“Hey, I almost had you that one round!” I point to the bacon, and he hands me a piece before making me a plate.
“That’s only because you made me play with half the pieces!”
I shrug. “Still. Almost had ya.”
He shakes his head and takes a seat next to me. I had chalked up the niceties last night to him taking pity on me for having to finally submit to Thane, but now I’m wondering if this nice act is actually for real. Part of me hopes it is. It would be easier to accept my new fate if I wasn’t completely surrounded by people who want to see me suffer. Plus, for some reason, being around him feels oddly natural.
“What do you—"
Kole’s words are cut off when Thane comes barreling around the corner with a deadly scowl. I haven’t seen him since the stadium, and I don’t think he came back here last night. Kole doesn’t look the least bit phased by Thane’s demeanor, and I don’t know if I should find that comforting or not.
“Put this on.”
Thane throws a piece of clothing in my face, knocking the fork out of my hand. I stand up, holding out the white and black fabric to get a better look.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
A piece of scrambled eggs goes flying out of Kole’s mouth as he chokes on a laugh. I knew Thane would have something in store for today, but forcing me to wear a cow costume was nowhere near on my list of ideas.
“Well, go put it on.” Kole waves his hands at me, and I glare at him over my shoulder.
Once I’m changed, I look myself over in the mirror, taking in the absurd outfit. It fits like a onesie, complete with four udders and a hood that has a pair of ears sticking out.
Sienna’s life. That’s what I’m doing this for. I just have to suck it up.
Kole bursts out in a fit of laughter as soon as I appear in the kitchen.
“Yeah, yeah. Get it out,” I sigh with the wave of my hand.
“You lookudderlyridiculous,” he snickers, reaching over and slapping one of the rubber udders.
I bat his hand away before he can do it again. “Stop that!”
“Oh, don’t have a cow,” he taunts, wrapping his arm around Thane. The two of them look me over with wicked grins.
“Let’s go, Grey.” Thane shrugs out of Kole’s hold and motions for me to follow. As I pass by, Kole flashes me a reassuring wink and mouths the words, “Play nice.”
Easy for him to say. He’s not the one wearing this stupid thing.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s with the cow outfit?” I finally ask once we’re in the car. The seatbelt catches on the udders, and my patience quickly starts to grow thin.
“Seeing as how your kind would dress dogs up for Halloween, it seems only fitting that I do the same.”
My mouth falls open, but I snap it shut, swallowing back my words.
Play nice, Fallon. Just play nice.
“I didn’t realize it was Halloween,” I finally say, as I look out the window, wondering where it is we’re going.
“It was the one day of the year the vampires were allowed to come out of hiding.” He glances over at me, his face hardened by the memory of the old world. “It holds a deeper meaning for them. There is going to be a party this evening that you will accompany me to.”
“Can’t wait.” I don’t bother hiding my sarcasm as I look at my reflection in the side mirror.
Seeing as how the last party I attended left me waking up chained to his bed, I can only imagine what tonight will entail. If I have to wear this costume, then I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be the least bit fun. But that’s tonight’s problem. I have to get through today first.
We pull up to a bar that looks like a complete dump from the outside, and I follow Thane inside, immediately running into a wall of cigarette smoke. I guess when you’re a vampire or werewolf, you don’t have to worry about lung disease.
The five people in here eye their Alpha before shifting to look at me. I try not to pay them any mind as we head to the end of the bar, where an older man with a wiry grey mustache is pouring a large glass of bourbon.
