AN: Oh my god I'm so frikkin excited! I've only just noticed that we're in a community thing! One for long stories! Granted, all it proves at this point is that we've rambled on for a lot of words… but… I. Am. Stoked! How can we get in more of those things?

Sooo, new chapter set! We're going to dive into coven life at each of the coven events to see how our vampires are getting on…

1689, February - Volatile Valentines

"What do you mean you aren't fucking coming?!" Last straw, love!

Caius had suffered his mate's desires for an independent life for two months and he had already reached peak annoyance on the matter. Putting up with Irina in his quarters on a damn near daily basis was regularly driving him out of his home. He'd end up in the guard hall, drinking his stresses away, or in the dungeon with the ever-present desire to consume dungeon blood again.

Truthfully, he had indulged a few times. Nothing too heavy, just the odd shot here and there to take the edge of his stress. Of course the dungeon blood had only alleviated his stress for a short time, and then a new stress started - would anyone find out? Although, even if someone did, even if the whole coven did, it shouldn't have mattered ... in Caius' mind. By only taking the odd shot he had proved he wasn't an addict like Aro. He could take the drug or leave the drug. And anyway, it had no effect on his personality anymore. Did it?

"Yes, you fucking are!"

Okay, so the odd shot here and there may have added a little to his response to feeling anger in high stress situations. But arguing with your wife is stress inducing - that wasn't down to the dungeon blood, it was down to Dora being an unbelievable twat and refusing to attend the Valentine's Ball.

Though her insides twisted in the face of Caius' clear rage, Dora remained as passive as possible, tending her nails to avoid looking at the man. "I have plans already," she breezed.

"Plans?! PLANS?!" Caius lobbed his cup of bloodwine to the wall, wishing he'd aimed it at Dora's head. "It's the Valentine's Ball - I can't NOT go. I can't GO alone."

Dora kept her cool, though it was difficult. She was so used to cowering from his moods, or worse, fighting him through them (which always ended disastrously for her). Being disengaged had been Irina's suggestion and it was working wonders for the woman.

"I don't like the ball, I don't want to go," she explained simply, still avoiding his eye, and therefore his conflict.

The unusual reaction from his mate stopped Caius in his tracks. It wasn't enough to end his annoyance, but it certainly took the wind out of his sails. He went from 'smash stuff up rage' to snide sarcasm, which under the circumstances, was an improvement.

"Same here, sweetheart," he sneered. "But it's non-negotiable."

Through the corner of her eye, Dora observed her husband. Caius had calmed considerably in the face of her nonchalance. It was enough for Dora to try to push him a little in a direction she would prefer.

"Actually, it is." Making her way slowly to Caius, she stopped just out of arm's reach, for safety, and continued, "Stay here with me ... come to my party instead."

Caius exploded, but Dora stayed where she was. "Are you fucking deranged or something?!" he raged. "You are coming to the Valentine's ball whether you want to or not."

Self-aggrandising prick. You don't have that power over me. "Why should I?" she asked. "It will be full of your friends, none of whom talk to me - why should I go?"

Caius wasn't entirely sure what her game was. Are you trying to goad me into hitting you so you can't go to the ball, or are you seriously questioning why you have to attend? Oh how badly he wanted to plant his fist in her face, just to test his hypothesis - he was a man of science after all - but he resisted the temptation. His resistance wasn't so much for Dora - he wanted to save himself the aggravation with Magnus for battering his mate more than he wanted to save his mate from said battering.

Drawing on the reserves of his patience, he explained through gritted teeth, "Because I am your husband and you should support me."

"Oh!" Dora exclaimed, with added sarcastic laughter for full effect. "Of course, how silly of me." From her tone it was clear Dora felt herself anything but 'silly'. "I tell you what, love, I'll support you when you support me."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"How many times have you socialised with my friends? How many times have you supported me in my friendships? Have you even had a conversation with any of them?!" Dora left Caius floundering for just long enough to prove her point. "The answer is no. So fuck you and fuck your friends."

He shoved her back to the wall with a heavy thud and held her there with one hand by the throat. The other raised in a fist at the side of his head and thrust with all his might. It didn't land on Dora, though. He purposely missed, smashing his knuckles into the wall with such force that not only did the stonework crack beneath the lime plaster, but his hand broke, too.

Blood dripped to the floor, splashing on the marble as he glared at his mate with jet black eyes. Caius assumed the threat would be enough, that she would give in to his whims, perhaps even that she would be appreciative of his self-restraint, as he saw it. But Dora saw something else.

You couldn't do it!

Whether it was because of the omnipresent threat from the coven masters living above them, or maybe, just maybe, because somehow Caius had actually changed deep inside, all Dora saw was that he couldn't do it. As one hand levelled towards her face, the other had made sure to pull her clear of its path.

Since the return from the French mission two months before, Dora had been convinced, with a little help from Irina, that Caius was essentially beyond repair. The constant arguments whenever they were together since then had proved she was right. But right then, when he had every chance to hurt her, he'd chosen not to.

It may seem odd to see not being punched in the face by your husband as a defining positive moment, especially when still gripped tightly about the throat, but Caius and Dora had a bizarre relationship and it had always been a violent one. Everything they did was based on violence. Some of that violence was even desired, when controlled and reciprocal. Caius never showed restraint when angry, he wasn't capable of it … but, you couldn't do it …

"This is getting past a joke now, you selfish bitch!" Caius released his hold of her entirely to nurse his own busted hand. The bones might as well have been extracted for all the good they were doing. How the fuck am I going to hide this tonight?!
"If you don't want to be married to me anymore you can fuck off and find yourself somewhere else to live. Find some other sap to fund your life. Find some other … DORA!"

Half wondering if their relationship could be saved, half bored of Caius' wittering, Dora drifted passed her mate to the bathroom, ignoring him. "You're being hysterical, I'm not listening to your whinging."

"I'm serious!" Caius bellowed out behind her, hot on her heels, thoroughly frustrated.

"This place is as much mine as yours," Dora called out. "I'm not going anywhere, if you aren't happy, you know where the door is."

"I work here," Caius said. "You're a freeloader."

"That's not how this coven works, Caius." Sifting through the cupboard, she found some older towels. When she passed Caius on her way back to the main living chamber, she added, "How do you not realise that after all these years?"

Caius caught her wrist before she could pass entirely. "Just come with me, please."

His tone wasn't quite pleading, but it was close. It took every ounce of resolve for Dora to stay on course.

"No, thank you, love," she replied. "As I said, I already have plans."

Irina! Fucking Irina! "You're more interested in hanging out with that harlot than you are in spending time with me!"

"What if I am?" Dora asked, shaking herself free and taking off again.

She dumped one towel on the floor to mop up Caius' blood, the other she used to work the crimson marks from the wall. Not that it helped much - the plaster crumbled to her touch, such was the damage, and the stonework behind had depressed somewhat.

"I have a friend, one of my own, for the first time in years, in centuries, in forever! Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Because she's coming between us," Caius ground out. Obviously!

Dora stopped dead in her cleaning efforts to turn a bemused smile to Caius. "It's funny how you never stopped to wonder if Aro was coming between us when you palled up with him."

"Different, love," he said, though Caius failed to offer any example as to how or why.

