Pritcher P.O.V

A few months had passed since Ashe was settled with the Leugens. The house had been a white and yellow two-story, the wood inside a light tan and the walls painted airy colors. It was a lovely house, though a little bare and mature. I supposed one couldn't safely keep too many things in a house with three teenagers banging around.

I looked over the second-hand papers given to me by Cian. He had been paying people to keep an eye on the house and the people within twenty-four hours a day for the first month until Mrs. Leugen came out and gave them a piece of her mind, since they were starting to scare the children; especially since they had actually had the audacity to go up to the house... What kind of people had Cian hired? Thinking it was fine and dandy to check through the windows and take pictures.

So, after the first month, ground rules were placed and now, after the third month had passed, they only checked in at a distance and sent short updates- the new ones, that is. I still thought it was a little much to continue this, and especially even check phone records, receipts and so on, but that's Cian for you.

I flipped through the papers, not thinking much of it all at first. It was mostly mentions of movement in the house, light and curtains being drawn, etc. A few candid photos taken with a long-range camera, receipts and phone records. My brows wrinkled in confusion, but at first I couldn't figure out what it was that had me confused. I ran a finger down the different items, then decided to get the older ones from my files. Side by side, there still wasn't much of a difference, so I pulled out some highlighters. The phone records were almost exactly the same with the same numbers, but the times were either very short or very long and once a week was a new number on the same day at a similar time, always about twenty minutes long. I noted this down, even though it was fairly easy to see from my highlights.

I ran my finger down the receipts and banking statements, before it hit me like a hammer to cut crystal. I stood, walking quickly back and forth, muttering whether I should call Cian before reprimanding myself. Eventually, I sat down and called the people Cian was paying to do this work, as he wanted me to also be able to ask of them things I thought prudent to know. At the time, of course, I thought it was ridiculous. Obviously, seeing as I had a low outlook on Cian's near-obsession, I never felt the need to question or implore these men.

The phone rang three times before a gruff yet polite voice answered, " Etekstyvor (eh-tek-stiv-or, like a detective) Quill, speaking."

"Yes, hello, I am Liekar Pritcher. I was told by the Underlord Cian that I may contact you if I so please?"

"Oh, yes, what can I do for you, Liekar?" The man's voice sounded naturally rough, as though from years of yelling orders or general overuse.

"Can you tell me, have you seen the family come or go from the house at all since you've been checking on them?"

"Err, not much, no. I have seen the wife collect the mail and such," Etekstyvor Quill replied. "And when we check through our equipment, we do catch some talking and music, though it is not very clear with the thick insulation. We were considering putting in some devices, but apparently the last people had been stupid, so we haven't found a safe non-intrusive way to do so... If you would like us to, of course."

I frowned at this double entendre before shaking my head. Not important, "Could you do me a favor? Can you go down there now and just knock on the door?"

"Uh, we were planning to do a drive-by this week anyway, but we were told not to engage," Etekstyvor Quill's gruff voice sounded unsure, especially since I wasn't the person lining his pockets.

"You will be paid an additional ten percent bonus, and I will take all responsibility for this demand, especially seeing as you have been recording our conversation from the start," I ran my thumb over the edge of my index finger's rough nail edge, listening to the quiet on the other end.

"As you wish, we'll head there now, Liekar," It seemed as if he was about to hang up.

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"I want you to call me after you return to your car and leave the block. Stop down far enough from them. I may need you to return," As I scraped my thumb against my index finger, the rough nail sliver separated itself from the rest, hanging until we hung up and I was able to pull it off with my other hang. A drop of blood bubbled from where the skin tore at the edge.

Not long after, my thoughts were broken from the phone ringing, "Liekar Pritcher, speaking."

"Liekar, we're now headed down the block. Nothing was really out of the ordinary, though the woman didn't look well. Apparently the whole family got sick."

"What? Sick?" I tilted my head, wondering if they had gotten some bad blood or something, but then remembered what I had noticed on the paperwork. "Etekstyvor, I notice here that there have been no blood purchases or deliveries for a while now-"

"Blood? Why would they need blood?" Etekstyvor Quill's rough voice was piqued with confusion.

"What do you mean, 'why would they need blood'?! They're all Stammwyrd Wanpyrkos!"

"The fuck?! They're humans..." There was silence over the phone for a moment. "Shit. Shit!"

"Go back there right now! Break the door down if you must!" I demanded, slamming my fist on the desk. "I'll contact Cian and we'll meet you there."

I hung up the phone, rubbed my face and hair harshly a few times, then dialed Cian's cell.

Jay P.O.V

I stared at David, whose been ignoring and blowing me off since we met with those hooded drug mafia guys, now known as 'Seneschal', which we finally noticed at the very bottom of the contract. Also present was a picture of a key and a 'bec de corbin' which took me forever to find online. I had a feeling we would be seeing a lot more of the insignia, in some form or other, in the future. My eyes followed David through his birthday crowd as I leaned against the wall. The lights were just being turned on as afternoon faded to evening, and the party was still in its outdoor beginning stages. At full dark, I wouldn't have been surprised if people started hooking up inside as well as out in the woods. For now though, the barbecue was still thriving in celebration. He had finally graduated, and it was now his nineteenth birthday, while I still had a year to go at seventeen; eighteen in August.

We had six more years until David became Alpha and the contract came into effect. That should be enough time to figure our way out of this, right? I sighed as the weight of mystery weighed on my mind. We had no idea how big they were, how connected, or anything. And, on reflection, they must have had this in the workings for a long while, making me wonder who they were, why, what were their goals, and just what all we didn't know. I felt like I was missing something; like I had one small central piece while the rest of the puzzle was missing. I hate puzzles, but it's one of the few things my sister loves to do, so I swallow the burning bullet and put the pieces together with her. Thinking on that, I realized that I should go visit her again soon.

All this stress and mess had cut into the time I had usually visited her. Not like our parents have a whole lot of time, or even made much of an effort to visit her. I wanted to think it was hard on them, the rare Werlykos genetic disease that she had to hard for them to handle... But, no. They were only disappointed that she was sick, and had much better, more important things to do rather than even calling her up to say high.

Of course, I text and call her often, but it's not the same as seeing the person in the flesh. That word rings through me, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. The thought of your own flesh turning against you, causing you to mutate or shift against your will. Painfully. While rare with a low chance of recovery, there had been instances where the person survived to outgrow it. I just hoped she would too, but that's still years away from happening. I pushed off from the wall and walked inside, deciding to just go to bed and visit her tomorrow morning.

"Screw the party," I muttered as I walked through the halls to the stairs. "Showing my face was good enough."