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David tugged at the collar of his suit. He hated wearing it, the last time he had worn one was at his family’s funeral. His aunt and uncle wanted to make him go to their coffins to say goodbye. But he refused and he had, what they thought was, a tantrum and were furious at him for embarrassing them at the funeral. But, in truth, that was around the time his Piercing Eyes Tell had developed and had started seeing terrible spectres everywhere he went, and they saw him.

He saw, standing over his family’s closed coffins, a hunched, dark cloaked figure. Its head covered in a hood and the face hidden by an unnatural darkness. A long, sharp and cruel corvid beak stuck out of the hood. It raised a hand towards David like a headsman would the executioner's axe and gestured towards him with scythed talons of dark iron that dripped with bright crimson blood.

“Stop fidgeting!” snapped Tsu’mara, slapping David’s hands away from his suit collar. She readjusted and tightened the tie he had loosened. “You won’t look the part if you keep tugging at your collar.”

She was dressed in a matching suit of her own. She and David were going to pose as security for the vampire Donald in order to infiltrate the Azlus’ Ladybird Room. Even though the leech owed Colin a favour, he refused to walk blindly into a supernatural lair by himself and had insisted that the pack come with him as bodyguards. David and Tsu’mara were the only ones that would have been able to pass as private security.

Neither David nor Morrison were happy with Colin when they found out how exactly the vampire owed Colin a favour. Though Morrison seemed more upset that Colin had cheated at poker and how rather than blackmailing a favour out of Donald.

Even though they agreed to play security for Donald, he still complained entering a lair of a supernatural creature that he didn’t even know existed. He settled down when Kaiden mentioned that it was a big social event and they needed someone to play poker with the pack’s money. David noticed that Kaiden never mentioned anything about Donald being able to keep the winnings.

It was an hour after nightfall and they were driving into Ely in a blacked out SUV. They pulled up to the car lot of the old AT&T building where other similar cars were parked. The front facade of the building had a mural painted of Alexander Graham Bell, and employees of the AT&T company throughout history. Well dressed people were getting out of the cars and heading to the back of the seemingly abandoned building.

David and Tsu’mara got out of the car first, to keep up the facade of security. They scanned the area and David noticed at the nearby park Morrison pull up in the truck. He got out and let out from the back Lucas and Kaiden,who were in Urhan, pretending to be a man letting his dogs out for a run around the park.

Neither David nor Jessie spied Jessie lurking around. But they knew he was there, somewhere. He was gonna enter the casino by himself as a single patron.

Donald got out of the car wearing a fancier suit than plain black suits David and Tsu’mara were wearing. They escorted him to the back of the building to an unmarked door where next to it stood a single, tall hispanic man with a shaved head and worse sunglasses. He had his arms cross when the trio approached. A Jack of Spades was pinned to his chest in lieu of a nametag.

Donny pulled out a card holder he had in his breast pocket and gave to the bouncer a seven of hearts.. The Jack cards were only used by the staff, so they knew that trying to enter using one of them would raise alarms.

“I was recommended this fine establishment,” said Donald. He then slipped a twenty dollar note into Jack’s breast pocket. “I presume it’s fine for my security to follow me?”

The Jack nodded and let Donald and his “security” enter.

They walked through the door and down a concrete staircase into the abandoned building’s cold war bunker. Not that what they could see was recognisable as a bunker. The concrete bunker concrete walls were covered in thick carpet and cloth. Three of the walls were covered in a red velvet marked with a pattern of black dots. The far wall, opposite the door the three came in through, had a rich burgundy curtain across it. The room gave an impression of being aged, yet showed a quiet strength underneath. The floor’s carpet, and the wall's velvet were a deep red that is still rich, darkening to burgundy and then black in the corners where the soft light of the chandeliers didn’t reach.

The smell of cigarette and cigar smoke clung to the velvet curtains, curtains that didn’t seem to cover actual windows. Soft music, something classical, played from behind the massive hardwood bar.

There had to be maybe two dozen patrons gathered around the tables, and four more

of the Jack bouncers in dark suits on each corner of the room. At the nearest table, the players looked up as the trio stepped closer into the room. Most of them flinched and quickly went back to their cards. A subconscious, instinctual response to suddenly finding themselves in the presence of three apex predators.

