Flipping the page of his book, Seba knew that he hadn't really been reading for the last two chapters. His mind was far too stressed. The trip itself was quiet and, with all of the new advancements in travel over the many years he'd walked the Earth, comfortable, but no matter how much things changed, there was one thing that never did... his master's wish to see him wed.

Seba snapped his book shut and leaned back with an audible sigh, closing his aching eyes.

Hungry...

He had eaten before they'd left his home, but that had been at least two days ago. They had stopped at a small town along the way, but he'd refused to feed on the humans there, and he had not been comfortable feeding from his pup again.

Still too soon.

Even as he thought that, he felt a warm, damp tongue hesitantly brush against the edges of his fingers. The gesture had his eyes opening as he straightened in his seat and sent a warning glare down at his wolf. It was technically a werewolf, but he'd never allowed it to shift. Werewolves were extremely vicious in the countryside, and often clashed with vampires and humans. Granted, vampires were definitely not the most friendly, but they were definitely a lot more socially acceptable, and manageable, than werewolves.

His pup, Ruoka, was gifted to him after a local group of vampires had raided a particularly vicious pack of wolves. They'd killed a few of the adults, but most had escaped and made territories farther back in the woods.

On their way back to town, the vampires had come across a den with a single scrawny pup inside. They'd intended to kill it then and there, but one of the vampires had been his good friend, and knew of his slight impairment.

He had to feed more often than most vampires... and werewolves healed much quicker than humans did. His body didn't maintain blood well. That led to him accepting the gift and collaring the pup with a special silver band embedded within it. Since the pup already had a thick coat, it didn't burn it, but it did prevent it from ever being able to shift. He'd had to replace it a few times as the wolf grew, but it was finally at its full size.

Staring down at the wolf sitting silently at his feet, Seba began to reach forward to stroke its head, but stopped abruptly when he noticed that his claws had extended.

I really do need to eat soon.

He withdrew his hand, but not before Ruoka nudged it with his wet nose.

Seba returned the gesture with a warning hiss before moving aside one of the curtains covering the open window and looking outside. The crisp, night air briskly sifted through the inside of the carriage.

His pup slowly lied down, knowing its place after it was warned. He was food, that was all. Granted, he had become a very useful tool in keeping his health issue out of gossiping mouths, even though they were much fewer in the countryside as opposed to the city of London. People, and vampires, always did love to talk about others' problems.

The faint torchlights of the city were slowly becoming visible far up ahead, but Seba figured that they had at least another two hours before they got to his master's home. He would rest more, then feed on one of his master's servants once he got there.

With that thought, he closed his eyes and forced his mind to relax as much as he could.

Unfortunately, it felt as if only minutes had gone by when he felt a familiar, yet distant pressure in the back of his mind. He quickly shook the sleep from his mind and allowed his master entrance to his mind.

Good evening, Sebastian.

Seba bristled at hearing his original name. He'd thrown it away after he'd been changed, preferring the shortened version, but his master had quite liked it and refused to stop using it.

It is a beautiful name and suits you very well.

Seba scowled as he yanked the window's curtain across the opening. When he refocused his attention, Ruoka was sitting at his feet once again, staring with his soft, curious brown eyes. He wanted to tell the stubborn thing to just stay lying down until they were there, but he couldn't help reaching out to rest his hand atop its fuzzy head.

"You have never met my master, have you?" he asked, though he knew the answer already.

The pup was only eighteen, quite young, even for a werewolf. They generally lived upwards of two hundred years, with alphas easily pushing three hundred. Of course, vampire lifespans were easily double those, if not more.

"Just behave. No one will hurt you if you stay by my side," he said, reassuring the now nervous-looking wolf.

Honestly, even he was worried for Ruoka. It was his lifeline to keep others from bothering over him, but he knew that werewolves were not a welcome sight around civilization. Before he could think further on the situation, and whether he should have just left the pup at home, the carriage stopped and he heard his driver climb down from his seat.

Seba felt his heart beat hard against his ribs. Unlike most human fairytales, vampires did, in fact, need their heart to pump their blood. If it didn't work, there would be no more vampire. Their body was just cold because most of their other organs had long since shut down and withered away within them.

"Such a stubborn lad to keep his master waiting," came a deep voice from beyond the closed door to his right.

A wave of warm comfort settled over his cold body as Seba carefully stepped around Ruoka and ducked out the small door. A hand was extended up to him as soon as he appeared. He accepted the aid in descending the thin steps, then gave his master a quick hug.

The man was just an inch or so taller than him, but where Seba's hair was a dirty, wavy blond, his master's was as black as the night sky around them.

"You brought another?" his master asked as they separated, his attention turning toward the carriage.

Ruoka had stayed inside, behaving, like he had been instructed. Seba watched as his master took a curious step closer, then sniffed the air.

"My word... a werewolf, Sebastian? I did not think you would ever consider allowing one within your presence," his master said, making Seba shift his weight awkwardly upon his feet.

"I know that they are not looked upon favorably, but he is quite under control," Seba said as he stepped forward and straightened his shoulders.

"Ruoka, come down."

The pup hurried from the carriage but missed its second step on the extremely thin staircase and tumbled to the dusty ground with a startled yip.

Seba tensed, ready to block his master from automatically attacking the pup, but when the man slowly knelt before his recovering wolf and simply smiled, he became quite confused.

"What a cute little one," he said as he reached forward.

Ruoka immediately let his ears droop and dropped back down to the ground, averting his gaze and tucking his tail. He knew how to act around vampires.

