Somewhere else in the Eve building, Natasha and Katya sat in a large boardroom, with several high-ranking members of their clan.

“Katya, I understand the feeling of having lost an heir more than most. But supporting open conflict with the red court isn’t the answer.” Thomas pleaded, well intentioned on the surface, but Katya knew the man was a snake.

Katya took a deep breath and spoke evenly.

“I didn’t lose my heir, Thomas. They took her. A red Court assault team specifically targeted one of our safe-houses and kidnapped her, killing half a dozen Custodes in the process.” Katya took another calming breath.

“And now you want me to hand over the man who returned that child to me, safely wrapped in the colors of slain enemies? For what? The greater good?” She asked, voice unnervingly calm and almost monotone.

“I can understand that this request might upset you, that you hold a certain amount of gratitude towards him, but several of us feel this option warrants serious consideration. He is an outsider, and this would avoid a war.” Thomas argued, receiving a few nods in agreement around the table.

“We are already at war, Thomas. How many heirs need to be lost before you realize that? When the reds take an heir, they don’t give them back. This has been the case for the past three hundred years.” Katya’s expression didn’t change, but she put a reassuring hand on Natashas under the table.

Thomas leaned back and sighed dramatically in defeat before asking,

“So, what is your plan, then?”

Several assistants handed out a list to those around the table.

Large caliber revolver and ammunition

Etching and Engraving tools

Cast Iron anvil 400+ pounds.

10 planks of hardwood

4 2x2 feet slabs of limestone/granite/soapstone

4 4x4 feet slabs of limestone/granite/soapstone

Any amount of raw silver.

Secluded Workshop or Warehouse (Condition and location unimportant.)

“I plan to give him everything he’s asked for, not just out of gratitude, but because it is a pittance compared to having my granddaughter back safe and sound.”

The list continued for another page. But someone else at the table interrupted them.

“He can’t be serious with some of these!” the somehow balding vampire exclaimed.

“I do believe he is, Lewis.” Katya said, smiling at the head accountant of the clan.

“Some of the things he’s requesting are not just illegal but military grade!” Lewis said aghast

“And I believe our new friend intends to go to war,” Katya said, emphasizing the last part while locking eyes with Thomas.

“As impressive as his deeds were the night he saved the heir, that was against only three of the red court and they were most likely caught by surprise.” Thomas argued

“It is likely the only thing he’ll accomplish is getting himself killed.” He continued mockingly.

Natasha frowned and moved to disagree, but Katya squeezed her hand, telling her to stay quiet.

“Dr. Mitchell theorized based on his injuries and recovery, that he was already heavily injured and not able to fight at full strength the night in question. Something that’s been all but confirmed by the man himself.” Katya explained.

“I mean, we can retrieve the armaments and metals from the vault and armory. Everything else is relatively inexpensive and honestly won’t even show up as anything more than normal expenses.” Lewis said to himself, oblivious to the attention of the table.

***

With the meeting over, Natasha and Katya were walking down the long hallway toward an elevator.

“God, I hate those smarmy disloyal branch-born ass-hats. Why do we even need to run things by them?!” Natasha Raved, before looking back at Sophia following behind them.

“No offense,” she added, a little chagrined at her own outburst.

“No offense taken. I can’t help but agree.” Sophia replied.

Katya sighed as she turned around to look at them like a pair of misbehaving children.

“Natasha, they made up a fifth of the voting power in that room and contribute a third of our clan’s total wealth. The least we can do is include them in decisions, even if they are a bunch of arrogant Ass-hats.” she said, ending with a smile as she repeated Natasha’s earlier insult.

“And Sophia, you are family in everything but blood. They are business partners in nothing but name. Never think you are in the same category as them. You are precious to more than just Natasha.” Katya said as a mother would.

Katya turned and continued walking, leaving Sophia standing in thought. Until an impish vampire walked up and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“See? Family in everything but blood. Only took her thirty years.” Natasha said with a warm smile.

***

I was standing at the smithy, putting the finishing touches on my latest project.

It had been a pleasant couple of months. Smithing had cleared my head from all that had happened.

“You’re not listening to me, Jar’al! The boy can’t hold a fucking sword straight. He can’t cast a spell of any kind. I mean shit, the magic just falls through him like he isn’t even there. But give him a hammer and let him play with those weird inscriptions he calls Runes, and he becomes a savant. I have never in my life met someone who takes to metalwork as naturally as he does!” Teacher yelled, clearly angry.

“It’s not up to me, Harg, you know that. The lord commander returned to Karthas and left a pompous little prick of a lordling in charge. And he’s made it clear, any conscripts not taking part in battle are to be executed for cowardice.” Jar’al said, trying to reason with Teacher.

