Nadine and I hours to get that done, she thought. “We planned on staying at least a night.”

  “There’s time for sleepovers later. For now, let’s get your camp hidden before that nasty old hag, Grace finds you.” The elder witch disappeared through the portal and the rest followed.

  After she stepped through, Rory sighed in relief. “At least they didn’t burn the place down already.” She cocked her head to listen for signs of life, but it was silent. All the men were too noisy for that much quiet.

  Shit, did Billie invite a vampire in? More troubled thoughts entered her head, and she ran up the stairs, taking two at a time.

  Is someone cooking meat? But vampires don’t cook their food. They’re on the raw diet.

  Someone left the back door open and tracked muddy footprints around the kitchen. She poked her head outside and let the scene really sink in before she reacted. Doc, wearing a frilly polka dot apron—Rory had no idea where he got it—stood at an old charcoal grill nervously turning pieces of meat. In the brief time she watched, he’d glanced behind him at least four times. There were vampires sitting on blankets or at picnic tables, drinking blood alternative.

  They all looked annoyed.

  “So, surprise, we’re back already,” she said.

  “Oh, thank god.” Doc dropped his tongs and ran to her. He wrapped her in his arms and it felt only natural to rest her head on his chest.

  The embrace was too pleasant, too comfortable. She tore herself away and smoothed her hair. “What’s going on?”

  “Well.” Doc sighed. “Billie.” He pointed over to the witch in question, wearing an old suit, at least two sizes too big, mingling with the vampires. “He’s taking the whole liaison thing pretty seriously. This is phase one of his integration plan, ‘The meet and greet.’ He had Molly track down a deer for the food eaters and Sven pull all the alternative—I mean, the reserves of, Mr. Sven’s Magical Vampire Elixir for the vamps.”

  Rory pinched the bridge of her nose. “All right, well, I have the stuff Sven asked for at least. I’ll give some to Nadine so she can get it started in the garden. But she’ll need to coordinate with Sven. If the two will even talk to each other.” She glanced back over at Billie who waved to them and gave two big thumbs up. “He’s one step away from a mission accomplished banner. But how did he get them all to agree to this?”

  “Honestly, I don’t have a clue. There’s the elixir buffet, but I doubt that would be enough incentive.”

  “No. I doubt it too. Where’s Sven hiding?”

  “His room. You know how he feels about them.” He waved a hand at the vampires.

  “Yeah. At least he’s helping them, in a way.”

  “If human lives weren’t on the line, I doubt he would.” Doc smiled at her. “While we’re talking.” He looked down at the overly feminine apron in disgust, wadding it up and throwing it behind his back. “Billie,” he growled. His eyes fell on Rory and he gazed unspeaking long enough the silence became uncomfortable.

  “Um, Doc? Hello?” Rory asked.

  He breathed in deep and took her hand. “I sat back before and didn’t make a move. Thought I’d lost my chance forever. Would you like to have dinner with me? Obviously, going to a restaurant is out these days, but I can make us a picnic.”

  “Doc, I…” A huge part of her wanted to say yes, but it was the same part of her she’d listened to for so many years. The part of her that always said, to hell with the consequences, and meant it. Regardless of who’d warned her about that voice, it was excellent advice.

  Maybe if I hadn’t listened to it before, things would have gone differently. Last time I fell for a vampire and-

  Asher sauntered over to her side, interrupting her thoughts.

  Doc’s face morphed into a forced smile, and he clenched his teeth. “Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Asher is here.”

  The shapeshifter from Inboco returned equally forced pleasantries. “My mother is here as well, and she’s requesting a word with Rory. If you don’t mind, I’m going to steal her away.”

  Rory cringed—not just at the horrible double entendre, but at the blow to Doc’s confidence. How long had he worked up the courage to admit those things? she wondered and fought the urge to kiss his cheek or hold his hand. At this moment, any displays of affection, friendly or otherwise, would come off the wrong way. Instead, she held his gaze and said, “We’ll talk later, yeah? I promise.”

  His mood lightened a fraction, and he nodded. “I should get back to the grill, anyway.” He frowned at Asher again before striding away.

  “Shall we?” Asher opened the door for her.

  She could sense his eyes on her backside as she stepped through, and it felt dangerous to allow him behind her. Don’t most large cats attack their prey from behind? If vampires were real, it was hardly a shock to her that werecreatures existed. Did he get bitten? Was he born that way? An old song entered her head, and under her breath she hummed along. “You can turn into an animal then? Is it in your family or…?”

