Page 79 of Fighting Furry

I looked at her, surprised. “Expose who?”

“The werewolves,” she said. “The council. You're Julie Jacobs. Tell the world that you can turn into a wolf, tell them your story, and tell them Axel is going to be killed by this council. People are going to love this story, Jules. Use your platform to save Axel.”

My heart leapt for just a moment. It sounded like the perfect solution. I could make Axel famous. I could save him.

“What about the video of Julie and the others killing the wolves?” Desiree asked. “How are we going to explain that?”

Shelly frowned. “Um…Well, I…”

“We're going to have to reveal vampires, too,” I said, a plan forming. “If we're going to tell this story, we're going to have to tell the whole story.”

“Why would anyone believe you, though?” Shelly said, her gaze distant. “Unless…”

“Unless I have a vampire backing me up,” I said, mentally high-fiving myself. This was an awesome plan. Okay, it was our only plan, but it had to work. It would work.

“Good luck getting a vamp to do anything,” Desiree said. “Especially when they're a million times scarier than wolves.”

Damn it, she had a point. “Until we come up with a better plan,” I said. “We have to try. And we have to do it quietly, so the council doesn't get wind of it.”

***

“Are you insane?” Alpha asked. He stared at us through the screen on the wall, and I prayed this wasn't a mistake. If anyone was going to alert the council to our plan, it would be Alpha. Luckily, he didn't need to know every detail of our plan in order to help us.

“Just ask them,” I said. “All I want to do is talk. Isn't there anyone who might be willing to talk to me?”

Alpha sighed and shook his head. “I really fucking hate inviting vamps into my house. They're over here enough as it is. If I ask for a favor…” He shook his head again. “It's just not worth it to save some guy I don't even fucking like.”

I shrugged. “I don't blame you. It'll benefit you if they execute Axel, right? You'll get to move your pack into his territory and the vamps will get his pack and, hopefully, leave yours alone. It will be lovely for you until you wake up one night to find you've lost a vital part of your anatomy.” I tapped my chin. “Yeah, I think you'd deserve a slow death for betraying Axel and his pack to side with the council and then not doing me the smallest favor. I wonder how long it takes a man to bleed to death from a penile amputation?”

“That's a terrible idea,” Desiree said. “Allowing him to live without his penis would be much more painful in the—”

“Fine,” Alpha said. “I'll find someone to talk to you.”

He called back an hour later, saying he'd found the only vampire in the area who didn't hate my guts. Apparently, she was a UFC fan. He pushed a tall woman, with dark hair and multiple piercings, forward. “Hi, I'm Stasia. Alpha said you had some questions?”

“Thank you for talking to us,” I said, giving her a grateful smile. “I…” Shit, where did I start. “I was wondering if you could put me in touch with a vampire in the public eye, someone who's trusted, who has built her or his career on trust.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

I wrinkled my nose, I really didn't want to tell this woman what we were planning to do.

“Hello,” Desiree said, pushing past me. “I'm Desiree, CEO of Lotions and Potions, and I'm planning a new ad campaign. I've noticed that vampires have the most flawless skin and I'm looking for a celebrity to tout my products.”

I could have kissed her, the woman was an absolute genius. Stasia grinned. “You think we have nice skin? I've always thought mine was too pale.”

“Oh, darling,” Desiree said, really laying it on thick now. “Your skin is amazing. Simply flawless. In fact, I'd love to include you in my campaign.”

“Really?” Stasia was practically bouncing with joy.

“Of course, darling. You are gorgeous.” Desiree pouted just the tiniest bit. “Of course, there won't be a campaign at all without a vampire celebrity.”

Stasia nodded. “There's Edie Waxhall, but she's a little old isn't she…What about Lila Dumont?”

I just stared. Lila Dumont was a UFC fighter. It should have given me great pleasure to learn she was supernaturally strong, but it mostly just pissed me off. “Isn't there anyone else? Anyone else at all?”

Stasia shrugged. “Not unless they're hiding in plain sight. It's not like we keep a database of vampires or anything.”

I slumped. I'd really imagined a whole horde of Hollywood elites would be vampires. It would explain so much. “What about this Edie Waxhall?” She sounded vaguely familiar.

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