Chapter 16 - Full House

Romero had driven them from the warehouse back to the parking garage, where he'd driven the Beetle and Inara had taken Ellen's Jeep with Ellen laid out in the back row. Abigail had driven the Cutlass for the first time while he sat in the passenger seat and tried not to bleed all over his car. Abigail had driven Julian home, while the other two cars went to the Arcana Augurum. Julian had taken a shower, then Abigail had bandaged him up. She was wearing one of his T-shirts, which was oversized on her, but she was a pretty tall woman, so it didn't completely swallow her like it might Corinne or Inara. She was rather noticeably not wearing anything beneath his shirt other than panties, but Julian tried to ignore how good her bare legs looked, or the incredible views of her ass he'd gotten when his shirt rode up on her occasionally.

Julian was currently laid out against his couch, like he'd been for the past couple hours. Inara and Ellen had shown up after maybe an hour and a half of Julian and Abigail being home, and much like Julian, Ellen was exhausted and her body was primarily focused on healing. Inara had brought some fast food take out, and her and Abigail sat at the dining room table and ate while Julian and Ellen laid out on the couch. Julian was kicked back with his feet on the coffee table, whereas Ellen was laying lengthwise across the couch, her head in his lap and her bare legs dangling off the end of the couch. She was wearing Inara's clothes, a red tank top and some black shorts that Ellen's ass had really stretched out, it seemed. She had also been bandaged at the Arcana Augurum, it seemed.

Abigail had put some ointment on her cuts and bruises, and she'd showered after Julian had to wash off the dirt and blood she'd accumulated through her time being kidnapped. She'd also found some Steri-Strips in Julian's medicine cabinet and used them to seal the cut on her forehead. She looked exhausted as she inhaled her food, but it was really only like 7 or 8 at night, just past sunset.

"I hope you brought some food for the really hungry werewolves over here." Julian groaned, his nose filled with the intoxicating aromas of burgers and fries.

"Don't worry, I grabbed some kibble for you two." Inara shot back, and Julian chuckled weakly.

Ellen stirred, opening her pretty dark green eyes. "Food?"

"Yeah, there's burgers here for you guys." Abigail said, grabbing the brown paper bag. She got up and walked it over to them.

"You're a lifesaver." Julian grinned.

"Eat up, because after that, I have some questions." Abigail said, and Julian nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I figured you would. I'm surprised you waited this long, honestly." Julian admitted.

"I was more worried about you dying." Abigail frowned. "But if you can ask for food, you can answer some questions."

"Fire away." Julian waved a hand as he unwrapped his burger, handing the other to Ellen, who reluctantly sat up. Julian took a big bite of his burger and groaned happily.

"OK, well, question 1... what the fuck?" Abigail exploded, and Julian winced. Out of the corner of his eye, Julian saw Inara smirk behind Abigail's back, leaning back in her chair and popping a fry into her mouth as she watched.

"Well, uh... as you might have guessed, I've been keeping some stuff from you." Julian cleared his throat. "Supernatural creatures are real, they've been real for hundreds of years and they're living secretly amongst humanity even today."

Abigail exhaled heavily, and she began to pace, shaking her head. "How many?"

"Like, the population count? Or how many kinds?" Julian asked.

"Both." Abigail said instantly.

"Population count, I have no idea. Nobody's going out there and taking a census of supernatural creatures. As for what kinds... all of them, kinda." Julian explained.

"Right." Abigail said, rubbing her forehead. "So, you and Ellen..."

"Werewolves." Julian nodded.

"And you?" Abigail asked, turning to Inara.

"Djinn." Inara said, wiggling her fingers at the blonde. "And Romero, the guy who picked us up, he's an enchanter, he makes magic items."

"Djinn like a genie? Do you have a lamp?" Abigail asked, surprised.

"No, I don't have a lamp." Inara rolled her eyes. "And I'm not a genie. I don't grant wishes, I do dream magic."

"You're also a badass bitch with a sword." Ellen called, and Inara smirked.

"That too." Inara agreed.

"Do you... need to sit down?" Julian asked, as Abigail looked a bit overwhelmed.

