While I am laying there snuggled against my husband, I hear Heather’s crew pull up outside as well Karen’s Trans Am which has a unique sound to it.

“Karen’s here. As I look towards Oilibhear. “Don’t you and her have a fuck buddy thing going on between you two?” as I look at him with a questionable look.

“Yes, we do. She’s into living life to the fullest and I have no problem giving her what she wants. It benefits me and it benefits her. I have some feeling for her, but she has none for me, other than the fact she cares very much about my welfare.”

“That’s not the way she tells it. She says that she cares for you a lot, but you won’t let anyone get close, because of stuff that happens in the past.” I keep looking at Oilibhear.

He returns my stare trying to get me to summit to his dominant nature. In the wild when another wolf stares at one of his own it’s a power thing. Either the wolf doing the staring is challenging you for your territory or trying to get you to summit to his domination. In this case, Oilibhear is challenging me for domination and I’ll be dammed if I am going to summit to someone other than my husband in my home.

A slow smile began to appear on Oilibhear’s face as he turns away from my eyes. “I see that you can’t be intimidated by me now.”

“Not in my home I won’t be. Maybe outside or somewhere else, but here is my territory. I won’t let anyone other than my husband bully me here.”

“That may get you in trouble with your leader and his mate when they come here to visit you, Vicky.”

“They don’t have to worry about her when they come here Oilibhear, but me. As an elder on the council, there are certain rights and responsibilities they have to observe while they are visiting me and one of them is no challenges of any kind is permitted in the home or grounds of an elder.

The second is that the mate of an elder has the same authority and respect as the elder himself does unless they are overstepping their bounds. Because Vicky is the third-highest rank in her pack, it is sometimes hard for Stanley and Melinda to show her respect higher than what is due to them, when they visit here. Cause when they are here, she is the ranking Alpha and they are the lower class.”

“That may be true Tom. But you know as well as I do that Stanley doesn’t approve of her marriage to you.” Oilibhear looks back at me.

“So, they can take a number then. I was married to Tom before I became a werewolf. Why should the fact I got bitten by one of their pack members nullify my marriage to Tom? It was one of their own that created this whole mess. I never asked for it. I thought I left this whole thing behind me when it was discovered I didn’t turn into a wolf when I was thirteen years old.” as my hearing pick up the front door being open.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” as Karen’s southern belle accent echoes’ upstairs.

“We’re upstairs in my room Karen.” I listen to her as she shuts the front door and heads up the stairs.

A young woman dress in a pair of daisy duke style jean shorts, a white tank top with butterflies all over it, and wearing a pair of three-inch heels come walking into my room. A smile comes across her pretty young face when she sees Oilibhear standing near my bed. She leans against the door frame and brushes some of her long brown hair out of her eyes to see us better.

“I’m I interrupting something here?” as she looks towards me and sees Tom wrapped around me. A playful grin appears on her face.

“Get your mind out the gutter, Karen.” as I look towards her.

“So how was your flight down?” as Oilibhear walks over and kisses her on the cheek.

“It was okay once I got the loading crew to speed up their work. I was able to leave and arrive here in no time. Unfortunately, I had to wait around for one of my clients to show up to pick up his order that he hired me to bring down.” She leans over and kisses Oilibhear on the lips.

“What was it?” My curiosity is perked.

“Don’t know, all I do know for sure is that it was heavy, and he had several crates ranging in different sizes. One of them was about the size of a coffin. I almost told him, no, but it was empty and had nothing in it. I had it open so I could make sure there was no one inside of it. God! this coffin had everything a vampire could want in it. A flat-screen tv unit, play station 3, a built-in Mp3 player, and cell phone unit, and a built-in computer. You could lie in there and enjoy your undead life. It even had a hook-up for an artificial blood feed to it. You wouldn’t have to get out of the coffin to do anything except to stretch.”

“That’s unusual equipment for a coffin. How big was it?” I sit up straight in Tom’s arms.

“Mmmm!!, it was about the size of a young child. Why?” Karen looks towards me.

“Tom,” as I turn to look at my husband. “Do you know of any vampire that turns children at that age into vampires? Or any children vampires in this area that are visiting or anything?” as I search his eyes.

“As far as I know it’s illegal here in the United States to turn anybody under the age of 18 into a vampire unless the parents of the child have given their permission or unless the child is considered a legal adult in the eyes of the law. The council normally forbids any vampire from turning a child of any age into a vampire at all. Cause they had a problem a long time ago of a master vampire turning kids born with special gifts into his servants. He would actively send some of his human servants out to look for any kids that showed signs of any type of special gifts and then go out at night where the kids lived to watch and observe them himself. If the child did possess any talents he would know instantly. His vampiric abilities were one of those that he could tell what special gift or magical nature you had inside of you.”

