Epilogue

Wrestlers' Court

Rafe

TWO WEEKS LATER

My eyes popped open as I was jarred abruptly out of sleep, my stomach dipping unpleasantly until I realised what had woken me was just a child shrieking with excitement outside. Probably the family of werewolves a few houses down.

I relaxed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, then jumped again when a car door slammed and Dan's headless body suddenly shot up beside me as he startled awake.

"Wha?" his head groaned tiredly, still on the pillow.

I chuckled sleepily, rolling over to smooth my hand along his chest and gently urge him to lie back down. He'd done that a couple of times—forgotten to reattach his head before moving when he'd just woken up. It was cute.

A few nights ago, I'd woken in the middle of the night to the sound of him mumbling my name, half-asleep. When I'd forced my eyes open, I'd realised that only his head was beside me.

"Went to take a piss," he'd mumbled. "Forgot my head. Can't find the bedroom."

I'd rolled out of bed and dragged my feet into the hall, still half-asleep myself. When I saw Dan's headless body patting his way hesitantly along the wall near the spare bedroom down the other end, I'd taken his hand and led him back to bed.

"It was just a car door," I told him now, shuffling closer to curl up against his side when he lay back down.

He reached up to shove his head onto his shoulders as he yawned, then smoothed his hand over my hair and stretched lazily. "Morning, kitten."

"Morning." I played with his chest hair, trying not to doze back off. With a tired groan, I croaked, "Why did we stay up so late?"

Dan chuckled, his chest vibrating under my cheek. "Because you were feeling extra frisky when we got back from game night."

I huffed. "I was not extra frisky. I was normal amounts of frisky."

"Trust me, kitten." I could hear the sly grin in his voice. "You have more stamina than me some nights. And I'm the professional wrestler."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, well."

"I guess Marv the intern really does it for you, huh?" he said teasingly.

I burst out laughing and lightly smacked his stomach. In a rush, Dan flipped us around on the bed and loomed over me, grinning as he nuzzled my cheek.

"We could play our own little Humandatory campaign in bed," he murmured huskily. "Terry in Accounting and Marv the intern fucking like animals when no one's around."

I bit my lip, my cock twitching with arousal. I was sorely tempted. But was that way, way too nerdy?

It probably was.

I was pretty sure I'd be really into it, though.

"Maybe if Marv wasn't nineteen," I eventually croaked. "Terry's meant to be, like, fifty. Plus he's faithfully married to Vera, his wife of thirty years. He'd never cheat. He's a family man."

Dan chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Then when we start the next campaign, we'll make sure to pick more compatible characters. So we can make them fuck."

I grinned, my belly fizzing with excitement. That sounded fun. "'Kay."

After giving me a deep kiss, Dan shifted onto his side and slung his leg over both of mine as he smoothed his hand down my arm, tracing some of my tattoos.

I yawned, wriggling a little to bask in the cosy warmth of the bed. "It's the wrestlers' court today, right?"

"Yeah." He dipped his head to kiss my shoulder. "Want to come?"

My brows rose. "Am I allowed?"

"Yeah, of course. Only Holt isn't allowed because he's the owner." Dan snickered. "He hates it. Always tries to get any gossip the moment it ends. But I think Taylor is sitting in. Corey okayed it, just said he's not allowed to speak on Holt's behalf."

I chuckled. "Why doesn't Holt get a say?"

"He does. He gives Corey a list of stuff he wants covered or any news he wants to give us. But it's supposed to be about us self-governing, so the owner can't be there, because it might make some people feel like they can't speak openly."

"I don't get that impression from Holt."

Dan laughed and leaned in to nuzzle my cheek. "It's just the way it's always done, kitten. Holt's great. A good manager. Well"—he made a face—"good enough. But he's still not allowed to come."

"I guess I could do some work at the back of the room and listen in," I said, absently rubbing the arm he had draped over my chest. "I'm kind of interested. What about Seb and Larkin, do they go?"

"Yeah. Larkin loves it. We've only had… uh, I think two since he's worked at Goliaths, so he'll definitely want to watch. And Seb's the bailiff."

