Disclaimer: I do not own Nightwalker . . . blah blah blah, the same thing I've said in previous chapters

Authoress Note: Now we get into the love triangle. There's go to be some heating up now. hehehe

Over the course of the next few days, life had never been better for the detective. He spent the days sleeping on and off on the couch while the others retired to their coffins. He was used to being awake during the day because he had for so long, due to his work. But now all that was out the window and he could relax and have the schedule of what he really was.

He drank seemingly endless glasses of blood, not bothering to know where they came from. He drank and drank until he was so groggy and disoriented that he tripped over his own feet to go get another from the cabinet.

He devoured the books in the library whenever he could but found it hard because some of them were in other languages that he didn't know. But still he ravened the novels of fantasy, science fiction, romance, and just about anything else he could. Often he sat gazing out the window at sundown with violets in his hair as the centerpiece for one of Sakashima's paintings.

By night, they all went to old-fashion theaters and operas, all dressed in the finest money could buy. Digging through the closet, Cain had found an old gray frock coat and silken white shirt with golden embroidery along the cuffs. He had been Shido's favorite from when he had lived in the castle all those years ago. It was hard for him to believe that his master had held onto that after he had left. He thought for sure that that coat would bring back saddening memories. But he was delighted when he slipped into it once again and bound the blood red ribbon around his neck.

After returning home, they'd sit and discuss politics and other such things. Sometimes the talks would become heated arguments causing the opponents to rise from their seats and stare each other down until one gave way. Then they'd relax again and laugh about how silly it was to fight over petty mortal issues.

But all too soon the sun would threaten to peek over the horizon and they would leave Shido to his ponderings. Over those lonely times, he often started to regret what he was doing and want to leave to go back to the office. He wanted to explain all of this to Riho; about how he felt when he was here in this hidden paradise. But he knew she, nor the others, would understand the feelings he was dealing with. It was useless to think that they would agree with him staying there with them. They'd try to convince him to come back. It seemed that no matter where he went, someone was begging for him to come back to wherever he had just come. He was torn. When it came right down to it, he was torn between his new life and his old. But then again, he'd always been torn as such.

But tonight was one of those times when everyone did their own thing. Hex and Sakashima had both disappeared right after sundown without even a good-bye. Cain had retired to his study and locked the door. There had been no sound from within and it had begun to worry Shido. Kitani was in her room, lying on the large bed and staring absently at the ceiling as she usually did.

Recently the detective had begun to notice her behavior. She wouldn't look you in the eye. She never made eye contact as if she were afraid that something about her would be discovered. At times she would stare off into space blankly until it was time to sleep with the coming dawn. Everyone, save Shido, who had only just started living there and hadn't dared go back to the office to retrieve it, had their own coffin. Each of them had a separate room where they kept the little things of their pleasure but it seemed that anywhere Kitani went, Cain wasn't too far behind. The rest often went out on their own to pursue hobbies and entertainment but all she did was sit in Cain's study and listen to the clacking of the typewriter as he wove novels. Shido'd see them together, sitting on her large bed, reading from a book poems or a novel all night. It seemed, shockingly, that most times Cain wanted almost nothing to do with Shido. Kitani even shared a coffin with her master, which was something that Shido had never done. And believe it or not, the detective had begun to get a little jealous or his lover's new interest.

The climax hit on this night when there was no one really around, save Cain who was lost in his own tortuous thoughts an how he was to kill the mortals in his book. Shido was sitting in the parlor, enjoying a wonderful novel by the name of Protector of the Small by Terry Brooks. Though the plot really wasn't to his liking, it had wonderful characters and he soon found himself loving it. He had just finished when a blood curdling scream echoed through the apartment.

Immediately, the detective was on his feet and to the door of Kitani's room. As he opened it, another scream erupted. She was flailing about, breaking things and tearing viscously at the nightgown on her back. The door creaked and she looked up at him with a growl. He gasped to see that her eyes had changed. One was a glittering gold and the other a deep violet. Her already long fangs were protruding maybe three inches from between her lips. Shido stood wide-eyed as she screamed like someone was ripping her open form the inside out. She clutched at her head and fell to her knees. He wanted to help, he really did but then again, what could he do? Her screams were starting to sound more like calls than anything else.

"Master! Master, help me!" she called toward the ceiling. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as the detective stood, stunned, in the doorway. He heard to door beside him open and there was a breeze as Cain pushed past him. Kitani cried louder, slamming her forehead into the floor.

"Kitani, you must settle down." He grabbed her shoulders and got four slashes across his face. It took a few moments for him to wrestle her to the ground. He had her shoulders pressed to the floor and her hands trapped under her back. She growled deeply and bit down painfully on his arm. Flinching, he straddled her hips to try and tame her viscous kicking.

"Kitani, Kitani, listen to me, you know me, remember my voice." He spoke softly as she struggled and growled. "Kitani, please, listen to me, resist it Kitani, you are not this monster. Please, Kitani, come back, become the person I know, please." She growled again, staring him in the eye, her bare breasts heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath. "Please," he asked again. Her growls had stopped but were replaced by sobs.

"I'm so scared," she wailed as bloody tears flooded her face. He released her and she instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his hair. "What am I? I'm so scared, help me."

"Shh . . . ," he soothed, lifting her naked form from the ground and laying it on the down bed with him. "Shh . . . . It is ok. I am here now." He stroked her hair gently to try and stop her from crying. "There is no reason to be scared anymore."

"I'm so glad you're here," she whispered, nuzzling closer like a lost puppy. "I would be lost if you weren't here." She licked at his throat and he sighed, hugging her close.

"I think it would be the same for both of us. I would be just as lost if I had not found you. You are the reason I have not faded away like so many my age." He tilted his head to the side a little. "Drink, I will let you, I have never let one of my fledgling drink from me before and I am curious as to how it will affect you." She pulled away a little, almost fearfully, having been the first in this experiment.

"I will not let anything bad happen to you I promise," he said, smiling lovingly as he sat up and leaned himself on the headboard. She almost crawled into the "v" of his legs to lean up gently and bit down on the nape of his neck.

Shido felt his burning jealousy rising to see the slight flush Cain had crossing his face as she suckled at the wound. He sighed deeply and laid down on his side as she latched on tighter to his throat. After a moment, his eyes had dimmed and his breath slowed when she let go.

"Master! Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She hugged him desperately like a mother clutching her dieing child. His hand floated to her cheek and run down to her chin and back up to wipe her lips.

"I am so proud of you," he said smiling absently. "Look at you, no a drop spilt." She smiled back up at him before cuddling against his chest. He sighed again and wrapped her into a strong hand running behind her shoulder, down her back, across her rump and thigh, to hook underneath her knee and pull her leg up over his. They seemed to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle as he slipped both their bodies under the silken sheets.

The detective was furious! After all he had been through to come back, Cain shrugged him off as if he were nothing! The older vampire even dared to become intimate contact like that with him standing right in the door! Shido almost slammed the door shut and stormed out the window and into the streets. They hadn't seen the last of him, that was for certain!

Another Authoress Note: Oh! What's he gonna do? Find out next time!