The dealers all looked like regular civilians, and wore red vests to match the decor. Most of them dealt for Texas hold’em, with one table of Five Card Stud at the back of the room.

On the staff, a regular human from their scent, approached them and said, “Sorry for the inconvenience. We have no blackjack tonight.”

Donald gave a dismissive wave, “That’s fine.”

He sat down at one of the Texas Holdem tables. It, like all the tables, had a cash box and the dealers did the conversion themselves instead of having a dedicated cash cage like Vegas casinos did.

The group of five people sitting at the table Donald joined had a pair of slavic men that spoke with russian accents. David and Tsu’mara could smell gun powder and gun oil on them. They were armed. Another man, by himself, was twitchy. Their demeanor reminded David of the more violent mental mental patients he had encountered. The last two had gang tattoos, David tensed when he saw them. He recognised the tattoos from police training. They were from the Sinaloa cartel.

He looked over the patrons of the casino, most of the other tables had similarly dangerous patrons. Everyone seemed to be either a psychopath, mafia, biker gang, or cartel. He shook his head, Kaiden was correct, Gregor was a scumbag for bringing Marcee there for a date. The dealers of the tables didn’t seem to perceive the threat the patrons posed

One of the slavic men swearing brought David’s attention back to the game Donald joined. He assumed it was swearing from the amount of venom he had put into what he said. The hand had just finished and the man had lost a lot.

Donald gave David and Tsu’mara a dismissive wave, “You can go to the bar if you want. I’ll be fine here.”

They made their way to the bar to keep an eye and ear out. At the bar was a woman, who seemed to be unaffiliated with any of the other patrons.

Tsu’mara slid onto the stool next to her with a confident smile. “You don’t seem like the usual clientele here. Can I get you a drink?”

The woman chuckled, “I’m more used to getting hit on by men here. Where are you from?”

“From the South, moved in a couple months ago,” answered Tsu’mara as she ordered some tequila from the bartender.

She looked Tsu’mara up and down, checking out the suit they were wearing. She asked, “You here as someone’s security?”

She then held up a hand, “Never mind. You’re probably not allowed to say much about it.”

She continued, “I’m here for the game. For some excitement in my life.”

Tsu’mara and the woman continued to make small talk together. As it continued, Tsu’mara noticed that the woman didn’t hold herself as an innocent woman hoping to be picked up by the right person, but more like a predator on the hunt for prey.

She wasn’t a werewolf or Azlu. That much was clear, and she didn’t have the scent of a vampire. She did, however, have a strange sweet cloying smell coming from her hands from underneath the smell of her perfume. She couldn’t quite make it out enough to figure out what it was..She looked over to David, who was at the other end of the bar nursing a screwdriver, and tried to get his attention.

David was keeping an eye on the casino, trying to keep an eye out for whoever the mysterious Mister G was. During his scan his eyes caught the attention of a cartel member who was standing nervously nearby as they waited for the bartender’s attention.

David sneered at him, “Either hurry up and get a drink, or piss off.”

The cartel member nervously ordered their drink and waited for it to arrive. As they did, David asked, “While you’re here, what do you know about Mister G?”

The cartel member flinched at David’s voice and answered, “He doesn’t come out much. He usually has the Jacks run most of the staff. The dealers owe him a debt and he’s paying people off to keep the place under the radar. He only really comes out for the auction.”

“When’s the auction,” asked David.

“Just after midnight,” they answered.

“Good. Now piss off,” said David as the cartel member got their drink who quickly did what he was told.

Once the cartel member was gone, David only then noticed Tsu’mara trying to get his attention. He drained the rest of his drink and made his way over. He filled her in what he learned about the auction and Mister G. He felt secure in telling her that openly since they were both pretending to be security and anyone else eavesdropping would just assume it was them doing their job. Tsu’mara then whispered to him the strange smell coming from the woman she was talking to.

“Where’s my manners?” said Tsu’mara. She then turned to the woman and said, “This is my colleague, David.”

The woman perked up upon being introduced to David. She got up from her seat next to Tsu’mara and sat down next to David.

