On their way out of the apartment, Dre grabbed his copy of the Chronicles of Corum, which he had read thoroughly. Since he wasn’t likely to sway Sammy’s friends with the fact that he was a demon, he wanted to win them over with his love for and knowledge about books.
After they had sent Milo off, Dre watched Sammy operating the coffee maker to create everyone’s favorite drink while pacing around nervously. When he heard a door open and close again, he almost jumped out of his skin. Sammy’s muffled laughter broke him out of his stupor.
“Easy, Dre. It’s just Jon.”
Dre looked in the direction Sammy indicated and saw a lean man of middle height standing in front of the section for historic books. His hair was dark black and hung around his face like a veil. He wore black jeans, a blue shirt and fluffy pink slippers. Dre so wanted to look twice but didn’t want to appear rude, so he kept his gaze firmly trained on Jon’s eyes, which were of a stunning emerald green peeping through the long strands of his hair.
“Hi, Jon, I’m Dre, Sammy’s boyfriend.”
Jon nodded without extending his hand. Dre already knew the zombie didn’t like skin contact, so he wasn’t insulted.
“Hi, Dre. Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind me asking, on a scale from zero to ten, how dangerous are demons?”
Dre glanced at Sammy in search for help, but the little traitor pretended to be busy with the coffee maker.
“Uhm, if you’re going strictly after the power a demon can wield, we’re a solid ten, though I do like to point out that violence against anybody in the human realm is very much frowned upon. Our main directive is blending in so we can partake in the wonders the human mind can create.”
Dre wasn’t sure if he wasn’t laying it on a bit too thick. Jon was watching him with wide eyes and even pushed back his hair to get a better look at Dre.
“You’re quoting Star Trek. I already like you. Are you team Kirk, Picard or Janeway?”
“Tough one. I’m all for an all-cast team with Picard, Spock, Seven of Nine and Chakotay, because I dig the tattoos.”
Jon seemed to think about that statement. His shoulders were huddled, as if he wanted to make himself smaller, a clear sign that he was very shy. “I’m with you, though I’d like to add Data. I think he and Spock would make a cute couple.”
Before Dre could find an answer to this mind-boggling idea, the chimes above the shop door announced more visitors. The first ones to enter were Mavis and Maribell, closely followed by two extremely handsome men who could only be the wolf shifters. There was just something about those who shared their body with an animal spirit that always made them stand out. The blond guy was about to close the door then opened it wide again, stepping slightly to the side to let two females in. The smaller one had short, green hair and wore enough jewelry to open a store, thus had to be the banshee. The second one was almost as tall as the two wolf shifters, with long, chestnut-colored hair and the perfect pearly complexion that only vampires possessed. When she greeted him, her voice had that soft cadence no human could resist. Thankfully, Dre was mostly immune to the powers of other paranormals.
“Hello, handsome, you must be Dre, Sammy’s boyfriend. Mavis and Maribell have told us everything about you.” Emilia looked him up and down, her expression unreadable.
Somehow Dre knew it was nothing good. He also tried to ignore the thinly veiled threat she had delivered. These people were only trying to look out for Sammy, a fact Dre reminded himself of constantly.
“He likes Picard and Chakotay.”
The statement came out of nowhere, and when Dre looked back at Jon, the zombie seemed to shrink in on himself.
“Picard and Chakotay? You’re kidding me, right? Kirk and Spock are the kings.” The banshee, Amber, Dre remembered, looked at him with a frown. He opened his mouth to respond, but either Declan or Troy, Dre wasn’t sure which one, beat him to it.
“Amber, please, do we have to go over this again? Nobody says it wasn’t a heroic deed by William Shatner to suck his belly in for I don’t know how many episodes, but he still holds no candle to Seven of Nine. No sucking in of body parts there.” The wolf winked at Dre before he hastily jumped backward when Amber poked him with her index finger between the ribs.
“Do you even listen to yourself? How sexist can you get?”
“Is that a trick question? You do know we’re werewolves, don’t you?” It was the other wolf who spoke. Emilia rolled her eyes.
“Please, we’ve been over this. Stop using your genetic makeup as an excuse. You’re smart enough to be better than that.”
“You’re taking all the fun out of this.” The wolf who had first spoken actually pouted. “I still stand by my words. Seven of Nine is the best.”
“What all of you seem to forget is the beauty that lies within maturity.” Maribell sounded soothing. “Which is why Chakotay and Picard are the kings.”
“Data and Spock.” Jon’s voice was firm, if a bit hushed, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be heard.
“Guys, can we please stop with the Star Trek discussion or do I have to remind you of the great Avengers incident last summer?” Sammy carried a tray full of different beverages to the two tables in front of the counter. After some mumbled sentences that Dre was glad he couldn’t hear clearly, they all sat down on the couches. He made sure to be next to Sammy, casually putting an arm around his shoulders. With two virile werewolves in close proximity, he felt the need to stake his claim. Sammy didn’t seem to mind, so everything was fine.
“Everybody, this is Dre, my boyfriend. Dre, you’ve already met Mavis and Maribell…and Jon. These are Amber, Emilia, Declan and Troy.” The introduction wasn’t really needed, since Dre had—with the exception of the werewolves—already figured out who was who, but he appreciated the formality. It made everything appear more civilized, which was important when so many different paranormals met.
Dre nodded at each person. “It’s a pleasure meeting you all. Thank you for having me.”
Declan grinned broadly. “I have a feeling you’d be here anyway. Nice meeting you. Please don’t go all demon on us.” The words sounded nonchalant, though Dre could feel the underlying tension. He decided to play with open cards.
“Okay, here’s the deal. Whatever you’ve heard about demons is probably true. Whatever experiences you’ve had with demons, I sincerely apologize for the behavior of my kind. And let me assure you that I’m not here to blow a fuse then go on a rampage. I’m genuinely interested in Sammy, which should be no surprise to you, since you all surely know what a kind, caring and wonderful person he is. As his friends, I want to impress you somewhat badly, because if things work out the way I intend them to, we’re going to see a lot of each other.” He looked around, maintained eye contact with everyone in the group. For a moment, there was silence, until Mavis clapped her hands.
“Well said, Dre. You get your chance—and not just because you provide some additional eye candy for my sweetheart and me.” Maribell leaned over to give her wife a kiss on the cheek.
“What? Are we no longer good enough for you?” Troy threw his arms in the air.
“Whatever makes you think we weren’t talking about you two?” Mavis winked at the two wolves. Declan pressed his hands to his heart as if he were mortally wounded.