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None of them better attempt to become professional wrestlers, though. That was my thing.
“Ready?” Ludo asked us with a grin.
Vince sighed, stretching his neck and shaking out his hands before nodding. “Sure.”
We all braced ourselves as Ludo disappeared again, and we heard him call for the first five fans to calmly—the emphasis was heavy on that word—step forward. The fans could be a little… intense sometimes. Most were very respectful, while some believed they were being respectful but still thought it was acceptable to touch us, just because we didn’t wear much when we performed.
Now though, I noticed that Seb had put his crossword book away and left the merch table to stand nearby, keeping an eye out for anyone who got a bit too friendly. Larkin was reluctantly settling Cora in her dog bed and straightening out the display of hats.
We were in a decent sized room, close to the arena, which had previously been unused space, until Taylor became our marketing manager and gave Holt the idea to charge for meet and greets. After discussing it with us all, he’d begun getting this room redecorated to fit its new purpose. Now, there was a big Goliaths of Wrestling backdrop that we were standing in front of, so fans could take photos with us. The merch booth was set up directly beside the exit, and each fan got a voucher for a half-price cocktail at the bar to encourage them to head straight there after leaving.
I had to admit, Taylor was good at his job. And Holt was very willing to put in plenty of effort when it meant he’d be making more money.
Brian was shifting anxiously beside me as the first few fans walked into the room. Two started squealing, clutching each other and jumping up and down, while another was vibrating with excitement as he marched straight up to Heidi and thrust out his The G.O.A.T. hat for her to sign.
I turned my head to give Brian a tiny smile. “It will be over quickly,” I murmured, trying to reassure him. He was incredibly quiet and shy, and I knew he would hate doing this, but we all had to.
His muzzle lifted briefly in some semblance of a smile back, but he didn’t say anything. He just twisted his clawed fingers together anxiously, then seemed to make a great effort to force his hands down to his sides so he couldn’t fidget quite so much.
The meet and greet was only half an hour long, but I knew we had dozens and dozens of fans to get through. At least that meant interacting with each one was brief—a smile, a few words, then usually a photo and an autograph on some piece of merch.
The first twenty minutes passed fairly quickly, despite the way my cheeks began to ache from keeping the smile fixed on my face. Vince reluctantly, through clenched teeth, did what Holt had asked of us and mentioned the new merch for sale to each person he interacted with.
One fan tried to put his hand on my ass while taking a selfie with me, and before Seb could even start striding over to throw him out, Vince was calmly grasping the lampyr’s wrist and pulling him away from me.
“Appreciate you coming to the show, man, but I will break your fucking arm if you touch him again,” he said casually, nodding at Seb, who took the now very pale-faced lampyr by the shoulder and calmly steered him toward the exit. The moment he was gone, Vince turned toward me, hiding his expression from the other fans so he could let the anger show on his face for just a few seconds.
“Prick,” he gritted out, his long fingers flexing repeatedly into fists. “If I see that creep in the audience the next time Dan and I fight, I’m ‘accidentally’ throwing Dan’s head at his fucking gut.”
“I’ll bite him in the dick,” Dan said, then grinned cheerfully at the stunned fae woman who’d just moved to stand in front of him, clutching an autograph book. “Howdy. Great to meet ya. Want me to sign that?”
“I’m fine,” I murmured to Vince, smiling at him. “You’d better get back in line. We’re nearly…”
I trailed off when I glanced over his shoulder to try and gauge how many people were left, and my gaze landed on a familiar face that I had never, ever expected to see in this setting.
Oh gods.
Not him.
Our gazes locked. I felt the blood drain from my face as his eyes lit up with excitement. He began waving frantically at me.
“Vince,” I muttered in a strangled voice. “He’s here.”
“Huh? Who?” Vince tensed and spun around. “Wait, you mean that ass-grabbing creep is back?”
But only a second or two later, he was choking on a stunned breath and stepping backward until he was pressed against my front. “What the fuck?”
“You’re both looking amazing,” the incubus from the Elfknot Motel called out, giving us a thumbs up. “Cannot wait to catch up, babes!”
Dan’s brow quirked as he glanced over at us. “Friend of yours?”
“No, he—” Vince shook his head and absently reached for the autograph book the fae woman was holding out to him. “He, uh, works at a… place that… we’ve been to a few times.”
“Have you visited the Elfknot Motel just outside of town?” the incubus was asking the fan behind him in a pleasant tone. “Top-notch facilities, I assure you. Extremely sturdy beds, a collection of erotic artwork and the most sensual bedding patterns, an extensive range of personal… items for sale behind the front desk, free condoms on arrival… Here, let me give you a card—”
“Hey,” Seb called sharply, frowning at him. “No peddling in the line.”
The incubus quickly held up his hands in acquiescence, shooting us an exasperated grin as if we were old friends. By the time he was standing in front of Dan, chatting cheerfully with him, I was dreading what he was going to say to us.
