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Merry shrugged. “That’s the rumor anyway.”
“Well, I’m the pack’s alpha and Max here is the beta.”
Max nodded to Merry as he pulled out a chair.
“So if you need anything,” Adam continued, “don’t hesitate to ask.”
Well, that was surprising. “Okay. Um, thanks.”
“And I’m Cole.” A third man plopped into a seat and grinned at Merry. “I’m not a wolf, and I’m mated to a witch, so I can’t really help with anything pack-related, but I can definitely help with all these brownies. Yum!” He reached for the plate of brownies and Merry lunged forward.
“Mine!” She snarled as she dragged all the chocolates closer to her side of the table.
Cole froze, then slowly sat back, wide-eyed.
“Dude, don’t mess with the demon hybrid,” the bartender boyfriend called from across the room.
Phoenix giggled as she arrived with another armload of chocolates, which she dumped into the middle of their table. “You’re not going to believe this, but I found a bunch of chocolate hiding in the back storage room.”
“I love you,” Merry said as she grabbed a couple candy bars and started eating.
Phoenix giggled as she wandered away again.
“So,” Sam said. “Fairies?”
“Right. Fairies. Well, you see—are you sure you want to hear this?”
“Definitely,” Sam said decisively.
Merry drew in a deep breath. This was going to take a while. “Okay, so I guess this story begins in Hell.”
“Wait. Hell-hell?” Karl asked.
Merry paused and glanced around the table. “Um, yeah. You know, the Nine Realms of Hell. That Hell.”
“Right,” Karl drawled. “Okay, go on.”
“So, anyway, I was kind of kicked out of Hell. I mean, not really, because I was still in Hell, just not in the main part of it. I was on the outskirts, you could say. Mostly because, according to my dad, I tend to rile up the demons. But I maintain that he’s full of shit. I mean, they’re demons. They’re supposed to be riled up. Pretty much all the time, right?”
Sam nodded hurriedly when Merry glanced at him, but all he could think was that he was mated to a demon hybrid who was known for riling up others of her kind.
What had he done to deserve this?
“My dad accused me of always picking fights with the demons, especially the pixies, but I maintain that it was self-defense. After all, they always threw the first punch. Anyway, so my dad decided he needed me to be somewhere demons weren’t likely to go, so he put me in charge of the stupid Bed & Breakfast in Hell, but I’m sorry, that’s just ridiculous. I mean, sure the B&B in Hell is mostly for tourists from other realms who come for a little visit, and sure, I had a lot less interactions with the demons as a result; after all, they had no reason to stay at the B&B, but—”
“I’m sorry,” Adam interrupted. “So you’re saying there’s a Bed & Breakfast in Hell?”
“Well, sure, I mean, Hell’s a destination vacation, after all. There should probably be a lot more B&Bs, but Satan’s territorial and he insists that it’s his B&B or no B&B.”
“Hold on. Satan owns the B&B?” Sam asked.
“Well, part of it anyway. It’s kind of a family business.”
“Family business,” Sam repeated faintly. He was feeling a little woozy, as if the world was spinning off-kilter a bit.
“So anyway,” Merry continued, “There I was, bored out of my mind, because let’s face it, I am not the Bed & Breakfast manager type, and I was desperate to get out of Hell. Seriously. I needed a Get Out of Hell Free card.
“Then I had a brilliant idea, but let’s not talk about the crazy things I did to lure an unsuspecting troll to Hell to manage that Bed & Breakfast for me. Instead, let’s just focus on the fact that it worked!”
