Given a choice, I wouldn't be walking around trying to look imposing. At least not right now. It was a little before noon and nothing interesting had happened. No reports from Ann or any of the other staff. No sudden attacks or bombings. Our compound's only visitor was a coroner who picked up Henry's body. They wouldn't dare try to analyze it on site. The cause of death was easy. His throat had been torn out.

Someone had found a pile of ash and bone this morning where a dead partial vampire hadn't survived. Two and two put together meant a vampire killed Henry, and enough bullets killed the vampire.

Forensics wasn't my thing. I couldn't even pretend a basic understanding of crime scene layouts. Some of Kahina's staff members could. They were tearing the place apart looking for more information and left me rolling in boredom. Between the tedium of my uselessness and sleep, sleep would've won. I was running on a day and a half with only a few hours of naps to show for it.

Ann, dammit, Shaggy had suggested I last until sundown. That way Anthony and Lennon would be awake and could take over. Human servants were there to cover the day shift. She fought my suggestion of letting the rest of the household take watch while I sleep.

I hadn't seen Shaggy for a few hours. I would bet real money on her having tucked off somewhere and taken the nap my body craved. To ensure I couldn't do the same word had gotten out that I was the 'go to' guy for orders about the household. Most everyone steered clear of me. Their training had been thorough enough to make this place run on autopilot. When one person asked me a question I responded with a very impressive 'What do you think?'. The man spouted off some idea and ran off to take care of it. For all I know he could have been asking about the trash pickup schedule.

Hours later things did start to happen. Some authoritative looking people from different parties gained entry through legal processes I knew nothing about. If Ann had been around I might have asked her but the people she left me with seemed to feel it was standard.

The first party was a set of officers from human law enforcement that showed up for a statement regarding the dead human. They wanted to check the box declaring him deceased during a vampire house skirmish.

Pack law did something similar by sending a female out to the house. She walked into the house and sniffed the area around Kahina's office before turning to us. It was a boring process I had mostly tuned out, and the wolf in question wasn't someone familiar.

"Very well. I can report that a vampire was definitely present in this room, and I can smell the deceased wolves." She said.

"Impressive. We've had the house aired out." The person answering was a female from Kahina's house. All the actual talking was her responsibility. Being in charge allowed me to delegate.

"Of course, but I'm required to have a better than average nose." The Pack female said.

"Of course." The not pack female responded. Exhaustion made it hard to tell which woman was talking. I got as far as ‘ours’ and ‘not ours’.

My role was to look intimidating while the law enforcement branches did their thing. It seemed like a good idea to look at her name tag. Too much nosing into the smells around here couldn't be good. Not when we tried to air the place out all day.

Dianna Kundre. A fake name? Perhaps, or maybe she was legit. Probably not worth worrying about. The wolf's blond hair might be dyed though it was unlikely. Medium height, not too bulky like most wolves ended up being. Dianna probably lifted weights for tone rather than size. Either way I would pass the name by Shaggy.

"Nice setup," Dianna commented.

The employee she was talking to went by the name Jacky. No long version. Jacky was slightly more toned and you could see where most of her body fat had been burned away over the last year. Her light auburn hair came straight from a bottle and draped halfway down her back. It was darker than her natural color.

Kahina had an evenly split household with regard to genders. Her general policy was to match up guests based on their personality. Since most wolves were domineering, they might see a female as easy. Or in some cases they might see someone like Jacky as a no-nonsense career woman.

"We do what we can. If you're finished we'll escort you off the property." She was also annoyingly polite with her words, not that you felt any sort of empathy behind them.

"Oh sure." Dianna didn't seem to be paying much attention to the conversation, instead she was looking around. Maybe I was paranoid but I couldn't help but feel like she was checking out something other than the decor.

"This way then."

"Great. Not sure I'd find the front door on my own. This place is huge."

"It's been expanded over generations," Jacky said. It was the same tone you heard from tour guides that were bored with their jobs.

"I'll bet." Dianna twitched her face. I could almost see the hint of her wolf form in that movement, a brief slip of the nose and a half lip lift. The wolf's version of a snicker.

Her entire presence felt weird. Very off. Too nosey, too much right now. Maybe it was the thought of Kahina downstairs and alone, relying on me and the others to be careful. All of it put together was enough to make me worried. Being careful was a far sight better than being lax.

