Words could not describe how good and right Rhia felt waking up in Nolan's bed. She was using his bicep and shoulder as a pillow, and the soft sheet was tangled around their hips. Her back was pressed into his side, feeling his deep, even breathing. Just under her fingertips she could feel his strong pulse at the base of his wrist about once per minute. She stared at the spot. He had been a dragonkin once. A wyvern. He had been meant for so much more than playing politics for the infamous vampire king. He deserved so much more.

Rhia tried as quietly as she could to slip out of the bed without waking Nolan, but his arm flexed and dragged her back against his chest, nuzzling his face into her neck. "Where do you think you're going?" he murmured, kissing her neck tenderly.

"I have to start heading home." She groaned. His mouth felt amazing against her skin. She was still plagued by the intense desire for him to bite her, to feed from her, to feel that incredible pleasure she knew he could give her. She kept shoving it further and further to the back of her head. Nolan was having a hard enough time controlling his blood lust without her confessing her literal dreams to him. "My car is still at the station, so I have to get all the way across town before going home."

"I'll drive you."

His hand trailed down her stomach to between her legs. A moan made it past her lips, and she arched into him. Nolan froze, his whole body going stiff. She looked around at him and shivers rushed through her. His eyes were blazing red, staring at her throat. His mouth was slightly open, both sets of fangs extended. "Nolan," her voice trembled, from excitement or fear, she wasn't sure. "Hey, look at me."

Slowly his eyes moved up to stare into hers. Those were not the eyes of her lover. They were the eyes of a predator. And she was his prey. He stared at her for several minutes before blinking rapidly and releasing her. He rolled away out of the bed and walked to the liquor cabinet. "You should wait downstairs." He said hoarsely.

"Are you alright?" she sat up to stare at his back.

He shook his head. "I need to feed. I don't want you to watch. Please... just go downstairs."

She stepped out of the bed and got dressed without another word. She didn't want to watch him feed either. It wasn't a social thing like with humans or some of the other races. Vampires fed in private.

Rhia loaded up the coffee maker and leaned against the counter to look through the new phone. She hadn't even turned it on the night before, being so tired she'd left her purse at the bottom of the stairs before going for her bath. She tapped through the initial setup, managed to lock herself out of it somehow, and gave up and shoving it back into her pocket. She would have to get Maddox to help her again. She made a mental note to watch him a little closer, so she didn't end up with another bad ring tone.

The floor creaked behind her, and she pulled a second cup down from the cupboard. "Feeling better?"

She turned, expecting to see Nolan's smiling face. That was not who stood in front of her. The coffee pot slipped from her hands and exploded in a shower of glass and hot coffee. She was frozen in place from the look of the stranger barely a foot away from her. He wasn't that much taller than she was, maybe five-nine or ten. It wasn't his height she noticed first. It was his eyes. They were blood red with a cruel, empty depth to them. His skin and shoulder-length hair were both paper white. Faded black lines around his eyes made them looked like cracked porcelain. His eyes flicked down to her neck and his mouth quirked open, revealing elongated fangs.

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck...

The male moved towards her slowly, bracing his hands on the counter behind her and leaning in uncomfortably close towards her throat. Rhia reacted before her mind could catch up with what the hell was happening. Her hand curled into a fist and swung up towards the man and hit him square in the jaw. A sickening cracking sound filled the kitchen and the male stumbled back a step.

Nolan appeared behind him, his own eyes blazing red, grabbed the stranger's throat and slammed him against the island countertop. "Rhia," he said slowly, glaring into the eyes of the male. "My keys are on the table by the door. Take my car and go. I'll call you later."

Rhia edged around them, staying as far away from the males as she could. The male let out a harsh laugh, struggling against Nolan's hold on him. "Not going to introduce us, old friend?" he shouted. "Come on, I bet she's a real treat."

Nolan didn't let go until the sounds of his car faded away. "What the fuck are you doing?" He snarled.

Constantine straightened up, still chuckling, and straightened his shirt. "Attacking your king?" He answered, avoiding the question. "I could have your head for that."

"You broke into my house! You were about to feed on my girlfriend! You're lucky I didn't rip your fucking head off!"

