Chapter 19
Xanthe had been on my mind more times than I could count. She was there when I woke up in the morning, popped into my thoughts during lunch when work slowed down, and lingered even now, during this business meeting at my sibling's new restaurant.
I stared blankly at the menu. It was a restaurant for humans, owned by vampires. Not a single vampire in sight at the table—well, except for my two brothers, one sister, and her friend, who couldn't seem to take her eyes off me.
"No blood," I commented absently. It was, after all, a place for hungry humans. Of course, there wouldn't be any blood on the menu. I had to admit, my siblings were sharp business minds—feed the humans, fatten them up, and make their blood rich and savory.
"Of course, Jager," Petra, my younger sister, replied with a smirk. "Who would be tacky enough to put blood on the menu? Oh wait, why not have cats and dogs eat from the same bowl while we're at it."
Business acumen clearly ran in the family.
What I hadn't mentioned, though, was that Wade and I had recently stepped out of our comfort zones.
We'd bought a club—and were now in the messy business of sharing one of the club girls.
That bit of information wouldn't sit well at the table, no matter how empty my plate was.
My throat was parched, and that could only mean one thing—I needed blood. I hadn't fed in a week, and I wasn't sure why I was depriving myself.
"There's nothing wrong with keeping a little blood in the fridge," I muttered.
"We want to make it look like we cater to humans," Cedric, my second-to-last brother, said.
He had a few businesses scattered across America and Austria—restaurants, to be exact.
He loved being around food. Human food. It made sense, given that his wife was human.
Both of my brothers had married humans. I supposed it made things easier—free food, after all.
"And don't you?"
"We actually do."
We all burst out laughing. Our jokes were rich, our laughter the sound of wealth. Poor people wouldn't understand.
Petra, my younger sister, owned several salons, but this was her first venture as a co-owner of a restaurant. I had never been interested in that world—too boring for my tastes.
Two human waitresses approached our table.
I had to appreciate how we'd created jobs for humans, considering how difficult it was for them to find any work these days.
They were mostly stuck with low-level jobs.
The world was slowly becoming a pretty sad place, and I hoped vampires would begin to see humans as equals.
Sure, they didn't have our power, but that didn't mean they weren't useful.
The two waitresses made their way around the table, taking everyone's order.
I glanced at Petra, who was staring at Wade.
We'd all been friends for a very long time—a very long time—and I supposed it was only natural for Petra to develop feelings for Wade, eventually.
It seemed like she never quite grew out of that teenage phase where everyone was cute, and any guy with a six-pack and dark hair was her crush.
Wade had been her longest-running crush.
But Wade never showed any interest, and I respected that.
It wasn't that Wade didn't have a choice; she simply saw Petra as a younger sister.
Wade and I liked the same things. We ate from the same plate, so to speak.
Sharing girls had become a delicacy for us—on and off, on and off.
"What did you order, Wade?" Petra asked, twirling a fizzy strand of her hair. She always liked it wild and textured. My eyes flicked over to Lylah, who used to flirt with me and my brothers—back when they were still single. Now, I was the last piece of meat left for her to nibble at.
"Cow. Raw cow," Wade replied, her tone flat and disinterested.
"It's steak," Lylah corrected, trying to sound proper. "Rare steak."
"Technically still raw cow," I muttered.
"Did you get dessert with it?"
"You can't have raw cow and ice cream," Wade muttered.
"Ice cream isn't the only dessert."
"I'm not human, so I wouldn't know," Wade shrugged, clearly uninterested in the conversation. Petra groaned, casting a glance at Lylah that conveyed her frustration—that look of defeat when it came to Wade.
It amused me to see her putting herself out there for Wade. When would she ever learn?
The food arrived quickly, but it did little to settle my stomach.
"You said you would ask," I overheard Petra say tightly to Lylah. What were they arguing about? Despite my discomfort, I dug into my meal.
