A/N: Here's chapter eighteen! Wow, it really has been a while, hasn't it? We have been working away, but again, ran out of time to read over and edit things, so, expect a boat load of chappies at once, then another drought…not a very reader-friendly system, but it's the best we can manage for now…thanks for dealing! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do now own Bloodlines. Also May.

On her return to the red tower from her walk with Angel, May heard Prospero's voice. She wondered who he was talking to, until she saw him sitting at the table, with Goddard sitting across from him, "You're back." Prospero smiled, "I don't think you two have met. May, this is Goddard Chamberlain, Toreador Primogen. Goddard, this is May."

"Ah, yes, I've heard so much about you." Goddard smiled and held a hand out, "Charmed."

May had planned to unclip Angel from his leash, provided he didn't look like he was going to murder Goddard in cold blood. She kept Angel close to her side, away from Goddard as she reached forward to shake his hand, "Yes, a pleasure to meet you." She pulled back out of the way with Angel, "I'm sorry about him."

"Ah, it's no problem. Perhaps it just marks the time that I should leave." Goddard stood up, heading for the door, "The LaSombra is back, Prospero." He said, "It will be spoken about in the Primogen meeting. Two days, that is. Remember that."

"Right, yeah, yeah, I'll be there."

"He destroyed an entire club, the owner was rumored to be a Giovanni…I'm not sure where he ended up…"

"Giovanni?" Prospero perked up.

He looked back, "Yes, that's right. He survived the assault."

Prospero got up and held him by the collar, lifting him off the ground, "Where is he now? What was his first name? Who was this guy?!"

He swallowed hard, "I'm sure such matters will be tended to at the meeting…"

He clenched his grip tighter, then he took a deep breath, letting him go, "You're right…I'm…sorry about that. Have a good night, Goddard." He said as Goddard left.

Angel gave a few barks that sounded a lot like, 'yeah, stay out', before he whined and looked up at May. May scowled and unleashed him, he then proceeded to prance about, "So…the Giovanni…?"

"It…it could be him…" He said, shaking, but with excitement, rather than nervousness, "It could be…Giuseppe Giovanni…after all this time…"

"Are you going to hunt him down?"

"Only when I get an exact location…" He said, "But…if he is in California…this could be a one in a lifetime chance…"

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She unzipped the top of her tracksuit.

He paused in thought for a moment, then he growled, "Damn it!" He said, "I forgot about Madame Vaska…"

"I could…I could see if I could contact some people to get rid of her."

"It won't work…she's too…old and powerful…and she'll control me the second I try to do anything to Giuseppe, I just know it…"

She took her jacket off, a racerback tank top underneath. She walked forward and held him, "I think it's a risk you're going to have to take."

He fumed within her arms, clenching his fists. He absolutely hated being stuck between a rock and a hard place like this.

Angel sat by them, growling at Prospero as soon as he clenched his fists.

He sighed, "Or I'll just…sit…in here…and keep doing nothing…"

"Take me with you."

"Take you with me…for what?"

"For killing Giuseppe."

"So you can die like Clair? No, I don't think so."

"Well, I want to do something so I'm not utterly useless."

"But you can't exactly fight…I mean…you're just a ghoul…"

"I can be a distraction." She put a hand on one of her hips, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"…so…by distraction…you mean…"

"Stand there." She crossed her arms, "Bitch and moan like I always do. Isn't that right?"

"May…"

"Hmm?" A little smirk pulled at her lips, but it was impossible to tell what it meant. For May, a simple gesture like that could mean a-hundred other things. His shoulders slumped and he sat at the couch in defeat, burying his face in his hands as he thought.

Then he looked up, "When you killed all those guys out of jealousy…how did you do it?"

"Okay, okay, let's take a step back." She sat next to him, "It wasn't out of jealousy. I killed my father because he was evil." She crossed her legs, "My ex died because he led me on. Deserved it, both of them. It was not something as petty as jealousy."

