What the fuck?
In any event, the King had declined to go the pink slip/coffin route. He’d just grimly told Shuli to do his best to stick with his son—who, apparently, was no longer going to be on the schedule.
And that was it. Meeting over.
So yeah, here he was now, standing out in the cold in a suit and cashmere overcoat, more than a little shell-shocked—
As a pair of vampires re-formed in front of him, the well-dressed male and female jumped back in surprise.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m just leaving—”
“Shuli?”
He frowned and focused properly on the male. It took a couple of blinks for the face to place—then again, he’d been drunk on Dom Pérignon every time he’d ever hung out with the guy.
“Mitchus?”
“Yes! How have you been, old dog?”
The pair of them embraced, and Shuli looked over the male’s shoulder. The female on the periphery was beautiful in the restrained way of theglymera, every hair in place, the pearls and sweater set peeking through a stylish caramel-colored mink coat. She was young, going by her open expression and her frozen smile, but she could have been five hundred years old for her matching pumps and handbag.
As Shuli eased back, he pounded Mitchus on the shoulder of his fine coat. “Are you here for any particular reason, my guy?”
“I’ll bet you can’t guess.” The male motioned with a directorial hand. “May I present the lovely Mistress Perighrine, my intended. We’re here for our blessing.”
The female floated over and extended a glove-covered hand. “How do you do?”
And that was when Shuli scented it. Pregnant… Mistress Perighrine was with young.
Ah, so that was why the male had disappeared from the scene. And it was interesting that Mitchus was going through with the mating. There were only two kinds of females in the aristocracy, the virtuous ones you claimed before family and theglymera, who were virgins, and the ruined sort you slept with and enjoyed.
You never showed up in front of your King with the latters, looking for down-the-aisle a-okays.
“The pleasure is mine,” Shuli murmured.
He touched the tips of her fingers with his own, then placed his palm over his heart and bowed. As their eye contact was broken, a series of images flipped through his mind, all of them of Mitchus fucking various human and vampire women, usually in pairs.
And usually in Shuli’s guest room on the first floor. The one L.W. supposedly lived in now.
Come to think of it, though… that shit had stopped months ago. Maybe the guy had met the One.
“So when’s the date?” Shuli asked as he straightened.
“Next year.” Mitchus smiled, showing even white teeth, his fangs just slightly elongated. “You’re on the guest list, of course.”
Then the male stepped in and put his arm around his female’s waist.
Wow. Talk about your turnarounds.
Except then Shuli thought of the call he’d made to Lyric, the one that had gone unanswered, the one he’d made just before coming over here.
Sometimes a good female could turn you around. Or fuck your shit up.
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Great.” Mitchus inclined his head. “See you then.”
“Looking forward to it.”
