Chapter 013

Spanning Millennia to Come

Saturday, February 02, 2008; 7:00 p.m. PST

Josef's Home, Beverly House, Beverly Hills, California

Spending all day in and out of the sun made me weary, so I changed all my codes to get onto the property and into the house, and called my maker, informing him that Mick is back in town. Then I quickly read over Beth and Vincent's reports, followed by two hours laying in my freezer soaking in the sub-zero temperatures.

At 7 p.m. I get out of my freezer fully refreshed and stride into my bedroom. I need to look the part of the 5,400-plus-year-old sheriff, so instead of the jeans and t-shirt, I wore earlier today I take out a slate grey suit, plum shirt, and a lavender, plum, and light grey paisley tie.

I'm a vampire. I don't sweat, and I didn't go rolling around in the dirt or encounter any blood splatter today, so I forgo a shower. I also forgo underwear. I've never seen the point of them on men, and I'm not about to change my opinion on that anytime soon, so I pull on my pants and zip them without putting anything on underneath.

I pick up my plum colored button-down shirt, but there's a knock on my bedroom door before I can put it on. No one in this house hasn't seen me without a shirt on, so I raise my voice, "Come in."

The door opens, and I smirk when Beth's eyes widen, and she stops just inside the doorway. She stares at me without blinking but says nothing, so I chuckle, "What do you need, Beth?"

She shakes her head a couple times, "God, Josef, a little warning would be nice."

I glance at her, "And what would I be warning you about?"

She waves her hand up and down like she's a presenter on a game show, "That you're shirtless."

I laugh, "You do realize not only have you seen me without my shirt on, but you've drawn designs on my bare chest and fallen asleep with your cheek resting against my shirtless shoulder?"

Her blush blooms quickly and spreads across her cheeks and down her neck. She's wearing a corset, so I smile while I watch her blush continue downward and cover the tops of her milky cleavage, which her corset just barely restrains.

A moment later she snaps her fingers and when our gazes meet she snorts, "I'm up here."

I snicker, "Yes, but your blush has spread down to there. I was just admiring the sight of your scrumptious blood so close to the surface."

She giggles, "If you say so."

I shrug and stick my arm into the sleeve of my shirt and then my other arm into the other sleeve before pulling the shirt over my shoulders. I begin buttoning the shirt, "I'm guessing you came to my room for something other than watching me dress?"

Her blush deepens, but then she clears her throat and waves her hands up and down her body, "Um, yeah, I just wanted to make sure this is okay. I mean, I haven't worn this in public except once, and it was Halloween."

I stop what I'm doing and allow myself to fully enjoy the vision she presents. The cream corset with black lace overlay accentuates her curves and pushes up her bosom, and the tight leather pants hug her form so perfectly it leaves me breathless, which is saying something because I don't need to breathe.

If it weren't for her heartbeat hammering in my ears and her unique scent of a rain-dappled forest soaking in the sun, she could pass for a vampire.

My gaze travels the entire length of her body from the top of her shiny blonde tresses laying in a tumble of curls down her back to the tips of her equally shiny black boots. I grin, "You look suitably badass."

She nods but then what she said occurs to me, so while I resume buttoning my shirt, I ask, "Out of curiosity what were you supposed to be while dressed like this?"

She smirks, and I resist the urge to adjust myself before she says, "Um, don't laugh, but I was supposed to be a vampire. There was this movie in 2003 called Underworld."

I'm familiar with the movie, though, I never saw it, so I incline my head prompting her to say, "Anyway, all my friends said I resemble one of the vampires, so I copied her outfit and dressed in this to be her. I copied her hairstyle, too."

I smile and glance at her hair, which has small sections twisted separately and then held together, where it all tumbles down her back in so many ringlets, "It suits you."

She beams and holds up a jacket, "Should I wear this coat? It's part of the costume but is it too much?"

I finish buttoning my shirt, "Let me see it on you."

She pulls the black, mostly lace coat on. Then she does a slow spin, showing me the full effect of the ivory and ebony corset, leather pants and the ankle length coat.

I nod, "Definitely wear the coat. If you get hot in the warehouse, feel free to remove it."

She grins, so I unzip my pants and begin tucking in my shirt. Her eyes widen before she turns her back on me.

I chuckle, "You're not a virgin as evidenced by the fact you're pregnant, so there's no need to be shy."

The scents of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg reach my nose while her blood rises to the surface of her skin even more. She doesn't turn around while she says, "Um, interesting fact, I've only ever been with one man in the biblical sense and um you're only the third guy to get his hand down my pants, and that number includes Josh."

I smile, "Let me guess, the professor was the other guy?"