"You and Aro have been happy playing toy soldiers since you met, and you never once looked over your shoulder to see if I was alright on my own." Leaving the wall, because she was only managing to move the blood around, Dora took the final towel and started to wrap it around Caius' broken hand. "You may not like being treated to your own medicine but make no mistake, that's exactly what you're swallowing."

Caius winced as his mate tended his broken bones and split knuckles, but the pain in his heart was greater. From Caius' his point of view, he had really tried to overturn everything about himself that Dora complained of. He wasn't as violent, he wasn't drinking as much, he wasn't on dungeon blood, as often. He even wanted to be home more, though Irina put an end to that good intention.

"Can't we just forgive and forget?" he asked, sounding quite pitiful.

So pitiful, in fact, that Dora's resolve broke for a moment, just long enough for her to take his face in her hands and kiss him deeply. But then it was back.

Pulling away, she said, "I am more inclined to recover and remember."

With that, she left him to prepare for her party, leaving Caius a busted hand to repair alone.

...

"Dora?" Freyr called out, searching through the ground floor suite. She found the woman in her bed chamber, searching through her dresses for something to wear. "Your party has been cancelled, my dear."

"What?!" Dora spun on her heel to face the shield maiden. "Why?!"

"Irina has to stay home with Kate and Tanya tonight, Carlisle is babysitting for his brother, Odi and Renata have agreed to serve wine to the guests at the ball."

"Caius, you really are pathetic!" Dora stomped to her bed and threw herself down.

"No, my dear one," Freyr said gently, sitting down next to her. "Caius had to explain about your argument before I would bandage his hand."

Dora smirked at that, knowing Caius would have been a nervous wreck in the face of Freyr's questioning. It helped to ease her frustrations.

"I have arranged it so you can attend the ball without losing face to either Caius or your friends," Freyr continued. "You must attend, Dora," she stressed when the young woman huffed indignantly. "These events are for the coven and the coven elite must be there, without exception. The creator will have your group of inbetweeners disbanded if he thinks your alliances are disturbing peace in his coven."

It took a few minutes contemplation, but Dora slowly rose to a seated position and nodded. "Fine," she said. She wasn't happy about the interference, but she didn't want to risk losing her new friendship group for the sake of one ball.

Freyr closed her eyes for a moment, thanking the gods for another disaster averted before moving the conversation on. "Dora, Caius loves you very much and he misses you terribly. You can make room for your new life without completely casting aside your old life."

"I'm not so sure I still want my old life at all."

Yes, Freyr thought. I can see that well enough. But who's leading your thoughts, my dear one? She didn't bring up Irina's poisonous influence, because it had done her little good in their previous conversations on the matter. "Caius has made great efforts to change, to become the man you said you wanted him to be," she explained. "Can you see that?"

Dora nodded, but she looked unsure to Freyr. Irina's arrival had shown just how easily influenced Dora could be. Freyr really didn't like that - she knew Irina would only be influencing Dora for her own selfish means. Equally, if Dora really was questioning her marriage, Freyr wanted to be there to support her. That was her job, her responsibility, in her mind. Still, she thought. It doesn't hurt to be reminded of what you are giving up.

"All marriages go through peaks and troughs, my dear one. Don't be so quick to throw away all you have built because some transient interest has come along."

When Dora nodded to Freyr, she looked to genuinely be in agreement, which relieved the shield maiden somewhat.

...

The mated couples gathered in the great hall in all their finery. It wasn't long before Heidi led in the human guests, who would, of course, become the main meal.

"Good catch," Caius congratulated seeing the plentiful feast Heidi had provided for the evening.

Heidi couldn't hide the smile she had for the coven master.

"Why is she looking at you like that?" Dora hissed, flicking out her hand at her Caius.

She caught his bandaged, broken fingers and he winced. "Am I no longer worth looking at to you?" he asked through a grimace. I should have punched you, it would have hurt me less!

Dora scowled. "So will Heidi be my replacement?"

I'm not the one wishing to replace my mate. Caius couldn't say that aloud, he worried she would confirm it. Instead, he went with, "You're not the only one considering your options, love."

She scoffed at that before an Irina-esque sarcastic chuckle escaped her lips. "Do you really think anyone else would put up with the things I have?"

"They won't have to, I've changed." Caius caught the nod from Aro to tell him to get the thrones for the address to formally begin the ball. "Shame you can't see it," he added, before he left her.

"I can," she said quietly after him.

Once the address had been taken care of and the revellers had descended into merry chatter and dancing, the elite gathered on the throne floor, Dora included, though she would rather have been anywhere else. At the bar, perhaps, with Odi and Turk. Serving drinks with Corin and Renata looked more fun than she was having. In fact, the more Dora watched them, the more she wished she could join them. The ease she had become accustomed to with her new friends, the inbetweeners, had revitalised her life. But here she was, stuck with the stuffy and egotistical elite of the Volturi where she just didn't belong.

"So, are you going to tell us about your injury, Caius?" Basileus asked, eyeing the young master carefully and gesturing to his broken hand.

"I'm sure you can take the details from my head, my lord," Caius replied tersely, feeling desperately uncomfortable in the spotlight.

Caius' answer did not help his position in the slightest. If anything, it drew more attention ... not less. They all looked to him, aghast for such impudence - Basileus and Atia, Magnus and Freyr, Aro and Sulpicia, Eleazar, even Dora was surprised!

Realising his error, Caius amended his statement quickly. "I apologise, my lord." He waved his bandaged appendage in the air. "The pain must be getting to me."

Basileus nodded curtly, but he wasn't impressed.

Magnus slid over to Caius and whispered, "Mouthing off like that will only see you suffering more pain, understood?"

Caius rolled his eyes, but he smiled and made the right noises. He was glad of Carmen's return to deflect some attention.

Eleazar offered his mate a glass of wine. He tried to appear attentive – Atia had been displeased he hadn't accompanied Camren to sort whatever disaster Kate had come complaining about.

"Is the tower still standing?" he asked.

"Just about," Carmen replied. Despite her radiant vampiric features, she looked tired. Splitting up fights between their warring wards was taking its toll on the woman. "We need to rethink our babysitter, too," she added with a shudder, and downed her cup in a most unlady like fashion.

"All those girls do is argue," Eleazar explained, as though it needed any explanation. "It's incessant!"

"Kate's great," Carmen offered quickly.

She really was doing her best not to complain too much to in Eleazar's presence about the Denali girls. Even with their faults, she wanted to keep them, though she knew Eleazar would happily dump them on the next coven that wandered through Volterra.

"Nice and quiet," Eleazar agreed. It was the quiet part he liked most about that girl.

"Tanya has a little more spirit, but she's good on the whole," Atia added, smiling encouragingly to her son, knowing Carmen's fears and joining her cause.

"But Irina?" Aro asked. Neither his brother or sister-in-law could possibly have anything positive to say about the eldest Denali sister, nor anyone else who'd met her, for that matter.

"Complete bitch."

Whilst the rest of the group laughed, Atia's eyes bulged. "Eleazar!" she hissed, smacking his arm to display her displeasure.

"She is, mom," he replied joining in the laughter. "We all know she is."

"Do we?" Dora asked.

As the lone voice, Dora's words had particular impact. The look on her face added to that impact, somewhat.

