The Vegan and the Wolf, Julie Steimle [fantasy books to read .txt] 📗

a purist,” one of the ladies said, smiling at her. “Not to worry. We have just the thing for you.”

They had her sit in a chair and they brought out dress after dress after dress. The first ones were mostly to get a feel of her taste in clothing. They finally settled down to a minimalist gown that wasn’t too revealing—especially not her cleavage. A trim to fit, sleeveless, flowing gown of almost pearlescent blue-gray satin with a high neck like a swimmer’s top, the dress seemed to move like water when Audry put it on. It was elegant and dignified. She also loved the feel of it.

“You will need shoes, preferably heels,” the shop assistant said.

Audry groaned. She hated heels. Women’s shoes always hurt her feet.

But they found her several matching pair in the department store and brought them to her. It was strange, but she knew she was being treated like a VIP. It was possible that Vincent had passed on a Bruchenhaus business card, so they knew they would make a huge sale with her. It was also more likely their grandfather would be footing the bill and not Vincent. She had a feeling it was the case. Vincent was not rich. But he was the hardest worker she had ever known and he deserved a financial leg-up.

“Ah. All done?” Vincent said as he showed up with takeaway bags full of dim sum. Audry hoped he had the vegetarian items labeled.

The shopkeepers nodded, having already boxed up the dress and were currently boxing up the shoes, waiting for him at the registers. Vincent handed them a credit card. Audry peeked at it, but he would not let her look at the price tags or the receipt.

Then they walked outside to eat their lunch.

As he opened the different cartons, distributing their chopsticks and dipping sauce, Vincent said, “I will also need to leave while you are at the Salon, as I have to pick up my tux. It’s all on Grandpa’s bill, of course as I can’t actually pay for any of this myself.” Exactly as she had predicted…

“Grandpa Bruchenhaus might get annoyed to see a bill so huge,” Audry muttered, breaking apart her chopsticks then rubbing off the stray bamboo strands.

“Nah,” Vincent said, probing a box with his chopsticks to extract a steamed bun. “If I tell him whom it is for, he’ll be delighted I dragged you along.”

Audry shot him a dry, terse look.

“What? He likes you,” Vincent said, then taking a bite of the bun. “Oh. This one is leeks and onion.”

Audry dug into that box, pulling it closer to her. Vincent went for a dumpling in another box, quickly finishing off the one he had.

They ate without much conversation, with Vincent testing each dumpling box for the contents—taking the pork dumplings for himself. He nudged over the fried noodles with egg, telling her not all eggs were fertilized.

“It is the principle of the thing,” Audry muttered. However, she took some noodles from that box. Though she was trying to be a total vegan, it was nearly impossible to accomplish. She was not always able to avoid dairy or eggs. And honestly, she loved the gelato at her restaurant.

Then he looked to her and said, “Explain the bullet.”

“What?” Not sure what he was referring to, Audry stared at him.

“The one around your neck,” he said.

“Oh.” Audry then lifted the bullet on the chain so Vincent could touch it. “I dug this out of the leg of a wolf last winter. It was at the ski resort owned by the Deacons. He was there at the time—Rick. I cleaned it up and later made it into a necklace charm to remind me about animal cruelty.”

Vincent nodded. But then as he turned it in his fingers, he stared at the name etched into the metal. “It has his name on it.”

“Deacon, yeah.” Audry nodded. “And it’s silver.”

“What?” Vincent exclaimed. This seemed to be too much news for him. The afternoon had already been weird enough with all the talk of witches.

“You heard me right. Silver.” She shook her head. “It turns out there are people who actually believe the Deacon family are werewolves. And the hunter who shot the wolf thought he was Rick.”

He stared at her. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to gauge if he heard her correctly or if he had simply entered the twilight zone.

“I told you the guy was hunted,” she said, Picking out a few more noodles.

Chuckling painfully, Vincent kept shaking his head. “Weird.”

After they finished their meal and threw away their boxes, they strolled across 60th Street and walked to 61st Street where there was a hair salon that would be able to not only style her hair, but also do an entire makeover, including waxing, pedicure, and makeup. Audry was not a big makeup person. She occasionally wore blush and mascara, but the rest she generally avoided. It just seemed so unnecessary. And so many makeup industries still used animal testing.

Stepping inside the salon, Vincent checked to see if there was still availability. He had made an appointment via the internet on his cell phone, but not all the beauticians were willing to do the full treatment, which was what Audry needed.

“Yeah, she’s here,” the front desk clerk said. He then called in, “Sil! Your date is here!”

Vincent stared, flustering as he looked about the salon. “Oh no. This isn’t for me. This is for my cousin.” He nudged Audry forward, who also resisted.

The front clerk chuckled, nodding. “It’s just in-house talk. We call all our appointments ‘dates’. That way nobody here can complain they never get dates because of this job.”

Both Vincent and Audry rolled their eyes.

Strolling out from the inside of the salon, in the salon’s uniform, smiling at the front clerk like a bright and chipper gal in sensible shoes was none other than Silva Lewis. She set her eyes on Audry and Vincent then stared with honest surprise. She looked almost entirely different—including her eye makeup.

Audry drew in a breath.

Vincent smiled, straightening up.

On meeting Audry’s gaze, Silvia laughed, her smile brightening even more. “Well, well… You’re my three o’clock?”