She giggles, "Yes, but I discovered he was married before I slept with him, so I broke up with him, and I didn't care about anyone enough to sleep with them until I started dating Josh."

She peeks over her shoulder but then she faces forward again, "Um, I don't want you to treat me differently, but I don't really take nudity for granted so, uh, just be aware of that."

I finish tucking in my shirt, so I zip my pants and then stride over to her and turn her, so she's facing me. I cup her cheek and stroke the petal soft apple of her cheek for a moment with my thumb, "I won't treat you differently, but the fact you've only slept with one man deeply pleases the millennia-old man inside me. That means I'll be your second and while I won't tell you that you can't be with anyone else I will endeavor to make your statement earlier true by ruining you for all other men."

She snorts, "Based on your showing so far you won't have to try very hard."

I answer by sliding my hand into her silky curls and tipping her head backward enough before I slide my lips over hers and slowly devour her mouth.

Her lips are apple flavored today, and I'm not sure if it's because she had something with apples in it for dinner or because her lip gloss is flavored. There are hints of cinnamon and vanilla but nothing chemical about the flavor, so I think she ate something.

While we kiss her hand rests on my chest, and she once again draws patterns on it, though, the effect isn't quite the same because I have a shirt on this time.

When I pull away from her lips, her eyes remain closed for a moment, and she has a dreamy smile on her face, so I stroke her cheek, "We'll have to pick this up later when we don't have a tribunal to attend."

Her eyes open and she slowly nods, "I'm gonna hold you to that Josef."

I chuckle and peck her lips. Then I step back and move to my bed and pick up my tie. I place it around my neck, but before I can tie it, Beth moves over to me and grips the two ends. Then she expertly ties my necktie for me.

When she finishes, I turn and glance in the mirror on the door of my closet and ask, "Who taught you how to tie a man's tie?"

She puts her hands on her hips, "What makes you think I didn't learn from my dad?"

I smirk, "Maybe the fact he died two weeks after you turned four."

She furrows her brow, "You've researched me."

I actually learned that tidbit from Mick right after he rescued her, but I just incline my head. Once her forehead smooths, she says, "One of the rare memories I have of my dad, which isn't the product of someone else telling me one of their memories, is of him teaching me how to tie a necktie maybe a month before he died. I spent a good hour nearly choking him to death. Then I managed to get it right."

She sighs but smiles, "When he passed, my mom gave me his entire tie collection, which, for the record, was extensive, I'm talking hundreds of ties. Anyway, I'd practice on my teddy bears pretending they were my dad. I did that until shortly after I graduated from High School when my first college roommate mentioned she thought it was childish."

She shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest which just accentuates her already overflowing bosom, "I tied ties for a number of boyfriends through the years, including Josh a few times, but mostly my fuzzy menagerie of stuffed animals made sure the lesson my dad taught me didn't lose its crispness in my mind."

I reach up and stroke her cheek again, "That's a beautiful memory. Do you still have his ties?"

She smiles and tilts her face into my hand, "Mmmh."

I lean in and kiss her forehead, "You will be able to pass down your father's lesson to your little ones, and your children can learn how to tie a necktie with their grandfather's ties."

She grins and bounces on her toes a bit, "I didn't even think of that. I have some of my stuffed animals too, and Evie's spell brought all of my belongings here, even the things I had in a storage facility downtown, so they can practice on them like I did."

She bounces even more, "Is it weird that it just hit me that I have two tiny people growing inside me?"

I chuckle, "You're asking the 5,408-year-old man if it's weird that you, a 26-year-old pregnant woman, just realized what the fact she's pregnant means?"

She giggles and stops bouncing and tilts her head, "Well, when you put it that way it does sound silly."

I put my hand on her shoulder, "Maybe you should ask Daphne."

Beth smiles, "I'll add it to my ever-growing list of things to talk with her about."

I peck her lips and pull on my suspenders and then my suit jacket before sitting down on my bed and putting on my socks and shoes.

I glance up when I'm done, "Have you eaten?"

She beams at me, "I did."

I smirk and ask, "Something with apples, cinnamon, and vanilla in it perhaps?"

Her jaw drops open, "How on earth do you know that?"

I stand, "I could taste those things on your lips, and it wasn't chemical enough for me to think it was your lip gloss, but I wasn't sure.

She just blinks at me for a moment. Then she nods, "I had homemade chicken cordon blue with green beans and spinach for dinner, but for dessert, Susan made apple pie and even gave me an extra scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I grin, "Was it good?"

A blush blooms across her cheeks again, "Good enough I had seconds, but I'm eating for three now."

