Before any of us could comment on that, dozens of cars drove up the single dirt road to our area. The first one had Titan, the second one had Mom and several Lobo Gris shifters in it. The rest of the cars were a combination of Lobo Gris Pack, Clover Pack, and Laske Pack.
In a flurry of dust and movement, they all skidded to a stop, and everyone poured out, surrounding us and all taking at once.
“Hello everyone,” Victor said, apparently delighted to meet more people. “I can’t use my magic so all of you will need to tell me your names, I’m sorry if that is an inconvenience.”
I started laughing. Bec and Marduk looked at me, then started laughing also.
Chapter 29
Bec
It turned out that Victor loved nachos. He wasn’t fond of beer but found cocktails fascinating. The Downward Dog might not be a fancy bar, but Mikey kept ingredients on hand to make Skyler the sweet mixed drinks she craved. As a nymph, she loved sugary things, and Victor shared her sweet tooth.
“I can’t believe we’re all hanging out as if this was an average day,” Mason said.
Jack said something about never letting Mason out on his own again, and Skyler rolled her eyes at Jack's overprotective attitude.
Mason’s mates, Jack and Skyler, hadn’t left his side since they’d arrived. Due to the unprecedented events of the day, Mikey had nicely kicked out the few customers already in the bar and put aClosed For Private Eventsign in the door.
That let us all drink and discuss the events of the day in peace. The Downward Dog didn’t serve food, but we’d ordered massive amounts from the Mexican restaurant two doors down.
“This food is angry,” Victor said, holding up an entire chili. “It attacks the mouth. I like it.”
Then he popped the whole thing, stem and all, into his mouth.
I chuckled. “Usually, you eat those things combined with other food.”
“I’ll do that,” he agreed and stuck another chili on a chip and shoved them in his mouth. It wasn't what I’d meant, but he was happy, so I wasn’t going to say anything further.
I was sitting across from Victor, nestled sideways on Marduk’s lap with my legs resting on Danzig’s thighs.
“We're eating as if today was a regular day,” Mason said again.
“Is this not a normal day?” Victor asked. “Do you not eat and drink every day?”
“We do,” Mason said with a laugh. “But it’s not every day that I make friends with someone like you, Victor.”
Victor perked up. “We are friends?”
“You saved our lives, Victor, if that doesn’t make us friends, I don’t know what does,” I said.
“And you made Lomis disappear," Beatrix said. She was at the far end of the table snuggled with Titan and Arthur. The Downward Dog wasn’t that big so no one in the room was too far away to be part of the conversation.
“The void demands balance,” Victor said. “Lomis’s existence had to end because he created me.”
“That’s perfect balance because we like you a lot better than him,” Titan said. He lifted up his glass. “To Victor!”
Everyone did the same, and Victor looked around confused. Amara was sitting next to him and leaned over to whisper something. He nodded his head, and his confusion was replaced with happiness.
“We need to figure out what to do with Victor,” I whispered to Marduk. “We can’t simply leave him to cope on his own.”
“I think he’s already been adopted by Mikey’s pack,” Marduk said.
“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m still worried. He’s so sweet and naive, anyone could take advantage of him. I’d rather one or two people take full responsibility.”
“If you moved out of the condo into our house, there’d be plenty of room for Victor,” Danzig said.
“That's true,” Marduk agreed, looking exceedingly cheerful.
