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It was hard for a werewolf to get poisoned. Their bodies were too resistant to most forms of toxin or other such substances. The only sure way to do it was either by silver poisoning, or by being affected by enough to kill a dozen full grown men.
Elayn was putting that concept through its paces. By Serana's estimation, she was nearly finished with two casks of beer. She drained the mug in her hand and held it out for more, a silent request fulfilled by a barkeep whose eyes were wide with awe, and a little horror.
Serana watched from a corner while her mate sat at the bar in front of a group of eight burly farmers, four of whom were in varying states of crippling drunkenness. The one directly in front of Elayn was propping himself up on his elbow, and as she watched, his mug slipped from his slackened grasp, and it clattered to the floor, spilling its contents on the grimy floor.
Elayn's mug hit the bar with an authoritative wooden thud. "That doesn't count," she said, pointing with severity at the barkeep. "That was half full."
The man's mustache gave a quiver and he nodded. He took the mug when it was snatched off the floor, refilled it, and set it in front of the fifth man who took his companions place as the other farmer staggered out of the tavern. Serana's keen vampire senses-- senses she was not entirely thrilled to have at the moment-- caught the sound of retching. Elayn grinned around her mug, and she knew she had heard it too.
The next man set to his mug like a man tying his own noose, but after two and then three, it seemed he was made of sterner stuff than his fellows, because he showed no signs of slowing. Elayn did not look concerned-- and really, did she ever? But it was in friendly contests like this that she really showed her competitive side.
"Come on Francesco!" cried a bearded man, raising his fist. "She's just a woman!"
Elayn's hand clenched around her mug, so tight that Serana worried for a moment it would turn to splinters, but besides a creak she was sure no human would notice, the mug held, and it was soon drained of its contents, before she held it out again.
Near about what she estimated was halfway through a second cask, Elayn set her mug down and put a hand to her chest. The men in front of her all leaned forward with held breaths, expecting her to finally, after a truly inhuman amount of beer, fall over in a drunken stupor. She disappointed them by letting out a truly inhuman belch, then finishing off the rest and holding her mug out for more.
Six and seven were nothing, and Serana got the impression they had been saved for last because their friends felt there was no way their turn would come before Elayn collapsed. It was a mistake that would doom them. She could see the signs that the alcohol was starting to affect her mate-- her shoulders sagged and she was swaying, albeit to a degree only someone paying very close attention would notice. If they had saved their strongest drinkers for the end, they might have had a chance. But they were not sage farmers, and so it was not long before Elayn was on the eighth and final opponent.
Serana hid her smile under her hand as Elayn made direct, disconcerting eye contact with the man until he was drinking so fast that he sputtered and choked, turned green, and then heaved up the contents of his stomach onto the floor beside him. The spatter missed Elayn, who finished off her last mug and slammed it on the bar.
"Told you I could do it," she said to the barkeep, grinning wolfishly. "My coin, please."
The "please" made Serana proud. She had been trying to nudge Elayn into some of the niceties she knew eased social interactions, and it was gratifying to see her use them, even slurred.
She stood up and joined Elayn at the bar as the barkeep handed her a bag full of the coins she had won. "Never seen a woman drink so much. You sure she'll be alright?" he asked, looking to Serana.
She held back a snicker. What this human did not know. "This isn't the first time she's done this. She'll be alright after some dinner and a good night's rest."
"I'll get my wife to bring you two some stew." He rumbled a chuckle. "A sight to see."
Serana took Elayn's elbow and guided her, stumbling, to the room up the stairs they had bought for the night. Trystan was in his own to the right, fast asleep. Werewolf stamina or not, going from the rather sedate life of a scholar to life on the road was a hard adjustment. They had decided to stop for a day or two to resupply and rest, and so Serana could feed.
After she had fed from Elayn in the catacombs under the cathedral, she had been finding herself craving the rush of vitality that came from feeding from a werewolf. It hit her with a strength that made her nervous, so it was something she did not want to repeat. Though they had not discussed it, Elayn had not brought it up, and there was a feeling between them through the bond that the discussion remained closed out of mutual, unspoken understanding. Werewolf magic, though limited, was useful that way.
Inside their room, Serana tipped Elayn into the bed, and giggled at the way she sprawled diagonally across the mattress. "You know you're going to have to move if you want to hold me tonight, right?"
Her werewolf grunted and shoved herself up so she was sitting with her legs dangling off the edge of the bed. "Gotta eat first, or the morning is gonna hurt."
She went to a table at the end of the room that held a cup and a pitcher, so she could fill the first and take it to Elayn. "You always know how to take care of yourself."
"Practice," her mate said with a wide grin. "Can't count how much coin I've made off dumb drunks who think they could outdrink the gods."
She sat while Elayn finished off the water. "Just promise me you won't try that yourself, outdrinking any gods I mean."
The other woman snorted. "Nah, I'm at least a little smarter than that."
Before she could reply, there was a knock at the door. She got back up so she could open it. It was a portly woman with beautiful curls and a friendly smile, carrying two bowls of stew. "You two enjoy," she said as Serana took them. "It's an old family recipe."
She thanked the woman, shut the door, and took the food to Elayn, who balanced one bowl on her knee and dug into the other voraciously.
When the first was done, she groaned. "Food."
"Good?"
She bobbed her head up and down as she set the finished bowl on the table by the bed and started on the other.
While she ate, Serana just watched her, struck for a moment by how glad she was to be her mate. She was rough, a hard life did that to someone, but she had a tender and fun side Serana only wished she could see more often, and celebrated when it showed. Elayn was freedom embodied, and she brought that freedom to Serana.
"Do I have something on my face?" her werewolf asked when she noticed her staring, looking startled with her spoon raised halfway to her mouth.
The image made Serana giggle, damn her. "I'm just thinking about how much I love you."
She watched Elayn's eyes go wide, only to soften. "I love you too. More than I can…"
"Say?"
Her werewolf nodded and set her bowl aside so she could lean forward and kiss her. The taste of stew made it interesting, but Serana found she could not mind.
When Elayn was done eating, she blew out the lamp bathing the room in orange glow and shadows, until it was so dark only vampire senses would let her see. She curled into Elayn's side, resting her head on her werewolf's shoulder, and sighed as the other woman's hand came up to play in her hair.
"Serana?"
She hummed.
"Love you."
She craned her neck for another kiss.
"I love you too."