“Do you know what happened to him?” as an idea starts forming in my head.

“Nope, not at all. Since it was vampire business and since it was handled internally no one outside the vampire family knows what happen to him.” he stares into my face.

“Where did this all take place at?”

“Up and down the east coast if I remember right. That’s why it was so hard to find him. He kept moving where he was operating out of.”

I look towards Karen “did you hear of any rumors or stories of any children missing in New York when you were up there?”

I watch as Karen thinks about my question and then shakes her head “Nope, I never left the landing field. New York has a lot of people and homeless people living there and there’s no way you could find out if any of them were missing anyway. I know if I was a vampire that is where I would start, is on the homeless or the gangs. They wouldn’t be missed.”

“There are a few vampires that take in some of the homeless in exchange for using them to drink from and to become their daytime protectors. Also, if some of them are suffering from any type of life treating disease. They will share their blood with them and make them their property. In the past any vampire that has made a human their property, that human was protected. Should anything happen to the vampire that made them theirs, then they would start aging normally and the disease that was killing them would return.” as Oilibhear looks towards me.

“What happens if that person tries to take the blood of another vampire to stay alive?” as I look back at Oilibhear.

“Then he will stop aging and return to full health.”

“Hhhhmmm!! would red dust act the same way to someone that has been a vampire slave or servant?”

“I suppose it is possible, but they would need to take a large dose of it. Even if they manage to take a large dose of it, they will become a full-fledged vampire that is insane.”

“That is true love. Most red dust addicts, become insane vampires. Unless they have a very powerful Master vampire around them that can blood oath them to him.” as my husband holds me tighter against his chest.

“Has there ever been a drug that combines the properties of red dust and blue dust in one form or another?” I look towards Oilibhear.

“A long time ago maybe, but not recently that I know of. Cause as you know vampires do not like wasting blood and to waste faerie blood is a sinful crime among the vampire community since it is so hard to come by anyway. “ Oilibhear looks back towards me “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was thinking that maybe someone is trying to combine the two drugs to offer it to a large crowd of addicts. Cause if you can get a vampire hooked on blue dust and the blood of an older vampire then you could control them somehow. I know it sounds silly, but still, how many older vampires wouldn’t take the risk of doing something like that. If you could enslave the other vampires of a certain Master or Mistress of a city, you could weaken their power base.” as I look at everyone present.

“That makes sense. It wouldn’t be the first time an invading Master would do something like that. Still, no one has challenge Mistress Selena in the last 600 years for her territory since she has come here to the New World. Why start now?” as Tom holds me against him.

“I don’t know. Mistress Selena is normally the easiest person to get along with. The only time she lets her temper or arrogance show through is when you make her mad.”

“Can I ask something here?” Karen looks at all of us.

“What does any of this have to do with me? All I did was bring down a child-size coffin from New York.” as she looks towards me and Tom snuggling on the bed.

I look at Karen and smile “because you my dear Karen have just added another piece of the puzzle to an investigation, I am currently working on.”

“Oh, well I’m glad I could be of some help then.” Karen gives me a warm smile.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Karen walks over towards Oilibhear.

“Well in a little while I’m going to lay back down and take a nap. Because Stanley is sending Ajax and Jack with me tonight.” I cover up a yawn.

“I remember Ajax. He scares me. You can look right into his eyes and see the wolf in him looking back at you like you are prey. I mean this guy is very creepy and borders on crazy.” Karen wraps her arms around herself and shivers.

Oilibhear walks over towards Karen and wraps his arms around her and holds her tight against him.

Karen buries her head against his shoulder and shivers. She remembers the one time she had met him and how it had felt. The predator looks in his eyes and the way he conducted himself around her when Vicky wasn’t around to watch over her.

Oilibhear looks over towards me and knows I didn’t like the way Ajax had treated Karen that one time they had met.

“Vicky why don’t you lay down and get some sleep. While Karen and I head over towards my place and get her to settle in.” Oilibhear looks at me with a fatherly look on his face.

“Oilibhear right sweetie. I’ll tuck you in and head outside to help Heather with the house.” Tom gets up out of bed from behind me on the other side of the bed.

I look at both men and knew arguing with them wouldn’t do me any good.

“Okay, you guys win.” I crawl back under the blankets and watch as everyone leaves our bedroom except my husband who does exactly what he promises to do with me.

He bends over and tucks me into bed and places a kiss on my forehead.

“Sleep tight my little wolf.” He turns around and walks out of the bedroom closing the door behind him.

I snuggle deep under the warm blanket as the room starts to become cold from the A/C running. In no time I am sound asleep and in dream land.