Dominic sat at one of the chairs around the table, fixing his gaze on the far wall. In a few minutes, the heads of the Four Families would gather for their biannual settlement. Wrongs were righted, debts were paid, and, occasionally, people were decapitated.

Twenty years ago, Five Families met. But one evening, the Bacardis didn't show. They found their bodies the next day.

Hunters.

The Hunters were the excuse, anyway. Vampire dynasties possessed unique abilities—Rossi could extract truth, Dominic could master dogs. Humans who descended from their dynasty all possessed the same ability—one especially crippling to the Five Families: the ability to absorb and project sunlight.

Humans found the Bacardis shriveled in their homes, flesh still smoking. The Hunters had attacked, no doubt. Yet, the Hunters had made a deal with the Five Families in exchange for peace—rogue Hunters had likely been bribed into wiping out the family.

This year, the Gathering was held by the Rossi. Dominic glanced around at the immaculate hall, the windows carefully dimmed for those not fortunate enough to have fed from a source, black-clad servants poised to step forward at the slightest request, and the table shiny enough to see hair follicles.

The room stiffened. Dominic stood as the Muci family entered. Tattoos swirled around their arms—their patriarch's head featured swirls and skulls. Their family had abandoned secrecy years ago, it seemed. Behind him, his twin daughters sulked in. Barely thirteen, both had taken a liking to the quiet life. Their father was anything but.

"Rossi, my old friend!" Muci roared, charging toward Rossi with open arms. Rossi reluctantly greeted him before gestured to his seat. Muci sat, nodding to his two daughters. "Allie and Ellie, as you know. The missus was unable to attend."

Rossi nodded, content to move on.

Muci was eager to explain. "She's giving birth. Well, the surrogate is." He winked and leaned closer to Rossi. "My wife thinks it's a little early, but the surrogate is precisely at nine months from when she and I first met. Why pay for fertilization when I can do it myself?"

Rossi stood as the Capos walked in. Capo entered, his three sons behind him. Dominic glanced at his father, who hadn't given anything away. They greeted each other far less gratuitously. Eli, Noah, and Jacob each took a seat. As usual, Capo left the seat to his right vacant.

"Your boys have grown quite a bit!" Muci exclaimed, standing to hug the new guests. Capo obliged politely, but his sons stuck out their hands instead. "Pretty soon they'll be carrying the line. Too bad your wife left you before she could give you a few more." Muci grinned, fully aware that he had poked the bear. Muci often attempted to rile Capo to action, but Capo refused to bite the bait.

Capo's father had conceived with a human—leaving Capo as the monstrous half-breed that he was. On the outside, no one could tell. He balanced his decreased strength with his natural ability to bear sunlight. Though a half-breed, Capo had risen through the ranks to control weapon distribution in the city—legal and illegal. Muci's attempt to rile the warlord with hundred of pounds of explosives in warehouses around the city was ill-advised, like most of what he did.

When Capo refused to play, Muci turned to Rossi. "Speaking of carrying on, when is your son going to settle down? Well, not settle down. All he needs is to knock some girl up to keep the family going."

Rossi turned to Muci. "The Rossi are still a respectable family."

Muci frowned and stood as color rose into his cheeks. "You—"

No one would ever know Muci's accusation, because at that moment, the Lombards entered. The matriarch took a seat, not wasting any time with pleasantries. Her daughter sat beside her, blonde, straight hair pulled back into an immaculate bun to match her mother's. She looked like a pretty, petite lawyer, not a drug lord. Both Jennifer and her mother had hawklike eyes, watching every move with fine-tuned precision. Rumor had it that Lombard could tell when a dealer attempted to shortchange her by a single glance at the stock.

Now that everyone had gathered—Rossi, Muci, Capo, and Lombard—they launched into business. Debts would be settles, wrongs would be righted, and maybe someone would lose a head.