“My, aren’t you a pretty thing?” said the woman, leaning uncomfortably close to David. “You work security with Ms Mara here?”

She went to put a hand on David’s but he pulled it away before she could touch.

“Okay, not the touchy feely kind,” she said. She leaned forward with her head on her hand. “I like that.”

She ordered David a drink, and as she did so, David focused his sense of smell to figure out what it was on the woman’s hands that Tsu’mara noticed and was unable to figure out. It was a familiar, natural scent. One he recognised from his occult studies. The woman got the drink and went to hand it to David. He noticed her discretely dip a finger in it.

“Tsu’mara laughed, “Oh, honey. You’re barking up the wrong tree with him.”

“Oh?” asked the woman before she realised.

“Oh,” she said, disappointed. She got up and left the two at the bar retreating to a further part of the bar..

Tsu’mara turned to David and asked, “So what was it?”

“Hemlock,” answered David. He picked up and looked at the drink that the woman spiked with it. He shrugged and drank it, saying, “She’s a black widow killer.”

“Should you be drinking that then?” asked Tsu’mara.

“It’ll be fine,” he said, taking another sip from it. “It’s only lethal to regular people. At most I’d just get a bit dizzy for a minute.”

They continued to keep an eye out, waiting for Jesse to appear. Tsu’mara, who knew him best, guessed that he had probably already infiltrated without anyone being any the wiser.

She was right. Jesse did so in plain sight, using his effete appearance to disguise himself as a female client of the casino. Dressed in a fancy cocktail dress. Not Marcee’s.

He looked around, searching for prey but disguised it in a way that seemed like flirting. He got a lot of eye turns, but none of them were confusion or disgust. They bought his disguise.

An older white gentleman with salt and pepper hair at one of the Texas Holdem tables was drawn to Jesse the most.

He patted an open seat next to him and said, “Seat’s open here, babe.”

The man leaned over when Jesse took the offered seat. The smell of alcohol was strong on his breath as he pushed over a portion of his stack of chips, “First game is on me for you, hon.”

Jesse started prying information from the drunk man, disguising it as flirting and feeling the man up. The man put an arm around Jesse and was practically drooling over him. Jesse found as he did so that the man was packing a gun in a shoulder holster. It was a government issued glock, and nearby to it as a badge for the FBI. Jesse couldn’t tell whether the man was there to investigate or was just enjoying themself. Though he did suspect that due to his drunkenness that it was for fun. Drunk behaviour could be faked, but not the smell.

Two other men at the table, who seemed to be the older man’s friends, gave each other questioning looks. Jesse could tell that the two were able to tell that he was actually a man. If the older man noticed, they clearly didn’t care as they put a hand on Jesse’s waist and pulled him close.

Jesse’s Irraka brain couldn’t help but think that because of how close the leering drunk man had him, that he could grab the gun and kill all three of them within seconds. If he wanted to, but doing that would cause more problems than solve.

What he was going to do though, was pickpocket the magazine from the fed’s gun. Doing so would remove one possible threat off the board. They would still be able to reload, but in the life or death situation that would soon happen the shock and confusion of suddenly finding their gun empty would waste valuable seconds and prove deadly.

It was easy enough to pop the magazine out while disguising it as feeling the fed up. The fed and his friends were none the wiser.

“I’m going to get a drink from the bar,” said Jesse when he noticed David and Tsu’mara sitting there.

He made his way over there and pretended to flirt with them so they had a reason to talk with and fill him in with what they found. As they did so, he slid the magazine to David since they were the only one that used a nine millimetre Glock.

“A black widow?” asked Jesse when he was told about the woman Tsu’mara flirted with and who tried and failed to flirt with David. “I can work with that.”

He made his way over to where the black widow was sitting and introduced himself, “Seems like we’re the only single ladies here.”

“Laides huh?” said the black widow with a quirked eyebrow. “I suppose you’re more like the men in the room since you’re packing a weapon.”

She knew that he was a man. She then put both hands up and said, “Who am I to judge? You do you, girl.”

Jesse leaned forward conspiratorially, “So you know what prey I’m after. What are you after?”

