Christipher Voltaire Mórrigan's Story

Aurora Mortenson emerged from her bathroom in a cloud of steam. With a sigh, she ran a thick black brush through golden blond hair and sat on her bed, checking the clock. Two in the morning. Not a bad time for a vampire to be just getting ready for bed. Not bad at all, in fact, most of her coven was probably still wide awake. She'd just gotten back from a midnight investigation into the murders and disappearences that had been happening lately . Her findings had shocked her and she'd needed a good bath to think. Now, sitting on her bed, she placed the brush down and picked up the small figurine sitting on her bedside table.

The figure was one of a woman, pulling a bow back, ready to shoot. She closed her fingers around it, squeezing harder and harder until there was a brief second of pain and then the thing snapped in two. Just like that. A month ago, her closest friend had gone missing, vanishing out of no where.

Tonight, Aurora had found the huntress figurine laying beside her mangled body. She had had to use all her willpower to force herself to inspect the wounds and after careful examination, found exactly what she'd feared. None of the marks were werewolf claw marks or bites.

Meaning someone else had done this. Someone who'd left the figurine. Aurora glared at the broken thing in her hand, demanding it to provide her tired mind with a logical answer. Sadly, it did not answer her and she sighed, setting it aside and standing to change into her white nightgown.

As soon as she stood, Aurora was forced to sit again. A blinding white light seared through her eyes, burning her, and making her scream. As a vampire , one of her greatest fears was blindness, but just as she'd thought she'd never see again, the light dimmed and the pain subsided.

Aurora found herself panting hard and she slapped a hand down on her bed to reassure herself that she was okay. Her hand struck paper. She looked down to see that she'd smacked a yellowed letter that had certainly not been there a moment ago. What the hell had just happened? Confused, Aurora lifted the letter delicately and read through it.

She dropped it, letting it float gently to the floor at her feet. For the first time in a hundred years, her hands shook with shock as she quickly threw on her lace nightgown and grabbed the letter. Without even stopping for slippers or a robe, Aurora marched straight down the hall, white lace billowing behind her as she moved purposefully.

She didn't stop until she'd reached Julien's door, her second in command. Outside, she pounded on the door urgently. "Get your lazy ass out here Julien, I don't care what you're doing!" she barked through the door. Another second and no answer. Too long. Without another word, Aurora shoved the door open and stepped inside. "Downstairs in the livingroom now." she ordered impatiently before turning on her heel and heading back up the hall.

As she did so, she made sure to jiggle the handle of each door, giving the others her sign for "get downstairs , meeting.
Once Downstairs in the main livingroom, Aurora selected the largest of the many velvet chairs all wrapped in a "U" shape around the grand fireplace. The fire was still popping soft, bathing the room in a warm glow. The open windows let in the cold night air and for the first time since reading the letter, she realized she was shivering in her nightgown and scooted her chair closer to the heat of the fire.

As she waited, Aurora crossed her legs daintily and thought. What was she going to do? She glanced down at the letter. You know what you have to do Aurora. She thought to herself. Yeah, but is that what's best for my family? The idea made her cringe, but she knew what to do. Based on the letter, it was her only option.

Slowly, the members of her coven started pouring in and Aurora lifted her blue eyes from the letter. She waited until everyone had arrived before speaking, voice as casual as if she was talking about the weather. "We're moving in with the werewolves." She said bluntly, letting hee crystal clear blue eyes make contact with each one of theirs , knowing it would enraged most of them, if not all. "There's a race of humans." She lifted the letter for them to see. "They know our secrets and they're hunting us. These disappearances have been due to them. They're called the Cacciatori and they're absolutely deadly." She lowered her eyes and sighed deeply. "I don't care how strong you think we are, we can't take them on ourselves. I've received this news from the lost princess Daniel herself." She said, lifting the letter again and raising her eyes.

She rested her gaze on Julien's, then the others one by one challenging them. "I'll hear your protests out, but you won't change my mind. I don't like this just as much as you don't, but it has to happen or we"ll all die. Anyone who doesn't believe me can read the letter." she looked up to Julien for support. He was her right hand and no matter how crazy he drove her sometimes, he was good at his job otherwise she wouldn't have chose him.

A cold breeze flooded in through the window, cutting through Aurora's nightgown , making her shiver. Silently, she hoped it wasn't a bad sign .



Caprice Mornelli sat in her office, a stack of files in her lap. Her clock read two in the morning, and as she worked, she held a cup of coffee in one hand, heels propped up on her desk almost carelessly. Large brown eyes scanned line after line of tiny 8 pt font, not even tired despite the late hour. She was used to late nights. Not only was Caprice a workaholic, but there was also no better time to catch a vampire or slay a werewolf than two or three in the morning.

Or apparently read files.

A disturbance at her door made Caprice look up, one eyebrow hooked upwards as if to say: "can't you see I'm busy?" At her door stood her messenger. He wasn't good for much, but he knew how to protect himself at least. Sad really, what became of her fellow Cacciatori members who really had no skill. "What is it Albert?" She asked rather impatiently.

"Its Bryce, Miss Mornelli. The man said sheepishly.

"And? What about him? Because short if him being dead, there is absolutely no reason for you to bother me while I'm working." She said annoyed. As if to prove a point, Caprice stood, towering over the man.

"uhm.. Actually.. He is dead. Killed by a vampire just now."

And with that, Albert scampered out of the room barely missing the vast that was pitched at his head when she'd registered what he'd said . "WHAT?!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, the photo on her desk rattling violently. Bryce was dead? How? He was her top man. Her right hand. She shook her head. Dam vampires, if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.

