Crossing the Moon - 22. The Elder Shindig

January rubbed his temple as he awoke the following afternoon. His mates seemed to be adapting to his sleeping schedules, which was both endearing and concerning, considering Mateo and Pax's day jobs. Then again, the chaos of the days prior were enough to affect anyone's body. Perhaps they were simply tired.

He took a moment to gaze at the group and finally stopped to realize how Ra had been looking out for them before they were even reborn. Five-hundred years was nothing to a god, a mere blink of an eye. But, to Jany, five-hundred years spent in loneliness had been downright painful. Looking over each of his mates that morning, January only felt pure gratitude. Five mates, one for each of his tumultuous centuries of heartache.

The vampire couldn't have been happier. Just as he was about to carefully clamber off the bed, he felt a slight mental tug. The red-violet haired vampire's eyes widened when he heard someone's voice echoing inside his mind.

"This is Elder Pembroke. I extend an invitation to all vampire-kind in the Acacia and Carnelia regions. Lindquist Lamoureux will be appointed an Elder this upcoming weekend. If you wish to be in attendance, the ceremony will be held at Lamoureux's estate. To RSVP with the number of guests you wish to bring or to send a representative in your stead, please contact me at 119-7253."

Lamoureux...Jany had heard of him and the rumors of his possible appointing. Though it was rare, he had heard Elder Pembroke's voice in his head before. Pembroke, far older than even Viktor, had the gift to broadcast a telepathic message through great distances. But, the only vampires that were able to "pick-up" the reception were born vampires. The mind of a Made vampire was on a different frequency since they were once human.

Attendance wasn't mandatory, but it could be counted as a slight against the new Elder. Proper etiquette was to either decline in person or to send a representative. January would have declined in person if it weren't for the thought that suddenly came to him. Many Elders would be there. The librarians that had abused Nolan! They could finally get justice for what the brothers did by reporting their misdeeds to an Elder.

Resolved in his decision, January reached over to gently wake Pax. "My love," the amethyst-eyed man began as Pax stretched and sat up. "Remember our conversation on the front porch?"

"Mmm?" Quinlan whined as he stirred awake. "The who about what on the front porch?"

"I'll explain later, my Kyanite," January responded as he reached out to gently rake through Quinlan's pale locks, briefly realizing how true the statement was presently. The nubile vampire's eyes truly did shine like faceted Kyanite gemstones.

"About what we talked about…" Pax urged the redhead.

"The fastest way to send someone to bring you-know-who to justice would be to request it of an Elder vampire," January explained. "And we have all just been given the opportunity to see many of them in person..."

::

"So," Quin stated aloud several hours later as he stood in front of a row of mirrors and tried to remember how to properly knot a tie. He could count on his right hand how many times he had ever worn a tie in his previous life. "We've been invited to this shindig because you were invited?"

"Yes, since you are all my mates, the invitation is extended to all of you as well," January elaborated. "Once again, I thank you." After a brief talk, Jany's other mates agreed to come with him that night.

"Don't mention it," Elias pointed out as he zipped up his pants, surprised that the hems were a perfect fit. "It sounds kind of exciting."

"This material...is it really alright for us to wear something like this?" Nolan questioned softly.

January kissed the younger vampire's shoulder. "Eiram jumped at the chance of dressing all of us in his design."

Since all of the suit shops within the Acacia-Carnelia region was surely stuffed to capacity with vampires, January had teleported them to another country, where a famous designer quickly measured them all and brought forth the same suit in all of the different sizes for them to wear. When Jany requested the ties and pocket squares to match their eyes, Eiram nearly fell from his seat in excitement before rushing off to decide on the material and pattern.

After helping Mateo with his tie, Pax moved on to help Quinlan with his. The alpha was an expert at ties. He even knew how to tie intricate knots.

"I'm surprised he wants us to keep them," Mat commented aloud. "I thought these were rentals."

