Chapter One

"Okay so my mother, apparently is going to call your mother, and we're all going to go have happy family time at some wanna-be crap fest called Midevil Times. Isn't that just going to be full of fits and giggles?" Came a British accented voice from behind me. I wanted to just die, right then and there. Why did she have to be anywhere in my goddamn area? Wasn't there a cliff she needed to be jumping off of somewhere? I made myself feel better by closing my eyes and refusing to acknowledge her existence. It was 11:58 pm. I didn't legally have to take her shit until 12:00 am. Midnight. My favorite time of day, ruined.

"Hello? I know you hear me talking to you!"

Ignoring you. I'm ignoring you. I'm Ignoring you. I'm IGNORING you! I thought to her, willing her to hear it. She couldn't hear it.

"You know you keep doing this to me and I'm just going to leave. I don't have to be here, and I'm not going to jail if you can't be civil for a day."

I opened an eye and peeked at the clock. 11:59 pm. I closed my eye back and pointed at the clock. I could feel the breeze as her multicolored hair moved while her head flashed back and forth between me and the clock.

"What's all this?" She asked angrily. I leaned back in my chair and attempted to enjoy my last minute of freedom.

"It means she's not going to have anything to do with you until exactly March the first. Which is in about 45 seconds. You've damn near ruined her life. No need to rub it in." Came a contralto voice next to me. I grinned a thanks at her. Forty seconds to melt down.

"Oh, shut up you pig! It's bad enough I've got to include you." The British screech came again. This time I looked at her. Just looked at her. She didn't show it, but she was squirming inside. She knew she had crossed a line.

I looked at the clock just as the numbers changed to midnight.

"Okay, so what are we doing today? If your mother's calling anyone, it won't be til daylight." I said, sitting up.

All this month of March, because I had been too hungry and too dumb to check for a mark, I had to deal with my ex-hunting partner, because I accidentally killed her food, after she marked it for sustained use. Not my fault. How was I supposed to know the guy was marked, when the mark was on that disgusting piece of anatomy that drove me to an all women clan? The correct answer is that I should have thoroughly searched my victim for marks, even though I was far outside hunting grounds. My answer was, what was a marked human doing outside hunting grounds on a night when his owner was hunting? Of course, my answer was wrong and condemned me to a month of accompanying.

"We can start with food. I need to hunt." She said, in the most condescending way she could. Never mind that it was technically illegal to hunt up to a week before the rest of your clan, but hey! The Elders' Daughter was an exception to the law, right? I shook my head and pulled on my boots. If I was gonna break the law, for the law, I may as well look good, and have fun.

"But we're scheduled to go hunting on the fifth! Isn't that illegal?" the contralto asked. I nodded, and went to find my shirt. To her credit, she said nothing else about it. I was already sick thinking about it. I found my shirt hanging in the closet, not where I put it, but then, nothing was where I left it because the room was spotlessly clean. I guess technically it worked out for the best, right? Either way, I pulled the shirt on and went back out to the living room. At least the two weren't trying to kill each other yet. They were on opposite sides of the room though. I'd puzzle it out later.

"We'll go to the Left. It's their hunting day." I said getting ready to Shade.

"No, we always go to the Left." came the screech. So she was going to make my life harder. I could roll with that.

"If we don't go to the Left, we'll get caught, and I'll have to do two lengths of punishment. I am not doing two lengths." I said. As far as I was concerned, the conversation was over. I held my hand out to her, and obediently she took it. I held my other hand out, and the beautiful contralto went around it, wrapping her arm around my waist. Fine by me.

I Shaded the three of us to the Left, and area where the elder of us fed on the abundant populace. This time, we were in the middle of Hollywood. Fun, and come morning, Universal Studios was a good clubs closed at two, and by then, all three of us had taken our fill and burned to bodies. Since I was being punished, my contralto was too new, and the screeching Brit couldn't be bothered, no one was marked that night. I think that's when things really started getting strange.

"What's fun in Hollywood?" asked Vera. If I hadn't been around the screech, I would have said something a lot more... explicit. I toned it down.

"Sex and playgrounds." I answered.

"Shadow, you're disgusting."Came the screech again. I rolled my eyes. She didn't seem to have a problem with it when she was the one reaping the benefits, but I digress.

"Don't worry, Ruby! I have no intention of doing anything with you ever." I said, and we continued on our way.