The Aftermath ✔

2 TAX COLLECTORS

The last of the wolf brigade jumped through the open doors, landing crouched down from the shift.

Slade hove a sigh.

Lomos, the one in charge, unhooked his cape and affixed it around his waist, as did the others. It was either that or go naked. Werewolf or not, exuding authority while in the buff was easier said than done. The Wolf brigade had several division—each led by an alpha. Of the twenty werewolves there, Lomos was by far the smallest—his skill and ferocity in a fight earned him his title.

The collar around his neck doubled as a gun harness which he looped his shoulder through and tightened.

"Right," he said, brushing down his cape turned kilt, "where's the victim in question?"

"Over here, Officer," Marrow waved from the booth, a bawling fairy in his hold. "Over here."

Lomos focused on Slade and said, "We'll get a statement from you soon enough. Don't move."

Slade, leaning with her back against the wall, eyed the floor. Eventually she stood and sauntered to the bar. Trixie caught hold of Manny and hurried to follow.

"Don't get discouraged, boss. There's another full moon that's perfect for enriching the runes in three months' time. Ey?"

Without responding, Slade raised her left hand. Trixie wasn't the brightest, but she knew to shut up.

Manny hunched over, mewling. Trixie patted his back. Fae blood withdrawal. It was rushing through him fast. The high came with a crushing low.

There was nothing left to do but wait so Slade called for a drink.

A goblet of blood landed before her. She eyed it, unmoved.

When a tall figure sat down beside her, she didn't regard him. The fact that Eli came fully clothed meant he'd been heading her way intentionally. His white cape hung on his shoulder.

"We need to talk," he said, leaning forward.

Slade supposed they did. Letting out a sigh, she cut him a glance.

That cape. She hated seeing it. Its ornate gold bezel made her sick. She especially hated the monogram of Eli's initials on the top. At the time she'd bought it for him—for a couple, it had seemed cute. A fitting engagement present for Eli and his would-be bride. But two years past without that marriage getting underway and Slade had a hard time looking at that cape now without a mountain of regrets and what ifs.

He followed her gaze and brushed the cape back. "Focus," Eli commanded. "We have to talk."

"Excuse me, sir. We'd like a word with Slade," Lomos said.

Eli didn't take his eyes off Slade when he answered the werewolf. "Give us a minute."

"If it's all the same, I can't. These fairies aren't leaving quietly."

They went back and forth for some time before Eli got the information he wanted.

"They what? In the blood? All of it?"

Marrow flew forward. "It was just a prank, sir. A simple, silly prank. And the boy would have apologized but—"

Lomos raised his hand but didn't look back. "Tax Collector, with all due respect, we don't want to be down here in a den of hungry vamps. Please give us some space."

Letting out a snort, the fairy flew back to his colleagues hard at work comforting the crying youth.

"A prank?" Eli marveled. "There's a reason it's called life's blood. It takes ages for them to cultivate that stuff. It's not even a tenth the potency of what they're used to. Here they are, making an effort to stay out of everyone's way, and this is the result? And you're just gonna—"