"Had he more time, he'd have made us a brand new design more perfectly tailored to each of our bodies," January admitted. "However, Eiram is pleased for the opportunity to show off his design to vampires in other countries."

"Have all of you dressed?" Came the sound of an incredibly tall vampire with a thick accent, but a gentle tone of voice. "Let me see you."

January smiled at the fashion designer. "My mates and I are truly grateful for this, Eiram."

"Don't even think about it, Jan-Jan," Eiram insisted. As he shook his head, his wavy, dirty blond locks swished from side to side. He was a Made vampire. Though his light brown eyes were as vibrant as melted caramel and though he had talent, he had to climb his way to the top for recognition. "My, but you make such a handsome entourage. I am honored that men of so many sizes and colors are wearing my design."

"Oh! I know!" Quin exclaimed as he quickly found Jany's smartphone and handed to Eiram. "You can take a picture of all of us to show it off to the other designers!"

The tall vampire nearly wept with joy at the suggestion.

::

The drive to the Lamoureux estate was a bit tricky. Elias sat in the middle, on top of Quinlan's lap, with Nolan on their right and Jany on their left. Quin had to bite his lip hard as he tried not to think about it. Their position reminded him blatantly of their first time together, and he didn't want to torture Pax once again by losing control then and there. However, the drive to the estate was a lot shorter than they had previously thought.

No one blinked twice at the sight of January with two Made vampire mates and three werewolves. They greeted him and the others politely on their way inside. Though Jany was quite familiar with the sight, seeing so many vampires in one place was a new to all of his other mates. And that included Nolan, as well. Once again, January felt wronged for Nolan's sake.

"Isn't that the vampire from Viktor's home?" Mateo said, gesturing at a brunet vampire with his arm around the waist of another vamp with dark pewter hair in an asymmetric cut to his chin. "And isn't that the vampire that pulled us out of line at the club to let us skip the wait?"

"Hey, yeah! Gin!" Eli called out, lifting his arm to wave enthusiastically. "He was nice and not pervy like his dickface master. Let's go say hi!"

Vampires moved out of the way of the entourage while they walked over to Gin as if they had parted the sea. The vampires had already been informed that they were the mates of one January Vidal Aristide. The amethyst-eyed vampire, much like Viktor, was well-known in the area. Unlike Viktor, Jany's reputation was in good standing all the way around.

Essex recognized half of the group and immediately felt self-conscious. He didn't want to be an embarrassment to Gin. Though, he couldn't help but always be more nervous whenever in the presence of the older vampire. "H-Hello," he greeted.

"Ey, I see all the bunch made it," Gin said with a smile, flashing his fangs as his hazel eyes sparkled. "Looks to be a rippah of a party after we get through the snooty bits. Woulda' tried to skip it like Viktor if it weren't for my boy-o here."

Nolan seemed very focused, trying to sort through Gin's Boston accent. Eli just grinned. He loved accents. Gin's was fun. January had a faint one that Eli couldn't place. It was stronger when Jany whispered endearments into his mate's ears. Eli gave a delicious shiver thinking of when January's voice went into sexy-mode...which was most of the time he was talking to his mates, when Eli thought about it. The Omega shook his head, trying to pay attention to what Gin was saying.

"Now this heah is my Essex," Gin said proudly. "He's my dahlin', so watch ye'selves."

Essex blushed hard but nodded. "I-It's true. We've been together for little over a decade now," he added. They were unusual in the sense that Gin, a Made vampire, was older and shorter...while Essex, a born vampire, was younger and overall larger. "...and I hope for many more."

"'Course. Ye'll nevah get ridda' me," Gin said, giving Essex a little squeeze. "I know where my bread is buttered. I'd be soft teh letcha' wander. I won't find a better one anywhere."

Essex felt his entire face turn pink. "I feel the same," he confessed.

"Congrats?" Quinlan offered. "Does that mean the six of us are considered a whole loaf of bread?"

