I blinked rapidly. “I guess I’m realizing that the perfect life I’d been looking for back in South Dakota was here in San Diego all along. It makes me feel like I wasted years.”
“Not wasted,” he said. “You spent those years learning. We don’t move on until we’re ready. You weren’t ready before. Now you are.”
“You’re a wise serpent,” I said.
He grinned. “Eve taught me everything.”
I barked out a laugh. “You’re funny.”
He batted his eyelashes at me. “Don’t forget handsome.”
“Stop flirting,” Marduk said, poking Danzig with his elbow. “Our mate hasn’t eaten enough today. She doesn’t need you distracting her.”
I finished filling my plate, then joined Mila, Cartar, and Gio at a long table. Soon after we sat down, the rest of the seats filled up.
It wasn’t long before the other people at the table introduced themselves as Cora, Pike, Kimble, Beatrix, Titan, and Arthur.
Arthur and Kimble were clearly vampires. It turned out to be easy to figure out who was a vampire since they didn’t eat and nursed their drinks as if sipping some strong vintage of wine.
I was pretty sure Cora was human, and from their sheer size, Titan and Pike had to be shifters.
Hey, I was getting better at this!
“This is Hugo,” Marduk said, showing his phone to Titan.
“Aw, he’s an adorable Frenchie,” Titan said, flipping through several pictures. How many images of Hugo had Marduk taken?
“He’s not ours,” I reminded Marduk.
“Yet,” Marduk answered. “I’m sure Gale will sell him to us.”
“Gale?” Titan asked.
“She hired me to find her dog,” I explained. “Her ex-boyfriend stole him.”
That started a conversation about what it was like to be a private investigator. I didn’t tell them that I was only part-time administrative help. It was fun to pretend, so I did. Thankfully the guys remained silent, although Danzig winked at me.
“Why didn’t you bring Hugo?” Titan asked when the questions and stories lulled.
“I wasn’t sure he’d be welcome,” I said. “I know a lot of people are allergic or scared of dogs.”
Titan and several other people laughed. “I don’t think you’re allowed to be allergic to dogs if you’re associated with a wolfpack, and we’ve all met things way scarier than even the biggest dog.”
I chuckled. “I’ll remember that for next time.”
“I want to talk to you about dogs,” Marduk said to Titan. “I think Hugo should have some friends. Do you have dogs that would be gentle with him?”
Titan’s grin widened. “Bring Hugo to our rescue, he can interview the dogs until he finds his new best friend.”
“Hugo. Isn’t. Our. Dog.” I said, enunciating every word.
“You saidour dog,” Marduk said. “That’s all I heard.”
I shook my head, giving up. Looking over at Mila sitting across from me, I tilted my head. “I heard that there’s a book club. Do you think I could go? Maybe not until after I’ve taken the bar though.”
“No,” Marduk said.
“Don’t be like that,” Danzig said. “It'll be fine.”
