Checkmate Instead of a Clean Slate

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

YORICK

“I’m sorry… what exactly are you doing in here?” Casimir asks me.

I decide that pretending Casimir doesn’t exist inside of his own household will surely be for the best.

The vampire, who’s slightly older than me, tries glowering at me, but he should know that the only one who can bully me is our maker, Atticus. And since he’s not here, I have no problem ignoring Casimir and focusing on his much superior (and fluffier) partner, Julian.

“Puppers, your evil mate is being mean to me, and all I’ve done is sit here and be absolutely perfect,” I whine.

I really think Julian is the only one who can save me from Casimir’s glare, since he’s chosen the dreadful vampire as his mate.

After some elaborate fake dating scheme that they concocted in an attempt to bring the werewolves and vampires together, Julian suckered Casimir into dating him for real.

And ever since, we’ve been the best of friends…

kind of. I mean, there was that itsy-bitsy moment when I tried being a bad guy and threw Julian out a window, but it’s all okay because I knew Casimir would catch him with ease.

And he sure did!

We just don’t bring up that bad boy phase and everyone is happier. Honestly, I should just be given credit for helping the two of them get together.

It’s evident Casimir isn’t done, given the way his dark brown eyes narrow as they focus on me. “You let yourself into our house, and then have proceeded to loaf on our couch for the past twenty-four hours. You don’t even live here! Are you just moving in?” he gripes.

I hesitate, realizing how lovely that idea is. “I would love to! Which room is mine? Do I get to pick? Or will you pick for me? I’m so excited to have roommates. Thrilled, even! I thought you’d never ask!”

“I’m not asking. I’m telling you to get lost,” Casimir grumbles.

There are only two things that he doesn’t grumble at: his partner, Julian, and his poodle, Gustov.

Speaking of which, the poodle is currently lying on my lap for the ultimate belly rub.

I have a rather strong suspicion that this is the only reason I’ve been permitted to stay as long as I have since Casimir is a sucker for keeping his two puppers happy.

My fingers slide through Gustov’s well-groomed fur while I debate how long they’ll let me stay if I keep my mouth shut and maintain my dutiful petting.

Better yet, if I hide somewhere in this grand house until sunlight, they’ll have no option but to keep me around.

It’s not like they’ll kick me out into the sun… right?

“We’re heading out tomorrow for two nights.

I have a teaching conference I need to attend,” Julian says to me.

“Ezio was going to watch Gustov, but Casimir is convinced that Gustov will be highly distraught being away from home. I was thinking that you could housesit and watch Gustov for us, if you want. If not, it’s not a big deal, Ezio can still do it. ”

The expression on Casimir’s face tells me that this wasn’t discussed earlier and will definitely be discussed later. “Does it look like I want that thing in my home?” Casimir demands. “Who knows what he’ll do. He’ll probably walk around naked and rub his balls on our couch.”

“But won’t it be worth it for Gustov to get to stay home?” Julian asks.

Casimir scrutinizes me, like he’s going to dissect me with just a look and determine whether I’m worthy of such a task. “I don’t have faith that Yorick can even care for himself, let alone care for Gustov. I mean… look at him.”

I gasp, unable to comprehend how this man can be so evil! “How dare you! I am still alive, am I not? I’ve been alive for nearly five hundred years! I must be doing something semi-right.”

“See?” Julian asks. “He’s not dead yet. He should certainly be able to take this little scoop and swipe up some food before pouring it into Gustov’s golden bowl.

Then I bet Gustov won’t even drink all of his water out of his water fountain, glass bowl, and metal bowl during the time we’re gone.

If worst comes to worst, Gustov can shit on the floor. ”

Casimir’s eyes narrow more with nearly every word that Julian says. “This level of sarcasm coming out of you is unnecessary, and yet… I still feel affection for you. How ridiculous,” he mutters.

“You’re the one who is ridiculous because you think I shouldn’t be kind to others,” Julian counters.

Julian is an easygoing werewolf who stumbled into Casimir’s life after he was nearly killed by a group of vampires.

After discovering Julian when he was close to death, Casimir had given him his blood as a show of goodwill toward Julian’s father Terrance, the alpha of the local pack.

The vampires and weres were already at each other’s throats, so Casimir knew that if Julian died, it would spell disaster for the two sides, which he didn’t have the patience to deal with as the district’s leader.

