He held her into his chest and she buried her deeper onto his body. He smoothed out her hair as he could feel her cold tears on his chest. The moonlight illuminated the entire meadow as the couple stood embracing in the middle. He made soothing noises to try to calm her down as she did not berate him, but mirrored his wants. He was relived that he didn't over step a boundary. As much as teased that he liked her punishments he didn't relish in making her give them. Her sentence was cut short when she sensed a disturbance. Sniffing the air, he followed suit, taking a deep breath in, smelling fresh blood. It was a shame for a human to lose their life during a midnight stroll, but he could go for a snack. He inhaled through his nose as the sting of blood burnt the inside of his nostrils. "I hope you're hungry babe." He closed his eyes, pinpointing where the smell was coming from. When he found the trail his eyes shot open, revealing crimson eyes, intent on blood. He took off south as he summoned his new found strength as he rushed forward into the forest, dodging branches and hopping over roots with ease. In the corner of his eyes, Sera ran beside him, giving him a sinister look.

He slowed his pace as the smell of blood grew stronger, clouding his sense of smell. He relied on his hearing and sight to give away the position of their food. As he rounded thick trees and swatted away bushes, he heard a twig snap from behind him. Both him and Sera both turned at the noise, hissing, blood red eyes blazing. He raced towards the sound and was ambushed by their prey. A smallish man with short cropped brown hair aimed at Xerxez with a cross bow. As the bands in the bow released with the familiar sharp crack as it sent an arrow flying towards Xerxez chest. It was easily dodgeable as he ducked under as the arrow cut through the air above him. When he was clear he jumped low to avoid the mammoth trees branches and landed on top of their pray as he slammed the man's head down on to the loose dirt. With a blunt fist, Xerxez cocked the man in the face, completely knocking his head ajar. His fangs slid out slowly as he grazed the man's neck with his pointed teeth.

"It's nothing personal pal. You were just at the wrong place at the right time." He growled as he sank his teeth into the mans throat. The warm slick liquid filled his mouth, as his eyes rolled in the back of head. The metallic bite of the blood starting a frenzy inside him. He pushed his self further into the male's neck as he began to drink considerably faster after the taste had swirled around his tongue. In truth, if It wasn't for Serafina, he would've drained the man dry, but as he smelled her approaching he was able to pull his self away from the body. He bent down and lifted the man up from behind, keeping a hand on his shoulder. His other hand reached up and grabbed his hair and yanked back, exposing the neck at an angle that Serafina could easily get to.

When the body was dry, his neck was quickly cracked with an audible snap as he fell to the ground like a weight. Observing the corpse, his tunic was quite compelling. A rather detailed drawing of man hauling a wagon of wolves. He had seen the tunic before when he worked as a mercenary, killing for coin. He turned to Serafina rather abruptly. "I'm familiar with his tunic. This wasn't an innocent bystander. He was hunting us." His tone taking a darker turn. "I met a few of these guys before in taverns and such. They're hunting fanatics, they live for the hunt. The more dangerous the beast, the bigger of a thrill for themm." He paused slightly as his attention went to the surrounding woods, making sure there were no others. "It can't be a good thing, but I think the worst of it is over. However, his friend's wont be to happy when doens't return." He quickly bit into his finger, drawing blood and wiping it over the bite marks on the man's neck to conceal the cause of death. "What do you think, my alpha?"

Serafina had to admit that watching Xerxez take on his new prey was rather exhilarating.  He seemed to be grasping his abilities rather well, and she even let out an exclamation of excitement as he sunk his fangs into the man's neck after landing a solid blow on him. Her blood boiled and her eyes flickered crimson as he fed, the sight of his fangs sinking into the man's neck exciting her to an entirely new level.  She lunged forward as he presented the man's neck to her, feeding until the body was no longer of any use to the pair of them.  

She turned to her companion, listening carefully as he explained the familiarities in the man's appearance.  Alarm struck her body.  If they were being hunted, that meant knowledge of their family had gotten out once again, and that was a problem.  "Xerxez, we can't let this happen," she said, her voice audibly showing concern.  She took his hand into her own after he had bled onto the corpse's neck to hide his true demise.  "If he was trying to shoot us with a bow, they don't know what we truly are," she said, sighing.  She knelt upon the ground, the moonlight shining down onto her naked form, and looked rather contemplative.

"Listen," she said, clearly about to explain something to him.  "There are not many ways we can be killed.  Staking, like one would do with the average vampire… that does not work on us.  Our hearts need to be cut clean from our body, and burned in order for us to die," she said.  'We can also be decapitated.  Holy water, silver… those will hurt us, but they will not kill us."  She paused, before standing up once more.  "Now is the time when we need to be incredibly cautious.  This hunter, and whoever he is with… we must not let them learn any more about our kind."