  “It runs in the family, but not the way you might think. I’m assuming you’re thinking of werewolves and the sort?” He looked down to watch her nod and clicked his tongue. “Those are real, but it’s anyone’s guess if they survived the destruction.”

  “Then how do you do it?”

  “That’s one thing my mother and I will teach you.”

  “Wait, for real? Do I get to choose?” She could already imagine herself stalking through the jungles as a sleek black panther or a feral she-wolf.

  “At first, no. Your animal chooses you. But I’ve been working at it for over a century now.”

  With her luck, her animal would be a fish. Or some other swimmer in a world of poison water.

  “Humility, Asher,” Rosemary chided him. She was sitting in the high-back chair that, up till now, everyone considered Rory’s spot.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  She reminded herself of the better parts of hospitality and let it go. “Are you settled in a room?”

  “Nadine has been a dear and allowed me the use of hers.”

  “Rory, I hope you don’t mind if I bunk with you in the meantime?” Nadine’s face was hopeful. Either it was Rory’s room, the couch or Sven’s. And something told Rory she’d choose the barn with the vampires before she chose Sven at this moment.

  “If you can handle my cold feet.” They’d shared a bed plenty of times while Byron had recovered in hers.

  “I’m used to it by now. The drool, on the other hand-”

  “Hey now,” Rory said with mocked indignation.

  “Ah, to be young and beautiful again,” Rosemary said, and watched them with bittersweet longing. She waved her hands as if to scatter away clouds of memory around her head, and her bracelets chimed in a merry melody. “I won’t keep you from your party long. I only wanted you to know that Asher and I will walk the property shortly and make preparations for the wards.”

  “What type of spells are you planning?” Nadine asked with intense interest. She’d loved magic before she’d even knew it was real.

  “First layer will be an illusionary dome. We’ll make it disappear. Second layer will be an avoidance spell. Unless the traveler is welcome or highly magically attuned, they’ll change course and be none the wiser to what they’re doing. The third layer of magic will be the wards themselves. They’ll keep the things out as long as it’ll hold.”

  Nadine had the same look of wonder as a little girl meeting Santa Claus for the first time.

  “It’ll be stronger the more magic we dump into the thing,” Rosemary said. “So, I’m calling Nessa and Holga back this afternoon. Asher will leave shortly to fetch them. Tonight, enjoy yourselves at the very bizarre party that’s happening outside. Tomorrow, we set to work.”

  Asher glanced between his mother and Rory. Both women did a little go-on-and-go motion with their hand. He frowned and skulked away.

  “Thank you for coming and helping us,” Rory said to the older witch.

  She scoffed. “It’s no trouble. I’m happy to get out and explore after being cooped up in Inboco for centuries.”

  “Still, thank you again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see exactly why we’re throwing this little party. But that’s probably too much to add. I’ll, um, see myself out.” Rory made a clumsy half curtsy before walking away, cursing herself for her awkwardness around the older witch.

----------------------------------------

  Not a single bottle of blood alternative remained on the table of vampiric party favors when Rory returned to the backyard.

  Dammit, Billie.

  She tried to remain friendly, smiling and waving to vampires as she passed and pulled him aside. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked through a plastered-on smile.

  “Ow, fingers,” he whined, and she released her grip.

  “Doc told me you pulled all the reserves of blood alternative-”

  “Mr. Sven’s Magical Vampire Elixir,” Billie corrected her and waved nonchalantly behind her. “Don’t worry, Molly, everything’s fine.”

  Molly shook her head and sat down.

  Rory fought back the urge to scream in frustration and mentally patted herself on the back for keeping it together. “The name doesn’t matter. What does matter is that none’s left. What are the vampires going to eat until we make more?”

  “Things’ll work out. They always do.” He shrugged. “Besides, we’re just having a delightful time. I thought it’d be good for everyone to get together. They might not attack you if they knew your names.”

  “That’s farm animals, Billie,” Rory said and scoffed. “You don’t give your livestock a name, so it’s easier to eat them later. I very much doubt that vampires have the same predilections.”

  His eyes misted. “Vampires care. Byron cared about you so much he stopped being one so you could love him back.”

  The words hit Rory hard. Right in the center of her mass. She took a deep breath to avoid yelling or crying. Or both.

  “I’m sorry, that wasn’t nice to say. He’s my friend and no one’s been sticking up for him.” Billie looked down at a button on his oversized jacket and toyed with it. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too. But, he really hurt me, you know?”

  “Yeah,” he said but still wouldn’t meet her gaze.