"No, no. I'm fine." Abigail huffed, rubbing her face with both hands. "So... magic is real, werewolves are real, djinn are real... what else?"

"Everything you can think of is probably real." Julian admitted.

"Vampires?" Abigail asked. "That woman who was drained of blood on your birthday, was she-"

"Killed by a vampire, yes." Julian admitted.

"So all of the times you vanished to go do something, or chase down some lead..." Abigail gasped, realization dawning across her face.

"Yeah, it means I was doing something supernatural." Julian nodded. "Denise Banks was killed by a vampire, and the reason I vanished that night was because I was tracking down the guy who did it."

"And did you?" Abigail asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, I turned him into his Highsire, uh, that's like a vampire clan leader, and she killed him. Vampires have laws about not killing humans, it's a very serious event when someone does." Julian explained.

"How many of our murder cases have involved supernatural stuff?" Abigail demanded.

"Not a ton, definitely less than half. Maybe like... a third?" Julian guessed. "I don't keep count that specifically."

"What about the serial killer?" Abigail guessed. "You've been MIA for that whole case pretty much."

"I have no idea if the killer is or not, but all of the victims have been." Julian explained.

"Someone's killing supernaturals?" Abigail blinked, confused. "I would have thought it'd be the other way around."

"Most of us die just like anyone else." Julian shrugged. "The Russell couple were both werewolves, Marina Davis was a nixie, a water spirit, Jenna Downey was a witch, Miguel Ortiz was a changeling, a shapeshifter fey, and Amaya Lake was a jengu, which is like an African mermaid."

"Maybe I do need to sit down." Abigail exhaled, and she moved shakily over to the dining room table where she dropped down onto the chair.

"What about the other night?" Abigail asked finally. "When I came over and you were all fucked up?"

"The werewolf pack we fought tonight, they kidnapped me a couple of days ago, which is a bit of a long story, but the gist is they injected liquid silver into my veins, so I was weak and not healing properly." Julian explained.

"Oh my God." Abigail gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "Are you OK?"

"I wasn't for a while, but I got better once the silver left my system." Julian admitted. "Werewolves can touch silver, it doesn't burn us like in the stories, but if it gets in our bodies, it really does fuck us up. So silver knives, silver bullets, syringes of liquid silver, they hurt."

"They hurt really bad." Ellen nodded in agreement.

"So that's how you two know each other, I guess?" Abigail said, gesturing between Julian and Ellen.

"Yeah, we used to be in the same pack as kids." Julian explained.

"Not the pack who kidnapped me, right?" Abigail checked.

"No, no. There's several LA packs." Julian assured her.

"Which pack do you belong to now then?" Abigail asked.

"I'm what's called a lone wolf, I don't have a pack. It's rare, but it happens." Julian explained.

"He chose that himself." Ellen put in with a glare. "I'm still with the same pack I was born into."

"Born into?" Abigail repeated, looking surprised.

"Not all werewolves are made from the result of a bite." Julian explained.

"Sometimes, a daddy werewolf and a mommy werewolf just love each other very much." Inara put in, smirking.

"Now, I have a question for you. How did those werewolves take you?" Julian asked, looking to Abigail.

"I was stopping in to get coffee on the way to work, and on the way back to my car, some guy grabbed me. I struggled, but he was way too strong, like... well, supernaturally strong, I guess." Abigail relayed. "He threw me into a van and they took off after tying me up."

"Kidnapping a police detective in broad daylight. Beckett's a psycho." Julian scowled. Ellen put a soothing hand on his arm.

"Was a psycho." Inara pointed out. "Little Miss Detective here took care of that."

"Inara, I know you just love needling people, but not tonight, all right? Give her a break." Julian sighed.

"Fine." Inara nodded once. "Not tonight."

"Thanks." Abigail muttered.

There was a sudden loud whooshing noise, and there was a furious pounding on the front door. Inara got up to get it, pulling a silver knife out of her leather jacket. With a pang, Julian remembered how he'd shredded his own leather jacket after turning in the warehouse. Knife held aloft, Inara yanked open the door, revealing a surprising figure, who jolted in surprise at the sight of the knife.

"Put the knife down, Inara!" Julian called quickly, jumping to his feet with a slight wince.

