Page 26 of Feral

“Anyway, I’ll be in the office adding last night’s numbers to the report for Yves and the council.”

Tiago salutes me as I walk away, but before I get far, I hear a familiar voice call my name. Smiling, I turn to see Vivienne, followed by her ever-present companion, Viper.

“Hey.” I greet the two women with cheek kisses. “What brings you by?”

“Yves told me about last night’s visitor,” Vivienne says. “We came to check on our wards and Tiago said you guys could use more cocktail potion.”

“Ah, yeah. The mafioso.”

Vivienne nods, dragging a hand through her unruly red curls. “Another group moving in on the city, huh?”

“Seems to be the case. The allure of corruption in New Onyx continues to be a siren call for criminals.”

“Whenever I imagine a bad guy facing a vampire it makes me cackle,” Viper says, grinning widely. “Like, so out-played.”

“It amuses me as well.” The two women walk with me to the bar, Vivienne looking like a radiant garden, and Viper a dark angel, just like her name suggests. “I’ll be in the back if you need me.”

“We’re good,” Vivienne says.

In the office, I do my best to focus on the ledger, but I can’t stop listening for Yannis’s arrival. Am I obsessed? Quite possibly.

I wanted to go up to his apartment with him last night, both out of curiosity to see how he lives and to ensure he’s not in any kind of danger. Vito’s boldness in showing up here last night with a gun has put me on high alert. If Vivienne’s wards are still strong, that means something in the criminal lured him to Lair, and that’s not a good thing. I suppose she never promised us that all the mortals seeking us out would be good people.

I finally manage to upload the report, and mere seconds after that, the air shifts, drawing a smile to my face. He’s here. I can sense him. I’m out of my seat and heading toward the front, scanning the room for him.

“What’s up, Hale?” Tiago asks from the bar.

“Is Yannis here?”

“Nope. Just us vamps and witches.”

I tilt my head in confusion, but then the front door opens, letting in a stream of sunlight that illuminates the man from behind. He steps inside, pulling the door closed behind him before turning toward the bar. When his eyes land on me, his whole face lights up. I must have sensed him approaching.

“Well, speak of the mortal,” Tiago says with a chuckle.

Yannis waves as he walks toward me. “Hi.”

“Hello. Welcome back. How was your evening?”

His cheeks turn bright pink. “Good. Fine. Didn’t do much. Really. I just went to sleep. Nothing else.”

I’m amused by his word vomit. “That’s good to hear.”

“You? Did you do anything?”

I can’t exactly tell him that I spent the evening draining two drug dealers who were roughing up some street kids. “Nothing worth noting.”

He nods, smiling and holding my gaze. “I’m excited to get started today.”

Oh. Right. He’s not just here for me to stare at him. “Yes, I have a tentative schedule for you. We’ll start with a tour, then we’ll go over our protocols and our alert system.”

“Alert system?”

I nod. “All of our employees learn it as a way to subtly alert Tiago and me about potential trouble and harassment. Not all of our patrons are respectful of consent.”

His smile slips slightly as he blows out a breath. “Oh, okay.”

“And as I stated before, you’re very appealing. You’ll attract attention.”

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