"Regardless of what we know," Atia said, quickly adding, "or otherwise," with a kind eye on Dora, "it is not a helpful thing to express."

"I tell you what would be helpful," Aro interjected. "A slap."

More laughter ensued from the group whilst Dora looked between them wondering who they were. You're talking about my friend, you morons! Basileus and Atia's eyes flashed to one another briefly and Dora was sure they had heard her thoughts, not that she cared.

Aro hadn't heard, as he had no contact with the woman, so he carried on. "If Irina was one of mine …"

Eleazar wasn't having that. "You would treat her like you do Jane and look the other way."

"If Jane behaved the way Irina does, she'd have had more than a slap by now." Aro waited for his brother to attempt to refute his claims, when Eleazar merely huffed, he added a triumphant, "And you know it."

"I'm not comfortable with it," Eleazar admitted, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. Doubly so when he saw so many of the elite rolling their eyes at his words.

Basileus slapped a hand down on his son's shoulder. "You had better get comfortable with it, son."

Atia and Freyr simply guffawed back at the creator. "You are not one to talk, my dear," Atia told her mate, shaking her head.

When Basileus started blowing hot air in regard to how he would deal with Irina's bitchiness, Dora switched off. For one, she had it on good authority - that authority being Irina - that such talk was utter bullshit. For another, listening to a load of old men discussing how her best friend should be disciplined was downright uncomfortable. Looking around for distraction and drifting away a little in her step, she could see fifty or so humans, merrily dancing the night away unaware of their fate.

"Is it feeding time yet?" she asked, proving how little interest she had in the conversation going on around her.

"It's a little early," Freyr replied.

She hooked her arm through Dora's and pulled the younger woman in close to bring her back into the group. It was clear as day to anyone who could see them that Caius and Dora were having problems - Freyr did not want those rumours added to and Dora rejecting the other elite at that moment would certainly have done that.

"So much for Irina being capable of leading a coven with her sisters." Aro scoffed to himself remembering the young woman's fervent requests to leave Volterra and take her sisters with her. "Impossible," he said. "She can't even sit with them for an evening."

"I'm starting to think I'll be stuck with them forever," Eleazar muttered darkly.

"If it helps, I'll be stuck with your brother forever," Basileus offered his son. "You should have heard Carlisle this morning!" Basileus launched into his best impression of his youngest son: "'We live in a disconnected reality. The human world is real. They don't even know we exist! I want to get out there, I want to see the world!'"

Atia turned to Freyr, knowing the shield maiden had been party to a similar conversation with Odi. "He lives in wonderland, that boy," Atia said of Carlisle.

Freyr agreed, looking over to Odi working on the bar, she said, "so does that one."

"He's another one that needs a good slap," Aro told his father with a big grin.

"You're just handing them out tonight, aren't you?" Basileus replied, though he had to agree.

Magnus, too, looked to his own son. Odi seemed to be drinking more than he was serving if his observations could be counted on. "At least Carlisle has some aspirations," he said. "All Odi wants to do is get drunk on my coin."

Dora watched for Freyr to object in some way. When nothing came, Dora felt the need to defend Odi. "You won't put him on your rotas, so he hardly has any earnings."

"I won't put him on the rotas because he won't work!" Freyr tutted into the air. "Odi goes on and on about wanting to be like the other guards, but if we try and treat him that way, he complains."

"Let me guess, Aro," Magnus said turning on the coven king. "He needs a slap?"

"Desperate for one," Aro chuckled in return.

Dora scowled her clear contempt.

With half the elite now surreptitiously watching Odi from the corner of their eye, it was obvious the boy was already quite merry as he joked about with the guests he was supposed to be serving.

"He's doing okay on the bar with Turk, isn't he?" Basileus asked. It was definitely a question looking for an answer.

"Aye," Magnus nodded. "Though the guard hall doesn't really need two bar hands. It's just a way to have him earning something." Before he'd finished speaking he noticed the face Freyr was throwing him. "What's that look for?"

"You gave him the job at the bar as a peace offering," she replied flatly.

Magnus huffed, but he couldn't deny it. "Odi's still pissy about me singling him out at Christmas. It's caused problems for him in the guard."

Caius had stayed quiet throughout the elite's conversation, his mind on other things, but Magnus felt the man's anxiety spike at the mention of their last Christmas. Fortunately for Caius, no one else seemed to notice.

"Not as popular as he once was?" Basileus asked, his brow furrowed as he watched Odi a little more closely. Other than Turk (his faithful best friend), Corin and Renata, the other guards were seemingly avoiding the boy.

"Not even close," Magnus replied, guilt seeping through his tone.

"Felix has the same complaint." Aro's free hand went to the back of his neck and he rubbed out the stress he felt caused by his eldest son's whining. "He's bugging me to bring new blood into the coven to expand his social circle. I think we can all guess what that means?"

More young vampires?! Caius thought, horrified. "Can't you push him towards the Denali girls?" he asked, followed by an 'oouf' noise as all the air in his lungs expelled with Eleazar's elbow ploughing into his stomach!

"My girls are not playthings for bored, horny boys!"

Carmen smiled to herself. That may have been the first time she'd heard Eleazar defend 'his girls' and it felt like a tiny breakthrough.

"I think Felix would prefer to have Corin back on side," Sulpicia explained, putting to rest any ideas that her son would be going after his uncle's wards.

"If I could get Corin back on side for him, I would," Aro told her. Only Magnus felt the guilt behind Aro's words, though, naturally, he had no idea what caused Aro such feelings. "The tantrums that boy throws over his dwindling sex life!"

"I would have thought Demetri would be more bothered - we haven't had any newborns for a while." Caius could well remember the times he had found the boy scurrying about in his dungeons to achieve his sexual desires.

"He's still in Adrianna's good graces," Sulpicia explained. "Demetri doesn't know that we know, and Aro's been winding him up rotten over it all."

Magnus visibly shuddered. He and Freyr were perhaps the more prudish of the group. Prudish might be the wrong word, really, they simply felt sex was a private activity for mated adults only, which was somewhat prudish for most vampires. "I'm glad Odi was turned after the sex obsessed teenage stage. He's enough trouble without all that."

"So is Carlisle!" Basileus agreed. "But like Odi, he expects a level of freedom he simply isn't responsible enough to enjoy. They think they're men but act like boys."

"Carlisle is your fault, Dad," Aro told his father. "You baby him. You both do." Aro deftly avoided a slap from his mother for bringing her into it.

"Magnus expects far too much of Odi," Freyr said looking to her mate. "No babying at all."

"I expect him to be respectful and agreeable, love." Magnus replied. "Not too much, really, is it?"

A wry smile crossed Freyr's lips. "You should have learnt by now that it's more than he's capable of."

"I'll give you that," Magnus chuckled, offering his mate a kiss in congratulation.

"Odi can't be as much trouble as Felix," Sulpicia said, thinking to her earlier argument with her eldest child. "Odi's here serving drinks - if we asked Felix to do that all hell would break loose!"

"He isn't here of his own free will, Sully," Magnus explained. "It took some encouragement." With his hand laid pointedly on his belt buckle, the group understood how Magnus had encouraged Odi into working that evening.