"I know, I know, how did you kill them?"

"I poisoned my father. I have a revolver in the kitchen cabinet that handled the other affair marvelously."

"Oh…so…not much combat was involved at all…"

"Of course not. I would look terrible with a bruise. Unless they're from you." She smirked.

He shuddered, reminded of nothing but the time where he beat her while under Madame Vaska's control. He sighed, "I mean…I could help you…get stronger…or learn how to defend yourself…or just Embrace you." He said, then added quickly, "Or have someone else in the Camarilla Embrace you…if you don't want to be Brujah…"

"I uh…I'd prefer this…this form." She said, "But thank you." She pecked his cheek, "I wouldn't like all that violence anyway. It doesn't suit me."

"So being a meat shield is okay…but fighting back is not…"

"I'll bring my gun."

He sighed for the umpteenth time, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know." She teased, "What are you going to do with me?"

"I don't know…" He buried his face in his hands again, "Sorry…for all this…"

"Don't apologize." She insisted, giving him a little shove on the shoulder, "You're acting like their little puppet. Loosen up a little." She gave a little smile.

"I just…feel bad that I can't solve any of my problems…"

"They'll be solved. We just have to keep cracking at it."

He smiled, giving her a hug, "Thanks for keeping me together."

"I do my best." She smiled modestly as she was squished up against his large form. He kissed her on the lips deeply, reaching up the back of her top to rub her back. She gave a throaty moan into his mouth, her body caving in to his touch. She peeled her top off, nothing underneath.

"Damn…"

"Hmm?" Her eyes were a little bleary as she looked up at him.

"Nothing…" He took his shirt off, then his pants, as he went back to kissing her.

"Mmm hmm." She eyed him suspiciously as he undressed, then pulled her pants off. She straddled him when they started making out again, smoothing her hands up and down his chest and sides.

"Are you ever not turned on?"

She caught her breath, "I'll get back to you…"

"Sure." He reached behind her and gave her bum a squeeze, causing her to bite her bottom lip and shudder, moaning his name out. "Oh yeah, almost forgot." He squeezed a little harder, "You like this."

"Maybe." She seemed indignant about it now.

"Maybe, huh?"

"Are you going to sit there all night and squeeze my ass or are you going to fuck me?" She asked.

"Already? Damn…" He pat her bum, "You're quicker than most."

"Take it as a compliment." There was still that 'May Virgo' spice in her glare.

"Alright, move back a second…" He waited for her to move until he took his underwear off, sending blood down to his length.

Holding on for him grew tedious for her. When she wanted something, she wanted it now. She was never a very patient girl. She eased her hips down onto his, letting out staggered gasps and moans as he slowly penetrated her.

His eyes widened and he figured now would be a good time to let out his load. She took her time fully taking him in, and once he was all the way in, she bucked her hips and started their typical fast-paced romp. He sighed and tried to keep up, surprised and yet, not surprised at all by these developments.

His hands belonged on her hips, and she made sure he kept them there, despite how tempting her breasts were, bouncing in front of his face. She needed him to hold the tempo between them and keep her from losing control when she felt a particularly powerful climax. He helped her ride a couple of them out until his grip faded and he fell back on the couch cushions.

She panted as he pulled himself away, "We're getting quite good at making each other come so quickly…" She curled up into his arms, "But you know that means we're going to have to start trying more than once a romp…"

"…oh…oh god…" He looked completely wiped out, "Well…there's May's way…and there's the highway…"

She gave a little grin, kissing his cheek, "I'll let you sleep on it…"

"Yeah…I'll have to think about it…"

She closed her eyes, "We'll think about plans for Vaska too."

He nodded, "I'm not sure what…but…yeah…"

"We'll figure it out…"

While not in Nevada, like Lafayette's castle, Madame Vaska's castle was quite a distance away from Los Angeles, giving the three Sabbat members quite a bit of time to travel to their assault.