"Don' say that in fronta' the boss," Gin said with a laugh. "Gawd knows what he'll say. Prolly somethin' dirty." He cocked his head at Nolan. "An' who's this now?"

"Forgive us," Pax explained as he stepped forward with Nolan. "This is Nolan, our newest and final mate," He introduced. "Nolan, this is Gin and his partner Essex."

"I'm honored to meet you, sirs," Nolan said quietly, leaning against Pax heavily, feeling desperately nervous and worried about embarrassing his mates in front of everyone.

"Good to meetcha', Nolan," Gin said gently, noticing how the slender vampire seemed about to bolt and hide behind Pax. "Glad it's without the boss here. You look like you don't need his oglin'. Yeh got some good mates. Yeh must be a good'un, too, if yer theirs."

Nolan blushed and sputtered a thank you.

"I think they're about to start soon, love," Essex urged as he glanced towards the main hall. "Didn't you say that everyone had assigned seats?"

"We should get, then. If the boss weren't such an oldie, they'd prolly have us sittin' in the cellah." Gin winked at Nolan, making him squeak and Eli giggle. "Good to meetcha' and teh see the rest. We'll be 'round the pahty later. We can gab then."

"Wow," Mat commented when they were out of earshot. "Is it just me or did that Essex seem like a completely different person from when we last saw him."

"Ah, you see," Jany explained with a snicker. "Essex's only weakness has always been Gin."

"Did you already know about them being together?" Elias asked aloud.

"Of course I did," January responded. "Essex has been my employee for over a decade, after all."

"He works for you?" Eli asked as Jany began leading them towards a large set of double doors along with a sea of other guests. "I thought he worked at the Blood Orchid?"

"Yes, I own the Blood Orchid," the redheaded vampire replied. "It's one of the many establishments I've bought over the centuries."

"The crap?" Eli sputtered, making several stiff-backed vampires look over at him with disapproving frowns the Omega didn't notice. "I was all worried I'd gotten us banned for life there, or something, from rubbing all over you at the club when we first found you!"

January sent the Omega one of his more devastatingly sinful smiles. "Ah, my love, you can rub all over me any time and any place you wish," he suggested. "So long as it's not during a dangerous situation."

Elias felt his heart flutter in his chest as he blushed brightly.

"You can't talk like that when you don't have time to find a convenient wall to pin me up against," the Omega protested as they made their way into a huge room that had been filled with chairs and a stage erected at the front. "It's not fair. I'm going to be wiggling in my seat through all the boring speeches, now."

"Me too," Mateo muttered, a mental image filling his mind of Eli's nude body undulating against January as the vamp held the Omega's wrists pinned to a wall.

"Me three," Quin hissed as he tugged at his collar a bit.

The group passed by Gin and Essex again, who were both seated in the twelfth row. January, however, kept walking until he reached the fourth row. "Our seats are right over here," he announced.

"Master..." Nolan said nervously. "The front thirteen rows are for elite, aren't they? You're certain our seats aren't further back?"

"No one's going to be able to see over my head," Mat added uncomfortably, hunching his broad shoulders a bit, though it didn't make him look smaller in the slightest.

"Yes, this is where we've been assigned, my sweet Citrine," January insisted. "And the platform rises for all to see, Mateo. Even you will have to look up to see."

Their row had six seats, which Eli thought was nice since no one would have to sit next to a stranger. Elias always hated that. He never knew what he should do. Should he try to be friendly and talk to them? Should he just keep his eyes forward and pretend the other person wasn't there? If he started talking to them, they might turn out to be weird or annoying and want to chat through the whole thing. If he ignored them, was he being a dick?