Even though he was positive his blood wouldn’t help Julian—seeing as vampire blood does not have any effect on werewolves—it somehow saved him, likely due to the fact that Julian wasn’t turned into a werewolf, he was born one.

I didn’t even know that being born a werewolf was possible until then.

It certainly seems like Julian is unique in all kinds of ways.

Though Casimir is the leader of our district, he isn’t exactly the most… sociable, so the peace between the vampires and weres has improved drastically since Julian started assisting him.

And then I came along as a wonderful new friend and definitely didn’t end up here after switching sides from the group of evil vampires who were trying to off them.

The moment I joined Julian’s group, we were all instantly the best of friends.

Really, they did it of their own free will and it definitely didn’t take significant persuading.

I smile at Julian and give Gustov a soft pat as the dog’s tongue lolls out of his mouth. “We will be perfectly fine.”

“Casimir, I know you’re overly protective of Gustov, but Yorick has adored him since the moment he met him and called him a Q-tip.

He’s always over there giving him belly rubs and cooing to him.

Don’t forget that the first time you met Gustov, you tried to eat him but gave up when you couldn’t bite through all of his fluff,” Julian says.

I gasp like I haven’t heard this story before. “I would never eat this floof. Only a heathen would try!”

“See? He will not eat the floof,” Julian says.

Casimir still doesn’t look convinced and even waves me to the door like I might not know where it is. “Fine. You may be permitted to watch him. We will leave at eight PM tomorrow. Do not come any sooner.”

I sigh, realizing this is my cue to depart, and grudgingly get up. “Fine, fine. I shall leave. I will take the best care of your dog. He will be a pampered prince. And then you will decide to move me in as an in-home nanny for your dog. Yes, this is all working out very well.”

The door slamming shut after me tells me that maybe I’ll need to work on that one.

I head out to my car and sit in it while I think about where I should go next. My mind drifts to a very irritating man that I would absolutely never willingly drive hours to go see. The only reason I thought of him is to remind myself exactly what I won’t do.

Yes, that is indeed why I thought of Atticus.

I put the car in drive and hurry over to the police station, hopping out just as I see Ezio also getting out of his car.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“The same thing you’re doing here,” I state.

“I’m bringing Cyrus dinner.”

“I’m… also… bringing Cyrus dinner.”

Ezio stares at my empty hands as his eyebrows rise. Ezio is a close friend of Casimir’s and is the only vampire he seems to willingly get along with. Ezio is overall a pretty cheery guy, so even though I have nothing in my hands, he just shrugs and goes along with it.

“You wanted to lay your eyes on my beautiful Arturo’s shimmering face too, didn’t you?” he asks.

“What is even happening?” the man in question asks as he walks up.

The history between Ezio and Cyrus is quite complex, and the two of them only figured it out themselves about a month ago.

Back when Ezio was a human in his country’s military, he’d fallen in love with a man named Arturo.

But Arturo was owned by Louis, an evil vampire who drove them into a desperate attempt to escape after he’d killed Ezio’s brother and entire unit.

Sadly, fleeing led to Arturo’s death, leaving Ezio alone to wander the world while that horrible vampire continued to stalk him for hundreds of years.

Ezio kept a close eye on Arturo’s family throughout the generations, which is how he met Cyrus.

He believed him to be the descendent of Arturo’s brother.

But when Louis revealed himself to Cyrus, he also revealed the fact that Arturo hadn’t died. Since Arturo was a dhampir, he’d lived through the assault but had lost his memories in a later attack and was fed lies about being a human whose family had been killed by vampires.

Poor Cyrus has been stuck wading through the sparse memories he had as Arturo and Cyrus, trying to figure out which were pieces of his actual past that he’d managed to reshape to fit the story Louis had given him, and which ones were entirely fabricated by Louis.

“We are both here to deliver you dinner,” Ezio says with a beaming smile.

“I see… thank you,” Cyrus replies. Since he’d unknowingly taken the place of his relative, he’s decided he’d remain “Cyrus” in front of others. But when we’re away from them, it’s okay to call him Arturo.

“I am here simply to make your day brighter,” I announce. “He’s the dinner and I’m the entertainment.”

“That’s…” His brow furrows. “Very nice of you but I actually don’t have time for much today… while I’m at work. I’m heading out on a call right now.”