Sitting, Caprice managed to calm herself again and think logically. Papers forgotten, she grabbed for the phone. The secretary's voice came, adding her who she wanted. "Chandler please." she said an waited a minute. Since most agents were at the office either for last minute paperwork or a late night hunt, it only too Bryce's brother a second to answer. "Chandler , yes, its Caprice . I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you, but Bryce has been killed by a vampire. I would like you to take his place as second in command. It would do your brother proud." Her voice was pleasant and sympathetic as she spoke. Sure, she could have chosen her own sister to take bryce's place, but she hadn't. Mila was too soft for the job, and while she loved her, probably the only person Caprice ever had loved , she wouldn't give her a job she couldn't handle.

Julien's bed was more than big enough for two and he rarely slept alone. Whether or not his company was alive the next morning was never really certain. His sheets and comforter were pure silk and as red as a rose. At the moment, the covers shifted and undulated wildly, giggles and murmurs coming from underneath. Julien grabbed his date for the night around the waist and hauled her up so that he could bury his nose in the nape of her neck. She smelled absolutely delicious. Of course, she was beautiful, sexy, maybe a bit dense, but that's how Julien liked his meals.

"You know, I really hate it when you bring these little tramps home with you."

The girl squealed and scrambled away, gathering the covers to her chest. Julien sighed and looked up to where Fox was perched on the edge of his dresser, legs crossed, arms folded over her chest, and glaring coolly. She had the decency to wear a glamour, but Julien was sure that there wasn't much he could do to explain away a woman appearing out of nowhere in his room.

"Who're you?" the girl demanded, shooting wild looks at Fox and Julien, back and forth. Fox didn't even look at her. She disappeared and appeared again leaning against his closet door. The girl jumped and her mouth fell open. Julien let his head fall down onto the bed with a groan. There was no way he was going to salvage the mood now.

"What good is she, anyway? Not even worth her weight in blood," she said with a sniff. "What are you, Type O?" she asked, glaring at the girl for the first time. "You don't even like Type O!"

"Will you stop?" Julien snapped, sitting up in his bed. With a huff, he reached out to grab the stunned girl by the shoulder and dragged her to him. "Sorry, cutie, I meant for there to be a bit more romance. Oh well." He clamped his hand over her mouth and his mouth over her neck. It didn't take him long to drain her, he had been thirsty. When he was done, he wrinkled his nose, pushing the girls prone body off of the bed. "Ugh, you were right. Type O."

Fox glowered. Then sniffed. A few moments later, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. Julien heaved a sigh. He was used to Fox's mood swings and possessiveness. It was annoying, but after about two years of her constant attention, he learned to live with it. That and as someone who had been around for practically forever, she was a good ally to have. It wasn't hard to keep her happy either. Her biggest problem was that she liked to fight with him just as much as she liked making up. He climbed out of bed, his silk sleeping pants hanging loosely on his hips, his chest bare. Wordlessly, he wrapped her in a hug. She jerked away, out of his reach. "You play games with my heart," she said. Julien was about to remind her that their sort-of-relationship was nowhere near exclusive and that he had found her wrapped around some guy at a club many times when there was a sudden, thunderous banging on his door.

"Get your lazy ass out here Julien, I don't care what you're doing!" It was Aurora. And he knew that voice. Something big was going down.

"Look, can we have this fight later?" he whispered, heading over to grab a long-sleeved, button-down shirt. Of course, he should have known that Aurora was going to break down the door.

"Downstairs in the living room now," she snapped and was gone without another word.

"All right!" he yelled after her. He pulled on his shirt, leaving it unbuttoned and stalked out of the room. He paused briefly to touch the ends of Fox's hair and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't be a pain, Fox," he warned her. Telling her to go away would just provoke her to cause even more trouble. He could sense her skipping down the stairs right behind him, his own psychotic little shadow. He rolled his eyes. Of course, Aurora would be perfectly put together even in the dead of night. Julien tousled his hair and flopped down onto one side of the sofa, taking it to himself. Fox appeared there the moment before he hit the couch so that his head was pillowed on her thigh. He glanced up to see her smiling sunnily at the rest of the coven as they filed in. They probably weren't too surprised to see her there. She liked to spend her time hanging around and it was practically impossible to keep her out.

Julien listened closely to Aurora's announcement. He protested loudly and bratily when she announced that they would be moving in with the dogs because it was expected of him, but in his mind, he was steady and considering. Something had happened... Aurora didn't make decisions like these lightly. Especially not decisions like these. There was something wrong, something in the very room didn't seem right.

Suddenly, Julien sat straight up and took a deep breath of the air. "Aurora, why do you smell like--" he didn't even want to say the name. They had all mourned when she disappeared. "Did you find her?" he said, referring to Aurora's best friend.

It was a beautiful night. The moon was shining gently and an owl let out a mournful hoot on the old oak trees outside his room. A few daring moonlight danced on the male face as he turned his head and let out a grunt before grasping the pillow and put it over his face to prevent it from waking him up. He didn't want the damn thing to ruin his sleep more than it already did. He let out another grunt as he snuggled deep into his warm bed, and let out a content sigh as he quickly realized he had successfully avoided that damned moonlight. Al was sleeping, blissfully unaware of the urgent matter that would happen to him a few more minutes. He really, really needed his precious sleep. From a far distanced outside his room, Al heard some noises but he was too sleepy to care about it. At least, he didn't care about it until it practically slammed into his eardrums with a shrilling noise - a very familiar noise, too.

"get downstairs, meeting."

The leader of the coven - his cousin - Aurora Mortenson had waken him up from his beautiful slumber...again. How many had she done that already? Ten? Twenty? Al let out a loud grunt, trying to fall asleep again but it was no use. He had received his order and by the sound of it, about a pretty serious matter, too. Yawning loudly, the lazy coven member opened his eyes and let out a mighty yawn. 'Well, this sucks. I really shouldn't have partied so hard last night' He thought with one hand rubbing his eyes, trying to shake the sleepiness out of him. Finally, deeming himself good enough, Al grasped his white, button-up shirt as he hastily put it on. After that, he put on a pair of black jeans and looked at the mirror image of himself before smiling brightly. Well, he did look dashing today. Al turned the doorknob and walked out. He hoped it was some good news. Maybe they had captured some new humans for him to toy with.

