such an action until he did.
Taking a deep breath, he lied, "No, of course not. You misunderstood. I had no
intention of hurting Elvi. I was just eager to meet her."
"Uh‐huh." Brunswick didn't look as if he believed him and Victor understood why when
the man asked, "Then why are you clutching Lerner's stake in your hand?"
Victor peered down with surprise at the small wooden stake that he'd apparently
pulled from his back pocket as he'd rushed forward. He hadn't been aware he'd done
so. Now, he held it out to Brunswick.
"I was bringing it to you… as an excuse to come to the table and meet Elvi."
The officer eyed him narrowly for a moment and then allowed his gaze to move over
the other three immortals behind them. Apparently none of the "suitors" gave away
the game by expression. Brunswick relaxed the tiniest fraction.
"Trying to get the jump on the other men," he suggested.
"Something like that," Victor muttered.
Brunswick nodded slowly, but apparently wasn't totally convinced. He took the stake,
but then peered more closely at him. "Show me your teeth again, son. I didn't get a
real good look when you were showing them to Vlad."
Victor stiffened. Obviously, the man wished to assure himself he didn't have another
vampire hunter on his hands. Victor resented having to prove his status, but suspected
he wouldn't get near Elvi if he didn't so opened his mouth and then allowed his incisors
to slip down and protrude.
Teddy Brunswick examined them thoroughly, even reaching out to poke at them to
ensure they weren't some sort of insert. Seemingly satisfied, he then nodded and
relaxed completely.
"Okay, but this is Owen's moment. You can talk to Elvi afterward." Teddy Brunswick
gestured to the table where he'd seated the five men earlier. "Go sit down. Mabel and
I will join you in a moment."
Victor glanced past Brunswick and saw Elvi glancing curiously their way as she listened
distractedly to a smiling, chattering and unbitten Owen. Nodding reluctantly, he turned
and led the other immortals back to their assigned table.
"So you are here on council business," Edward commented as the men reclaimed their
seats.
"I was afraid of that," Harper murmured. "I suppose the council wasn't pleased by her
advertising in the single's columns."
"Not very, no," Victor admitted.
"I was sure she was going to bite him right there in front of everyone," DJ said
apologetically, his gaze shifting back to the birthday booth. His eyes then moved
around the crowded restaurant, taking in each patron. "Do you think they all know?"
"How could they not?" Victor asked, following his gaze with a frown. He and DJ might
have more on their hands than they'd expected with this case.
"So, what does the council intend to do about Elvi?" Edward asked.
The man's expression was calculating. Victor had no doubt he was considering what
this might mean should she turn out to be his lifemate. He glanced at the faces of the
other two prospective suitors. All of them were concerned, and with good reason.
"It isn't just the ads," he said finally. "There are rumors running rampant all over the
Toronto club scene that there's a female vampire living in one of the small, lakeside
towns in southern Ontario."
The three men were silent, only their expressions revealing that they understood the
gravity of the matter. There were few laws among their people, but they were
important laws and not drawing attention to themselves or the existence of their
people was right up there in importance. Another was they weren't allowed to bite a
mortal… except in cases of an emergency.
His gaze slid to the corner booth again. The woman was laughing at something the
teen had said. The boy seemed totally at ease now and he was as lit up as a Christmas
tree, apparently his fears had abated. It didn't matter. They weren't allowed to bite
because it increased the risk of detection for their people and she apparently intended
to bite the boy and, from what Brunswick had said, he wouldn't be the first.
"And she appears to be biting mortals," Alessandro murmured, apparently thinking
along the same lines.
Victor didn't comment. He glanced around the restaurant, slipping quickly and easily
into various minds. As he'd feared, every single person here knew that Elvi was a
vampire… and that he and the other men there were too.
Elvi Black was in a great deal of trouble with the council. The kind that could see her
staked and left out in the sun all day, then beheaded. He sincerely hoped she wasn't a
lifemate to any of the men here.
"Okay."
Victor glanced up with a start to find Brunswick had returned, managing to do so