“If I’m so un-gargoyle, then I guess you and the rest of your clan won’t be needing any more tattoos.” My voice was tight as I stood and gestured to the door.
Brendan’s solemn face slackened with shock. Apparently he hadn’t realized what the natural outcome of his dumb ass question would be.
I didn’thaveto tattoo anyone. Dallan would never make me, and if I said so, he wouldn’t accept any gargoyle clients either. They would have to fly to the East coast to get their ink.
At the thought of flying, a stinging ache throbbed across my back and I felt another wash of anger.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Brendan hurried to try and smooth things over, but I was done with his shit for the day.
I waved my hand at the door again. This time I would be the one to ignore him.
Brendan opened his mouth to argue, but I refused to look at him.
With a huff he got up from his chair and stomped from the room, the edge of one of his wings catching me in the face as he passed me by.
I followed him out into the lobby and was relieved to find it empty.
Brendan opened the door and turned to glare at me.
“You shouldn’t fuck around with humans, Wingless, they cause nothing but misfortune. You should remember why your wings were probably taken in the first place,” he hissed.
With that he left, slamming the door behind him.
The sound echoed through the empty lobby and I leaned against the reception counter with a frustrated sigh.
All I had to do was say that nothing was going on between me and Daphne because therewasnothing going on with me and Daphne. Nothing other than me helping her out a bit.
But then the image of her shooting me a sassy smile this morning before running into the house flashed across my mind.
The buzzing and humming in my chest had shifted over the past couple of days into a very quiet, very slight melody. I had a sneaking suspicion of what it was, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself or anyone else yet.
I made a mental note to ask Ronan about it in a couple of weeks when I made my usual quarterly trip out to Vegas to check on him.
He had been a lot older than I was when his wings were taken, so I hoped he could confirm, or preferably deny, what I was feeling whenever I looked at the pink haired human who’d stumbled into my life.
“He’s not wrong, you know.” A voice came from behind me and I turned to find Ambrose leaning against the wall. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, but his dark eyes were filled with the same contempt that Brendan’s had been only moments ago. “It’s taken all of three days and she’s leading you around by your nose. Don’t think everyone else here hasn’t noticed you two coming together.”
The dark elf didn’t care about much, his hate for humans being the strongest emotion that I ever saw from him. He still hadn’t warmed to Daphne at all, even though the rest of the artists had, and spent most of his time ignoring her.
“And I’ll tell you what I told him, it’s none of your fucking business,” I growled.
Ambrose just shrugged. “Whatever you say, just don’t come crying to me when shit hits the fan because you got involved with a human. She reeks of trouble.”
The sound of beads clicking together announced the entrance of Fiero, Heath, and Dallan entering the lobby. Apparently the universe had decided that no one was going to stay out of my personal life today.
“I think you haven’t even given her a chance yet, Ambrose,” Fiero said, his tone scolding. “She’s really very nice.”
“She’s a human, all humans are cowards that used to burn us at the stake without a care for our lives,” Ambrose shot back, his eyes taking on a haunted look as he spoke.
“I was a human once, but you seem fine with that,” Heath pointed out. He’d been bitten by a lycanthrope on the night of his high school graduation, making him the most human out of all of us. “Besides, the Accords protect us now.”
Ambrose scoffed, turning to glare at the pup. “The Accords are a pretty piece of paper that makes humans feel superior to us. It basicallyallowsus to exist when we’ve been on this Earth longer than they have, and don’t forget that even with that stupid ass paper they still hunt us down for sport. You can’t turn on the news without hearing about hunters kidnapping and murdering our kind, but Freyja forbid one of us kills a human,” he said, dropping the name of one of the Norse deities that the elf race followed.
Heath seemed to shrink where he stood, but Ambrose wasn’t done yet. “And quite frankly the fact that you were once human is myleastfavorite thing about you, right next to how you follow Fiero around like he hangs the moon in the sky when he’s too busy sticking his dick in the nearest warm hole.”
Fiero’s affable expression shattered and he took a step towards the elf, his hooves making a loud clacking noise as he seemed ready to throw down with the taller man.
“Ambrose, that’s enough.” Dallan’s voice boomed through the lobby, cutting the elf off. “You’ve been in a shitty mood since you walked in this morning and I understand it’s getting close to her anniversary, but you don’t need to take it out on everyone else around you.”
