Nightwolf

“But you feed on humans to survive. How did you do that without suspicion?”

“We can go a long time without feeding. You know this. We had even more resolve from being in the veil for so long. It was training in how to live with hunger, basically, a worthy skill in my opinion. Even now I can go longer than most. Back then though, Asmund would travel and make kills, bring them back. We’d hide them in the Black Sunshine so the bodies would never be found. And that was our life for a very long time.”

“Until you turned…”

He nods at that but doesn’t say anything else and we lapse into silence. I stare out the window at the passing towns and vineyards, and eventually fall asleep for a bit, my face smashed against the window. I’m sure a humorous sight for passing drivers.

Thankfully, I dream of nothing.

I wake up as we stop at the town of Healdsburg for a coffee, a delightful little town that looks straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie filled with a picturesque square, cool shops, and lots of well-dressed adults drunk off their asses thanks to midday wine tastings, then keep driving until we hit Garberville, the last stop before the turn-off to Shelter Cove.

“I hate to be a pain, but do you mind if we get something to eat?” I ask him, nodding at the sign on the highway for food. We’ve been in the car for at least four hours.

“Not at all,” he says, pulling onto the exit. “Sorry, I forget that you need to eat so often.”

“And you? When was the last time you ate?”

He lifts a shoulder. “I’m fine.”

“Not really answering my question.”

“I told you I can go a long time.” He peers at me over his sunglasses. “Are you worried I’m going to try and eat you?”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

There. I said it.

Hunger flashes in his eyes, and not the bloodlusting kind. I watch as he swallows hard. “You better be careful what you wish for.” He brings his attention back to the road. “Tempting a vampire can be dangerous business.”

“And yet, somehow I’m not afraid of you,” I say thoughtfully. “I probably oughta be considering this is the first time we’re not only going off somewhere alone, but somewhere completely isolated. You could bite me, drink me, drain me of blood, and there won’t be a single person around that could come to my rescue.”

“Amethyst,” he says in warning, his large knuckles going white on the steering wheel.

“I’m just saying.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

I smile, enjoying how this is getting to him. “Other than the other night, I never see you lose control. Are you worried you might lose control around me if we’re alone?”

“You might say that,” he says under his breath. Then he clears his throat. “If you don’t stop teasing me.”

“Me? A tease?” I say in a mocking voice as he pulls the Mustang over.

“Yeah, you,” he says adamantly. “Biggest fucking tease of them all.” He puts the car in park and then takes off his sunglasses, looking back and forth down the street. “Okay, so what looks good to you?”

You do, I think. But I know he knows what I’m thinking already. Honestly, I could stay in the car and banter with him a little more, enjoying where this is going, but my stomach growls again.

“How about the Eel River Café,” he says nodding at the diner a few doors down.

“Makes me think they’ll be serving up eels,” I say as I get out of the car. “I might be hungry enough, though.” We are in the middle of nowhere, at least it feels like it. The town of Garberville is basically just a street with some small shops, kitschy motels, and gas stations. Beyond are the mountains and never-ending forest.

Wolf locks the doors and then comes over beside me and breathes in deep. “It reminds me of home a bit,” he says. “Perhaps I should get out of the city more often.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

And it looks good on him too. The forest of redwoods behind him, the blue sky, I can almost see the Wolf of yesterday back in Norway.

We head to the café and, from the looks of it outside, it seems like a real redneck-type of place, the kind that don’t look too kindly on anyone different, a vibe that the two of us definitely give off. But to my relief, I see the rainbow flag outside and a sign saying “All are welcome here.” My kind of place.

The waitress behind the counter tells us they’re closing soon but we can put in an order if we hurry, so Wolf and I take a seat at the counter and go through the menu. He’s not hungry, for food anyway, but I get a burger and fries and a root beer, and he gets a cup of black coffee and we admire the cow-themed décor and talk about things that are better suited for the public, leaving everything vampire related in the car.