"Trish," she gasped, hugging her friend back. "I'm extraordinarily glad to see you, but you have to remember you're a b.l.o.o.d.y Werewolf." Her ribs were groaning, and she couldn't breathe. Trish had only been a Werewolf for a few months and still tended to forget how strong that made her.

"Oh, Gabi, I'm sorry," she cried, instantly letting go, apology written all over her face. Before Gabi could rea.s.sure her friend, Julius put an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his side.

"I'm afraid further personal greetings will have to wait a few moments," he said with a smile to Trish.

As Gabi looked around she realised that Julius's personal guard surrounded them: Fergus, Charlie, Quentin and Tabari, all resplendent in black formal wear, each with Julius's colours prominently displayed in their bow ties, c.u.mmerbunds and kerchiefs. Julius put an arm around her and whisked her to the centre of the room.

Before they came to a halt, a small area had cleared for them, and the general hubbub of the room went quiet. Alexander hadn't been exaggerating when he told her there would be more than two hundred guests. Luckily for Gabi's sanity, she could only see a small portion of the Vampire gazes concentrated on the two of them. She didn't dare to allow her Vamp sense out to peruse the crowd; it would go into overdrive and freak her out even more. She was ridiculously happy to see some familiar faces lining the crowd nearest them; Nathan, Liam and Alexander all smiled encouragingly at her.

"Clan and friends." Julius's voice resonated through the room. He removed his hand from Gabi's back and took her hand in his. "We have invited you here tonight to celebrate with us. Though our blood ceremony was, by necessity, held in private with just a few witnesses, we would like to include you all in our happiness. I ask now for my Clan and friends to witness and welcome my Consort, Gabrielle, and her House to our family." He turned to her and, with an enigmatic smile, pulled something from his pants pocket. "I know we've exchanged blood and colours in the Consort ceremony, but I'd like to do something to honour your human side as well." Then he took her left hand and slid a ring onto her ring finger.

Gabi gasped, truly flabbergasted, as a spontaneous round of applause broke from the crowd. The ring was stunning: black crystals set around a large sapphire, the gold band intricately patterned as it wrapped around her finger. Something about the pattern struck her as familiar, and it took her a full second to realise it was the pattern from Nex's hilt replicated in exquisite detail. Gabi resisted swallowing to clear the lump that was suddenly lodged in her throat. Unadulterated pleasure and happiness flooded through her, and it wasn't just her own emotions she was feeling.

Julius lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it just above the ring. "Its core is made of t.i.tanium," he whispered with a grin. "Just like you." Then he turned back to the attentive crowd. "My Consort," he announced, and almost every Vampire in the hall went down on one knee, their heads bowed in respect. Gabi now finally had a true perspective of the size of Julius's Clan; less than two dozen remained standing, half of those friends of hers and the other half obviously Masters or friends of Julius's, the rest of the crowd belonged to Julius. And now her. She'd never felt more daunted in her life. Now she understood the weight of responsibility that sat on Julius's shoulders.

CHAPTER 4.

Gabi only got moments to greet her friends; she was surprised and happy to see that not only Kyle and Trish had made it. Only one person took a little of the shine off the evening. Derek. Gabi found his gaze; he was standing at the rear of the small group. She was grateful that he'd come despite his feelings about her relationship with Julius, but his unhappiness was a distraction she didn't need this evening.

Add sculpted muscles and rare, silver grey eyes to tall, dark and handsome and you had a man who didn't want for female attention. The two of them had worked together on movie sets several times in the past few years: Gabi as animal handler, her official, daytime job, and Derek as a stuntman to some of the best known action movie stars. On and off the job he'd made no effort to hide his attraction to her. Gabi had resisted starting a relationship with him largely because he'd been fully human, with absolutely no knowledge of the supernatural world. She'd found out the hard way that relationships based on a lie didn't work out very well.

By the time he'd been infected with Lycanthropy, Gabi had already fallen for Julius. After Derek survived the Change to Werewolf, he'd figured out why she'd been reluctant to date him. Contrarily this truth had angered him rather than giving him peace, thinking he may have stood a chance with her if he'd become a Werewolf just a little bit sooner. Gabi didn't have the ruthlessness needed to tell him that it would never have worked out between them; his mental instability, self-pity and self-doubt would've ruined their relationship if she was anything more than his friend.

