Page 49 of Vampire's Vixen

“I could start a social club. I could focus on giving people a place to meet and have fun. That way, even if they aren’t ready for marriage, but they want to meet people and get out and mingle, they’ll have another option. The Midnight Hour feels like it’s more for couples who just want to go to a country club.” I sat straighter, thinking about the possibility, growing more excited as I envisioned opening up my shop once every couple weeks for mixers.

“What else could you do?” Astra asked.

“I could expand my house cleansing, blessing, and clearing services.” Another thought hit me and I snapped my fingers. “I could include baby blessings, rites of passage rituals, I could perform marriages and even…facilitate rituals for couples who want to let go—amicably. But I’m not about to mediate angry lovers.”

“And how would doing all that make you happy?”

“Helping people find peace, helping them find joy. That’s it, really—I want to help people find their joy.” I leaned back in my seat. “I thought it was all about finding joy in finding a partner, and that’s part of it, but there’s so much more.”

“And now, you have some things to think about.” Astra carried our dishes to the sink. “So, what are you going to do next?”

I worried my lip. “I think, I’ll finish up with Zandre, and meanwhile, I’ll sit down and revamp my goals. I’ll focus on how I can bring peace and joy into the world.”

“Then you have a plan,” Astra said, kissing my forehead. “As to Kyle, go on a second date, don’t rush it, and see where it leads. I like him,” she added.

“So do I,” I said, gathering my things to head for the office.

By the next day, I had settled on expanding my business. Crystal and I were sitting at my desk, lattes and cookies in hand, as I told her about my talk with Astra and the conclusions I had come to.

“It’s not all about marriage. It’s about helping people find their joy, and that can include marriage, but it can also include people finding friends, bringing peace into their environments, creating meaningful milestones in their lives.” I felt like the world had opened wide for me. That I was on the precipice of major transformation, both in my personal life and my business life.

“This is exciting,” Crystal said. “I think you’re going to draw a lot of people into the shop. And if you add in selling some premade charms, maybe some perfumes or hey—what about a lover’s spell kit, with incense, candles, perfumes, and an incantation that a couple can perform before a special night? If you have those on the shelves when you hold your mixers, people will see that you offer more than just a matchmaking service.”

I nodded. “That sounds good. When I first thought about opening the business, I thought about trying to mimic what I was doing in Seattle. But I can’t—they have all the databases, the population can support their services… Those are things I don’t have here. With my former company, I only focused on matchmaking. Now, I have time to really expand my vision.” I paused, then asked, “How about you? Are you excited about your initiation?”

“I am,” she said. I feel like this is going to open a whole new world for both of us.” But her expression clouded over.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think…we’re going to be facing a lot more problems like we did with the psychic vampire in the coming future. Call it intuition or future-casting, but I think that the Covenant of Chaos is going to rise into prominence again, and it feels like that’s one reason we’re both being drawn into the Dark Moon Society. We’re going to be needed.”

As she spoke, a shadow crossed my grave and I shivered. “You may be right,” I said. “Maybe that’s why we’ve been drawn in. Now that you mention it, I can feel it too.”

As we sat there, I looked around my shop. I was starting to have glimpses of how I might change it, and what it would look like. And some of those potential changes led down a dark path before they found their way into the light.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Crystal said. She was wearing a pair of black pants, a black turtleneck, and a gold belt. She looked far more feminine than she usually did. “How do I look?”

“Great,” I said, rather surprised. I hadn’t bothered to change, except for freshening my makeup. I was wearing a dusty blue cold-shoulder dress that was a medium-weight jersey, and a pair of gray leggings. I had added a gray patent leather belt, but in no way looked ready for a fancy date. I didn’t want to stand out as too appealing.

I had picked her up on the way to Numa’s Steak House.

“What’s he like?” Crystal asked.

“You’ve never met a vampire before, have you? It’s okay—I hadn’t either. Actually, Zandre is polite and nice. He’s intense, but I think that goes with the territory. Part of it may be his glamour. Vampires can turn on the glamour, yes, but to some extent, it seems like an innate trait.” I paused, then said, “Remember in seventh grade when we were drooling over vampire romances?”

We’d gone through a period where we read every vampire romance novel we could find. I flashed back to how I devoured them, massively in love with the idea of someone wanting me bad enough to take me through eternity with them.

Crystal laughed. “Yeah.” She blushed. “Can I tell you something before we get there?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I have to admit, I still read vampire romances.”

Surprised, I glanced at her. “You do? That surprises me.”

“Yeah, there’s something else.” She cleared her throat. “I need to tell you something. No secrets between besties, right?”

“Right,” I said, worried. “What’s going on, Crystal?”

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