I raise an eyebrow, so she snickers, "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it."

I chuckle, "You ready to go then?"

She smiles and holds up her purse, "Yes, but should I bring a purse, or do I not need an ID or my occasionally working phone?"

I hold out my hand, "Give me your wallet and your phone and I'll carry them for you."

She hands the items over, so I put them into my pockets and grab my own phone and keys and put them in my other pockets.

I motion towards the door, "I'll bring you by your room, so you can drop off your purse. Then we can go. I want to get there early, though, we won't be going in until the last minute."

She tilts her head, "Um, why won't we be going in until the last minute?"

I escort her out of my room and towards hers while saying, "Your presence is going to cause a stir. If we go in too early, we run the risk of some of my vampires losing their cool and forcing me to defend you before my sire intervenes, which will cause my vampires to end up punished simply because they reacted without knowing all the facts."

I shrug, "I know this is something they're prone to do, so it's my responsibility as their sheriff to keep that in mind and do my best to keep them from getting into trouble when I can prevent it."

She pauses walking and turns and faces me, so I stop, too, and gaze at her. She smiles, "I knew you're a good sheriff, or you wouldn't still hold the position 5,000 years later, but you're actually amazing at this aren't you?"

I frown and ask, "Do you honestly think my maker would raise a vampire who would settle for being good instead of one who would strive to be the best in every way possible?"

She giggles, "I can't imagine my grandsire allowing anything other than excellence, so you make a fair point."

I chuckle and guide her the rest of the way to her room. Once we've dropped off her purse, we go down to my limo and drive to the Warehouse District.

While we ride, Beth reaches over and grasps my hand in hers, "Is there anything I need to know about protocol?"

I shake my head, "Other than keeping quiet unless Jorge or I ask you a question you should be set. No one should try to touch you and if they do, tell them you belong to their sheriff. If they try to touch you anyway, scream, and I will be by your side faster than their head can fall to the floor after I tear it from their shoulders."

She nods with wide eyes, "Planning to tear off many heads tonight?"

I snigger, "I'm not planning on it, but I'm open to doing what needs to be done as the need arises."

She grins, "That actually makes me less nervous."

I turn and glance at her, "You're nervous?"

She smooths her free hand along her pant leg flattening the creases in the material, "I'm pretty much being introduced to the supernatural community tonight so, yeah, I'm nervous."

I squeeze her hand that's still holding mine. Then I rub my thumb over her knuckles, "They already know of you both from rumors of your work with Mick as well as the trial the other night. Most of them will follow mine and Jorge's lead on whether to be impressed by you, and the ones who will form their own opinions are relatively level-headed, so they'll see you're worthy of their respect especially once Jorge makes it known you're not human."

I shrug, "The belief that you're human is what will keep most from openly respecting you. Once my vampires are set straight, your inherent awesomeness will overwhelm them all."

She giggles, "If you say so."

I squeeze her hand again, "I say so."

The car pulls to a stop, and the window between the back of the limo and the driver's space slides down. My driver glances at me in the rearview mirror, "Sir, There's an accident ahead. There's no way to avoid it at this point, but I should still be able to get you to the warehouse before 9 p.m."

I nod, "Do what you can."

He tips his head in a small bow, and then the window rolls up.

I take out my phone and text my maker, telling him we're running late, after which Beth and I just sit in silence. Unlike the other night when Mick, Vincent, and I were in the limo, this silence isn't tense. Yes, Beth fidgets in her seat, but we're not in trouble this time, so there is a serenity to us that was missing the other night.

When the car pulls around to the loading dock of the warehouse, it's 8:56 p.m. I've kept my maker aware of our progress, and I send him a message, "We're here and will be entering momentarily."

Jorge simply replies, "Good, tell my future grandchilde not to worry. The crowd is relatively well behaved tonight."

I chuckle and relay the message, which prompts Beth to raise an eyebrow and ask, "Relatively?"

I just shrug and open my door when the car stops. Stepping out I reach back and extend my hand into the vehicle, and she grips it and steps out behind me.

I turn her, so she's facing me, and I place my hands on her shoulders, "Relax, Childe, we've done nothing wrong, and Jorge will make sure they all know we haven't done anything we shouldn't have, and he has personally approved the delay, okay?"

She sighs but nods, so I extend my elbow for her, and she grabs hold of it, and together we enter the warehouse.

The crowd is talking amongst themselves while they wait, but as soon as we step into the space, the conversations come to an abrupt halt. None of my vampires express displeasure or upset over Beth being present. Instead, they all start whispering.

One vampire says, "Wow, the Magister must really approve of her if he's allowing a human to attend a tribunal."

