Chapter 18 #2
Gustov, doubtlessly picking up on the serious situation we’re in, gallops over to the rescue and chomps down right on Julian’s tail that is dangling down. Ezio, not noticing this, is busy carrying Julian off while dragging Gustov behind him.
With the situation further spiraling out of control, the woman’s eyes remain fixated on Julian while Casimir and Atticus begin to bicker at each other, like blaming the other for their lack of allure will fix the situation.
I flip the leash that’s around my neck over my shoulder, flick a leaf out of my hair from where Atticus and I had rolled around beneath the trees, and strut up to her. I press a finger under her chin as I give her my best smile.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Did something happen?” I purr.
Her eyes willingly leave Julian for the first time and meet mine. “The naked one just turned into a dog.”
I laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at someone as beautiful as you, but how exactly did he turn into a dog? He is rather fantastic at turning into a naked man, though, isn’t he?”
She’s watching me closely, mesmerized by my aura.
I lean in so I can murmur into her ear. “I think you’re confused.”
“I am confused,” she whispers.
“You just saw a very naked man who was extremely embarrassed and fled. I wouldn’t flee if you saw me na—”
Atticus jerks me back by the leash, choking me a bit as he glowers at me. “We have this covered.”
How the fuck does he have anything covered?
I’m obviously the only one who has anything covered!
Ezio is over there holding a rigor mortis wolf while Gustov hangs from his tail, and Cyrus is busy pretending like he’s noticed none of this.
And Atticus and Casimir have been too busy fighting over why they both suck to accomplish anything!
Her eyes shift back to Julian who Ezio is trying to cram through the doorway, but with his stiff legs splayed out, he seems to be struggling.
“We have this,” Atticus repeats.
I stare at him. “Clearly, you don’t.”
“Keep your petty jealousy for something else,” Casimir snaps at him.
“I am your maker; I tell you what to do,” Atticus growls back.
“Oh? Just because you made me doesn’t mean you control me,” Casimir barks.
“Look into my eyessssss,” I whisper as the woman tries to look at me between the two squabbling men whose heads keep getting in the way.
“If he didn’t turn into a dog, why is there a pile of clothes on the floor?” she asks.
“Because he’s a nudist. He strips the instant he gets home.
He tried to get us to start a nudist colony, but we assured him that he’s the only one who likes to be naked all the time.
He even made business cards, but the only picture on them is of him, so it just looks like he’s trying to pass an awkward dick pic to everyone he invites. ”
She slowly nods while my allure convinces her to think that none of this ever happened. Her attention is now on the two men fighting for absolutely no reason at all. I retrieve Atticus’s wallet and slip out a couple of hundred-dollar bills.
“This is for your wonderful work,” I tell her.
“Oh, I couldn’t!” she protests while happily taking the money in exchange for her trauma.
“Don’t worry, it’s not my money,” I say as she pushes the bags inside and hurries on her way, a pep to her step.
I kick Atticus in the ass. “What are you two fighting about?”
“He nearly fucking ruined your allure, and for what?” Casimir growls. “Some petty jealousy?”
“Of what?” I ask.
“I’m merely pissed you’ve allowed a human to see a werewolf transformation. Maybe if we weren’t busy putting Julian in a fucking hot dog costume, she wouldn’t have seen anything,” Atticus says, like turning this on me is the best thing to do.
“If you accuse me again, I’m cramming you in it,” I threaten while I pull the leash off my neck and aim it at him, as if I’m going to threaten him with a thin strap of leather.
“Julian, you can stop playing dead. You know, when most dogs play dead, they roll onto their back,” I say as the dejected werewolf slinks into the room and just falls to the ground, playing dead for real this time.
Cyrus simply sips his coffee. “I can check off ‘seeing Julian’s ding dong’ on my bingo card for the day. I put it right there in the middle, knowing it’d be a given.”
“Ooh, what else is on there?” I ask while I kneel next to Julian.
“You doing a hair flip and thinking it looks like a model from a hair commercial.”
“Does it not?” I ask, aghast.
“You’re on a roll, baby,” Ezio says, praising his boyfriend for his make-believe bingo card. Their gooeyness sickens me. “You’re a winner in my heart every day.”
Cyrus just shrugs, and I take the opportunity of Julian playing dead to cram the hot dog costume onto him. He’s now a deceased hot dog.
It pleases me.
“That is… ridiculously cute,” Casimir says as he rushes over to take pictures of his boyfriend who has just given up on the floor.
“I’m glad we’re the normal ones,” Cyrus tells Ezio while I glare at them. What about me could be considered not normal? I’m the very definition of normal!
“Do you see why I’d be better off doing this alone? I could have run off and accomplished all of this by now,” Atticus gripes.
“It doesn’t start until tomorrow,” I remind him.
Atticus doesn’t respond, just sighs and hurries off.
I stand up but decide the hot dog is too cute, so I pick Julian up to carry with me.
He’s still playing dead, even though the delivery lady is long gone.
It might have something to do with the fact that he almost exposed werewolves to the human race, all because of a hot dog, but ah well.
“That is mine,” Casimir says as he snatches Julian from me.
I grumble but allow him to go before I chase Atticus up the stairs.
“Why are you running after me? I’m not going anywhere,” he says from where he’s halfway through the window.
“You obviously are!” I say as he sighs and backs away from the window. “Atticus, will you give me tonight? Just tonight where I don’t have to be distracted thinking you’re going to run off? I will do all of the research I can while we drive to Wick’s district so that we’ll be prepared tomorrow.”
He watches me for a long moment before giving me a single nod. “Fine.”
“Johnny will tell me if you flee, won’t you, Johnny?” I ask, not seeing the man, but positive he’s lurking around here somewhere like a creeper.
“Yes, sir,” Johnny says, sliding a knife into the sheath at his side.
“When the fuck did you start listening to Yorick?” Atticus asks.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir,” Johnny says while Atticus’s eyes threaten to end Johnny’s life.
Johnny does not seem concerned.
But the real question is: why is no one else concerned about the knife? “What were you going to do with that knife?”
“Everything worked out for the best, so I didn’t have to do anything at all,” Johnny says.
“You can’t just assassinate innocent women!” I exclaim.
“Of course not, sir.”
I decide I will just pretend that didn’t happen and turn my attention to Atticus, pinning him with my eyes. “I’m trusting you.”
“I have no idea why you would,” he says.
Neither do I, but I don’t have much choice. So I rush downstairs and do my best to learn everything I can about Wick, his district, and the location the party will be at while Johnny packs my bags to go.