Dora looked aghast as they all tittered and joked, some offering their own stories of recent 'encouragement' they'd given their 'children' - my friends. Dora tried to catch Caius' eye to tell him she needed to move on, they could have danced, or gone to the bar, or anything! But he was just as much embroiled in the conversation as the others. True, Caius didn't have children of his own, and he would hardly be offering up his own experiences, but laughing along to hearing Odi's recent 'encouragement', or Felix's or even the suggestions being offered to Eleazar to bring Irina into line - Caius was well up for that. Dora's irritation grew. I can't take much more of this.

"It's about their development and when they were frozen," Atia explained. "Catching up to adulthood as a vampire is an eminently long process."

"These pair are a prime example," Freyr offered, pointing out Aro and Caius for good fun.

"Yes," Atia agreed. "But I'm sure they'll get there someday."

A wild shriek of pain broke through their conversation. Magnus was the first to see it's source.

"Dora!" His voice barked out.

He made a grab for Dora with one hand, and, dropping his glass to smash at the floor, pulled away the bloody human she held with the other.

"Seal the doors!" Basileus commanded, raising his voice to cut through the noise.

Humans scattered to the far corners of the rooms, men valiantly pushing their wives to imagined safely behind them.

"I couldn't resist any longer," Dora said, dabbing at the blood running down her chin. "Sorry," she added, dry tone and hair flick showing she was anything but.

Atia placed a hand on Magnus' arm to pull him back from following Dora to the bar. "I suggest we follow Athenodora's lead and indulge, my dear," she said. "There's little point crying over spilt milk … or blood."

Turk worked at refilling glasses at the bar. Now the humans were being drained they could serve bloodwine instead of wine, which the coven preferred. Renata and Corin had nothing to do until he had finished so they enjoyed the break with Odi, (who should have been helping Turk, really).

Afton came to collect a couple of drinks for him and Chelsea. He couldn't resist having a dig with Odi as he'd listened in on brief snippets of the elites' conversation. "Guess what I just heard about you?"

Odi barely looked up. The only time the guards spoke to him lately was when they wanted to test out a rumour they had heard. "You can stick a dick in your ear and fuck what you heard about me."

Afton stood back, smiling. "I might tell your old man you said that."

"Tell him what you like," Odi said, careful to only call Afton a prick in his thoughts.

"Do run along, Afton," Dora said, glaring daggers at the guard. "Before I tell your guard master that you are picking on his son. Magnus doesn't take kindly to bullying, and you should be especially careful after your performance at Christmas."

Afton swallowed his words as his mouth gaped open.

"Caius said you were crying in the dungeons when Magnus left you down there," she added, much to Odi's amusement.

Afton stalked away, thoroughly embarrassed. He wouldn't dare offer a retort to Caius' mate, even if he did think she was a bitch.

I bloody love you! Odi said to himself. Dora was proving to be a fantastic champion when occasion called for it. Which is why it unsettled the kid to see the his parents glaring daggers at her.

"They look seriously pissed with you, Dora," Odi noted seeing the scowls the elite were offering whilst they devoured their captive humans.

Dora looked back over her shoulder to assess the scorn for herself. Yes, Odi was bang on the nail - they were all looking to her with derision. Pathetic! she thought.

"Shouldn't you be with them?" Renata asked. She passed Dora a glass of the now unwanted wine as she spoke, hoping the woman would stay with them for a while.

It had come as a surprise to Renata, who had only started hanging out with Dora out of boredom, to find that Caius' mate was actually a lot of fun. She was even nice - the most surprising thing of all! It was a shame that spending time with Dora seemed to come with the covet of spending time with Irina, but Renata would put up with that.

Dora knew she was supposed to be with the rest of the elite, but she couldn't stand anymore of their inane chatter. "Listening to those morons slagging off my friends isn't high on my agenda tonight."

"Be fair, Dora," Renata said quietly. "Everyone slags off Irina,"

"True." Dora knew that, and if it had just been Irina maybe she could have stomached the conversation for longer. "It's not just Irina tonight. Carlisle, Odi, Felix - all hot topics."

"Me?!" Odi burst. "What are they saying about me?"

"You don't want to know," Dora replied. If Odi knew his father was telling them all about his recent lashing, he would die of shame. Doubly so if he knew Afton had overheard some of it.

"I hate hearing the way they talk about Felix," Corin said sadly. "They make out like he's so immature, but I know another side to him … sorry ... I knew another side to him."

Dora's eyes flashed over to the young guard. "Do you miss him, Corin?"

"Felix was so much fun," she replied, wistful in thought for her long-gone relationship with the Volturi prince. "But I can't see a way back for us. He's moved on, I'm sure."

The cogs were working overtime in Dora's mind. After what she had heard about Felix from his family, the ridiculous overreactions of his father in response to the boy simply wanting something as normal as a sex life, Dora wanted to help the kid. "I'm having a party tonight, you should come."

Renata's ears perked up. "I thought your party had been cancelled?"

"The party to replace the Valentine Ball has been cancelled - no one said anything about the after party."

Corin wasn't a big drinker, never had been. She wasn't much of a partier, either. She was younger than many of the guards, but not immature. Corin paid attention to the rules and she was unsure how attending a party in a coven master's quarters could possibly be within those rules.

"She won't come," Odi explained, as if he were reading her mind. "Corin's not a rule breaker."

Corin looked shyly to Dora. What Odi said was true but she didn't want to offend Caius' mate. "I doubt I could afford to join in, my lady" she offered, hoping it would be a simple way to refuse. "But thank you for the offer."

"Don't worry about the cost," Renata told her. "We have a kitty. Put in what you can."

"Or don't put anything in," Dora tagged on quickly. "We have enough to go around." When that didn't seem to convince the girl, Dora pushed a little harder. "You won't be breaking any rules, Corin. And Felix will be there."

"Felix will be there?" Corin repeated, as though it were a ridiculous statement to utter. "Aro and Sulpicia have never liked him out after hours …"

Dora offered her a wink. "I'm sure I can arrange it." With that she left them before any more objections could be raised and sought out Aro in the crowd.

"Aro," she called gently to the coven king. Seeing the dark eyes he offered had Dora stumble for a moment in her quest before regaining her stride. "You know what you were saying earlier about Felix pining over Corin," she began. "How would you feel about helping them get back together?"

Corin watched on tenterhooks to see if Dora would be successful. She won't, Corin thought, convinced Aro would never allow his son to a private after party just so they could rekindle their relationship. No chance. Her stomach lurched when Aro looked over to her with a quizzical expression. Soon enough, Dora returned.

"The after party is on," she whispered to the three waiting guards. "Odi, will you go and let Irina and Carlisle know. Bring Felix, Aro's okay'd it."

"Where are you going?" Odi called after her.

Dora chinked together the two glasses of bloodwine she had taken. "To convince Caius."

Dora's method of convincing her mate to agree to spending some time with her friends was offering sex. As it had been a while for the pair of them, with all their arguments, Caius was only too happy to oblige and cut out of the ball if some private time was on the table. They managed a full, frustration relieving round before Dora went in for the kill, using the 'after glow' to secure Caius' agreement to socialise with her friends in their own home. Of course he agreed. He would have agreed to anything she asked in that moment. He promised her the earth when it appeared she was willing to go again. He didn't get very far, however …

"Dora?!"