I shot Dan a slightly alarmed look. "Why do you need a bailiff?"

"He's mostly just there to announce Corey's grand entrance as judge." Dan tensed a little and added, "But he did have to take Frank and Beans out last time, because they started hitting everyone with cushions when Corey said they couldn't start an ant farm in their dressing room."

"Well, they won't be there this time," I said hurriedly, turning my head to give him a kiss.

We didn't like to talk about Frank and Beans.

Although I had set up a news alert on my phone for the keywords ‘Banger and Mash.' Nothing yet.

"What time is it?" Dan asked, nestling closer to kiss my neck.

I shivered with pleasure, reaching to grab my phone from the nightstand. "Uh… it's only seven-thirty."

I felt his mouth stretch into a grin. "Perfect."

I was grinning wide myself as he shifted on top of me, my thighs spreading open so he could settle between them. I tilted my head, exposing my neck as he dropped seeking kisses up it before nuzzling my jaw.

"Where's that pumpkin head, kitten?" he rasped in my ear.

—

Just after lunch that afternoon, I walked with Taylor, Seb and Larkin to the backstage area fifteen minutes before the wrestlers' court was set to begin. Holt had watched sulkily as we all left our offices, wearing his pink slippers and de-puffing under-eye gel masks. His lips, crusted in a bubblegum sugar scrub, had pursed into a little pout.

The wrestlers were all congregating on the huge sectional couch and in the kitchen area when we got there. Dan spotted me straight away and bounded over, lifting his head from under his arm to give me a kiss.

"I set out some seats for you by the training ring," he told me as a chorus of voices greeted Taylor, who waved brightly and wandered off to chat with the wrestlers. Seb and Larkin had gone to stand by a huge, ornate chair that had been brought into the room. It was practically a throne, and it had hot pink velvet cushions. And nipple tassels carved into the wood. Beside it was a miniature version. I was guessing that was for Cora.

"Thanks," I said to Dan with a smile, then glanced behind him to seek out Vince. He was leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed, looking tense and distracted as he nodded at something Gabe was saying.

Crossbody was sitting elegantly on the couch, long legs crossed and an arm draped along the back. He was talking to Carl the vampire, but he looked tense too. His foot was jiggling anxiously, even though I could see he was making an effort to appear calm and composed.

"How's Vince?" I muttered to Dan. We'd hung out the other night, and I liked him more than I'd thought I would. I mean, I thought that about everyone, but still. He was cool.

And I knew, because Dan had told me, that he was dreading this. He didn't want to have to try and resolve the animosity between him and Crossbody. He had no desire to. He really, really didn't like the royal fae.

And the sentiment definitely went both ways, judging by what I'd heard from Dan.

He winced a little as he shoved his head on his shoulders. "Pretty quiet. Just wants it to be over, I think."

"Yeah." I shifted the laptop tucked under my arm. "Well, I'll go sit down and let you get ready."

Dan chuckled, sidling closer to wrap his arm around me. "My issue resolved itself already now that Frank and Beans are gone, so I'll mostly be sitting back and watching the proceedings." He leaned in to kiss my cheek, then murmured in my ear, "I'll probably spend the whole time thinking about what we did to that pumpkin head this morning."

Heat rushed to my cheeks as a squawk of laughter burst from me. It made a few of the wrestlers look over at us and smile, which in turn made me grow a little flustered and self-conscious. Dan realised immediately—it was weird how well he could read me—so he pulled back and shot me a smile, reaching up to briefly cup my cheek.

"I'll speak to you after, kitten."

"'Kay."

As he headed back over to Vince and Gabe, I beelined for the chairs set up beside the training ring in the centre of the room. I picked the one with the best view of the throne, because it was impossible not to look at Corey when he was in a room. He just commanded attention, and I knew I'd be craning my neck the whole time to watch him.

I fired up my laptop to do a bit of work before everything began, and eventually Taylor came and sat down beside me, clutching a notebook and pen.