But... his spirit was quickly crushed as he heard his leader's words. "We're moving in with the werewolves." She spoke curtly and Al resisted the urge to shout in anger. What kind of decision was this? Did she even think what they would think of this? 'This is ridiculous! There is no way in hell I will stay with those hairy creatures!' Al thought as his eyes flashed in anger. Had she gone mad from leading for too long or what? She made eyes contact with him or at least, she tried to. Alphonse refused to look at her as he huffed and crossed his arms, willingly let himself listen some more of her nonsense. "There's a race of humans. They know our secrets and they're hunting us. These disappearances have been due to them. They're called the Cacciatori and they're absolutely deadly." She said as she lifted some kind of yellow paper and Al felt his anger nearly got out of control again. What a stupid, dimwitted, laughable statement! There was no other races as strong as the Children of the Night! "I'll hear your protests out, but you won't change my mind. I don't like this just as much as you don't, but it has to happen or we"ll all die. Anyone who doesn't believe me can read the letter."

Al reached out his hand in an attempt to read the letter but stopped himself as he heard Julien spoke again "Aurora, why do you smell like--" He paused and began to choose his words before he spoke again, this time his voice was gentler and more hesitant and for the first time, Alphonse realized his cousin was smelling like her friend "Did you find her?" Before Julien or Aurora had the chance to speak anything, Alphonse cut them off with a harsh voice "What? You guys are all gonna just...agree to this?" He waved his arms in frustration as he tried to convert his words "Do you realize how stupid this sounds? It reeks of those...those hairy creature's scents!" He pointed at the letter and continued, raising his voice subconsciously "This must be some kinds of traps from those...disgusting creatures! There is no way mere humans can know about our weaknesses! It is not like we have written our weaknesses inside a damned book or anything!" He ran a hand through his messy hair as he tried to calm himself down "Dude! Think rationally! Are you telling me that we have been targeted by the humans? The things that we hunt everyday?" He spat the word 'humans' like it left sour taste in his mouth as he sighed and spoke in a much softer tone "We all miss her but you must let her go...maybe she has been killed by the werewolves and the letter...the letter is a faked one...to lure us right into their dirty, filthy camp and to destroy us once and for all"

He slammed his fist on the wooden table and said in a quiet voice "Think, my friends. Think! Do you really believe those...hunters as you have just said...will be stupid enough to leave a clue behind...if there're even hunters like them. I mean, if I am the hunter then there is no way I can let the letter fall into your hand this conveniently." Al ended his speech with a heavy sigh...They were digging their own tombs, he just knew it.

Belle leant back on the bed and giggled coquettishly, batting her blue eyes at the human man sat before her. Of course, it had the instant desired effect and the man's eyes filled with lust and want. Then again, which human man would be able to resist a vampire's laugh? Their voices were beautiful; all velvet and smooth. And their giggle was even more beautiful. Almost… Irresistible.

The man smiled back, reaching a hand out to touch her bare thigh. Of course, Belle was still all dressed up. Tonight's outfit choice had been a fashionable white dress with her signature black, leather jacket to dress it down and a pair of black heels. Her hair was pulled back into a loose but carefully styled ponytail, held back with a black clasp. Her makeup was all still perfectly in place. There wasn't a single mistake. She flicked her gaze to his hand on her leg. The man's skin was a couple of shades more tanned than her own pale, creamy flesh but they looked as smooth as her own. Obviously, he did a job that didn't involve a lot of manual labour, she concluded. But why was she worrying about that? It didn't matter about him. She didn't even remember his name. All that mattered was he wanted her. He was showering her with compliments and paying her the attention she desperately craved.

It didn't matter who he was really. He was just some man she'd called because she was lonely. And she couldn't be alone. She just couldn't. Really, she had no intention of either feeding on or sleeping with him; which was unusual for a vampire. Myths told of evil creatures, obsessed with blood and sex. Of course, both of those things interested her. But, she preferred what came before. When the person, whoever they might be, paid her attention. Complimented her. Made her the center of attention. That was what mattered.

She could've found one of the coven members to talk to. But, as far as she knew, all of the others were still locked away in their room, doing whatever it was that they did; it didn't matter to Belle. Usually, she would have gone into her brother’s room and demanded his attention. Even though he was arrogant and self-obsessed, they were each other's equals. For every unsavoury quality of hers, he was able to match it with one of his own. They made the perfect siblings. She loved him and, although the attention she got from him wasn't worth as much as other peoples as they were family and he'd always have time for her, she still enjoyed being with him. But tonight, Belle had decided to call someone else. Tonight, something seemed to be wrong in the coven. She wasn't sure what, but it was definitely wrong.

Belle raised her gaze from her thigh to meet the man's eyes. He was attractive, of course. Blue eyes, dark hair, tanned skin. Although, she was a vampire, if she couldn't persuade someone attractive to spend time with her then who could. Also, she never spoke to unattractive people, as a strict rule.

"So..." the man begun suggestively, but Belle heard no more than that. She pressed a finger against his lips to silence him.

Then the jiggle of the door handle came. Yes, she had been right. She had heard Aurora, their coven leader calling to her second in command, and now she was making her way down the hall, by the sound of it, signalling to everyone that she wanted them.

She turned her attention back to the human. "You can go now," she told him dismissively, removing her finger from his lips and standing up. She straightened her clothes and checked herself in the large mirror by her bed. It was only her coven, but she always had to look perfect.

"But-" she heard the man protest behind her.

Belle spun back round on her heel, cutting him off and fixing him with an icy glare. "I said, you can go now," she said coldly.

