Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Maha's POV:

Strange Visitors

"You'd think it would be enough for them that we all live in poverty while they eat ten large meals a day in giant houses." I grumble, pacing the floor. "Now we have to hunt down their criminals for them?"

My son, reclining on his rickety wooden chair as if it were a throne, merely yawns. "I'm sure the vampires know what they're doing Mother." He says unconcernedly.

I gape at him. "How can you be so careless about this? These are your people, Ran!"
"That's "Alpha" to you." He snarls down at me, "And my people are strong and resourceful. I'm sure they can handle a couple of outlaws."
"They aren't strong, they're starving to death!" I tell him angrily, "And they aren't resourceful, they're desperate. It's about time you actually took an interest in the well-fare of your pack Ran. If you would just hand out the rations like you're supposed to-"

"I told you, call me Alpha!" He snaps, "And in case you have forgotten, Mother, we are wolves, not bunny rabbits. We don't coddle our weakest members, we leave them to die. In our society, it's survival of the fittest. If the pack so desperately requires my help, then they don't deserve to be part of the pack."

I clench my fists at my sides and silently count to ten. In the past, I wouldn't have hesitated to reprimand my child for such disrespect towards his pack. But things have changed now, the pack has changed now, Ran has made sure of that. So, I force myself to stiffly lower my head in a bow, and say through gritted teeth, "As you wish, Alpha."

Ran smirks and waves his hand, as if shooing away a fly. "Of you go then, Mother. I'm hungry, it's about time I had something to eat."
You used to be able to handle a bit of hunger. I think to myself bitterly, before hurrying out of the room. I'm afraid that if I stay a moment longer, I might do something I'll regret.

I go to the only place where I feel comfortable and safe: the garden. I used to feel safe in the entire house, but since Ran took over as Alpha things have changed. He's had more rooms added on, hired Omegas and runts as slaves, and has taken more food out of the rations so he could eat whenever he wanted. Though I suppose the only one I have to blame for that is myself. I'm Ran's mother, it was my job to raise him and make sure he turned out alright, a worthy Alpha. And I failed at that, I failed miserably.

I walk to the brightest spot in the garden: a small patch of blue daisies. They look strangely happy, given that they only exist to mourn a death. The death of my eldest son, about seven years ago now? He liked these flowers, so I always make sure there are some growing here. He'd like that, I think.

My son's name was Ze'ev. He was twelve when he died, and was mourned by the entire pack. He was a wonderful Alpha Intended, he always did his duties, tried to be good to his people, and was strong. Ever since he was five years old, he'd been training, learning how to fight, growing strong. Because, as Ran said, we are wolves, and if Ze'ev was going to be Alpha, he had to be strong. He was always getting challenged to fights, many of which sent him home covered in blood. I knew that it had to be done, but still, seeing him stumble through the door, smiling weakly as blood dripped steadily off his forehead… that hurt me just as much as it hurt him. Several times I tried to ban him from going out so he wouldn't have to fight some random brute and get hurt. And each of those times he gently reminded me that the fights had to happen. But that didn't make it hurt any less. And then came that night, all those years ago, when my family and I were visiting the vampires for a dinner invitation. We were invited to stay the night, and we accepted. The absolute worst decision of my life. I still have nightmares about Ran running into mine and my husband's room late at night, crying that Ze'ev wasn't in his bed. The vampires wouldn't let us search for him until morning. There was no trace of my son. He was just, gone. Eventually we were forced to admit that he must have gotten into an accident and… lost his life. I thought I'd never see him again after that night, that he had been snatched away from my life forever. I definitely didn't expect to see him lining up to receive rations today, now practically an adult, his green eyes as bright as they were all those years ago. But I am so, so glad I did.

"Maha Kesley?" A quiet voice says behind me.

I yelp and turn around, my nails elongating into claws. The poor Omega flinches away and continues, "There are some vampires at the door Ma'am. Two of them, with a fairy. They want to speak to the Alpha, but he said not to disturb him while he's eating."
I force myself to relax and smile at the Omega. "That's alright, I'll meet with them. Thank you for telling me."