Which was why Eli tried to plant himself in the middle of the group, which tended to happen anyway. Mateo and Pax almost always took up protective bookend positions around their mates. As they shuffled into their row, Mateo went first, followed by January, Elias, Quinlan, Nolan, and finally Pax. Eli had expected the usual type of chair that pretended to have a cushion but was hard as stone against the butt after thirty seconds of sitting. The cushion was no lie on these. The Omega gave a happy sigh as he wiggled a little on the plush burgundy velvet. The Omega wondered how long and boring this whole thing was going to be. He knew it was important to the vampires, and he respected that and their traditions. Elias had simply always had trouble sitting through things. He got distracted and antsy. He was usually about ready to pull out his hair by the end. He just hoped he could sit still and not annoy the crap out of Jany and Quin, who were both sitting next to him.

For a few minutes, Eli was able to distract himself by looking at all the vampires in their fancy clothes. Everyone seemed to be looking at them as they passed, though, making him uncomfortable. Some smiled kindly. Others stuck their noses in the air like they smelled something bad. It looked like there were nice vamps and dick vamps, just like everybody else in the world. Elias wondered if the snooty ones didn't like it that they were wolves or because they looked out of place in their fancy clothes. Wolves tended to be more of a jeans and t-shirt bunch. Eli looked down at his perfectly tailored duds. Did he really look that much like he didn't belong? Was it like dressing up a pet? Sure, it was cute, but it still made the animal look stupid. The Omega hunched down in his chair a little. Pax and Mateo were big and poised enough to pull off the clothes, even if they were wolves. Elias decided the nasty looks had to be for him. The nice ones were probably just pity.

His family kept him in the house whenever they could. He had never been to anything like this, and it must have shown pretty obviously to everyone. Pax and Mateo had probably been to lots of things, so they knew how to belong. Elias had been excited about coming to the big vampire event. He was quickly deciding he should have stayed home and let the others go without him.

January pulled Eli out of his thoughts by threading his right hand through the Omega's left hand. The vampire ran his thumb over his mate's knuckles before lifting the hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. "It won't be very long, love," he whispered into his ear. Amethyst eyes all but shone with mischief. "I could distract you if you'd like."

The lights went down, leaving them in twilight with the only illumination coming from the lights above the stage.

"You got paper to play tic-tac-toe, or something?" Eli whispered back.

Jany gave the Omega's ear a gentle nip. "No, beloved. But, I do know another game we can play," he responded as he dragged his thumb along the base of Eli's middle finger. As he did so, he used his mirroring power to transfer the sensation to the base of the werewolf's cock.

Eli gasped loudly, causing the vampire in front of him to turn around and give him a look. Elias did his best to look innocent while January continued with what he was doing. Thank goodness it was dark. The man turned back around when the current vampire Elders of the area and the one to be made an Elder filed onto the stage.

"I stand here with your four other regional Elders to appoint one Lindquist Lamoreux as an Elder Vampire," Elder Pembroke explained. "To be appointed an Elder..."

Elias nearly bit his tongue when he felt the lick that January dragged along the base of his finger along his shaft, instead. The purple-eyed vampire merely smirked when the Omega peered over at him. When Jany took Eli's finger into his mouth and sucked, both of them were surprised to hear another gasp a couple of seats away.

The slender, orange-eyed vampire squirmed in his seat. He felt another ghostly lick against his length, causing a soft whimper to fall from his lips.

What was happening?

Nolan's eyes darted around. Quinlan was shifting a bit in his seat next to him. Past the recently turned blond, Elias had one hand gripping the soft seat beneath him as his chest rose and fell rapidly while January licked a stripe up one of the Omega's fingers. Nolan felt a vivid echo of a tongue dragging against him from base to tip.

It wasn't until January gave a particularly hard suck that all of his mates reacted in a wave of reactions. Pax shot the redheaded vampire a glance, and the look in Jany's eyes told him all he needed to know. Quinlan grinned widely as he glanced about and spotted the tents pitched all over the place.

