Page 32 of Guardians for the Vamp
“Okay. I’d like to start with the first step: befriending high-profile humans. Politicians, celebrities, athletes, CEOs, social media influencers. Anyone we can form a trusting relationship with who has power and sway.
“I will be attending several events over the next few months: parties, fundraisers, sporting events. Whatever it takes. Any human passing supe, or one who has the ability to mask, is highly encouraged to accompany me or attend events of your own.
“As for roles…”
Layla looks at me.
“Vara will be the ambassador between humans and supernaturals. Basically, PR before, during, and after our reveal. Locheran and the gargoyles will be in charge of a battle plan in case this all goes to hell. The witches,” Layla continues, nodding to Myla who is one of the most powerful witches in our area aside from the coven leader, “will be there to cast protection spells or intervene with magic, whatever the case may be. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect. I could see it going three ways: the majority of humans accept us, only half are on board, or they all revolt and capture us to experiment on us.”
“Gods,” Korna mumbles.
Layla sighs. “I won’t sugarcoat this. We all know the risks. We have to be prepared for everything.”
She crosses her arms, a stern look on her face. She’s so beautiful and confident in this moment. She’s commanding all our attention like a siren of the night.
“I will be clear… compulsion will not be allowed. We will not mind control humans in any way to accept our existence. We will not threaten or bribe.”
The committee members all nod their understanding.
“Good. Now…” She starts up a computer and opens the PowerPoint program. She scrunches her nose at the blank screen, then proceeds to tap the mouse and press buttons. A young vampire—one turned within the last decade—eventually joins her to troubleshoot the issue. She smiles at him, and he gives her a fanged grin back—he’d be blushing if he wasn’t dead because that’s what Layla does to those in her presence. The young vamp returns to his spot along the back wall next to Thorne who scowls at him. “This plan will take input from all of you. All ideas are welcome. Again, we have just under eight months to form this plan before presenting it at the International Supernatural Conference held here in New York City. As we move forward, I’m sure we’ll need to assign more roles. I believe we’ll need someone in charge of technology. I suspect once we show ourselves to the world, fake and manipulated videos will be posted online to implicate us as evil. Those videos along with any showing alleged supernatural attacks must be promptly taken down.”
The griffin rep raises his hand.
“Yes, Bowden?”
“I’m good at that shit, I’ll volunteer for tech.”
“Wonderful.” Layla beams at the winged creature. “I’m sure you’ll be useful in launching the production unit that will broadcast informational videos Vara will star in.”
“Naturally,” Locheran snorts, and I slap my knuckles on his arm.
Layla clicks the computer’s mouse and the screen changes. It’s a silly graphic with cartoon monsters hugging.
“Unity. It’s not something we have amongst species. We have parties and we fuck around with each other, but that’s the extent of our collaborations. Aside from the gargoyles who often entrust us to help when evil is threatening our world.”
We just don’t trust each other. We’re all power-hungry alphas who don’t do well with authority.
“That needs to change,” Layla continues. “It's imperative that we learn to live amongst ourselves before we can come out of the shadows. I recommend you all consider planning more interspecies parties over the next few months.Notsex parties. Get creative. Have a movie night. Or go bowling together—I don’t care. Make friendships and form allies. I fear we will need them if this plan works.”
Layla clicks again, showing a slide with a conference table and a smiling and waving vampire... who looks a lot like her. She definitely picked out the graphics for this PowerPoint presentation.
Fuck, she’s adorable.
“Committee meetings. I think we can start off with twice a month and as the months go by, if we decide we need more meetings, we’ll adjust accordingly.”
Korna raises his hand, and Layla calls on him.
“How long will these meetings last?”
Layla shrugs. “An hour. Two? However long we need to make progress.”
She ends the presentation with a slide that has her contact info, including email and phone number.
“I think we have a lot to consider so I will end things here. Bring ideas to the table for the next meeting. If you have any questions or concerns, please text or email me.”
The meeting only lasted about fifteen minutes when Layla dismisses us. A few supes crowd her, speaking enthusiastically. The tension rolling off Thorne is palpable. He clearly doesn’t like them being that close to her.
After thirty minutes of conversations, the last supe exits the room. I stand and smooth my hand down my stomach, shuttering my wings. Layla watches the movements and looks away when her fangs drop. I’m about to scold herwhen Thorne grabs her by the chin and moves her head back to me.