I got the gist, if I didn’t go back to a combat unit, they would make an example of me and execute me.

“You wanna send him into that meat grinder? I’ve seen those battles, Jar’al, and the aftermath.” Teacher said in a dangerous voice.

“He won’t be going there, at least not anytime soon.” Jar’al sighed. “I’ve called in some favors. He’ll be transferred to The Huntsmen.”

“THE BLOODY HUNTSMEN!? They’ll eat the kid alive! Bunch of degenerates and monsters!”

I slowly brushed my hand across the dark metal and watched as the runes slowly came to life at my touch.

***

The heat died down as the last rune set in place; the water sizzling around my right arm with a final, defiant hiss.

I rose out of the water and dried myself off before going into the bedroom to inspect my work in the mirror.

Running a small amount of power through each rune, I carefully checked for any imperfections.

“You know Aleks, some might have complained about a man posing half naked in front of a mirror, not me, though. I actually find it quite entertaining.” Natasha said, amused while drinking a flute of champagne and lounging on top of my bed, eyeing me like a cat.

We had had spent a lot of time together the last couple of days, mostly just engaging in flirtatious banter, but still it had been nice, fun even. But I was also getting the feeling there was something important she wasn’t telling me.

“I thought vampires had strict dietary restrictions?” I said, raising a brow towards the glass in her hand.

“Champagne doesn’t count.” She stated happily as she bottomed her drink and grabbed another.

After the first day, she’d taken to spending her time in my suite casually raiding the carts of food and drinks that arrived every 8 hours.

“So, I take it you’ve finished your weird body art?” she quipped.

“Yeah, for now at least.” I said, getting dressed and starting on my last gluttonous meal.

“Well, the clan has finished collecting the items on your list. Though some things had to be substituted.” She said between bites of the fruit salad.

Apparently, vampires needed to supplement their diet. Sanguinares sometimes needed additional water and Sentire needed the occasional meal, though without garlic and a few other things.

“All of them?” I asked, a little surprised.

“Aleks, we’re not renting this building. We own it. And not just for show, our kind’s natural abilities lend themselves very well to the business world. We always have an edge in negotiations because we can feel our opposition’s desires and powerful emotions.” She said, lecturing slightly.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” I said, thinking back to the times they seemed to freeze in place when I got angry.

“Well, you’re a bit of an extreme case. Usually, Sentires would need to be over a hundred years old to sense emotions as vividly as yours, much less make sense of it and read people. But with you, even the young ones sense it.” She said, observing my reaction.

When I just kept eating, she chose to continue.

“That is, of course, just one of our many gifts. Beauty and eternal youth are also very useful in business.” She said, sounding a little too full of herself.

“Compulsion can’t hurt either.” I said casually, not taking my eyes off my plate.

She looked a little hurt for a moment.

“Yeah, well, we try to keep our world hidden. It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep it that way, everyone cleaning up any mess they run across to the best of their ability. I wouldn’t have done anything bad if it had worked. Might have sent you on your way with a pleasant dream and a duffel bag full of cash, as thanks.” She said with a sad smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“What about you?” she asked cautiously.

“What about me?” I replied, curious.

“Well, we’ve been quite open with you about ourselves, hoping to foster a closer relationship. Or at least that’s the reason the Matriarch gave me, yet we know almost nothing about you?” she said before continuing.

“Rumors have already spread, and people are curious. We’re a very gossipy sort. The favorite of the office pool is that you’re some kind of special witch.” She said skeptically, clearly not sharing that theory.

“What’s your money on?” I asked, intrigued.

She looked at me cautiously for a moment before continuing.

“You’re a soldier. And you’ve seen a lot of combat.” She said gently, like she wasn’t supposed to know.

I stopped eating as she continued.

“It’s in the way you move and operate, though it’s not modern military, not structured enough, but you’ve seen war and plenty of it...” she said hesitantly.

We sat in silence for a while before I finally went, “Not bad, Ms. Romanov.” With a sad smile.

“You know, when I left, I was barely a man, just some naïve kid trying to make his way through the world.” I sighed, letting out a heavy breath I didn’t even know I had been holding.

“But now I barely recognize myself or the world I’ve returned to. I’ve been looking in that mirror for three days searching for any trace of that kid, and I have found none.”

“I went to war once as well, more than a century ago.” She said, looking solemn.

“Katya had told me not to go back then, but I was young and stupid and didn’t listen. I died in a forest so far from home, and was reborn as something different, alone.” Her look hardened, no longer looking like a girl in her twenties, but something sharp I could easily recognize.