  She closed her eyes and counted down from ten before finding the calm to continue with their conversation. “What’s this plan of yours Doc was telling me about?”

  Billie’s mood shifted, and he beamed at her. Thankfully, he never stayed upset for long.

  Is that part of his power? His body heals quickly, but does it also work to soothe emotional pain?

  “First part is now, the meet and greet. If I had time for a sign, I wanted it to say M-E-A-T and Greet.”

  Does he understand we’re food to the vampires? I mean, he has to by now. He’s been eaten enough times. How could he not understand how inappropriate the word meat is in this context?

  “Get it?” he asked and giggled.

  Nope. He doesn’t get it. “Clever,” Rory said, realizing there was no use in belaboring him further.

  Billie nodded. “I thought so too.”

  “How did you convince them all to go along with it?”

  “I just promised them lots of alternative… That’s all… Nothing else…” he said with the face of a dog caught digging in garbage.

  “Billie...”

  “I might have told them you’d force them to go with your magic if they didn’t come of their own free will. That they couldn’t see you because you were busy watching everyone with your crystal ball and if they saw you that was because someone really made a big mistake.” He squeaked.

  “They wouldn’t come otherwise.”

  “Dammit, Billie.” She groaned. “Fine. I’m not against being their bogeyman, to be honest. Just give me a heads-up next time, okay?”

  “You’re not mad?” He looked at her with wide eyes.

  “I should be, but it’s just not in me right now. Too much to think about.” She glanced over at Doc, who turned away quickly and inspected the already spotless grill. “I’ll catch you later, Billie.”

  She turned and walked towards the house, signaling for Doc to follow.

  In the kitchen, she found the muddy footprints still there and sighed. At least I’ll have something to distract myself with if this goes wrong.

  The door slammed shut behind Doc and they were alone. “Look, it’s probably the wrong time to bring all that up, but you have no idea how long I’ve been holding it in.” His loose hair fell in dark waves around his shoulders. He ran his fingers through his mane while waiting for her to speak.

  “You’re right on the wrong timing thing,” she said. Understatement of the year. “But I’m glad you did.” She reached for him, their skin met and an electric current ran through her on contact. Even his presence was warm and comforting. The ever-present voice in her head told her to give in. How could feeling so loved be a bad thing?

  He put a gigantic hand on either side of her face. For better or for worse, from the look in his eyes, it was clear he loved her. Slowly, he bent, their lips inches apart. “Is this all right?” he asked with longing in his words.

  “More than all right,” she said, and gave in. They kissed, a delicate brush at first with eyes open, watching the other’s reaction. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the kiss deepened.

  He lifted her off her feet, and she wound her legs around his waist. His hands trailed down her back and squeezed the flesh on her bottom.

If I do this, there’s no turning back. My friendship with Doc will change forever. Is feeling better for a little while worth losing him?

  She released her grip and dropped back to the floor. “I can’t.”

  “Rory, what’s wrong?” He searched her face, his own still warm and loving. She’d be wrong to say there wasn’t a bit of hurt mixed in.

  “You’re great and-”

  “Get on with it,” he said in an icy tone.

  “I can’t lose you. That’s the simplest way to say it.” She laid her head against his chest and basked in the warmth of him, and the heat ratcheted up all the more as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “Rory, that doesn’t make sense.”

  “You’re not a rebound kind of guy and that’s all I can offer right now.”

  A long exhale left his nose, and he rested his head on hers.

  “If we marched upstairs right now and had sex, what would happen tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. But his tone told her all she needed to know. He wanted more than one night.

  “If we ever do this, it’ll be when we’re both looking towards the same outcome and I have all of me to give.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “If you need something from me, just say the word and I’ll give you anything.”

  “I know you would, Doc. I know you’d try to tell yourself it was a one-night thing with no strings, but it’d kill you inside. And that would hurt me just as bad.” She pulled away and looked up at him. “I want you in my life. But right now, I just need you as a friend. Let me fix my damage and if you’re willing, we can come back to this.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You deserve all of me and my attention. So, yeah. For now, I’m sure.”

  He took both her hands and kissed them. “I’ll be here.”

  She gritted her teeth despite herself and forced words that hurt to say because it was only right. “If you don’t wait, I understand. You’re a handsome man who’d make someone the luckiest woman in the world."

  “Ms. Palmer.” He grinned at her shocked expression. “Remember the book? I might have paid extra attention. Someday, I hope that entry will change to Mrs. Solomon. And from what I hear, we have plenty of time.”

  “Thank you,” she said and kissed his hands back. “I’ll remember that.”