by Casey Morgan
When I first heard about Love’s Hollow, a haven for paranormal folk, a few years ago, I couldn’t believe it. I had just started my first novel — which was about supernatural creatures — then I found a town that was full of them. So, I had to move here. I took a chance and answered an ad in the Love’s Hollow paper for a roommate. It was the best thing I could have ever done. I got up close and personal with a witch, Tina, and a werewolf, Leslie. Living with them was good research for my book and they became some of the closest friends I have ever had. As a writer, I’m not very social.
But things changed quickly. Tina started her own fortunetelling business, fell in love with two werewolves and got married. Leslie found The Mad Moon Bar and fell in love with three. Now I rarely see either of them. It’s sad.
I purse my lips, wondering if I should wave down my waiter and order my food. As it is, if I don’t get something in me soon, I’m not going to have time to eat. I’m going to have to starve until my first break of the night, which isn’t until around midnight.
“Sorry I’m late, Olivia,” says a voice I immediately recognize, just as I’m about to flag down my waiter and put in my order for chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. My eyes immediately find her, rushing in through the door. Tina, her arms full, with a little baby in one arm and her wallet and car keys in the other. Her little baby has bright, unnatural eyes. Definitely amber from his werewolf daddies, mixed with a beautiful blue, just like his mother.
“Little Nicky had a bit of an accident on the way over, didn’t you, my little fluffy button?”
She gets all gooey and kissy with the little one. He giggles and shrieks with joy. As she sits down at the table across from me, I start to wonder if “accident” and “fluffy” have anything to do with a little transforming going on. I have no idea when werewolves start being able to shape shift, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it starts early and by surprise, too.
“Hey, Nicky,” I say, looking at his big, adorable eyes and the dark, expressive lips covered in baby drool. “Hey little man! Being good for your mama, I hope? Not tearing up the inside of her car, are you?”
Nicky just coos, looking at me and then bobbling to look out the window. I’m melting on the inside, just looking at all of his little movements. His chubby cheeks, belly, and feet. I would love to be able to hold him, cuddle him. I know I could ask Tina to let me, but with Nicky being “accident-prone” I don’t want to have to change clothes before work.
“So, how are things going?” I ask my friend and former roommate.
“Great! I’m doing really well with my fortune-telling business, the husbands are busy, and my little baby is just a bundle of energy!” Unlike other mothers who talk about bundles of energy, Tina looks like she honestly loves her little guy for it, not secretly despises him. “And you?” She pushes the menu away, adding, “I already know what I’m going to order.”
“I’ve been doing fine. Fine enough,” I say. I shrug, ignoring the loneliness I feel growing as I stare at her cuddling Nicky. Tentatively, my mind wanders to the manuscript I just submitted to a publisher and heard back from. It wasn’t good. “You know, I’ve got my job, things are going well with that. So, I guess things are fine.”
Tina scowls at me. She gives me that look like “don’t tell me things are fine, I know when they’re not”. But she doesn’t have time to confront me on it, because right then and there, Leslie comes bursting through the door of the diner. She’s got a beautifully wild look to her, clutching a file folder of something in one hand, her purse draped around the other.
“Sorry I’m late, girls! The boys got slammed with customers, so I had to help them a little bit longer than I anticipated!” She gets the attention of our waiter. Somehow, she seems to know those kinds of things without needing to be present. “Yo, my man! I’ll take a green meanie smoothie, large! What are you having, gals?”
I tell her my chicken fried steak, and Tina tells her the burger special. Leslie shouts out our orders, being sure to point this out to the waiter. “Make it priority and quick! This one’s got to get to work, and so do I.”
“You got it, Mrs. Timberwolf,” he says, and scurries away to do her bidding.
Once our waiter is gone, Leslie squeals with joy, and puts down the folder she’s been clutching to her like a pale baby. “I just got these today! I can’t wait to show you!”
“What are they?” I ask, readjusting my glasses.
