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	Ruby checked the time on her phone for what felt like the thousandth time in the past ten minutes. She’d texted Alex at least twenty times this past hour, mostly GIFs.
	Her shift at Moose ‘N’ Munchies couldn’t end soon enough. It was a slow night, leaving her with little else to do besides sit on the stool at the cash register and ignore Parker, a new-hire who had been hitting on her since he’d started.
	“So!”
	Speak of the devil. 
	Ruby sighed. She stopped bouncing her leg and glared at Parker as the nineteen-year-old leaned against the wall behind the cash register.
	The boy either didn’t or refused to take the expressive hint. He smiled broadly at her. The spikes in his dyed blonde hair had started to return to their original curls from gel-withdrawal, its color in stark contrast with his dark skin. The restaurant’s beige polo uniform did nothing good for his thin frame, reminding Ruby she still needed to tailor a shirt for him.
	“What?” She raised her eyebrows so they disappeared beneath her purple-dyed bangs. “If you’ve set another trashcan on fire, I’m [i]not[/i] covering for you again.”
	“It only [i]melted![/i]” The embarrassed whine in the boy’s voice made Ruby smirk. He cleared his throat. “But, no. I wanted to ask if you’ve heard there’s a fair in town this weekend.”
	“I’m busy.” She looked back to her phone in a rude dismissal.
	“It’s supposed to be in town for the next month, so—”
	“Look. I like you, Parker. I do,” she began, sparing him only a quick glance while scrolling through Twitter. “But I already told you I don’t date co-workers. Personal rule.”
	A rule she’d adopted after one such relationship went bad and come down to her or him leaving Moose ‘N’ Munchies. And [i]she[/i] wasn’t going anywhere. The last thing she wanted was for things to get more awkward between her and Parker. He really [i]was[/i] a good person, after all.
	“Well, it doesn’t have to be just us. We could make it a [i]friend[/i] thing. Grab a couple buddies, meet up there, have a good time.”
	Ruby eyed him doubtfully. “A friend thing.”
	He nodded vigorously. “Cross my heart, nothing else.” He mimed drawing an X over his chest. 
	“Ruby! Parker!” Her aunt’s shrill voice interrupted from the back. A pudgy woman somewhere in her thirties appeared from the kitchens. She glanced around at the vacant dining area, sighed, then hurried across the room toward the door. “We’re closing up early tonight, kids. I’ve already sent Clara home.”
	Her aunt, Fiona, turned off the neon ‘Open’ sign on the entrance. She patted the snout of the moose statue beside the door. Carved to resemble their logo, the wood of its snout was shiny from many such pats. Ruby thought it was a horrifying thing with its tiny white cowboy hat between its antlers and a toothy grin that spanned from ear to ear. But the kids—and her aunt—loved it. 
	Right along with all the other country-themed décor of the space, from the mounted moose-heads to the wilderness-themed knick-knacks and paintings.
	Ruby eagerly sprung to her feet. Closing early meant she’d have more than enough time to change and make herself look good before heading to the Eternal Rose to pick up Alex. She almost envied the girl for being a bartender. Between waitress and bartender, Alex definitely had the sexier job.
	Plus, no uniforms with the head of a smiling cartoon moose on the back.
	She started toward the back to grab the cleaning supplies. Parker stopped her with a light touch to her shoulder.
	“Just think about it, hey?” His brown eyes twinkled hopefully.
	Ruby looked up at him—something her short self was all too familiar with doing with people. “No promises. But I’ll think about it.” 
	The two of them made short work of cleaning up the dining area, tag-teaming the chores. Parker, bless him, happily put all the chairs up while she gave the floors a quick mop. It had been a while now since her arm had given her troubles, but she didn’t want to push her luck. 
	He finished first, then left with a warm farewell. Returning the cleaning supplies, Ruby at last made it to the employee lockers in the back.
	“Hold up.” Fiona met Ruby at her locker. “I want you to stay and do inventory.”
	Ruby groaned, hand on the combination dial. Inventory always took an age and a half. And she’d be doing it on her own, since her aunt and uncle had late dinner plans.
	“Don’t give me that.” Fiona dipped her chin and looked up at her niece. The light glinted on the woman’s spectacles as if sensing the sternness in her voice. Though she, too, had inherited the short gene in the family, Ruby aspired to look even half as menacing as what the older woman could manage. “You said you wanted a three-day, right?”
	Ruby eyed her aunt suspiciously. “Maybe.”
	The woman nodded knowingly. “Well. Stay to check inventory tonight, and Parker’s agreed to take your shift on Sunday.”
	“[i]Really?[/i]” Ruby squealed. She had to give it to the teenager. He was trying his hardest. Which was, she had to admit, part of why she kept turning him down. He was adorable, but too eager. Though, it did apparently have its perks.
	“Really. So, watchya say?”
	Ruby snapped her feet together and gave a military salute. “Sir, yes sir!”