"Oh, so she wasn't just a midnight snack? My bad."

Nolan gaped at him as Constantine brushed past him and made himself comfortable in a large reading chair. He crossed one leg over the other and looked at Nolan as if waiting for him to take a seat as well. Nolan, however, did not move. He'd been in the middle of feeding, so his emotions were already heightened and on edge, made even worse by the image of Constantine cornering Rhia. There was a small part of his mind trying to point out how impressed he should be for her flat out punching the single oldest vampire in existence in the face, but that was muted by his blinding rage. The idea of a vampire, even the king, attempting to feed on her, another man so close to his girlfriend, and that someone dared to break into his house, was enough to send him into a murderous rage. The worst part it all was the lingering scent of Rhia's fear. It ate at the fringes of his rationality.

Nolan forced himself to take a deep breath through his mouth, the acrid taste of his own venom grounding him along with his grip of the cracked marble countertop. "What are you doing here, Constantine?" he demanded slowly.

"I was in town. I haven't seen you in a while. I didn't think you would mind if I stopped by to say hi."

His tone was casual, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be sitting in Nolan's living room unannounced. Nolan closed his eyes and counted to five. "Why are you America?" he specified. "Shouldn't you be in France dealing with that uprising?"

Constantine smiled a wicked smile. "Luna asked me to meet her here."

He forced himself to count to ten this time. Of course, Luna was here and of course, he followed her here. What did he do to deserve this? What mortal sin did he commit to have to deal with both Luna and Constantine in his city? Was it sad or just pathetic that the least shocking fact so far today was that his king dropped the very real issue of a vampiric rebellion in the E.U. to follow his on-again-off-again dragon lover across the world into the territory of her ex-fucking-mate so she could flaunt her continued transgressions in his face?

Okay... maybe he needed another ten seconds.

"Email," he said slowly, forcing himself to breathe deep and calm. "Phone call, text message, hell, I think I have a telegram machine somewhere in storage. You could have used any one of them to just give me the heads up that you were coming."

"Why? I don't have to tell anyone where I'm going?"

"We have talked about this, Constantine. It is a common courtesy. Just... bear with me for a second and imagine this: you called ahead to let me know you would be at my house at," he glanced at his watch. "Six in the fucking morning. I could have prepared a welcome worthy of a king. I could have properly introduced you to the woman I'm seeing, or not had her here at all because I only told her a few days ago that you don't come to the States, and it's still too early in our relationship for her to meet you! Instead, I now have to assure her that she's safe in my own house because you fucking attacked her!"

Constantine shrugged and touched his jaw. "In all fairness, she has one hell of a right hook. I am almost ashamed to say I wasn't expecting that. You always liked strong women."

"Do not do it again." he felt like he was scolding one of his children or grandchildren.

"Have you fed from her?" he ignored the comment. "She smells incredible."

"No."

Constantine threw up his hands in annoyance and stood up again. "Nolan, Nolan, Nolan," he shook his head and closed the space between them lazily. He put his hands on his shoulders and squeezed, trying to ease the tension in the taller man. "My dearest, oldest friend, what is the point of giving you an exception from our laws if you're never going to take advantage of it?"

Nolan grabbed Constantine's wrists and removed his hands. "I did not ask for an exception." He bit out coldly. "I do not want an exception. Keep your hands off my girlfriend and your fangs out of her veins."

"Fine." Constantine's voice was icy, and he ripped his hands out of Nolan's grip. "I've never seen you so defensive of a woman before. How long have you been with this human?"

"My previous partners have all been Ancients, they could take care of themselves when you were in one of your moods."

"Ah, yes. I remember Iset was particularly violent."

"What do you expect from a woman known as the incarnation of Sekhmet?"

"Exactly what I got. Of all your wives, Iset was my favourite."

"I never had to worry about her."

"No. But this, what did you call her, Rhia? You need to worry about her?"

"Clearly I need to worry more about the people around her."

Constantine laughed and tapped his jaw again. "I look forward to getting to know her."

And just like that his temper flared and Nolan was back on high alert. "How long do you plan on staying in L.A.?" he asked carefully.