He needed no more persuasion than that. In fact, that was a particular talent of hers; some even called it her 'gift'. She was incredibly persuasive, almost always getting her own way. It was least effective on vampires, followed by other supernaturals and she had to work a little harder with them. But to humans, she could simply say the word to most and they wouldn't even question it.

The man stood up obediently. "Bye, Belle," he said with a smile, and left.

Belle followed him out, making her way along the corridor when Aurora had gone. She knew she didn’t have to walk him out and make sure he left, he would do exactly what he was told, she was sure of it. When she arrived in main living room a few members of the coven were already there, wrapped in the soft, comforting arms of the huge velvet chairs. Belle found her own seat and sat down into it. She smiled slightly at the feel of the soft, luxurious velvet against her skin. It was perfect.

Belle turned her attention to Aurora. Studying her for a couple of seconds, she was amazed to find that their coven leader looked almost… Shaken. But when she spoke, her voice sounded calm and casual.
"We're moving in with the werewolves. There's a race of human. They know our secrets and they're hunting us. These disappearances have been due to them. They're called the Cacciatori and they're absolutely deadly. I don't care how strong you think we are, we can't take them on ourselves. I've received this news from the lost princess Daniel herself."

Belle’s instant reaction was to shudder violently. The dogs? They were moving in with the dogs? In her mind, endless images of big, salivating wolves, fur dripping with mud and water, flashed through. How disgusting. She was about to protest, but Aurora beat her to it.

"I'll hear your protests out, but you won't change my mind. I don't like this just as much as you don't, but it has to happen or we’ll all die. Anyone who doesn't believe me can read the letter."

Instantly, there was a flurry of complaints. Al begun an impassioned speech on how it was all just a trap. Cassie tried to calm the complaining vampires. But, there was something that really caught her attention. Julian, their second in command had mentioned her. Belle sniffed the air lightly, honing in on Aurora’s sent. Julien was right… Over the top of Aurora’s familiar scent was another. One she hadn’t smelt in a while. It was her… The slightly sweet, yet slightly bitter scent of the vampire that had gone missing a month ago; Aurora’s closest friend. But laced through her scent was another. Blood. The cold, metallic tang of vampire blood.

Belle cast her gaze towards her brother, catching his line of sight for a second before turning back to stare at Aurora, waiting with baited breath for an answer.

Aurora took their complaints in silence. Being a vampire, it was hard for her to bite her tongue while being challanged. Especially as a coven leader. But Aurora had two hundred years of practicing patience on her side so she listened to them all, letting them each speak their minds. Her face, as she listened, was passive and one could easily say that she cared as much aboutthe conversation as what color the sky was. That was just Aurora. Always cool and hard. Like an icicle, she was delicatly beautiful, and yet hard, cold, and needle sharp as well. Untouchable she made herself seem. Men were either frightened of her or excited by the challange of being the "first" to crack the ice queen. Sometimes she let them. Other times she remained impenatrable.

So she sat with a winter cold demeanor. Not cruel, just calm and collected. Perfectly put together even in the dead of night after having seen the death of her oldest friend. "Aurora why do you smell like--" The question on Julien's voice froze her. Her body stiffened as he paused. Of course he would smell her. She'd just spent an hour inspecting her wounds. She'd been foolish to think that a bath would hide that scent. "Did you find her?" Of course he would be the one to ask that question. She turned to look at him and her facade slipped ever so slightly. Something caught in her blue gaze, her eyes always her tell, and she lifted her hand to fiddle with her necklace as she often did when upset.

Silently she willed herself to answer him, but thankfully, Alphonse began his onslaught of objections to her plan of action. Not soon after, Cassie stood up to defend Aurora, always on her side faithfully, but again that tedious question came up. "Did you find her?" She glanced around the room as silence fell over them. Beside her, Pup spoke up, asking tentativly when they were going to move in with the werewolves. Again, the room was silent as Aurora struggled to find the right thing to say. She squeezed the letter in her hand and averted her gaze from them to look down at it's yellowed surface and scrawled lettering.

She'd made many mistakes as their leader, but always did her best to do right by them. She glanced at their faces, awaiting her reply. She wasn't even related to any of them, except Alphonse through some distant cousin-ship, and they trusted her with their leadership. Was it because she'd been around so long or they honestly believed in her? It didn't matter. She had no doubt that the threat in the letter was real. She'd seen it with her own eyes, and as much as it pained her, if they needed her to recount it in order to see that she was doing the right thing, then she would give it to them.

She lifted her eyes and looked at Julien, finally finding the words to speak. "Yes." She said a little softly. Her face was calm, but her eyes shined with the threat of tears. "I found--" Just as Julien had, Aurora caught on the name. Charlise had been more than just a close friend. She herself had changed the girl a hundred and fity years ago and had helped her rise to power as the leader of a nearby coven. When her home was destroyed mysteriously in a fire, the Coven of Rose City had given her refuge until a month ago, she'd gone missing. "I found Charlise." Even though she said it, her voice wavered on the name. "By the time I reached her, she was already dead, but there was a man. Retreating into the trees." Her hands shook and she tucked them under her legs to hide it. "I killed him in blind rage. He'd dropped a little figurine. Of a huntress. I'm not sure what it means, but I know it's a symbol for something." She paused and ran her fingers through golden blond hair. "When I'd reached Charlise's body, I took extra care in-" she winced "inspecting the wounds. Gold burns and holy water. Nothing a werewolf would have done. We've been blaming the werewolves falsley all this time. I'm not saying they're not disgusting creatures, but I am saying that whatever's out there is dangerous and we need their protection as much as they need ours."