Jany's smirk merely widened as he took hold of one of Mateo's hands and began to knead it as if he were really kneading the werewolf's balls. As his thumb gently scratched the palm of Mat's hand, the scratch was echoed beneath each of his mates' undersides. When January took Eli's finger back into his mouth, the double sensations began.

As Eli's eyeballs rolled up in his head, Mateo's thighs opened, and his head tipped back. Nolan squeaked behind his hand. When the person in front of him shot him an annoyed look over his shoulder, Nolan clung to Pax's arm and buried his face in the alpha's shoulder.

Pax right hand clenched his knee as he rode out the pleasure. But, when he felt Nolan squirming against him, he couldn't help but gently rub his hand over the orange-eyed vampire's clothed erection. Golden eyes flew open when the alpha suddenly began to feel the stroking on his own shaft, as well. He didn't know that January could mirror Pax's touch, as well. The alpha reached down to gently squeeze Nolan's sac and was quite pleased to see Jany panting against Eli's finger.

"Any touches you give Nolan or Eli could be bounced back to Jany," He leaned over to whisper into Quinlan's ear.

Vivid blue eyes lit right up as Quinlan reached down to slide his hands up and down Eli's inner right thigh and Nolan's inner left thigh at the same time.

Elias leaned back as far as he could, then slid his behind forward slightly as he let his legs fall open, bumping the mates on either side of him. The hand January wasn't molesting stayed firmly over his mouth. On the other side of Jany, Mateo was gripping his seat with one hand. The other had snuck deviously onto January's thigh, the wolf unable to keep himself from touching his mate as pleasure and arousal pushed at him. His touch slid higher until he was rubbing it against the vampire's rigid arousal through his fashionable trousers. On the other end of the row, Nolan was trying to keep himself from climbing into Pax's lap and begging the big alpha to fuck him, right there.

January then synchronized all of those touches together and amplified it, his purple eyes glowing as his power rolled over each and every one of them. He was close, and if he was close, then his mates were close also. He gauged it well, waiting until the opportune time. When the other vampires began to applaud at the end of Lindquist's first speech as an Elder, he allowed the power to surge, increasing the pleasure tenfold until all six of them found release. Simultaneously, the redhead used miniature portals to whisk away their seed so that they wouldn't soil Eiram's lovely suits. Jany was beginning to realize that he was more powerful than he ever previously thought. He was apparently able to create larger portals than he realized, along with smaller and more intricate portals like the ones he had used just then.

When the lights came up, Nolan had one leg up over Quinlan's knee as his upper body clung to Pax. Eli and Mateo were both slumped in their chairs with their heads tipped back, breathing hard.

They were finally able to stand up to move onto food and the reception. As they passed by, the group noted that Gin was grinning nearly as wide as January was and his kerchief was missing, while Essex was about as dazed and out of breath as Elias. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who had taken advantage of the dimmed lighting.

January led them over to the enormous dining hall, where they also had an assigned table. The redheaded vampire pulled Pax aside. "I'm going to go talk to Elder Pembroke, and I'll be right back with his decision about the librarian brothers," he whispered into his ear. Pax gave a solemn nod before joining his other mates at the table.

Eli was sitting next to Nolan, nibbling on a breadstick when he felt someone behind him. He turned his head to see a frowning vampire with dark green hair pulled back harshly from his angular face.

"Nolan," the man said, his voice as sharp as his features. "What are you doing here? Where have you been?"

The orange-eyed vampire sucked in a breath before turning slowly.

"M-Master?"

The green-haired vamp grabbed Nolan's arm, yanking him out of his chair.

"Hey!" Eli shouted, jumping up from his seat. "Don't you be pushing my Nono around, you dick!"

"You run from me," the vamp hissed in Nolan's frightened face, ignoring the Omega. "And you dare to embarrass me by showing up at a function where you know all my peers will be found? Your punishment will be severe for this, fledgling."

"Master, please..." Nolan whimpered, pain shooting up his arm from the man's cruel grip.