"As long as Luna is here. As long as it takes to convince you to take your place at my side once again."

"Come again?"

"You've been away too long. I had to find three others to replace what you did, and they still cannot add up. I need my general back. I need my friend back. Bring the girl to Europe. Show her a good time. Show her the life she can have as one of us."

"I'm not turning her."

"Yes, I know you have your thing against turning people. I'll turn her for you. It's the least I can do for a friend."

"Rhia is not being turned into a vampire."

Constantine frowned. "I'm confused. Do you not wish to spend a lifetime with this woman?"

"Of course, I do." he realized he was being entirely truthful. "I would spend a hundred lifetimes with her if I could. But she's mortal. She will live her life to its natural end."

"You are being selfish. You are dooming the girl to grow old and stagnant while you remain as you are for eternity. If you were to turn her, at least she will stay as lovely as she is now for the rest of her life."

"No."

Constantine narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure? Our line of work is dangerous, Nolan. Surely you don't want to be worrying about her every time you leave her."

Nolan took a deep breath. "I am not ready to come back yet."

The air around them grew thick with magic stemming from Constantine's anger and the lights flickered. It was Nolan's turn to narrow his eyes. If he had been feeding from Luna again, his magic would shed some dragon-like abilities. It made him stronger, but far more volatile. It did not sate his hunger but amplified it. He was dangerous in this state. "Nolan," he said coolly. "I am been patient enough during this crisis of conscience. I have given you some time off to find renewed purpose. You have done fine work here. But I need you at my side."

"It isn't a crisis of conscience." Nolan had to force himself to speak evenly. "I got tired of politics. I got tired of standing aside while people suffer and die. For fucks sake, Constantine, my wife died!"

"People are suffering and dying now." Constantine barked and a light above the stove exploded. "That 'uprising' you mentioned has turned into a rebellion against me. Raphaël is leaving a trail of bodies, human and Ancient. He is turning tourists and throwing them, starving, onto the front lines. We are barely keeping it quiet from the Counsel and the human governments."

"I told you to put Raphaël down two centuries ago. I told you he was going to be trouble. You made your bed, now fucking lie in it."

The two vampires glared at each other. "We have discussed the life you want for the girl." Constantine's words were deceptively light. "But what does she want? Many humans have a desire to live an Ancient's lifespan. Perhaps she wants to be what we are."

"She doesn't." even as he said it, Nolan felt that seed of doubt.

Constantine sensed and latched onto that doubt and smirked. "You are so sure of that. How do you know? How could you know? You haven't fed from her. You haven't shown her what she's missing." He rested a hand on Nolan's shoulder again. "Don't worry, old friend. I'll show her for you. When I'm done with her, she won't be able to imagine a life without our fangs in her neck. And if you won't take her after," he shrugged. "I guess I could add her to the collection."

Nolan moved before he could register that Constantine was baiting him. Mimicking Rhia's actions, he swung his fist at Constantine, only this time there was enough force to crush steel. The king reacted just as fast, grabbing Nolan's wrist before it could make contact and using his momentum to flip him over his shoulder and crash into the hardwood floor. He then pressed the heel of his boot into Nolan's throat, pinning him down with strength he had no right in ever having.

"You are treading in dangerous waters, Nolan." Constantine hissed, filled with venomous warning. "You are not wholly above the others. I am still your king. You are one of my creations. You will follow my laws, and you will show me respect. Because we are friends, I will be generous. You have one month. Four weeks to come back to me, but you will come back to me. As for the girl," he shrugged. "Keep her, turn her, leave her, I don't care. But if you don't make a decision in four weeks, I will. And I will not be nearly as gentle as you."

He lifted his foot off Nolan's throat and stepped over him, heading to the door. Nolan sat up, rubbing his throat and feeling a violent hatred he hadn't felt in a very long time. He stood up as the door opened. "Constantine." He called. He could feel his own magic reacting to his fury, burning hotter than dragon fire. The vampire king paused and glanced almost carelessly over his shoulder. "If you or one of your parasites even touch her, you will have a lot more to deal with than Raphaël's squabbling rebellion."

~