Page 71 of B Negative

Twenty-Four

“I can’t tellif that was good or bad,” I admitted on our walk back to the mate suite.

“That was good. Really good, in fact.”

Was it? Mostly I just thought I pissed him off.

“Titus said he’d think about what you said. That doesn’t happen with anyone except me. Not even his closest aides can change his mind once it’s made.”

Interesting. Now to ask her the question that’s been on my mind for the last few days. “Sun, I gotta ask.”

“Mmm?”

“You knew what it was actually like here. You knew it wasn’t half as bad as Julian and the entire population of Laurel Cove thought. Why didn’t you ever correct the assumption?”

Every rumor I’d heard about this city, from feeding on the streets to fighting for dominance, had proven to only be true in the distant past. And yeah, the collector shit was weird and creepy, but he seemed to keep it under control. Mostly.

“Honestly? I don’t think you’re going to like the answer, Eden.”

“Hit me. I’m ready.”

She looped her arm in mine. “I had to find a way to live with myself while working for one king and having spent my whole life with another. And for me, that meant I couldn’t betray anyone’s trust. So I made a deal with myself. I would only answer direct questions Julian asked me about Titus and only with the least amount of information I could get away with. Unless Julian pressed, I never offered any information.”

“And let me guess. He never asked?”

“Why would he? He thought he knew who Titus was. Plus, I think Julian realized I didn’t want to feel like some kind of double agent. I’d only left because I didn’t want to be collected. Not that he would have, anyway.” She tapped on her chin. “I should probably tell him to work on those weird collector vibes though, huh?”

“Definitely.”

We returned to the mate suite to find B and Sherrie cuddled on the sofa, as usual. “Hello, ladies. What’s on the docket today?” B asked.

“I’m still hitting the library Sherrie brought up with her.” I hedged my words, not wanting Sherrie to guess why I was so interested in vampire traditions and lore. “I can’t help feeling like there’s something I’m missing.”

If only I could just sit someone down and pick their brain about it. Like what happened with Scott when I’d crossed packlands without knowing jackshit about how to do it right.

Except, the difference was, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t ask Scott questions. He told me. He was able to put himself in the shoes of an outsider.

For some reason, I couldn’t find a vampire that could do the same.

Or if they could, I couldn’t risk outing myself.

“I’ll clear out then,” Sherrie said and slowly disentangled her limbs from B’s. “I’ll see you after work tonight, ‘K?”

B nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can hardly wait.”

Gross.

Cute.

And good for B.

I was definitely happy for him.

But gross.

We headed for the bedroom, closed and witch-bottled the doors, and put our noses to the grindstone.

I picked up right where I left off in my kid’s book and blew through the first chapter in under five minutes. It covered the basics I already knew. Witches, shifters, vampires exist. Yes, it’s scary. No, they don’t want to eat you, usually. Yes, we’ll teach you how.

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