"You don't get fleas and you don't teach three sections of first-year Comp Sci geeks who can't wait for you to turn into Fido and pee on the mainframe." Perry gave the hem of his oversized T-shirt an irritated tug.
Alessandro sat back in his chair. "No, I managed to dodge those particular bullets."
One of the waiters dropped off another beer and a glass of Alessandro's usual red wine. There were things to be said for being a regular, even if he didn't really feel like drinking.
The waiter paused. "Was there something amiss with your meal, sir?" He was addressing Alessandro. Perry's eyebrows rose with interest.
"The meal was fine. I simply found I didn't have an appetite after all."
"Very good, sir. Let us know if there is anything else we can provide." The waiter left.
Perry's face was full of questions, but Alessandro quashed them with a look.
"So." The werewolf snapped the lid of the laptop shut. "Um, Dad said the queen called him. Something about portals to the hell dimensions?"
"You think I know something."
"You have on an apocalypse kind of face. Plus, we found that changeling in the Laundromat. There's something up."
Alessandro drained half his glass in one slug. Maybe he did want the wine after all. "There's no point in spreading panic quite yet. The queen is calling the leaders of the supernatural community, giving them time to talk to their councils. They need to be on the lookout for trouble, because it could come anytime."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Demon."
"No wonder you look tense."
"It's been a bad week."
"More than just a demon? My wolfy senses are tingling."
Oddly, Alessandro didn't mind Perry's prying all that much. Perhaps it was because his interest was genuine. Wolves were your friends or they weren't. For some reason Perry had taken to Alessandro.
"I had one of those nights when I understand what I am. We look human. We do many of the things humans do. Sometimes I forget that I am a monster."
Perry signaled for more alcohol. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"You? You're the poster child for integration. Young, good-looking, brilliant. If you can't fit in, none of us has a prayer."
Perry looked into his beer. "Ah. Well, for what it's worth, I went on a date after class. Nothing much, just a movie."
"And?"
"The girl turned out to be more than just a drop-dead gorgeous roller-derby babe. I hate those vigilante freaks."
"Roller girls?"
"No, effing self-proclaimed hunters. She tried to behead me. Had this bloody great katana in the car. Now, that's a buzz kill. Like, I mean, what did she think I was going to do? Shed on her upholstery? The chick was way over the top."
It wasn't really funny, but Alessandro couldn't help a smile. "Isn't that what you get for finding fun outside the pack?"
Perry hitched a shoulder. "I fell to the lure of the exotic, I guess. It's not like I'd ever marry a human. I mean, I want a family someday. Our genes won't mix."
Werewolves were all about their cubs. Family was something Alessandro would never have. But Holly might. Holly should. There was so much he couldn't give her.
But she gave me one shining gift: She wanted me. At least I know what it is to be loved—neither because nor in spite of being a vampire. Just for me.
Perry, who had experienced no such epiphany, emptied his beer. "I don't get it, though. What's with human women? Why try to lure me to my death? Why not just tell me to go away and date someone else? I didn't deserve that. It makes me feel… like a B-movie hairy guy eating virgins. Y'know, a cliché. Life sucks."
"I prefer: Suck life. The best antidote for depression is a bad attitude."
Perry chuckled. "I can see how hanging around with you is going to help me grow as a person." He leaned forward, curling one hand around his beer. "Speaking of monsters, don't look now, but the boy wonder just walked in."
Alessandro looked around, not sure who Perry meant. His mouth dropped open. Ben Elliot stood in the bar full of vampires and werebeasts, looking around like a tourist fresh off the cruise ship. He watched with morbid fascination as Ben wandered up to the bar and ordered a drink.
"What's he doing here?" Alessandro marveled.
"And look who's coming to join him. Son of a bitch."
It was Pierce. Alessandro hadn't noticed him sitting with a handful of other Clan Albion vamps. Pierce was wearing a soft linen suit, more appropriate to Miami than the rainy Fairview autumn. With slight stubble and a turquoise silk shirt, he looked every inch the rent-a-rake.
Alessandro narrowed his eyes. Pierce was leaning on the bar, perching one tailored butt cheek on the bar stool adjacent to Ben's. He ordered a drink, casual and unhurried, and turned to give Ben an incandescent smile.
Ben's answering nod was less casual, more businesslike, as if he had been expecting to see him. Do they know each other?
"So, does Elliot swing both ways?" the werewolf asked speculatively. "I wouldn't have thought so, but from that eye contact, it looks like a pickup."
Ben handed something to Pierce. The gesture was too fast, too sneaky for Alessandro to see what it was. Pierce slipped it into his pants pocket.
Alessandro and Perry exchanged astonished glances. What business would a prohuman economics professor have with a vampire gigolo?
"Excuse me." Alessandro stood. Evidently he had one more task before he could leave.
"What're you going to do?"
"Either rescue a kitten or eat it. I'm not sure which." Alessandro strode across the wooden floor, feeling the weight of his long leather coat swinging as he moved.
Pierce saw him coming and slipped from the bar before Alessandro reached them. That left the stool next to Holly's ex-lover vacant. Alessandro took it. Ben gave him a look of all-purpose dislike. Apparently he'd forgotten Alessandro's part in his rescue at the Flanders house.
"What are you doing here?" Alessandro asked, not bothering to hide his distaste.
"What's it to you?"
"Curiosity." Perhaps you'll give me an excuse to snap your neck.
Ben took a sip of what smelled like rum and Coke, putting it carefully back on its coaster. From the glazed look in his eyes, he'd started drinking long before he got there. "I wanted to see the wild side in its natural environment. Thought maybe I'd figure out why Holly picked this over me."
"So, have you found an answer?"
"No. There's nothing special." Ben glared around him. "I don't get it."
You wouldn't. "What do you want with Pierce?"
Ben's head jerked down as he averted his gaze. "He says he'll show me the sights."
A feeling of sick, impatient pity washed through Alessandro. "You think a tour of our cozy slice of hell will make you understand why Holly chose to be herself instead of turning into a female clone of you? Did you think perhaps you should love her for who she is?"
Ben didn't reply, but took another pull at his drink.
"Go home, Elliot. You won't like what Pierce has to show you, and I don't want Holly reading your obituary. In fact, I'd rather she never thought about you again."
He peeled the rum and Coke out of Ben's hand and hauled him off the bar stool. He could afford to be generous with Ben Elliot. Ben was of no account.
With Perry's help, he got the professor into a cab. The young werewolf left at the same time, catching the last bus in a drizzling rain.
Alessandro stood outside Sinsation, searching for the threads of his thoughts. It was two in the morning. About an hour ago he had been planning to go in search of Mac. There was still time to get something done.
"Where did Elliot go?"