Aurora stopped to breath and propped her elbows on her knees, dropping her head into her hands with a deep sigh. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been so shaken up. When she lifted her head again, she met Alphonse's eyes. "I'm not asking you to like it. But I am asking you to trust that I'm doing the right thing by you." She let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair, ice cold facade slipping over her again as she crossed her bare legs calmly and twined her fingers. "If you don't want this, have it your way. Find yourself a new coven." The threat hung in the air and her eyes challenged them. Even if it was wrong to throw them from their family, she would do it, they knew she would. There was no other way to convince them. Sometimes being leader was glorious, other times it was nothing but stress and pain. All Aurora wanted to do right now was head into the city and distract herself with the humans. Maybe find a man to bring home, let him think he'd cracked her ice-cold shield. Or maybe she would just go on a frustrated slaughter. A good, old-fashioned hunt like she used to in the old days. Before the coven. When she was on the path to self-destruction.

A knock at the door yanked her from her thoughts and Aurora raised her head. She could smell them before she'd even stood. Humans. Unless this was one of the coven's persistent human visitors, most likely hers, Julien's, or Belle's, no human would dare disturb their household in the dead of the night. So she decided to ignore it and leaned back into her seat.

But the knocking grew louder, more rapid and she honed her sense of hearing in on the door. Heartbeats. Pounding away as if the owners had just run a marathon. Well that was interesting. Unless they'd sprinted all the way here from the city, she doubted they could have gotten their heart rate that fast. A little too persistent perhaps? Maybe she should tie off a loose end? As the pounding grew more rapid, Aurora rolled her eyes. "All right all right. Shut the hell up!" She shouted as she stood and simply disappeared, reappearing before the door. "You humans never do st-" Her fangs had already slid out and she'd been ready to attack, but she was stopped up short in shock as she looked down at the two faces behind the door. "Well you're not an obessed lover." She smirked and stepped out into the night, closing the door behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here Gabe? I told you not to come here. Not even Julien knows about you and after the bomb I just dropped on them, dragging the two of you into the mix would practically put me on their hit list." She jerked her hand towards his sister, Sam. "Speaking of which, why are you bringing her? She doesn't know about us. Our little agreement was based on secrecy." She advanced on him slowly, white lace billowing about her knees as a breeze shifted by, making her shiver. "Don't make me end that." She glanced at the house. Her coven would be asking questions by now. No doubt they'd already smelled the humans. "God dammit Gabe, you really couldn't have picked a worse time."



Caprice felt the pain in his voice like a knife, feeling temporarily sorry for him. "Of course, I'll gladly take his place, Caprice. Should I-.." At that moment, he paused and Caprice smiled. Albert also seemed to think it would be a good time to come rushing in, panting and out of breath. She held the phone slightly away from her ear.

"Was the vase not a good enough indication that I would like you to stop bothering me Albert or would you like a stapler too? I won't miss this time." She quirked one eyebrow and tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder, lifting the stapler in one hand and popping it open. "This better be good."

Albert shifted nervously and contemplated telling her. Caprice rolled her eyes and raised the stapler. It had the desired effect and got him to get on with it. "Bryce's partner just returned. We know who killed him."

Caprice smiled. "Good boy. Bring him here." Alber scampered off and she turned her attention back to Chandler on the other end. "Hang on Chandler. Dealing with something." She placed the phone on the wood of her desk, not handing up, but not talking to him either, as Bryce's partner entered the room, looking shaken. "You said you know who killed Bryce. Well?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "It was a bloodsucker for sure. We were out hunting and found this one... She was familiar. You remember that old coven we'd burned a while back, a few cities off? She had been their leader. Apparently she got away." He paused, whether for dramatic affect or to irritate her, she didn't know. "So that's who killed him?" She rolled her eyes. "No ma'am. He killed that bitch, but as he was retreating another one showed up. I was well gone by then, but I turned back to see what was taking so long. When I'd arrived she was crouched over his body, holding his Artemis lucky figurine. Then she just took off. I'm lucky to be alive."

Caprice groaned. "That's great, but you do realize if it had been you and not Bryce I would still have a second-in-command? Now who killed him? I might forgive you if you give me a name."

He looked shocked, but stepped forward to the files on her desk. He shifted through the vampire ones before he came to two blond girls. Here he hesitated and Caprice leaned on the edge of her seat. One was the vampire coven leader herself and the other was Isabelle, one of the coven members. After close consideration, he selected the picture of Aurora. "This one." He stated plainly before turning and leaving.

Caprice held the photo in her hand with a smirk, them went back to the phone. "Alright I'm back."

"Should I come by and pick up anything I might be needing?"

Caprice thought a moment. "Yeah. I've got the file of your brother's killer here. Why don't you come down to my office and we'll talk." And withou another word, she disconnected with a sigh, thunking her head on her file-littered desk.

Not a second later, the phone rang again and she groaned loudly. "UGH!" She hissed and picked up. "WHAT?!" She barked impatiently. "Mama Eagle, this is Renaissance Man. The Men's blood Bank is closed for business, repeat, the Men's blood bank is closed for business. Got the trash in the bag and the house is shiny." It was Priestly. Great. Just what she needed. And was he talking in code? Where was he? She rolled her eyes. "Awaiting orders, Ma'am."

"Priestly, your code talk is a little obvious don't you think? No one refers to their mother as 'mam eagle'." She gave a sharp laugh and sighed. "Anyways, good job. Hmm, why don't you come down to my office and I'll give you an assignment. Don't keep me waiting." She hung up the phone and sat up to clean off her desk, putting away all but two files. The file of Aurora Mortenson and the file of Emmanuel Cross.

Al didn't even bother listening to the others as he solely focused on his cousin, his leader as she seemed to keep her calmness with those beautiful blue eyes. He took a deep breath, waiting patiently for her to speak her words. "Yes." Aurora spoke softly as her eyes saddened. Oh, no...Al felt his breathing stopped as he closed his eyes and buried his head into his hands, a tired look on his face. "I found--" She stopped, seemingly still trying to get over the shock at whatever the hell she had seen tonight. "I found Charlise." Al heard her voice wavered and he knew she was hurting...very badly...but then again, so was he. He never said it out loud but he had had a crush on the woman...a childish crush, but it was a crush nonetheless. It had taken him a long time to forget her and...for the lack of better words, move on. He always hoped she was bored of the life with the coven so she had gone somewhere else...he had hoped that she was still alive but the way Aurora said her name, the brokenhearted look on her face told him that...that Charlise had really gone...for good. He felt his hands trembled slightly and he gripped them tightly, hoping for the shaking would stop. He wouldn't want himself to appear so weak in front of them.