His flint grey eyes bored into hers when she smiled sadly at him, and he lifted one side of his mouth in return, but the rest of his face remained an impa.s.sive mask.

Hugs and pats on the back broke her reverie over Derek. Several of the SMV Hunters and staff, her Shape-shifter friends Russell and Shawn as well as the Unholy Trinity, a trio of Werewolf females she counted as good friends, had also made it. Of those closest to her, only Byron and her mother were missing. She knew the reason for Byron's absence was a security concern. Few people outside of her family knew of his and Gabi's close relationship, and they liked to keep it that way, for Byron's protection. Anyone who knew her as h.e.l.lcat or Angeli Morte didn't need to know that Byron was important to her. Her mother, while also needing protection, was absent for another reason; she didn't really do supernaturals. She blamed the races for her first husband's death and for Gabi's eccentricities, as she liked to refer to her daughter's unusual talents and strange dietary needs. While Gabi had told her mother that she was in a relationship with the Master Vampire of the City, she still hadn't actually told her about their union. That was a hurdle she'd cross with lots of alcohol inside her. Lots and lots and lots.

Then a sleek blonde head caught her eye; she barely bit back a gasp of shock. Athena smiled wryly and tipped her head in greeting. Gabi immediately glanced about for Alexander. He was several steps away, but she caught him eyeing her and Athena's interaction a half second before he managed to look away and pretend nonchalance. He'd refused to dish the dirt during their drive the previous night, zipping his lips and throwing distractions out like left and right hooks, but Gabi suspected the two of them were doing the horizontal tango. A fact which may not surprise those who didn't know Athena, but those who did know her may well faint at the news. Athena, a bright, capable woman as well as a singularly talented Defensive Magus, was also notoriously racist. Not the Ku Klux Clan type of racist, but in the past she'd made no qualms of the fact that she didn't mix with other supernatural races. She was a Magus, and she mixed only with other Magi unless official business forced her to do otherwise. Until recently, when she'd been obliged to help the SMV Vampire coalition overcome some nasty threats to the City.

How the mighty do fall. Gabi grinned to herself, watching as Athena unconsciously found Alexander's gaze. Then Trish bounced up to Gabi's side, Kyle in tow, her eyes sparkling in eager joy. Love for each other positively oozed into the ozone around the two of them. If it wasn't between her oldest best friend and her newest best friend, Gabi might have gagged on it. Despite Kyle's casual demeanour and typically easy smile, his wolf was quite close to the surface of his mind, watching his mate protectively, unsettled by the proximity of so many unknown Vampires and Werewolves. Gabi understood his wariness. Trish grabbed Gabi's hand and admired the ring with an excited squeal.

"It does look great, doesn't it?" She turned it so Kyle could admire it too. Kyle's expression was one of feigned interest, making Gabi grin. Squealing over jewellery was definitely a girl-only thing, which, until about five minutes ago, even Gabi hadn't understood.

"You had something to do with this?" Gabi guessed from Trish's enthusiasm.

Trish grinned triumphantly, and Gabi realised that her face was thinner than a few weeks ago, making her eyes larger and adding to her prettiness, but giving her a subtle edge of hardness. Trish had had much softer feminine curves before the Lycanthropy virus took hold and moulded her body to suit its own agenda.

"It took weeks of planning," Trish crowed. "The hardest part was finding black diamonds big enough to suit his lordship's requirements." She nodded towards Julius, who was accepting congratulations, and some ribbing, from Lance and Doug, Gabi's former SMV Hunter compadres. Gabi raised an incredulous eyebrow and then frowned, re-examining her ring.

"Black diamonds?" she asked, feeling stupid. She'd thought the ring was set with large semi-precious stones, maybe tourmaline or quartz. Geez, the diamonds had to be at least a carat each in size.

Trish's grin widened. "The blue stone is tanzanite, we couldn't find a diamond the right shade of blue, so he compromised there, but very unhappily I might tell you." Her eyes were twinkling mischievously.

Gabi was about to make her spill more beans when Julius's hand on her arm distracted her.

"There are some guests I would like you to meet," he interjected smoothly and very pointedly steered her away from her friend. Gabi made a mental note to interrogate Trish later.

