A little after 11, Nakela had changed back into her normal clothes. The conversation with the vampire still bothered her. Sarita knew about the Damned ones better than she did, but she doubted that Sar would believe the story. She needed someone else to talk to first. On her way out, Nak stopped by the club's back office to use the phone.

"Hey... Yeah, it's me... No, I'm fine. Not exactly what I expected. Look, um, mind if I come over tonight?... Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."

The were-dragon hung out behind the club while she waited. After about a half an hour, she finally walked off down the dark streets. Two blocks away, she turned a corner and was completely out of sight of the club. Most females her age would be wary of the dark streets so late at night, especially the ones that knew of the vampires. Nakela however, had nothing to be worried about. In the open, she had room to change into her Archid form if she needed to, and no blood-sucker stood a chance against a nearly fifty-foot long dinosaur.

It wasn't too much longer before she saw the tow-truck driving up the street toward her. As the truck pulled up by the sidewalk, Nakela walked over and got in the passenger side.

"Thank's for the lift Jake."

"Hey, no problem. Chance decided to go stay with Sarita and the kittens tonight anyway. Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded slowly, looking out the windshield to the dark streets ahead as Jake drove back to the salvage yard.

"Yeah. And I'm now sure that it was a good idea not to take Moira's offer."

"What happened?"

The concern in his voice was obvious. He knew Nakela was hiding something. She merely gave a light shrug.

"Even Grendel doesn't seem to trust her."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's... I don't know. I may not have Sarita's ability to sense when someone's lying, but I am very good at reading people. It was just the way he talked. I could hear it in his voice."

Jake glanced at her as he drove. Nak was usually so carefree, but there was definitely something bothering her.

"Nakela, tell me the truth. What happened? What did he say?"

She gave a deep sigh. They had to learn of it sooner or later, and she knew that Jake at least would look at it more logically than the others would. Mokole were well known for their memory, and Nakela was able to give the full details of the entire conversation as they drove back.

.

Moira's Haven wasn't anything like that of her Sire's. Though it was in an abandoned office building, it was well furnished, although in a bit darker motif than one would expect. The young vampire was quite attractive, and she knew it. Just as she did in life, she used her appearance and charisma to her full advantage. Her most trusted servant arrived quickly from the club, before Grendel did, and informed her of what he had seen and heard. When the male vampire returned, she simply lay relaxing on her sofa, as if nothing could be wrong.

"Ya called?"

Grendel spoke out softly, stopping a respectful distance away from her. He'd slipped his usual 'mask' back on, so she wouldn't suspect that he had talked treason with the enemy. Moira may have been young and lightly-built, but she was still nearly as dangerous as Ange had been.

Chigger, in his hyena-like lupus form, lay on the floor beside the sofa. In lupus, he was only about the size of a border collie. The canine lifted his head, his large ears pricked, then he turned them back and seemed to have a wicked toothy grin on his lupine face. Moira lay on her back, stretched across the sofa, her head propped up on the arm. She wore only the same simple clothing that she preferred in life, currently a small sleeveless pale green shirt that caressed her skin to show off her delicate curves and exposed her mid-rift, and a of pair of tight-fitting denim shorts. As Grendel approached and spoke to her, she just stared up at the ceiling, not even bothering to glance at the larger vampire.

"So? How did it go?"

The male vampire shot a glare to the dog, then turned his attention back to the female.

"They refused the truce"

"Hmmm... Too bad. Well, guess we'll have to try things the hard way then. Maybe Chigger will succeed where you failed. Honestly, I thought you could be more convincing than that, Grendel."

"It's not like I can just gain their trust over night ya know. That takes time. From what I heard though, it had been a mixed choice."

"Really? How so?"

"That were -dragon had mentioned how she had voted 'yes' for tha truce."

"She did? Hmm... Well, it seems that you may have made an impression on her at least. But apparently the rest will take a little more... 'convincing'. But tell me, exactly how much of what you told her tonight was actually true?"

She reached down a hand and gently pet the neck and shoulders of the lupine beside her. Chigger grinned and gave that typical eerie hyena-like laughing sound.