Leslie doesn’t answer me. She just flips open the file folder, revealing black and gray images. “Ultrasound pictures!” Without waiting, she begins to flip through them, showing them to us. “I’m having triplets!” Again, she squeals, pointing out the three different babies in her belly. There are distinct hands and feet, though I can barely make them out.
“That’s wonderful! They are so cute already,” says Tina, taking the pictures to look more closely for herself.
I take a few of the photos for myself, looking at the little faces and sleepy bodies I can make out. “So cool.” I study them a bit longer, trying to see if I can see any more unique characteristics of these little ones, but I can’t. “You know the sexes yet?”
“The doctor thinks I might be having two boys and one girl,” says Leslie, “but she told me not to get too attached. They are still developing, and those little stinkers kept moving around when she was taking photos, so we won’t know for sure for a little while longer.”
“Well, that’s awesome that you have little ones on the way,” I say, and sink into myself after that. Partly because Tina and Leslie have a lot more to talk about than I do. Also, because my mind is on that rejection letter I received. The letter I got after waiting for months to hear about my manuscript, and it’s making me fill even more lonely and sad, even surrounded by my best friends.
Everyone’s food arrives, but I’m not happy. Compared to Tina and Leslie, I’ve got nothing going for me. And I really thought that publisher would like what I had to present. Tina zeros in on me after one depressed bite of my food, asking, “What’s the matter? You seem down about something.”
“It’s nothing,” I say, even though I know that she’s going ask more questions. “Don’t let me ruin your guys’ good time.”
“Spill the beans,” says Leslie, taking a long sip on her super healthy shake. “What happened?”
“You can’t hide from us, sweetie,” says Tina, “you know that.”
“I finished my book a while ago,” I say, frowning at their praise and congratulations. “I submitted it to a publisher.” More praise and joy I don’t feel like I deserve. I quickly cut up more of my meal and stuff it in my mouth. “That may sound great at all, but I just heard back from that publisher.” I shovel more bites of food in my mouth, trying not to cry, or lose any unnecessary time. “They didn’t want my book. I got rejected, and I feel like absolute shit.”
I keep eating, even as Leslie and Tina do their best to comfort me, to sympathize with me. But I just shrug it off, not feeling worthy of any of it.
“You want me to do a reading for you?” Tina asks, making a serious offer. “Maybe having your fortune told will help you get back on track.”
While I’m not sure her readings are the best, or even that accurate, to try to soothe the damage to my ego, I submit to it. “Whatever. Why not.” I take a couple more bites of food, before giving her my hands. The moment she takes them, I feel a cool breeze pass between us.
Nicky begins to fuss and cry, but Leslie quickly calms him down. They have some werewolf bond or something.
Tina zeros in and concentrates. Then, after a moment of silence she says, “I see you standing in the middle of a white light. I see you being nervous and afraid, but that there’s some good that comes out of it.” Her brow furrows. “I also see werewolves. Lots of them fighting.” She takes a breath in, searching whatever vision she’s gotten. “You’re in the middle of all the fighting wolves,” she adds, “but there’s something on the other end of that. Some other good result somehow.�
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I take my hands away from hers, feeling even worse than I did before. “Thanks, but no thanks. That sounds like a horrible future ahead of me.”
Tina opens her eyes, as the alarm on my phone goes off. It’s my warning to head into work before I’m late. I slide out of the booth, lay down some cash for my portion of the food, just as she says, “It’s not all bad.”
“I don’t even know what to do with that,” I admit, grabbing my phone and purse.
“Do something that scares you,” says Tina in her cryptic way. “I’m not sure why, but that’s going to pay out in the end.”
Sure it is. Or get me on the evening news. There is a story for you! A human mauled by a whole pack of werewolves, after moving to Love’s Hollow! What a fool!
I leave the diner and head to my car. As I do, I hope that work will distract me from the baby I don’t have, and the book sitting unpublished on my desk.