"Julian!" Corinne exclaimed, and she whooshed past Inara into the apartment where she threw her arms tightly around Julian's neck, embracing him as her ample breasts squashed against his chest. "I just heard about the werewolf pack!"

"What the hell?" Abigail demanded. "She's so fast."

"Huh?" Corinne blinked, looking over towards Abigail. "Who's this? Who are all of these people, actually?"

"OK, jeez. Introductions all around, I guess. Corinne, this is Ellen, Inara, and Abigail." Julian explained, pointing to each woman in turn. Ellen gave Corinne a friendly wave, Inara lifted an eyebrow in what was maybe a greeting, and Abigail just stared. "And then guys, this is Corinne. She's a vampire."

He added the last part for Abigail's benefit, whose eyes widened immediately.

"She just found out about the supernatural world today, give her some space." Julian muttered, and Corinne nodded slowly.

"And how is it that our detective has yet another sexy girl hanging around him?" Inara asked wryly.

Corinne's cheeks reddened, but she cleared her throat. "Um, Julian saved my life. I was taken by what we think were Inquisition members, but Julian tracked them down and saved me."

"I remember that!" Abigail exclaimed. "I saw your missing person poster, that's why you look so familiar. She's the girl you had Daniel try to find on the CCTV cameras."

"Yup." Julian nodded.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, I guess." Abigail cleared her throat. "I'm Detective Abigail Richards, I'm Julian's partner."

Julian was somewhat surprised to hear her refer to herself that way, but maybe finally revealing the truth meant that she had forgiven him.

"You know, I don't think I've ever had this many people in my apartment at once." Julian remarked.

"We can tell, you've got like no seating." Inara smirked.

"And... who are you two?" Corinne asked politely, looking between Ellen and Inara.

"I'm Ellen, I'm a werewolf like Julian is. We grew up together." Ellen explained, and Corinne nodded. She looked to Inara who shrugged.

"Inara. Djinn." Inara said plainly.

"Inara works the counter at the Arcana Augurum, where Romero Scott works." Julian told Corinne, and recognition washed across the blonde's face.

"Ohh, I see." Corinne nodded. "She wasn't there the time Colin and I went, it was a girl with blue hair, I think."

"That's Freya." Inara nodded.

"She's the nice cashier." Julian joked. "Inara is the bitchy one."

Inara lifted her middle finger in response, but she was smirking.

"Inara, Romero, and Romero's wife Meg have been helping me with an investigation." Julian explained to Corinne and Abigail.

"The serial killer?" Abigail guessed, and Julian nodded.

"Yeah, they've been very helpful." Julian agreed.

"And Julian's been bothering us incessantly about it." Inara said with a big fake yawn. "Tell them about the naked dead girl you made us talk to, Julian."

"The what?" Abigail asked, stunned.

Julian sighed, and gave Inara a glare. "What Inara means is that we were able to speak to the magically preserved memories of Jenna Downey, one of the victims."

"You did what?" Abigail asked, gaping.

"And she was naked?" Ellen asked fascinatedly, looking up from the burger she'd been inhaling.

"Yup. Glowing, ghostly, and stark fucking nude." Inara grinned, and Ellen laughed.

"OK, forget about her being naked!" Abigail exclaimed. "Julian, did she see the killer? Why didn't you say something?"

There was a very familiar light in Abigail's eyes, and it was one that was almost a relief to see. She always got that look when she was focused on a case, and even with the earth-shattering reveals she'd endured tonight, she was still the same Abigail, looking at him in the same way she always had.

"She didn't see the killer's face, but she was able to tell us there were two of them, one wearing a donkey mask and the other wearing a pig mask." Julian explained. He looked over the coffee table, where he grabbed a page ripped out of a notebook.

"Here, this is everything Jenna told us." Julian said, extending the page towards Abigail, who instantly rushed forward to grab it.

"How much more about this case do you know that I don't?" Abigail demanded as she sat down again to read Julian's notes.

"Uh, a good bit." Julian admitted. "I'll give you all my notes."

"OK, I've waited very patiently, but please tell me what the hell happened tonight." Corinne burst out. "The clan got word that like twenty werewolves had been injured or killed in some big battle involving you. I thought something might have happened."