"What do ya mean?"

He looked at her with a confused expression. However, he inwardly had an idea of what she meant. Moira turned her head, and those blue-green eyes of hers glared coldly at the larger vampire, a soft green glow reflecting off of them. Grendel shivered at the glare.

"Ya know I'd tell them whatever they wanted ta hear ta try and get them ta trust us"

"Is that so? Chigger here tells me that you sounded quite sincere. It seems as if your Creation Rites didn't go over so well. Maybe we should try again?"

"I had ta sound that way if I was gonna trick them. If ya want their help, ya'll have ta show them that we can be trusted. I don't think this other plan of yours will do any good, other than pissing them off."

He stayed calm, despite those eyes seeming to stare right through him.

"Ha! Oh, it'll work. These jaguars care about honor, specifically the honor of their family, above all else. Trust me, Sarita will have no choice but to agree! Besides, I didn't want their 'trust', just their cooperation."

"Ya can't force them ta help ya. Even if ya did, then they'd only stab ya in the back the first chance they got! Have ya forgotten just what that Hellcat is capable of? Tha angrier ya make her, tha stronger she'll become!"

Moira sat up suddenly, a cold, frightening look in her eyes. She had learned all of Angelida's abilities, including how to create fear into those who stood before her. She used this ability now, a vicious predatory snarl in her usually pretty face.

"It sounds like you're loosing your nerve, Grendel! I think perhaps out sire made a mistake when she created you!"

The larger vampire cringed, then backed up several steps.

"NO! I'm not! I'm just not sure that kidnapping tha Hellcat's kittens would be such a good idea..."

"Then what would you suggest?"

Chigger stood up and lowered his head, snarling viciously at the male vampire.

"Make them think that I betrayed ya for them, so that we can get them ta help us. Then, once tha other vamps are out o' the way, ya could use my being closer ta them to your advantage when we strike them down."

She glared at him, considering for a moment.

"And how do I know that you really won't betray me?"

"Ya won't, just like they won't know either."

Grendel growled inwardly to himself. This wasn't going at all like he'd planned. Kidnapping three kits to force the rest of the pride to help them went against everything he still believed. Vampire or not, he still wasn't as cruel or evil as the insane she-kat. Moira narrowed her eyes coldly at him.

"Well, your plan may just work. But first, there's something that needs to be done. The Vaulderie. I cannot take the chance of you betraying me, brother. We became quite lax after the death of our sire. Perhaps if we hadn't, our brother, Vairen, would not have turned against us."

She stood up and walked over to a corner, Chigger following behind her. There was a small round-topped table there, a delicately carved pewter chalice sitting on top of it on a red cloth, with an ornate dagger beside it. The black tabby followed her over to it silently. He knew that it would only complicate things further if he drank from that cup.

Moira picked up the dagger. Slitting her wrist, she clenched her fist over chalice, allowing a fair amount of her blood to drip into it. Satisfied, she licked her wrist slowly, the wound sealing over beneath her tongue. She then flicked her wrist, lightly tossing the dagger into the air, causing it to flip. She caught it again by the blade, then held it out to Grendel.

"Now, your turn."

Grendel slowly took the dagger, gripping the handle gently as the other vampire released the blade. He then lifted his free arm up, but in doing so he had the idle thought of instead plunging the blade deep into that vamp bitch's chest. However, he knew that line of thought could end very badly for him. As he thought about it though, the were-dragon's words from a few hours ago came back to him, and he knew what he had to do. Instead of slitting his wrist, the male vampire roared out and tried to burry the dagger up to the hilt into Moira's chest, aiming for her heart.

The silver-furred she-kat hissed sharply and pulled back, but not quick enough to avoid getting stabbed by the dagger. Still, it was only steel, and not wood. In an instant, Chigger had shifted up to his crinos form. Even though he was only about the same height at the male vampire, he was still just as strong, and slashed his fierce claws across Grendel's back, tearing the leather vest and ripping a set of four deep gashes.

