"The people from Pinewood town think he's your boyfriend?"

Ivana sounded completely incredulous at my report of the first night, and I didn't blame her. If you weren't there during the conversation, you wouldn't quite be able to grasp just how good Etienne was at twisting a situation in his favour.

I sighed as I stared up at the sky, taking in the sight of the rising sun. I'd retreated into the forest to have my phone call with Ivana, so Etienne couldn't listen in. He couldn't go out anymore now, so the town was safe. Well, relatively safe. If he didn't lure anyone into my house again. I'd keep the phone call brief.

"It wasn't exactly by choice, Ivana," I said. "People are nosy here, okay? The vampire and I went hunting in the middle of the night, but evidently, even the adults don't go to sleep here and spread rumors just quickly as the teenagers."

"I guess it wasn't preventable that the townsfolk learned he was around eventually, but be careful, Boris," Ivana said. "If you feel you can't handle this, we'll have to move the vampire elsewhere in the Pinewood area and get the rest of the pack involved. I'd rather not, but if there's no other choice..."

"It may be necessary," I admitted. "He's dangerous. He knows how to play this game and he knows exactly what he wants."

"Access to human blood," Ivana said.

"That's what he says. He wants it willingly, or so he claims. But we can never be sure with the vampires. I doubt that's the whole truth. You know what they're like."

If Etienne was like the rest of them, and he seemed to be, he thought himself far above others. Far above the rules. All other supernaturals were inferior according to the vampires... but humans? Humans were like cattle. A walking Capri Sun pouch. The accords stated humans had rights, and we needed to share this world with them without harming them. But if any species would not stick to that, it would be the vampires.

"Well, let me know if you need help, Boris," Ivana emphasised again before we said our goodbyes and I walked back to my house.

As the sun rose, I put the final touches to the vampire-proofing of my living room and kitchen. Tempting as it was, I couldn't allow the sun to accidentally spill in and burn the vampire. All hell would break loose.

Luckily, I already had both blinders and blackout curtains installed at every window. A precaution for any young werewolf accidentally shifting inside my house, and now also a precaution for vampires burning. Etienne's peers could never be able to accuse me of trying to sabotage later.

Now, all I needed to do was come up with a viable excuse why my curtains were always closed for the coming month.

Unfortunately, Pinewood did very much suffer from the small town syndrome. Everyone was all up in everyone's business. Now that they thought Etienne was my brand new love, I imagined I'd be getting more curious people on my doorstep. And, unfortunately, Etienne had also been very right about the townsfolk expecting to see him around.

Maybe I should use his lie to my advantage and say we were constantly 'busy' to keep them away.

I didn't have an immediate solution in mind, and decided to make breakfast and pour myself some tea first. I could hardly plot and plan on an empty stomach.

Moments later, there were light, barely audible footsteps on the stairs. The living room door opened just a crack first, before Etienne slipped through it and stepped into the living room. A cloud of bergamot-based perfume entered the room with him, and I wrinkled my nose. He looked like he was ready for a fancy upstate party with the grey dress shirt and black, carefully tailored trousers.

Too bad for him that the only place he'd be going today was my shed. To be set up for a trap that would hopefully send him packing.

"Slept well?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh, like a baby." Etienne eyed the closed curtains cautiously. "Are there only curtains here?"

"There are also blinders behind it," I replied, taking a sip of my tea. "I'm playing fair. Unlike you."

"That's your first mistake," Etienne quipped with a smile, though I still saw the caution in his expression, heard it in his voice. He darted a glance around the living room. "It's a little strange to be awake during the day and not hiding underground."

"You'll get used to it," I said. "After all, we want this to be a challenge and actually prove something."

Etienne arched a brow. "But you're not going to bring humans around. Can't risk any of your precious Pinewood charges to face the big, evil vampire. So, pray tell, how exactly are you planning to make this difficult for me?"

I waved his question away. "Leave the details to me. And since you don't eat breakfast, let's go."

"Go where?" Etienne asked, crossing his arms. "Do I need to keep explaining how vampires work to you? I can't go outside."

"Like I said, leave the details to me. Follow me."

I walked to the hallway. Etienne followed, but he stayed close to the living room door like he expected me to suddenly throw the front door open and bathe him in sunlight. When I then took a right and went into my windowless garage, Etienne cautiously entered after me a few moments later.

He looked around my garage. It was filled with all sorts of big equipment, a workbench, and anything else I might need to do maintenance work for Pinewood's population. "What is this?" he asked. "Are you planning on making this difficult for me by boring me to death, wolf?"

"Working with your hands isn't boring," I had to protest even if I didn't care what Etienne thought. "It's a form of art."

Etienne just sighed in response and put quite some effort into looking as absolutely miserable as he could while he walked around in my workplace. He was completely out of place in his posh clothes and swerved around the table, seemingly all too aware a single accidental brush would mean oil stains he'd never get out.

"Are you sure you don't want to wear one of my work uniforms?" I asked with an amused smile.

Etienne scoffed. "Absolutely not. That could imply I'm going to do work, and nobody is going to see me like that."

