Page 21 of Flock This

I wondered if throwing up on him might just make my point best of all. His words sure had inspired such a reaction from me.

I could hear Galen in my head, telling me not to cause problems, reminding me to focus on what was important. However, my passenger seemed as restless as I felt, and what better way to get through that now?

“The thing is,” I whispered, turning my voice sultry, “I’m really into something sort of specific.”

“Trust me, I can make all your dreams come true.” Ah, the egos of men are impressive things.

I leaned in and whispered directly into his ear.

His eyes widened a moment before his smile did the same, wearing an expression I’d seen when a person won the lottery. He dragged his thumb over my bottom lip before turning around and rushing into the thick bushes.

I reached down, toward my feet, then rolled my neck. After another few minutes—long enough that I was sure lover-boy had done as I asked—I gave up on my little calisthenics routine. I headed for the clump of trees and bushes the man had gone to, crouching as I neared it. Pale skin shone through the spaces between leaves, telling me he’d done as I said.

Then again, suggest the possibility of sex and men would do damn near anything to get it. I reached out and caught the fabric on the ground, sitting in a pile as though he’d stripped out of it then cared fuck-all about it.

He didn’t hear me—not a shock given the way he was working his junk, the impatient bastard—so I scuttled off with my newly pilfered clothing and a very happy passenger.

Mischief was always good for the soul, after all, and settling down my passenger made life easier on me. It allowed it to rest happily, kept it from scratching at my insides while whispering all the chaos I could cause.

The skip in my step showed my good mood as I headed out of the park, smirking as I thought about the moment that asshole realized I wasn’t coming back. He’d earned this, though. No one had forced him to get naked in the middle of a park in broad daylight. If anything, I’d given him a good lesson on stupidity. I doubted he’d take it to heart—idiots never did—but that was on him.

I stopped into a little hipster shop on the way, buying myself a milk tea with boba. The chewy little balls came up through the thick straw one at a time and gave my mouth something to do as I walked, trying to work out my best options for where to go from here.

Ruben had explained what needed to happen, but that didn’t mean I knew how to achieve it. I sat on a bench, this one in the center of a busy city square, a place with some trees and shrubs and flowers so people could pretend they weren’t actually in the middle of a large city. Did the planners think that a little bit of greenery would fool others so easily?

I watched as a woman leaned over and smelled one of the fake flowers on the edge and smiled—maybe people were just, as a whole, dumber than I realized.

My phone rang, and when I glanced at the screen, I frowned. The call came from an unknown number, which was at least a nice change from the million times Galen had called me.

I answered it, met by a familiar voice. “Hello, feathers.”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping? I mean, it is daytime.”

Kelvin’s chuckle hadn’t changed at all, the same one that sat somewhere between amusement and mockery. “I stayed up just to talk to you. Aren’t I sweet?”

“Sleep is important. People get mean when they’re tired, and you’re not that nice normally. I’d hate to see you when you miss your beauty sleep.”

“Is that your way of telling me you think I’m handsome? I’m blushing.”

“Vampires don’t blush.”

“We do if we’ve fed recently.”

“And now my boba doesn’t seem so appetizing.” I set my drink down on the bench beside me. “You didn’t call me for banter, so get to the point.”

“I do enjoy our banter,” Kelvin said, “but you’re right, that’s not the only reason I called. I wanted to tell you that your precious alpha has managed to postpone the council meeting, no doubt as he planned. A temporary council seat for the Graves has been chosen and William’s replacement’ll be selected in time for your trial.”

“And when will that happen?”

“Galen’s pushed it as far as he can, so the Graves will present their demand for your presence in five days. I expect they’ll get the order for the trial there, because there won’t be a good reason to deny it. The trial will get set for the full moon, and the Justices’ll drag your ass in for it. Unless, of course, you find a way to disappear.”

“No one hides from Justices—not for long,” I muttered.

“Normally, no, but maybe you’ll have a shot if you hide with the right folks.”

“Galen already offered to take me in. I’m not going to risk people like that.”

“Of course Prince Golden Retriever did that. He’s been trying to get you to be his mate for years.”

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