Page 59 of Perfectly Perfect Pixie

When I glanced in Leon’s direction, it was easy to see he struggled to suppress a smile.

“Perhaps I have given you all too much leeway. I doubt other kings suffer such ribbing with as much alacrity.”

“No doubt,” Leon agreed, finishing off his glass of blood. “That’s why I wouldn’t belong to any other nest than yours, Lucroy.” Leon gave me another pat on the shoulder, something that seemed to provide him with more comfort than me reassurance.

Leaning in with the pretense of placing his glass back on the bar, Leon whispered into my ear, “Showtime.”

I glanced over Leon’s shoulder to see Frederick enter the bar, his arm wrapped around a strung-out-looking human. A couple of other humans followed him in, along with a werewolf.

“Now, that is interesting,” Leon said, shifting around me to lean against the opposite side of my body, giving him a clearer view of the front door.

“Do you mean the werewolf or the fact Freddie is actively feeding from a human barely capable of giving dubious consent?” I didn’t attempt to hide the disgust rolling through me.

Vampires viewed humans as prey and sometimes lovers. Taking a human strung out on mind-altering substances was akin to hunting deer with a machine gun. It was poor sporting and laziness.

Weres of all kinds commonly visited Dusk. That wasn’t so unusual. Weres and vampires rarely commingled. My friendship with Alpha Voss notwithstanding, it was odd. We seemed to rub each other the wrong way, and centuries of ill will was a difficult issue to overcome. And yet here was Frederick, waltzing into Dusk with an inebriated human and a werewolf.

“Looks like he doesn’t want to be associated with Freddie,” Leon hummed near my ear as we both watched the werewolf slink off into a corner. “Could be he’s not really here with Freddie. Maybe they just happened to walk in close to each other.”

“Could be.”

“But not likely,” Leon huffed.

“But not likely,” I agreed.

If Sedrick hadn’t scented wolves and a vampire around Peaches’s boundary, then perhaps I would more likely view it as a coincidence. I followed the werewolf, watching where he set up shop for the evening. “Tell Johnny to give our werewolf friend one of our finer cloth napkins when he is served. When the napkin is retrieved, have it placed in a plastic bag and zipped up tight. I would be curious to see if Alpha Voss recognizes the scent.”

“Consider it done.”

Leon left my side, and I turned, adopting a posture of nonchalance. I didn’t want Frederick to believe I paid an ounce of attention to his comings and goings. Frederick didn’t have the emotional control he should have, and I planned to use that against him.

I waited, nodding at patrons I knew and giving attention here and there, like a good vampire king and bar owner.

It didn’t take long for Frederick to take Leon’s absent seat. When he’d first been accepted into my nest, Frederick made a play for Leon’s spot as my second. Leon quickly put Freddie in his place. Too bad he hadn’t learned his lesson. Instead, Frederick’s aspirations rose even higher.

“Lucroy,” Frederick crooned, sidling up next to me. “No pixie tonight?” Freddie’s human companion giggled, her pupils blown and her brow marred by sweat.

“A pixie?” She sounded awed. “Is there really one around?” Her head swiveled, scanning the bar. When no pixie magically appeared, the human pouted. “I wanna see a pixie.”

She leaned into Frederick in the most alarming way. The fresh tilt of her neck allowed me to see the myriad of old and new bite marks marring her gray-tinted skin. Looked like this human was addicted in every sense of the word. Had I cared more, I would have considered it sad. Humans lived such short, fragile lives. It seemed a waste to spend what little time they had the way this woman was.

Frederick shrugged her off, sending the human woman sprawling. She would have hit the floor if Leon hadn’t stopped her fall. Having completed his mission, my second came back, falling into his comfortable position at my side.

“Careful.” Leon’s tone was gentle. He had a soft spot for wayward humans, and this woman’s life choices most likely wounded him.

Giggling, the human didn’t seem to understand she’d just been pushed aside by herdate. Bearings back in place, she clung to Frederick’s arm, snuggling up close and making me want to gag.

Attempting to ignore Frederick’s inappropriate activity, I finally answered, “Peaches will be along later tonight.”

Freddie’s eyebrows shot skyward, and he mumbled, “Such a fool.”

Even though I heard him loud and clear, I asked, “What was that?” in the most serene voice I could manage.

Lips pulling back, Frederick showed a hint of fang.

“Who’s Peaches?” Freddie’s date asked.

“The pixie,” Frederick answered, voice tight and full of disapproval. If I heard correctly, there was also a hint of expectation, or maybe delight in there too.

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