Page 48

I’d done the same the moment we arrived, quickly situating myself on a stool at the bar. I’d found my port in the storm, and my plan was to sit here until it was an acceptable time to leave.

Holt had ordered a bottle of champagne and swiftly poured me a glass, then left the ice bucket in front of me despite my weak protests.

Unfortunately, I was prone to latching on to repetitive and therefore soothing gestures when I was feeling wildly uncomfortable—stuff like biting the skin around my nails, fiddling with my eyebrow piercing, cracking my knuckles. And sipping a drink if I had one.

I didn’t even notice that I’d drained my flute while listening to Kit talk about their moth romance game concept until Holt reappeared and poured me a fresh glass. Then Kit produced their phone and started flicking through the sketches they’d drawn, and I kept sipping for something to do while I awkwardly leaned in to look.

“So this is what I imagine the loading screen will look like…” Kit zoomed in. I nodded dutifully and gulped down more champagne. “And this one is—” They swiped to the next pic, and my brows rose when I caught a glimpse of what looked like a crude drawing of a mothperson with gigantic tits. “Oh shit, sorry, I got distracted drawing smut.”

They chuckled and swiped again, then huffed. “Fuck, this one’s porn too. Hold on.”

I hastily leaned back and sipped my drink as I looked around the bar while Kit frowned down at their phone, hurriedly flicking through their images.

Holt and Taylor were sitting with Seb, Larkin, Carl and Mads. Larkin was perched on Seb’s lap, and the big werewolf didn’t seem to mind in the slightest that his fae boyfriend kept fidgeting and bouncing while he talked to Holt, almost smacking him in the face every time he gestured animatedly. Taylor, Carl and Mads seemed to be in deep conversation.

Frank and Beans were here too. No one had wanted to share a cab with them. They’d bought a ridiculous amount of shots and were standing on the chairs at their own table, seemingly having a competition to see how many they could each drink. They didn’t look any less creepy in their human skins, to be honest. And for some reason, they’d changed into matching red boiler suits and fedoras.

Corey and High Lord Crossbody were lounging at a table together sipping martinis. The huge orc was no less impressive in his human form, his skin now tanned instead of mossy green, but his long black hair still as thick and glossy as ever. He was wearing pink eyeshadow, false lashes and dangly earrings that glittered every time he moved his head.

He’d managed to convince the bar staff to bring him several cushions that he’d stacked on the empty seat beside him, so his little Pomeranian could curl up on them and nap.

Crossbody was just as tall and lean and regal as ever, his hair still a sleek waterfall of gold down his back. He was wearing an emerald green silk shirt and high-waisted pants, one leg crossed elegantly over the other as he looked around the bar with a bored expression on his face.

His gaze seemed to snag on something, eyes narrowing slightly as his lip curled. I followed his line of sight and felt my belly dip when I saw Ewen sitting at a table with Vince, Heidi, Val and Susan.

I’d already seen his human form countless times, and he looked pretty much the same except his head was firmly attached to his shoulders. Vince did too. Like me and most other ghouls, he just looked like a very pale human with somewhat gaunt features.

Still handsome, though. Was he better looking than me? I flushed as soon as the thought crossed my mind, because what did I care either way? It didn’t matter if he was handsome. And sitting close to Ewen. Who cared? Not me.

I had piercings, though. So my face was definitely more interesting, at least.

Heidi was just as broad and strong in her human form, with a round face and rosy cheeks. She had a big, booming laugh that competed with the music in the bar, and she was already on her third pint of ale but didn’t appear to even be tipsy. Val was almost out-drinking her, whereas Susan was smiling dopily down at her phone as her thumbs flew across the screen.

I looked at Ewen again and gulped down more champagne. He said something that made everyone at the table laugh, even Susan, who looked up from her phone.

Ugh. My lip curled. He was all… outgoing and sociable and confident. Gross.

Then Vince leaned in to say something in his ear and the pair of them chuckled. My hand clenched tighter around the stem of my flute. I tipped it back to drain it, then quickly swivelled on my stool to face the bar as Ewen started to look up.

I swayed a little, blinking fast to clear my suddenly hazy vision. It was just because I was so tired, and it was nearing 2 a.m. Plus I wasn’t all that used to champagne, having rarely drunk it before, so it was probably just the bubbles or something.

I stiffened when more raucous laughter drifted over from their table. Probably Ewen saying something charismatic and hilarious again. Whatever. I grabbed the bottle from the ice bucket and topped up my glass.

Why not? Might as well not let it go to waste, and I didn’t want to piss off Holt when he’d paid for it. Besides, we hadn’t been here long enough for me to leave in a way that was socially acceptable, so I might as well drink while I waited.

Kit seemed to have gotten distracted looking at their smutty artwork, because they were now hunched over their phone with their nose practically pressed to the screen. I sighed and drank more champagne. That stuff went down a little too easy.

“How’s it going?”

Larkin appeared on my other side, hopping onto the empty barstool, his cheeks flushed and eyes still big and bright despite how late it was.

I set down my glass and twisted it around and around by its stem. “Fine.”

“Noice.” He leaned over to order another round of drinks from the bartender, then sat back and grabbed the champagne bottle to inspect it. With an approving nod over how much was gone, he poured more into my glass before I could protest.

“So, Rafe.” He swivelled his stool around to face the room and leaned his elbows on the bar, swinging his long legs. “Having fun?”

Oh god, small talk. I reflexively grabbed my glass and had a sip. “Uh-huh.” No.