"Get Myers," I spoke for the first time since Dianna stepped onto the premise. If something was wrong then Shaggy would be able to figure it out. This spot was a good place for Dianna and me to wait.

"Sir?" Jacky questioned. Why did everyone insist on calling me sir? Kahina's instructions must have included it.

"Go."

"I'll be fine on my own, if you need to go somewhere." Her shoulders were less relaxed and both eyes stopped their wandering. Now they gave everything more consideration, especially me. She hadn't missed the deferment from Jacky.

Jacky headed off. Cute, but she started out on my bad side when we first met. Jacky was the same maid who needled me into an embarrassing sparring session with Shaggy though I didn't really know either of them at that point. I still barely knew any of the staff beyond Shaggy after four months.

"We'll need a copy for our records." My head inclined towards the red folder in Dianna's arms.

"It'll be filed with the local Pack, and sent to Fifty Five, I'm sure either party will happily provide you a copy." She said. Fifty-Five wouldn’t provide us anything after three of their members had died during the first assassination attempt.

"I'm sure Malcolm won't mind my getting a copy now." I said.

"Are you sure you need it? It's fairly standard stuff." Dianna managed not to seem verbally upset. It was the most polite statement I had ever heard from a wolf. Especially given my tone.

"We do." We was a strong word to use in a conversation with any wolf. Maybe it wasn't the same as a pack, but this household would act united to the outside. I wouldn't be the one to break that impression.

A few minutes of uneasy silence passed. It was difficult to walk the line between imposing and nonthreatening. I had to stand straight but not too tense. Then do anything but look directly at Dianna, even though she probably had passed her rehabilitation with high marks. Of course, I also stood between her and the path out of the building. Not directly in the doorway or I would be seen as trapping her, but near enough that it could go either way.

All this, plus I didn’t actually care about a copy of the report. I wanted Shaggy to see if she looked familiar.

"Whose Myers?" Dianna finally broke the silence to ask.

Ann Myers had come around the corner behind me. I only knew because of the way her feet hit the floor. Tiny hard soled shoes that made a dent in anything she kicked. The same sharp click that Daniel’s feet had.

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"I'm Ann Myers," She said.

"Myers, I was telling Dianna we needed a copy of her papers." The natural insult rolled out. Both the use of her first name and insulting her pedigree. Not that wolves were dogs. Not quite. Though I'd dated a wolf once who wore a spiked choker and enjoyed being lead around. Brief but interesting.

"Dianna?" Shaggy seemed confused.

"Just here checking up on last night's disturbance." I saw Miss Kundre pause and evaluate Ann. Whatever she saw seemed to relax her a little. My money would be on Shaggy if they decided to fight.

"That's fine, Adolpha Kundre. We always cooperate with law enforcement." Shaggy's eyes shot towards me in a question, my response was a partial shrug from where I stood off to the side. Hearing Ann call our visitor Adolpha was mildly interesting. I felt a few muscles in my back unwind.

Dianna turned and eyed me for a moment. My response was to stare at a spot on the wall close to her head. I certainly didn't spend my spare time contemplating what surface would be easiest to slam her into if things went wrong. Not that I planned on it. This was Ann's show, not mine. I had no clue what half the laws were surrounding vampire households.

"Sojourn?" Dianna tilted her head and switched her stare to Shaggy in question.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ann's nod. What the hell did that exchange mean? I risked a glance at Dianna's face. She looked excited by something.

"Let me copy those files really quick. That way neither of us have to deal with the risk of tampering." Ann said.

"That's fine, I don't think any household I've been through hasn't all but attempted to rip them out of my hands," Dianna said while sounding friendly. Her body had relaxed a lot. "Make sure page four comes through clear, some copy machines can't seem to pick up the ink right."

Ann turned and marched off with Dianna stepping in behind her. They both had almost the exact same cadence as they marched. Feeling more than a little out of place I lumbered behind them with a much longer stride. It wasn't long before they outpaced me. I swear short people had speed complexes.

They were also muttering something I didn't quite hear. Obviously Ann felt comfortable conspiring with Dianna so I guess my paranoia was unfounded. They stepped into another room, an office of some sort if my memory served.

I stood outside and leaned against the opposite wall.

