Page 26 of Perfectly Perfect Pixie

As a whole, we were not a pleasant species. That didn’t mean I disliked what I was. It simply meant I understood it, that I embraced what I was and didn’t fight it. Brooding vampires often turned into dead vampires.

Peaches tilted his head, leaning into the fingers I ran through his hair. Cupping the side of his head, Peaches stared at me with alcohol-fueled admiration. I wasn’t certain I’d earned that gaze, but I wouldn’t look away from it either.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Johnny claims his cousin makes the best mead. I’m happy to hear it was no boast.”

“None at all.” Peaches took another swallow, tilting his head back and exposing his pristine throat.

Despite my earlier meal, my mouth went arid, my throat a dry wasteland of want and need.

“Come on, Peaches. Let’s dance!” Phil suddenly leaned across the table, pulling Peaches up with him.

Sedrick and I’d positioned ourselves on the outer area of the booth, tucking Peaches and Phil inside. Neither of us had to move as Peaches and Phil flew up and over the table. They didn’t head for the center of the dance floor. Instead, they stayed close to us.

Giggling laughter filled the air as they flew and twirled. Security kept Dusk’s regular patrons separated, just far enough away that Peaches’s and Phil’s pixie dust dissipated before becoming an olfactory problem.

Their dance was mesmerizing. Peaches flew higher than Phil, but they zipped about. More than once, Peaches and Phil locked hands, and Phil spun, twirling Peaches around and around before releasing him, launching Peaches high into the air. I had no idea how they stomached such aerobatic movements.

Their pixie dust combined into a rose-gold haze that sparkled under Dusk’s flashing lights.

Sedrick’s throaty laughter finally pulled my attention from Peaches.

“Thanks for this, Lucroy. Phil needed this. So did I. I know it’s in his nature, but he’s always so consumed with taking care of me and the kids. Phil hardly ever asks for anything for himself.” Sedrick’s loving gaze followed Phil as he spun Peaches around again.

Glancing off to the side, I lifted one of Peaches’s pixie boots. He and Phil had worn them into the bar but taken them off after being seated. Sedrick followed my gaze, a barely audible growl rumbling up from his chest.

“I can’t believe Phil wasn’t going to tell me about the shoes,” Sedrick huffed. “Peaches pretty much ordered him to do it.”

I smirked and answered, “That sounds about right.”

Sedrick took a swig of beer. He’d been nursing the same bottle since he’d arrived. At best, it was cool. At worse, it was lukewarm. “They’re night and day when it comes to personality. It took my wolf and me a bit to come around, but I’m glad Phil has Peaches.” Sedrick twirled his bottle. Head tilted down, his narrowed eyes glinted wolf gold. “You know I consider Peaches part of my pack.”

It was more a statement than a question. One I easily knew the answer to. “Of course. You made that clear during Dillon and Ruthie’s custody hearing.” Leaning back into my seat, I did my best to ignore the fluttering, joyful pixies only a few feet away. Sedrick Voss was making a point, and I would be foolish to ignore it.

“If I remember correctly, you offered to be my second that same night. I’m curious, Lucroy, do you consider yourself a part of my pack?”

My lips twitched, my smirk turning into a grin and, finally, a rare bark of laughter. My fangs glinted, but it wasn’t meant as a slight. Quickly regaining control, my laughter eased, but my grin remained. With a slight head shake, I answered, “Rest assured, Alpha Voss, I do not consider myself, nor any member of my nest, as a part of your pack. I will not go back on my word that night. I would have happily stepped in and acted as your second, but that act would have been temporary.” Head cocked to the side, I allowed Sedrick to see the full brunt of my gaze. “That said, I would like to think that my nest and your pack are on friendly terms. An alliance, if you will.”

Sedrick pulled at his beard, running his fingers through the strands and tugging them with thought. “I like that. Truth be told, my wolf’s been confused. I feel protective of you but not responsible, not like I do Peaches. If anything, I consider youpack adjacent.”

“Hmm . . . I believe that would be acceptable.” I carefully considered my next words. I was reluctant to share the vampire council’s interest with my nestmates. However, it seemed prudent to inform Alpha Voss. “In light of our acknowledged relationship, I believe it would be prudent to inform you of a potentially . . . volatile issue.”

Sedrick’s eyes narrowed, his attention focused. “What issue?”

“It seems the vampire council has taken an interest in the small mishap that took place at the custody hearing. I was informed today that I am under investigation for the . . . inappropriate death of one of Arie Belview’s wolves.”

Eyes flashing, a low, reverberating growl filled our tiny space. Fur sprouted along the length of Sedrick’s arm, nails thickening and sharpening. “Arie,” Sedrick grumbled.

“So it seems. However, it is not fully known at this point if he is the one who placed the complaint. There are some within my nest that view my recent pixie interest in a negative light. It is possible one of them is trying to stir up more trouble than is acceptable.”

“Fucking Arie,” Sedrick reiterated. His transformation halted, fur gliding back beneath the surface and nails shortening. Sedrick’s voice was still thick and full of disdain. “Maybe it is someone in your nest, but sure as I’m sitting here, Arie’s involved in that shit somehow or another.”

“I’ve no doubt,” I agreed.

Downing the rest of his beer, Sedrick set the bottle back on the table a little too forcefully. “I’m not as oblivious as Peaches seems to think. Phil told me about Peaches’s aphid problem and the sprite solution. Arie’s got his name written all across that shit too. I’m grateful for your help, Lucroy.”

With my arms stretched out across the back of the corner booth we’d claimed, I settled in and said, “I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming up.”

“But, Peaches is pack. If he has a problem, it’s my responsibility to take care of it.”

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