"I'm fine, really." Julian assured her. "I mean, I'm still healing, but I didn't get hit with any silver, so I'm doing fine."

"The three of us killed a ton of asshole werewolves." Inara chimed in, gesturing to herself, Ellen, and Julian. "Even Abigail got one."

"She got the Alpha." Ellen put in with a whoop.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there." Corinne said, looking upset. "I could have helped."

"They knew I had vampire friends, they purposely picked a time where the sun was high in the sky." Julian shook his head. "Nothing you could have done."

"And, out of curiosity, why did the werewolves take Abigail? Was it because you escaped the night they kidnapped you?" Ellen wondered.

"You didn't even know what was happening?" Inara asked, surprised.

"Hey, if Julian tells me to come, I come." Ellen shrugged. "I don't need a mission briefing, if he says someone has been taken and we need to go kill some werewolves, I'm with him. Besides, Abigail's my friend, I definitely didn't need an explanation to come help save her."

"Well, the full story is that Alexandra Blackwood was trying to recruit me to solve a murder for her, and she thought that I was a part of that werewolf pack we fought tonight. This was several days ago, but she went to visit, some of the wolves attacked her, and she killed them." Julian explained, and he noticed Abigail had looked up from his notes to listen. "They kidnapped me to make me attend a meeting Alexandra wanted me at, but Inara helped me break free and on our way out, we killed one of the werewolves."

Abigail looked in surprise towards Inara, who noticed.

"Don't look so surprised, Detective, you think I would have just left Julian to rot?" Inara demanded.

"What? No! I just... thank you. For saving Julian." Abigail huffed, and Inara nodded curtly.

"But because we killed that werewolf on our way out, another of the werewolves hunted me down at the Glade last night. Corinne and I fought him, and I killed him." Julian explained. "That was six dead werewolves from this pack, and I guess that was Beckett's breaking point. So he took Abigail."

"Wait, the Glade? Didn't you tell me that that was a bar in your hometown?" Abigail recalled.

"You have a freaky good memory, girl!" Ellen laughed. "And yeah, I slipped up so Jules covered for me."

"It's a supernaturals only bar." Julian explained to Abigail.

"Wait, you can do that?" Abigail asked, surprised.

"Yeah, they're called veiled places, it's locations that humans can't see." Julian explained.

"What would I see?" Abigail wondered.

"No clue." Julian shrugged, as did Ellen.

"Yeah, we can all see it no problem, so I have no idea what it looks like to humans." Ellen agreed.

"So, Jules, is this all of the sexy women you hang out with on a regular basis?" Inara asked, hopping up to sit on Julian's kitchen counter. "Or will your werewolf harem continue growing?"

"My what?" Julian gaped.

"You heard me." Inara shrugged.

"There's no werewolf harem." Julian said firmly. "And if you're asking me if the four of you are the only women I know, then no, you're not."

"Hmm." Inara studied him. "Fair enough."

"Oh!" Corinne exclaimed. "I have your invitations. Highsire Blackwood asked me to drop them off."

She reached into her purse and pulled out two elegant white envelopes with golden ink declaring 'Guests of Alexandra Blackwood' in cursive on the front.

"Invitations for what?" Abigail wondered.

"The Equinox Gala." Julian explained. "It's this big party being thrown next week by this rich and powerful warlock Cassius Benning."

"Oh, yeah, you mentioned that yesterday at the Arcana Augurum." Ellen recalled.

"Just how much time do you spend at that store, Julian?" Abigail wondered.

"Far too much." Inara said with a long-suffering sigh.

"I've been going a lot recently, but I had never been there before I went looking to try and get help finding Corinne." Julian explained.

"Since then, he's visited like every day." Inara groaned.

"Not true, I was laying in bed trying not to die from silver poisoning for one of those days." Julian pointed out.

"What a nice and peaceful day that was." Inara shot back.

"Do you two always argue this much?" Corinne asked curiously, and Julian and Inara both nodded.

"I think it's how she shows affection." Julian stage-whispered.

"Oh, fuck off." Inara rolled her eyes.

"OK, clueless person here, what is this Equinox Gala, and why are you going to it?" Abigail piped up. "You don't really seem like a rich socialite."