The list of Clan members and noteworthy guests seemed endless. Gabi tried in the beginning to make an effort to remember names and faces, but after half an hour she decided to settle for simply remembering faces. Gabi noted with interest that many of the honoured guests had brought with them their own human Feeders, and that not only the Estate's usual Feeders were present but a number of temporary 'recruits'. It was for the Feeders and Gabi's guests that the tables groaned with sumptuous food. Food, Gabi thought, and her hunger must have been strong enough to filter through the mental connection to Julius, as he abruptly broke off the introductions with a brief note that they'd be back soon, and whisked Gabi towards the nearest buffet.

As she reached towards a tray of tiny hors d'oeuvres, she sensed the warmth of a non-Vampire next to her; at the same moment she sensed annoyance lancing through Julius. Before she looked up, she knew the newcomer was Derek. He hadn't yet given her his congratulations like everyone else. Gabi sighed, but knew the conversation was inevitable. She shot Julius a loaded glance. His eyes narrowed, but he leaned down, kissed her full on the lips, and then left the two of them alone. Males. Gabi scowled as she turned from glaring at Julius's retreating back to the dominant male Werewolf on her other side.

"Thanks for coming," she said, wanting to reach out and touch him, but reluctant to give him any signal he might take the wrong way. She liked to think they'd made it past the awkwardness, but as she looked up into his steel grey eyes, she knew he wasn't over her at all. "It means a lot to have you here." She tried for a light but genuine tone, hoping to forestall an outburst. It didn't work.

"So you've really done it," he snapped, his voice flat and hard. "You married your undead lover."

Gabi only just held back a low growl as her temper flared. "Yes," she bit out, curling her fingernails into her palms to keep from punching him. "I've married Julius," she continued, even though it wasn't strictly true by human standards, "but he is not undead." She growled the last words from between clenched teeth.

"Really?" Derek raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "What would you call it, then?" Although they were in a largely vacant corner, Gabi was aware of several pairs of eyes watching them with an unhealthy interest.

"He is a Vampire, much as you are a Werewolf," she snarled, "or are you trying to pretend you're human again?"

His body tensed as though she'd delivered a physical blow, and his eyes narrowed in pain, but his anger only grew.

"I didn't have to die to become Werewolf," he threw at her. "I am not the undead."

"Well, if that's your cla.s.sification of undead, then your own sister is undead too," Gabi threw back. "We never told you at the time, as you were too unhinged, but Trish's heart stopped beating twice as she went through the Change. Jonathon, a Vampire, brought her back both times. Think about that," she snapped, then instantly regretted her words as the shock hit him like a punch to the face. She'd let her temper get the better of her, let him get under her skin. She'd thought she was learning to rein it in, but her control obviously wasn't as good as she'd hoped. "I'm sorry," she said, knowing she'd let Trish down as well. "That should never have come out like that."

She sensed movement to her left and glanced over to see Trish and Kyle approaching them. She turned back to Derek, raising her hand to touch his arm, but he pulled back from her, his gaze flicking to Trish and back to her.

"But she doesn't need to drink the blood of the living to survive," he hissed, then turned on his heel and strode off into the crowd, his slight limp more p.r.o.nounced in his anger. Too many eyes followed his exit.

Kyle reached Gabi, his expression concerned, while Trish held back, biting her lip in distress.

"Are you okay?" Kyle asked in a low voice. He put one hand on her shoulder to turn her away from Derek's furious departure.

"Yes, I'm fine. Can you go after him? I can't really get away now," she indicated the room full of Vampires, those closest still avidly watching the scene unfold. "Tell Trish I'm sorry."

Kyle squeezed her shoulder lightly. "He'll be fine once he calms down. It's nothing he didn't need to hear." He strode back to Trish, wrapping an arm around her back, and they both hurried after Derek.

Gabi closed her eyes and collected herself, glad that Julius hadn't been close enough to intervene. Giving up on the thought of food, she headed for the nearest table serving alcohol instead, pretending she didn't notice the inquisitive glances following her. The Vampire behind the bar was a staff member she knew by sight, and he was quick to fill a gla.s.s for her.

