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This place is awesome!
The scents of the night greet me the moment we step outside, and even though they aren’t familiar, they ground me. City smells aren’t so great—car exhaust and sweaty human bodies—but I can scent the deciduous forest just beyond the city limits and the combined muskiness of the wolves who live there.
They smell a bit like home, even though my trees are mostly coniferous, and my air always has the sharp scent of ozone lingering. These wolves and this land still smell like a distant relative—a cousin, perhaps—home after a long trip.
I take in another huge lungful of air and focus on the courtyard. It’s… nice. Sure. With nice cobblestone pavers andnicewrought iron furniture. But it also has the distinct air of artifice. As if whoever designed the space was aiming for mystical and ethereal and hit the theme a bit too dead on. Even the shrubbery seemed to scream, lookat me, look how whimsical I am.
At least it’s warmer outside than in the icebox they call indoors.
It all just seems like it’s trying too hard.
Or perhaps that’s not what my issue is at all.
You’re not jealous, are you?Rafe asks to my mind.
Jealous? Hardly. I think I’m uncomfortable being so out of my element.
Rafe’s smile makes it into his voice in my head.I’m glad we agree.
But he is right. A little part of me is jealous. Living in a place like this in such a big city, it all seems so…
Glamourous.
And life on our peak of the Purcell Mountains isn’t at all glamourous.
Not that I would give it up for anything in the world. But this life definitely seems…
Easier.
The three of us descend the few steps to the main level. Candlelight burns at the long table in the center of the courtyard, illuminating our hosts in the most dramatic way. It flickers across their faces, but even when the candle glow shifts away, their faces still seem to glow.
I glance to the sky to see a bright quarter moon high above us.
“Moonlight is our best light,” Eden says as she rises from her spot at the end of the table. On her right sits Sunny, her redheaded bestie, while Jaxson, her wolf bestie, sits on her left. To Sunny’s right is a woman I’ve never seen before, but judging from her peculiar scent, I know she’s not a wolf or a vampire or human.
At the other end of the table sits the vampire king himself, looking very pleased with the spread he’s put on. To his left and right are empty chairs, presumably for Rafe and Jonah. There’s one additional empty chair on the left side of the table. Likely for me.
The set up makes me want to hurl. My palms go all sweaty, and I know I’m probably reading too far into it, but it looks like they’ve arranged the chairs to divide my men and me. Forcing me to choose who to sit with.
I don’t like it.
Not one bit.
“I’m glad you found us. Sorry about the last minute change, but I thought you might enjoy dining outside instead of in our ridiculous vampire-themed dining room.”
I nod, eyes glued to the empty chairs, heart racing in my chest so loud I’m certain the vampires can hear it, super hearing or not.
Rafe gives my arm a little squeeze, but I can’t get any words out. I’m too busy thinking about how uncomfortable I am here.
How they didn’t think enough of our relationship to seat us together.
How underdressed I am compared to Eden and Sunny. I wasn’t expecting a formal meal. Maybe a group hunt with the Laurel Cove pack…
But I brought nothing nice with me. I came to dinner in yet another pair of Costco jeans.
Luckily, Jonah speaks up even though Eden was clearly speaking to me. “The courtyard is lovely, and your instinct was right. We like to be in nature as much as possible.”
“Good, good. Well, by all means, have a seat.”
