[Victor]Right before dawn, Kartini sent me the drawing of the creature. Dennis had described it to me, but I wasn’t entirely prepared for what I saw. I quickly forwarded the image to the other supernatural leaders along with the information Dennis had given me. This was the first big break we had. I received a message from Alpha Trent asking about the man. I told him he was alive but had lost much blood. The tone of his response was terse as he informed me that someone from the pack hospital was on the way to assess him. Werewolves were always very reactive creatures. I looked over at the human on my couch. It was about time to deal with him. Lisa should be in the kitchen working on breakfast. I knew that Echo and Grayson were outside exercising and the house staff liked to make sure they were fed as soon as they came back in. Especially since Echo announced her pregnancy. Getting up, I went to check on him. I knew he was still breathing and that his heart was still beating, but I wanted to look him over for other injuries. He wasn’t as dirty as his clothes were. There were shelters where he could bathe, so he probably took advantage of them. On the chair next to him was a pack that I’d had another vampire go grab from the alley after I’d sent Dennis to Kartini. If we were going to care for him, it would be better if the man didn’t lose his belongings. Being a vampire can sometimes be a bit of a nomadic existence, especially when we’re young. I understood how important the few belongings he had were to him. I searched his body and found a couple small folding knives, a wallet, and a broken watch. There were tattoos on his body, which were accompanied by scars. I stopped at a trio of names tattooed over his heart. They were inside what looked like a teardrop that dangled from a date about three years ago. A connection formed between this man and me. I understood the meaning. These were the people he loved and they were no longer alive. Like my first wife and our three children. He had lost everything, like I had. When I’d lost my daughter, the last of my family, I left my home and everything familiar. I didn’t care if I lived or died. A rogue werewolf attacked me and left me for dead. I remembered welcoming the darkness, knowing I would soon be with my wife and children. Talia found me on the verge of death and turned me into a vampire. For thirty years, something nagged at me while I learned and grew as a vampire. As soon as I remembered my human life, though, I wanted to die. I was angry at Talia and everything that had conspired to take my release away from me. If this man was like me, he might not be grateful for us saving his life. Though, if he carried two knives, he might not be like me. I never would have fought against death. Did he live to keep their memories alive? Was he hunting down their killers? I was intrigued by this man and what had brought him to my home. I went to the kitchen, finding Lisa and Wendell working on the meal. Lisa’s mate would be out training with Echo and Grayson. Several of the guards joined in on the trainings every morning, even the rogues enjoyed it. Echo had a way of befriending almost anyone, even these old rogues who barely liked anyone. “Lisa, can you mind link Neil? I need to speak with both of you,” I said when I entered the kitchen. “Of course, Master Nightshade,” she replied with a smile. Wendell and Lisa were an interesting pair. They were physically very opposite of each other, but they were both caring and kind women who worked hard and doted on my Solus Amor. Lisa was tall, about 5’8”, with dark skin and hair. She was elegant in her movements and confident in everything she did. Wendell was about the same height as Echo, 5’3”, with short blonde hair and pale skin. Though she wasn’t graceful, she was energetic and robust in her movements. Being around all of these werewolves was actually helping with my aversion to them. Much more than only having Grayson around, Wendell and Lisa were creating fond feelings for werewolves in my heart. They were truly kind women. Neil walked into the kitchen in his workout clothes. He was wiping the sweat off his brow with a small towel. Lisa’s eyes scanned slowly over her mate. Her attention didn’t go unnoticed by him. He had come with the second elite warrior team last spring when we found out that hunters were amassing in the area and planned to attack my home. When his team was led through the house, he and Lisa saw each other for the first time. He stayed with us after the warriors had returned to Hallowed Moon.Even though they were from the same pack, Neil was two years older than Lisa was and werewolves couldn’t find their mates until they were eighteen back then. He had reached that age after graduating high school and their paths never crossed again. Not until they both came to my house. Grayson said it was the goddess. Echo said it was fate. Now, I think it is both, but back then, I was pretty certain it was simply coincidence. Neil was about six feet tall, which seemed to be a common height for male werewolves who weren’t omegas, with a similar complexion to Rosario in his human glamour. He was a lot more thickly built than the fae prince was, though. Like most pack wolf warriors, Neil was very muscular and looked like he could tear someone in half with his bare hands. “How can I help you, Master Nightshade?” Neil asked. “Two of my vampires managed to save a man from the creature that’s been killing homeless humans in town. He is sleeping in my office. The man is recovering from blood loss. I need him to be cared for while I’m resting for the day. I need someone to protect him and to protect everyone else as well. We know nothing about him,” I replied. “Is there a chance he’ll wake up while you’re asleep?” I shrugged. “Not likely. Alpha Trent will be