"The surviving Giovanni will not be a hindrance to our plans?" Remus asked, hands crossed behind his back as always.

"I doubt he is nearly as threatening as she." Lafayette said, "He has no idea of my plans for the immediate future. Madame Vaska, on the other hand was once one of us. She has precious information regarding New York, and she will most likely get in the way. She must die."

"And…what are your plans when we reach the structure?" Cedric asked.

"It is three against one, I hardly think sophisticated plans need to be drawn up." Lafayette said.

"But this is Madame Vaska." He said, "She could have entire armies Dominated under her control. Forces beyond our wildest imagination." He said, "They do not call her the puppeteer for nothing. She was the entire driving force behind the Phantom's Mask…do you not remember?"

"That's why we have you…my dear Harbinger." Lafayette said.

"Madame Vaska defeated me the last time we fought."

"You were heading to torpor, and were ambushed by a stake…I would hardly call that a fair, or ideal fight." He said, "You and she were both born long before the Renaissance. Therefore you will immune to her Dominate abilities." He said, "So it's likely she'll either control Remus or I."

"Who's to say she won't control both?"

It stumped him for a moment, that point, but he brushed it off, "If she has a so-called army, then controlling them and two Ancillae would be beyond impossible."

Remus held an arm out, blocking the two strategizing Cainites, "Wait." He narrowed his eyes, "We are being watched…"

From behind the different boulders and nooks and crannies of the canyon came a wide array of enemy vampires, armed to the teeth in most cases. In a matter of minutes, the three Sabbat members were completely surrounded.

"Under attack already?" Cedric exclaimed, drawing his two scythes, while Remus got out his cursed sword, "But Madame Vaska's fortress is hardly in view!"

"These may not be followers of Madame Vaska…" Lafayette crossed his arms, "These are Setites."

Leading the pack was Jasper, along with his three allies, Selina, Drake, and Axle. "Welcome." He smiled.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lafayette fumed.

"Lady Natalia wishes to have the three of you taken back to her. Alive."

"Lady Natalia?!"

"Sirius's sire…" Cedric said quietly.

"You're beyond outmatched. There are at least one-thousand of us. With another thousand on their way." Jasper said, "I suggest you all come quietly."

Lafayette started chuckling madly, "You will all die then…" He said, "I'll enjoy adding all of your flesh to my collection…"

"What?" Jasper's eyes shrunk, "It's a-thousand versus three! You won't be victorious…you're marching to your death! There's no way you'll defeat all of us!"

"Numbers are not a defining characteristic of war." Remus said, holding a hand out to the nearest Setite. With a Suicide attack, the Setite perished into ash.

"Attack them!" Jasper growled, pointing accusingly at all of them.

Lafayette's bones began snapping and readjusting as he began to change into his Zulo form. He and Cedric were both protected by the green glow of Fortitude. With that, almost any attack that was shot or launched their way were harmlessly bounced off their bodies. Melee attackers were even unluckier, as their weapons broke on contact.

Lafayette roared, charging through and ripping Jasper's soldiers apart, in some cases limb from limb. He roared a few more times, in a way challenging his Setite foes.

Jasper frowned, as he three fellow commanders sprang into the battlefield. He held a hand out, summoning mummies and making their absurd reinforcement count even higher.

Cedric mirrored him, using both hands to access his Necromancy. While Jasper's mummies were able to keep up with a Giovanni Ancilla just barely, they were not prepared for all the zombies, wraiths, skeletons, and specters Cedric was able to summon without hardly using up his blood pool.

Jasper gulped in shock. Cedric's undead army far surpassed his and were even taking a chunk out of his Cainite forces too. Not only that, but it freed up Cedric to fight Jasper himself. Every time Cedric missed with one of his scythes, he ended up slicing a boulder in half. "What…what…what is this thing?" Jasper kept jumping back, not suited for close combat at all.

Cedric's purple eyes glowed with rage as he kept chasing after Jasper.

