Nine
Dusk brought more bad news, and my heart broke with it. Poor Javier. He barely tasted immortality before his life was extinguished. I wished we had never dragged him into this mess. If not for us, he wouldn’t have been a target. But it was easier giving work to vampires and other supernatural creatures who kept to our nocturnal schedule and grasped our societal rules, and he was the best. It was the reason why he had accepted the offer from Clan Castro to have a necromancer cut his young life short in order to embrace vampirism.
Vampires tend to grow vainer with age, and his clientele was eager to secure his services for the next few centuries. They would be furious over his loss, and they wouldn’t thank us for getting him killed. As high as tensions rode between necromancers and vampires, it would only take a spark to ignite another round of bitter feuding I didn’t have time for because I was getting married in two days.
Pushing out a ragged exhale, I focused on the final menu tasting, even though I had lost my appetite.
Too bad it was too late to reschedule, but Vonda, the caterer, was already set up when I got downstairs.
“The first appetizer.” Vonda snapped her fingers, and two women wearing chef coats hustled out with dainty plates they set in front of us. “We paired fresh lemon and extra virgin olive oil with shrimp, octopus, mussels, and calamari for this hearty seafood salad.”
On my second shrimp, I glanced at Lethe, who swirled her finger around the oil left on her plate.
As in, it was all that was left on her plate.
Dang.
“The first main course,” Vonda croaked, shocked anew by Lethe’s appetite when she ought to be used to the bottomless pit that was my MOH. “Three double cuts…” Her eyes rounded when Lethe relieved me of my plate to finish the seafood salad, and she cleared her throat. “Ah, rack of lamb—”
Lethe turned up the plate and scraped everything into her mouth, including the shells, which gave me pause but didn’t slow her crunching down one bit.
Goddess preserve us.
“—coated in fresh herbs and…” Vonda struggled, “…um, aromatic spices.”
“Forgive my matron of honor.” I wiped sauce off Lethe’s mouth. “She was raised by wolves.”
Since her particular strain of gwyllgi were the product of fae gwyllgi mating with earthborn wargs, it wasn’t not true. Probably why she choked on her last bite of calamari as she fought not to laugh.
We sampled two more salads and three more main course options, all of which were divine, before Lethe asked about the buffet options we had settled on for the gwyllgi.
“There will be a carving station.” Vonda recovered nicely from the shock of watching two women clean so very many plates. “Roasted top round beef, turkey rubbed with Cajun spices, roasted fillet of beef, Virginia ham baked with honey, prime rib au jus…”
From cold pepper beef served medium rare on crostini with creamed horseradish to smoked salmon canapes topped with capers and fresh dill, she droned on and on, checking off each of Lethe’s requests. Boredom crossed my eyes before long, but Lethe drooled onto her chin, and I flung a napkin at her face.
Three hours and at least three million calories later, we made the formal gesture of accepting the menu.
Glassy-eyed from the number of clean plates her staff cleared, Vonda left in a daze. I could only hope she snapped out of it once she got some fresh air. If she couldn’t handle Lethe, she would descend into shock when faced with two-dozen gwyllgi in an all-you-can-eat environment.
With the wedding checklist up to date, I sought out Linus. “Any news?”
“The gwyllgi didn’t pick up any unusual scents near Javier’s shop. He was popular among necromancers, vampires, and humans. The volume of foot traffic means unless we isolate a scent for them to compare against the others, we’ve got no leads there either.”
“What about from the cleaners?”
“Gilly reports there are gwyllgi blood and tissue samples on the silver heels, which is to be expected since Eva wore them for a protracted length of time and they’re several sizes too large. The clutch came back clean.”
“Any word on their authenticity?”
“They’re replicas.” He angled his head down, his brow tight. “There would have been blood or tissue samples, even hairs stuck in the sequins, if either had belonged to you.”
Throat gone dry, I swallowed hard and reminded myself I wasn’t the same person Volkov sank his hooks into shortly after my release from Atramentous. I had years of training behind me now, and I had Linus, and Lethe, and Hood. And Woolly was stronger than she ever had been. He wasn’t getting in my house again. He wasn’t getting me again.
A knock on the door lit Woolly up like a Christmas tree, her lights as bright as they would go.
“Must be one of our wedding guests.” I started toward the living room. “She hasn’t been this excited in weeks.”
The front door swung open before I touched the knob, and Corbin Theroux stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets and a lopsided grin on his face.
Handsome and wiry, he smoothed a palm over his black hair in a nervous gesture that made me wonder if he missed the soft waves he used to wear down to his shoulders. It was military short now thanks to his position with the sentinels. His piercing green eyes, I was happy to note, were absent of anger and touched with fondness for me, for all of us. His new family.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Don’t make me hit you.” I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t want bruises in my wedding album.”
Corbin was my progeny, the only vampire I had ever made or ever would make, goddess willing. In that sense, I was a maternal figure, but we were about the same age, so it was just weird. Probably why he called me that when he wanted to be particularly obnoxious.
Oscar appeared, ricocheting off the walls until he hit Corbin hard enough to rock him back a few steps.