“When I returned home after the war, I didn’t recognize the country I’d left either. Katya didn’t even scold me for my recklessness and stupidity. She saw the look in my eyes, the same look I see in yours.” She said willfully, holding my gaze.

“She sent me to The Custodes. The ones who uphold our laws and protect us. And there I found what I needed, who I needed.” She sighed, stood up and walked towards the door, halting at the threshold and looking back.

“I hope you find what you need one day. Maybe we’ll get to talk about this again after that.” she said earnestly as she closed the door.

***

A couple of hours later, I was in a car being driven to the outskirts of an industrial district. We’d driven for over an hour, but it felt as though we had barely moved 2 miles away from the Eve Tower.

As I stepped out of the expensive feeling town car, I found what I could best describe as a rundown industrial warehouse surrounded by rusting metal and machinery, along with an emerald-eyed blonde quickly approaching from the warehouse.

“Hello Mr. Titanos, my name is Sophia Jensen. We’ve met before, if you recall.” She was the one who came by to collect the list for Katya. I believe she was her assistant.

Looking around, I said. “I do.”

“Great! Let’s head inside.” She said, smoothly flipping the hardhat in her hand and putting it on. Sounding every bit the bouncy blonde, she appeared.

As she lead me into the large building, she began explaining like an experienced realtor.

“It used to be an old steel mill, but it fell on hard times. The previous owner tried to inject some cash into the business, but sadly bankrupted himself before he could see a return on his investments. Which is where we came in. Property prices will rise sharply in this area soon because of city expansion. This entire district was originally on the outskirts of the city. But now it has simply been swallowed up. Eve Inc. has actually bought or invested in several properties in this area.” She explained with practiced ease, as if it was a presentation to a room of stockholders.

“Because of the previous owners’ investments, the whole interior is up to code, including a recently renovated office space upstairs.” She pointed to a large box like room sitting on catwalks just beneath the roof overlooking the entire warehouse.

She scaled the stairs elegantly and unlocked the door leading into an office with a small kitchen.

“The office space has been fitted with all the necessary amenities, through the door to your left is a changing room with showers, and in here-” she motioned to a different door, and as I walked past her through the door, she brushed up against me, quite intentionally.

“This room and the one next to it are insulated, and we’ve put in a king-size bed and a double in the spare room.” She said, sitting down on the bed and taking off her hardhat, causing her blond to hair cascade down her shoulders. Her voice changed to a familiar smooth and seductive chime that rang in my head.

“We assure you of the quality of the bed, but if you felt the need to Test it, I’d be more than willing to stay around and lend a hand or maybe more.” She said, leaning back on her arms, stretching her business skirt, tightening the material in interesting ways around her slender form.

“The items from the list?” I asked, trying to appear unaffected.

“We have gathered them on pallets on the work floor.” She answered, while tilting her head and frowning slightly, like something I had said hadn’t quite made sense to her.

“You’re beautiful, but I don’t like it when people try to mess with my head. No matter the situation.” I thought quietly, deliberate to keep my thoughts to the back of my mind.

She stood up and straightened her skirt, all flirtation gone, leaving behind a hint of curiosity.

“The Matriarch would also like me to inform you that this building will be demolished in a month, In the meantime there will be no inspections or inquiries on the property, and nothing will be found during or after demolition, so it’s okay if you leave a mess.” she said smiling at the hidden meaning of the message.

“Expecting quite the mess, huh?” I thought, smiling.

As we got back to the cars, she pulled out a small metal briefcase and placed it on the hood of her car, taking her time unlocking it while bent over.

“Greed, Wrath and Lust, was it? Guess she’s hungry.” I joked to myself.

She finally got the case open and stepped to the side to let me have a look. Inside were three stacks of cash next to a foam insert holding three cards.

“A small gift the Matriarch thought might come in handy. First is a concealed carry permit in your name, second is a driver’s license, and third, a credit card linked to an account also in your name.”

she closed the case and handed it to me before turning to her car without a goodbye.

“Miss Sophia.” I called out before she got into her expensive looking company car.

She turned to me and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Now that you mentioned it, I’m actually starting to worry about that bed. Maybe I could have your card in case any issues arise at a later date?” I said, trying to act charming.

She flashed me an evil grin, like a cat who’d caught a mouse by the tail.

“Oh, Mr. Titanos, I’m afraid you had your chance, and I don’t believe you can afford my hourly rates. In fact, I know you can’t. After all, I’m the one who setup your bank account.” She said with a confident smirk and a wink before getting into her car.

“It was worth a try.” I said, chuckling to myself as she drove away.

My gaze hardened as I turned towards the warehouse.

“Well boys, let’s get to work.” the shadows all around me shifted and waved.