The black widow chuckled and said, “You caught me. Tonight I’m shopping for tall, dark, and wealthy.”

She sighed in disappointment and looked around at all the other clients in the casino. “Though I’d settle for middle aged and somewhat well off.”

The black widow saw Jesse wave his fingers at the fed he stole the magazine from, who was looking for him. She said, “Those feds look like they could use some company. I hear their pensions are pretty good.”

That was exactly what Jesse was hoping for. He shrugged and said, “You want their money, I say go for it. I’m just here for the thrill of the hunt.”

Jesse returned to the table with the feds with the black widow. She easily got the attention of the two other feds at the table while Jesse continued to take advantage of the drunk one.

Tsu’mara tried to text Morrison an update but found that she had no reception due to the bunker's thick concrete walls. She realised that she’d have to do it in person and got up and made her way back outside, saying that she was going to get some fresh air.

What she found at the door was the Pack’s truck backed up right against the door with Kaiden in the back straddling the naked and headless corpse of the Jack that was guarding the door. He was cutting off the skin from their back while Morrison and Lucas kept watch for him. All their heads snapped to the door when it opened.

Tsu’mara watched them glare at her for a moment before saying, “You’re lucky it was me that came through the door.”

Lucas said, “We would’ve just killed you if it was someone else.”

Kaiden started skinning the Jack again. Tsu’mara watched him as he finally cut off the skin off their back and shoulders. She asked, “Why are you doing that? We already got inside and there isn’t anyone keeping guard of the door.”

Kaiden answered while undressing, “Who knows when I’ll get an opportunity to use this Wolf Gift.”

He put the skin over his back like a cape. The skin clung to him and grew. It took over his entire body until crouching over the skinned Jack was the exact same Jack, a bald hispanic man. Except for their eyes, they were still Kaiden’s.

Tsu’mara filled them in on what she and the others learned. She turned around and went back through the bunker’s door saying, “I’ll go and let Jesse and David know you’re doing that. So neither of them try to kill you by accident.”

Kaiden put on the Jack’s suit and went through the door. He quickly found Jesse and when he walked past he whispered so that they could hear with their enhanced senses, “Keep one of the feds alive.”

He completed a circuit around the casino, to seem like he was doing a round of security before taking a place by the door to act like a guard.

As he did, the host of the evening finally arrived from the staff area. Mister G was immense, yet his skin still seemed to be too large for his tremendous bulk — his face, hands and scalp were criss-crossed with faint wrinkles that made him seem more weathered than aged. He smelled faintly acidic, like old cosmetics with all the artificial scents removed. His white suit smelled new, but was somewhat ill-fitting.

He spoke softly, in a voice that’s almost breathy where one might expect it to be deep, “Gentlemen, ladies, I want to welcome you to the Ladybird Room. Once more, thank you for your patronage. The auction will be beginning shortly and we have a selection of items tonight for your perusal. I hope you enjoy.”

Mr G started walking around and socialising with patrons as the Jacks in the far side of the room pulled aside the curtains to expose another door. They opened the door to let people inside and get a seat early for the auction.

As Mr G made his way around he eventually came across Donald, who had gathered a large, healthy stack of chips.

“Ah, a new client,” he said to Donald. “It’s nice that someone saw fit to recommend my establishment to you.”

Donald looked up from the game and said with a suave smile while offering his hand, “You must be the infamous Mister G everyone talks about.”

Mister G looked down at the offered hand but didn’t take it. Not because of being rude, but because it looked like he didn’t understand its meaning. He said to Donald, “To you, my friend, I’m Mister Gustavas.”

Donald took his hand back. Remembering why he was dragged there to begin with, he asked, “So this auction. I heard good things about it. What are your offerings?”

Mister Gustavas gave a truly disturbing smile. He didn’t give the impression of smiling so much as the corners of his mouth hitching themselves upward. If Donald wasn’t already well acquainted with the supernatural and being such a good poker player, the smile would have made him flinch. Mister Gustavas answered, the ghoulish smile still on his face, “We had fine choice of merchandise tonight. Some Columbian imports, a number of choice weapons that most of my clientele will find enjoyable. We also have a couple companions that you can bring home tonight or however long you wish to have their company.”