Multiple people agree with him. Then another one says, "He shows her great honor by permitting her presence. I hope she realizes that."

More of them agree, but no one objects to her presence.

My vampires don't often surprise me by behaving better than expected, but I'm pleased this one time.

Beth's hand grips my elbow a little tighter while everyone stares and whispers below human audible levels, so she's aware they're talking but doesn't know what they're saying.

I place my hand over hers and squeeze before addressing the crowd, "My future childe is too polite to comment, but you're all old enough to know whispering about someone is rude. I told Beth my vampires would treat her with the utmost respect, the respect the future childe of your sheriff deserves, and yet here you are making me a liar."

The whispering comes to a screeching halt. Beth gazes up at me, "Thank you, Sire."

I squeeze her hand again and then escort her over to the pallets my maker is sitting on in his trusty plastic and metal lawn chair throne.

I glance up at him, "My apologies, Master, for being late. There was a traffic accident, and my driver couldn't see it until it was too late to turn around and go another way."

Jorge gives us his family only smile, "Quite alright, Childe. You make a habit of being everywhere early, so you would have been truly late if that were not true. Besides, according to my phone, you still have 60 seconds until we should begin."

He rises and gracefully hops from the top of the pallet. He strides towards us with purpose, and I squeeze Beth's hand just before my maker offers her his hand. She shifts her gaze to me, which is precisely what she should have done, so I incline my head, and she reaches out and grips Jorge's hand with her own. He makes a show of bending over her hand and kissing it. Then he asks, "Are you feeling better after the attempt on your life, Childe?"

The whispers start again, but she just beams, "I'm feeling much better, Grandsire. Thank you for asking."

He pulls on her hand until she is standing beside him. Then he stares at everyone else, "Before I hear the charges against Emma Monaghan there are a few things I need to make clear for everyone. Be sure and spread my words to everyone in our community because I will not accept 'I didn't know' as a suitable excuse for misbehaving."

Everyone glances at each other and shakes their heads as if to say, 'not me, I won't be that stupid.'

My sire looks around at everyone in the first couple of rows and then says, "First, according to Dr. Ludwig my future grandchilde is not remotely human. We have not discovered how or why her parents raised her believing she is human, but Dr. Ludwig assures me she is not human at all. As such, prior to her turning you will treat her with the respect a Faerie/Demon hybrid deserves, understood?"

The crowd nods and says things like, 'Yes, Sir.'

He places his hand on Beth's shoulder, "Dr. Ludwig has also informed us that my future grandchilde is carrying Faerie/Demon/Shifter hybrid twins. Apparently, her fiancé, whom I'm told humans murdered last month, was a Supreme Supernatural Shifter and they conceived twins together prior to his death. Therefore, I have postponed the deadline for when Josef must turn Beth. She and my childe have until three years and two weeks after the birth of her children before I will begin pestering them about her turning and officially entering my line."

The whispering picks up pace before he says, "Ordinarily I wouldn't be so accommodating, but because Beth and her children didn't personally commit these crimes I feel I should not punish them for my childe and his childe's unruly behavior. Dr. Ludwig assures me three years of breastfeeding will give my great grand-children every advantage they deserve by being breastfed."

He turns and smiles at her. Then he turns back and glares at the crowd, "In the meantime, Beth and her unborn children are under my direct protection, and I will personally deal with any move to harm any of them, although I will probably have to fight my childe for the right to punish those responsible. Effective immediately, Beth Turner and her children are off limits to everyone."

My vampires nod again or still, who knows, so he turns towards me, "Now, I believe my childe has an announcement to make in his duties as sheriff."

I incline my head, "Thank you, Magister. First, to be clear, if anyone attempts to harm my future childe or her children, I will personally make them beg for death for millennia before I will grant them their final wish. Of the two of us, any who break mine or my maker's edicts regarding Beth will wind up begging for my Master to punish them because he will ultimately be the less painful and less harrowing option. Given his acumen for torture, I think it says something that I would be the more painful of your options. Remember that going forward."

My vampires begin whispering about my acumen in torture, which for the record is only second to my sire's skill, so after I glance around, and Spencer winks at me, I smile, "That said, it is with immense joy that I announce that my future childe has accepted the position of Area Investigator. She was already assisting the previous area investigator, and now that we know of her supernatural heritage I feel it would not do to wait until she turns for her to begin investigating the crimes committed in my area."