“You’re early. I slept and slept and slept so I’d be ready.” Oscar clung to him. “Wanna play?”
“Sure.” Corbin set the ghost boy aside to drift at his eye level. “I’ll start counting.”
Zipping through the nearest wall, Oscar shot out into the night.
“You spoil him.” I crossed the threshold and gave Corbin a hug. “Thanks.”
“He’s a good kid.” Corbin shrugged and lifted a duffle bag off the planks. “He makes it easy.”
Not so long ago, I had promised Corbin he would always have a place in my family, in my home. I wouldn’t live forever, but he was the only Deathless vampire on record for centuries. Given Oscar was also an eternal fixture around here, I encouraged their friendship so that neither of them would ever be alone. They would always have each other, and Woolly.
“I’ll take your bag up to your room if you want to go on,” I offered. “It’s no problem.”
Woolly had plenty of room and giving Corbin his own made him feel more comfortable during visits.
“Thanks.” He flashed a quick grin, handed over his bag, then waved at Linus. “Catch you later, Pops.”
The old house chimed her antique doorbell with laughter as he jogged across the yard.
“Don’t encourage him.” I glared up at the foyer chandelier. “If you can’t behave with Corbin, how can I trust you with actual children?”
The floor register nearest me sighed, and her presence retreated to pout.
That’s why she missed the arrival of our next guest an hour later.
“Anybody home?” Midas called from the living room. “Lethe told me to walk right in.”
Linus and I stopped boxing our bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts and went to greet him.
“Hey, stranger.” I let him make the call if he wanted a hug. “It’s been too long.”
All smiles, Midas embraced me lightly then pulled back. “The pack eats up all my spare time.”
“The pack eats anything that’s not nailed down,” I pointed out, “and even then they gnaw on it.”
“I’m glad you came.”
Linus shook Midas’s hand. “I regret the circumstances for your early arrival.”
“I’m amazed Mom didn’t ground me to my room. It’s rare for the alpha and the heir to leave the city.”
“It’s a testament of her trust in her people.”
“It’s a show of strength.” He snorted. “Mom left her most loyal lieutenants behind to maintain order. She had to promise them a cookout when we get home to make up for what they’re missing. We had intended to make a day trip out of it, but it looks like we’ll be staying next door until after the ceremony.”
“I’m sure the city can spare you overnight.” Lethe would be thrilled for the extra family time.
Linus glanced past his shoulder into the yard. “Hadley didn’t ride with you?”
“No.” Midas almost, almost smiled, but then it was gone. “She’s coming down tomorrow.” He must have noted my interest. “She called the faction leaders to inform them she would be unavailable for twenty-four hours and that the Potentate of Raleigh would be filling in until her return.” He tucked an unruly lock of blond hair behind his ear. “I took the call for Mom.”
“Fess up.” I folded my arms across my chest. “You just came down so you could attend Linus’s bachelor party.”
The tightness in his features eased when I didn’t press on the obviously tender spot he had for Hadley.
“You got me.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m a total party animal.”
Well, he was half right at least. Or, since his soul was half man and half beast, maybe he was more like a quarter party animal? Who knew? Math wasn’t my strong suit.
“Neely is in charge of the festivities.” Linus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Goddess help us all.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to out Lethe as the mastermind behind my own party. At this point, I was pretty sure the Kinases were using Neely as their personal scapegoat where our parties were concerned in order to lull us into a false sense of security.
“I’m sure you’ll survive.” I rubbed his back. “Neely has invested too much time in my dress, hair, and makeup to let you die before he can take credit publicly for his masterpiece. Funerals just don’t generate the same kind of buzz.”
“I heard something about a strip club.” Midas winked where Linus couldn’t see. “You better make sure you come prepared with a stack of bills.”
Uncertain if Linus had ever seen a dollar bill, let alone held one, I made a mental note to hit the bank so he would be prepared if that was on the agenda. If he tipped his usual fifty bucks, he would have women lining up to dance on his lap. The mental picture made me snort. Linus would hate it, all those strange women touching him, but he would endure it if that’s what the guys wanted to do. He was a good friend that way.
I wasn’t brave enough to ask what Lethe had in mind for me. The only swinging sausage she enjoyed came from the butcher shop.
I hated to answer my phone while we had company, but when it rang, I couldn’t afford to let it go to voicemail. Between the wedding calls, the work calls, and the Volkov situation, it was too dangerous not to stay informed.
“We’ve got a problem,” Neely said in a rush. “I’m at Flower Power.”
“Please don’t tell me they sold all our arrangements.”
“They’re not selling anything.” He waited for a siren to quiet before he kept going. “It’s on fire.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I flopped down on the sofa next to Midas. “Is everyone okay?”
“The boy is on a bus with his football team, so he’s fine, but Mr. Laurent is missing.”
“Can I skip the wedding and move straight on to the honeymoon?”
“Girl, I just drove four hours round trip to pick up Linus’s new tux. You are not depriving me of seeing the man wear it. Plus, I had to triple the price to get the rush order done in time.”