Chapter Two
Olivia
Thank God for my skill with speedy, exact driving. It’s due to that (and my luck at not getting a speeding ticket on the way), that I get into work on time. I’m out of the car and in the front door seconds before seven p.m. Not late, but still not as early as I typically like to be.
But at this point I’m going to be grateful for whatever bit of good luck I can get.
The Diamond Club is empty. We won’t be open for business for another half an hour. I take a deep breath, as I walk my way in, looking around at all the empty seats and chairs and trying to relax. I love working here. It’s a lot of fun and I need the distraction from my bad news.
I see Sylvan, my manager and also a human, come out from behind the hostess desk. He’s got some new girl with him. She’s already dressed in a black waitress apron and has a name tag on. Krystal Jenkins, it reads.
He sees me instantly and looks relieved. “Oh, good, Olivia. You’re here.” He gives me a warm, arrogant smile. Most people might take him as rude or unkind with that smile, but that’s only until you get to know him. Sylvan has a right to be arrogant (his lover is a vampire and the owner of this establishment), but he cares about us girls — the ones who work for him, and the ones who participate in the auctions intermittently hosted by this club. “You can show Krystal the ropes. Get her started on her shift.”
“Uh… Sure,” I say, extending my hand. “Olivia. I’ll be glad to help you get settled in.”
“Krystal,” says the girl, sweeping back her strawberry-blonde medium length hair. She looks down at the front of her apron and points out the name tag. “Oh, duh.” She blushes, snorting slightly. “You can read that.”
“I can,” I say, “don’t worry about it.” I give her another smile and guide her to the area with all the tables and chairs. The same area that would normally host guests at an auction and start instructing her on where and how to clean the tables. I show her how to organize the napkins and silverware, the candles and other decorations. Things I’ve started to pull out as I talk about them, and line tables.
Even without Sylvan needing to tell me, silver tablecloths go down first. Krystal helps with this, and as she does, she strikes up a conversation with me. “So…” Again, she sounds and looks awkward, but in a dorky, adorable way. “How did you come to Love’s Hollow?” Without waiting for me to answer her, she offers her story. “I came here because of the rumors about paranormal folk. I heard the stories, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. So, like the curious, stupid human I am, I decided to come here, to stay. So Sylvan was nice enough to hook me up with a job. Practically hired me on the spot.”
Sylvan tells her that he couldn’t say no. His lover would not allow it, and she brushes him off. It’s in a kind, playful way.
I clear my throat, offering my story. “I came here because I’m a writer, and I was looking for an interesting locale, a place to write my book, when I heard the tales of paranormal creatures. I initially didn’t believe they were real, so I did my digging. The friends I left back at home, they don’t quite believe all this stuff about vampires, werewolves and witches, but they won’t come investigate, so I don’t really hang out with my human friends anymore. I’ve got plenty of supernatural ones though, so I guess I’m okay.”
“Same,” says Krystal. Her hazel eyes twinkle. “At least, I hope I’ll make some good friends.”
Sylvan leans himself against the table we aren’t working to set up, looking mockingly offended. “I don’t count is a friend?”
“You’re my boss, Sylvan,” answers Krystal with a grin. “That would be inappropriate.” She turns to face him completely, having finished her straightening out of the tablecloth and other decorations. “But, I’m curious about how you came to Love’s Hollow, Sylvan. If you don’t mind me asking, how did that happen?”
I’m not holding my breath for a story from him. Sylvan is almost as secretive as his lover, who is not likely to rise for the evening for at least another half hour. But I turn out to be wrong. He steps away from the table and begins to actually tell us.
“I came to Love’s Hollow because of Jorin, my lover. He’s a vampire and shoe fanatic by nature, we ended up meeting at my own place of work. A high-end shoe boutique in the heart of New York City. He came in so often for different shoes, I got to know him that way. And then he eventually asked me to dinner.” He rolls his eyes. “No, he didn’t have me. We had a nice dinner at a French restaurant. He actually let me know he was a vampire straight off the bat. He used it as a way to explain how he knew the vast history behind each dish we ate, and for whom they were originally created.”