Lots of eyes widen in the crowd, but no one objects, so I continue, "Thomas Murphy will be assisting her, but make no mistake she is the area investigator, and he is merely her partner and assistant. And for those of you who might question whether a non-vampire can adequately do this job, Beth is the reason we discovered Emma Monaghan's treachery and so quickly at that. She told me Emma was hiding something even before we knew a vampire was involved. She was also brilliant enough to have a vampire smell the blood sample taken from the smear found on the victim and ask them to tell her if it was human blood, which clued us in that it was a vampire who caused this mess. The humans still have no clue about us because of Beth and her speedy and insightful investigation into this matter."

Most of the crowd has narrowed eyes or furrowed brows, so I say, "To be clear, there was a human witness who saw Emma's fangs and knew she wasn't human. He was in the human's custody, meaning they were within hours of discovering our existence, but Beth's quick thinking prevented disaster."

Murmurs go through the crowd, so I give them a minute. When they calm and begin nodding, I glance at Vincent, "Bring the defendant forward."

My sire kisses Beth's hand one more time causing whispers to float through the crowd yet again. Then he winks at her before gracefully hopping back up onto his makeshift throne and dais.

Vincent disappears for a moment. Then he returns with Emma stumbling behind him while shackled. Her movements are sluggish and staggering due to the silver coating her shackles.

The acrid scent of burning flesh, which comes from the silver pressing against her wrists and ankles quickly fills the crowded space.

Vincent uses a pair of gloves he grabs off a nearby shelf and removes Emma's restraints. The silver that has seeped into her system will be enough to keep her from trying to escape but leaving the shackles on while the trial takes place would prevent her from being able to properly participate.

Vincent shoves Emma into the half circle created by the crowd. Then he stands beside me on the opposite side of Beth before my maker says, "Emma Monaghan, according to your sheriff and the area two investigator you killed a human in an extremely public setting and did not inform your sheriff or the cleaners that you had killed him thus putting our secret at risk. What say you?"

She hangs her head, "I did it. I didn't want my husband to know I had cheated on him."

Jorge scowls, "Until we reveal ourselves in May, our secrecy is all that keeps us from being hunted. We won't be announcing the successful creation of synthetic blood until next Wednesday. If your actions had caused our discovery this week, we would not have had anything to prove we are no threat to the humans. You put us all at risk for selfish reasons. Your vampire and supernatural brethren should always come before self."

She just continues to stare at the ground in front of her feet, so Jorge sighs and shakes his head, "First your fangs will be pulled. Then my staff and I will personally punish you for up to a decade, during which you will probably go insane. Once I am certain you have learned the folly of your inaction, I will stake you for another decade so you may have the time necessary to contemplate your responsibilities. During that decade your body will waste to leather and sticks. If the physical punishments don't drive you insane your being staked for 10 years will most definitely drive you mad. Twenty years from now, you will be unstaked, have your fangs re-pulled, and we will rehabilitate you enough to ensure you won't further endanger us by going on a killing spree. Then we will leave you to heal from the results of your punishments. You will also be fined $30 million, which your sheriff will acquire from your husband while you are being punished."

He glances over at me, "Josef, be sure your future childe gets a bonus for solving this so quickly."

I grin, "I will, Sire."

He doesn't respond to me. Instead, he waves his hand, "Luisa, you may remove her fangs now."

Luisa saunters into the circle and stops in front of Emma who just stands there. Luisa sneers, "Kneel."

Emma just stares at the dusty floor and makes no move to comply with her order, so Luisa circles her and kicks out her knee, knocking her to the ground. She then grabs Emma's hair and pulls her head back in such a manner her mouth automatically opens.

Emma has big, fat blood tears running down her cheeks and her fear has her fangs bared even though I'm sure she's trying desperately to retract them. The position of her mouth will guarantee they can't withdraw.

I shake my head slightly because she could have avoided all this if only she had told me what she had done.

Luisa grasps the pliers in her free hand and places them around one of Emma's extended fangs before she pulls.

The trick to pulling a fang is not squeezing the pliers too tightly, or you'll crush the fang. That's exceptionally painful, and my sire sometimes orders Luisa to do that He usually follows it by then removing the ruined fang, but occasionally he lets them suffer with crushed fangs, which takes four to eight times as long to heal as they would if my maker simply pulled them. He mostly saves that punishment for the repeat poachers and thieves.

Tonight, Luisa cleanly extracts Emma's fang causing a rush of blood to spray towards the crowd. The cloying scent of dead blood quickly fills the room and most everyone wrinkles their noses at the disgusting aroma.

Emma cried out when Luisa ripped the fang from her mouth but otherwise doesn't move or make a sound.

Luisa palms the fang and then quickly removes the other one. When she has both fangs in her hand, she releases Emma's hair and allows Emma to crumple to the floor. Then Luisa tosses the fangs up just slightly and catches them before turning and facing Jorge who holds out his hand.