"Doesn't this apartment just scream wealth and glamour?" Inara drawled, poking Julian's tiny circular dining room table with her toe from her spot sitting on the kitchen counter opposite it.

"The reason I'm going to the Gala is because there's some weird stuff going on there. Oh, actually, it's good you're here, Corinne, I need you to pass on a message." Julian realized. "OK, actually, I'm going to start at the beginning. I've been looking into Amaya Lake, one of the serial killer's victims, with her sister Asha-"

"Hot?" Inara asked.

"What?" Julian blinked.

"Is Asha hot? Yes or no?" Inara asked with a knowing smirk.

"Yes, she is." Julian sighed.

"Knew it!" Inara proclaimed in a sing-song voice. "You may continue, Detective."

"Thank you." Julian said wryly. "Anyways, Asha and I found out that she had been working with Miguel Ortiz, another of our victims-"

"The diamond in danger!" Abigail exclaimed.

"Correct." Julian nodded. "I found a note Miguel had left for himself to call Amaya about a diamond being in danger. We didn't know what meant, but this morning, Asha and I found out from the third member of their secret group that they had heard about a plan to stake Alexandra at this Equinox Gala, she's the diamond in danger."

"Who?" Abigail asked, looking to Corinne's stunned face.

"My Highsire." Corinne answered. "Cassius Benning is going to try to stake her at this party?"

"Yeah, apparently Amaya overheard him talking about that and a 'gift' of some kind." Julian explained.

"Overheard him how?" Abigail wondered.

"Amaya worked at a brothel named the Petal and Thorn, and apparently Benning likes mermaids." Julian shrugged.

"I thought she worked at the Rosebud Lounge." Abigail frowned.

"Petal and Thorn is a supernatural only brothel." Julian explained. "Rosebud Lounge is the same building, but that's the half of it that isn't veiled."

"Huh, weird." Abigail mused to herself.

"Is Asha also a whore? Are you spending time 'investigating' a mermaid prostitute, Julian?" Inara smirked.

"No, Asha does not work there." Julian scowled at the djinn. "And no, it's not like that. I'm helping her figure out who killed her sister."

"So you're going to the Gala to try and figure out if Benning is behind Amaya and Miguel's deaths because of that connection." Abigail summed up. "Is he connected to the other victims in any way?"

"Not in any way I've managed to turn up." Julian shook his head. "But the connection is too coincidental to ignore, in my opinion. Out of all the supernaturals in the city, two of the six who have been killed happened to be conspiring in secret against a rich and powerful warlock with likely endless resources? A warlock who I now know is actually conspiring to kill someone? Definitely worth checking out this Gala."

"Highsire Blackwood will be murderous when she hears about all of that." Corinne warned.

"She can't react to the information in any way." Julian suddenly panicked. "If she loses her head, Benning will know she knows. I need her to play it cool, pretend like nothing is wrong."

"Er..." Corinne hesitated. "I think you need to tell her that yourself, then. That's a little too much like I'm trying to boss around my Highsire."

Julian sighed. "Alright, can you set up a meeting tonight?"

"Tonight? Are you sure?" Corinne fretted, gesturing towards Julian's bandages.

"I'll be fine. Werewolf healing works fast. I'm already doing much better." Julian assured her.

"I can call Tatiana and ask." Corinne nodded after a moment of studying Julian.

"Why not just call Alexandra?" Julian frowned.

"Oh, Highsire Blackwood doesn't have a phone. All calls and stuff like that go through Tatiana." Corinne explained.

"Alright, just see if she's available then." Julian nodded, and Corinne stepped into the bedroom to take the phone call.

"So now you're going off to meet a vampire Highsire?" Abigail asked incredulously.

"Let me guess-" Inara started, but Julian cut her off.

"Yes. To both of you." Julian said, making Inara smirk.

"Can I come?" Abigail asked, and Julian blinked.

"You... want to come meet an ancient and powerful vampire?" Julian asked dubiously.

"Well, I don't know if want is the word, but I think I should. We're partners, and there's no secrets between us now, right?" Abigail asked, and Julian found himself smiling from the relief of it.

