96 Nobody Importan
Ash had never been more satisfied with his life. More than fifty years after the destruction of his coven, his grief had become much more manageable.
On top of that, Flora was becoming more self-sufficient so Ruby wasn't as stressed all the time and was also able to spend more time with him. The one thorn in his side was that she refused to tell the fairy child that they were a couple.
He couldn't understand her hesitance. They had already passed the hurdle that many fae relationships did not survive (the fiftieth year together was notorious for breakups) and it wasn't like he was going anywhere.
Sometimes Ash wondered if she was ashamed of him but that didn't seem to be the case based on her behavior. They still teased each other and acted like somewhat touchy-feeling best friends in front of Flora and she didn't even get embarrassed anymore.
So what was it? Why wouldn't she tell the only family she had left that they were together?
The question continued to bother him as he headed into Juneau to get some more blood pills. He wished Ruby would have come with him but she needed to stay behind in case Flora woke up and needed anything. Leaving a child sleeping alone in the middle of nowhere was irresponsible, even if the barrier prevented anything harmful from getting in.
Arisa, one of the witches who frequently ran the counter, smiled at him as he came in. She recognized his glamour by now. "Hey Ash. Need to restock?"
Blood pills were the only thing he ever went to the witch coven for because if Ruby needed something else she went during daylight hours. Arisa knew this and had gotten into the habit of getting them for him without bothering to close the store because they looked like any other human pill pack.
She knew he didn't like O-positive too and always left those out after he ordered variety packs without them so many times. She was incredibly efficient at her job and he appreciated that.
Another customer came in and Ash raised an eyebrow. It was nearly midnight; who else would come here at this time?
Arisa came back with the pills and as she set them down on the counter she grinned at the newcomer. "Hey, Lilith! What a coincidence; I was just getting out some blood pills for another customer. Do you need some too?"
"Yes. The usual order; a three month's supply for everyone. But we do have a new addition who requires extra blood so please account for that as well," the woman who walked into the store said primly.
Adult vampires only needed blood once every three days to survive but they were extremely needy before they reached the age of fifty and their fangs grew in. Before that point they needed two bottles of blood per day. From then on they slowly cut down until they were full grown.
Ash scrutinized the other customer whose glamour was very similar to his. Relatively pale skin, black hair, and dark eyes. She had to be an Averill.
After all this time living here, he never managed to run into one of them because their schedules to pick up blood pills didn't match up. He hadn't wanted to run into them anyway because they might know who he was and everything that happened. Gossip did get around when witches were involved even though Blair promised to keep her mouth shut.
"Congratulations!" Arisa said cheerfully. "I had no idea anyone was expecting. Whose baby is it?"
"Lavinia and Sebastian's. We are all very pleased to see the birth of a future coven leader," Lilith said proudly before turning toward Ash. "Who are you? I haven't seen you around here before and I know there aren't any other covens in this area."
"…nobody important," Ash said awkwardly, wishing this was over with so he could go home.
The female vampire looked at him suspiciously. "Are you a loner then? I thought you all lived further south."
"He's lived here for a little over half a century now; I'm surprised you haven't heard of him before," Arisa said conversationally. "At first I thought he was one of you I hadn't seen doing a blood pill run before but then he only ordered for one!"
Ash scowled at her. Way to sell him out. Witches were so difficult to deal with!
"I do need to get going," he hinted not so subtly. "My order?"
"Oh, right! Sorry about that. It's been a while since I've seen Lilith so I had to stop and chat. Your total is $265."
He handed over his debit card and headed out of the store as quickly as he could after saying his goodbyes. That was way, way too close. The last thing he needed was the Averills getting wind of Ash Mayhew, the rogue vampire who traitorously enlisted werewolf help to kill off the Cromwells, being in this area.
Ash doubted they would go to the trouble of tracking him down if they did know who he was but he wanted to avoid any future awkward confrontations like tonight's. He was so out of practice being around other vampires that he didn't even know what to say to one.
He had abandoned the lifestyle they had cultivated for millennia but no one knew exactly how much. It was bad enough that he enlisted werewolf help and told a pack the location of vampire cores even if he had sworn them to secrecy with a blood contract.
They couldn't tell anyone else about it but that wouldn't necessarily stop them from using what they knew if they clashed with vampires in the future. That was what branded him as a traitor to vampire kind.
If anyone else knew he was romantically involved with a fairy his reputation would get even worse. Not that he cared about that—he was happy to have Ruby by his side and no one else's opinion mattered—but she did.
The witches at the coven knew her as an earth fairy living alone with her daughter and him as a loner vampire. They had no idea the three of them constituted a bizarre little family.
Ash didn't like that at all but what could he do? Ruby had been self-conscious long before he knew her and probably would be for the rest of her life. It was simply the way she was so he tried not to let it bother him.
He was more bothered by the fact that she wouldn't even tell Flora, who obviously knew how to keep a secret since she hadn't given away their living situation at the witch coven yet. She already knew they lived together and were close so what was the big deal?
