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Door unlocked, Lulu pushed it open slowly. We looked down and found the hallway that led into the loft empty of cat.
“Shit,” Lulu muttered. “That’s not a good sign.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Well, into the fray.”
We went cautiously inside, closed and relocked the door, then peeked around the corner—a vampire and the daughter of two sorcerers checking the battlefield for their frenemy.
We found her on the ledge beside the horizontal stripe of windows, stretched and languid in the light of the lamp we’d left on for her.
Eleanor of Aquitaine opened one green eye, found nothing remarkable in our arrival, and closed it again.
“We’ve gotten the cut direct,” Lulu said, crossing the loft to put the appetizers in the fridge.
“Growler?” I asked.
She looked back at it, grimaced. “I don’t want to drink it. I appreciated the drink I had—like that time I drank that shooter of parsnip soup—but I never need another one.”
“Same,” I said. “At least for the beer. I’ve never had parsnip soup.”
“You didn’t miss much.”
I put the bottle on the counter. “Can you mix it in with your paint? Make something creative for the Pack?”
“Something that smells like coffee and booze and old houseplants had a baby?”
“I mean, if the shoe fits?”
Lulu pulled a stool from the island, slumped onto it. “I am beat.” She ran her hands through her hair, and I could see the smudge of shadows beneath her eyes. “I’m glad the mural is done. Glad the Pack is happy. Glad the party is over.”
“It’s gorgeous, and of course they are, and you’re always glad when a party is over.”
“I’d rather work than make small talk with strangers.” She yawned, glanced back at the windows. “You don’t have much time before dawn. You’d better get packed. Or to bed.”
The horizon was just beginning to blush.
“It would be stupid to go, right? To ride on the back of a motorcycle six hundred miles with the likely future Apex of the North American Central Pack and invade a sacred Pack ceremony?”
“You didn’t mention having your first weekend getaway with a guy you said you were ‘falling for.’”
“There’s that,” I admitted. “I’m not worried about spending time with him. I probably should be, since going out of town is a big step, and we can’t possibly be there yet. We’ve barely been in the same state at the same time.”
“You’ve known each other for twenty years. Your parents are friends.”
“Yeah, but is it a date? Or since he wanted my opinion, is it some kind of detective job?”
“Does it matter? I mean, you’d check both of those boxes.”
“True.”
“Do you want to go?”
I thought about it. “Yeah. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
“Who cares if it’s a good idea? That you want to is reason enough. He can ride the hell out of that bike, and you’re immortal. You’d be the guest of the likely future Apex. You’ve got a degree in Sup sociology, and you get to witness a sacred Pack ceremony. And yeah, because of his traveling, you’re not exactly dating.”
Lulu frowned, chewed the edge of her lip as she considered. “That’s not to say you don’t have to be careful. Having a relationship with a shifter is going to be a challenge. You’ll have to be wary of the Pack. Be smart. Yeah, you’re a vampire, he’s a shifter, and you’re going into his territory. Miranda already hates you.”
