Kierra

Bastion's eyes are glued to the TV, so absorbed into the movie that he sees nothing else. Maii too, laying next to the boy in his animal form, drinks in everything that's happening on screen. Kani gives me a thumbs up while Rika holds Diego in her lap.

Xavier is in much the same position, just with a fat cat instead. He doesn't seem to mind, sitting there petting Tigger while watching me and the Vampire. They get along, but they aren't buddies by any means.

"Ready?"

His voice is soft, barely heard over the shouting on the television. I nod while looking him over. Can't see much with him wearing a trench coat, but his pants are black, as are his boots.

He heads back out while I grab my leather coat. Xavier lifts the cat up and off to the side so he can stand. The animal doesn't look thrilled, but finally comes over and sniffs at me.

I scowl at him. My place being taken by a freakishly tall male who turns into a dog. Fickle ass cat. Crouching down, I give him a few pets then stand and grab my sunglasses.

Testing them, I put them on and look around. Dark as hell, but can still see everything, it's just shaded.

"Wish you'd let me go with you."

Taking them off, I look at the tall man standing next to me. It's pretty clear he isn't happy, but we've been over this. Shaking my head, I flick my eyes over the others.

"I need you here. Especially if what happened earlier has Lucia storming over. Doubt she's here, but just in case, I want you here. Same if anything else comes up."

Reflective amber eyes look down at me, expression unreadable. Closing my mouth, I whisper into his head.

"Please, Xavier. You're the only other adult around right now that I'd trust the kids with."

He nods, so I don't stand there and push. Turning with sunglasses in hand, I head out.

"I'm leaving the keys here, I won't need them and they'll be in the way. Did you want anything while I'm out?"

A brow lifts, but he shakes his head, grabbing the door as I go through it. Walking towards Benjamin's vehicle, I feel his eyes on my back the whole way. Males are so awkward and I have no idea what to do with them. Let alone so many.

Getting into the already running car, Benji heads out before my belt is even on.

"In a hurry?"

"Don't feel like being challenged."

Raising a brow, I fiddle with the glasses in my lap. Glancing at him before looking back out at the street, I finally just turn in the seat and watch him.

"Shade wasn't there, he's at work."

Blue-green eyes flick over to me then back to the road. His crew cut looks dark, long goatee even darker with the small beads in it. Always wondered if he had a girlfriend who did that for him, imagining him do it just doesn't seem plausible.

"Wasn't talking about him."

Now I'm confused, and my face clearly shows as much.

"Oh? Who then?"

One hand on the wheel, the other is on the gear shift between the seats. Long fingers tap at it randomly, drawing my attention. On main roads now, streetlights flash over him and illuminate his frame.

Benji is tall. Not as tall as Xavier, but still over six-foot. Used to seeing him in dressier clothes, so seeing him in leather is bound to be interesting.

"You going to answer me?"

Don't think anyone can do the silent treatment better than Vamps can. The muscle in his jaw clenches before he answers.

"Your guard dog."

Still confused for a moment before it clicks, then it just makes me laugh.

"You mean Xavier? He's not my guard dog."

"He sure acts like it."

I shrug to that, unable to deny it. Still makes me uncomfortable though.

"How many males do you have staying with you now?"

Squinting at the Vampire, I scowl.

"Why does that matter? Nothing's going on. There could be fifty males there, doesn't mean anything would be happening. Aside from me wondering why the hell so many people are in my home."

Leaving the glasses in my lap, I cross my arms. Well, sort of, seat belt being in the way an all. Having to act human so much, it can be unsettling to see him be the undead that he is, the stillness he can fall into and the unreadable face. Even my empathy isn't getting anything from him right now, which means he's closed himself off.

"Benjamin? What's wrong?"

Marble-like eyes once more look over at me, watching me as he continues driving.

"Umm. Road, watch the road. Immortal or not, I don't want to be in a car crash."

Hood ornament is not on my list of things to be, that's for sure. He looks at me for a minute longer before looking back, a smirk on his face. His hand rubs at the gear shift before shifting it, don't think he realizes he did it, the movement looks like he does it a lot.

"The money coming in and out of this club seems to be one of the higher payouts. Just what are you planning on doing when we get there? Call out those who you think guilty? You can't attack anyone there, you know that, right?"

I look at him as if he were an idiot. Clearly he thinks me one or something.

"I am well aware of that, thank you. I don't plan on attacking anyone. The whole point of going is to check the place out, see what all is going on if possible. Other than that I don't really have a plan, usually whatever happens is spur of the moment."

Looking out at the traffic around us, I drop my arms into my lap, playing with the glasses again. Well, what traffic there is. Storm is setting in, snow starting to fall in thick fluffy flakes. It’s dark out yet not thanks to reflective precipitation.

"I've stopped bleeding money from their accounts. They have someone going through them and trying to follow my trail. Having the years I do, they won't find anything, and I've made it so they can't see where all their money went either."

My heart thumps at the thought of putting him in danger, but his explanation does calm it a bit.

"I've put a tap on them, so I'm alerted to anything changing. Money taken from the church and this club have been spread out and can't be traced. It does coincide with that man looking for Bastion though, so you'll be suspect. They don't know exactly who you are, but they're still looking."

I nod. They aren't looking too hard for me since they haven't found me yet. Or they have and are just waiting to make their move. Thinking that way will just have me be super paranoid though.

"Have you heard of any of the supernaturals looking for me? Frank had gone to Alarico's bar, so he has to have someone furry feeding him bits and pieces. He can't have known those within the bar were Weres unless told by someone, right?"

I'm not too worried about them. Finding out from Zypher that Alphas are at least a couple hundred years old, Rico will know how to keep him and his safe. I hope.

"There's chatter, but nothing concrete that I've heard. By now everyone knows there's a Silver Wolf, so many have drawn back on their search. Others think it's just a prank by one of the wolf Alphas trying to call in more power. I've noticed an increase of Vampires and dogs both in the city."

He glances over at me, face still unreadable in the flashing lights.

"You mean new ones? Do you know all of the supernaturals in this area?"

My voice holds my disbelief, and his head shake has me letting out a held breath.

"No, I don't, it's a feeling. More and more are seen on the streets than before."

Shrugging, I watch an older woman practically sitting on her steering wheel, clutching it as she accelerates forward. Turning back into the seat to sit in it properly, I make sure my belt is done up.

"Couldn't it just seem that way since the weather is changing? Fewer humans outside so it seems like more beasties?"

Even I can hear the hopeful note in my voice, so I resort to biting at my lip. So much for the gloss. Benji shakes his head, rubbing the gearshift again.

"Many of the new animals are loners and rogues, being drawn here by you."