The last thing Alexei could remember from the meeting was the fact that he had blacked out. And then he’d woken up in some hospital in Fortree—had he been taken there afterward? He had no idea.

Of course, he was back on his feet. He just had to explain the phobia he had fought so hard to keep down—it was insane, what had gone down during that meeting.

And here I was expecting that it was just going to be a normal meeting. Guess I was mistaken! He thought with a sigh as he pressed his palms into his face, the better to relieve the pressure that was building up in the back of his head. Ugh, why was he coming down with a headache now?

Grumbling, he stole his way out of the small house that was located within the Sanctuary grounds and made his way down and out of the place, making sure to bring his wallet along just in case he got carded again.

Blame that youthful look of his.

Either way, he’d stopped by a nearby corner store and was lucky enough to find that this one had some alcohol—even if majority of the people living in Fortree wanted to keep the place as vice-free as possible, the opening of corner stores that catered to alcoholic drinks and other things was inevitable.

Once he’d picked up a couple of bottles of his favorite alcoholic drink and some nice, new shot glasses to go along with it, he meandered out of the store and went towards the local park, open even this late in the evening.

He wondered if he was going to encounter anyone this evening as he cracked open one of the two vodka bottles he’d picked up before pouring himself a shot.