Pax immediately reached over to place a hand on the vampire's wrist. His grip was tight enough to hurt, but not to break. "If you would please unhand our mate," he all but growled, his golden eyes flashing a warning. "We can figure out what's happened like civilized beings. I do not take kindly to any injuries upon one of my mates. We can all feel those injuries, you see?"

Mateo stood up, as well, folding his arms across his chest as he glared at the aged vampire. At that moment, January returned to the table. The look of triumph on his face morphed into one of confusion and then anger. He quickly tossed a portal over Nolan to teleport him to his side.

"What's going on here?" He questioned.

"That is my runaway fledgling," the vampire sputtered, feeling less confident facing down two large werewolves and another vampire who was known to be powerful and well-connected. "I don't know what lies he's told you, but I'm his Maker. He belongs with me. Who knows what trouble he's gotten into in the time he's been hiding from me." He straightened his shoulders. "Enough of this. Come here, Nolan. We're going home."

Nolan whimpered, clinging to January.

"Please, I want to stay with them," Nolan pleaded. "Aren't I old enough, now?"

"Certainly not. You still have much to learn, fledgling," the man snapped. "And you've no idea how behind my research has gotten because of you."

"Be that as it may, Nolan is our mate, and that makes me his Master now," Jany articulated as he pressed Nolan closer to him. "What's his name, Nolan?" he whispered softly.

Quinlan rushed over to Nolan to take a look at his arm. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the bruising was already healing. The markings were the same on his arm as if it had been the blond himself who was grabbed and not the orange-eyed vampire.

"Wardell," Nolan said, hiding his face in January's chest. "M-Mabry Wardell."

"And he has a friggin' home," Eli snapped at the stranger from where Mateo was holding him back. "It's with us!"

"Who are these people, Nolan?" Mabry demanded, taking a careful step back as he tried to keep his voice firm. "What is this nonsense?"

"Are you deaf and stupid?" Elias spat, crossing his arms over the thick arm Mat had wrapped around his chest. "We're his mates. And hey, Nolan can't be that young. He was able to make a fledgling of his own, just fine. Probably better than you did when you made him." Elias pointed to Quinlan. "And he's one of our mates, too, you stuffy jerkwad."

At the mention of Quin, Nolan turned slightly to tug the blond closer to both him and Jany in a protective manner.

"A fledgling?" Mabry hissed. "A fledgling while you're not even old enough to be considered an independent vampire yourself?" He scoffed as he glanced at January. "You consider yourself a competent Master when you allow him to form another before even stabilizing himself?"

Other vampires began to gather around the spectacle, some giving Jany surprised glances as if they couldn't believe that someone of January's standing would do such a thing.

"You wish me to invoke Anubis himself to explain? It was his own father, Ra that served as our witness," January replied back in a calm manner. "Or is it that you question the motives of the gods?"

"I…what?" Mabry took another step back. "Fine. Keep the irresponsible trollop. He was a terrible fledgling, anyway. Maybe you'll have better luck with him."

Mabry huffed and stomped away, heading for the door.

"Jeez, who uses the word trollop?" Eli growled. "What a complete assmonkey." The Omega patted Mateo's arm. "You can let me go now, big fella. It's tempting to chase that dick down and rip off his stupid face. But I won't, because we're at a nice party. And I'm a gentleman."

"'Ey, shows over," came a familiar Boston accent. Nolan peeked up from Jany's shirt to see Gin and Essex shooing away the gawkers. "You alrigh', bud?" Gin asked Nolan as Essex stood nearby, looking intimidating enough to encourage the party-goers to go back to their mingling.

Nolan nodded. "He was my Maker. I didn't run away from him, though. When the Librarian came and took me, he said I'd been sold, that my master didn't...didn't want me anymore."

"Aw, frickin' hell. Don't cry, little bud." Gin sighed. "S'not yer fault. Wardell's a stuck up piece a' crap. Yer bettah off without him. He don' deserve ya.'"