"We had a lot of fun playing around with you." Remus heard a feminine voice as he turned around, seeing Selina, "But, we weren't really working for you." She turned into a jaguar and lunged at him, tackling him with such force that he fell back and dropped his sword. It clattered on the canyon ground far away.

Remus grunted as he hit the ground. She was on top, in prime position to either injure or kill him. "No…I do not have time to play with little children." He said. Two Disciplines quickly turned things around for him. Obtenebration coated him in darkness, so every time Selina went in to swat at him, she merely hit a shadow. Potence then allowed him to catch her impending set of jaws. In a few quick maneuvers, Remus threw the large cat off of him with a mighty roar.

He quickly recovered his sword, but not before Axle and Drake came in as backup, the former already in snake form. Remus narrowed his eyes. Being surrounded by a snake, a jaguar, and a Potence-fueled swordsman would be terrifying to some, but Remus narrowed his eyes as they all attacked him at once.

As he kept the three of them at bay, he saw Cedric and Jasper's fight from a distance. He saw what Cedric was trying to do — fence Jasper in so he could finally land an attack. Lafayette meanwhile was taking on the rest of the infantry.

Once Jasper got close enough to Remus he held a hand out, letting out a Dominate attack. When it did nothing, his eyes widened, "You're a neonate, why did my attack fail?"

"Dominate doesn't work on me." Jasper scoffed, but he coughed up blood as his gloating left him vulnerable to a scythe cutting right through his chest.

"Very well…" Cedric said, "Then you shall be cut apart."

"Jasper!" Selina gasped, turning back into her jaguar form, with an added layer of Presence this time. She leapt in for an attack, this time with Axle's aid, but Cedric's Fortitude was too impressive. He crossed his scythes in a defensive pattern, blocking all attacks. Jasper was saved from a final blow, but it was clear that the Followers of Set couldn't hurt Cedric with direct attacks at all.

Remus ran in to the Harbinger's aid, but Drake stayed behind, blocking Remus's sword with both knives, "I don't think so, buddy."

Remus narrowed his eyes, "Moving now will be your only chance of survival…"

Jasper held an arm over is massive wound, looking around. Then he let out a sudden terrified scream. The rocky field, the one previously covered by loyal followers, was now barren, and empty. They were the only four left. Sure, there were a few stragglers, but Lafayette was prowling around, biting their arms off or straight-up ripping their heads off to lower that number still.

The four Setites were backed into a corner, quite literally. "Now…like I said before…" Remus said, as Cedric and Lafayette reformed around him, "Numbers are not the defining quality in war."

Jasper shuddered, as did his three allies, until a gleeful, half-crazed smile came onto his face. He started laughing. It started out slow, then it just got louder and louder.

"I struggle to see what could possibly be so—"

A feminine cackle joined Jasper's laugh, only it was coming from behind them. In a flash, the three Sabbat leaders blacked out.

"Have you read anything interesting lately?" Tess asked, smiling as she sat next to Goddard on her couch.

"Not aside from Kuei-Jin texts that I've stolen." Goddard said.

"Nothing in that old library?"

"I don't find those nearly as interesting…" He said, "What have you read?"

"Oh, I waste my time with romance novels and an occasional biography."

"Is that right?" He smiled, "I'm not surprised."

"I didn't think you would be." She smirked, taking a sip from her glass.

"They both seem like avenues you would travel." He said, "Those of romance and knowledge."

"Mmm hmm. I suppose if I was a different clan, maybe those avenues would be different. As it is, my personality didn't change much after my Embrace. Maybe it became more about the former."

"I didn't change much either, after I was Embraced." He said, "Though, as you and many others have pointed out…I am hardly Toreador material."

"Well, I've come to think you don't belong in any other clan by Toreador."

"Oh?"

"You seem to have the heart and mind for it."

