45. So Much for Feeling Better

T he fact that the noise in the End Zone wasn't bothering Harlow, really cemented that at least part of his life was getting back to normal. He was…slightly surprised that they hadn't ended up banned after the last time, but then…the worker had seemed intent on ignoring whatever the fuck had been happening. He guessed they didn't report it after the fact either.

Harlow eyed Foxx.

The vampire was frowning, and his gaze kept flicking to the table a short distance away from theirs, to a group of women and two teenagers. Looking as if they'd just come from church, they were talking in frightened tones, yet…didn't seem to care how much noise they were making.

One woman was being particularly loud as she kept gesturing to her phone. Even if he had still been ‘human', with how obnoxious they were being, he'd likely have heard every word.

As it was…it sort of felt like he was sitting at the same damn table. Which would have been nice if it was mildly entertaining gossip, however, it wasn't. It was all bullshit. A lot of, ‘I told you they couldn't be trusted', and ‘paranormals are animals', blah blah blah.

The two teenage boys with them seemed to be the only ones with functioning brains as they both looked embarrassed, unhappy, and kept rolling their eyes at everything the women were saying.

You'd think the face plate hanging down from Foxx's chest would have alerted them that they were sitting near someone who wasn't human. But apparently not. Or maybe they'd seen and just didn't care.

Harlow glanced from them to Foxx. The question he was debating was…should he say something? His vampire had been down before they even got there. The brief bit of humor as they fucked with Tony had not lasted. So, it wasn't as if they had caused Foxx's bad mood. The vampire was no doubt sad about what was happening with that pack.

When Foxx's frown deepened and his eyes turned slightly sad, Harlow stood up. Foxx's gaze snapped to him in question. He just plastered a closed mouth smile on his face and walked over to the table, clearing his throat.

They looked up, confused.

"Yes?" the woman who'd been the loudest asked, her gaze doing a sweep of him before disdain filled her eyes.

Wow…it had been a long time since someone had looked at him like he was a delinquent. Like, the woman was older, but not that much older.

"Would you all kindly shut the fuck up?" His words weren't poetic, by any means, but they were certainly clear.

The human gasped, her jaw dropping open.

Harlow smirked, his fangs flashing now, and the woman's mouth snapped shut as she paled. The rest stared with wide eyes. "How about instead of looking in the news for monsters, and attaching the label to people you've never met, and don't know, you look in the fucking mirror first? Because the last time I checked, someone wishing for genocide falls under the monster category." He scoffed as they all remained silent. "I say this with my whole non-human heart, have the day you fucking deserve."

Turning quickly, he went back to his table and sat down.

Foxx had a small smile on his face now. "You didn't have to do that."

"They were annoying…and loud…and they made you sad."

"They didn't really… I was already kind of down. And it's not like I haven't heard it before. It's just been a few years since people were open about it. The opinions never went away. We see that with every human case. Not that we will have those anymore." Foxx sighed. "It just feels…like we are stuck waiting for more bad news. And being here, enjoying food, when I know something horrible is going on…just feels…wrong."

"Would us going home just so that you can binge watch the news change that?"

"No, but…then I'd at least get to see what's going on."

"And that would accomplish what exactly?"

Foxx huffed. "I don't know… I just feel like we're not doing enough. And why shouldn't we do more? We know who… Why can't we try to track that bastard?—"

"Foxx, we can't talk about that here."

They flinched as the flurry of conversations heated up around them. People were talking animatedly as they looked at their phones, all discussing one thing—Humanity's Last Stand had released another video.

Foxx, of course, pulled out his phone and started tapping away. Moments later, the vampire set his device on the table and tapped the screen. Maverick's voice came in loud and clear, as if hearing it secondhand from the tables around them hadn't been enough. Harlow forced back the rest of the noise, focusing on the screen and Maverick's new rant.

"The beasts came out this morning. The truth was revealed, just as I said it would be. My question to you is… Why do you sit back and do nothing?! Question! Demand answers! Why is the government letting these wolves hide in sheep's clothing, just so they can kill us without warning?! Every day, humans die because of these freaks!"

Foxx snorted. "We're just going to ignore that humans also die by the hands of other humans every day, I see."

"Well, if he mentioned that, it wouldn't fit with his fear mongering now, would it?" Harlow sneered.

"It is time to be loud, to be present, to demand that the world return to the way it once was. Return to the time when these monsters were hunted down and destroyed!" Maverick, after a well placed poignant pause, continued. "If this isn't enough to prompt you to do what is right, then wait and see what happens next. It is only a matter of time before they attack again. Let's just hope that you aren't within reach of their claws when they do. If you survive, when the time comes, you must choose a side. Humanity's or theirs." The video then cut off.

