Page 7 of Fenrir

For close to an hour, he’d watched men and women walk into the Café. Some excited. Some cocky. Some terrified. But for himself… he had no idea how he felt about it, except to know that he did not want to go in.

He’d not socialized with anyone in… ever? Not since Tyr… Only recently had he started attending the family dinners. And even then, he stayed only as long as he had to before taking off. Being around other people was… uncomfortable. He never knew what to say or do or anything. On top of that, he knew he made the others uncomfortable. They never said anything, but they didn’t have to. He smelled it, heard it, and saw it on them.

“You know, when you agreed to go to DeLux, I actually meant that you needed to go inside, not just lurk across the street.”

Fenrir growled and glanced sideways at where Loki emerged from the shadows of the building he leaned against.

Loki looked at his watch. “There’s only a few minutes left before it starts. Are you going to go in?”

Fenrir didn’t answer. He continued to stare at the building lit up in reds and pinks. Even from across the street, Fenrir could hear the people inside. The glasses clinking. Smell the bodies, the perfumes, and colognes. Just thinking of surrounding himself with it all had his beast pacing.

“I can hold your hand as you cross the street, walk you in, and give you a lollipop for being a good boy if you want.” Loki chuckled.

“Screw you.”

“Sorry.” Loki grew serious and laid his hand on Fenrir’s shoulder.

The contact made Fenrir want to bite Loki’s hand off.

“Fenrir. I want you to find happiness. To find peace. This is the first step to doing that.”

“Did Val tell you to say that?”

The silence stretched out between them, and Fenrir blew out a breath, letting his father’s words sink in.

“You need to do this,” Loki said. “Please. Will you do this?”

Suck.Fenrir hated it when his dad asked him to do things. He’d never been able to say no to Loki. A fact that was abundantly clear since he was standing across the street from DeLux Café dressed up, freshly showered, and looking like a total idiot.

Fenrir blew out a harsh breath and lurched forward before he could rethink what he was doing. His boots clomped on the asphalt as he stomped toward the entrance to a torturous hour in hell. One hour. It was only one hour. Then he could tell Loki he’d done it and get his dad off his back for at least another year.

It was simple. Go in. Sit at tables. Say a few words. Let the timers run out, and then get the hell out of there. One hour. He could do it for one hour without killing anyone, couldn’t he?

CHAPTER5

Grace fidgeted in her chair.She pulled at the hem of her skirt, trying to get it to cover her mid-thigh at least. She blew out a breath and took a sip of her fourth flute of champagne. She glanced around the room, which looked entirely too romantic. The scents being pumped into the air tickled her nose and made her even more nervous. Everything about the interior of DeLux Café had been made to relax beings and make them get more in the social mood, but it all set Grace on edge. Mostly because it wasn’t real. She wasn’t like the other beings at the dating event. She was the daughter of a Goddess and a shifter as well. Both of those facts had her spirit side twitchy. She didn’t like the idea of possibly being duped into pairing with someone she wasn’t meant to be with.

Stop.She told herself. This is just for fun. Think of it like her own personal K-drama. She was the awkward project girl that the popular girls dragged along with them to show off to others. It was ok. She was just playing a role. She could do that. She would sit at the table, talk to people, and then go home. Tomorrow she would go to work, and it would give her something to connect with Vivian, Brigeeta, and the others about. Maybe that was good enough. She could use the speed dating experience just to make friends. Heck, maybe if she had a good enough story to tell them, they might even invite her along to do something different. Not vampire stuff, but maybe like, girly stuff. She’d never had girl friends to do things with before. It could be fun.

In that moment, Grace decided she would give the speed dating a real shot. She would do what she could to have a good time because, in the end, it wasn’t about finding a mate. It was about making new friends – or getting closer to the ones she already had. And that was something she realized she desperately wanted.

A bell rang, and Grace almost jumped out of her seat. Slowly men began looking around the tables to find the one they were meant to start with. Grace watched them with nervous anticipation. Finally, a sizeable blue-skinned man glanced her way and headed straight for her table. Grace looked away as her nerve got the better of her. She picked at the little glittery hearts strewn across her table and then took a long drink of her champagne and didn’t look up again until he yanked out the chair across her and plopped into it.

He chuckled as Grace jolted at his sudden movement. “Skittish little thing, aren’t you?”

Grace glanced up into his deep red eyes. “No. Not particularly.”

He reached across and touched her hand, running his long thick fingers over her knuckles. “It’s okay. I like them timid.”

Grace slid her hand out of his reach, and her spirit side snarled. She didn’t like being touched without permission.

“I’m Aolf,” he said. “I’m a crossroad demon.”

Grace looked up at him. “What’s a crossroad demon?”

“When people want to make a deal with the devil, I’m the one that shows up and makes the deal.”

She nodded. “But why are you called a crossroad demon?”

---