Audry cringed. Why was her luck this bad? Yeah, Silvia looked different—not goth—but what were the chances she would step into the very place where Silvia worked? It was like she was—Audry hated to say it—cursed. She pulled Vincent aside. “Can we try another salon?”

He shook his head. “Not really. Most of the other salons are fully booked. I tried this guy who was a little closer to Bloomingdales, but oh, he was busy. Besides, what’s wrong with this one?”

Slumping her shoulders, Audry moaned, “Because I know her.”

“Really?” Vincent brightened, gazing toward Silvia.

Audry grabbed his ear, yanking it down. “Don’t you even think of it.”

“Ow!” Vincent hunched with pain. “Why not? She’s beautiful.”

Glancing back to Silvia, Audry realized all the woman’s gothic makeup and extras were gone. Silvia honestly looked normal. And yes, she was beautiful.

“She thinks she is a witch,” Audry hissed desperately to her cousin.

Vincent made a face, meeting her eyes. “You’re kidding.”

Audry shook her head earnestly. “No. I am not. She believes that she is part of a witch coven. She is the one Rick Deacon was warning me about. The one who wanted the hair.”

Her cousin’s face revealed his disappointment, but he no longer looked inclined to go after Silvia Lewis for a date. In fact, he was disappointed. However, he said to Audry, “Well, you can give it to her now.”

Audry inwardly groaned. Apparently she was not getting out of this.

Silvia had been watching them the entire time with amusement. Her eyes took in Vincent flirtatiously. Admittedly, here, she did not come across as dangerous at all. Not in one bit. Her usual aura of darkness seemed to be nonexistent. She was just a gal, just like Rick was just a guy.

“Do you still want your appointment?” the man at the front desk asked, inclined to be hopeful.

“Yes.” Vincent nudged Audry forward. “And she needs the royal treatment. Hair, nails, and makeup.”

“Not too much makeup,” Audry insisted, with a glare to him.

Chuckling, Silvia nodded. “It’s ok. I know what you want.”

“Yeah,” cut in Vincent, with a dismayed yet hopeful glance to her, “But what we need is Plaza-Hotel-event nice.”

Silvia lifted her eyebrows, openly impressed. Her amusement on Audry’s irritation increased also.

“And I will go get my tux and the papers,” Vincent said to Audry, “While you stay here and get ready.”

“What? Are you going to rent a limo next?” Audry snapped, watching him stride with long legs to the door.

Vincent just laughed, backing out and pushing against the glass. He immediately jogged to the street and left her there, cheerful that things had worked out. Despite all Audry had said about Silvia, her cousin did not seem troubled that she was in any danger. And she probably wasn’t. Here, Silvia looked like the only damage she could do was give an uneven haircut.

“Come on back,” Silvia said, jerking with her head to lead the way.  

But Audry did not budge.

Silvia looked back to her, chuckling. “I won’t bite. I promise.”

Groaning, shoulders sagging, Audry reluctantly followed Silvia to her station.

Silvia had the usual salon chair and all the trappings for the job. Nothing weird. Nothing pagan at least. It was just way too normal for Silvia. It really was like she was a whole other person here. Or—and this was most likely—there was no way such creepy stuff would have been tolerated that that establishment. Such things would have probably gotten her fired.

“Ok,” Silvia said once Audry arrived at her station. “You tell me in your own words what your boyfriend—”

“Cousin,” Audry corrected.

“Even better,” Silvia said with a smile. “…what your cousin wants done. What are you going to?”

Groaning, Audry said, “Vincent needs me to attend this big social party at the Plaza Hotel with him—”

“He wasn’t joking?” Silvia looked impressed again. She clearly approved.

With a cringe, Audry finally admitted something she had never told Silvia, “Our grandfather is steeped in old money. I think he is helping Vincent with his education, but Vincent has to do favors in return. And this is one of them.”

“Steeped in old money…?” Silvia stared at Audry with new eyes. She truly had not suspected it. Audry was glad about that.

“Don’t look at me like that. My dad left all that behind.” And then Audry took a step closer to Silvia, hissing. “And if you mess with my cousin Vincent, I will shoot you with my trank-gun and leave you in some wilderness for the animals to take care of.”

Silvia smirked with wicked respect. She nodded, winking. “Wow… I never thought I’d hear that come out of your lips.”

“I mean it,” Audry said with bite.

“I can see that.” But Silvia still smiled with staunch appreciation. “Now, let’s deal with your hair. Sit.”

Audry sighed, but did as she was bade. There was no choice to it.

Silvia undid Audry’s braid, handing Audry the hair elastic. Fluffing out the hair, Silvia inspected the ends. “Ok, I think we should start with a wash, and I think we ought to give you a trim.”

“I don’t want a trim,” Audry said. “I like it long.”

“Just the ends,” Silvia countered mildly. “I see a number of splits. You won’t know the difference except that your hair will look healthier.”

“Fine.”

Audry wanted to slump in her chair, but Silvia urged her out of her seat, leading her to the sinks. She wrapped Audry in the large cape and put towels around her neck as she had Audry lay down with her hair to the sink. As Silvia began to wet her hair with the handheld shower sprayer, Audry finally asked the question that was bugging her the entire time.

“Is this your job to pay for school?”

She could see Silvia reluctantly wince. The girl shook her head and sighed before she replied. “No… actually. This is my career. NYU is a front.”

“What?” Audry was not sure she heard her right. It made no sense. NYU