"No secrets at all. The supernatural thing was all I was keeping from you." Julian nodded.

"Then we're good." Abigail nodded. "And I should come with you."

"Well, I'll probably skip that one." Inara shuddered. "Vampires weird me out. No offense, Corinne!"

She raised her voice for the last part, calling into the bedroom.

"Yeah, and werewolves and vamps don't mix..." Ellen shuddered. "No offense, Corinne!"

Julian had to laugh at that, shaking his head. "Are you guys headed home then?"

"Yeah, I'll drop you off at the Arcana Augurum." Ellen nodded towards the djinn.

"Do you live there?" Julian asked in surprise, looking to Inara.

"I live right next to it." Inara shrugged. "You're good to drive now though?"

"Of course! I've eaten, I've healed, I'm not even slightly woozy anymore." Ellen said, and Julian was pretty sure she was telling the truth because he felt the same way.

"Sounds good to me then." Inara nodded.

"Thanks for coming over after the day we had." Julian smiled at the two girls as they got ready to leave.

Ellen grinned. "Inara wanted to come see how you were doing."

"What?" Inara demanded. "She's lying. I knew you were fine, mutt."

Julian chuckled, kissing Ellen's forehead. "I'm glad you're alright, Ellie. Thanks for the help."

"Always." Ellen nodded with a smile.

"Do not kiss my forehead." Inara glared at Julian as he stepped towards her.

"A hug, then?" Julian asked, but Inara still looked squirrelly about it. "A handshake?"

"I can do a handshake." Inara nodded, extending her hand.

"Thanks for the help then." Julian said, shaking his head amusedly as he shook her hand.

"You needed it." Inara winked.

Inara and Ellen left with a call of 'Bye, Corinne!', and Julian looked to Abigail.

"You sure you're doing alright?" Julian squinted. "This is a lot, for anyone."

"I feel confident that I will have a huge freak-out about this when I get home." Abigail admitted. "Followed by probably a whole lot of research online."

"Well, don't trust all the legends and myths you see online. Not exactly accurate." Julian advised. "Where is your car, by the way? Still at that coffee shop?"

"Oh shit, probably." Abigail groaned.

"I'll drop you off there after we talk with Alexandra then, if that ends up happening tonight." Julian said. Abigail opened her mouth to reply, but they were cut off by Corinne coming out of the bedroom.

"Why did they keep yelling 'no offense, Corinne'?" the blonde vampire asked with a small, worried frown.

"They were talking shit about vampires, not you." Julian assured her. "What did Alexandra say?"

"You got your meeting." Corinne told him. "It's like... now."

"Where at?" Julian asked. "I'll put a shirt on."

———

Julian pulled the Cutlass into the small parking lot beside Ramona Park, the venue Alexandra had picked for this meetup. It was a park in northern Long Beach, not a very far drive from Julian's apartment. It wasn't too late at night yet, so there were still plenty of people milling about, but Corinne led Julian and Abigail over to a secluded patch of trees.

Ramona Park had a baseball diamond, a soccer field, and some tennis and basketball courts, but away from those parts of the park, there wasn't a whole lot of people walking through. Over in the trees, they were basically alone. Julian was very aware of Abigail's presence, and he was on high alert despite himself. He'd interacted with Alexandra a few times now, but he didn't know how she'd react to a human at this meeting. Hopefully, she wasn't too bothered.

"Who's this?" a familiar sultry, French-tinged voice purred from the shadows. Abigail jumped, and Julian turned to face the Highsire. She wore a simple dress tonight, no elaborate gown like she'd worn at the Glade. It was an emerald shade, and it hugged her figure while also making her look more like a young woman who actually belonged in this century.

"This is Abigail, my partner." Julian explained.

"Ah, another detective then." Alexandra said, drawing close to Abigail, looking her up and down curiously. Abigail had put on a pair of Julian's pants, considering her clothes were filthy and bloody. There was some part of him that liked seeing Abigail in his clothes, but he squashed that little voice down.

"She's new to all of... us, but I'm trying to get her caught up." Julian explained. Alexandra nodded slowly.

"You trust her, Detective?" Alexandra asked, turning to look at Julian with her piercing blue gaze.

