Raphael (The Immortal Youth Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

bookshelves had appeared in less than two weeks. New faces greeted him as well. The center had been growing steadily under the indifference of the so-called good society for some time. Paranormals were a bunch of hypocrites. If one didn’t pledge allegiance to the Immortal Council, they were considered renegades. Once a renegade, one was an outcast and didn’t have any rights. In a nutshell, a renegade could lie wounded on the streets and no one would help him. The only exception was if the renegade was underage. In that case, the Immortal Council would send enforcers to flush him out for the Controller. Raphael couldn’t wait to be eighteen and not have to worry about adults breathing down his neck.
    Although, when the demon had caught him at Coin, he had acted as if he was worried about him. Raphael shrugged at the thought—too alien to contemplate—then saw Angel sitting at one of the tables and waved at him.
    Eyeing the two bags Raphael carried, the were-puma waved back. “Hey, what you got there?”
    “Presents.” He showed Angel the logo on the plastic bags. “Got paid, again.”
    Pushing his chair out from the table, Angel whistled and stood to meet him. “Brand new from D&D Parlor?”
    “Cities and Nights, and Seafarers.” Raphael leaned to give the were-puma a one armed hug and passed the two heavy bags to him. “Unbox them.”
    “You shouldn’t have.” Angel lingered a moment in the embrace before releasing Raphael. “We got plenty for free.”
    The board game store owner was a nice immortal who let Angel have the display sets once they became shelf-worn.
    “I don’t need the money.” Raphael sat at the table and crossed his legs at the ankles, waiting for Angel to open the boxes. When choosing the two expansions, he had imagined how much the were-puma would fuss over such an extravagant gift. None of the rejects could afford superfluous goods. “Never worked so little in my life and earned so much. Plus, I have a roof over my head for the first time in four years. And I got meal tickets too. Here, have some.” Reaching for his rear pocket, he picked the small bundle of cardboard cards he had tied with a rubber band. The meal tickets—good as money and accepted by every eatery in Rome—were the real reason he was visiting today. The rejects were a proud bunch and wouldn’t accept charity. Buying the board game expansions was Raphael’s evasive tactic.
    Angel’s eyebrow shot up, and he paused from tearing apart the plastic film securing one of the boxes. “It’s okay. We don’t need them.”
    Raphael relaxed against the chair and placed the stack of meal tickets on the table, then pushed it with one finger toward Angel. “Quintilius invites me for lunches so often I barely have to pay for a meal.”
    “Still. What about Saturdays and Sundays when you don’t work?” Angel leaned away, as if repulsed by the offending pieces of cardboard, and sat ramrod straight.
    “I have more left. Don’t worry.” Raphael pushed the stack closer to Angel whose eyes went to the tickets but still didn’t make any move to pocket them. “Tell you what, if I find myself hungry, I’ll come here.”
    Angel’s chest deflated but he finally nodded. “Promise me you won’t starve.”
    “Does it look like I’m starving to you?” Flexing his arms, Raphael showed how he filled the white shirt Quintilius had bought for him, along with a whole wardrobe of proper clothes.
    “Is that a Rome F.C. sweatshirt?” Quintilius asked upon Raphael entering his office.
    At the door, the secretary who let him in, a horrid werewolf who had already tried to shoo him out, snorted, readjusting her severe glasses over her thin nose.
    Raphael tried to hide a big hole on the right sleeve by hugging himself.
    With a shake of his grizzly mane, the alpha added, “That won’t do. I’m a Lazio F.C. fan,” then directed his focus on his secretary. “Cancel my appointments for the morning.”
    “But, Mr. Quin—”
    “Yes,