She paused.  "Normally, this is when I would run back to the manor and tell Nemesis what we were up against.  He always knew what to do," she said, frowning.  "With Celeste being about to give birth to their son, and his judgment will be clouded.  Besides… that's not how things work anymore," she said.  She turned to him, a smirk on her face.  It was clear she had a plan, and she was being purposefully dramatic in its delivery.  She moved until there was no distance left between herself and Xerxez, her body pressing into his own just slightly as she looked up at him.  "We've a duty, Xerxez.  Our race is a rare one - there are not many of us, as the change into a vaewolf tends to be rather… fatal," she said.  "And you're right.  His friends will be… upset, when they find him…"

"How would you feel about finding his friends and cheering them up?" she asked him, dragging one of her hands from his collarbone and down the side of his body.  The connotations behind her words were clear - she wanted to hunt the group down and drink them dry… but this time, it wasn't going to be clean.  "I can teach you some wonderful ways to find out more about who they are…" she said, her fingertips circling on his hip.  It was clear what she wanted to do first - she wanted to find another member of the group and take them to a remote location, and torture information out of them.  And - she was going to make sure they had fun while they did it.

Xerxez ran his hands through her golden waves as she pressed her naked body against his. He moved in closer, craving her soft skin and warmth. He grinned widely as he picked up on her sadistic tones. She talked words he liked to hear. The thought of draining an entire group of hunters excited him. He brushed a strain of her hair behind an ear as he moved his head in, whispering just above her lips. "Oh, Sera. Nothing turns me on more than your wild side." the hand playing her hair grabbed a handful as he yanked her head back, exposing her neck. He floated over her neck with his fangs, barely touching her skin as he pulled back and faced her. "But I suppose, I can wait… Once our little…. Problem… has been dealt with." He said with nasty tone as he leaned in and kissed her slowly, moaning soft as he pressed into her. When they parted he went over to grey corpse that lay on the forest floor. He started stripping the man as he put on the clothes. The tunic was tight around his torso but the leggings were easier to fit around his body. He patted the clothes off, giving them a good dusting and turned to Sera with his arms open.

"How do I look? They still smell like him to, not that they'll pick up on it." He walked over to her, brushing hair blonde hair from her neck as he bit into her neck and stole a swallow of blood from her, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, showing whites. When the buzz faded after a few seconds, he talked in his gruff tone. "For luck, my dear." He said, showing her his bloody fangs, "But really, because I can't stand not biting you after seeing how primal you get when we feed." He gave her a wink, as he took her arm as they headed towards Kurayo. They walked through the forest, surrounded by the towering trees. Through the breaks in the leaves and twigs the moons sat high in the sky, half way through their transition in the sky. As the smells and sounds of the city began to grow louder, he parted and held her by the shoulder, locking eyes with her.

"I'll go first, Sera. You can't exactly be walking around the way you are now." He said with a grin. "I'll go ahead and visit the bars to see if I cant find any clues. This was one of the many things I used to do well before you ripped my throat out. It's second nature to me practically. It's almost like take your woman to work day. As for you." He said with a pause as he brought his hand up from her side and sliding it across her curves up to her face. "Find a bitch with clothes you like. Drain her out here in the forest and find me using my scent. Send me a thought when you've found me." He said with a hungry kiss. He held onto her hand as he walked away till their hands were stretched out, he let go as he walked out of the clearing of the forest and into the city. He turned around, a fair distance away from her. He gave a wink and continued into the city. He walked into the fucking tavern he saw. It was dimly lit and the smell of ferment alcohol tainted the air. The patrons were loud, all of their conversations blending into one giant noise. He walked up to the bartender, who was washing tankards. The keeper walked his way up to the edge of the bar as he nodded to Xerxez. Xerxez nodded back as leaned on the edge of the bar and pointing at his tunic. "How you doing, boss? I'm looking for my friends, have you seen them?" The bar tender gave an abrupt snort. "Yeah, I've seen em. Not to fond of dem too much though. They done and 'kipped the bill."

"Ah, my apologies boss, they're just having a bit of fun, I'm sure. It's probably why they sent me here. Here you go old man. Don't let it get to you much." He replied as he tossed a hand full of silver onto the counter. The bar keep slid the money towards him, counting it out. "Dey said somethin' about the Dragons Beard a few paces north of here." He thanked the bar keep and headed back out into the cold air. As he breathed, a cloud of breath escaping his lips, as he breathed into his hands, rubbing them in front his breath as he got his bearings. His foot steps carried him north as he passed by a few buildings. Women scantily dressed whistled to him on the sides of the streets. He gave them a smile and a wave, as he continued walking forward with out a second glance. Barkers invited him to the bars there were working at as he politely declined, walking toward his purpose. His thoughts went to Serafina as he hoped she was doing okay. A few more cat calls and he found his self in front of a moderate size wooden tavern with a sign labeled  "The Dragons's Beard."