I gestured around me. "You do realise there's nobody here, no? And there are no windows."

"Glad to know you think of yourself as nobody. Nevertheless, no thanks. I look too good to be wearing that."

With a huff, Etienne walked to the corner the furthest away from the workbench and stood there.

I shrugged, trying to suppress a smile at the over-the-top posh behaviour. "Suit yourself. As long as you realise you're going to stay in here with me."

Etienne pulled a face. "I have to stay in the noise while you're sawing wood or whatever it is you do?"

"I'm not a carpenter," I said. "Though I am going to make a table for the Jones family today."

"Oh, what's the difference?" Etienne rolled his eyes."There are all these lovely machines doing work for us in this world. All the miracles of modern life. And you still decide to do things by hand."

"Of course I do," I said. "Not everything can be done by big machines. For example, you're not telling me you have mass-produced IKEA furniture in your castles."

Etienne looked offended by the mere idea. "Certainly not. But we tend to choose materials and builders a little more... sophisticated."

I started gathering the tools I needed for the table I planned to make. "I'm sure you do. Now, be a good vampire and sit in the corner and be quiet, will you? Go nap upside down on the ceiling like a bat or something."

Etienne glared at me but didn't reply. A few moments later, he already looked bored out of his mind and resorted to reading the labels of my various paint tubes. I would've allowed him to pick up a book from the living room, but I didn't want him to be comfortable.

He was about to become a lot more uncomfortable.

Usually, I didn't allow anyone else in the garage while I was working—not even Aquila or Ivana. I didn't want anyone to distract me while I handled sharp objects.

Accidents sure happened easily.

My plan was an obvious one, but also a very effective one. Beautiful in its simplicity, and so plausible nobody could yell sabotage. Not even the vampire council. Nobody could prove anything because a little slip of my hand while handling a knife and drawing blood wasn't implausible.

I hadn't been able to tell if Etienne was serious yesterday when he said my blood smelled extraordinarily sweet—it seemed more like an intimidation attempt than the truth. It was time to put that theory to the test, and there was only one question remaining.

Could I take him on if he lost control and tried to drain me dry?

I glanced at Etienne. He looked frail, but as I had seen yesterday, he definitely wasn't. It was in my favour that he hadn't fed on humans, which would've made him stronger, but he still wasn't weak.

I wasn't either, however. It was near the full moon and I could shift into my werewolf form fast if something happened. Etienne had also recently fed, so he wasn't at his most bloodthirsty right now. I had no doubt he was still bloodthirsty enough to prove he couldn't handle being around blood. I'd return to Ivana with vampiric puncture wounds in my skin, giving her a reason to send him away in no time.

The accords went both ways. If Etienne didn't behave, he'd get the stake instead of the carrot.

Glancing at Etienne to ensure he wasn't paying attention to me, I grabbed my Stanley knife. Raising it to my thumb, I made a vertical cut.

Etienne's reaction was almost instant. His eyes shot to my face and then to my finger. Blood poured out of the wound and down to my palm as fingers always bled abundantly.

The vampire stared at the blood as if hypnotised. He creeped closer to me like a predator, completely focused on my wound.

"Oops. How clumsy of me," I said dryly, raising my injured hand towards him.

I prepared for a fight, but Etienne didn't pounce yet. He bared his fangs as he came close enough to touch me.

Fighting my instincts to shift, I stayed still, waiting to see what he'd do with a pounding heart and adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Almost tenderly, Etienne grabbed my hand. He briefly hesitated. As he looked up at my face, I saw the internal struggle in his eyes. But finally, he raised my finger to his lips and sucked on my injured thumb.

A shudder went down my spine at the odd sensation of cold lips on my skin and the look of utter bliss on Etienne's face.

Then he suddenly jolted.

I didn't think a vampire could possibly get even paler, but Etienne did. He stumbled back and retreated into a corner, making himself small like a scared animal.

"What the hell is this?" he hissed. "You tricked me! You did this on purpose!"

"I didn't," I lied. "And even if I did, accidents happen. They will in the human world too, and you need to control yourself when they do. Can you, vampire? Can you promise that you're not going to lose control? Because I don't think you can. Even now, after feeding last night and with a full stomach, you struggle."

Etienne's lip curled up in a sneer. "You set me up! But I passed your test. I didn't bite you."

"You drank my blood," I pointed out.

"And yet you have no puncture wounds in your neck, wolf," Etienne snapped. "I did not bite you, and that was the deal."

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Much as I hated it, he was right. He didn't bite me and that was the deal. Again, I was thwarted by technicalities.

"You didn't bite me," I admitted. "But I will have to report this incident to Ivana and let her decide whether we can continue with this little Pinewood experiment of yours."

Etienne breathed in and out deeply, then smiled, though his red eyes still spat fire. "You set me up and then act like you're the victim," he spoke calmly. "As amusing as your mind gymnastics is to listen to, if you will excuse me, I will be in your living room until you've bandaged your wound, wolf."

With movements slightly too jerky to be entirely natural, Etienne turned, walked to the door, and left the garage.