“Awwww!” says Krystal. “That’s so sweet!”
“Dangerous,” adds Sylvan, “as I’ve told him many times since, he took a huge risk being that open with me. But I guess he knew I was safe, and the rest is history. From that dinner, there were many others. There were nighttime trips to this place before I moved here to stay. The impetus for that was me actually losing my job for my sexual orientation. Some girls started some awful rumors about me and customers, and I was cut away.” As he speaks, I see that he is still torn up over it.
“That’s illegal,” says Krystal. We both frown. “Or should be.”
Sylvan shrugs. “Jorin wanted to bleed them dry for doing that to me, but I told him no. I told him to just let them be and let me stay with him. So, he did. He became my partner and let me run this business with him.” He glances at his watch. “Speaking of my dear beloved, he should be up by now.”
Speak of that devil, Jorin comes bursting in from downstairs. Coming right up to us, he looks flustered and frustrated. Like someone’s just shot him full of bullets or filled him with splinters. “In all my three hundred years! Never has a night been this bad!” He sweeps his white-blonde hair over his shoulder in a dramatic fashion.
Immediately, Sylvan rushes to his lover and take both his hands in his own. “What’s the matter, my sweet?”
Jorin barely lets himself be held. “I had a huge lineup of women for tonight’s auction. An important guest — the vampire who made me — he’s coming tonight. I promised him the best auction I could procure, and all my girls have backed out on me. I was awoken by a slew of text messages and calls from each of them saying so!” He growls, looking truly upset. “I don’t know what I’m going to do!”
Sylvan tries to comfort him. “It’s okay, dear. I’m sure we’ll think of something. We always do.”
Despair reigns for a moment, and then Jorin sees me and Krystal. “You two!” He rushes up to both of us and takes one of our hands. “You are both beautiful. Would at least one of you consider joining tonight’s auction?” His eyes are pleading and pitiful, belying his age and depth. “I wouldn’t ask under normal circumstances, but I’ve got nothing right now, my creator deserves something more than zero!”
Krystal raises her hand. “I will, Mr. LeBlanc,” she says. “I’m not going to offer much more than a kiss, but I’ll do it for you.”
I’m not sure about participating. I don’t really w
ant to. The idea of being up on stage and auctioning off something as valuable as my virginity, I’m really not sure of. But then I remember Tina’s words. Her encouragement to do something that scares me, and this auction idea terrifies me.
“I’ll participate as well, Jorin,” I say, unable to believe that I’ve really stepped up to do that. “I’ll sell my virginity.”
He grabs me by my face and kisses me tenderly on both cheeks. “Thank you, Olivia. Thank you, Krystal. You’ve saved my life tonight.” So saying, he takes both of us by the hand, and begins to lead us toward the dressing rooms. “Sylvan, darling, call our reserve waiters, Grayson and Cynthia.” With that, I don’t hear or see any more than a full-length mirror, and a whole closet of clothing. Jorin turns to me and looks over my body. He grins. “Now, to make you both stunning and irresistible to my maker.”
Chapter Three
Axel
Sitting at the back of this supposed world-renowned club run by a vampire, I’m already unimpressed. The Dimond Club isn’t living up to the hype. Sure, the table settings are nice. The atmosphere is sultry and Gothic. It’s magical looking, as I would expect from a place like this in Love’s Hollow, but it’s too quiet. It’s too dead for a place that’s supposed to be the most happening joint in this town.
My three other brothers, Kace (my twin), Finn and Zane, they look less jaded than I feel. Zane looks excited, while Finn is cracking some joke to the others about how old the vampire must be to run a place like this. Kace, looks around this place as if he is sizing it up. He’s getting a read on it, which I approve of, since he’s the man I trust to tell me whether something is going to pan out or not.