He walked in and instantly reeled back with shock. As he glanced at the familiar bar ahead of him, and listened to the bards singing the same song they were singing that night. He forget about his current objective as he looked around at the walls, a ping of recognizeation in the back of his mind. His eyes feel to the seat at the bar as he looked for Serafina. This was the seedy tavern where he had met her for the first time. He remembered it clearly, she was sitting across from him at the bar, at that very seat, drinking her wine, feigning the drunken whore. He felt a grin spread across his face as he walked up to the bar and asked for the room key. He traded for silver and walked his way up the stairs and into the bedroom where he had once died. As he opened the door and walked in, images of that night flashed in his mind. The two in heated passion, her hidden intent, and the grizzly bite that led to his demise. He walked to the bed and brought the sheets to his nose and breathed in. They smelt clean and washed with no trace of the gory night except the still image in his mind of Serafina on top of him, his blood dripping down from her chin, his throat in her mouth. A thing of truly macabre beauty. He flashed a smile, and looked around the floor to see if there were any blood stains, but couldn't see any trace of dried blood. He wanted there to be some kind of object that proved they were that night. Some kind of evidence of what took place, but to no avail. The bed was replaced, remembering that it was in complete shambles. Marks on the wall attracted his attention. He studied it, before pulling the bed back and smiled as he had found his evidence. The headboard was hiding scratch marks on the wall, and dents in the wood from where head board repeatedly hit the wall with force. He grinned, ear to ear, as he couldn't wait to tell Sera about his finding. He rubbed his hand against the scratched up wall as images of them spending the whole day together flashed in his mind. He let his hand drop as he pushed the bed back, leaving the room and heading back down stairs.

He stopped mid flight, as he got an ariel view of the floor and spotted his targets. There were four of them sitting at a table crammed near one of the far walls. He kept out of sight for now, as he descended the rest of the stairs and blended in amongst the crowd. He slowly made his way to the group and gathered information before he revealed his self. Scattered around Kurayo there tons of them. They had all split up in groups and visited the different areas that the city had to offer. Apparently, they're here for a massive group hunt that will take place in a few days. For what, he didn't know, but at the very least, it didn't sound good. After listening to nonsense for awhile, he had gleamed all he could, he moved his self out in the open and made his self noticeable to the party. He raised his hand in an excited notion and called out. "Hey there you guys!" They turned to face him and lit up with joy as they saw his tunic. They lifted their glasses and toasted him into the table, pulling a chair out for him.

"Hey there brother! You walking around by self?" He was asked. He took a nearby pitcher and filled up their tankards as he charismaticly weaved a conversation.

"Yeah, something like that. It's bring your woman to work day for me. She should be her in a bit, thought she meet the boys." He said with rough voice, as they cheered and patted him on the back. He stalled for the main part, joining in on the conversation but not taking center stage or avoiding the chatter all together. They asked him questions that he easily evaded or gambled an answer on. There wasn't much he could do at this point. He figured the best move was to stay here with a group of four rather than chance for a smaller group only to be met with a larger group like ones they talked about. He sat back in his chair and drank when they did as he waited for Serafina to communicate with him telepathically.

It did not take Serafina long to find a woman on the outskirts of town dressed in fine attire.  She charmed her enough to where she got her in the shadows, and easily fed on her, discarding her naked body in the woods after dressing in the finery.  With a single sniff of the air, she caught Xerxez's scent and headed back into town after making sure her hair had been properly fixed once more.

It didn't take long for her to follow the scent, leading her back to the very tavern in which she had found Xerxez originally - the place where their life together had begun.  It had only been a short time that the pair had spent together, but having sired him, there was a very strong bond between the two that had been forged in a number of ways.  She smirked to herself as she approached the doors, and she could hear her mate's voice inside the building.  She listened to his conversation with the men - he was doing a wonderful job of blending in with them.  

"I'm here, love," she thought to him.  "I've heard a decent part of the conversation, and don't worry - I can play along just fine," she added.  She waited a few more moments before pushing through into the tavern.  

She approached the men at the bar, Xerxez included, and heads turned.  Her blonde hair, curled and proper as always, was piled elegantly atop her head, and her clothing was only the finest fashion in red and black silk.  A black choker circled her neck, with chains and beads cascading down into her bosom.  "Darling," she said, snaking her arm lovingly around Xerxez's chest from behind him and planting a kiss on the side of his neck.  "You didn't tell me your fellow brethren were so… handsome," she said, shifting her gaze to each of the four men he had been speaking with.  

"Have you managed to secure any useful information yet?" she thought to Xerxez, while flirtatiously smiling at the men he was with.  The barkeep approached and she ordered a glass of red wine, which was brought to her shortly. Circling her finger around the crystal rim of the glass, she continued her thought patterns.  "Oh, and… maybe we can make a quick trip upstairs together… I think it would be a much fairer fight now."  There were seductive and dark tones to her thoughts, and she gave him a quick wink.  She snaked her arm down his abdomen, snaking it down between his legs and lightly brushing against him before coming to rest on his thigh.  

The men eyed her slightly as she did such, to which she let out a giggle and pressed herself against Xerxez from behind.  "Sorry boys, just can't help myeslf… animalistic urges, and all that," she said, feigning a blush as she took a sip of her wine.  She gave Xerxez a knowing smile as she waited to hear what he had found out so far.

His head tilted ever so slightly when Serafina's thoughts entered his head. He let a smile show but remained oblivious as the group went about their business talking about topics that didn't interest him. He kept his head alternating between the four men as they talked. For a second, the bar fell silent as she walked to where they were seated. He twisted his neck upwards so she could meet his lips after she had kissed his neck. He let out a goofy smile as he replied. "Oh, you know us, babe. We're all irresistible." He pulled at the red silk, continuing. "Speaking of irresistible." He said with a low growl.  "It's a shame that I'm going to rip that choker off of you. And I would love to have a rematch." He thought, as he raised a hand up to causally stroke her cheek "However, it seems we have more pressing matters. There's ton of them scattered all around Kuyrano. I don't think we'd be able to take them all out in one night.They call them selves The Huntsmen Guild. Apparently, they have a pretty big hunt in a few days. Hunting what, I don't know." He laced his thoughts with a serious tone. "I'm beginning to think you were right. They're hunting us, but not quite sure what we are."  He paused as a bar woman with a tray of drinks walked by. He grabbed her by the arm rather forcefully and ordered another pitcher of ale.