	The woman rolled her eyes good-naturedly, her fluffy brown hair bouncing about her shoulders. She unhooked a keyring from a clip on her belt and tossed them to Ruby. “You know the drill, Rue.”
	Ruby caught them, hugged her aunt goodnight, then opened her locker. She traded the day’s tips in her apron pocket for a hair tie from her purse. She put her hair up in a messy ponytail. With the right sleeve cut off of her polo shirt, she rolled up the left, revealing the shiny surgical scars it hid, then got back to work.
	Inventory took longer than she’d expected. But, on the bright side, she’d gotten an idea of how to easily get through to Parker that she wasn't interested; ask her newest crush, Tom Odell, to come to the fair with them. Or, more importantly, ask him on an actual date first, then, if all went well, to the fair, along with Alex. She’d been waiting for him to ask her, but hey. It was the 21st century. There was no rule against her asking him.
	As soon as she’d finished, she pulled her phone from her apron pocket. Unlocking it, she went to his profile to message him—alas, she didn’t have his phone number—when she noticed a change in his status, and some of his latest posts.
	She’d missed her chance, it seemed.
	Then, she noticed the time. “Crêpes-and-cheese!”
	She’d been working on inventory longer than she’d thought. She was running late. If she wanted to get to the bar before it closed, she wouldn’t have time to stop off at home to change. She opened her messages with Alex, and sent a quick text.
	[i]Got stuck with inventory. OMW![/i]
	She rushed through locking up, giving Ferdinand—the moose statue—a customary pat, then rushed out the back, a bag of perfectly good food destined for the trash in hand.
	With no time to chat, she gave the sack of leftover food to the harmless homeless man who favored camping beside the dumpster out back, then rushed for her car in the parking lot across the street.
	Stuck in her own head, she didn’t notice the other car until it was nearly on top of her. A panicked scream caught in her throat as its tires squealed in effort to stop. In that instant, she knew first-hand what a ‘dear in the headlights’ felt like. 
	The car jerked to a stop mere inches from Ruby. She stared at its fender, wide-eyed. She looked up, and, her brain a panicked mess, did the only thing she could think of to do. She scowled at the driver hidden behind the glare of the headlights.
	“Watch where you’re going, you creep!” she shouted. She kicked the fender, then hurried to her car, her legs suddenly feeling a bit like jelly and heart pounding in her chest. Her own vehicle was an old run-down thing, a hand-me-down she’d bought for cheap from her cousin after he’d gotten a better one before heading off to college.
	Once she’d calmed down, the drive to the Eternal Rose was a short one. But in that time, she forced the thought of Tom to override the horror of almost being ran over.
	A missed chance. She [i]hated[/i] when she missed her chance for anything she wanted.
	Unlike Moose ‘N’ Munchies, the Eternal Rose still had an impressive number of cars in the parking lot considering the hour. She found a parking spot, then sauntered into the bar.
	The familiar stench of alcohol and body odor replaced the fresh seaside air outside. Finding Alex behind the bar, Ruby huffed over, dropped her purse on the shiny bar top, and slapped her hands theatrically beside it.
	The noise gained her a couple glowers from those who weren’t yet drunk enough to not care—and the ogling gazes of a few others both semi-sober and well over their limits. Her ponytail swished behind her.
	“Tom Odell has a girlfriend!” she whined.
	With a melodramatic moan, she sunk into one of the barstools. She made it swivel around so she could lean backwards dramatically. Her polo shirt rode up her slim torso, revealing a hint of the tips of the wing tattoos on her sides.
	“My life. Is over!” 
	[i]Was, almost literally,[/i] a small voice reminded her, but she shoved that aside with the promise to make sure to always look both ways before crossing the street from then on.
	Ruby leaned her head back, her bright blue eyes seeking out Alex behind the bar. “Make me some mixed drink strong enough to knock the socks off an orc, would you? I need to drown my sorrows.” She sighed heavily. “Though, that’d mean you’d have to be the designated driver tonight.”
	She swiveled back around on her stool, folded her arms on the bar, and placed her chin atop them.
	“So, maybe the orc’s feet should get to stay warm after all,” she muttered. “Or maybe half-warm. Think I could afford something that would knock them off half-way.”

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	The girl was lucky Vander had quick reflexes. If it hadn’t been for the shock on her face, he’d have thought she was trying to commit suicide with how carelessly she’d dashed into the street.
	His car jerked to a screeching halt. Mr. Fuzzums, who had been sleeping on Vander’s lap, let out a shocked yowl and dug his claws in to keep from flying off.
	The girl outside, blue highlights in her hair catching in his headlights, had the gall to blame [i]him[/i]. His lips rose in a snarl, an inhuman growl rumbling from his chest as she kicked his car, then scurried off like the mouse she was.
	A mouse the predator in him longed to chase. The thought alone of her blood and the chase called to him, making his throat prickle and chest ach. But Mr. Fuzzums’ irate meows drew his thoughts back to civility. 
