“Tell him.”
The vampire only now spotted Maxim.“Huh?”
The vampire was indeed young in the blood.Going by the uneven pallor of his skin, Maxim would’ve bet he’d been turned not two years prior, and not by one of the older makers.
In some cases, though not all, that meant they weren’t clear about the rules society expected them to follow.Though, it’s not age alone.Highgate has broken the rules for a long time, and he’s lived centuries.
Maxim made himself smile.“Good evening.Did I miss some excitement?”
He looked from the vampire to the fae bouncer.The vampire spoke first.
“That asshole dragged me outside.Allegedly I’m bothering people.”
Maxim put a hand on his hip—not a good ready stance, but a risk he was willing to take.
“Bothering people?Oh, my.Do tell what action of yours was so misunderstood.”
The vampire turned smug, though why, Maxim couldn’t say.“Well, your employee here seems to have forgotten this is a place to feed.I was just asking for a few necks, is all.”
Maxim blinked.“I’m not the owner of this club.My name is Maxim Vallois.You may have heard of me.”The vampire’s face fell like rotten fruit off a tree branch.“Good.You have heard of me.”He looked at the bouncer.“Does anyone inside wish to bring charges?”
The fae shrugged.“I’ll ask.Wait here.”
Maxim went still, though he kept his gaze focused on the other vampire, who had retained enough human mannerisms to fidget.Or he has indulged in drink or drugs?He smells of nicotine, for one.
The people in line were craning their necks, looking interested.At least the humans were.Some had their phones out, and were either taking photos already or waiting for something really interesting to happen.The supernaturals who recognized Maxim tried their hardest to look anywhere but at him.
“Look, I’ll just go, okay?No harm,” the vampire said.
Maxim did not react for a handful of seconds, then said, “I’d rather you wait right here until we can clear up this issue fully.”
The vampire flinched.“I wasn’t really going to bite anyone or anything.I just said that, you know?I was trying to impress the ladies.”
Maxim smiled, slow and steady.“It is not objectionable to bite another person.With explicit consent, of course, and when you can ensure your donor will be properly cared for after.”
The vampire’s pallor shifted to just a shade paler, a change most wouldn’t have registered.It told Maxim enough to make him wonder whether he was going to send this vampire to Gordon’s morgue, or whether there would be a fine, probation, and a set of courses at the Forum to remind this delinquent of the laws that ruled them all.
At last, the fae came out of the club, another fae in tow.This one was tall and wearing heels on top of that, her glamour making her look like a human model.
She narrowed her eyes, looked at Maxim, and handed him a phone with a video already open.
“He thought I was human,” she said.
“Hmm.”Maxim hit play on the video.It didn’t show her face and had only captured him in part.“…come on, I’ll bite you, nice and easy.You look like you want that.”The exchange went on for a bit, though it didn’t get better, made it so Maxim had to fight for calm.
“Look, that’s totally out of context.We had chemistry!”the vampire said.
The fae looked at him, her eyes cold.“Oh, piss off.”
“That’s the minimum of courtesy, I should think,” Maxim said.“Madam, if I could take your details for the reparation payments before I remove him?”
The vampire gasped, and because he was an idiot, he ran.
Maxim wrapped up the case in less than an hour, including all the driving to the Forum for overnight holding of the misbehaving vampire and the extra five minutes of chase he’d given, only to catch him by ramming his face into the side of a building, hard.The fae bouncer gave Maxim his thanks before going back to his door-minding duties, handling the situation with the kind of stoicism Maxim was increasingly wishing for himself.
On the drive home, he related the particulars to Heath so he could write up a report.Maxim hated reports.Not to mention the clickity clack of the keyboard.Like little insects making your words into sentences.
It took until he was in the elevator, riding back up to the penthouse, for him to identify the creeping feeling in his chest as unrest.When the elevator opened and he smelled the newly familiar scent of a dog living here, of Raven, the sensation eased.It is because I gave him my blood.Because I saved him when I shouldn’t have.He reminded himself to seek calmness again.