He gestured towards one of the cartels at a table near the bar, “Our hispanic clients recently lost some of their product after a number of bad hands at our tables. They settled their debt with some of their product. That’s the key item tonight because there will be a lot of demand.”

Still keeping his ghoulish smile, he asked, “What’s more to your taste?”

“I’m actually fancying the companionship now that you mention it,” said Donald. “I assume they are attractive?”

Mister Gustavas nodded, “We aim to have the best possible experience for our clientele. If the companions are something to your liking, they will be a part of auction block two.”

Gustavas then left Donald to socialise with other patrons.

Kaiden took that as the opportunity to approach Donald, but before he could even say anything Donald said, “The sex slaves are in Block Two. So if you still want to keep them safe, attack before then.”

Kaiden was surprised that Donald saw straight through his disguise. Not even Gustavas noticed anything. He went to ask but was cut off by Donald.

“You may not look like it anymore but you still smell like a dog,” Donald said with disgust.

He gave the vampire a growl, “Get into the auction room. It’ll be starting soon.”

He then left Donald at the table to tell the others, even going back outside to tell Morrison and Lucas that it was time to get ready for the apex of the hunt. He returned inside with the elder and Ithaeur in tow then left them with the others so he could find the human chattel. In hopes to keep them safe.

He entered the staff area unopposed. It was a small area with none of the decor of the casino floor, just plain unadorned concrete. There were three doors in a hallway to his right, and a door directly to his left. His keen hearing caught the sounds of whimpering and crying from the first door to his right.

He peeked inside and saw three young women, scared and confused. They had a dazed look, drugged to be kept docile and compliant. He broke off the doorknob on both sides so that it could not be easily opened by any side and then closed the door.

Back on the casino floor everyone else took their places. Tsu’mara took her place by the door to the auction room, letting most of the others through. Jesse stayed on the casino floor with the older FBI agent, slipping a powder into their drink that he got as a gift from the black widow who was taking the other two agents with her into the auction room.

The inside of the was almost like a theatre, with a main stage and a podium with two rows of refurbished church pews facing it. The four Jacks that were in the corners of the Casino floor took places in each of the auction room’s corners. Once everyone took a seat Mister Gustavas took to the podium.

He turned to a Jack that was by the door on the stage that led to the staff area and asked, “Will you please get the first block for us, Jack?”

He turned to and addressed the crowd, “Tonight we have for you very interesting stock. It will be an interesting night.”

Urged by the Cahalith compulsion to be dramatic, Morrison stood after Mister Gustavas and changed. He grew in height and size. Razor sharp claws flashed from the tips of his fingers and grey fur took over his body, hiding the rapidly swelling muscle. A deep rumbling growl rolled out of chest as a long snout full of dagger-like teeth grew from his face.

The elder werewolf let out a bellowing howl as he fully shifted into his gauru form, his war form. Lucas and David followed their elder’s example, shifting to Gauru, and pure pandemonium erupted in the room as Lunacy took hold in the human clientele in the room.

All the humans that had guns drew them and started firing them at everyone they saw. A serial killer pulled out a knife and started stabbing a prostitute. The black widow ducked under the pew she was sitting on, using the two FBI agents she was with as meat shields.

“Oh shit, wolves!” shouted Mister Gustavas before bolting towards the staff door on the stage, throwing aside the Jack so he could go through first.

Some of the humans in their madness still had enough sanity to flee the apex of apex predators they suddenly found in their midst. But were stopped by Tsu’mara who joined her packmates in the auction room and had shifted to gauru, and cut down all those that were brave or terrified enough to try and get past her.

The civilian dealers, who had stayed on the casino floor fled and hid under one of the poker tables, huddled together in terror.

The two Jacks at the back of the auction room moved on Lucas and Morrison. One shot at Lucas with a pistol and the other leapt for the elder and bit him.

Howlmore brought a large hand up and shredded the back of the Jack that leapt onto him. Lucas barged forward and savaged the Jack that stupidly shot him, ripping off their arm. The now armless Jack, in retribution, bit Lucas.

Tsu’mara stormed through the doorway she was blocking and tore the Jack off of Lucas. She spiked the azlu into the ground headfirst. Crushing its skull and killing it.

