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Etta
Marco was already up when I rose, of course, and he was working at his desk.
“I assume the Slayer will know you’re up?” he asked without turning around.
“His name is Ryan, and yes, he’d know if he were awake, but I sense he’s still asleep.” The sun had risen around seven forty, and it was a little after two. He’d probably eaten a meal before he went down for the day, so it made sense, but I was used to him being awake when I rose, so it felt odd.
“I’m told Abbott and Kendra were on top of making sure their vampires resolved issues without violence as much as possible, and that Abbott’s werewolf boyfriend later worked closely with the flock to keep personality conflicts out of their area of the house. The vampire I depended on to do this with my vampires is in Atlanta, and her pet wolf kept things on an even keel with my flock. I was assuming Moira could help me out with the vampires, but it turns out, she’s making things worse, not better.”
“What makes you think I can do better?”
“I have no idea.”
“It isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse to make things better through conflict resolution.”
He turned to look at me. “I don’t really care how it’s done — I’m not opposed to scaring them into behaving at this point.”
“A short-term solution, at best.”
“Still a solution though, yes?”
I could sense his frustration, so I gave him what I hoped was a fond smile. “You know the solution. You’ve always lived in the coterie house. Abbott did not and it worked for him, and I know you wanted to give it a try, but it’s possible you need to move everyone to the house you bought on Signal Mountain, so you can split your time between here and there.”
He shook his head. “The coterie house on the golf course is perfect. The underground is exactly what it should be. The house on Signal Mountain is a place I can get to quickly if I need to leave Homewood for an unplanned reason, so I’ll hang onto it for now, but my guess is I’ll likely sell it within a few years, and I don’t foresee spending much time there. I’ll split my time between here and the coterie house, or I’ll build something on this mountain, so Cora is close to Kirsten without living in the same home, and I’ll move all my people here. I haven’t brought up that latter possibility with Cora yet, so please keep it to yourself, but I’m on the lookout for land.”
I nodded. Blade, Augustus, and the werewolf Alpha were in a poly relationship, but the werewolf Alpha maintained his own residence, complete with the land the wolves ran on. I had the idea, based on rumors and gossip, that he spent several nights a week at the coterie house, which meant he probably split his time fairly evenly, omitting the full moon nights.
“I know the two of you will work it out. It’s possible a conversation with Augustus might help, since the werewolf alpha is in his poly relationship.”
“I’ve spoken with Kendric about him, but I haven’t actually talked to Augustus. You’re right, of course, but I’m hesitant to ask him for help.”
“I plan to speak with him at some point. I’ll see what I can glean that might help you, while I’m at it.”
“You know him?”
“We lived under the same Master once.”
“Only ask about subjects that might benefit me if it’s natural to do so. Don’t find a way to make it happen. Don’t force the conversation in that direction, or even gently direct it.”
“Agreed. There’s something else?”
“I was warned Martin is an asshole and it’s best to ignore him, but I don’t believe I can do so. He’s demanding recompense for not being told his life could be in danger after witnessing Ryan’s parents try to kill you.”
“He doesn’t have a leg to stand on. He should’ve been able to figure that out on his own. We offered to take him with us and he turned us down. I’ll deal with him.”
“Thank you.”
“Largo is asleep. I would love to share someone with you, if you have that option available. If not, I’ll wake him.”
“I do, actually. Cora gave her security staff the option of signing up to be a donor, and there’s a wonderful owl shifter I believe you’ll especially like the taste of. No sex, only blood, but I get a nice lust feeding from him, since the act of being bitten is a turn-on for him.” He smiled. “He’s never fed two vampires at once. He’s looking forward to it.”
I wanted to ask how much I should chip in on feeding him, but I knew Marco well enough to keep my mouth shut. He’d have seen it as an insult, that he couldn’t feed his people. Master vampires aren’t actually required to feed their people, but most arrange for a flock and set up a schedule based on how often each vampire prefers to eat in versus eating out.
In my case, I’m required to feed from our security people, so I can keep an eye on what’s going on with all of them, so I fed from the flock one rotation when I first arrived, and feed from each new person soon after they arrive, but otherwise, I rarely get to feed from the flock.
* * * *
Etta was feeding when I woke up, and it felt a little like I was getting some of whatever she got from the owl she drank from.
