The night was eerily quiet.Maybe it always was.He looked up and down the street.Nothing.The last time the others had raided the town at night, he hadn't noticed a thing.He'd woken in the morning only to learn the board had been killed, but should the purpose be to decrease the population, he wasn't sure it would happen as swiftly or as quietly.
With a sigh, he walked up the stairs and stepped inside.His house wasn't big, but it was his.It was where he'd grown up, and when his mother had passed away, he'd inherited it.If he hadn't, he never could've afforded the shop.There wasn't much left when everything was paid, and if he'd had to pay rent, he wouldn't have been able to live on the salary he gave himself.
Walking into the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator.Eggs.He was sick of eggs, but it was what he had.Maybe he should butcher a rabbit for some variation, but he didn't want to.He had eight, and he wanted to keep them in case of a real emergency.
He cracked two eggs in a skillet and seasoned them with salt and pepper when there was a knock at the door.
His entire being froze.No one ever came here.There had to be an emergency.Icicles formed in his veins.Had the culling started?
He went to open the door and took a stumbling step back when he found Thano on his doorstep.Thano watched him with his dark impassive eyes.Fuck.This was it.Maybe he should be glad it was Thano and not someone with claws.
"Let me turn off the stove."It would be a shame if the house burned down.He had things the living could have use for.He stepped into the house and noticed Thano following.
He looked around with a curious glint in his eyes.Eli had never seen anything but a blank mask or confusion before."You have things."
Eli hovered with his fingers on the knob."What?"
"I've only ever been in Romeo's and Maria's houses.Romeo has all the lion's things, and Maria has next to no things at all, but you have things."
Maria was Romeo's mother.She was a kind woman, and while he hadn't spoken a lot to her, he was always glad to see her when she came to the shop.They wouldn't kill Romeo's family, would they?"Is she okay?"
"Maria?"Thano turned to him after having studied a whisk among the kitchen utensils he kept in a chipped jug on the counter.
"Yes.I assume she will be spared."
Thano looked confused."Spared?"
"Aren't you here to kill me?"
For a second, all Thano did was stare at Eli, then he smiled.It stole Eli's breath away for two reasons.One, Thano was fucking hot.Scary, but hot.Two, he had fangs, and they showed when he smiled.The hot and cold clashing inside of him was confusing.Maybe it was fear.
"No.I'm not here to kill you."
Eli's legs turned to rubber, and he pulled out a chair and sat."You're not?"What was he doing here then?
"No.We had a meeting today."
"The board.Yes, I know."
"No."Thano smiled again, and Eli stared at his mouth."At the ranch.We decided Conal is to stay on the board, and the rest of us will withdraw."
What?Eli couldn't describe the feeling washing over him.Disappointment?Something similar at least.To think Thano wouldn't be on the board anymore.He'd been there for years and was the token other in the village.
"Why?"It wasn't more than a whisper.
"All this talk about tolls and taxes.It has nothing to do with us, so we figured we'd step back, allow you to run your coven as you see fit."
"Coven?"
"Pack, pride, murder, unkindness, whatever you call it."
Population.Eli nodded."Is that smart?"
Thano was quiet for some time."I don't know.The crows are fine with it, as is Raven.Armelle doesn't care one way or the other since she never comes into town, Ciar and Draven only care about you staying alive, so they have someone to do business with, and the vampires didn't want us on the board in the first place.Conal didn't like it, which is part of the reason he'll be the one remaining."
Eli tried to switch gears in his brain, but going from believing you'd be killed to trying to analyze what it would mean to have Last Hope run by humans was hard.
"And Romeo?"Romeo was the easiest one to talk to.
