The Real Werewives of Vampire County - By Alexandra Ivy Page 0,66

nailed her with it?

I could see her making her decision. Finally she relented. “I snuck in while she was out mooning over that damned gardener. It didn’t take long to cut the links on the chandelier.” She gave a sullen look. “I only had to knock it enough to spin free of the broken link for it to fall. I hated that god-awful piece of junk. He gave it to her. She didn’t deserve anything from him. She didn’t even see it coming.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Now he’s never coming back.”

I just hoped Tia’s husband could.

CHAPTER 10

The werewolves arrived that morning. The war was off, which was great because my pack seemed more interested in raiding our kitchen than fighting. The vampires would arrive tonight.

Bliss was taken into custody by her own people, which I thought was horse pucky until Finnegan told me what they’d probably do to her. It wasn’t pretty, but at least she’d live. Unlike Sunny.

That left Chi-Chi the Chihuahua at loose ends. I offered to take her in if she was willing to give up life on Mysteria Lane. From her enthusiastic wriggling, I figured she was up for the challenge.

We retreated back to the Duke house to wait for representatives from the Vampire Council. Nina sent her chef over to help out, which was pretty nice of her, all things considered.

He’d loaded the granite countertops with meat pies, steak tartar and roasted venison. I slipped a bite to Chi-Chi and wondered if I should break it to the cook that we did eat other things besides meat. You know what, though? The guy looked happy. He was actually getting to cook for once, so I left him to it.

Tia had skipped her husband’s pill that morning and had reported no results yet. She planned to sit with him all day, to see if she could detect a change.

I’d spent as much time as I could that morning interrogating Francine and Nina, just to make sure there wasn’t anything we’d missed. Nina had been telling the truth all along. Good for her. And it turned out Francine was bald as a bat under that expensive brunette wig.

I insisted she remove it for the remainder of our questioning.

None of the residents of Mysteria Lane would be any wiser. But I’d sure enjoyed it.

I managed a quick “hello” with Lucien when he woke up for the evening. I made sure to show him exactly why I was so glad we’d survived the night before. He returned the favor.

Twice.

I love it when the Vampire Council runs late.

But they eventually arrived. More’s the pity. And went into closed meetings with Finnegan and our pack elders.

The pack used it as an excuse to enjoy an eighteenth course, courtesy of Nina’s chef. I swear if he ever wanted to leave her, he’d have his choice of about thirty slavering Topanga Pack members, ready to bow at his command.

Good food could do that to a wolf.

Vinny plucked a beef skewer off a silver tray and leaned up against the counter next to me. “Tia’s husband woke up.”

I smiled. “Fantastic. When?”

“About ten minutes ago. She skipped his evening meds. I helped her prop him up enough for a drink.”

“Good for her.”

“I’ll say. They’re even louder than you two.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“I ran like a girl.”

I smacked him on the arm, not really meaning it. I wished Lucien would get back soon. No telling how much time we’d have before he had to be on to his next assignment.

The mere thought of it made my stomach hollow.

Suck it up, McPhee.

I’d known this moment would come. I couldn’t have Lucien forever, even if I wanted it.

And boy, did I want it.

The Vampire Council and the wolf elders made it back to the house alive, which was a good sign.

Finnegan slapped me on the back so hard he almost knocked the wind out of me. “The war is off,” he announced to the crowd at large. “Thanks to your hard work,” he added under his breath.

Sure. Nothing like accolades for a job well done.

Oh, who was I kidding? I didn’t need praise. I had a happy ending.

At least until, “Hi, Lucien.” The corners of my mouth turned up as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the head.

We ignored the catcalls from my pack mates.

Yeah, yeah.

McPhee was smiling. McPhee was smitten.

McPhee was in love.

Damn it all.

I vowed to keep my pride. I’d let him go when the time came. I just hoped it