Page 36 of Minnie

She told me he’d starve himself, too. That he’d avoid drinking blood until he was too hungry to resist. When his fangs would finally pop out, he’d start to cry. And each time he went out and came back, he’d be well-fed, but broken. He’d curl up in bed and sob until the sun set again, and then resume his work—creating an animal he could successfully feed from.

He bit Snow, once, but her blood made him throw up. And good thing, too, because it hurt. And she would have fought him tooth and nail if he tried again.

My heart squeezes painfully in my chest as I glance down at Snow. Her eyes are closed, and she’s purring, oblivious to the horrors another generation of fuzzies is getting subjected to.

“He’s selling fuzzies,” Zoe says. “They’re going for half a million each—food and pet in one. That’s why he’s in town. He’s hoping to sell them to the vampires who live here.”

I think of the vampires I know. Violet, the sweet little old lady turned vampire, who’s willing to get her own sprinkles, and whose three vampire mates look sixty years her junior and treat her like a queen. I picture Sapphire, who’s mated to Bob—debatably the nicest man in all of Silver Springs—and who only bites two things… willing men… and ice cream. Not to mention sweet book nerd vamp Oscar, who’s mated to Juniper, and couldn’t hurt a fly.

“This is Silver Springs, Zoe,” I tell her in a whisper, like it’s the juiciest of gossip. “We know all the vampires in town, and none of them would ever force-feed on their pets.”

“Normally, no. But there are posts all over Screech claiming that fuzzies don’t feel pain. That they love getting bit, that their blood tastes better than a human’s, and that biting them has therapeutic effects, or some bullshit like that.”

I roll my eyes. “No one would buy that.”

Zoe scowls. “They better not. And we’re going to make sure of it.”

Chapter 19

Minnie

Zoe sounds so confident about us stopping Dr. Reddy, and I don’t blame her. She’s got the training to back it up. She may look harmless, working as a magical maid and using her magic to summon wine and brooms—but beneath the surface, I know that she’s a badass. And she’s stopped Reddy before.

Snow told me how Zoe strode into that lab like an avenging angel. She used her magic to tear down an empty cage hanging from the ceiling, and bowled it at the crazy vamp, knocking him down like a pin.

Zoe has told that story, too, and more than once, and it’s almost like I was there. The mental image of a dirty, disheveled old man with Einstein’s haircut engraved in my mind, and I can picture him face-planting in the middle of the lab and groaning while Zoe handcuffed him.

I lean toward her and whisper. “Are you going to beat him up?”

Zoe snorts. “I wish. But no. There’s a press conference at the library tomorrow night. Violet called to tell me the moment she found out,”—as in, Violet the librarian, who’s Amber’s sister and Zoe’s close friend—“She said the mayor’s being paid good money to lend out the space, so she can’t do anything to stop the event from happening. We’ve tried leaving negative comments on the ad, but they keep getting deleted, so we need a different strategy. And that’s where you come in…”

I frown on the inside and take a sip of wine on the outside. “Me?”

“You need to tell everyone the truth, Minnie. You can talk to animals. Everyone will listen if it comes from you.”

I’d grimace if I could.

No one in town knows I can talk to animals—except Zoe, Amber, Violet, and their men. And only because I had Agent Tiptoe help them apprehend a criminal, who ended up being Zachariah. Which is how he ended up in prison, and Natty came into my life.

But no one in town knows that. And even if they did, I doubt I’ll be able to speak up at the press conference and say what’s on my mind. Even with Formula M’s effects wearing off, I’ll probably still end up making a fool of myself.

But I can’t say any of that… so I cross my ankles, showing off my pink high heels, and let out a small, dainty ladylike yawn. Which I cover with my manicured hand. “I think I’ll pass.”

“You are not going to pass,” Zoe snaps. “I know it’s just that potion talking, Minnie, but I swear I’m going to track you down and drag you to the library kicking and screaming if I have to. I can’t do this without you. And I know the real you would do anything to stop fuzzies from being harmed. No matter what it takes.”

And she’s right. I can’t let those poor, innocent fuzzies end up as vampire food. We need to do whatever it takes to protect them.

Zoe takes out her phone and we work on my speech until the guys carry Natty and the pizza through the front door. It’s actually pretty good, and I actually start to believe I can do this—assuming I can get any of it out. And Zoe promises she’ll jump in if it looks like I need help.

“Minnie!” Natty scrambles down from Leith’s arms and rushes across the living room to give me a huge hug. “We have pizza!”

I hug him back. “It smells delicious.”

“De-vicious!” Natty cries, waking Snow.

The fuzzy rolls off Zoe’s lap, crashes into Natty’s legs, and then changes direction and rolls across the living room. He giggles and chases after her.

We set out the pizza, sodas, and Natty’s bottle of milk on the coffee table. I get Natty settled with a slice, Zoe puts on some cartoons, and the men dig in. Well, except Xavi, who stays by the door, texting someone a mile a minute.