"Is that Irina?" Caius whispered, hoping the girl would bugger off if they stayed quiet. "I'm starting to think you are paying that girl to interrupt us."

"They're early!" Dora bounced off the bed and made quick work of redressing.

"You invited her?!" Caius shot out, making no move to redress himself.

Dora hooked one shoe on, and then the other. "You agreed to this, Caius."

"When?!"

"Just now," Dora replied, winking at him.

Realising he'd fallen into that oh-so-common trap women lay for their husbands, all he could think was, you conniving bitch. "Are you seriously leaving me like this?!" he asked, pointing out his rock-hard cock as though it were her responsibility to offer him resolution.

"No," Dora said, smiling. For a brief moment he thought he might at least be getting a quick blowjob or something. Caius realised he was wrong when Dora threw his shirt at him covering said appendage. "You're getting dressed and joining in."

"We could always come and join in with you, Caius?" Irina asked, opening the bedchamber door to get a good gawp at the goods. Odi stood behind, trying not to look below the waist.

Caius was a little drunk from the ball. What the hell? he thought, whipping the shirt from his lap and offering himself up.

"Caius!" Dora hissed, ushering Irina out of the room. "Will you get dressed?!"

Caius caught the britches she threw in his general direction, but he wasn't happy. "So this is the kind of party where we need to be clothed?" With no response from Dora, he yelled out, "My parties are better than yours, love!"

Odi looked Caius up and down and his face broke into a playful grin. "I'll assume you're good with your hands."

"Cheeky brat!" Before Odi could leave, Caius called him back. "Odi, get in here. Shut the door."

"You're not my type, bro!"

Caius flashed to the door to close it for the kid, hoping no one had heard what Odi had called him. With a sharp slap to the back of the lad's head, he finally started to dress himself. "I know you've been drinking already …"

"I was serving, not drinking," Odi explained, as if one negated the other.

"Yeah," Caius drawled. Dickhead. "Like I said, I know you've been drinking. If you want to keep drinking, you need to keep your mouth shut."

"About what?" Odi asked, coy smile teasing his lips knowing exactly what Caius was talking about.

"I'm serious." Caius fixed the kid in his sights. "Call me 'bro' again and I'll make you my sister."

Odi backed up quick with a gulp, coving his crotch. "Okay, okay!"

Shirtless and shoeless, but decent, Caius pushed Odi out of the room and followed him, whispering a few more threats to seal the kid's silence.

"Erm …" Caius stalled in the doorway seeing Felix enter with Carlisle. "Does your old man know you're here?" he asked the boy. When Felix merely nodded with a goofy grin, Caius pushed, "There's no way Aro would let you out at this time of night."

Irina burst out laughing, keen to make the young prince feel as emasculated as possible, even if that hadn't been Caius' intention.

"Aro's pissed and horny," Felix replied, doing his level best to ignore the jibes coming from Irina. "He wanted me out of the way."

"Seriously, Felix?" Caius asked again. It was bad enough enduring a night with Dora's odd group of friends without copping for shit for it from Aro afterwards.

"Yes!" Felix snapped - he was more pissed off with Irina than Caius.

"And if I ask him he will say he knows you're here?"

"Caius, stop harassing him," Dora sang out, hooking one arm through her mate's and stroking his chest soothingly with her free hand. "I asked Aro if he could come, Aro agreed."

Shit, I can't drug them again if Felix is here! Aro wouldn't stand for that. Caius pulled Dora to the edge of the room whilst cursing to himself. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"You expect me to hang around with my best mate's son?" he hissed. Surely you can see how ridiculous this is?!

"I hung around with my best mate's parents for you," Dora hissed back, snagging her arm free. "I even had to swallow the shit they were saying about them!" she added in a louder voice.

"What were they saying?" Odi asked. He'd been wondering what Afton had planned to say to him earlier that night and now he was amongst friends, well, friends and Irina, he felt confident enough to find out.

"You really don't want to know," Dora told him, taking a seat.

"Oh, I think we do!" Felix boomed, quite unprepared for what Dora had been privy to.

Dora tried to be as gentle as possible, but with Odi and Felix both begging for the gossip she eventually buckled. "Put it this way," she said. "I know why you pair are standing up."

Odi felt like his insides had been pulled out through his throat.

Felix, however, perhaps more used to his father's attempts to publicly shame him, had much more to say. "He told you what?!" he roared. "That bastard! Well, now I feel less guilty about breaking into his happy stash." Felix dumped a cotton bag of hash on the table and pulled the pipe from his pocket. Then he remembered Caius was in the room. "Oh, erm …"

"Caius won't say anything," Dora said. She sounded confident before her guests, but Caius could hear the nerves in her tone.

Perfect! he thought. He could throw them all out based on Felix stealing from his father and go back to fucking his mate in peace.

"Will you Caius?" Dora asked. She turned doleful but hopeful eyes on him, and, in a rare twist of fate, Caius faltered.

Their relationship was on the rocks, he could feel it, though neither had said it yet. Freyr had been very clear whilst she bandaged his hand that afternoon that he had to support Dora in her friendships if he expected her to support him in his. Shit.

"Apparently not."

A cheer went up in the room and the after-party revellers started fixing their drinks, lighting their pipes, and arranging themselves in the room to suit themselves.

Caius drew himself a hefty goblet of bloodwine from the barrel, keeping his back to the room. "You could have at least invited Heidi for me," he called over his shoulder.

"She's too old," Odi called back.

Caius glowered at the kid. "She's the same age as I am."

"She's too old," Odi said again, smirking wildly.

Caius wrapped a hand around the back of his neck hearing someone - Irina he assumed - shrieking their laughter behind him. Yup, he thought. Too old for this shit.

"What else did Magnus say about me?" Odi eventually asked, his curiosity overtaking his shame.

Dora grimaced. That face spoke a thousand words and suddenly Odi's shame shot right back up.

"Forget it," he said quickly. "I don't want to know. Bastard."

Irina, only too quick to helpfully guess at what Magnus might have said, started laying out the scene for her own amusement. She might have got away with it had she stuck to Odi. Even if she'd stuck to Felix and Carlisle. But, stupidly, she brought Caius into the mix.

"How does Magnus deal with you, Caius?" she asked, sickly sweet all innocent and light. "We all heard at Christmas that Magnus takes you to task."

Odi's drink caught in his throat and he inched away from Caius, knowing he would blow.

"You think you heard what?!" Caius roared. "Are you fucking insane?!"

"Irina, you are mistaken," Odi said quickly, backing him up. "My dad deals with me, sure, but Caius is his co-master."

Caius was so surprised that Odi came to his defence that his rage faltered again that evening. Briefly, he loved the kid.

Renata didn't want Dora's party to descend into misery so soon, either, so she tried to turn the tables.

"You should be careful, Irina," she told the Denali girl. "I caught some of that conversation in the great hall, too, and you were the hot topic from what I heard."

"Me?!" Irina scoffed. "I hardly see how I could be involved. No one would dare punish me the way they punish silly little boys. It would be improper."

