100% Freshie Chapter 35--Epilogue --PG-13

[librarian_7]

Disclaimer: The characters from Moonlight are copyrighted by CBS, and no infringement is intended.

Special note: This work takes place in the world of Moonlight, but your favorite vamps are not the main focus. Sorry about that; try to enjoy the story anyway. You might be surprised.

100% Freshie

Chapter 35: Epilogue—Three Months Later


Danni took a long sip of her orange juice and looked around the dance floor at Pulse! The view from her table was not the best, but then she was, at the moment, uncharacteristically alone. It was nice, she reflected, being able to breeze in past the door tolls. She hadn’t even needed to flash the laminated card lately that identified her as a permanent guest of Josef Kostan. The bouncers all knew.

She’d protested, a little, when he wanted to put her on his payroll, even after he made it clear he wasn’t asking for exclusivity from her, “knowing your views on the matter,” as he’d said. “Consider yourself a Preferred Provider, babe.” And he did feed from her regularly, but he also needed, from time to time, a good, reliable freshie to recommend to a friend. In fact, he’d asked her to come to Pulse! tonight to meet a very well-connected vamp from Denver.

She thought back a little wistfully to her early visits here, when it had been a dark and dangerous place. When her protection had been minimal, and no one knew her name. When it was exciting in a way that had gone forever. Now, she was in no risk. She smoothed the short skirt of her sunshine yellow dress over her thighs, knowing how it stood out in this sea of black and red, much as her healthy glow stood out among the freshies who thought being pale as a vamp would attract one. Danni was spending time at the beach, afternoons, breathing in the sea air and soaking in the sun. Josef had told her, approvingly, that it made a difference in her scent, and in her taste.

Across the dance floor, Danni spotted a familiar face. Tyler was coming in, flanked by a pretty red-head on one side, and Cry, looking slightly sulky, on the other. He was dressing well, these days, and she thought his new job at Kostan Industries must be agreeing with him. She’d have to ask him next week, when she planned to see him, but it certainly appeared he was on his way to a successful career. He was still driving his yellow Xterra, though, and Danni had smiled to think of it when she’d picked out this dress in almost the same color.

Tyler caught sight of her, peering over his designer shades, and gave her a warm smile. Then the red-head giggled something up at him, and he shifted his attention down to her, snugging her close under his arm, and they disappeared into the crowd.

A few minutes later, Danni became aware of a heavier gaze upon her. Will was watching her, unsmiling, and she fancied she saw some longing in his eyes. Emma was with him, regarding her with undisguised hostility. Danni didn’t recognize the other two girls with them; she suspected they were new, and wondered which of them had her old room. She’d heard through the freshie grapevine that Hunter had gotten out of the hospital, finally, but wasn’t up to appearing in public. And she’d also heard that Will had been unusually attentive. Danni wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She’d always had a hard time staying mad at Will, no matter what he did. She’d always—but here was someone standing in front of her table.

“Danger?”

She looked up to see a tall, dark-haired vamp with compelling blue eyes looking down at her. He wore a dark shirt and jacket over faded blue jeans and worn cowboy boots, and his pale skin nearly glowed in the dim light of the club. Danni smiled, and made a quick motion to the waiter. Josef had told her his guest’s favorite drink, and she didn’t want to keep him waiting.

“Yes,” she said. “Would you care to sit, Mr.—“

“Weston. Slade Weston.” He sat, not crowding her, but close in the way vampires seemed to do, seeking warmth. “And you can call me Slade, honey.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Slade. Josef tells me you know wonderful stories about Denver when it was a wild west town. I’ve never been there.”

Slade leaned back, putting his arm around the back of her chair, and running a cool hand over her shoulder. He inhaled deeply, catching her scent and memorizing it. “You know,” he said, “I have to tell my girls back home that Front Range freshies are the prettiest, but you L.A. freshies…you may be making a liar out of me.”

Danni laughed. He wasn’t wasting any time, but she thought she might like him. About then, the waiter returned and set a glass on the table. “Jack Daniels black,” Danni said. “That is your drink, right?”

“Spot on, sweetheart. I keep telling Kostan he’s wasting his time with all that scotch, but he doesn’t convince easy.”

“Tell me about it.” When the vampire reached for his drink, Danni put out a hand. “I know you take your bourbon neat, Slade, but we have a little custom her I think you might appreciate.” Using the unhurried, graceful gestures she had learned from watching Lucky, she pulled her lancet from her tiny evening bag. Danni kept her eyes on his face as she administered the deep prick to her finger and squeezed a few drops of blood into the liquor. So she was aware of the almost imperceptible flare of his nostrils at the sudden scent of her blood in the air, and the quick flick of a tongue tip over his lower lip. Danni continued to smile steadily into his face as she dipped her fingertip into the glass and stirred, then raised it to her mouth.

Weston quirked a smile at her, capturing her wrist with perfectly controlled force, diverting her hand toward him. His fingers were a trifle colder than Danni would have expected, his hands large and well-kept. “Allow me,” he said, his voice low and melodious as he massaged her finger gently until a last ruby drop trembled at its end. “I’d hate to see anything so precious go to waste.” He did not, as she expected, slide her finger into his mouth, but instead put out his tongue to lap the blood delicately away. She caught her breath at the sight of the dark red streaking his tongue, the glide of it against her skin.

Releasing her hand and picking up his bourbon, Slade gave her a closer, more concentrated look that he had before, as though he were assessing far more than her physical appearance. He took a tiny sip of the drink, holding it in his mouth and savoring the taste, carefully as it swirled within him. “This is a little—unexpected,” he said. “You certainly are all freshie, aren’t you?”

Danni glanced up, and caught a pair of turquoise eyes staring at her. Will lifted his eyebrows slightly, and she smiled sadly at him. If he would only make the slightest gesture…she felt that there were only the two of them in the room, only the two of them communicating wordlessly across a limitless void. For the space of three heartbeats, their eyes held, and she let a faint hope rise again within her. Then the knowledge of the old pain clouded across his face, and he broke the gaze and turned away. It was still too soon, or too late, for the connection to renew. Danni shifted her attention back to Slade, giving him a brilliant smile, hoping the shadows were gone from her eyes. “Sure thing, sweetheart,” she said. “One hundred percent.”

[francis]

Josef uses Danni for his purposes, but he also protects her this way. It’s a win-win-situation.
But Danni misses the risk.
I like the closure you give Tyler, Emma, Cry and Hunter. And Will. Always Will.
Slade Weston. Now that might be someone exciting for Danni, after I met him in La Posada.
Danni found her place, but there is still regret. As life is, it’s messy sometimes.

Lucky, I loved this story arc. It was a bit slow in places, but your characters are complex and not easily figured out, which made them entertaining, especially Danni. I’m glad I gave this story a chance.
I now have officially read everything you have ever posted.