On top of that, Flora was becoming more self-sufficient so Ruby wasn't as stressed all the time and was also able to spend more time with him. The one thorn in his side was that she refused to tell the fairy child that they were a couple.
He couldn't understand her hesitance. They had already passed the hurdle that many fae relationships did not survive (the fiftieth year together was notorious for breakups) and it wasn't like he was going anywhere.
Sometimes Ash wondered if she was ashamed of him but that didn't seem to be the case based on her behavior. They still teased each other and acted like somewhat touchy-feeling best friends in front of Flora and she didn't even get embarrassed anymore.
So what was it? Why wouldn't she tell the only family she had left that they were together?
The question continued to bother him as he headed into Juneau to get some more blood pills. He wished Ruby would have come with him but she needed to stay behind in case Flora woke up and needed anything. Leaving a child sleeping alone in the middle of nowhere was irresponsible, even if the barrier prevented anything harmful from getting in.
Arisa, one of the witches who frequently ran the counter, smiled at him as he came in. She recognized his glamour by now. "Hey Ash. Need to restock?"
Blood pills were the only thing he ever went to the witch coven for because if Ruby needed something else she went during daylight hours. Arisa knew this and had gotten into the habit of getting them for him without bothering to close the store because they looked like any other human pill pack.
She knew he didn't like O-positive too and always left those out after he ordered variety packs without them so many times. She was incredibly efficient at her job and he appreciated that.
Another customer came in and Ash raised an eyebrow. It was nearly midnight; who else would come here at this time?
Arisa came back with the pills and as she set them down on the counter she grinned at the newcomer. "Hey, Lilith! What a coincidence; I was just getting out some blood pills for another customer. Do you need some too?"
"Yes. The usual order; a three month's supply for everyone. But we do have a new addition who requires extra blood so please account for that as well," the woman who walked into the store said primly.
Adult vampires only needed blood once every three days to survive but they were extremely needy before they reached the age of fifty and their fangs grew in. Before that point they needed two bottles of blood per day. From then on they slowly cut down until they were full grown.
Ash scrutinized the other customer whose glamour was very similar to his. Relatively pale skin, black hair, and dark eyes. She had to be an Averill.
After all this time living here, he never managed to run into one of them because their schedules to pick up blood pills didn't match up. He hadn't wanted to run into them anyway because they might know who he was and everything that happened. Gossip did get around when witches were involved even though Blair promised to keep her mouth shut.
"Congratulations!" Arisa said cheerfully. "I had no idea anyone was expecting. Whose baby is it?"
"Lavinia and Sebastian's. We are all very pleased to see the birth of a future coven leader," Lilith said proudly before turning toward Ash. "Who are you? I haven't seen you around here before and I know there aren't any other covens in this area."
"…nobody important," Ash said awkwardly, wishing this was over with so he could go home.
The female vampire looked at him suspiciously. "Are you a loner then? I thought you all lived further south."
"He's lived here for a little over half a century now; I'm surprised you haven't heard of him before," Arisa said conversationally. "At first I thought he was one of you I hadn't seen doing a blood pill run before but then he only ordered for one!"
Ash scowled at her. Way to sell him out. Witches were so difficult to deal with!
"I do need to get going," he hinted not so subtly. "My order?"
"Oh, right! Sorry about that. It's been a while since I've seen Lilith so I had to stop and chat. Your total is $265."
He handed over his debit card and headed out of the store as quickly as he could after saying his goodbyes. That was way, way too close. The last thing he needed was the Averills getting wind of Ash Mayhew, the rogue vampire who traitorously enlisted werewolf help to kill off the Cromwells, being in this area.
Ash doubted they would go to the trouble of tracking him down if they did know who he was but he wanted to avoid any future awkward confrontations like tonight's. He was so out of practice being around other vampires that he didn't even know what to say to one.
He had abandoned the lifestyle they had cultivated for millennia but no one knew exactly how much. It was bad enough that he enlisted werewolf help and told a pack the location of vampire cores even if he had sworn them to secrecy with a blood contract.
They couldn't tell anyone else about it but that wouldn't necessarily stop them from using what they knew if they clashed with vampires in the future. That was what branded him as a traitor to vampire kind.
If anyone else knew he was romantically involved with a fairy his reputation would get even worse. Not that he cared about that—he was happy to have Ruby by his side and no one else's opinion mattered—but she did.
The witches at the coven knew her as an earth fairy living alone with her daughter and him as a loner vampire. They had no idea the three of them constituted a bizarre little family.
Ash didn't like that at all but what could he do? Ruby had been self-conscious long before he knew her and probably would be for the rest of her life. It was simply the way she was so he tried not to let it bother him.
He was more bothered by the fact that she wouldn't even tell Flora, who obviously knew how to keep a secret since she hadn't given away their living situation at the witch coven yet. She already knew they lived together and were close so what was the big deal?
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