She'd just turned from the bar with the precariously full gla.s.s of red wine and taken an unladylike gulp when a woman broke away from a small group nearby and swept over to her. She was older in human years than the majority of the other guests, but she was slender and elegant in an understated black evening dress. Already several inches taller than Gabi, her high heels only added to her statuesqueness. Her hair was one of the most remarkable things about her; waist-length and with a very light wave, it was a shimmering, steel grey colour. Not the kind of grey that came with age, but that slightly different grey that came when a person went grey early in life. Gabi would bet Nex that this woman had been grey by the age of twenty. Not that it detracted from her beauty one iota. She must have been in her early to mid-fifties when she was Turned, but she held her age well, probably one of those women who actually got more beautiful as she aged. Lucky cow, Gabi thought ungraciously.

"Yes, in many ways I am," the woman said, catching Gabi's eyes as she stopped a few feet away and appeared to be sizing Gabi up.

Gabi blinked in consternation. Had she just spoken aloud? She'd swear she'd only thought the words, but how else...

"Ah, Svetlana." Julius's voice interrupted Gabi's confusion as he appeared at her side.

"Savannah," the other woman replied emphatically.

"Of course, my apologies," he placated her, leaning forward to drop a kiss on her cheek.

She chuckled and patted his face affectionately. "You're the only one who even remembers that name, Julius."

Gabi stiffened, not liking being left out of the joke. Julius quickly put a calming hand to her back, his cool fingers brushing the skin bared by her open-back dress.

"Gabrielle, this is Savannah. An old friend who, at another time, bore another name."

Gabi resisted the urge to put out her hand to shake the other woman's, reminding herself, as she had been all night, that it wasn't polite Vampire etiquette.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Savannah," she said cautiously, injecting a hint of formality into her tone and inclining her head politely in greeting.

"The feeling is indeed mutual," Savannah replied. "I've heard so much about you that I feel I know you already. I've been dying to meet the woman who finally tamed our commitment-phobic boy." Her smile seemed genuine, but perhaps a little too bright.

"Gabrielle, Savannah is the one who designed the, er, protective coating on your SUV," Julius supplied.

"The body-armour paint job you never bothered to mention to me, you mean," Gabi checked, only slightly caustically. That was still a sore point, especially as it had been done by a mystery Vampire female Gabi had never been introduced to.

"Yes," Julius confirmed mildly. "Savannah is a very talented lady." They both looked at the lady in question, and Julius continued. "So let me warn you, before she decides to have a little fun with you," Savannah's face took on 'who-me' expression, "that one of her special talents includes reading minds."

"You spoil all my fun, Julius," she protested, but with no rancour in her tone. "Though I think your Consort would've figured me out pretty quickly anyway." She gave Gabi a surrept.i.tious wink.

Gabi had been quite ready to dislike this woman, even before she knew of her close friendship with Julius, but somehow she found herself smiling back at the mischief twinkling in the grey-green eyes.

"She is the prettiest little thing," Savannah stage-whispered to Julius. "I'd stick to her side like superglue if I were you, with the sharks patrolling around here tonight."

Julius simply laughed out loud. "Don't let appearances fool you, Sve-Savannah. My Lea is more than capable of looking after herself."

"Against outright attack, yes, but against the subtle charm offensive that someone like Angelo will launch?" she enquired.

"He's welcome to try. It might even be fun to watch the match," Julius countered. "I might just need to disarm her first, however, to give him a fighting chance."

Savannah laughed, a thoroughly uninhibited chortle.

"You certainly chose a worthy Consort, Julius," she proclaimed.

Gabi smiled weakly. She didn't feel like a worthy Vampire Consort; she felt like a nervous schoolgirl suddenly thrust into the middle of a political rally and expected to know how to charm and entertain a large, unfriendly crowd. Then she remembered Savannah's extra talent and quickly cleared her mind, concentrating on thoughts of the paperwork she needed to deliver to her accountant's office.

Savannah smiled again, nodding approvingly. "She truly is a quick study, Julius," she said. "I'll leave you to mingle, but do bring her over for a visit to my lab one of these days. I'm sure she'd find it interesting." Then she turned to Gabi. "And you must bring the cat," she said fervently. "I love cats."

Before Gabi could form words of farewell, the woman was gone.

"She reads minds?" Gabi demanded in a clipped but hushed voice as soon as Savannah had joined another group of guests.

Julius nodded, a faint smile playing at the edges of his lips. "Well, not mine, and not the minds of other stronger Vampires, but weaker Vampires and humans, as well as most Shifters and Werewolves. She has a problem reading most Magi, however. Something about the skill they're all taught to keep others out of their mental s.p.a.ce. The tricks you use when you want to keep your emotions from me will probably keep your thoughts safe from her as well." That little fact made Gabi feel infinitely better.