Freed from the azlu, Lucas tore off the Jack from Morrison and dispatched them.

David hadn’t helped, his sights were set on the Jacks on the stage. He mowed down all the humans in front of him to clear the way for him. The Jack by the staff door that was thrown aside by Gustavas saw him coming and fled through the door after his boss in terror.

David leapt up onto the stage and landed on the only Jack left on the stage. He tore into them, shattering their ribcage, and tore out their fetid green innards. Before the spider that was nesting in the Jack’s skull could break out and flee, David brought a clawed fist down and crushed it like a rotten melon. He leapt off the corpse and chased after the Jack who fled into the staff area.

Lucas saw David chase after them and snarled to the others, “After the leader!”

Morrison turned to Donald, who was still casually sitting in a pew. The vampire, still sitting in the pew, caught the serial killer by the neck who had finished stabbing the corpse and had tried to leap for him, and snapped the serial killer’s neck.

Morrison growled to the vampire, “Kill anyone still breathing.”

“Gladly,” said the vampire with a fanged grin as the elder werewolf left with others for the staff area.

Kaiden heard the slaughter start in the auction room and was about to join it when Gustavas burst through the door in a panic, and thinking Kaiden was one of his Jacks, ran past him. He only stopped when he heard Kaiden growl.

The skin Kaiden was wearing stretched then tore, falling to the ground in a wet, useless heap as Kaiden’s gauru form erupted from it. He swiped at Gustavas’ back, his claws dug into their weathered skin and slashed upwards. It peeled off their back like wrapping paper, and Kaiden looked at the large flap of skin stuck on his claws before looking at Gustavas’ skinless back.

Instead of exposed flesh and bone, Kaiden saw a rock hard ivory coloured carapace. The skin then sloughed off the gruesomely asymmetrical creature’s body as it spilled out of the skin.

The azlu’s true form, like all of its size and ability, could have only fit inside the human skin with the aid of supernatural power. It moved about on five legs that could barely hold its distended abdomen above the ground, and its bent cephalothorax sported four lesser arms. three on its left and one on its right, and one more massive arm, something like a fiddler crab. Each of its appendages ends in a jointed spearlike point that would occasionally unfold into smaller chitinous “fingers”. Its mouth was a tangle of mismatched chelicerae and pedipalps, with two long glistening fangs. Its yellowed ivory coloured chitin, which combined with its bloated bulk, gave the impression of something more grublike than spidery from a distance. Ten bloody splotches adorned its abdomen in a pattern that matched the layout of its ten dark red eyes. A mirrored effect that was the only symmetry to be found on the Azlu’s form.

Kaiden couldn’t help but pin his ears back in worry as he saw the monstrous Azlu. He recognised its appearance from his occult studies. It was an advanced Azlu that was created from multiple smaller brain Azlu combining together. It was theorised by many in the Vegas Protectorate that if enough Azlu combined, that they would reform into the Spinner-Hag.

It was then when Jesse slipped into the staff area from the casino floor having safely stowed away the federal agent he had drugged. He saw the Kaiden holding Gustavas’ shredded skin, and the advanced Azlu in front of them. He shifted instantly to gauru and pounced for them, but the Azlu ducked under him and only the Irraka’s claws struck its abdomen, carving a hideous crack through its carapace.

The last remaining Jack burst through from the auction room stage, with David close behind. It ran right into Jesse, trying to bite him. But Jesse grabbed the Azlu by the side of its head and slammed them into the wall, staining the concrete green.

Gustavus took advantage of its underling taking away the Irraka’s attention and fled, scuttling down the hall and to the final door. It slammed the door locked behind it.

Kaiden stormed after the Azlu and crashed through the door, sending it flying off its hinges. The inside was an empty office with only an overturned rug revealing an open trap door showing where Gustavas fled to..

Kaiden jumped down the trap door and into the room Gustavas fled to. The floor beneath his paws was cold concrete, faintly moist and thick with the faded ancient scents of human corpses and bitter insect acid. The only light in the room came from a pair of guttering candles that hissed and popped messily. Huge ropes of webbing criss-crossed the dank space, leaving gaps that would require a person to duck, bend or leap through. Scraps of desiccated human skin hung here and there from the ropes like dead leaves.