"The way I see it, we have three ways of going about this." He picked up a menu and held it out for her as she peeked at the menu over his shoulder. "Are you hungry darling. I hear the food here is to die for." He said, with a grin, looking up at her. "No matter what we decide, it might be smart to take one of these hunters home with us." He winced as he remembered they shouldn't go home for awhile. At least till their problem was dealt with. "Or at least, to somewhere secluded. Sound proof would be nice. Wouldn't want his screams to be heard by his friends." He said with a mischievous grin. "The way I see it, we could just sit and do nothing and wait for the guild to mass all in one spot for their hunt. We leap out and attack them." He thought with a worrying expression."I'd rather not though. It'd be pretty noticeable and if we want to remain hidden, our best bet would to take out as many of these jokers as we can stealthy..I figure not all of them. Once a pretty good portion has been drained, they'll take the warning and fall back." He considered the options, weighing one on top of the other. "Of course there is a third option." He paused to keep up the charade, pointing at different items on the menu. "We could tell Nemesis"


"As much as I would LOVE for something to happen to if we were to engage the hunters, inviting would only cause trouble." He thought, his tone monotone as he pushed his thoughts to Sera. He thought he felt her flinch at the sentence, but couldn't be too sure. "He'd blame you, Sera. He'll yell at you saying it was your fault for trying to find me. And I promise you, my love. Next time he raises his voice at you, I wont stand by idly." Anger and violence in his voice as he spoke. There was an audible grown from his throat as he imagine his fists beating down on Sera's alpha. "But… I digress. I think taking these guys out in groups is out best option. Starting with these four." His face twisted to sinister smile as he turned to his companions as Sera made a particularly funny joke about animal instincts. "Fellas. This is Serafina. Welcome to bring your woman to work day, babe. These are the fellas."

"I was going to take Serafina up into the forest and teach her how string a cross bow. Would you fella's like to come along. She doesn't listen to me. She's the alpha to my beta." He grinned, practically salivating at the mouth at the large meal they had in front of them.

Serafina could not help but smile as Xerxez craned his neck to press his lips to her own. She felt something on a completely different level for him, and it did not matter that he had only been a part of her life for such a short time. There was a bond between them that would remain unbroken for so long as Xerxez remained loyal to her and she to him, and the physical affection the two showed one another only helped to solidify that bond. She let out a playful giggle as he tugged at the silk of her dress, smirking as his thoughts entered her mind. She was certainly impressed at how quickly he grasped the concepts she was teaching him, such as shifting and thought-speak.

She sat idly by as she sipped on her wine while listening to the conversations that the men were having, simultaneously enjoying the tones of Xerxez and his thoughts drifting into her mind. She remained mentally silent towards him while he did, reacting only with her facial expressions, until he mentioned telling Nemesis about the hunters. That was not going to fly with her. ”No,” she hissed through her thoughts. ”We will not be bringing Nemesis into this. I am putting my foot down on that one, Xerxez. We will handle this on our own.”

While Nemesis had been, in the end, forgiving and accepting (if grudgingly so) of Serafina’s decision to turn Xerxez into a vaewolf so he could be her mate, she knew that he would jump at the first opportunity to blame her rash decision on something such as their race being hunted. It was no fault of Serafina’s or of Xerxez’s, but she knew that would not stop him from blaming them nevertheless. Hell, the hunters did not even seem aware of what their race truly was, according to the information that Xerxez shared with her. ”And on another note - you will not fight Nemesis. I don’t care what he calls me or what he says to me, Xerxez. He will kill you if you get on the wrong side of him,” she added, a tone of concern to her thoughts.

The next few moments were spent with her mentally agreeing with his suggestion that they take the group of hunters out by branching them off into small groups. After that, it was time for her to lay it on thick. She began chatting flirtatiously with the other men, obviously in an attempt to lure them into a false sense of security. “I’ve been just begging Xerxez to teach me how to hunt properly,” she said, smirking to herself at the clear irony in the words she spoke. As she chatted with the other men, her fingers dug into Xerxez’s inner thigh, massaging the skin in an intimate manner through his clothing, as though she felt the need to reassure him that she was only acting as she spoke to the other men.

It didn’t take long for the group to finish their beverages before heading out of the tavern and towards the woods, Serafina suggesting through her thoughts to Xerxez that they go to the clearing the pair had been in when he had shifted for the first time. ”My plan, love, if you’ll play along… gut two of them quickly… and then I want to have some fun with the third. Don’t worry, the fourth will be too far incapacitated to escape. Once I off the third fucker, we can make the last one talk… and then we can rip out his tongue,” she thought, sadistic excitement dripping off of her thoughts.