"Well, it's nice to be welcomed in by a fellow Toreador." He chuckled, "I was beginning to think I was ill-fit as a Primogen…"

"Of course not. I couldn't handle such a responsibility."

"Perhaps in a decade or two."

Her eyes widened, "After the LaCroix scandal? I'd hope not."

"Oh, you'd love it. It's just sitting through meetings and sifting through paperwork. I think you would prefer it to hardened combat…unless you're fonder of the latter…"

"Oh, no, I despise it…"

"There, see, I was right." He smiled, "I think you have a fine future in front of you."

"I'll keep it in the back of my mind." She smiled back.

He looked ahead, "I was just telling Mister Kingston that there will be a meeting in two days. Most likely about the LaSombra assault on the Giovanni's base…"

"I haven't heard much about that."

"Remus supposedly survived being thrown out of the tower, he is back and active in the Sabbat, and he unearthed a small Giovanni settlement in Hollywood."

"Ah, wonderful…" She mused bitterly.

"I'm sure we'll mill about it for an hour or two…leaving them alive is too dangerous…"

"Of course. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Not until the Prince gives a direct order regarding the attack plans of the Sabbat and the Giovanni…"

"Right. Of course. Well, I'll be there to help when I can. I've been trying to practice with Slade."

"If he's ever unavailable and you need a training partner, you can train with me."

"I would love that."

"Perhaps I could teach you the same method of taking apart a Kindred as I've taught myself."

"What do you mean, taking apart a Kindred?"

"Destroying one in the quickest amount of time before they're able to notice."

She seemed quite interested, "Yes, I'd love to learn how…" She almost seemed sinister.

"It's quite an effective Toreador strategy." He said, "It's a combination of all of our Disciplines in perfect unison."

"Really?" Her eyes grew, "How fascinating…I suppose I'll have to bolster them, a few are…lacking."

"I can help you with that."

"Sounds perfect." She smiled at him and stood up, taking her empty glass, "Want me to refill your glass?"

"That's alright, let me fill yours." He shot up.

She handed him her glass, "Thank you, darling."

He went into her kitchen and filled her glass with blood, returning, "Here you are." He handed it to her as he sat beside her.

She took a sip, crossing her arms, "Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome." He said, "So….it would be fair to assume that you have regrets pertaining towards your early Kindred life?"

"Many. Why?"

"I…hope they don't dwell on your mind often."

She looked down, "They do. A lot. Especially the people I hurt and never had the chance to apologize to. And even those I did. A few words isn't enough."

"Have you felt lonely as a result?"

She looked up, but not at him. Just into the distance. "I have."

He looked ahead, "I'm sure things will get better. Rebuilding trust is difficult, but not impossible. Part of it though it you being able to break down the walls restricting you."

"I'm just trying my best not to throw myself at anyone I feel compelled to."

"Perhaps it shouldn't be you who does the throwing, in that case."

"No. I agree. I'll wait for someone to come to me, if anything."

She felt the gentlest tap on her shoulder, as if he wanted to hold her shoulders with fury, but was too timid to. When he finally turned her towards him, (or rather made her turn by responding to the sudden touch), he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Her eyes were comically wide at first, certainly not expecting this, but she obliged after half a second.

She was expecting it, sure, but just, not now. He was clearly too sheepish to make any sort of answer or follow-up once he was done. He scooted back slightly to where he was sitting, as if retreating, drumming his fingers on his legs.

She leaned in a bit to get a good look of his face, then she grinned, "Well, now you seem like the regretful one."

"Not regretful in the dramatic sense."

"Mmm, that's restoring." She gently smoothed a hand over his thigh, "I wouldn't mind our next get-together being a date."

"Neither would I."

"Then it's settled. Your place?"

"If you wish."

"Perfect." She took his glass, "I can't wait."

A/N: Wow, Tess didn't just immediately sleep with someone the second they proclaimed interest in her, what growth! What change! Thanks for reading, we'll do what we can to chug out the rest of these chapters!