"Without question." Julian nodded, and Alexandra turned to give Abigail a fanged smile with a slight edge to it.

"P-Pleasure to meet you." Abigail cleared her throat. Alexandra looked amused, but she turned to Julian.

"What have you discovered? Corinne said it was urgent." Alexandra frowned.

"Urgent, yes, but not exactly super time-sensitive." Julian agreed. "I believe that Cassius Benning is planning to try and stake you next week at his Gala."

Alexandra froze, her eyes narrowing. "And why would you think that?"

"Before I continue, I can see that look in your eye." Julian said pointedly. "What I'm telling you tonight, I would really appreciate it if you don't react to it. It's related to my investigation into the serial killer who is killing supernaturals. Benning cannot know that you know this."

"You wish me to just... let it happen?" Alexandra asked incredulously.

"Of course not." Julian scoffed. "No, I fully intend to stop him, but this Gala needs to happen like he plans it to happen at first. I don't think we know the full extent of his plans, and if he realizes you know about this, he will abandon his plan and I'll never know the truth."

"So we pretend I do not know he's a backstabbing snake." Alexandra nodded icily. "And then what?"

"We attend the Gala, we do some snooping around, and we figure out what he's got planned. Once I know all of that, you are perfectly free to make Benning pay for his actions." Julian explained.

"So I wait a week before killing him." Alexandra sighed. "Fine, fine. Tell me how you came upon this knowledge."

Julian explained everything, who Miguel and Amaya were, Amaya overhearing Benning at the Petal and Thorn, the plan to save the diamond in danger (something Alexandra found incredibly amusing), and he went into him and Asha interrogating Isla and getting her information about all of this.

"Benning surprises me." Alexandra said when he finished. "I had thought him already one foot in the grave, but to be planning something like this... clearly he wishes to hasten that demise."

"So... you're in agreement?" Julian checked.

"Yes. I will pretend I know nothing of these foolish machinations." Alexandra nodded. "But then I will rip his throat out at his own Gala, so all who attend his party will know of his transgressions."

"Fine by me." Julian shrugged. "I just need a little bit of time at the party to figure out what all he's got going on, then he's all yours."

Alexandra nodded approvingly. "Fair enough. I appreciate you coming to me with this, Julian... you saving Corinne may have been one of the most fortunate things to happen in years. And Corinne, my darling, I appreciate you, too. Please, continue helping the detective with anything he needs."

"Of course, Highsire." Corinne inclined her head respectfully.

"How fares Niamh Sinclair's investigation?" Alexandra inquired. "Or were you perhaps too busy slaughtering a pack of werewolves?"

Her lips quirked into what might be the most genuine smile he'd ever seen from her.

"Uh... the latter. I plan on getting back to it tomorrow." Julian said, and Alexandra gave him a nod.

"Excellent. Keep me informed." Alexandra said. "Reach out to Corinne if you have anything you think I should hear."

"Will do." Julian agreed. "Did you hear anything about the sword?"

"No, my vampires searched for it, but nothing was found." Alexandra said, clearly as displeased with that as Julian was.

"That's alright, thank you for trying." Julian nodded at her.

"Other Detective... it was a pleasure meeting you." Alexandra nodded at Abigail. "I do not often speak with humans."

"Oh, um... I'm..." Abigail's mouth moved as she searched for something to say. "Have a good night, Highsire."

Alexandra laughed, and with a whoosh, she was gone.

Abigail exhaled heavily, looking at Julian wide-eyed. "Oh my God... she is terrifying! I could barely talk! I expected someone more like..."

She gestured to Corinne, who laughed softly. "I'm a very new vampire, I only got turned a few months ago. Highsire Blackwood is hundreds of years old."

"I'm guessing Marie Antoinette timeframe, but that's based solely on the hint of French in her accent." Julian admitted.

"Do you even know what time period that is?" Abigail raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Uh... 18-"

"Nope." Abigail said at once, shaking her head. "Marie Antoinette was late 1700s. She died in 1793, I think."

"You are such a nerd." Julian shook his head.

"Could she really be from that time period?" Abigail asked, looking shellshocked. "The 1700s?"

"Uh, yeah. Vampires don't age." Julian answered, looking to Corinne.