Maybe I should eavesdrop a little. It might give me some sort of insight on how they knew each other. Both eyes shut for a moment and my thoughts started their possessive drone. This house was Kahina's, Ann was Kahina's employee, Kahina was mine. Both my feet in this hallway, rooms I had tread through. Both of my hands were pressed against the wall.

The hardest part about using my abilities was that need for a connection. Normally I had to have an item, a trinket of some sort to connect through. Four months ago I'd found that it wasn't specifically the trinket, but the possessive thoughts that went with holding something.

It was barely enough. For a moment, there was a tenuous connection between my senses and the other side of the doorway. Enough to feel what was happening in the room. Not to see, not to hear, but to feel the room's contents, to hear the sound of their words as tables, chairs, counters absorbed the vibrations.

"How long have you been under?" Dianna's voice felt rough against the walls.

The whir of the copy machine obscured parts of it, but it felt like Ann said nine months. Whatever that meant. It took awhile for me to parse out the pounding hum of machinery from their words.

"Almost over?"

"In a few weeks," Shaggy answered. Her voice was so crisp against the objects in the room. Like there was no doubt at all who she was and what she was saying.

"That soon? Got big plans afterward?" Dianna was excited for Ann, and I had no idea why. It was like they were planning a baby shower.

"Not right away. I have to wait for someone else to finish their sojourn." Shaggy's voice was disappointed, and the copy machine died down.

"Rough life."

Ann's hand slammed against the door thrusting it open. It was enough to shatter the connection to the other room.

"I'll escort Adolpha Kundre to the front door. Why don't you make sure everything's in order." Shaggy said to me. "Take a break."

Any other thoughts melted away at the idea of laying down. That was a great plan, I would go downstairs and check on Kahina, maybe see how hard it was to change out her blood bag, then find a spot to curl up and pass out.

I blinked a bit then nodded at Shaggy.

"This way, Adolpha." There was that title again. Maybe I should read some more on wolf lore. Maybe Malcolm would know.

My room would be too far away. Instead of going there I detoured downstairs, past the security gate and into the room where Kahina was sleeping. Where she might never wake up.

The blood bag was almost empty. Ann had said that keeping it fresh would help Kahina make it through the change. It took time to find the other blood bags and switch them around.

Less than a day had passed so far. Eight hours to be exact. In another six Anthony and Lennon would be up. This was their time to shine. Their futures depended on how things turned out. If Kahina survived then the chances of them surviving would increase in leaps and bounds. She could extend the protection of an already established household. It would scare off some of the weaker enemies that might sniff around during the transformation.

Or she might not. Keeper hadn't exactly extended a home to Kahina. His only commitment had been that 'they', a vague identification, would help.

I plopped down onto the ground near the foot of the bed. She didn't look any different than her normal daytime self but still felt off. There was a sneaky feeling that grew and rattled from the inside. Then that growing emotion only got worse the more my mind dwelled on the thin difference between a deep sleep and being truly dead.

Her hand felt so small. Even lacing my fingers through hers didn't help me feel useful. There was no pulse of life anymore, no hint of warmth that showed blood still circulated.

"You're going to be alright." It was hard to say if I was reassuring her or myself.

"I put on this stupid suit for you." I hated suits. The best part about my life had been the ability to completely avoid anything that required a tie.

"You let me stay here." We hadn't ever lived together before four months ago. Maybe a night or two, but not actually sharing a home.

"You asked for my protection." I rubbed the inside of her palm trying to get the blood flowing again. Maybe she could feel it, I had to believe something I did was useful. "But I don't know a thing about how to protect a person." The admission made my gut cinch up.

Why had she placed so much hope on me? Why did she really want me? To be her anchor? That was something for ships, not for vampires.

Both eyes shut again and I called on the connection that let me feel where Kahina was. While the thread of purple and red splotches lead straight to this body, the sense of vibrancy that living things had was completely absent. Wherever Kahina was, whatever she was going through, her spirit was no longer in this room.

It was all I had right now.

Maybe she would complete the change by morning and all this worry could stop. It was wishful thinking but better than dwelling on the alternative; that she would never wake up. If she woke then we could sort out our relationship. I could tell her I loved her, that I would stay, that I would always be there if that's what she wanted.

All she had to do was wake up.

Both eyes stayed closed and I drifted off into sleep, holding the thought of a purple and crimson thread in my mind.