Your confidence astounds me! Renata thought, hiding her glare from the girl. There were a core of guards who had been with the Volturi for many centuries, and all of them, at some time or another, had been up for coven discipline. Since Magnus and Freyr had taken over, those times were considerably less as the guard masters sought other ways to avoid conflict, but they all had experience of some kind. Renata, though not the necessarily vindictive, hoped Irina's turn would come sooner rather than later if only to teach her a little humility. For now, she would do her part.

"Basileus, Magnus, and Aro were only telling tales about dealing with their own to give Eleazar some tips on how to deal with you." She turned to Caius, willing the coven master to back her up.

Caius was only too pleased to help. "Exactly," he said, winking at Renata for a good plan well executed.

"No?!" Irina's mouth replied before she'd engaged her brain. Her 'no' came out as a question. Rather than demonstrating her usual confident, untouchable stance, she showed that there was a little fear hiding in there somewhere.

Odi and Felix, even Carlisle, started to return some of the taunts Irina had offered. It helped them feel less self-conscious over the embarrassment they felt from their parents discussing their recent discipline in all its anti-glory.

Renata smiled into her cup. And my work is done.

Irina took it for awhile as she worked out her next move. Her sly eyes kept drifting over to Dora. She couldn't have the woman seeing her as unnecessary in their new gatherings. The only way Irina could make her enforced stay in Volterra tolerable was by having someone easily manipulated with her own quarters to use. Dora was that someone. Irina wouldn't lower herself to convincing the others to like her - too much like hard work and unnecessary, she felt if she could just concentrate on Dora keeping her in the fold. When Dora left the group to fetch another drink, Irina followed to whisper in her ear.

"Renata's a funny one, isn't she?" she said quietly. "Anyone would think she doesn't like me, which is odd, as I'm the reason she's here!"

Dora wasn't quite sure where Irina was going with that. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Irina drawled. "You've known these people for years, centuries even. But they only started hanging out with you since I came along."

It punched Dora in the guts to realise the truth Irina spoke, and Irina knew it.

"If I were to leave, you'd have to go back to waiting for Caius to notice you, and we both know he won't," she added. "I'm not staying if I'm to be the butt of their jokes …"

"I'll change the conversation," Dora offered quickly.

Irina smiled seeing how easy it was to sucker Dora into doing her dirty work for her. Too easy, almost. She didn't stop to consider why it was so easy, that Dora had lived through abject hell with Caius and was desperate to find her feet in the coven on her own terms. Not that Irina would have cared about using the woman's hopes, fears, and heartbreak to her own advantage - the opposite in fact. She knew Dora was broken, it's why she'd selected Dora for her selfish pursuits in the first place.

"You do that," she said, taking the glass Dora had poured for herself and walking away.

Caius had watched the short interaction. He had nothing else to do as he wasn't about to sit and chat with the bunch of reprobates littering his apartment. It was a shame he hadn't heard what Irina had said, even worse that he had no gift to call on to listen in on her thoughts or read her feelings. As it was, Caius was a sitting duck, just like his mate. All he knew was that Dora preferred to be with Irina over him and with that in mind, he planned to drown his sorrows and pray they all left soon. He knew he couldn't drug them to sleep to ease the night's misery, but it was very tempting to drug himself! Bloodwine will have to do, he thought. Luckily Caius' bloodwine was the strongest the coven brewed, not the cat piss he could find in Aro's chambers, so he hoped it wouldn't take too long to get them all thoroughly drunk and hopefully home. A simple drinking game will help, he supposed, grabbing a goblet for each of them and setting them out around the table. He called them all into a game of cards.

"Erm … I don't have any money to bet," Odi said shyly.

There was little need to be shy - neither did Corin or Felix, and Carlisle wasn't exactly flush living on a small allowance from his father, either.

"No cash," Caius said, dealing them all two cards for a game of black jack. "Loser downs their drink."

They were all up for that!

Dora smiled to her mate, ecstatic that he was joining in with her friends. Bless her.

Turk heard the happy voices as he passed the ground floor suite on his way to the guard masters' chambers. He nearly turned around when he heard Odi through the door. It took a lot for the barman to push ahead. He nearly turned around again when he got to the masters' door. He knocked lightly, half hoping to be ignored. Freyr soon arrived to open it, increasing Turk's anxiety.

"Masters." Turk bowed his head respectfully, waiting to be invited in. No sooner as Freyr had stepped aside, Turk was in and at the seat at Magnus' table. He had to rush ... or he would have fled.

"Do you have time for a chat?"

Magnus chuckled. "As you've already taken a seat I will make time." It was then that Magnus picked up on Turks feelings. "What's on your mind," he asked. "You feel conflicted."

"I love Odi," Turk began, psyching himself up. "You know I do. Not like that," he hastened to add. "But he's been my best mate in this coven since I arrived … Is this in confidence?"

Magnus bobbed his head, wondering where the conversation would turn. Freyr placed her hands on Turk's shoulders to comfort him.

"Of course it is," she said, encouraging Turk to go on.

Turk took a deep breath and before he could lose his nerve, blurted out, "I'd rather Odi wasn't working on the bar with me too often."

Freyr and Magnus shared worried eyes over the guard's head. Magnus didn't want to take Odi off the bar - he had nowhere else to put him.

"You're going to have to tell me why, Turk," he pushed.

"I can't afford it," Turk whispered. He was ashamed of himself for grassing on Odi, of all people, but that was the truth of the matter - he couldn't afford to work with him anymore. "Odi is being very generous on the bar. My bar. So I cover the drinks he gives away, but it's costing me every florin I earn. I've just finished balancing the till and I'm short …"

"I'll kill him!" Magnus erupted.

"No, Magnus, please," Turk held out his hands, willing the guard master to hear him out. "I don't want him to know I told you. I hardly see Odi anymore, he's always hanging out at Dora's and this will drive a wedge between us. I'm happy to cover the drinks he gives away, I just can't afford it if he's working on the bar so often."

"We will replace your wages in full," Freyr said, sounding sad and cursing their boy's utter ineptitude to steal from both the bar - their bar - and leaving his best friend to pick up the tab.

Magnus ran his hands through his long hair. He felt himself tug at the roots in exasperation. Turk filched when the man sprang from his seat and flashed out of the room. Magnus soon returned dropping a pouch of coins to the table.

"I won't tell him I know what's gone on, but I'll pull him from bar work," Magnus told Turk. He looked to Freyr, "Odi can work the bar when we have coven events only, and then hopefully I can catch him out giving drinks away, so he'll never know Turk came forward."

"Thank you, Master," Turk sighed in relief. "I'm not usually so gutless … I just don't want to lose Odi ... but I can't afford it."

"It's not for you to afford, Turk," Magnus said. He sounded very stern, but Turk hoped that was the situation rather than him.

"You've been very brave coming forward," Freyr told her guard to offer him some comfort. "I only wish it had been sooner to save yourself some stress."

Turk stood with his shoulders slumped - he still felt a complete cunt for ratting Odi out. Taking the coin pouch from the table, he knew it was too heavy. "This is too much, Magnus …"

Magnus closed his giant hand around Turk's and fixed him in his sights. "Consider the rest a thank you for your loyalty to my son."

Carlisle downed what must surely have been his twelfth goblet of bloodwine and held his hand to his mouth.