Gustavus stood in the middle of the room. When Kiaden dropped down into the room with him he said in a clicking growl in the First Tongue, “Dogs of hate. You made me tear my skin. I will have to use your skin for my new clothes. Your talons will be my needle, your tendons my thread.”

Kaiden said nothing, he only raised his head and released a war howl. Letting his pack know that their prey was cornered and inspiring them to greater heights of savagery.

David, Lucas, and Jesse dropped, snarling, down into the dank cellar.

Jesse charged the Azlu, slipping under and around its giant pincer and jumped onto it back and bit down into their shoulder.

Gustavas reeled in pain. Trying to shake the gauru on his back he howled, “I will fill your blood with pain from moon to moon!”

Morrison finally dropped down into the cellar, joining the pack. He caught Jesse who was thrown at him after Gustavas finally shook off the Irraka and quickly set him down.

The elder suddenly howled in excruciating pain as Gustavas took advantage of Morrison’s care to save Jesse in order to strike. The Azlu’s large crab claw clamped around the elder’s torso, slicing into skin and crushing ribs. They lifted him up into the air before throwing him against the wall, where he fell in a bloodied heap.

It was then when Tsu’mara dropped into the cellar. She saw her alpha land and immediately pounced on his attacker. She grabbed the arm that had the large claw and bit down on the elbow. She snarled in disgust at the putrid taste of the Azlu as she bit clean through the arm, severing the claw from the body.

Gustavus backed off, clutching the stump of his arm. He saw David leap for him but knocked them aside, sending them crashing into the wall opposite of their elder. He leapt for David in turn.

David, still lying on the ground where he fell, caught the Azlu stopping their tangle of chelicerae and pedipalps from biting down on his vulnerable neck. But he knew he couldn’t keep him back forever, already his arms were starting to tremble as their enhanced strength started to fail. The Azlu’s fangs came closer and closer as David’s strength gradually failed before it failed completely and the Azlu launched forward.

But the venomous fangs didn’t land, only grazing his fur as a patchwork coloured furred hand dug their claws into the back of the Azlu’s neck.

Tsu’mara released a terrible and furious growl as she pulled the Azlu away from her packmate. With her free hand she grabbed the Azlu’s shoulder, and with the hand gripping its neck tore off the back of its neck.

Gustavus reared back and landed, kicking on his back clutching the gaping wound on his neck.

Tsu’mara shook the rancid flesh off his claws when a pained growl from the other end of the cellar caught her and everyone else’s attention.

It was Morrison, blood caking his fur and slowly healing as he picked himself up from the floor and stumbled towards the ladder leading out of the cellar. He growled to the others, with urgency in his voice, “Out! Out quickly!”

They quickly followed their elder’s orders, and started climbing up the ladder just as Gustavas ceased his kicking. The Azlu then dissolved into hundreds and thousands of spiders that swarmed towards the pack and the cellar’s exit.

“Madhouse!” yelled Morrison as he climbed out of the cellar, the last of the pack to leave. “Light em up!”

David did as ordered and the flames of the cellar’s candles engorged with a roar. The webs and dried skin ignited like tinder which fed into the growing inferno David intensified. The more he intensified, the more fire it created and so there was more fire for him to intensify, feeding into itself in a feedback loop that David maintained. It turned the cellar into a whirling cataclysm of conflagration that incinerated everything in it.

The others slammed the trap door closed to keep the burning Azlu contained. Jets of flame shot out the sides of the trap, and they struggled to keep it sealed shut as the swarm of spiders beat against it. Screaming and hissing as they burned.

It wasn’t until the screaming stopped did they stop trying to keep the trapdoor closed. They took their hands off it, shaking them as blisters and burns from the flames healed.

Now safe and their prey dead, most of them shifted down to Hishu, with Kaiden shifting to Urshal. They made their way back to the auction room where Morrison collapsed in pain and exhaustion into one of the pews.

All the patrons were dead, the survivors having been finished off by Donald. The black widow was the only still moving, but it wasn’t for long. She was held in Donald’s arms, his mouth at her neck. She struggled feebly, trying to push the vampire away but her attempts became weaker and weaker until she fell limp in his arms.