The expression on his master's face, however, threw him, again. Why did he look as if he was now upset? He was just about to ask when the man redirected where he intended to reach and picked up the silver-embedded leash.

"What is this, Sebastian?" he asked, looking up at him with an unfamiliar frown.

Seba hesitated, unsure what he was supposed to even say. It was clearly a tether to keep the wolf with him.

"I don't understand what you mean," he eventually said as he watched his master stand, holding the leash lightly within his hand.

He always kept the leash taut to make sure that Ruoka stayed right where he should...

"Come inside," his master said, turning and heading up the stairs leading to the heavy wooden doors of his home before he could even respond.

To his surprise, Ruoka followed the man, but tripped several times going up the steps because he was continuously looking back at him worriedly.

Dammit.

The moment they were inside and the butler had closed the door, Seba reached for Ruoka's leash.

"I can explain why I brought him, master. He is not a threat."

His master did not respond as he easily brushed away his hand and lead them to the back study, then took a seat in his favorite black wingchair. Seba nervously took one adjacent to it, then waited.

He watched Ruoka's nervous gaze jerk between the two of them so often that his own faint headache began to throb just watching.

"Come up here, little one?" his master asked, patting his lap gently with a smile that Seba really didn't understand.

His wolf began to shake as it turned again to look at him in confusion. Seba nodded his approval, even though he was just as confused as his pup was.

Ruoka turned and immediately, but carefully, hopped up onto the other vampire's lap. He settled immediately, but tucked his head into the back crook of the chair, trying to hide his face for fear of a possible attack.

"Sebastian, it has been quite some time since you have visited. Twenty years or so, if I remember correctly," he said as he began to gently stroke his fingers through Ruoka's soft fur.

Seba nodded, licking his lips once to try and calm his nerves.

"Yes, it has been quite a while."

His master smiled down at Ruoka, even though the pup couldn't see him, before returning his attention to Seba.

"Where did you get this pup?" he asked, the question already expected.

He felt no reason to bend the truth, so he replied honestly.

"Quarry gave it to me. Him and some other local vampires raided a werewolf pack that had been attacking people for quite some time. On their way back, they found him abandoned in a den."

His master nodded as he began to scratch behind Ruoka's left ear, making it twitch a little.

"How are wolves treated where you live?" he asked, not lifting his eyes from the pup this time.

Seba raised a brow at that question.

"They are extremely dangerous and aggressive. They're killed if they come near towns. I keep Ruoka strictly for feeding when I can't find suitable donors."

His master remained silent for a long while before he sighed and let the wolf's chain leash drop to the floor.

"Things have changed here. Yes, there are still some dangerous werewolves who are not allowed to enter the city, but there are also three packs that have been allowed to establish themselves. They act as peacekeepers towards each other, and there have actually been very few issues so far," he said as he switched to scratching at Ruoka's other ear. "They have also slowly been allowed to propose monetary trades for the few vampires who had taken young wolves as glorified pets, or in your case, extra food supplies."

That was a lot of information to put on his tired mind after such a trip.

"What are the pack names?" Seba asked numbly, trying to give his mind time to process the previous information.

His master gave a quiet chuckle of understanding as he replied, "Moon, Rain, and Ghost."

Seba nodded, then continued, "and the alphas?"

"Marquise and Silas, respectfully," his master replied, making Seba tilt his head.

"The third alpha?"

His master shrugged one shoulder.

"I do not know. The only information I have on him, since his pack is the newest, is that his wolf is quite large, and as black as midnight."

Wonderful.

"It seems like this information is quite new to you and much different from where you've been living, so I won't push anything right now. Besides, Ruoka is not mine. He is yours. There are no laws against having him, but just mind yourself if you take him outside. Some people, even humans, are already getting used to seeing wolves freely walking about."

Seba gave a tired nod, feeling sleep begin to fight with his need to feed. The sound of something solid hitting the floor drew his attention back to his master.

He'd taken off the chain leash completely.

"I hope you don't mind me removing that simple thing. I'm sure he's trained quite well already... or I can put it back on?"

He was trained, very well, and he always let him off the leash once they were home, anyways.

Seba made a dismissive gesture, making his master chuckle as he stood, easily lifting his light, forty-something pound pup in his arms. Ruoka shook for a few moments, but settled quickly, seemingly getting used to the new vampire. It helped that his master was being extremely gentle and even took off his heavy leash.

"Would you like me to tend to him while you go feed? You look exhausted," his master said, making Seba hesitate for only a moment before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that would be great. I'm sure he's hungry, too."

His master patted Ruoka's back softly and nodded toward the hallway.

"The servants quarters are right down the hall. I have not needed to feed for quite some time, so I'm sure you won't have trouble finding a volunteer if you promise to numb the area first," he said, making Seba nod. He always used his saliva to numb when he fed.

He gave his thanks one more time before turning, but stopped abruptly when his master called him again, making him look back over toward the man.

"He looks very healthy. I'm glad you took care of him well."

The praise was awkward considering how everyone else he knew back home would laugh at him behind his back for taking such good care of a dangerous wolf, but he accepted it none-the-less.

"He's important."

He needed to make sure that the pup was in good health or he wouldn't be able to feed from it as often as he did. It had always been a bit scrawny, but he honestly kept it well fed.

His master gave him a smile that seemed to be hiding something he couldn't decipher, but Seba simply shrugged it off and turned away again. After he wasn't called for a second time, he disappeared down the hall, leaving his pup in his master's care.

(Edited)