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“Wait, so you’re not going to Michael’s now?” I asked.
“No, Einstein,” Mac said. “She means that she needs a place to stay until I have a chance to talk to Uncle Mike.”
I glared at her for the insult. Lucky for the surly werewolf, I really liked her partner. Otherwise I’d kick both their asses out of my apartment for Mac’s attitude. “Of course Georgia can stay here.”
“Thank you so much,” Georgia said. “It shouldn’t be more than a couple of nights, right, Mac?” When Mac didn’t answer, Georgia elbowed her again. “Right, Mac?”
Her tone was too pointed for me not to raise a brow. The tension between the couple was palpable. If I had to guess, Georgia was annoyed Mac hadn’t already told Michael about their forbidden love.
Mac sat up straighter. “Sure. A couple of nights. Two weeks at the most.”
Adam’s head whipped toward me. He mouthed, “Two weeks?”
“Um, that’s quite a range,” I said. “Why two weeks?”
Georgia’s eyes had narrowed into thin slits. “Yeah, Mac, why two weeks?”
“Because, honey, that’s when the Lupercalia mating rituals happen,” she said in a patronizing tone. “Worse comes to worst, I’ll just come out to the entire pack that night.”
Adam was so shocked by this announcement, he jerked in his seat. “Uh, that’s a really bad idea.”
Mac’s eyes went all flinty. “Why?”
“Don’t you think announcing your forbidden love for a vampiress at a werewolf ritual might piss off a few of your kin?” I said.
Mac’s chin came up. “So?”
“So it’s f**king dangerous,” Adam said. “The Lupercalia feast is one of the sacred nights where werewolves can change forms without the full moon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re going to just drop this bombshell and then expect dozens of werewolves in full wolf-berserker mode to just take it in stride? Especially your uncle, who’s going to be embarrassed and angry,” Adam said, his voice incredulous. “More than likely, you’ll both be punished, if not killed, and then if you’re still breathing, you’ll be shunned.”
“Let them shun me.” Mac’s chin came up. “I don’t care.”
Georgia squeezed Mac’s hand in support.
“Pardon me, but if you really feel that strongly, why haven’t you already declared your intentions to Michael?” I knew I was stirring the pot, but it had to be asked.
The were’s eyes narrowed and a low growl rumbled in her chest. “What are you implying, mixed blood?”
I held up my hands. “Mac, stop it. I know we’ve had our issues but I’m not your enemy. I’m just saying maybe it’s better to just go talk to Michael now instead of staging melodrama in front of the entire pack. He’d probably be more receptive to the idea that way.”
Mac shot a glance at Georgia and sighed. “You’re probably right.” Georgia patted her arm.
“Whatever you decide, you know Sabina and I have your back. Giguhl and Pussy Willow, too. In the meantime, of course Georgia can stay with us.”
Mac looked up quickly. “Really?”
We both nodded. “I should warn you, it gets a little crowded,” I said. “Giguhl and Pussy Willow have the twin beds in the guest room. But you’re welcome to the couch you’re sitting on. The windows have blackout shades so you should be safe in here during the day.”
Georgia patted the couch. “This’ll be great. Thanks, guys.”
“Yeah, well,” I said, “we’ll see if you’re still thanking us after you’ve had to share a bathroom with a drag queen and a demon for a few nights.”
I’ll give Giguhl some credit. He managed to wait two seconds after we’d all emerged from the back room to launch his campaign.
“Seriously, you guys should consider it,” he said, stabbing the air with his claw for emphasis. “You’d be awesome!!” He looked over at Alexis, who’d arrived while we were talking to Mac and Georgia. “You, too. Especially you.”
Alexis crossed her arms. “No.”
Giguhl’s lips pursed into an offended pout. I covered my grimace with a sip of beer. I knew it was childish, but my ego skipped a beat. Alexis got an invite but not me?
Before the conversation had turned to Roller Derby, I’d been enjoying hanging out with old friends over a beer. But with the change in topic, every swallow tasted fuzzy and bitter, like wounded pride.
Luckily for Giguhl, Georgia and Mac weren’t as closed to the idea. “I’ll admit it sounds fun. What do you think, Mac?”
The werewolf shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Actually,” Adam offered, “it might be a great solution. Until you can sort things out with Michael, it’ll give you two a chance to be together without raising any suspicions.”
“Totally,” Giguhl said. “We’ll have two practices a week plus the bout, so you’ll see each other all the time.”
Mac paused and set her drink down slowly. “Hmm, that would give me a little more time to work up to telling Uncle Mike.”
Georgia’s face fell. I wanted to hit Mac for her insensitivity. I couldn’t imagine what this was doing to Georgia’s pride. But Mac didn’t notice her partner’s distress.
“And you say we’ll get to hit people?” Mac continued.
“Oh, most definitely,” Giguhl said. “In dark-races Roller Derby, violence is not only encouraged; it’s also required.”
A slow smile spread across the were’s lips. “Awesome.”
Alexis cleared her throat. “They’re waiting for us.”
I sighed and set down my beer. I wanted to stay and hang out with our friends, but duty called. “Giguhl, can you take Georgia to Vein and get her cleared with Slade for feeding?”
“Wait, what’s that about?” Georgia asked.
“If you want to feed while you’re in the city you have to pay the blood tax to Slade Corbin. Folks around here call him The Shade and he runs the nonmage dark-race business in the city.”
“How much is the tax?”
“Two Gs.”
“Ouch,” she said.
“If that’s too much, I can hook you up with bagged blood while you’re here. But either way, it’s still best if you introduce yourself to Slade to avoid any misunderstandings.”
