Blood: The Third Course

Chapter Thirty-Four

The sun was as high as it was ever going to get when Priya made the turning onto the familiar road. The fat moon rivalled the sun in both size and colour at this time of year, but it kept its face hidden, at least for the moment. Likewise, the sun had kept itself hidden from most of the morning, trapped behind clouds and mist, only peeking out for the briefest of periods. But even when it showed itself, its warmth did little to rival the heat the coming moon flushed through her body.

Priya had been loath to leave the house at all, not that she would have admitted it to anyone else. Between the constant itches and full moon and the fighting at the farm, it would have been easier, and less hassle, to have stayed indoors and simply ridden out this moon's turn. But the constant rumours currently flying around the vampire home about Edeline's arrival, not to mention Carson's departure from the pack, had made staying inside impossible, at least for Priya's sanity.

There had been a practical reason for her trip into the city centre. Despite having taken three days off work three days every month for as long as she could remember, Priya's boss at the Fishbowl had suddenly decided that her absence warranted the need to collect her paycheck in person. The paycheck was usually delivered via bank transfer, allowing for her rent to be paid immediately. Not this month. And so, after an angry phone call from her landlord, Priya had been forced to make the trip down to the Fishbowl and then visit her landlord with assurances that this would not happen again. She hadn't expected it to take as long as it had, and yet here she was, having spent most of the morning out and about.

The house loomed at the end of the road, shattered and curtained just as ever. Despite the heat of the full moon, Priya still had to pull her coat tight around her body in an effort to keep warm. It was strange to think that this time last year she had been spending her days out searching through suitable Christmas present from Matthew and trying to think of a way to deliver it to him in secret. This year she had barely considered the holiday, let alone bought presents. She wanted to think that now Vince had returned Kaleb and Jemima would be thrilled to celebrate, but then, she had also thought that Vince's return would have settled the unease that had plagued the pack since his disappearance.

Matthew had not been at the apartment when she visited. Priya wasn't sure if she was surprised. After their fight he had made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of choosing her side over Vince, not that she'd ever really asked him to, and so his avoidance of her should have been expected. However, this would also be the first full moon Priya had ever known where the pack had not had someone in place to keep a watch over the vampires. She couldn't help but wonder if Kaleb expected the job to fall to her. She had left the farm after all. Perhaps it was why he had made no effort to come after her after she had left with Carson.

Priya dug her hands deeper into her pockets, clenching them into fists in a futile attempt to fight off the painful cold seeping into fingers. Out of the corner of her eye Priya spotted a car idling halfway down the street. She might not have thought anything of it, it was cold after all, and the people inside would have wanted to keep the heating on. But this car was one unlike any she has seen in the neighbourhood. Its sleek black exterior was adorned with gold runners and a fancy hood ornament. And despite this being a relatively nice neighbourhood, it was cleaner than any car she'd seen a long time, especially in the depths of winter where one could rarely drive half a mile without mud splatters spreading halfway up the car.

Priya lowered her head and quickened her steps, fixing her gaze straight ahead.

The car door opened. Priya watched in the corner of her vision as a lithe man in a clean, smart suit climbed from the driver's side door and closed it behind him with a snap. He walked around the back of the car and opened the passenger side back door. Priya had never been one for fashion, at least not men's fashion, but even from this distance she could tell that the man's suit was expensive as he manoeuvred himself out of the car and brushed down the front of his thighs. He rubbed his hands together and a faint smile came to his lips. His gaze never left Priya.