“Do you believe in signs?”
“Yes.” He shut a door, probably after getting in his car. “There’s one in front of me right now that says One Way. I believe if I don’t do what it says, I’ll get creamed.”
“Smartass.”
“The universe is not telling you not to marry Linus. I will wash your mouth out with soap if you even think it.”
“You mean my brain? You said think it, not say it.”
“One you would survive, one you wouldn’t. I’ll let you choose.” Music blared until he killed his radio. “Stop distracting me. You are getting married. That is that.”
“I’m not doubting whether I want to get married.” On that score, I had none. “I was thinking about eloping. All the guests could show up, you could announce we had run away together, and then you could all eat cake. See how romantic that sounds? How fun?”
The topic furrowed Linus’s brow, and I gestured him over so he wouldn’t worry. He perched on the arm of the couch, and I invited him to listen in.
“Oh, hell no.” Neely’s temper, rarely witnessed, dialed all the way up to ten. “You are not ruining my fun just to get to your fun. You think weddings are about you? Uh-uh. They’re about your family, your friends, and your enemies. You have to look your best, smile your brightest, and take so many photos you can thumb through them and watch the day unfold like one of those flip animation books.” He sucked in a breath. “I have planned, I have plotted, I have sweated, I have bled. This wedding is going forward, and you are going forward with it. Or I will call up your future mother-in-law and tell her you’re a flight risk.”
The low blow stunned me into silence while my gaping earned me concerned looks from Linus and Midas.
“I’m sorry,” Neely said, not sounding apologetic at all. “You forced my hand.”
“You would get his mother involved?” I clutched Linus’s arm. “That hand I forced? Did it happen to have a knife in it?”
“I would get his mother, his father, his granny, and his grampy involved if it meant this day goes off without a hitch. Suck it up, buttercup. You’re getting married, I’m living vicariously through you, and that is that.”
The call ended, and I reared back to stare at the phone.
“Just so you know,” Midas said, aware there was no point in pretending he hadn’t overheard every word, “Lethe would spit-roast you over an open fire, and Mom would carve the first slice.”
“Javier lost his life because of—” I almost snarled that damned wedding, but I caught myself. Crumbling under pressure gave Volkov what he wanted, and I would ruin our wedding without his help if I didn’t pull myself together. “I wouldn’t dishonor his memory, not after all the work he put into my dress and Linus’s original tux design.” I leaned my head against Linus’s side. “Not to mention the florist.”
“None of this is your fault.” He slid his fingers through my hair. “You can’t control Volkov. He’s responsible for his own actions.”
“I taunted him.” I had gone to see him with Linus as part of a bribe to get enough of his blood to tattoo the sentinels during the Siege. “I threw our engagement in his face. I pretty much stuck out my tongue and sang nanny nanny boo boo.”
“That’s it.” Midas fished in his pocket. “Just remember, you forced me to do this.”
Dread blossomed in my chest. “Do what, exactly?”
“Grier is taking responsibility for Volkov.” Phone to his ear, he shot me an apologetic glance. “Yeah. I figured she would make it another hour or so at least. Guess I owe you five bucks.”
“You and your sister bet on my guilt?”
“You have a savior complex.” Midas shrugged. “How else did you end up a self-appointed potentate?”
Heat rocketed up the back of my neck, exploding in my cheeks. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You saved the city.” Linus came to my defense. “The decision wasn’t ego driven, it was necessity. Not everyone would have been brave enough to try, and very few would have been strong enough to succeed.”
Or survive. That’s what he meant but wouldn’t say.
“Potentates are definitely a breed apart.” Midas rubbed his thumb across his phone screen, like he was contemplating making another call or wished for one that hadn’t come through. “You can’t let one psychotic vampire break your goodness of heart, Grier.”
Volkov didn’t deserve all the blame, and neither did vampires in general or Last Seeds in particular. Lacroix had done his part, and so had Odette. So had a lot of others. And the more I thought about all the ways they had attempted to control me, to manipulate me, to ruin my life, the more determined I became to have this huge wedding to show anyone who ever thought they could keep me down that I had made my own choices, and they could suck my big toe if they didn’t like it.
Make no apologies for surviving.
I hadn’t then, and I wouldn’t now.
“How can you be so blasé about this?” I wanted to rip out my hair. “Eva—”
“We’ve doubled down on protection for Eva. She was your weak spot and an easy target. You love her, and she runs wild all over your property and Lethe’s.” He opened his mouth, shut it, then shook his head. “We’ve got this in hand.”
Much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn’t shake the prickling sensation between my shoulder blades.
“When do the festivities begin?” I searched their faces. “I can’t even remember what day it is, honestly.”
“Remain vigilant and wear clean underwear.” Midas coughed into his fist. “That’s all I can say.”
“Goddess,” I breathed, already terrified of being at the mercy of Lethe’s imagination.
“I should be getting back.” Midas stood, his back to us, and finally put the phone away. “Linus, did Hadley mention where she’s staying?”
How to Kiss an Undead Bride Page 11