"This is kind of exciting, huh?" he said with a big smile.

All the wrestlers adored Taylor, and I could see why. He was just so nice.

Plus, he was human, which was a bit of a novelty in this setting.

"Uh-huh." I side-eyed him as my mouth twitched. "Bet Holt's disappointed he can't watch."

Taylor's face fell. "Oh, he really is. He'd love to be here. But he understands why he can't be."

I wasn't sure how true that last bit was, judging by the sulky pout on Holt's face when we left the office, but I said nothing.

"Did I fill you in on Holt's decision re: the F and B situation?" Taylor asked, flipping open his notebook.

I'd decided to tell Holt and Taylor about the mugging, only because I wanted to let them know that Holt had unknowingly employed a notorious criminal duo who'd wreaked havoc across the country.

When he'd heard their backstory, he'd looked like he'd won the jackpot. Turning to Taylor, he'd excitedly said, "That's way better than mutant sewer rats."

"Honey," Taylor had hurriedly said. "I don't know how great it would look if you admitted to hiring a pair of criminals who've been on the run for decades."

He'd waved a hand. "People hire criminals all the time. Axel 's a criminal."

"Who's Axel?" I'd asked curiously.

"Just this ailyn I know. Great guy."

I'd stiffened a little. Ailyns were rare—even rarer than dullahans—and kind of unsettling. No one really wanted to be in the presence of a creature who could fuck with your mind and make you forget things.

"But, honey, we don't employ Axel," Taylor had said, then asked in a slightly alarmed voice, "He's a criminal?"

"He's a contractor. He's on the books. And of course he's a criminal, babe." Holt had smiled at Taylor, then made a face. "Well, he's crime-adjacent. What other industry would benefit the most from someone who can make people forget things?"

"Can ‘crime' in general really be classed as an industry?" I'd asked doubtfully.

Now, I looked up from my laptop at Taylor, morbidly curious about how Holt was going to handle the whole Frank and Beans situation. "No. Is he going with the real story, then?"

Taylor winced. "Thankfully, no. I managed to talk him out of it." He sighed. "But it meant coming to a compromise. We're going with the mutant sewer rats."

I chuckled. "Is Holt still planning to carve out tunnels under the building and charge for tours?"

Taylor winced again. "He already got a surveyor to come out—werewolf, really nice guy. He told him it wouldn't be structurally sound. So." Taylor heaved a big sigh and gave me a beaming smile. "The tunnels are officially off the table. Thank goodness."

"Yeah," I said wryly. "I wasn't really looking forward to my office floor caving in while I'm working."

He chuckled. "Me neither."

Larkin appeared, flopping himself down into the chair on my other side and almost knocking the laptop off my lap with his knee.

"Oops, sorry, bro." He leaned over me, almost knocking it off again, to slap Taylor's knee. "T-bone, Holt has already texted me three times asking what's happening."

"Me too." Taylor chuckled. "He sent me a selfie of him lying on the couch in his office, staring up the ceiling."

Larkin cackled, lifting his phone high to snap a photo of the empty throne and the wrestlers congregating on the couch. "I'm gonna send him a pic. You know he wishes he could sit on that throne. Seb said he followed him to the storage room when he went to get it, just so he could look at it."

"It's a lovely throne," Taylor said brightly, peering over at it.

"Yeah, Corey had it custom made." Larkin was slouched in his seat now as his thumbs flew over his phone screen, gangly legs splayed with his knee bumping into mine. He wasn't all that great with personal space.

I hunched over my laptop to try and get some work done, now wishing I'd taken an end seat because Larkin and Taylor continued chatting either side of me. When I heard a throat being cleared at the doorway a short while later, I looked up from my screen.

Everyone went quiet, turning to face Seb. Stoic as ever, he said, "All rise for the fabulous Judge Melcourt."

"Do we seriously have to stand?" I muttered to Larkin, but picked up my laptop and got to my feet when I saw that everyone else was.