When they had reached the clearing, she went back to idle chatter with the men, staying close to Xerxez and ever playing the loving woman, planting a kiss on his neck but looking rather seductively at different men in the group. ”Xerxez tells me that you fellas are some of the most talented hunters he’s ever laid eyes on, if you can sink your teeth into that!” she said gleefully, throwing the last bit of the statement at Xerxez for humor. “He made that assumption before he laid his eyes on me,” she said, her voice suddenly dropping the higher pitch she had been putting on for show.

The men didn’t seem to catch the change at first, but soon thereafter her eyes shifted to deep crimson and she moved at such a speed the men couldn’t make out her shape at first. Within seconds, two of them were down on the ground, chunks missing from their throats. Serafina held a mass of tissue, blood, and sinew in each of her delicate hands, blood dripping profusely to the ground as she smiled in a sadistic manner at the near-corpses on the ground. She was going to make it fun for her, and fun for Xerxez to watch… and she was going to leave the last one for him to torture the information out of.

With another swift movement the third of the group was on his knees, Sera having ripped through the leather of his boots and having torn out his achilles tendons from each ankle. He screamed in agony as he fell, which drew out a playful laugh from Sera as she clocked him in the back of the skull with her fist, knocking him to the ground - he was not unconscious, but he wouldn’t be moving for a while.

The fourth was left and within seconds Serafina had him pinned to the ground, straddling him with a sick grin on her face. One hand moved to the man’s throat, who looked absolutely terrified as he soaked in what had happened to his brethren in just a few short seconds. Even in his terror, however, it seemed that having a beautiful woman on top of him won the war as she could feel his excitement physically presenting itself through the terror.

She let out a loud laugh and turned to look at Xerxez. “Sick bastards got a hard on for fright!” she called out, before looking down and laughing at him again. With a swift movement she sliced the side of the man’s cheek open with her fingernail and bent down, dragging her tongue across his cheek and lapping up the blood that raised from the wound. “Not as tasty as you, my love,” she said, gazing up at Xerxez from her position above the man.

For the next several minutes, she proceeded to strip off the majority of the man’s clothing, leaving only his pants, slicing and biting multiple parts of his body as she fed on him in the most torturous manner she could come up with, all the while locking her gaze onto Xerxez. Every so often she would dig her fingers into one of the wounds, pulling chunks of flesh and tissue away from his chest with a laugh.

Suddenly, the man that she had crippled earlier let a moan out from the forest floor, and Serafina paused. ‘Time to clean up loose ends,” she said, and with one swift moment ripped the man’s throat out with her teeth. She climbed off of his now lifeless body and moved to Xerxez where she crashed her lips into his rather passionately, letting him taste the blood of the man she had just killed as she pressed her body against his in a way that screamed desire - though she knew they would need to wait before doing anything to sate her lust for him.

“Show me what you’re made of… make him fucking talk,” she said, her hands dragging all across his chest and abdomen with want and need - clear that when he had gotten the information they needed from the last man of the group, she was going to hit Xerxez with her own kind of torture - though this would be one he would particularly enjoy.

He stood to the side as he watched Serafina take care of the men. He showed a devilish smile as he watched her dispatch the men in a fraction of a second. Maybe it was her dress, or the sight of her taking down the men so cruelly, but he wanted to take her right then in the middle of the forest. But more important things stood in the way of his want of her body. She called out to him, to publicly humiliate the third. He chuckled where he stood and shouted out to the poor soul. "It's okay brother! I was the same way when she feed on me! If that excites you, you'll like the rest." He called out, giving him a thumbs up. He thought he'd enjoy seeing her work her magic over him, but seeing her lick at the man enraged him with jealousy. He knew it wasn't personal. Just part of their game with their food. It was no different than what he did to the prostitute he had cracked a bottle of wine over the head with. His face twisted to anger as she stared at him, licking at the man. He didn't want to ruin her fun, so he bared the sight. Even enjoyed it, if it wasn't for the fact it was another man. No less, she eventually disposed of him and crashed into Xerxez with a forceful kiss.

He kissed her back with as much passion as she did, licking at the corners of her bloody mouth. When her lips were clear of blood, he wiped his thumb across her mouth, pulling her into one more heated kiss before turning to the man. Not taking his eyes off him, he called out to Sera behind him. "You had your fun, babe. But now it's my turn." He walked over to the man who was trying to crawl away. He bent down, resting his arms on his knees as he talked to him. "This must be all so confusing to you. Here's how it's going to go, pal. I'm going to ask you questions. You will answer me, and if I think for any reason you are lying, I will shove a bloody cloth down your throat so far, you'll throw up." He grabbed the top of his head, clenching a fist full of hair and twisted his neck up to Serafina's. "When she gets tired of you throwing up, she will rip your throat out with her teeth with out a second thought. Just as she did me and all your friends. So, I, suggest you think quick and don't take to long with your answers pal." He let out a laugh. Leave it Serafina to make him play good cop. He took him by the shoulders and lifted him sitting up on his butt against the dirt. Xerxez got on his knees as paced back and forth in front of the man.

"Do you know what we are?" He asked after a few minutes. All the while, the man sobbed and answered through convulsing breathes.