She jumps onto the pallet and bends one knee, presenting the fangs on her hand like it's a silver platter. Jorge plucks them off her hand and holds them up for the crowd to see. Then he pockets them.

He keeps every fang he orders pulled in a series of collections according to location, so after he has them engraved with her name, current age, and the date, they'll join the hundreds of thousands of other fangs he has in jars in his home offices around the globe.

My maker stands on his makeshift dais and addresses the crowd, "Make no mistake, this unfortunate situation could have been entirely avoided had she only told her sheriff or the cleaners what had happened. Should any of you ever find yourself in a similar situation, remember the pitiful sight of Emma Monaghan in a bloody, crumpled heap with two decades of punishment looming ahead of her."

There are nods from everyone before Jackson pushes through the crowd, and when he's front and center he asks, "Magister, if I may have a word?"

Jorge stares at Jackson for a moment with narrowed eyes. To Jackson's credit, he doesn't fidget, so my maker smiles gently, "You have leave to speak."

Jackson straightens his posture, "Thank you. I would like to formally request that my lying, cheating maker be ordered to release me…"

Emma's head pops up, and the crowd begins whispering again. Jorge frowns, so Jackson raises his hand, "I'm not suggesting I be released and left that way. I am more than willing to allow you to perform Our Most Sacred Rite on me with a new maker of your choosing. I trust you to make a decent choice."

Jorge furrows his brow, but he's not rejecting the idea, which means Jackson has a chance of convincing him. Jackson knows my sire well enough to know this, so he offers a small grin, "I've been a vampire for 153 years. In that time, I've had the honor and privilege of watching your relationships with your childer up close and personal. I have always believed you are a successful maker because you and your childer share a common trust between you."

Jorge nods slowly, so Jackson steps closer, "I thought I had the same level of trust with my maker, but clearly I was misinformed. One thing I do know for sure is you are more than the Magister, you're my friend, and I trust that if I allow you to choose a new sire for me, you will do so with my best interests in mind, even if only because my interests align with those of the greater community. Either way, I will abide by your ruling, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask."

Jorge scratches his chin and just stares at Jackson for a few minutes. Then Spencer steps forward from the other side of our maker's platform of boxes, "Sire if it pleases you, I would be willing to accept this responsibility. Jackson has been a good friend to me, and I would be remiss not to return the favor when he needs it most."

My eyebrows rise into my hairline, and Jorge's eyes widen infinitesimally, and his infamous poker face slips for a split second before he wipes all emotion from his face. He nods, though, "Childe, are you certain? Remember, it is irreversible."

Spencer grins, "I know, and I'm sure. If Jackson is agreeable, then I would be willing to return his kindness with my own. Plus, we get along. We spend hours just talking every week, and I often find myself seeking him out to have drinks and just shoot the breeze because we share most of the same interests. I think it would be a perfect fit if you allow it."

Jorge gives the smile of a proud parent, "Very well. I will arrange for one of my witches to perform the Rite in the next day or two. We will have the defendant release her childe an hour before the rite is performed and Jackson will officially become a part of my line."

He squints and warns Jackson, "Make no mistake this is not an honor I give you lightly. Do not follow in your current maker's footsteps and cause me to regret indulging you."

Jackson beams, "I won't. You have my word."

Jorge just nods before scowling at the still crumpled Emma, who is now sobbing. Then he stares at the crowd again, "Well, I've handed down my ruling and prescribed the appropriate punishments and managed to earn my line another honorable vampire, so I'm in a giving mood. Are there any other concerns that need addressing?"

Everyone glances at each other. Then my vampires all begin shaking their heads. Either they don't have concerns, which I find hard to believe, or they're all too scared of my maker to ask. That might be for the best in the long run anyway because as I told Beth the other morning, my vampires are petty and childish, and my maker has little patience for either trait.

My sire sneers at Emma still crumpled on the floor, "Excellent. In that case, Luisa, you may remove the prisoner and begin her punishments while I spend some time with my future grandchilde."

Beth's head jerks up, but she says nothing while Jorge hops from his dais to the ground and then strides to us. He directs his gaze at me, "That is, of course, provided I won't be disrupting any plans her future sire may already have."

I frown, "We have no plans for the evening, Master."

He gives us his family only smile before he extends his elbow towards Beth, "Shall we leave this place then, My Dear?"

Beth takes hold of his arm, and the two of them leave the room. I turn and glance at Vincent, "Once everyone leaves, you have the rest of the night off, Childe. I'll speak to you tomorrow at the earliest provided nothing unforeseen happens."