Donald pulled away, his mouth covered her, and other’s, blood. He unceremoniously dropped her body to the ground and wiped the blood off face. He didn’t get it all off, with a lot of it just being spread across his face.

Kaiden turned to Jesse and said in the First Tongue, “Get the agent in here and wake him up.”

Jesse left and returned a while later dragging the federal agent into the auction room by their leg. He dropped the leg and, to wake them from their drugged stupor, slapped them hard across the face.

The agent stirred, mumbling with a drunken slur. He sobered quickly when he saw Kaiden’s Urshal form.

“Oh shit!” he screamed, backing up on all fours till he pressed up against the wall. He started hyperventilating when he saw the massacre around him.

His eyes snapped to the hellhound in front of them as shifted into human form. The human seeing something that shouldn’t be possible and breaking the laws of physics like a werewolf changing forms sent the man into hysterics.

He broke down into sobs, saying, “I was just here for fun. My friends were the crooked ones. They were the ones taking bribes from Mister G, not me. Please don’t kill me.”

“What does the FBI know?” asked Kaiden.

“They don’t know anything,” insisted the agent. “It was just them two.”

“How much is your life worth to you?” asked Kaiden.

With shaking hands, the agent took off his watch and pulled out his wallet. He tried to offer them to Kaiden but they slapped them hard across the face making him drop the offered items.

Kaiden then pointed at Donald and told the agent, “This is your new point of contact. Everything you and your friends did for Mister G you’re gonna do for him now. Got it?”

The agent gave a scared nod of his head.

An irritated growl came from the pews. Morrison picked himself up from the pew and pulled out his service revolver. He aimed it at the agent’s head and fired.

Half of the agent’s face disappeared in a gruesome red flower, splattering Kaiden’s face with his blood who turned around and roared at the elder, “What the hell?!”

“We’re not having any feds, too many complications” said Morrison holstering his sidearm. “A vampire is bad enough.”

He gave a dismissive wave to the pack, “Get the sex slaves out of here and to the nearest police station or hospital. Say that you found them wandering the street.”

He pointed harshly at Donald, “You, Leech, go kill the workers. I’m not risking there being any witnesses.”

Shocked, David looked out onto the Casino floor where the dealers were still huddled under a poker table, completely catatonic from the shock witnessing the slaughter and the effects of Lunacy.

“No!” shouted David. “They’re innocent. They didn’t do anything.”

Morrison snarled at him, “Those people's brains are completely broken. They’re only a threat to the Oath. They’re not usable as assets.”

“I went through the same Lunacy they did,” protested David. “I turned out fine.”

“No, you didn’t,” snapped Morrison. He pointed an accusatory finger at his protege. “No human goes through Lunacy and comes out fine. You are one dead loved one away from completely snapping.”

Desperate, David countered with, “What if they become Wolf-Blood?”

Morrison growled, “Do you have any idea how fucking rare for them to become a Wolf-Blood like you were? Most of us are born a Wolf-Blood. The odds are that we won’t see another one for years to come.”

“So what?” David asked Morrison, refusing to let Donald pass. “You would have killed me?”

“YES!” roared Morrison, shocking David. He grabbed the younger werewolf and roughly pulled them out of the way of the vampire to let Donald pass. He held them down as they struggled, trying to keep the vampire from killing them. He snarled in pain when David started elbowing him in his injured ribs in attempts to get the elder off them. He responded with a quick punch to the back of their head, cracking their head against the concrete floor and dazing them long enough for Donald to do as they were ordered.

Donald quickly got to work killing the innocent dealers. They were in such a shattered state of mind, that each one didn’t react to the new slaughter until it was their own turn to be gleefully torn apart by the vampire.

Once the last dealer was killed, he ordered Donald, “Leech, take the bodies to the office. All of them. Dump them in the basement and light them on fire.”

“Fire?” asked Donald. “I may as well walk out into the sun.”

Morrison unpinned David and shoved him towards Donald. He ordered, “Go help him do it.”

David did as he was told, trembling and sniveling the whole time.