"You're some…. kind of werewolf." Xerxez smiled, he pushed a thought towards his mate. "Looks like you were right. Good observation babe. You'll be rewarded after all of this." 

"How many of the guild are here in Kuryano presently." He asked coldly.

"……" The man was taking too long. Xerxez walked over to the corpses and ripped off a shread of the tunic and dabbed in blood before he rushed over to the man a blur thanks to his new powers. The motion was quick, as his hand grabbed the man's jaw and shoved the cloth till he felt resistance. The man started retching as Xerxez yanked the cloth out, throwing it over his shoulder, flinching at the metallic smell of it. "ANSWER FASTER, BOY." He said with a raised voice.

"I don't know! Somewhere in the seventies!" The man called out desperately.

Xerexez let out a chuckle. "I'll take it." He paused to return to Sera. He grabbed her by throat, taking on an aggressive personality as he coldly stroked her cheek. Something akin to anger in his eyes as he tried to calm his self down using her gaze. His hand grasped tightly around her neck to the point where she even winced in pain. He let go and stumbled back shocked at his own anger. She looked into his eyes filled with confusion. He gave her an apologetic look as he backed way and turned his attention to the man. He crouched down onto his knees as he looked the man in the eye.

"When is the hunt?" He asked coldly, his hands clenching over his knees.

"It's in 3 days. In the middle of the day." The man replied, tears in his eyes. Xerxez smiled sadistically as he got up and patted the man on head, walking behind him and crouching down on knees, whispering in his ear.

"Where can I find everybody else." This time, a statement, rather than a question. "Are they all in the city?"

"Yes." The man said with a gulp. He continued. "We actually have a meeting tomorrow afternoon. Most of the members will be there." He rambled the names of the bars they frequent and where they would be meeting tomorrow. Xerxez smiled, whispering into his ear. "That'll do.You did a good job." Xerxez pushed the head up and sunk his teeth into the neck. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as he felt the blood rush into his mouth. He let a moan of ecstasy as he moved in, drinking faster. An arm snaked around his mouth to muffle the screams. The body began to feel lighter, as he continued to feed. Sera began to move to stop him, but Xerxez thrust his hand out to stop her. He held out his finger as he felt the heart beat stop. The man's body fell limp as he continued to drink, the heart no longer pumping blood into his mouth. With a few more swallows, he parted from the man's neck with a sigh. He wiped the corners of his mouth and locked eyes with her as he spoke. "What, you get to take three and leave me with part of one." He got up from where he crouched and stood up, moving to Serafina, caressing her cheek much more softly than before, the jealousy out of his system.

"I hope you enjoyed that, sweet Sera. We have three days. There's a party tomorrow that we could crash. Either way. I suggest you and me head back to OUR room." He said with grin, jangling the keys in front of her. "Or we, could continue hunt a few more groups, it is purely up to you, my alpha. "

Sick satisfaction twisted Serafina’s mouth into a smile as Xerxez went to work on the last remaining member of the group. When she could tell he was going too far, however, she stepped forward as though she was going to stop him. He held his hand up in indication that she did not need to, and she stood by, ready to stop him by force if it became necessary. After a moment, however, she could see that stopping him would not be necessary as he tossed the drained body to the side and wiped his mouth, looking at her.

“You were on the brink, there, Xerxez. You should have stopped sooner. Dead blood won’t kill us, but if you drink too much of it, you will lose a lot of your powers you have gained for quite a while,” she added, giving him a bit more insight as to why it was important to maintain control while feeding.

“And I didn’t feed off the first two, just the third… which I could see you didn’t like watching all too much,” she said, circling him before coming back to the front of him with a smirk on her face. She moved close to him, her hand moving to cup his groin rather aggressively while she looked up at him. “Or maybe you enjoyed it a little too much,” she added with a quick wink before dropping her hand and taking a step back from him. She snapped the keys out of his hand with her own. “Does that answer your question? If what we were doing hadn’t been important, I would have demanded you take me in the middle of that little show we just put on,” she added, giving him a lustful gaze. “Come on,” she said, and the pair was on their way back to the city.

When the pair had returned to the tavern and gone up to the room, Serafina took in a deep breath through her nose, closing her eyes. She could still catch the faint whiff of coppery blood on the air, even though the room had been scoured clean. She shut the door behind her, Xerxez having entered first, and with one swift movement she had Xerxez by the throat with one hand, slamming him with a decent amount of force back against the door she had just closed. She stared at him with desire in her eyes for a split second before she forcefully pressed herself into him, kissing him passionately. Her leg pressed between his own as she leaned against him, gradually dropping her hand from his throat before pulling away from him.

“Victory such as our calls for a celebratory drink, wouldn’t you say?” she said as she stepped away. As Xerxez moved away from the door after she had pulled back from him, she smirked and walked towards it. “This bar has quite the selection… I’ll be right back,” she said, walking through the door.

She was not gone long, having returned with a chesty woman with dirty blonde hair - though this one did not fit the bill of prostitute or woman of the night. “Xerxez, love, this is Priscilla,” she said, with a warm smile. The woman walked right up to Xerxez and took his hand, looking up at him.