But even so, Alphonse forced himself to listen...to hear the rest of the story, what had caused Aurora to decide such thing without telling anyone like that. "By the time I reached her, she was already dead, but there was a man. Retreating into the trees." Al nodded at that, trying really hard not to urge her to continue as quick as she could. He took a shaky breath. Okay, so...there was nothing Aurora could do when she found Charlise. It wasn't her fault that she had not reached her in time. "I killed him in blind rage. He'd dropped a little figurine. Of a huntress. I'm not sure what it means, but I know it's a symbol for something." Al cocked his head to one side. A symbol? Now, that was a lead! Maybe they could track that symbol down or something. Or maybe they could try to locate that group. "When I'd reached Charlise's body, I took extra care in- nspecting the wounds. Gold burns and holy water. Nothing a werewolf would have done. We've been blaming the werewolves falsley all this time. I'm not saying they're not disgusting creatures, but I am saying that whatever's out there is dangerous and we need their protection as much as they need ours."

Holy water?...That was not possible, was it? Everyone with a decent brain would know that werewolves couldn't touch holy water...and by the way Aurora was describing things, it seemed...Al grimaced in distaste as he forced himself to think that thought. '...maybe I was wrong about the werewolves... but that doesn't mean they are not disgusting creatures.' He looked at Aurora in the eyes, trying to search for the slightest signs of a lie in her voice and in her eyes but he found none. She was telling the truth or at least, she was telling them what she believed was the truth the entire time. "I'm not asking you to like it. But I am asking you to trust that I'm doing the right thing by you." She told them...or him, Al didn't really know for sure. But she had looked at him in the eyes. Maybe she was talking to him.

Finally, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth. He was going to regret this, he knew it. "I trust you and your decisions with my life, cous-leader." He gave her a smile and said, the mirth slowly returned to his voice as he turned back into the bright vampire the coven used to know. "and I'm staying...you guys will probably need me to save your ass if anything goes wrong, huh?..." He tuned her out, a thoughtful look on his face. Well, he had said it...now, he would have to get used to the ideas of co-operating with the flea bags.

There was someone knocking at the door, the noise annoyed Al to no end. Al's nose began to move slightly as he sniffed the air around him...the scents, it was familiar. 'Humans!' He thought with a sneer as his eyes shone silver with hatred and hunger. As Aurora stood up and opened the door, talking something he didn't notice, Al said cheerfully to his coven "...look like someone comes here to be our meal willingly...I wonder who that is...they sure are stupid..." A grin stretched his face as his fangs lengthened. Oh, he would welcome a meal or two right now.

Cassandra Astra Le'Rouge

{{Sorry for the bad spelling, i'm posting this in class on my phone, lol i'll edit it when i'm home ^___^}}

Aurora watched him push his twin sister behind him defensively and gave a wry smile, about to keep going until he threw a hand up. He was brave to cut her off, especially in her current mood, after the night she'd had, she had to give him that. “Aurora, I found out more information on Charlise’s death like you told me to, But Sam and my life got threatened..if you..if you promise to keep her safe, I’ll tell you everything." At this Aurora raised one delicate eyebrow and stopped in her tracks.

Again, she was about to open her mouth when Cassie rushed outside, running off into the woods. Aurora instinctivly stiffened, but the girl didn't seem to care that she hadn't killed the two humans yet. Her second instinct was to charge after Cassie and drag her back inside. After what she'd just talked about she was going to go out alone? I don't think so. Aurora took a step forward, ready to spring after Cassie, but this time a voice stopped her.

"I don't like it when you keep secrets from me, Aurora," Julien's whisper tickled her ear and she shivered briefly before raising her blue eyes to his, the same expression a guilty puppy wears when it's been caught projected on her face. "especially when you know all of mine." The truth of that made her break eye-contact. Not something she did often. "I'm going to get Cassie, she doesn't need to be out alone. I hope that when we get back, you'll talk to me. Keep them out of the house if you want to keep them. Al's mouth is already watering."

And then he was marching off and Aurora was left feeling guilty. How had he managed to make her feel so terrible with just a few words? It's not like the humans were a huge secret. She groaned and rolled her eyes. He wanted to talk to her when he returned. She could only imagine the fight they would have. Sometimes their fights got heated, other times they were over before they started, but they were never pleasant, and, being in the mood she was in, she had a feeling her temper wouldn't last very long if he said anything to piss her off.

Trying not to think about it, she turned back to Sam and Gabe, reconsidering their offer. "Gabe, I hope you know I'm not going to let you stay with us because you're blackmailing me." She stepped up close to him, placing a nail gently to the vein in his neck. "You know that if I wanted to, I'd have no problem getting my information from you. Don't try to outsmart me. I've lived two-hundred years, I know every trick in the book." She stepped back, giving him his personal space again and sighed. "But quite frankly, I'm not up for torture right now, and what kind of person would I be if I didn't help someone who helped me?" He eyes landed on Sam. "If she stays, you do. I have a hard time believing she'll adjust to us without you around. Oh. And this will most definitely piss off my coven so I suggest you keep your head down. Got that?"

And with that, she ignored Julien's request to keep them outside and turned towards the door. What was she supposed to do? Make them sleep in the gardening shed? No, her vampires would have to behave themselves. Inside, she found Kiera with her face to the window, Fox just behind her. Were they spying? Guess it didn't matter so much now. With a sigh, she gestured to Sam and Gabe, announcing them to the coven while at the same time, searching their eyes for any silver, a sign that they were hungry.

