"His Birthday Bite," Brunswick answered and would have continued walking, but Victor
held him back.
"Birthday Bite?" he queried sharply.
Impatient to get going, Brunswick quickly explained, "On their eighteenth birthday, the
boys come here for a special celebratory dinner on the house. They get cake that Elvi
makes for them, and then she bites them." He paused, but when there was a
deafening silence from the men at the table, he added, "It's sort of a rite of passage
from boyhood to manhood."
"A rite of passage?" DJ asked with disbelief.
"The Indians have their rituals, we have ours," Brunswick said with a shrug, then
tugged his arm free. "I have to go."
This time, Victor let him escape. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.
A sudden hush in the room made them all glance toward the back of the room. Victor's
eyes widened as a curvy redhead stepped through the beads separating the restaurant
from the kitchen. If this was Elvi, her picture was misleading. For one thing, in the
picture, her hair had looked dark rather than the vibrant red it truly was. The photo
also hadn't revealed that she was short, no more than five foot three. And she
certainly hadn't been wearing the getup she was in now.
His eyes skated over the long, form‐fitting gown, lingering over the naked flesh of her
lower legs revealed as she walked, then returned to her face. It was the same face and
yet now he was noticing the piquant, elfin quality to it, and that her eyes weren't just
large, they were huge, and she had the most adorable little nose he'd ever seen. As for
her lips—
Victor gave his head a shake. While her picture hadn't impressed him, the real deal
somehow robbed him of breath. He found himself staring with fascination, his eyes
following as she moved to the table where the boy, Owen, and his family sat.
The faint chime of bells marked her passage and it took a moment for Victor to realize
it came from a chain of charms around her ankle. He then found himself staring at that
ankle, noting the delicate curve from lower calf to heel.
It wasn't until DJ sucked in a hearty breath that Victor's gaze rose back to the woman
herself and he realized she'd reached the table and squeezed herself onto the end of
the bench seat with the two teenagers. She was now leaning toward Owen, whispering
something in his ear. When the lad swallowed thickly and gave a nervous nod, she
chuckled softly. The whole room was silent, everyone seeming to hold their breath.
"Dear God! She's going to bite him right here in front of everyone," DJ gasped with
horror.
"She wouldn't dare," Victor breathed with disbelief, but even as he said the words, she
leaned in toward the boy again.
"We have to do something!" DJ hissed. "We can't let everyone in here see this."
Victor didn't answer, he was already on his feet, rushing toward the corner booth.
Chapter Four
Victor had nearly reached the back booth when Teddy Brunswick suddenly stepped in
his way.
"What are you doing, son?" The officer asked grimly.
Victor started to slip into his mind to make him step aside, and then hesitated as he
realized another man had moved up behind Brunswick, backing him up… And another.
Stiffening, Victor peered slowly around to see that the male patrons seated nearest
them were stiff and narrow‐eyed, ready to step in should the need arise. It wasn't until
DJ spoke that he realized the younger immortal had followed and now had his own
back.
"What do we do?" DJ breathed, his voice so low that only Victor could have heard him.
"Son," Brunswick growled before he could answer DJ. "I asked you a question. What
are you doing? You weren't thinking to hurt our Elvi, were you?"
Aware of the sudden shifting around them, Victor glanced about to see that the mortal
men were starting to look mean, very much resembling a lynch mob as they closed in.
He also noted that Alessandro, Harper, and Edward had moved up to stand behind DJ,
offering their support if necessary, but Victor didn't want this to turn into a brawl.
Between their increased strength and their ability to control minds, it would be no
problem for the five of them to deal with this crowd, but he didn't want to clean up
the mess afterward. The idea of wiping every mind of every patron in the restaurant
was wearying, besides it was a risky business. If even one person proved difficult to
wipe and managed to retain their memories, they could draw out the memories of the
others and it would have been a complete waste of time. He may yet have to wipe the
memories of all these people, but would rather avoid it if possible. Victor had no idea
what was going on, what these people did or did not know, and didn't want to force