Corey swept into the room with Cora tucked under his arm. He was wearing a pink silk judge's robe, matching platform heels and an enormous bright pink wig styled into a drag version of a judge's wig, with huge ringlets and lots of volume.

I perked up, my mouth stretching into a grin, because I recognised Dan's work instantly. He was sitting on the couch beside Vince, and he glanced back to make sure I'd noticed, giving me a shy smile when he saw I had.

Corey handed Cora to Seb, who kissed the top of her head and carefully set her on her miniature throne. She immediately rolled onto her back and farted, legs splayed wide and tongue hanging out of her mouth.

Corey paused in front of his own throne, letting everyone take in his outfit, then slowly sat down, making sure his gown draped elegantly over his legs as he crossed them.

"Court is in session," he declared, setting his sparkly pink binder on his lap. "Welcome, everyone. Is there anyone who isn't present?"

"Everyone's present, Judge," Seb told him.

"Do they really have to call him ‘Judge'?" I whispered to Larkin.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Corey insists." He sat up straight when he heard his name being called.

"Where's Larkin?" Corey was looking around, then spotted him. "Ah. You're taking notes on the proceedings, yes? You asked if you could the other day."

Larkin cringed and muttered, "Shit, forgot about that," before adding in a louder voice, "Um, yeah, totally. No problem. I'll just… um, take them on my pho—"

"Here." Taylor handed over his notepad and pen. Larkin shot him a grateful look and bent his head over the pad to write ‘WRESTLERS' COURT BIZ' at the top of the page. Then he drew a little daisy in the corner.

"Everyone received the itinerary, yes?" Corey said, then he continued without waiting for an answer. "Item three has, obviously, been removed since it was issued, seeing as Frank and Beans are no longer members of the Goliaths family due to their despicable actions." He sighed and shook his head. "Such talent. What a waste."

"Wait, so is this supposed to be like court or a board meeting?" I whispered to Taylor with a confused frown.

He shrugged, whispering back, "I guess a little of both. It's riveting stuff, huh?"

My brow quirked as I sat back. It wasn't all that riveting yet. Who knew what would happen when they got to Vince and Crossbody though?

"Seb, darling," Corey was saying. "My beverage, if you don't mind."

Seb obediently picked up a martini glass filled with baby pink liquid and handed it to Corey, who took a tiny sip before setting it on the little table beside his throne.

My brows shot up. I leaned over to Larkin. "He's drinking a martini while presiding?"

Larkin shrugged, scribbling, F&B fucked off so item 3 #CANCELLED, in the notebook. "He says it's a ‘judge's perk.' He only has a couple."

Twenty minutes later, as the wrestlers discussed item one—a review of how the pay-per-view had been going and anything they hoped to achieve in their careers as a result of the impact of Goliaths' new, wider audience—Seb was standing at the counter mixing Corey a fresh martini in a cocktail shaker.

"Does he mind doing that?" I whispered to Larkin, nodding at the stoic-faced werewolf.

"Huh?" Larkin glanced up, looking a little flustered. "No, he doesn't mind. He likes Corey. Stop distracting me, dude! I'm already so behind."

"Sorry, sorry." I sat back and drummed my fingers on my laptop, glancing at Taylor. He was listening avidly, legs crossed and his hands clasped together over his knee.

I bent my head over my laptop and tuned out to do some work. It wasn't that the conversation was boring, but I already knew all the details about the pay-per-view stuff, and other than Dan, I wasn't all that interested in the wrestlers' career aspirations.

However, I immediately lifted my head when I heard Corey say in a solemn voice, "Now, on to item two. This is a delicate matter, so I trust that you will all remain respectful. Including the two litigants," he added sternly with a delicately arched brow.

"Yes, Judge," everyone murmured. Vince and Crossbody scowled at each other, both of them stiff and tense at opposite ends of the couch.

"Item two involves the matter of the growing tension between the Rolling Rimmer and High Lord Crossbody," Corey declared, looking between them. "Will you both please rise for the proceedings."