Caius leaned right back in his chair, putting as much space between him and Carlisle as he could in case he chucked up. "If you're sick in here I'll be feeding it to you."

That thought really didn't help Carlisle's stomach. "I'm out," he said once he was sure the bloodwine was staying down. "I'm done."

"Me too," Felix agreed, glad he hadn't been the first to fold out of the game. He yawned despite his desperate efforts not to. Between the late hour and the bloodwine, he was done in.

"Aww, bless, little Felix," Irina said, roughly ruffling his hair. "Is it time for a nap?"

"Fuck off," he snapped back, snatching his head away. Moving so fast flipped his stomach over.

Dora did her best to settle Felix down to avoid him from having a confrontation with Irina.

Corin had been trying to make her move on Felix all evening, but as she'd spent so many years avoiding the boy, he assumed she was drunk, or had something in her eye. Corin understood that. She had purposely pushed him away after Aro had … done what he'd done. Not because she blamed Felix in any way, as Felix believed, but because she blamed herself for ending up in that situation. Corin couldn't blame her king, she just couldn't. With enough time passed, and her self-doubt subsiding, she wanted Felix back, but she didn't have the confidence to outright say so. Felix had always been the one to take the lead in their relationship ... or whatever it was that they had.

Maybe if he's tired, he'll want to come to my dorm? she thought, seeing a way in. She could talk to him if they were alone. "Are you tired?" she asked quietly.

"No, I'm not tired," he huffed back.

Corin deflated next to him but he Felix didn't notice. He was pissed off with Irina, but also with Dora for pandering to her. Leaning over to Renata and Carlisle he whispered, "Does it count as saving someone's life if I refrain from fucking murdering them?"

Carlisle chuckled but Renata thought more on it. "You are the only one in this coven who would get away with it," she told the young prince.

"It's so tempting." Felix continued to glare at Irina as another yawn escaped his lips.

"Take him home, Carlisle," Caius suggesting pointing out Felix' state. "It's way past his bedtime."

"Fuck off!"

"Say that again," Caius dared the boy.

"He didn't mean it, Caius," Dora insisted quickly. They'd had such a fun night - Caius exploding would end the possibility of a repeat.

"I always mean what I say," Felix said cheekily. "I don't always mean for it to come out of my mouth."

He was just funny enough to calm Caius' temper. But he still wanted the kid out of his quarters.

Corin tried again, "Felix, if you're tired …"

"I'm not fucking tired!"

"We could go to my dorm so you can rest?" she added quickly.

Finally Felix caught onto Corin's intentions. "Oh!" he exclaimed. He couldn't believe his luck! Felix truly thought he had no hope of rekindling his relationship with Corin. Ever! "Yeah, I'm shattered"

His tiredness wasn't so important all of a sudden as the boy leapt from his seat to take Corin's hand, pulling her towards the door.

"Hold up!" Caius flashed passed them both to block their path. "I'm not sure about …" What am I saying? I don't care. "Enjoy," he said, changing tact and all but pushing the young lovers out of his chambers. He looked around the room. Two down, four to go. "Do you sleep, Carlisle?"

"Fuck off, Caius," Carlisle sang out. "And I did mean it."

"Being rather brave, aren't we?" Odi whispered to the man.

Caius ignored Carlisle and turned on Odi. "What about you, Odi? You're fond of your naps."

Odi blustered at such an inference. Sleeping would have him demoted to child-status before he could blink! He didn't sleep, not really. He rested. Which was the defence he frequently used if anyone ever caught him with his eyes closed.

"I don't nap," he told the coven master with a dark tone. "I rest. It's different. You know I don't sleep."

"How would he know?" Irina asked, picking up in the odd way Caius and Odi were interacting.

Caius realised his error - if he started talking about Odi, Odi would start talking about him. "He lives above me," Caius explained, pointing to the chambers above his own.

"I live above you?" Odi repeated to himself. "I like the sound of that. I might start telling people that one." He really stressed the 'telling people' in case Caius missed that he needed to keep if mouth shut if he expected the same in return.

"Tell people what you like," Caius said back, matching Odi's glare and tone. "Fuck people."

"Tell people what I like? Really?"

Dora, Irina, Renata, and Carlisle all watched their interplay, heads bouncing from one to the other. Caius seriously started to stress.

"Why are you repeating everything I say?"

Odi folded his arms and smirked knowing he'd won. "Why am I repeating everything you say?"

Caius turned away from Odi completely and looked to his mate. "It's home time for the sad and desperate now, love, I've suffered enough."

"Suffered enough?!" Dora repeated. Caius was getting annoyed with the echo to his words. "It's a party with my friends, Caius. A party you agreed to."

"I've spent time with your friends. Now it's over." Caius stormed to the door and flung it open. Looking back to his mate he had to wonder why she looked so pissed off, or was it hurt? "What do you want from me?!"

You're such a dick! Dora stood and matched his stance. "I wanted you to want to do it!"

Caius gestured around the room, still half full of her wayward friends and a damn mess from their small party (which privately Caius would admit bothered him more - he didn't like mess) "I've done it!" he shot out.

Dora stamped her foot into the floor. "But you didn't want to!"

Caius looked back, aghast. He'd kept his cool all day. He'd even broken his own hand in an effort not to hurt his mate, a triumph for the usually violent coven master, he felt. With an almighty frustrated roar, he said, "You drive me fucking crazy!"

"That got real savage, real fast," Odi said under his breath.

It was the final straw for Caius. He knew, deep down, that he was really stressed with the lack of control he had over his current situation, but he still ripped Odi from his seat and threw him towards the door. "You're going home."

It took every ounce of restraint Magnus possessed to hide what Turk had told him when he set eyes on his thieving son. Odi had been a light-fingered brat since Magnus had first clapped eyes on him. That's how they had met, in fact, with the boy stealing food from his table. He hadn't blamed the boy, then. Being only ten years old and brought home by his older boys as a waif and stray, he hadn't objected to the child taking the food he was so desperate for, nor would he again, but part of Magnus wondered if Odi would always prefer to take what he wanted rather than earn it, rather than ask for it, even. Pushing those thoughts aside, as he had promised Turk, Magnus welcomed his son inside.

"I wondered where you had got to," he said, holding the door open.

Caius appeared behind the kid, roughly pushing him forwards.

"Take him before I ram my fist down his throat," he roared.

Odi stumbled, only saved from face planting the floor by his father's hold. "What did I do?!"

Caius felt his fists clench at his sides. "You talk too much!" he yelled, before flashing back to his own quarters.

Caius re-entered his apartment in the same flurry of anger as he'd left, fully intent on tossing Carlisle, Renata, and Irina to the curb so he could have it out with his mate.

"What a nice surprise," Irina drawled. Drunk, and entirely naked in Caius' living chamber.

Caius nearly tripped over his own feet. "This is not a nice surprise," he said. "This is a very bad surprise." He ripped his own cloak from the peg and threw it at the girl.

Irina caught it but made no effort to cover herself. "Dora's still crying in the bedroom," she explained, making her way to him. "Renata and Carlisle felt like they should leave."

Caius backed up, as if to touch the Denali girl would somehow condemn him. "You should have followed them."

"We both know you want me, Caius." Irina reminded the coven leader that he'd said so himself at Christmas.

