AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Camil e let out a little huff and glared at him. “I offered to go.”
“Of course you did, wife.” His eyes luminous, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “And I refused. I wil not drag you into danger. Here, I have no choice but to al ow you to engage monsters. But I won’t wil ingly put you in danger because of my family. I love you too much.”
Tril ian arched his eyebrows. “Fox-Boy and I wil take care of her.” Then, his voice belying his carefree look, he added, “Go, but return as soon as you can. We don’t want Camil e to pine too much. And you’re . . . useful around here.” He nodded to Morio, who let out what sounded like a growl of agreement.
“Then we’l be off, and return as soon as we can.” Smoky stood and Camil e jumped up, throwing her arms around him and kissing him deeply before standing back, her face aflame.
“Come back to me. I mean it.” She raised one hand and Smoky pressed his palm against it, and then he and Rozurial faded out of sight into the Ionyc Sea.
Camil e let out a long sigh and took her seat again, Tril ian and Morio flanking her. Iris entered the room, carrying a tea tray, and Tril ian quickly leaped up to take it from her and slide it onto the coffee table. He pressed a cup of hot tea into Camil e’s hands as Morio snaked one arm around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze.
I decided the best way to distract her was to press on with business as usual. I turned to Nerissa. “Love, what brings you here?”
Nerissa let out a long sigh. “I was fired today.”
“What?” We al stared at her. I leaned forward and took her hands, stroking them lightly. “Are you joking?”
“No. Andy Gambit’s story about me in the Seattle Tattler stirred up sentiment against me at work. Today my supervisor cal ed me into his office. He said my performance hasn’t been up to par and then fired me. I’d take them to court, but I recognize a frame-up when I see it.” Nerissa was a government worker for the Department of Social and Health Services.
“I thought working for the State of Washington would protect you under the Were Discrimination Act.”
“Yeah, so did I. Apparently they’ve found ways to get around it.”
She looked so bereft I wanted to rip the guy’s throat out, but that wouldn’t do any good. “I’m sorry. Great Mother, it’s been one hel of a day al the way around, hasn’t it?”
“That’s just wrong,” Delilah said. “I can organize a strike of government workers in the Supe Community if you like.”
Nerissa shook her head. “No. I’m tired of fighting, I’m tired of campaigning. I’m ready for a change. I just wasn’t expecting it to happen this way or this soon. But that isn’t my only news. I’m leaving the Rainier Puma Pride.”
That little announcement stopped everyone cold. Even Chase gave her a stare of disbelief.
I cleared my throat. “Are you sure you want to take that step, especial y now, without a job?”
She nodded. “I’ve thought this through. I was planning on making the break, anyway. Now seems like the right time. As an unmarried female, I’m low on the totem pole, only above unmarried males. Without Venus the Moon Child around, I might as wel be stuck in the fifties as far as my rights go. Not to mention, my lover is vampire and female.”
Delilah cleared her throat. “Yeah, that could cause some problems, al right.”
Nerissa snorted. “Oh, the Pride’s open to bisexual shamans, but they aren’t fond of the concept when it trickles down into the main population, and you guys know what they think about you three.
I get snide comments every day, and I’m sick and tired of it. This afternoon, I went back for a final look at a condo that caught my eye earlier this month. I’ve had it inspected, and it passed, so it looks like I’m buying my own place not two miles from here.”
Again, a shocker.
“How wil you afford the mortgage?” Delilah was prone to asking blunt questions, and I was glad she’d asked, not me. I wanted to support my girlfriend in any way I could but was worried she was making a mistake, maybe getting in over her head.
Nerissa flashed her a sly smile. “That’s right, you don’t know. I’m so used to keeping this a secret that I don’t tel many people.”
“What? You an heiress?” Chase said, laughing.
“You might say that.” Nerissa laughed back at him. “Two years ago, I inherited a tidy sum of money from my mother’s aunt. Great-Aunt Lucy was an FBH—she married into the Pride, but they lived in town. But she was definitely Were-friendly.”
I stared at her. “You mean I’ve got myself a rich girlfriend?” Giving her a fangy smile, I leaned back, thinking that at least Nerissa could take care of herself if need be. No wonder she’d thrown herself into a job that paid a fraction of what she was worth—she could afford to fol ow her passion.
“Wel , hardly anybody knows. I didn’t want the guys in the Pride trying to marry me just for money, and plenty of them would think of that. And I didn’t want the Council of Elders trying to arrange a marriage for me in order to get hold of my savings. With Venus gone and with Zach out of the picture, I have very few supporters left there.”
I sat back, shaking my head. Changes, changes everywhere. Then, laughing, I jumped up and planted a long kiss on her. “Now we won’t have anybody breathing down our necks about our relationship, and we’l be able to see each other more often.” I hadn’t yet told her about Roman.
With luck, that wouldn’t put a crimp in things.