“Oh, Serafina says you’re just wonderful,” she said, looking up at him with wonder. “She also said you’ve been good today, and deserve a prize, and I am lucky enough to help her give you that prize!” she said, pride in her voice.

Serafina looked over at Xerexez with a sick grin. “Hear that, love? She’s excited to let you drink her blood, aren’t you Priscilla?” she said, to which the woman nodded enthusiastically. Serafina looked back at Xerxez. “You can hypnotize people,” she said, simply. “It’ll take some practice, but you’ll be able to do it in no time. Can’t do it with this one,” she added, nodding her head towards the blonde. “Little difficult once I’ve already got her under. But I’ll teach you, it comes in handy if we need to feed and we aren’t in a position to dispose of a body,” she added. This solidified the point that Priscilla was under some sort of spell, as she did nothing but continue to smile at the pair of them as Serafina spoke.

“Priscilla, dear, pull that chair next to the bed.” As Serafina commanded her, she did so. Sera turned her attention back to Xerxez, and after a moment, she had him by the neck of his shirt - which she tore off without hesitation. For a moment, she focused her attention on kissing and nipping at his chest, turning him so that his back was to the foot of the bed as he did so. With little to no warning, she shoved him backwards onto the bed, so he was lying flat on his back. To the side, Priscilla let out a little noise of excitement, clearly enjoying whatever it was that she was watching. “Undress, Priscilla,” Serafina said to the woman, who obliged by quickly removing the dress she had on, sitting back down once she was naked. She turned her attention to Xerxez, locking her gaze onto his. “You’ve had my blood while we’ve fucked,” she said to him, as simply as if she were reading a shopping list. “And I’ve had yours. But now, you’re going to taste human blood - living, breathing, hot human blood,” she said, pausing as she removed her own attire, standing naked in front of him before going to take off the rest of his clothing.

She climbed onto of Xerxez then, one leg on either side of his body as she crawled up, dragging her lips across his chest and abdomen before they reached his throat and eventually his lips, where she kissed him aggressively. Turning to look at the woman she had brought up, she spoke two simple words. “Come here,” she said to Priscilla, who stood up and obliged. Saying nothing more, Sera lowered herself onto Xerxez, letting out a low growl of satisfaction as she did so. With a swift movement, she grabbed the blonde by the hair and pulled her towards the two of them, urging Xerxez to prop himself up with an arm into a sitting position. “Feed… slowly,” she commanded him, the woman’s throat exposed to the both of them on either side.

Slowly and deliberately, Serafina leaned forward and sank her teeth into the woman’s neck, who let out a tiny gasp, as Xerxez did the same. As the blood began to flow into her mouth, Sera moved her hips against Xerxez, slowly at first. She pulled away for a moment to gaze at him over the girl’s lowered head. “Why not combine the two most fucking wonderful feelings in the world?” she asked, before her movement picked up pace and she sank her teeth back into the girl again, her free hand splaying out across Xerxez’s chest to support herself.

As Serafina left to find them something to drink he went to the bed, pulling away the bed just slightly so the etchings of their previous night were exposed. He sat down on the bed, untying his shoes and kicking them across the room as he waited for Serafina to come back. He had a delightful smile on his face as he realized his throat wouldn't be tore out this night. He could hear a pair of footsteps followed by a series of giggling as the door was opened to reveal two beautiful women. Serafina still wearing the choker he was so desperately ready to rip off. Her friend hung on to Sera's arm as she introduced her self. He laughed at the eagerness and looked to Sera for answers as she explained the in's and out's of mind control which surprised him. "Oh man, that's fucked up." He said with a chuckle. He gestured for the two come join him on the bed as Priscilla pulled a chair next to the bed. Sera tore his shirt off with desire and seductive intent seething from her eyes. She crawled over him, her naked body pressing against his as she kissed his body, moving up to his lips. She grabbed Priscilla by the hair as she yanked her neck between her and Xerxez. He sat up, and slowly brushed his teeth around Priscilla's neck, before plunging his fangs into her skin. They punctured the skin with ease, as they slid into the neck, extruding the precious blood from his bite. He was warned by Sera, to feed slowly, something he would have to focus on.

The hot blood filled his mouth as Priscilla let a moan of pleasure as they fed from her. Sera pulled away to make a suggestion with he answered with an amused rumble of his throat as he drank. She began moving around him, slowly at first. Xerxez let out a moan of enjoyment as he drank from the neck. He held out a hand to Priscilla's throat, filling her pulse which was still strong and healthy. He lowed his hand to Sera's side as he ran his hand up and down. They held the position for a few minutes letting out grunts and moans every so often till they noticed Priscilla was leaning forwards and backwards slightly as she began to feel the effect of blood loss. He was afraid that Sera would get rid of her just to get her out of the way, but Xerxez intended to bleed her dry. He had let his anger get the best of him in the woods, and he tasted temptation. And temptation tasted good. He heeded Sera's warning bout dead blood waning his powers, but it was just a game of chicken in his mind.