Caius was pretty sure he had refused Irina at Christmas, actually. "It's been a long time since anyone said no to you, hasn't it?"

When Caius backed up to the wall with nowhere else to go, he pulled the cloak from Irina's hands and forcibly wrapped her in it. She did her best to object, though quietly, as she didn't wish to alert Dora to her actions. Caius was past caring. I'm not going down for you. He hoisted the girl over his shoulder and hot footed it to the west tower.

"ELEAZAR!" Caius roared on his way to the middle floor.

"Caius?" Eleazar arrived in the stairwell, sure he must be hearing things. A man's growls and a woman's shrieks filled his ears. "What's … what are you doing with Irina?!"

"Returning her." Caius dumped Irina to the floor, though she caught her talons in his cheeks as he did so, opening up a gash on his face.

"Stupid bitch!"

Eleazar got between them before Caius could do something regrettable - Caius wasn't so sure he would regret it!

The noise alerted Carmen. Eleazar pulled them all inside before it alerted his parents, too.

"Why is she undressed?" he asked calmly.

"Because she's a stupid slut," Caius shrugged. It was the reason, in his mind. He took the cloth Carmen offered to tend his cheek. He was eminently grateful to the bloodwine he'd drank that evening as he couldn't feel any pain in his face, nor his hand, which, still broken, had taken a battering whilst he'd hauled Irina home.

Irina, back on her feet, started pushing Eleazar and Carmen away - she needed neither of them to defend her. "What did you just say to me?" she asked, daring Caius to repeat his words.

"You're a stupid slut," Caius sang out, loud and proud.

Armed with her usual overconfidence and a vicious tongue, and little else as she'd dropped her cloak, Irina launched at Caius.

Caius, for his part, just stood there. He really wanted her to hit him so he could justifiably hit her back! Sadly for Caius, Eleazar caught her mid-flight and Carmen re-robed the girl.

Neither Carmen or Eleazar were sure on what had occurred to see Irina returned by a raging coven master in a state of undress, but Eleazar, for one, wanted to be sure of something. "Caius, if you've …"

Caius laughed in his face. "No, I haven't fucked her," he assured. "I'm not interested, thanks."

Basileus swung the door open - Eleazar's efforts had been in vain. "Is this the right room for an argument?"

Surveying the scene, and of course the memories of those concerned, Basileus quickly ascertained what was going on.

"I'm not sure what's happened, Dad," Eleazar offered, hoping Basileus would illuminate on the matter.

"Well, you should know what's going on, son," Basileus replied. "Irina is your responsibility."

That put Eleazar on the back foot. "Do you think I don't know that?"

"I think you need reminding." Basileus looked down his nose at his boy. He was annoyed by Irina, hell, everyone was annoyed by Irina, but he was disappointed in his son's lack of control over the girl. And now we have her being brought home naked by bloody Caius!

Caius had expected all hell to break loose when Basileus rocked up, but he seemed in the clear … bonus!

Basileus caught that. Oh, I don't think so! "I know what you've done tonight," he said to the man.

Caius flipped through his memories, wondering what the creator was referring to. It could be a number of things, he realised.

Rather than informing Caius what issue he was raising, Basileus left the master to work it out himself. Caius was right, it could be a number of things - bringing up Odi's 'naps', organising a card game to get them all drunk, letting Felix go home with Corin, letting Felix stay with stolen hash … any number of things. Returning Irina undressed was small fry.

"Has he …" Eleazar quietened his voice. "Had Irina?"

"No," Basileus confirmed quickly before Caius could start afresh. "Not that it matters when she's giving it away."

"Giving it away?!" Irina repeated. "Why is it I'd be a slut for fucking him, but he wouldn't for fucking me?!"

"I didn't fuck you!" Caius roared.

"He'd be dead for fucking you," Eleazar told the girl.

Caius burst out laughing. "Would that be by your doing, El?" he asked, laughing more at the very idea.

"Just because I don't engage in mindless violence, like you," Eleazar said, stepping up to Caius, "Don't make the mistake of thinking me incapable."

"Tame your tempers," Basileus warned them both before anything more could happen. "Now!" With one hand he pushed Caius towards the door, with the other he pushed Eleazar back. "Son," he started. "You need to get her malicious mischief under control - that's your responsibility."

"It's not about ducking out of my responsibilities, just recognising my own limitations in the matter."

Caius heard Eleazar's reply and left. Useless cunt! He knew Eleazar would fall short of offering Irina any punitive measures. But then he was 'Eleazar', the creator's eldest son, one of the anointed who could do no wrong. Cunt.

Caius returned to his quarters thoroughly intent on telling Dora the shit show was over - normal service must resume or he was done. Two months of her shitty attitude was enough.

"Dora!" he called, storming into their home, slamming the door behind him.

He found her in their bedchamber, all her dresses splayed over the bed. The odd scene stopped him in his tracks.

"What are you doing?"

Dora turned to him with tearful eyes. "Packing."

"You're leaving me?!"

Dora heard his tone and backed away. Reaching out for something to defend herself with, she found a candlestick. It wouldn't do much damage against a vampire, but it would be better than nothing.

"You're angry because I had friends here … I don't want to fight with you."

"Seems like you do," Caius said, gesturing to the makeshift weapon she held.

Dora gulped. "Only in defence."

For a few moments, they watched each other. Caius saw the fear in her eyes and baulked. Time was, he would have enjoyed seeing that fear, but that was behind him. Or at least, he wanted it to be. Seeing the clothes laid out on their bed hit him hard, too. I can't lose you. I can't. What am I doing?! Unclenching his fist, he took a steadying breath.

"I won't hurt you," he said, backing away. It felt like he'd spent more time backing away that night than walking forwards! "Stay, please stay. I won't hurt you."

Dora wasn't giving up that candlestick just yet, but she certainly felt less wary. "And my friends?" she asked.

"Keep your friends," Caius said, gulping down the heavy emotion in his voice. "But Irina just …"

"I need you to understand something, Caius. Irina …" Dora sighed and took a seat on the bed amongst her dresses. "You may not like her, I know why people here don't like her. It's the same reason they don't like me." She stopped only to wave away his objection to what she saw as fact. "I need her. I need a friend, someone who isn't connected to us, someone just for me. I need it."

Caius had been all set on telling his mate exactly what the little bitch had done. Surely telling Dora that Irina had propositioned him whilst she was left sobbing alone would be enough to break off their friendship. But he couldn't do it. He could hear how desperate his mate sounded to have the Denali bitch in her life and he just couldn't see her hurt any more than he had already hurt her. It had been a hurt centuries in the making that he had systematically conducted against his own wife and now, in an odd twist of fate when he really was trying to be the man she wanted him to be, she was so very close to being done with him. If Irina kept Dora together, then he'd accept Irina in Dora's life - so long as it meant he was still a part of it.

"Do you still need me?" he asked, begging for confirmation that she still wanted him.

"Not as much as I did," Dora admitted. "And I think that's good. It will be better if I'm not so reliant on you, it will be better for us."

"So there is still an us?"

"I'm working things out."

What the fuck! The floor seemed to move beneath him. Caius took a seat next to Dora and she flinched away. He held up his hands quickly to show he wasn't threatening her.

"Give me time," she said.

"I will."