"I wonder if I'll ever be as old as her." Corinne said with a small, slightly nervous giggle. "I can't even imagine that."

"How old are you?" Abigail asked the other blonde.

"19." Corinne said softly. "I'll always be 19."

Abigail blinked, and then to Julian's surprise, she hugged Corinne tightly.

"Do you have parents?" Abigail asked curiously.

"No." Corinne admitted, squeezing Abigail back. "It's just me and my brother. He's a vampire too."

"I can't imagine being 19 forever." Abigail shook her head. "I hated being 19."

"All your college friends were trying to party while you were reading books?" Julian guessed, and Abigail shot him a glare.

"I know we just met, but from what I know about you, you've had it pretty rough, huh?" Abigail asked, and Corinne nodded quickly.

"It's, uh... this is nice." Corinne said embarrassedly as Abigail squeezed her again.

"I'm glad you have a brother, but if you ever need some big sister advice, you let me know, OK?" Abigail demanded. Corinne looked stunned, but then she smiled widely.

"I will." Corinne beamed. "Let me give you my phone number."

Corinne and Abigail exchanged numbers, and then after a quick hug to both Abigail and Julian, the blonde vampire took off into the night.

"That is so sad." Abigail sighed as her and Julian started walking back to the Cutlass.

"Yeah, vampires are a pretty tragic part of the supernatural world." Julian admitted. Abigail wrapped her arm around his, leaning into him as they walked.

"You're not all... cursed like that, are you?" Abigail whispered.

"No, there's a fair amount of supernaturals who live basically normal lives, like me and Ellen." Julian shrugged. "We're not all cursed to never walk in the sun and see everyone we know get old and die."

"She can't ever see the sun?" Abigail shook her head.

"Nope." Julian shook his head. "It burns them on the spot."

"That's terrible. I think I would go insane." Abigail shuddered.

They walked for a little while longer, before Abigail tilted her head and looked at him. "Do you turn into that big wolf monster on the full moon?"

"Short answer, no. The full moon is much less of a problem to born werewolves. The bitten ones have to deal with the full moon for years before they can master controlling themselves on those nights. The full moon turns us into our full wolf form though, not the werewolf form." Julian explained.

"Wait, you can do full wolf?" Abigail asked in surprise.

"Yup. The werewolf form is much better for combat, but there's nothing more fun than turning into an actual wolf and going for a run. That's why Ellen's pack has its' headquarters outside of the city, so they have space to run." Julian explained.

"Ellen's pack was your pack too, right?" Abigail asked, watching him carefully.

Julian hesitated. "A long time ago, yeah. Then my father died, and my mother left, and I just... I didn't wanna be there anymore. I don't know, maybe I could have stayed, but I never would have become a detective if I had. I'd probably just... I dunno, settle down with Ellie or something. Live in a little cabin, somewhere with lots of free space to run around as wolves."

He was feeling a little melancholic thinking about it, some mixture of sorrow and nostalgia, but Abigail speaking interrupted his thoughts.

"How does werewolf sex work?" Abigail asked. "You don't turn into the different forms or anything during it, do you?"

"Well, depends how kinky the wolves in question are." Julian chuckled. "I've never shifted during sex though."

Abigail laughed, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm so glad that you told me about this. Even if I did have to be kidnapped for it to happen."

"Not many people can say they killed an Alpha werewolf the same day they learned werewolves are real." Julian pointed out, and Abigail sobered up some.

"That was scary, Jules." Abigail confessed. "Seeing them shift, seeing how strong they were... I really thought they were going to kill me. They had told me you were coming, but not that you were like them. I thought they were going to tear you apart, and then me."

"I know." he murmured. "I came as fast as I could."

"I know." she murmured back. "I'll give you a break tonight, but tomorrow, we are going to go over every single thing about this serial killer that you haven't told me."

"I'm happy to. Truth be told, I'm stumped." Julian admitted.

"How do you think I've felt?" Abigail huffed. "Turns out I was only working with half the clues."

"Well, you'll know everything soon." Julian assured her. "Like I said, no more secrets."

"Good." Abigail yawned. "I hated not having you around."

"Me too." Julian nodded with a smile.