The day before William Becket’s arrival:

“Ragin, did you carve the wooden army I told you to make?”

Yes Sheriff I did as you asked. Raging was the brown werewolf, the usual customer of Higgs’s coffee shop.

“And Violet, thanks for all the roads you paved in these dangerous times to keep me and my team tuned about Moon Land."

No problem, William, as long as you keep your end of the bargain. Violet was the masked girl with the bike.

"And, Lord Thornson, I assume your magicians are ready for the tasks, and my vile of potions is ready?”

The deer man clapped, and one of his goat man servants brought the vile in silver plating and placed it next to the sheriff's meal.

“As always, more actions than words, just the way I like it,” Becket said, nodding to show his appropriation.

“But I’m sure you would love to see the results with your eyes, Sheriff. just to clear any uncertainty." Lord Thornson clapped again, and his servants dragged a half-dead man near the dining room and threw him on the marble floors of his mansion.

"Oh, come on, Thornson, did you have to show us that now? How am I supposed to finish my lamb now?” Ragin said, and he kept eating his roasted lamb with less appetite, coursing Thornson under his breath.

The man was pale, shaking, and weak. I struggled to breathe, and getting up in that sick state was nearly impossible.

“Please tell me that is not contagious." Violet was scared and was ready to leave quickly.

“Relax. It doesn’t harm demons, not yet. Unless sheriff wants it to..." Lord Thornson I looked for an answer from the sheriff.

“No humans will do. Hector's army, even though most think they are chaos demons, is actually more human than demons, except they have no clue, and that ego will be their downfall.” Becket said and drank more tea.

“So you care to tell us a bit of your reason for abandoning Moon Land and leaving it to those brute hands for six months? I mean, I personally am dying to know.” Lord Thornson said it as politely as possible.

“Well, you showed me your loyalty; some explanation wouldn’t hurt, I guess,” Becket said. He took out his magnum revolver and pointed it at that half-dead man, then shot him dead.

"Sorry, I had to put him out of his misery,” he continued.

"Thanks; he was making me miserable too, eating my lamb, which, by the way, is my compliment to the chef of the house. You cooks know how to cook for real Thornton; you are one lucky man,” Ragin said, trying to act like an aristocrat and be polite, which always made him look awkward but funny.

Violet smiled; she couldn’t resist her nosiness to have the answers, and Becket could read them through her big, shiny black eyes. She was the black riven of Heaven’s Peak after all her powers were rooted in gossip and news.

Ragin couldn’t care less as long as he was eating, had something to eat, and his pack was safe.

Thornson was an honorable demon, but he was ambitious, and Becket knew that after he gave Thornson what he accepted, the honorable lord of Moon Land would make war against the blood-sucking vampires. They had a long history, but his first target was Ragdoll.

“See, I left Moon Land lawless for six months, and look just what happened. My peace demon friend that I enjoyed spending time with turned into a mob boss and his daughter. Becket sighed in disappointment and continued, "Perri, the girl I cared about—that innocent girl is now in it with his damn father. I mean, I did expect it from that damned Hector and his savage gunslinger. Their point is to be ruthless, but Higgs? That was my blind spot, I guess.”

“No sheriff,” Violet said.

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“No, what?" Becket said.

"Perri, that innocuous girl that you care about so much and are secretly in love with is not part of Higgs’s crime chain of command. She is clean.

She always was kind to her kind and humans and tried to clean up the mess of her father’s sins,” Violet said and winked.

Becket smiled. “Well, now that is some good news, Thanks, Violet, and by the way, you are so beautiful. I always wondered why you tried to hide that beauty under that mask.”

“To keep things challenging,” Violet said, wearing her charming smile.

“Bloody confidence in you, Miss Violet. But sheriff, please do continue.” Lord Thornson insisted.

“Always on point with this one,” Becket said, taking another sip of his tea, though the cup was empty. Thornson clapped, and his servants filled his cup quickly. Two half sheep half man and half woman, were cleaning up the blood mess and taking out the body to bury him.

“Cute staff Thornson, it’s like all the farm animals with human bodies. Wonder what they would taste like,” Ragin said, laughing while looking at a sheepwoman servant from his seat. That servant didn’t sleep well that night.

“Demons change when they face humans. It’s like they fuel your ambition, wrath, lust, pride, and the sense of dominance that should be balanced and intact to Heaven’s Peak natural order. And as soon as you see humans, you will all lose it. It’s like you've become more demon than you should be.” The sheriff's words put the three demons in a deep thinking state for a few minutes.

“Look at you. Do you think you would have done better if you had Higgs and Hector’s men’s power or resources? Fun is that you all think of me as a bendable law like someone that you can use to your advantage, but tomorrow you will witness that you all belong to me. The only reason I signed contracts with you three is that you know you should fear me.”

Becket’s cold smile on his lips appeared like a sharp dagger. “Don’t try to hide it, Violet; behind your smiles or your sense of seriousness about your power tonight, you are mine, and I’m going to fuck you just the way you’ve been fantasizing about this since the day you met me.”

“What are…” Violet tried to resist.

“Shut the hell up, girl,” Becket said, smashing his baton on his plate.

“And you, Ragin, are you going to stop eating and listen, or should I shove my gun inside your throat and pull the trigger till it goes click and fills your gut with my bullets?”

Ragin showed his sharp teeth and got ready to jump at Becket, but in the blink of an eye, his revolver was out, and two bullets were shot at Ragin’s chest. Bullets didn’t kill him, but they put him down for good.

“I think you don’t understand it, sheriff; you are in my house,” Lord Thornson yelled at William.

He got up from his seat and still had that cold smile, put his gun and baton on his belt, and slowly walked at Thornson grabbed his head from the horns, bashed his face on the table, and broke one of his antlers. The sound of a deer echoed in the mansion, and no servant dared to help Thornson.

“Now this will make a good hidden knife for me,” William said, and with his hand pointed to Violet, he followed him to his room.

“Come on, girl. We are going to have all the night to ourselves, and I’m going to make you cum till you see double.”

Violet followed him; all her instincts pushed her toward him. Her body wanted to feel Becket's warm, strong hand around her. She was starving for his attention; it was her one chance to steal William’s heart, and if not, she had the love of her life for one long night.

Servants tended to Ragin and Thorson while the sound of screams, moans, and bed squeaks came from William’s room.