Gren growled in pain as his back was slashed open. Jerking the knife free of the smaller vampire, he jumped away and pulled his own military knife out of the hidden pocket in his vest. Moira staggered back from surprise, a chilling green glow in her feral eyes. She placed a hand over the already closing wound, then hissed fiercely, baring her long fangs.

"Traitorous fool! You'll pay for this, Grendel! Chigger!"

The werewolf grinned, and gave that chilling hyena-like laugh of his again as his body changed. His greasy, spotted gray pelt melted into a sickly orangish color that resembled the wart-covered, leathery skin of a toad, though more solid, and with a foul smell. The small Garou lunged again, slashing with both clawed hands. Grendel managed to move out of the way this time, and slashed out with both of the blades that he now wielded.

Unfortunately for him though, the blades bounced harmlessly off of the werewolf's thick scabby hide. Chigger grinned, and lunged forward with surprising speed, opening four more deep gashes in Grendel's chest. The black tabby stumbled back from the blow. He hadn't expected to face whatever this thing was that the werewolf had become. Two on one wasn't a battle he could win, and certainly not with just the two daggers.

Growling in pain, he lunged forward again in an attempt to get one of the blades into an eye, or some other soft spot. However, due to the extent of Gren's injuries, the quick werewolf quite easily dodged his weaker attack. After the vampire missed, the crinos Spiral Dancer body-slammed him in the back, knocking him onto the ground.

Grendel gasped in pain, the combat knife coming loose from his grip and skittering across the cement floor. Gritting his teeth, the vampire still struggled against the werewolf, and kicked out with a leg in a feeble attempt to kick the creature away. Looking around for anything he could use, he spotted the lit oil lamp near where that sick she-kat was, one of several that lit the dim room. With the last bit of his fading strength, he threw his only remaining weapon at the lamp, hoping that he could get in a lucky hit and shatter it. Burning some of vitae, Moira's Celerity kicked in. With blinding speed, she reached out and caught the dagger a mere inch before it hit the lamp.

"Nice try, brother."

Chigger put his full weight onto the wounded vampire, holding him down. Moira calmly walked back to the table, and set down the dagger. She then picked up a ten-inch wooden stake and walked slowly and deliberately over to the larger vampire.

"But very stupid."

The dark-furred tabby growled and dug his claws into the floor, struggling to get free, regardless of how much more pain that the effort caused him. The werewolf snarled, and grabbed the back of the vampire's neck with a clawed hand, forcing him to stay down. Moira kneeled down calmly in front of him, just out of reach, twisting the wooden stake in her hand.

"Now why did you have to go and do a stupid thing like that?"

"You... you're insane... Taking those kits... will never work... I had ta... at least try... ta stop ya..."

The male vampire grunted as he struggled against the werewolf's full weight forcing him down. The silver she-kat gave a soft, wicked laugh that certainly made her sound insane.

"You're such a fool. Do you really think that the shifters would trust you? Did you actually think that they would have let you lived? Well, not exactly 'lived' I suppose, since we're technically already dead. But don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you. You're still too useful to me."

"I'd never willingly help you!"

"Heh heh. Oh but you will, brother. When I'm through with you... You will."

Grendel growled at her, the weight of the mangy were-beast on top of him grinding his chest wounds into the floor, leaving a thick bloody smear. Moira stood up again, and nodded quickly to Chigger. The beast grabbed the male vampire by an arm and flipped him over, digging a knee hard against the wounds on his chest and adjusting his grip, his clawed hand now on the vampire's throat. The small female walked over and kneeled down again, just beside him, holding the stake. Grendel glared up at her, his fangs bared in pain and anger.

"I may have failed ta kill ya... But the Gaians will not!"

She gave a dark, cruel smile.

"Oh, they won't kill me. You see, I've learned from our sire about what not to do. And no, you won't kill me either. But you will help me. And you will fight with me against Dark Kat and Vairen. Hell, you might even help me kill a few of those blasted 'Gaians', as they call themselves. But first, we have work to do."

With lightning speed, she brought the stake down, impaling him directly in the heart. Grendel's eyes widened and he groaned softly before going limp, his eyes closing as everything went black.