I saw Dan give Vince's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as the ghoul let out a sharp breath and rose from the couch. Crossbody stood gracefully and lifted his chin, tucking his wings in tight so he could clasp his hands together behind his back. His face was tense, but he looked poised and regal—which made sense, if he was a prince—whereas Vince appeared stiff and uncomfortable, his hands flexing repeatedly into fists by his sides.

The room seemed to have grown even quieter, everyone a little on edge. I saw Vince flick Crossbody a quick look before focusing on Corey, who was making a note in his binder and sipping his martini.

He set down the glass and looked up. "Today we're going to try and resolve whatever issues are between you two before they become even more of a detriment to us as a team. This tension has begun to affect us all. Screaming matches during rehearsals." He raised an extremely unimpressed brow as Vince flushed and Crossbody clenched his jaw. "Constant bickering over the smallest things. Mud-slinging and name-calling and mind games before our performances. I won't have it any longer."

He paused for a few seconds to let his words sink in before continuing.

"I'm not angry. I'm disappointed," he told them, and I saw several of the wrestlers wince. Even Vince cringed. Crossbody's nostrils flared. Then Corey sighed dramatically. "Frankly, I blame myself for allowing it to reach this point."

"If I may speak, Judge?" Crossbody asked in a clipped, polite voice.

There was silence as Corey picked up his martini glass and took a sip, then set it back down before finally dipping his chin in the tiniest of nods. "You may."

"I'd like to apologise on behalf of myself and Vince"—he almost spat the name out—"for causing tension."

"Kiss ass," Vince muttered, which made Corey shoot him a stern look.

Crossbody ignored him and continued. "I'd also like to apologise for rising to his snide remarks and constant jabs when I , of course, know better. I took the high road for as long as I could, but even the strongest of us have our breaking point when being maliciously targeted at work."

"That is utter fucking bullshit ," Vince cried, an angry flush spreading over his face. " You fucking started it! You treat us all like we're dog shit on the sole of your shoe, Crossbody. You're such a condescending asshole."

Crossbody's jaw clenched. "I do no such thing."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Vince yelled. Corey was already frowning heavily. "You never took the high road. I was the one who ended up rising to your snide remarks, because you just keep fucking picking, and picking, like your sole purpose in life is to try and make us all feel worthless in comparison."

Crossbody finally showed some true emotion, his cheeks darkening with a flush as he glared at Vince. "That's a complete lie. I don't do that. You just take every single thing I say the wrong way."

"Are you fucking serious ?" Vince shouted, so loud his voice grew hoarse.

"Order!" Corey bellowed. He'd produced a gavel covered in pink rhinestones from somewhere and slammed it on the armrest of his throne, which made Cora fart again as she startled awake. "I will have order in my courtroom! That's enough!"

They were both breathing hard as they fell silent, Vince now trembling with anger and his hands clenched into tight fists.

"This is unacceptable," Corey boomed, making everyone tense up. "You can't have a single conversation without it immediately devolving into a screaming match. What is the root of the issue here? Where is this anger coming from between you two?"

They both remained silent, Vince's chest heaving with fast breaths as he glared furiously at Crossbody, who lifted his chin and kept his gaze fixed resolutely ahead. But he was breathing faster too, and his arms looked tense as he kept his hands clasped tight behind his back. I thought I could see his knuckles bleaching.

"I'm waiting for an answer," Corey uttered.

"I just don't like him," Vince eventually gritted out in a seething voice. "He's a pompous, arrogant jackass who thinks he's better than the rest of us."

" Enough with the name-calling!" Corey said in exasperation. Vince flushed and looked down.

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual," Crossbody said stiffly. " Vince is, in fact, the arrogant one. Loud and brash and always swaggering around like he owns the place. He doesn't take his job seriously enough. I don't tolerate slackers."

Vince stiffened in anger and yelled, "I take my fucking job seriously, you piece of—"

"Do not make me remove you from my court, Mr. Burke," Corey boomed. "If you can't use respectable language during the proceedings, I'll be forced to dismiss this entire matter until you've learned how to conduct yourself."

