Page 76 of Destined for Dreams
Cori waited until he got his pants and shirt back on. “So are we good?”
“I’m satisfied.” He grabbed his jacket and pulled an envelope from the inside pocket, handing it to her. “Here’s your payment for today.”
She opened it and silently counted three thousand dollars in there. He’d said she’d get more for each of the werewolf tattoos, but he hadn’t said how much exactly. “This is…more than expected.”
“It needs to be. I don’t want my whole pack runnin’ in here botherin’ you to get the same tattoo.” He ran a hand through his long, brown hair. It had been tied back in a queue, but he’d lost that during the shift. “If you charge high enough, they’ll think more carefully about it.”
“Why not have the whole pack be day shifters?” she asked, though it wasn’t because she was greedy. It just seemed like it would be a good deal for the alpha and would make his pack more sought after for membership if they had such an advantage.
He gave her a rueful smile. “If you spent more time around werewolves, you’d get it. For our newer members, it takes months and often years to learn how to handle their animal side. Some never get control all the way and have to be watched closely. The last thing I need is to have to keep an eye on them durin’ the day, too.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
Derrick sat down to pull on his boots. “Don’t let any of them get the special tattoo without my approval first. You can do regular ones on them all you want, though.”
“You didn’t test me to see if I could control myself without giving the gift,” Cori pointed out.
“I’ve seen enough,” he said.
“So what’s next?” she asked.
“I’ll let you know, but for now let’s leave it at humans and werewolves.” He stood. “Handle that alright for the next few months, and we’ll see if there’s somethin’ you can do for other races.”
“What about that vampire?” She hadn’t gotten an update lately and had worried about it.
“He’s fine, just weaker and don’t need or like blood no more.” Derrick grimaced. “You probably won’t get many takers askin’ for that, so I wouldn’t worry about it, but give me a call if it ever comes up.”
“Sounds good.” She shook his hand. “Thank you for the business.”
“I appreciate you as well for fixin’ a long-term problem I’ve had.” With a final nod, Derrick grabbed his fellow pack mate, and they left the store.
Bambi came to stand next to her. “Well, I guess you fucked up good there.”
Cori frowned down at her. “What?”
“Only you’d manage to make a screw-up turn into somethin’ good.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without your glowing encouragement,” Cori said, shaking her head.
“That’s what I’m always tellin’ ya.”