"This is Gabe and his twin sister Sam. They've been helping me investigate the disappearances that have going on lately, not just Charlise's but everyone's. I've had a weird feeling it wasn't werewolves for a while so I got Gabe to do some investigation on the human side of things. Anyway, these Cacciatori have threatened him so now we're taking him and Sam in. No questions. If you don't think you can handle yourself around them, try harder. The first one to lay a hand on them answers to me." She turned away from them and back to Gabe, pointing to the stairs. "Those are the stairs. Head on up and pick an empty room to get some sleep in for now if you want or just hang out. Don't get to cozy though. We'll be leaving in a few hours anyway."

Now she turned to Fox and Kiera. "Fox, stop teasing Kiera, I actually have a job for your uselessness." She said with a smirk. She liked Fox, and actually didn't mind having her around, but she never missed the opportunity to snark about her hanging around them. Since Fox wasn't exactly part of the coven, Aurora couldn't order her around, but she never objected when Fox wanted to stay and never complained when she left so she doubted Fox would refuse her. She held up Danielle Cabelle's letter. "Take this to Emmanuel and tell him my plan to move in with them. Tell him I wont take no for an answer and he'd be stupid to refuse. I don't care what you say, convince him it's the only way." Fox was perfect for the job since, like her, she could teleport so it wouldn't take ages.

She turned to Kiera. "Pup, sit up for a while and wait for Julien and Cassie to get back. When they do, tell Julien if he wants to talk, I'll be in my room. If it takes them more than a few hours, come find me." And finally, she turned to the rest of them. "As for the rest of you, you may either go back to bed, go hunting, or pack, but we'll be leaving a little earlier than ten tomorrow."

And with that, Aurora turned on her heel and went up to her room.

Once safely inside, she plopped down onto her four-post bed and dropped her face into her hands with a deep throated groan. Sometimes, when she was alone, she wondered if being coven master was really worth all the stress, but she quickly pushed the thoughts aside and lay back on her red silk sheets, golden hair splashed across her pillow. Her crystal blue eyes examined the ceiling as if it held the answers to her problems while she waited either for Julien, or Pup.



It didn't take Chandler long to show up, and she smiled when he did. Prompt as always. Her smile dropped though, when he looked her up and down. Big, innocent-looking, brown eyes caught his and she smirked, raising from her desk and crossing to the counter on the other side of the room to fill her coffee. She knew he wanted the file to his brothers killer and nothing more, but she rather enjoyed keeping him waiting. "You know Chandler, women will only distract you from your duties." She said with a smirk, returning back to her desk and taking a seat.

"Besides, short of you killing every Immortal in Rose City, there is nothing that would make me sleep with you. So don't waste your time." She laughed lightly and lifted her mug, eyeing him over the rim as she took a sip. "Don't get me wrong, it's not your looks." She said, placing a hand gently on Aurora's file and pushing it towards him.

"That's Aurora. The woman who killed Bryce. Ironically, your brother had been trailing her for weeks. She was his target." She shrugged. "Guess he turned into hers." The cruel joke hung between them, but she hadn't expected him to laugh. "Anyway, you may take her case, but the tricky part is this: I don't want her dead. She's a coven master. At least a hundred and fifty years old. Think of all that information. I want her brought in for imprisonment. Bryce had been busy trying to figure out a way to do that when he'd died. Getting a coven leader away from their coven is a tricky thing. It's what makes them so hard to catch."

She placed her coffee down and leaned back in her chair, lacing her fingers delicately over her stomach as she looked up at him with large brown eyes and tilted her head slightly, crossing her legs daintily. Everything about her spoke of innocence, delicacy, and softness, but Caprice was a double edged sword. For every drop of sweetness her appearance and voice held, she had a gallon of wickedness and mischief. "Any ideas or are you just going to wing it?"

”Yes. I found Charlise. By the time I reached her, she was already dead.”

Belle felt breath rush sharply in through her lips in shock at Aurora’s confirmation of everything they’d feared. She felt like she’d been kicked in the chest. Belle hadn’t known Charlise well. They’d had a few conversations while she had been here, shared a table. She thought she may even have borrowed one of her necklaces, but that was the full extent of their friendship. But that wasn’t really what made Belle’s beautiful blue eyes widen in shock. It was that she had been one of them. Even though she hadn’t been with their coven for as long as many of the members had, she’d still been one of them. Even though she knew vampires could still be killed, she’d begun to see herself as far superior, almost untouchable. But this sudden death of an old and powerful vampire, especially one as close to the leader of their coven as Charlise had been, was a shock. And to be killed by werewolves, the conclusion Belle had instantly jumped to without thought or consideration, made the blow all the more sickening.

But Belle had no time for anymore thought as Aurora carried on. ”But there was a man. Retreating into the trees I killed him in blind rage. He'd dropped a little figurine. Of a huntress. I'm not sure what it means, but I know it's a symbol for something. When I'd reached Charlise's body, I took extra care in inspecting the wounds. Gold burns and holy water. Nothing a werewolf would have done. We've been blaming the werewolves falsely all this time. I'm not saying they're not disgusting creatures, but I am saying that whatever's out there is dangerous and we need their protection as much as they need ours."

Belle froze. Wait. The werewolves weren’t the ones responsible? There must be some kind of mistake. But… Werewolves couldn’t touch holy water, everyone knew that. Suddenly, Belle felt weak. Weaker than she’d ever felt before. As a vampire, she’d always felt strong. Faster, stronger, more powerful than the humans she ‘played’ with. Even though she’d always seen the werewolves as a very real threat, she’d always truly believed that they, the vampires, were better than those mongrels and, in a fight, would come out on top. But suddenly, it wasn’t werewolves that were the threat. Instead, it was humans. The race she’d always felt more powerful than, never threatened by.