Everyone cringed again as Vince quickly lowered his head. He muttered, "Sorry, Judge."

"And you, High Lord." Corey turned his attention on Crossbody, which made the fae quickly wipe the smirk he'd been aiming at Vince off his face. "Don't think that just because you're able to control your temper marginally better, I will assume you're blameless in all of this."

"Of course not," Crossbody said smoothly. "I take full responsibility for my part in this unpleasantness. Frankly, Judge, I'm embarrassed by my conduct. As I said, I reached my limit when it came to Vince's—"

"Don't also think that I'm unaware of the way your tone often comes across to the others," Corey interrupted sternly, "and how it might get under their skin. You do tend to speak in a way that makes it seem like you think you're above the rest of them." He swept out a hand to indicate the other wrestlers, clearly not including himself in that.

Crossbody swallowed but kept his face blank. "Well, I assure you it's not my intention to seem that way."

"Bullshit," Vince blurted, which made Corey's eyes snap back to him.

"Once more, Mr. Burke, and you will be forced to leave my courtroom," he said with a threatening calmness that made everyone squirm.

I realised I was leaning forward in my seat, barely even blinking. Taylor had been right. This was fucking riveting.

Our next Humandatory campaign should definitely be set in a courtroom.

"In fact," Corey declared, sitting back in his throne and opening his binder, "I can already see that we will get nowhere at this moment in time. You are both simply too…" He waved a hand elegantly as he mused over how to word it, no doubt wanting it to be as poetic as possible. " Embroiled in this contempt you feel for one another. Even now, I can feel it darkening the very air around us. Like…" He paused again. "Larkin, make sure you get all of this. Like bitter droplets of rain falling into this looming black cloud that hangs over us, making it swell and swell until one day, we will all drown under the weight of the poisoned water that pours down on us."

"That's not how clouds work," Taylor whispered from beside me.

"What was the thing about a broiler?" Larkin whispered frantically on my other side. "I missed it. Fuck."

Corey heaved a great sigh and wrote something in his binder, in no rush as the rest of us waited in silence with bated breath. Then he put down his pen and picked up his martini glass, taking a delicate sip.

"I've come to a decision," he announced long moments later, setting his glass back down. "Vince. Crossbody."

Vince exhaled slowly and lifted his head to look at Corey. Crossbody's throat bobbed, but he remained poised and regal as he waited.

"This is my ruling. For the time being, you will not speak to each other. You will not interact in the workplace. At all."

"Can he really enforce that?" I whispered to Taylor, who shrugged, looking worried as he chewed on his lower lip.

"And if any of you"—Corey swept his gaze over the other wrestlers—"see them speaking or even standing near each other, you will come to me immediately." He looked between Vince and Crossbody with a frown. "If Holt chooses to team you up for matches, I will oversee the rehearsals to ensure you remain professional. You will remain professional at all times. This is your place of work. This is your job. Start acting like it."

A flush was staining Crossbody's throat, and he was struggling to keep his face clear of emotion while being chastised so thoroughly in front of all his co-workers. Vince was so tense it looked like he might snap.

"I'm afraid I must speak to Holt about this," Corey said solemnly, and everyone gasped. "This goes beyond my jurisdiction. He has a right to know that two of his performers are so incapable of remaining professional that it might start to affect the bottom line."

"It won't," Crossbody said quickly. "We would never let it go that far."

To my surprise, Vince was nodding frantically in agreement.

"I would never let it affect my work," he told Corey.

Corey raised a brow at him. "You already have."

Vince flushed. "Once. One time. I was just… having a bad day. Everyone has bad days. But I would never let anything affect my performances. And…" He clenched his jaw, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. "I know Crossbody is professional and wouldn't either."

Crossbody blinked a few times in quick succession, clearly stunned that Vince had said something even marginally positive about him.

Corey was obviously surprised too, eyeing Vince with a raised brow. "Well, that's something."

He fell silent and thoughtfully sipped his martini again as everyone waited, then he wrote something in his binder, taking his time. Vince was fidgeting restlessly while Crossbody let out a slow breath and kept his chin held high.

