Chapter 20
The smell of maple syrup and bacon spills into the bedroom as soon as I open the door. After spending over a week locked up in a cell, sleeping in a bed had felt like heaven, but unfortunately, waking up this morning is a different story.
“Damn, you look like shit,” Kole greets when I walk into the kitchen.
“Yeah. Well, I feel like shit,” I groan, slipping onto one of the barstools on the other side of the island.
“At what point should I be concerned you have a drinking problem?” He slides me a glass of water that I immediately chug like I’ve just spent two days trudging through the Sahara Desert.
“It’s your fault! I know you kept refilling my glass, so that you could cheat at chess.”
“Oh sure…” He takes a bite of bacon, and my mouth begins to water just looking at it. “The girl who didn’t even know how to play was just soooo good that I needed to cheat in order to beat her ass.”
“Hey, I almost had you that one round!” I point to the bacon, and he hands me a piece before making me a plate.
“That’s only because you made me play with half the pieces!”
I shrug. “Still. Almost had ya.”
He shakes his head and takes a seat next to me.
I had chalked up the niceties last night to him taking pity on me for having to finally submit to Thane, but now I’m wondering if this nice act is actually for real.
Part of me hopes it is. It would be easier to accept my new fate if I wasn’t completely surrounded by people who want to see me suffer.
Plus, for some reason, being around him feels oddly natural.
“What do you—"
Kole’s words are cut off when Thane comes barreling around the corner with a deadly scowl. I haven’t seen him since the stadium, and I don’t think he came back here last night. Kole doesn’t look the least bit phased by Thane’s demeanor, and I don’t know if I should find that comforting or not.
“Put this on.”
Thane throws a piece of clothing in my face, knocking the fork out of my hand. I stand up, holding out the white and black fabric to get a better look.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
A piece of scrambled eggs goes flying out of Kole’s mouth as he chokes on a laugh. I knew Thane would have something in store for today, but forcing me to wear a cow costume was nowhere near on my list of ideas.
“Well, go put it on.” Kole waves his hands at me, and I glare at him over my shoulder.
Once I’m changed, I look myself over in the mirror, taking in the absurd outfit. It fits like a onesie, complete with four udders and a hood that has a pair of ears sticking out.
Sienna’s life. That’s what I’m doing this for. I just have to suck it up.
Kole bursts out in a fit of laughter as soon as I appear in the kitchen.
“Yeah, yeah. Get it out,” I sigh with the wave of my hand.
“You look udderly ridiculous,” he snickers, reaching over and slapping one of the rubber udders.
I bat his hand away before he can do it again. “Stop that!”
“Oh, don’t have a cow,” he taunts, wrapping his arm around Thane. The two of them look me over with wicked grins.
“Let’s go, Grey.” Thane shrugs out of Kole’s hold and motions for me to follow. As I pass by, Kole flashes me a reassuring wink and mouths the words, “Play nice.”
Easy for him to say. He’s not the one wearing this stupid thing.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s with the cow outfit?” I finally ask once we’re in the car. The seatbelt catches on the udders, and my patience quickly starts to grow thin.
“Seeing as how your kind would dress dogs up for Halloween, it seems only fitting that I do the same.”
My mouth falls open, but I snap it shut, swallowing back my words.
Play nice, Fallon. Just play nice.
“I didn’t realize it was Halloween,” I finally say, as I look out the window, wondering where it is we’re going.
“It was the one day of the year the vampires were allowed to come out of hiding.” He glances over at me, his face hardened by the memory of the old world. “It holds a deeper meaning for them. There is going to be a party this evening that you will accompany me to.”
“Can’t wait.” I don’t bother hiding my sarcasm as I look at my reflection in the side mirror.
Seeing as how the last party I attended left me waking up chained to his bed, I can only imagine what tonight will entail. If I have to wear this costume, then I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be the least bit fun. But that’s tonight’s problem. I have to get through today first.
We pull up to a bar that looks like a complete dump from the outside, and I follow Thane inside, immediately running into a wall of cigarette smoke. I guess when you’re a vampire or werewolf, you don’t have to worry about lung disease.
The five people in here eye their Alpha before shifting to look at me. I try not to pay them any mind as we head to the end of the bar, where an older man with a wiry grey mustache is pouring a large glass of bourbon.
How is anyone drinking this early in the morning?