"I'm not asking you to like it. But I am asking you to trust that I'm doing the right thing by you. "If you don't want this, have it your way. Find yourself a new coven."

A new coven? Now, that thought scared Belle more than all of the rest of the night’s talk put together. A new coven? That meant alone, at least until they found another coven. She couldn’t do that. She’d rather spend an eternity with a werewolf, dribbling all over her perfect blonde hair, than be alone.

Belle heard Alphonse sincerely pledge his trust to Aurora’s decisions before making a joke to soften the tension.

“Okay, whatever it takes,” Belle promised, shuddering involuntarily as she spoke at the idea of having their filthy fur within a hundred metres of her. Although, she did feel a little of the tension slip from her body at the confirmation she was still safe in a coven. “But, please don’t let that one with fleas near me…” she added, her expression twisting into a grimace.

Although, mere seconds after the last word left her lips, there was a sharp banging sound on the door. She recognised the scent instantly. Human. And at the most inconvenient time. It couldn’t be hers from tonight. She’d sent him away, absolutely certain he wouldn’t return. She was yet to see a human resist her powers of persuasion, especially for such a simple command. But that didn’t stop Belle from taking another sniff of the air, just to confirm what she already knew. Of course, she was right. There were two humans, a male and a female. They had similar scents, indicating some kind of close relationship or a blood tie. And thudding hearts, like they’d be running or were very frightened. Nevertheless, the scent did not belong to her nameless man from earlier in the evening.

The banging carried on, more rapid and persistent. “Alright, alright. Shut the hell up!” Aurora shouted, rising to her feet and disappearing from the room. The heard the sound of the door being opened and voices. Belle didn’t catch what they were saying though, her attention had already returned to the other vampires surrounding her.

Her eyes flicked towards Al as he sniffed the air, a grin stretching across his face and his fangs lengthening. "...looks like someone comes here to be our meal willingly... I wonder who that is... They sure are stupid..."

A meal. Now there was something that really captured Belle’s imagination. A meal would make all this a whole lot better. Maybe, if Aurora didn’t want these humans she’d let Belle have them instead. She listened for the voices. The man’s sounded interesting. She was hopeful, he sounded as if she could have some real fun with him before she killed him.

"You just refuse to play the game. If you would spend some time playing with your food before you went for the kill, you would have dinner pounding down your door," Julien said. Belle felt a smile dance across her lips. She liked Julien. He had a similar attitude to kills as she did; the longer you play, the sweeter the payoff. They'd hunted together in the city before, and Belle often thought smugly that they made a good team. 

He winked at her, "Right, Belle?"

Belle smirked back. "You should try it, Al. Although, it takes a certain finesse..." she said, shooting Julian a look and raising her perfect eyebrows slightly.

But she was torn from her friendly teasing of Alphonse by Cassie. She simply leapt up, throwing some comment about just going outside behind her as she flew out of the room. 

Julian leapt to his feet, calling something after her. He froze for a few seconds. The silence allowed Belle's attention to wander to the conversation out in the hallway. She caught Julian's name, in conjunction with the mention of something he didn't know. So that's why he was frozen, Belle reasoned. But by that point, Julian had left the room as was talking to Aurora. But it was just a whisper so she couldn't catch a single word. Belle's hearing was good, and Julian knew that. He was whispering on purpose so no one else would hear him. It made Belle wonder what it was that was going on out there that was so important. She begun to listen more carefully. 

“Aurora," Belle heard the human man say,  "Gabe, I hope you know I'm not going to let you stay with us because you're blackmailing me."

Now that statement really caught Belle's attention. Maybe this man was more than just a plaything.

Belle turned to Alphonse, the only other vampire left in the room. "Aurora's letting a human stay with us? Now, of all times?" she said, even though she was certain he had been listening to the conversation just as she had and knew exactly what had been happening.

Belle listened to the conversation for another half a minute before she heard Aurora approaching, with the humans in tow.

"This is Gabe and his twin sister Sam," Aurora stated. "They've been helping me investigate the disappearances that have going on lately, not just Charlise's but everyone's. I've had a weird feeling it wasn't werewolves for a while so I got Gabe to do some investigation on the human side of things. Anyway, these Cacciatori have threatened him so now we're taking him and Sam in. No questions. If you don't think you can handle yourself around them, try harder. The first one to lay a hand on them answers to me."

Belle repressed and irritated snarl. She wasn't hungry as such, she just felt like a meal to relive the tension of the evening. And now she'd seen the human man, she only wanted him more.

Aurora gave out a few more instructions. One to the human twins, another a gentle scalding of fox for teasing the hybrid thy had somehow ended up part of their coven. One for Fox regarding their... Alliance, if you could call it that, with the werewolves. And the a final one for that hybrid regarding Julian.

"As for the rest of you, you may either go back to bed, go hunting, or pack, but we'll be leaving a little earlier than ten tomorrow."

Belle nodded, wishing the members of the coven that she liked goodnight before making her way up the stairs.

She sat down on her large, luxurious four-poster bed, her body sinking into the white sheets. The quite enveloped her as she realised she was alone, something she hated. The smell of the man from earlier was still strong on them, which only made Belle more eager for a meal. She bent down reluctantly to slip a heel from her finely boned foot.  But she froze for a second and sat up, leaving the black heel still half on her foot. She reached out for her phone that lay on her pillow as a memory of taking the man's number, should she not have finished with him that night, flooded over her. Without looking down, she pressed her foot back into the heel and raised the phone to her ear.

"Yes, it's Belle. I've changed my mind. Come back. We'll pick up where we left off."

(Sorry it's late and the start of my post you've already gone past. I have exams I'm meant to be revising for at the moment, for which the book has lain open on my desk all night but I've never actually looked at... Also, the second half of the post was writen on my phone so I appologise for any mistakes, I'll edit in the morning because it's nearly half 12 at night here.)