Eve tried to hide her frown as she checked her reflection in the window as she passed. Gone were the bright colors and cute outfits that she had worn for years – and that she felt fit her perfectly, despite making her look even younger thanks to her slight frame. But today wasn't a day to be cute. Today was a day to look mature. Professional. Capable... and not like a rebellious teenager.

Especially since she knew that, even with the casual business suit she wore, she was definitely about to be asked for I.D.

Doubly so because all the pictures the FBI was sending around had her in her cute outfits, and that was a complication best avoided when possible.

Pausing at the door, she took a deep breath- not that she needed to breathe, being a vampire, but the simple habit was calming in its own way. Closing her eyes behind the sunglasses she wore, she turned her face towards the sun above and absolutely reveled in the long forgotten sensation.

It had been almost eighty years since she felt the sun on her face, necessitated by the affliction that was vampirism... But now she could feel it again, even if it did tingle unpleasantly- a tingle that would quickly upgrade to a stinging pain if not for one of the greatest inventions in human history: Sunscreen.

By itself, sunscreen would have done next to nothing to protect her from the burning ball of hate in the sky. But, thanks to the magical little mercenary app on her phone and the incredible rewards it offered for the jobs she did... she had finally gained a resistance to one of the worst banes a vampire could face: the Sun itself.

Even some of the eldest and most powerful of her kind were forced to hide from that great ball of burning death.

Shaking off her wandering thoughts, she refocused on the job ahead of her. Putting on a polite smile, she opened the door in front of her and strode in like she owned the place.

A myriad of sounds and flashing lights assaulted her as she stepped through the door. The clink of coins, the shuffle of cards, chimes and buzzes and excited chatter of people... The whir and beeps of slots spinning, the ringing of a jackpot being won...

And the scents of so many people; the place was practically a buffet to a predator like her.

But, beneath the sights, sounds, and scents of so many humans was another layer- one completely unknown to the humans playing their games of chance.

Roaming among the slots, pausing from time to time as people won jackpots or lost their life savings, was a simple looking, but well dressed, young man. Black slacks, white shirt, green vest, and rather plain looking despite the shock of red hair that looked barely tamed, the man flitted about almost entirely unnoticed...

But Eve could see beneath the illusion.

Where a human would see a young man of Irish descent- if they saw him at all- she saw what was really their: a six foot tall anthropomorphic bunny man whose very presence shifted fortune. A Pooka.

A fucking Pooka.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

She hadn't seen one of those since the sixties when she visited Ireland! Of course, it wasn't really odd to find one in a casino, considering their nature as mischievous spirits that bring both good and bad fortune... But it was a bit surprising to see one in America. She had no idea they had traveled so far...

Not that the Pooka was the only supernatural oddity present.

In just her first glance, Eve saw the Pooka, a Rakshasa, a shaman blessed by Coyote- definitely not someone she wanted to cross, as Coyote was a whole other level of trouble...

And the security man that had already singled her out and was holding his hand up to get her attention was a lycanthrope of some flavor, judging by the musky scent she was picking up from him... Though she couldn't quite pick out what type exactly. Definitely not wolf, she had dealt with them before. And, while wolves could be big and muscular, this man was practically a giant- at least six and a half feet tall and four hundred pounds.

Maybe a werebear? Or a boar? Boars were usually a bit on the chunky side, though, and this man just looked like a brick house-

"ID, please." He rumbled at her as he stepped out from behind the small podium.

"Sure." She responded absently, still trying to work out what he was. Pulling her wallet from the small purse she carried, she retrieved her ID- her new ID, as the last one had been burned thanks to the FBI chasing her- and held it out to him. "And, if it isn't any trouble, would you please let Mr. Alexander know that I'm here to interview for the accounting position."

Eyeing her skeptically for a moment, the guard's gaze flickered to the ID she had presented. "I wasn't aware we were hiring an accountant, Miss Cotton... And I'm usually informed about such things."

Eve smiled, mostly in amusement at the choice of her new name. While she had considered using 'Silk', that would have been a terrible choice. Firstly because the FBI wasn't likely to overlook someone of her description using Oliver's last name- they did have an obvious connection now- and secondly... because Oli and Poli would probably be annoyed at her doing that without their permission.

And she really didn't want to lower her chances with them any further than they were.

"It's a new position. One that literally just went up this morning." Eve smiled easily. "I'm sure your boss would have told you about it soon. But I'm not the sort to wait around when an opportunity presents itself."

The guard stared at her for a moment, taking his time to work through what she said, before he nodded slowly. Lowering his voice, he practically loomed over her. "I'll call and check... Just understand, I know what you are- that's my job, after all..."

"And if you're here to cause problems..."

While being serious for so long chaffed at her, Eve knew this wasn't the time to mess around- regardless of whether this guy was a werebear or a wereboar, it wasn't a fight she wanted. She was undoubtedly faster, but the amount of power one of those lycans could throw around with every punch, and the ridiculous durability they possessed... Not to mention the fact that they practically never gave up once they set their mind to ripping you apart...

She could escape and survive, that was sure. But that also meant giving up on this job and fleeing town.

"Understood." She nodded seriously. "I'm just here for the job, nothing else... Well, I may play some blackjack once I'm done, but I'm not here to cause trouble."

The guard nodded, returning her ID before picking up the phone next to him. But, before he could even say a word, a voice rang out from the other end- clearly audible to Eve standing nearby.

"I'm expecting her, Moose. Go ahead and bring her up- Mike is coming to relieve you."

With the guard- Moose- waving for her to follow as an obviously human guard took his place, Eve wanted to kick herself. This fucker was a Weremoose! Aside from being incredibly rare... those things are absolute monsters! Strong, tough, nearly unstoppable once they start wrecking up a place...

And she was about to walk into a room with him and some other fuckers- possibly a mage of some sort, judging by the haze of magic spread across the entire casino...

At least she had an escape plan in case things went wrong.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.