	He took a slow breath, focusing beyond the eternal bloodhaze. He’d fed recently enough. It could wait a few more hours.
	The cat righted himself, then hopped to the empty seat.
	“Wasn’t my fault!” he grumbled at the cat as he urged the car forward.
	The floofy gray tabby glared at him for a long moment, tail swishing. The small magic charm on Mr. Fuzzums’ collar clinked lightly against the other tags as the feline curled up on the vacant seat.
	His drive through town remained otherwise uneventful. He took the time to reacquaint himself with the streets, some still vaguely familiar, others newer since he’d last been here.
	He was breaking one of his self-imposed rules by coming here: never live in a town twice in fifty years. Fifty years was usually long enough for humans to forget his face. To forget any people who had gone missing. For him to become a hazy blip in the townsfolks’ minds.
	But he was desperate for a reprieve, and hoped that this breach in his own rules would help give him some rest from running from the warlock who had changed him. That this was the place where he’d lost his only chance at creating a Voice of Salvation strengthened the unlikelihood of Vander’s return.
	He’d taken further extra precautions than just that this time, of course, even bought some wards he hoped would at least slow Brahm down from tracking him. He didn’t expect it to last, if it was even working, but even just a few days of peace was always worth the extra effort.
	Using the GPS on his most recent burner phone, he found the house he’d rented ahead of time.
	Located in what he could only call a ‘rich neighborhood,’ this one was set slightly apart from the other houses on the street. It backed up to the beach surrounding a massive lake, easily visible to Vander despite the night’s depths.
	Though technically an Air B&B, Vander had convinced the owner to rent it to him for a few months. It was a bit grander than what he usually rented, but, again, it was something different. Something to hopefully throw Brahm off, if only for an extra breath. 
	He parked in the driveway, then got out. He leaned against the open door, inhaling the cool breeze rolling in off the lake. Exhaling the unnecessary breath, the vampire let his mental senses roam, searching.
	He could sense and smell the lingering presence of a few supernaturals, but they were either too faint or belonged to creatures too weak for him to care about. No, much to the joy of his bloodhaze, the smell of humans was much more dominant.
	He’d need to find out the supernatural situation in town as soon as possible. He knew just the person to ask, if he was still around. But for now… He twisted the tiger-head ring on his middle finger, and muttered its activation word.
	The tiger’s closed mouth opened, and its ruby eyes glowed for a beat. Though it wouldn’t deceive other vampires or exceptionally strong supernaturals, it would, at least, help mask his aura to any lesser sensitives in the area.
	Mr. Fuzzums stretched with a noisy “[i]Mrrrrr[/i],” drawing Vander’s attention. The feline sauntered over the center console, hopped out of the open door, then sat beside Vander, staring up at the house, tail flicking.
	The cat looked up at the vampire. “[i]Mrow![/i]” 
	“I’ll feed you first thing, I promise,” he answered, meeting the feline’s emerald gaze for a moment, then reached inside to pop the trunk. 
	With Mr. Fuzzums padding beside him expectantly, Vander swiftly unloaded four suitcases, shut the trunk, and made his way to the pillared portico. The cat wove between his feet, making a game of trying to trip him—a game the cat never won—before rushing up the steps ahead of him.
	“[i]Mrow!”[/i] Mr. Fuzzums called again, louder this time, as Vander punched in the key code replacing a lock. 
	Inside, the smell of cleaners nearly drowned out the faint, lingering residue of the humans who had cleaned it. Not bothering to turn on a light, he looked up at the chandelier dangling in the entrance hall. 
	He kicked off his shoes, and entered a large sitting area, furnished with plush, expensive-looking everything. 
	A slow smile quirked at his lips. While the few houses he actually owned would put this one to shame, he normally tried to not be overly showy, taking whatever rental he could get.
	He should get eye-candy places like this more often. What was immortality if you didn’t often spend it in luxury? And luxury was definitely something the humans had spent many lifespans improving.
	“MER-ROW!” The slight echo to the cat’s call hinted that he’d found the kitchen.
	This time, Vander meowed back, eliciting an indignant, “Mrrr!”
	He sat the suitcases on the floor, then wheeled one marked with a cat keychain in the direction Mr. Fuzzums had hollered.
	The kitchen was all stainless steel, white tile, and gold-veined black marble. He tossed the suitcase on an island. In little more than one of Mr. Fuzzum’s breaths, he’d unpacked the cat’s food bowls, filled one up with food, and started filling the water bowl. 
	Once the cat was happily gorging himself, he returned to his “borrowed” Mercedes to grab the cat’s litter box from the back seat.
	Back inside, as he filled up the litterbox, he decided that he’d go see if his old nixie acquaintance still owned that seaside bar of his tomorrow. But he would have to be careful. A bar meant humans. And humans meant temptation.
	So, tonight, he would settle in. Tonight, he would hunt.