He beams, "Thank you, Sire."

I pat his shoulder and then follow my sire and my future childe out to the waiting limo.

When I get outside, my driver is standing by the door to the vehicle and opens it for me when he spots me. I slide in and when I'm seated I grin at my current two favorite people.

Jorge smiles at us both, "All in all, I think that went as well as could be expected. Now, I won't keep you for long, but it occurs to me young Beth had some questions she wanted to ask me earlier today, but we were all distracted by Emma."

He looks at me, "Is your limo still soundproofed?"

I smirk, "But of course, both through human means and supernatural."

Jorge turns and gazes at Beth sitting beside him, "Then in that case, what questions do you have for me childe?"

Beth glances at me, so I gently nod once, "Go ahead. Blow his mind with your insight."

That gets the desired result and causes her to chuckle and relax slightly. She turns and faces Jorge, "Please know I'm not accusing you of anything, simply seeking the truth, and the truth won't change anything for me. I still want to become Josef's childe even if what I think is true is, in fact, true. I just have this need to know the truth of everything whenever possible."

He inclines his head while grinning but doesn't interrupt her, so she says, "I think it's what makes me such a skilled investigator. Anyhow, I was talking to Josef about how vampires protect those they consider theirs and avenge them if they fail to protect them. During the conversation, he mentioned that's why this situation with you forcing him to turn me is the best outcome because if he had turned me on his own, he would have needed to defend himself against Mick who would have undoubtedly sought revenge and attacked him. That made me wonder if maybe you, knowing Josef wanted to turn me and that he wouldn't be eager to risk ruining his friendship with Mick, might have pulled a few puppet strings to make it so you could order him to turn me. That way you could give him what he wanted without him losing his friendship with Mick, or at least without him being blamed by Mick for my turning."

He just stares at her, so she asks, "So, um, did you use your position to manipulate the situation caused by Mick killing Anders to yours and Josef's advantage?"

Jorge gives her his 'I'm so proud,' smile before he turns and shifts his gaze to me, "I never doubted you when you spent hours extolling all the reasons why she would be an asset if added to our line, but I have to admit I'm not sure I quite understood just how incredible she truly is."

While Beth beams, I smirk and say, "I did not exaggerate."

He jerks his head twice, "Clearly," then he turns and faces Beth, "Yes, Childe, I used my position as Magister to make sure the community wouldn't think Josef got away with anything due to being my favored childe while making it possible for him to get the one thing he constantly told me he wanted, you, as his childe."

Beth beams at him and sort of bounces in her seat. I chuckle and ask her, "You're excited by this news, why?"

She stops bouncing and glances at me. Then she shrugs, "I am because, well, I figured out his game when I barely knew him. I suppose I don't really know him all that well now either, but I knew him less than I currently do when the idea came to me on the way to the dedication, so I'm excited that my instincts are clearly still working."

She leans over and hugs Jorge and then sits back with wide eyes and after bringing her hand to her mouth, she says through her fingers, "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

He pats her other hand, "Provided you keep those displays to a minimum in public I will allow such behavior towards me."

She grins, "Thank you, Grandsire."

He just pats her free hand again, "I also promised to tell you my plans for St. John when he's caught. I will wait until he's caught to cast my judgment. Then I will decide what his punishments should be instead of having a running tally and constantly needing to change my plans. So, I will hold off making my plans until he's done committing crimes."

Beth and I glance at each other before we both look at him and nod, so Jorge smiles, "If you both don't need anything else, I'll let you both do… whatever it is you were planning to do tonight."

I frown, "I don't have any plans per say—"

Beth pouts at me and interrupts, "Au contraire future-sire-of-mine. I do believe you promised we'd pick something up when we didn't have a trial to attend."

I smirk and leer at her, "I did say that didn't I? It wouldn't do to begin our relationship with a lie, so I suppose we can… pick up where we left off once my maker leaves."

Jorge raises an eyebrow at me knowingly, "Your driver should be dropping me off first so…"

I just chuckle, and not a full minute later we pull into Jorge's driveway. My maker lifts Beth's hand and places a gentle kiss on her knuckles, "You did well, both with this investigation and tonight," he glances at me, "I am proud to call you both mine."

He slides to the doorway before turning towards us again, "This thing with St. John needs my immediate attention. Therefore, I'll be in town until we resolve this, or we have evidence he's no longer in the region, so I'll be in touch soon because I'd be remiss not to use my needing to be here to my advantage and get to know my future grandchilde better."

He grins at me, "And getting to spend more time than usual with my childe won't hurt either."