He pulled back from Priscilla's neck, the hand caressing Sera grabbed her skin as he pulled her off of Priscilla. He adjusted everybody slowly, giving Priscilla time to cope with blood loss, closing the wounds with a bite to his thumb. He laid Serafina down, her head at the foot of the bed as he crawled on top of her. He took his time kissing at her exposed stomach as he worked his lips up. Every few inches he would linger, biting down on her skin and drawing a little bit of blood. He lifted his head up and growled lovingly as his eyes met hers. He crawled to meet her neck, his fangs sliding into the small space between her neck and the choker. He bit down and yanked back viciously as it tore around her neck and small pieces. A hand went up to caress her cheek as he leaned down to hungrily bite at her lips. His arm shot out to Priscilla as he yanked her head down between him and Sera. He moved his body against Serafina as he his fangs entered a new spot on Priscilla's neck. Priscilla's neck laid on Serafina's chest, the neck mere inches from Sera. Her fangs entered the neck as she let out a soft moan of pleasure.

As the two moved around each other and drank from Priscilla, Xerxez began to lose control. He could feel the grasp he had was slipping from him as he began to move more erratically as his head buried deeper into Priscilla. He let out a groan of ecstasy as his hands felt at Serafina's hair and yanked forcefully. Priscilla was beginning to moan, but one of sickness rather than pleasure. He worked through the audible distraction as he continued to drink and move on top of Sera. His hand went up Priscilla's neck as he felt her pulse. It was much weaker, with small thumbs in between long seconds. Xerxez let out a groan of disdain as their meal was practically over. He felt Sera release her fangs as she moved to end Priscella. His hand went back to her hair where he yanked it down, moving towards her neck to hold her in place. He let out moans as he kept drinking far past the point of Serafina's pleasure. She began to resist, planning on taking their meal away from him. He swallowed a few more gulps and he released his grip on her neck. His arm thrust Priscilla in the gut as she flew sideways. Both her and the chair fell onto the ground a few feet from them, out of the way. She lay on the floor, to weak to get up. He crashed into Serafina, his lips meeting hers in a hungry embrace. He licked at the corners of her mouth, before biting down into her neck. Blood was drawn, but not drank as he lifted his self off of Sera's neck.

After the high from the blood had settled and his mind was able to process more with out focusing on the metallic taste, he turned his full attention to Serafina, taking on a much more caring demeanor. His moves were slow and serious as his hands caressed her cheek. He laid beside her, drawing circles around her chest as he watched it rise and fall in deep motions. "We should celebrate more often like that." He said with a grin, kissing the outlines of collar bone. From the floor, Priscilla made small soft moans, delirious from the loss of blood. He chuckled and kissed sides of Serafina neck, nibbling at her ears. "I like her, lets keep her, We'll make her a maid or something at the manor." He said, laughing softly, his warm breath on her skin. His thoughts dropped as he thought about the manor. He didn't really relish the thought or returning to Nemesis and his rules. He didn't want to see Serafina pained at the complicated relationships in the house. He kept tracing circles as he whispered in a loving expression. "My offer still stands, Sera. We could have this every night. If only you'd follow me." He let out a sigh, as he kissed her on the lips. "But that'll have to wait. I don't know if you've forgotten, but we have seventy something hunters to drain." Letting out an exasperated tone out as he spoke. He laid back down, soothing her hair as he spoke. "What do you want do, babe?"

As much as Serafina did not want to loosen herself from Xerxez and his touch, she did, slipping out from his hands and crouching near the girl that lay moaning on the floor. With a swift movement, she bit into her own wrist, pressing the wound to Priscilla’s mouth. “Drink up now, you’ll be fine in no time,” she said, urging her own. She turned to Xerxez as Priscilla weakly drank from her. “Don’t worry, love. It won’t change her. We haven’t drunk nearly enough of her blood for that. It just speeds along the healing… and we’ll always be able to find her this way,” she added, smirking. She pulled her arm away from the girl, who struggled somewhat as she continued trying to drink the blood, as their blood was of course rather intoxicating to humans. “That’s enough, my dear,” she said and roughly grabbed the girl by the jaw. “You’ll go to our home now,” she said, her eyes flashing black as she locked gazes with the girl. The girl nodded and got up, gathering her things and leaving quickly. Serafine turned back to Xerxez, crawling back up onto the bed next to him.

“She’ll go to the manor. The help will get her situated,” she added, kissing him deeply after speaking. “And you know as well as I do that I would love to leave, but we just can’t. For many reasons,” she said, sighing heavily as she contemplated what they were going to need to do next.

“I hate to say it, but we’re going to have to part ways for a bit if we want to take this group out successfully,” she continued, frowning slightly as she lazily dragged her hand across Xerxez’s chest. “While it would be fun to hunt them together, I think that word will spread quickly among them if we keep appearing together in public places,” she added. “Therefore, it might be in our best interest to approach them when they are in smaller groups - that, unfortunately, makes the party we learned of out of the question,” she concluded, and grudgingly got back out of the bed to get dressed, encouraging Xerxez to do the same.

When the pair was clothed again, she dumped a small pile of silver coins on the bureau to apologize for the lack of cleanliness in the room, and turned to address Xerxez. “Let’s go back to the manor, and spend the day there to re-energize and make sure the help get Priscilla situated. That way, we’ll be fully rested for the night’s hunt,” she said. “If you’re to hunt on your own, you need to be at full strength to keep in control,” she added, looping her arm in his so the pair could be on their way to the manor.