"She's not one of your Clan members, is she?" Savannah hadn't been wearing Julius's colours on her anywhere that Gabi could see.

"No, she's Nomas Solitarius, and happily so. She lives outside a small rural village about an hour's drive from here. She's quite reclusive, staying on a large country estate, making a steady income from several of her inventions. I invited her tonight as she's someone I consider a friend. Someone I know I can trust in a pinch, and she has some brilliant ideas, some that may well prove to be very useful to us in the future." Julius suddenly pulled her close and tipped her face, his expression concerned. "Are you all right?"

She knew intuitively that he was referring to her argument with Derek rather than her encounter with Savannah the mind-reader.

"Upset with myself," she said ruefully, "but thank you for letting me deal with it."

Julius smiled, but before he could say anything more, another small group of Vampires approached them.

CHAPTER 5.

Gabi lay with her back nestled into the protective curve of his body, sated and physically exhausted after the mental strain of the evening, but unable to quiet her mind enough to sleep. It was a couple of hours to dawn, so Julius wouldn't need to sleep yet, but he would lie with her so she could get some rest. Having met several Master Vampires tonight, her thoughts turned to the Master she'd killed at the Court of the Princeps and the conversation she'd had with Alexander on their way to the Estate.

"What happens to a Clan if the Master dies the true death?" she asked into the silence. She'd detested everything about the Princep Santiago. Stunningly beautiful on the outside, stunningly ugly on the inside; he'd been the worst kind of pervert, a paedophile and a s.a.d.i.s.t, powerful enough to do as he pleased and drunk on his own self-importance. The world was an infinitely better place without him in it, but for the first time, Gabi wondered what ripples his death may have caused. Those ripples would've had the biggest impact on his Clan, and she was suddenly worried about what happened to them all.

Julius breathed in, stalling a little, perhaps trying to decide what prompted her question. "It depends largely on the hierarchy within the Clan itself." She didn't interrupt as he paused, allowing him to order his thoughts. "If there's a strong second in command or even another Clan member who's capable of becoming a Master, the Clan can appeal to the Princeps to declare the second their new Master. The majority of the Clan needs to be in agreement, though, and the second must be at Master level. If there isn't one strong enough to lead or the majority don't agree with the appointment, then the Clan is dissolved, the members dispersed to other Clans or to become Nomades Solitarii: lone walkers, the Clanless."

"Like you were?" she said softly.

"Yes, for a time." There was a heaviness in his voice.

"Until you found Lex?" She needed to pull him back from the precipice of gloominess; she was too close to it herself.

"Yes, Alexander was my first."

She could hear the smile in his voice and turned so she could make out his features in the dark, wondering what the joke was.

"I came across him in a forest in the dead of night. My horse actually stood on him. He'd been attacked by robbers. They'd taken everything he had-his horse, his belongings, his shoes and clothes-and then they'd stabbed him and dragged him into the forest, leaving him to the wolves or whatever else found him. He was naked, alone and dying, but he still had the strength to swear at me for a full two minutes before his breath left him."

Gabi snorted; she could hear the cussing in her mind. Alex could cuss like he'd been born on a pirate ship, and the centuries had only added to his repertoire.

"Did you..." It was her turn to pause as she thought how to phrase her question.

"Ask if he wanted to be a Vampire?" Julius supplied helpfully.

"Yes," Gabi said.

"Of course." His tone was mild, but there was an edge to it.

Then Gabi remembered that Julius had been Turned without his permission or even the knowledge of what his maker had been. Julius wouldn't do that to another person without very good cause.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean-"

He kissed her into silence. "I know you didn't," he breathed when he released her mouth. "I'm just rather grateful he was conscious enough to understand me. I don't know what I would've done if he'd pa.s.sed out. I was quite desperate for a companion by that point. I may well have done it anyway." He gave her lower lip another quick biting kiss before lifting away from her and rising from the bed. "He still bargained with me over it, though. He would only let me Turn him if we could go after the ones who robbed him and get his stuff back. How I marvelled at his arrogance, his sheer audacity."

"Well, nothing has changed there," Gabi muttered.

Julius wandered to the bay window looking out over the Estate lit only by pale moonlight.