As soon as I see the visitors, I know something's off. For one thing, they're very young, barely out of their puppyhood, certainly not people the royal family typically trusts with this sort of thing. Then there's the fact that they look less than perfect. One of them has her hair tied back very messily, and her cheeks have smears of dirt on them. The other one looks a bit better, but if her smell is anything to go by, is not even a vampire. She smells more like that young man in the ration line this morning, the polite one with the black hair that said "thank-you". Maybe I'm losing my sense of smell? And then there's the fairy. I've seen fairy maids before. They all have a sad, defeated look in their eyes. This one looks almost exhilarated, like she's just come back from a wild adventure. Or maybe is still in one. Either way, it's not right. Something's going on here. And there's only one way I'm going to find out what.

I plaster on a smile and bow down low to the visitors. "Good day to you, great vampires. How may I be of assistance."
The one with messy hair clears her throat uncomfortably "We're here to see the Alpha."

"I'm afraid the Alpha is occupied at this moment." Stuffing his face, I add to myself privately.

"Oh," the messy vampire frowns, disappointed, "When do you think he'll be available?"

Now this is new. A vampire never asks when that person is available. They simply expect them to make themselves available. Not that I'm complaining. It's a very pleasant change.

"I don't know." I admit, "How about I give you a tour of our home while you wait."
"Sounds perfect." The other vampire, the one with the funny smell, grins.

During the tour, it becomes increasingly clear that these girls aren't your typical vampires. They're polite, for one thing. When I offered them some stale biscuits for a snack, they didn't complain, not even a little. They even said thank-you! I've never heard a vampire say thank-you, never! They complimented the sparse decorations, asked questions about how my day was going. It has been forever since I've hosted such polite guests! And that fairy… it makes me exhausted just being near her. All the time she's firing off questions and conversation topics like a very happy machine gun. "What's your dress made out of?" "I love the feel of this place!" "Your necklace is so pretty! What are those charms?"

I didn't have the heart to tell her they were wolf-teeth.

Finally, we arrive at the garden. The fairy immediately gasps and runs over to the blue daisies. "These are so pretty! They add a real splash of colour to the place! You have excellent taste Ma'am!"
"Um… thank you." I reply.

"How do you grow them?"

I turn and blink with surprise at the strange-smelling vampire. "Pardon?"
"How do you grow them?" she asks again curiously, "Without light I mean."

I blink at her, confused. "Why would light make a difference?"
The vampire with messy hair suddenly clears her throat loudly, "So, um, why are you growing them here? You don't usually see many flowers in these parts."
"I grow them for my son." I tell them, "He liked these flowers."
The fairy frowns at me. ""Liked", past tense?"
I nod solemnly. "He died, seven years ago."

A blanket of quiet falls over us, with my guests' eyes widening with shock. And then… then comes the most shocking part of their visit. The vampire with the messy hair walks up to me, places a hand on my shoulder, and says quietly, respectfully, "I'm so sorry."

The other vampire and fairy nod and voice their agreement.

"What was his name?" the strange-smelling vampire asks.

"Ze'ev." I reply.

The vampire's eyes widen, and she stumbles back a few steps, like she'd been punched.

I raise an eyebrow. "You've heard of my son?"
"I-" she clears her throat, her pale freckled cheeks flushing as red as her fiery hair, "yeah, I might have heard of him somewhere."
"Surprising, since I can't seem to recognise you're species."

The girl blinks at me, and her friends turn stiff as poles. "My what?"
"Your species. If you're a vampire, a werewolf, a fairy, that sort of thing." I explain, "You don't smell like any of them."
"It's a new perfume that is popular in Artemisia at the moment." The messy one hurriedly explains, "She must have put on a little too much."
"Is it also popular to glamour dirt onto your face?" I ask innocently.

The vampire's eyes widen and she hurriedly scrubs at her cheeks, as if that could make me forget.

I fold my arms and feel a small smirk play across my lips. "You aren't ambassadors, are you?"

A/N: In case you haven't notice, I absolutely love Maha Kesley and hate Ran. I think Maha is definitely one of the best characters in the series, even though she didn't stay for long (why Marissa Meyer?).

Please review!