sending doctors to look after him. He insisted that he send someone. It made sense to be a doctor from the pack. A doctor would be better than a blood broker for caring for a human with blood loss.” “He could have been dying and you just kept him here? The man is human, not supernatural. They’re more fragile than we are!” Raising an eyebrow, I stared at the man. Being a vampire for so long had altered some things about how I thought. Usually, I was better at caring for humans, but too many things happened last night and I was overwhelmed with everything I needed to do in order to properly address them. I hadn’t even considered care for the man, as he was still living and didn’t seem distressed. If he had died, I would have been embarrassed. That was a serious oversight on my part. Neil definitely had a point. That wasn’t something I could let happen again if I was going to protect humans and vampires. It must have been why Trent was so terse with me.“My apologies. I was thinking of him in the same way I would think of a supernatural being. A werewolf would have regained consciousness by the next day. It takes humans quite a while longer to recover from something like that. Will you and Lisa please help the doctor in caring for the man?” I asked. The werewolf backed down, seeing that I was actually remorseful about my lack of action. He looked to his mate, who nodded at him. They were members of my household staff, but I learned I got better results from asking rather than ordering in many cases. “We will look after your human. Where is he?” Neil asked. “On the couch in my office at the moment. I was thinking we could put him in a room and get him cleaned up. His clothes are dirtier than his body, but he is not exactly sparkling clean, either. Keeping him alive is important. He might be able to tell us something more about the creature that attacked him last night.” They nodded in agreement. “We can move into the house until the man is on his feet and we know how he’s going to react to the supernaturals in the house. Echo and Gray will be in shortly for breakfast. Lisa and I can go pack a couple bags after we have breakfast. We’ll take care of the human after that,” he said. “Make sure that Echo doesn’t try to help him. I know she has healing magic, but we don’t know what that will do to a human. I know it can cause a strain on werewolves, I don’t think that human will survive more strain on his body.” “I understand,” Neil replied. With that covered, I went back to the office. The man was still lying on the couch. He hadn’t moved. I looked at him closer. He didn’t seem to be in distress, but I did notice the sheen of sweat on his brow. I sat behind my desk and checked my messages. The witches were offering to take the human once he was awake. I respectfully declined. After we got the information we needed from him, I would let him go where he wanted and I would even give him some money in return for his cooperation. I didn’t want the witches interfering. The door opened and Echo stuck her head in. She looked at me, then over to the couch, then back at me. I frowned at her. I didn’t really want Echo near the human. “I came to get you for breakfast. Neil tried to stop me. He forgot it wasn’t a good idea to get in my way,” Echo said softly. “What did you do to Neil, Echo?” I sighed. She came into the room and walked over to me, ignoring the man on the couch. I looked up at her as she stopped right next to me. “He’s fine. He’ll be home in ten minutes if he runs,” she replied. “We don’t drop our friends off on the other side of town when they upset us, princess. Neil was doing his job. I didn’t want you accidentally harming our guest while trying to help him. And I don’t want you getting hurt if he wakes and is violent. Promise me that you’ll stay away from him.” Echo took my hand and started pulling me. I got up from my chair and let her haul me out of the office. She took me to the dining room and put me in my seat. Echo then took her seat right between Grayson and me. Wendell started serving breakfast. Echo still wasn’t talking. I knew she didn’t like it when I got overly protective, but I needed to make sure she was safe. If not for the fact that I doubted the man would help if we treated him like a prisoner, I would have him put in the cells downstairs for safety’s sake. “Echo, please, princess. I need you to stay away from the human,” I whispered. “So there is a human in the house? I thought I smelled one, but the scent was so faint I figured I was imagining it,” Grayson said. “He’s in my office for now, but Lisa and Neil will be taking him to a room. Trent is sending a doctor to take care of him. He’s homeless and there is no telling what his mental state will be when he wakes. I want her to stay away from him. Would you agree with me? I know you’re not going to be here, but I want her to listen,” I explained. “That man is a guest in our home. I’m going to help take care of him. I promise I won’t try to heal him, but I won’t leave this to Lisa and Neil. I’m the closest thing to a human in this house and I want to help,” Echo insisted. I nearly laughed. She was far from human. Perhaps if she were a normal dhampyr, but Echo was part witch and part werewolf. Whatever she was, it wasn’t human. Echo didn’t quite realize that about herself. “You can help take care of him, but if he tries to hurt you, I want you to teleport to our bedroom. Victor will lock the door before he goes to sleep. If you go in the bedroom, you stay there until either Victor is awake or I get home from work. Deal?” Grayson asked. “Deal.” Echo grinned. I frowned at them both. He knew I didn’t want Echo exposed to the man, but his suggestion did make sense. It was reasonable and gave us both what we wanted. I nodded and ate my breakfast next to my Solus Amor and her other husband.