"It's really easy to say that it's only a matter of time when you are the one causing it," Foxx hissed.

"He always was one to try to weigh things in his favor."

Maverick, the bastard, usually liked making sure the scales were already tipped his way. At least, so he had heard from other hunters in the past. Well, it came with warnings to never bet with the man. Maverick liked betting with a loaded deck.

One hunter described the man as someone who'd make a bet that a winning race horse would lose and come in last, while knowing full well that it had a fucked-up leg, because he was the one who fucked it up.

Harlow wiped his mouth with his napkin and tossed it over his plate. "Come on, let's flag down our crazy ass waiter and go home. You can mope, watch the news, and rant at home… Or…" he added, as he got a better, less pathetic idea. "If you are tired of doing all that, we can head back to that festival instead. It's still going on and we have time."

"I…" Foxx nibbled on his bottom lip. "I think…I'd like that. Maybe…it will take my mind off things."

"That's the spirit." Harlow smirked. "Come on, my chaotic brat. Let's go cause trouble somewhere else."

Foxx snorted. "Barely caused trouble here. At most, we just offended someone's delicate sensibilities."

They jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat, and looked up to find said waiter had somehow snuck up on them. Walter looked grim, no fake smile in place. And in a truly shocking turn of events, the man spoke without any of the ridiculous words that he normally clung to. "I…know you two aren't…monsters. You're hunters, right?" The man sat their check down. "I paid your bill. Hope your day gets better…"

Foxx's eyes widened slightly, before going a bit teary eyed. "Thank you," the vampire rasped softly.

Harlow smirked, chuckling. "Thanks… I still think you're a weirdo, but you are entertaining."

Walter smirked, wiggled his brow, and said, "Travel far and safely. May you return to our station again soon." With that, the crazy asshole left.

He snorted. "Come on, traveler, let's get the fuck out of here."

Foxx giggled.

"You know, I do feel a bit better now," Foxx said with a giggle as he looked at the wooden keychains. They weren't the small statue that he'd attempted to buy, which had unfortunately gone by the time they got there, but they were cute.

"OH, this is so us!" Foxx laughed and picked up a pair of keychains. One was a chubby cat, the other a chubby kitten. No doubt meant for a mother and daughter, but like, they could be whatever the hell he wanted them to be if he bought them.

Harlow plucked them from his hand, a smile stretching across his face. "Finally giving in to the idea you are a cat?"

"No, but if you are going to mock me, I figured I might as well get my digs in while enjoying some cute couple things." Foxx smiled widely. "And as you are younger, you are OBVIOUSLY the kitten. So, I'll put the kitten on my keys, and you can put the big cat on yours."

Harlow stared, looking dumbstruck. "My over six foot tall ass is the kitten?!"

"Of course, as you noted before, my cradle robbing ass couldn't be anything except the older cat."

"I literally look decades older!"

"And you always will, unless you want me to fix that."

Harlow sighed. "Do you really want us to use them?"

Foxx blinked. "Of course?"

He was completely serious. Where in his tone had it been implied that he'd been joking? Also, they were cute, chubby little boxy things… He needed them.

"Fine," the dhampir sighed. "I'll buy them for you."

He beamed. "And you'll use it?"

Harlow rolled his eyes. " And I'll use it."

The dhampir reached into his jacket, no doubt to pull out his wallet…but that was as far as he got as the sound of multiple people screaming had them both tensing. They shared a brief glance before the chaos started.

Screams of fear growing in number and volume, soon mixed with the sounds of growls, though those were still a distance away. People started running past them, coming from the other end of the fair. As they ran, pushing and shoving their way through, things and people fell all around them.

He and Harlow took off as well, except they went against the tide, moving towards the danger. Foxx just traveled in the direction that he smelled blood.

Stumbling to a stop as they burst through the mob, this side of the festival was trashed. Booths toppled, tents collapsed, carvings, food, and more were trampled and destroyed. The destruction seemed to be endless.

Dead center of all the destruction were six werewolves in their bipedal forms, their spittle an odd brownish color. They stood there crouched, their jaws clamped around their victims as they shook their heads violently from side to side. Blood flew everywhere as it clung to their fur.

Foxx took a deep breath in and cursed at what he smelled.

"They…" Harlow hesitated.

"You're smelling Santiago, aren't you?"

"I am…but they aren't him."

"No…but they are part of his pack. It's common for wolves to carry their Alpha's scent."

"Wasn't he planning to take them into hiding?" Harlow asked with a frown.

"He was…" Foxx went quiet as six pairs of eyes suddenly peered their way.

"You don't have your guns with you…do you?" the dhampir asked, having already pulled his out.

Foxx winced. "No…"

"Fucking hell." Harlow cursed right as the wolves lunged.