"Why don't you ask? It was your idea," Lylah retorted.
"What was whose idea?" I interjected, cutting into my chicken breast. It was roasted to perfection, and if I had the taste buds of a human, I would definitely savor it.
"The club you opened down on this same block," Petra replied.
I froze, exchanging a long glance with Wade. We were silently debating who would explain.
"Four days have passed, and you didn't tell us anything, leaving us to find out on our own."
"All of you?" I asked, staring at my two brothers. They nodded sheepishly.
"Wade and I decided we wanted to seek out money elsewhere.
" I lied, finding some satisfaction in not revealing the truth about the thrill of the drama that comes with running a club.
Just last night, I had to kick some rowdy boys out of the VIP section.
It wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't something that happened in a corporate office.
The corporate world was filled with hushed whispers, ringing telephones, the whir of printers, and endless meetings. The club, on the other hand, was loud, with the VIP area offering only a sliver of peace.
"Get more money? You have an entire kingdom and leading businesses. What could a club possibly contribute?"
"Just put more money into what we already have," I replied, grinning sarcastically. "It's the same idea as wanting to own restaurants and salons."
"But those are in our niche," Ambrose said. He was the oldest brother, a chef who moved between his restaurants, providing exotic meals for humans. "A club isn't in your niche."
"We're not the ones managing it."
"Who is?" Petra asked.
"You're not going to like the name."
Ethan's name was a topic of discussion at every dinner table. He was infamous, for crying out loud—the first man to exploit humans and make them suffer.
"Ethan."
"Ethan Spruce?" Ambrose asked, disbelief coloring his voice.
"Yeah."
"That criminal?" Lylah sneered.
"Well, he's the shady character we wanted for the club. He's doing a good job." It takes a certain toughness to run a club, and Ethan had that in spades. He behaved like a kingpin.
"We're coming to check it out tonight," Petra declared.
"We're not going," my brothers said in unison.
"We have wives and responsibilities," Ambrose added.
"I never wanted either of you in the club, honestly. We're just doing it for fun."
"I thought you said it was to drive in more revenue."
"Definitely that too."
"We want to see what it's all about. We've been hearing too much about it on social media. But isn't that Cloney guy you bought it from a rip-off?" Lylah asked.
"Well, we told him to stick around just in case," I clarified. "But you two really shouldn't come." We went to the club to spend time with our snow bunny. Could I set aside a night for my sister and her friend? I didn't want to, but it seemed unavoidable.
"We'll bring you," I groaned, glancing at Wade, whose phlegmatic expression revealed her displeasure. I wasn't happy about this, either.
"We want to know what this club is all about. We have a right to, especially since that rip-off wannabe is flying around."
"Thanks, but we know what we're doing," I said, looking at Wade for support.
Wade nodded.
"We didn't say that. It's just that you guys aren't nightlife vampires. You have a monotonous schedule: sleep, wake up, go to work, wear suits all day, and basically wait to turn to dust."
"And we'd like to change that."
"Get married."
I couldn't help but notice how the two girls looked at me and Wade, as if we should slip rings on their fingers and everything would be fine. But that wouldn't change the fact that it would still be boring.
I have to say, humans possess real excitement and fun—skin that flushes with emotion, pounding hearts, a variety of eye colors, and a spectrum of hair types. We vampires appear so monochrome in comparison, while humans are a vibrant tapestry.
"We're not ready for marriage."
"Why are you answering for Wade?" Petra asked.
"Because she's right. I'm not ready for marriage. Maybe in another decade."
"That's such a long time! Why not date and settle down now?"
"Because marriage requires more than just a ring—and we're not getting married."
"God, we weren't really pushing it on you. I just think it would be amazing to come home to a wife, fresh blood, and kids."
"We're fine."
"Stop answering for both of you," Lylah snapped.
"It is what it is. We like the same things."
Lylah glanced at both of us before returning to her meal. Tonight was shaping up to be difficult with them around.