The smell of alcohol makes my stomach churn as the man slides the glass of bourbon to Thane, who downs it in one gulp.
“Anything for the cow?” he asks, turning his attention to me.
“No, thanks.” I flash the man a fake smile before turning my back and propping my elbows up on the countertop. A bar is quite literally the worst place to be when you’re hungover.
“Actually, she’ll have a double shot of brandy,” Thane insists with a smug grin.
The man looks far too happy about Thane’s suggestion as he walks behind the bar and grabs a bottle of liquor. I’ve never had brandy before, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure I’m not going to like it one bit.
“Here you go, sweetheart.”
I grab the glass and try not to grimace as a waft of it assaults my nostrils.
“Bottoms up, Grey.” Thane watches me closely like he’s waiting for me to put up a fight. I’d usually be annoyed by that, but right now it’s only giving me motivation to prove him wrong.
Here goes nothing.
I plug my nose and toss the liquor back, imagining it’s a shot of orange juice instead.
Unfortunately, my imagination is only so strong, and the taste of alcohol begins to attack my tastebuds as the burn of it crawls down my throat and settles in my chest. I slam the empty glass down on the bar top before doubling over in a violent coughing fit.
Tears well in my eyes as I try to keep it down, but eventually, I’m able to compose myself enough to stand back up.
Both of them give me a look that I can’t quite read before turning their backs to me in hushed conversation.
I do my best to eavesdrop, but both men are speaking so low that I’m sure even the vampires in this place can’t make out what they’re saying.
The man scribbles something down on a piece of paper and hands it to Thane, who stuffs it in his back pocket and shakes his hand before turning back to me.
“Let’s go. We’re done here.”
Thane takes the lead, and I notice the few people in the bar nod to him as we head for the door, making me wonder how he got to be in this position.
Even if he is the only hybrid, I would imagine there would still be quite the lineup of people wanting to claim the title of Alpha for themselves.
The fact that he’s able to hang onto it with so much respect from his people is both impressive and terrifying.
The next place we pull up to looks like an old-school diner.
When we walk inside, a bell rings above us, making our presence that much more noticeable.
Unlike the bar, this place is packed full.
Music that sounds like it’s from the 1950s or 1960s plays overhead while black and white checkered floors add to the overall vibe of the place.
A waitress glides by on roller skates, balancing four plates full of breakfast food.
The diner seems to fall silent as the crowd parts for Thane, and all eyes fall on us, reminding me that I’m dressed like a damn cow. My cheeks heat with embarrassment as a few snickers ripple around us, and I quickly shove my hood back, hoping it will somehow make me look less stupid.
“Wait here,” Thane orders, motioning to one of the round bar stools that was just occupied two seconds ago.
The vampire who had been sitting on it stands next to her friend now, looking up at Thane like she wants to eat him for breakfast instead.
A prickle of heat shoots up the back of my neck as I watch her ogle him with no sense of shame.
She pulls her shirt down to show more cleavage, but he doesn’t seem to even notice her desperate attempt to get his attention before he turns around and stalks off down the aisle.
She whips around and sneers as her eyes run down me in an assessing kind of way.
“You must be the human pet.”
“Well, aren’t you just the sharpest crayon in the box.” I let the condescension in my tone settle between us as that fire in me sizzles to life. I should know better than to provoke a vampire, but something about her is making it impossible for me not to want to pick a fight.
“You little—” Her raised hand is pulled back by her friend, who whispers something in her ear that makes her take a step back. “Don’t think for a second you’re anything special,” she hisses. Her tongue runs along her sharp fangs in warning. “He’ll be done with you soon enough.”
There’s a hint of jealousy behind her words, though I’m not sure why. You’d have to be a special kind of crazy to want to be in my position.
“I didn’t think cows were allowed in here.” I swivel to see three male werewolves crowding around me.
“And I didn’t think idiot sandwiches were allowed in here, yet here you stand.” I swivel the stool around so that my back is to them, clearly having some kind of death wish.
“She’s got a mouth on her,” one of them growls. Goosebumps spread along my arms as I feel them closing in on me. “I think I like it.”
“I think I like those udders of hers.” I assume the one in the middle is speaking now, judging by the confidence lacing his words. “They look nice and perky to me.” I swallow hard at the underlying sexual inuendo.