"I have decided to change my ruling," Corey finally declared, looking up from the binder to shoot both of them a stern frown. "I will give you one more chance— one —before taking this matter to Holt for it to be escalated. I'm sure he'll find out what happened here today anyway"—Taylor flushed bright pink beside me as Corey glanced at him—"but he will know that I am handling it."

"So what does that mean?" Vince said through gritted teeth.

"It means I am giving you both one last chance to learn how to be civil. To resolve this without our manager having to step in and get involved."

"How are we supposed to resolve it if we aren't to talk to each other?" Crossbody asked tightly.

"By not exploding at each other for no reason!" Corey exclaimed incredulously, as if it was obvious. "By not making snarky remarks about each other. By not glaring at each other every time you're in the same room. You're not to interact, but that doesn't mean you can't at least begin the healing process."

"Fine," Vince gritted out quickly. He clearly didn't want this to be escalated to Holt.

Crossbody's nostrils flared as he nodded once.

"But if I see or hear even a hint of animosity between you two, I will be taking the matter to Holt immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes," they both muttered.

"And are we all in agreement?" Corey looked around at the others. "We give them one last chance to prove that they can coexist in the workplace in peace."

The other wrestlers hesitantly murmured in confirmation. Crossbody's jaw was clenched tight, and Vince's hands were flexing repeatedly into fists.

"Good. Now." Corey heaved a longsuffering sigh and sat back. "Let's take a moment to remember the love we have for each other. Even those currently in turmoil."

Vince and Crossbody scowled at each other and quickly sat down. Dan immediately leaned in to murmur in Vince's ear, his brow creased with concern.

"Breathe in, and out," Corey was saying in a soothing voice. Then he picked up his martini glass and drained it, before pointing at it and mouthing to Seb, Another, darling.

As Seb reached for the cocktail shaker, Corey inhaled another deep breath through his nose before releasing it slowly from his mouth. Then he smiled at everyone.

"Alright. That's better. Now, on to item four." He looked down at his binder. "Updates from the owner. Firstly, Holt would like to reiterate how much he values all of you. He and Taylor appreciate all your hard work and dedication."

Taylor blushed and gave a little wave when most of the wrestlers looked back to smile at him. Crossbody and Vince didn't move, both of them stone-faced and staring at nothing.

I caught Dan's eye and grinned. He smiled back and mouthed, Dramatic, right?

As I nodded, Corey continued, "He doesn't have too many updates for us. He's beyond thrilled with the online reception of our new pay-per-view venture, and wants to give a special thanks to our IT manager, Rafe."

I tensed as everyone turned around again and looked at me. Dan grinned and whooped, "Hell yeah, Rafe."

Heat flooding my cheeks, I hunched my shoulders. "Uh, thanks."

Corey looked directly at me from his throne, which felt a little like being a medieval peasant receiving the attention of his king for the first time. It made my blush deepen.

He dipped his chin in a regal nod. "We thank you, Rafe."

"S'no problem," I mumbled.

Corey cleared his throat delicately, returning everyone's attention to him. "Holt has also offered to hold a support group for anyone affected by our former colleagues Frank and Beans." He glanced up from his binder through his long eyelashes. "I strongly urge you all to attend at least once. There are demons we must purge. Apologies for the problematic analogy, Gabe."

The incubus shrugged. "No worries."

"And lastly"—Corey lifted his head, a smile creeping onto his face—"some good news to end on a happier note. As you know, our new online venture is allowing Holt to invest more back into the business. He knows how hard you all work. We're a small team who perform tirelessly, most of us several nights in a row. He would like to ease that burden somewhat. So…"

He paused dramatically as everyone waited, staring at him—even Vince and Crossbody. Gabe was smacking Biff's arm excitedly, scooting to the edge of his seat. Mads and Heidi exchanged a quick look. Larkin had abandoned his notes, staring at Corey with a knowing grin on his face.

The orc steepled his fingers together as his smile widened, before he finally finished.

"We're getting new wrestlers."