"If you cry, you'll make me cry," Quin added from beside Nolan. "Unless you think tears are sexy, in which case, I can totally cry for you."

January let out a long sigh. "It appears I'll have to report more incidents than I though to the Elders."

"What do you mean, Master?" Nolan asked with a sniffle that made both Gin and Quinlan look like they were ready to smother the orange-eyed vampire with stuffed animals and comforting hugs.

"Older vampires such as Mabry and the Librarians that seem to have stolen you should not be operating as they have in the past," Jany explained. "Our local Elder vampires have the means to investigate and enforce Anubis's laws, which protect Made vampires such as yourself."

"Made vampires only have the rights that their Makers give them," Nolan said, shaking his head. "They decide what can and can't happen to us until we're old enough or strong enough to go out on our own. We don't have protections."

"You have the same protection as humans do," Jany insisted. "And those who told you otherwise will certainly be punished for it."

"M-my Maker said it…and the Librarian and his brother." Nolan paled. "It wasn't true? I could have...I could have left? I didn't have to let them... I could have said no?"

"Think of it this way, Nono," Quin said as he lifted one of Nolan's hands to hold it against his own cheek. "Would you have treated me the same? You are my Maker, after all."

"No, of course not. I'd never make you do anything you don't want to," Nolan said quickly. "I was never going to do that to you."

"If it feels wrong to you, then it was wrong of them to do that to you," the blond concluded. "Not that I wouldn't do just about anything for you, regardless. I love you."

"I love you, too," Nolan said, leaving January to hug Quinlan, burying his face in the blond's neck.

"They're almost as cute as you, Ess," Gin said, winking at the ruby-eyed vampire.

A blush formed on the taller vampire's face. "My feelings for you will never change," Essex responded softly. "I want to spend as much time with you as possible."

"You both have certainly outlasted Viktor and I, come to think of it," January commented as he glanced their way. "I feel a bit jealous of your longevity."

"Oh, I have a feelin' yeh won't be havin' any trouble lastin' forever with the bunch you got now," Gin said with a wide smile, wrapping an arm around Essex's waist. "Yeh nevah was righ' for the boss. He needed somebody to keep him in line. Yer too sweet an' easygoin' to kick his ass like he needs done."

The purple-eyed vampire smiled at Gin. "Yes, if celestial gods don't continue to try to kill us, I would say we have a great chance at forever," he responded in a joking manner.

Elias flicked January's ear. "Don't even joke about that. You'll jinx us. I only want warm, fuzzy gods to have their attention on us. No more psycho, evil ones, yeah?"

Mateo moved next to where Nolan was still huddling against Quinlan. He gently stroked the smaller vampire's soft black hair. Mat looked from January to Pax and nodded to Nolan before mouthing, "Home," with a questioning lift of his eyebrows.

"I think it's time we head out," Pax suggested aloud, following Mat's cue. He shook Gin and Essex's hands one last time. "It was great seeing you both again."

"Same," Essex replied.

"I'm going to talk to Elder Pembroke one last time, and then we can go home," January insisted, but not before tugging Pax down into a soft kiss. "I promise I won't be long."

"T-time to go?" Nolan asked shakily, looking up at Quinlan and Mateo.

"Yeah, sweetheart. Let's go home," Mateo said gently, putting an arm around both Quin and Nolan. "Jany's gonna do something quick and meet us at the car."

"'Kay," Nolan said with a sigh of relief. He hadn't known how he'd be able to face the party full of strangers.

Pax led the way, his gaze discouraging anyone from bothering them. Nolan, Eli, and Quin followed right behind him. Mateo went last, his demeanor also suggesting that he and his mates should be left alone. When they got to the car, Nolan curled up in Quinlan's lap, exhausted. Eli sat next to them, petting Nolan's ebony hair soothingly. It was only a few minutes before January joined them and they headed home.