I incline my head towards him with a smile firmly on my face. No, getting to spend more time with maker certainly won't be a hardship, though, I do wish it were someone other than my best friend causing my maker to stick around.

Jorge opens the door and gets out. Beth slides towards the door and peeks through the open doorway at my maker's home, which, though smaller than mine by more than half the square feet, is still bigger than most. Her eyes get big. Then she turns towards me while the door closes, "Let me guess, Beverly House is number one in size, the Biltmore is number two, and Jorge's house is number three?"

I chuckle, "That house is number six, but he does have a house in Louisiana that is number three in the United States for total square footage. I think I have numbers one, four, and eight in the top ten. All of them bought from friends or their estates to help them pay off their debts. Eric and Godric have numbers five, seven, twelve, and fourteen and Pamela has number eleven. My blood-brothers, Spencer, Saúl, and Q. round out the mix. All in all, except for the Biltmore all of the fifteen biggest homes in the United States are owned by someone of Roman's line."

Her jaw hangs open a little, and she just sits there for a few seconds before asking, "Seriously?"

I shrug and nod, "Yes, we all have bought homes from friends of ours who were in debt to help them pay off their debtors. I think the only house in the top 15 built by one of us is Jorge's house here in L.A. He made it so big to accommodate his role of Magister. All the North American defendants whom he sentences to a staking or physical punishment get shipped here."

I shrug, "There is a huge double basement, which houses 120 cells for prisoners and 100 punishment rooms. Incidentally, my office building has accommodations for prisoners, too."

She inclines her head. Then she moves and sits on the same bench I'm sitting on and slides closer to me. When she's close enough to touch me, she reaches out and cups my cheek before leaning in and kissing me soft and gentle.

I shift in my seat and then grab hold of her hips and pull her onto my lap. Then I slide my hands into her hair and change the kiss from soft to demanding.

She responds in kind and slides her hands from my cheeks down my neck to my shoulders while she tries to pull me closer.

We devour each other's mouths for the entire 20-minute car ride from Jorge's house to mine. By the time the limo arrives at Beverly House, she has invaded my senses from her lavender and vanilla body wash and shampoo to her supple and entirely tempting apples and ice cream flavored lips making my mine tingle to the silky strands of her hair sliding smoothly through my fingers. When the vehicle pulls to a stop, I reluctantly open my eyes, glancing out the window.

We're home, but I refuse to stop kissing her, so I slide along the seat with her still in my lap and our lips still dancing together, and when the door opens I step out with her in my arms. The whole time we continue to tangle our tongues, and I'm not sure she even realizes we're moving.

I use my other senses, the two not overwhelmed by how soft and tempting Beth is in my arms, to guide me to the front door. My butler is, once again, on point tonight and opens the door for us before closing it behind us, and I completely ignore him, too focused on making it up the stairs.

I pause. Do I use the elevator, or do I vamp speed up the stairs? I make my decision when Beth begins to pull away, so I hold her tighter to me and speed up all two flights and down the halls to my room.

I manage to open the door and then use my foot to close it. Then I turn and press her back against the door.

She pulls away and in between panting for air says, "Ya know… some of us… actually need… to breathe."

I chuckle and peck her lips before sliding her down my body, enjoying the friction.

She moans while our bodies rub together but then pouts, "That wasn't an indication I want to stop."

We have a lot on our plates, and there are plenty of things I should be doing right now, but all I want is to be as close to Beth as I can, so tomorrow I'll worry about Mick and the multitude of complications stemming from his running and trying to kill her. For tonight, though, I'm going to focus the entire breadth of my abilities on giving my future childe as much pleasure and comfort as I can manage.

Decision made, I smirk at her, "Oh I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. The night is just beginning, and it'll be hours before I let you stop and rest." I finish the statement by sliding my hands under the lapels of her lace jacket and slipping the garment over her shoulders and down her petal soft arms, beginning what I hope will be a marathon of love making marking the start of a beautiful relationship, which will, if we're lucky, span millennia to come.

The End

(Until I Write the Next Story and Post It)

Author's Notes: Well, this is the end of this episode. I would like to send out heartfelt thanks to #SerasSuperBetas. Luner Kat, pyrodaemon, and velez have been indispensable to the quality of this story, and I would have been lost without them. Thank you, ladies.

I have mostly outlined the second story in this series, but I'm a little burnt out with this story after having worked on it and little else for three months straight so I'm going to take some time off from it and work on a few other WIP before returning to it.

This story is part of the Big Bang Challenge Buggy hosted over on Fiction Retreat. The goal was 25,000 words and my story came in at 143,648 words so I'd say mission accomplished.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you to Buggy for hosting the Big Bang.