Hey guys!

Long time no see!! I hope you're doing well.

Did you miss Elle and Arthur? I know I did. 

This bonus chapter tells the first meeting (chapter 5) from Arthur's POV. I hope you enjoy it. Happy reading!

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Arthur's POV

Life has become dangerously boring.

The thought barely flickered in my mind before I chased it off. Becoming jaded was an immortal's worst nightmare. When eternity seemed a bleak promise, one could go to great lengths to find entertainment.

I had lived for millennia, seen countless wars and witnessed horrendous deaths, but the last century after losing my son had been the most difficult to withstand. I had lost count of how many times I stood with the tip of my sword pressed to my chest, ready to spear my heart with the slightest nudge.

Only the knowledge that the world might descend into chaos without me kept me alive. The Five were the power that controls vampires around the world, and I was the power that controlled their population in the Americas.

The power vacuum my death would cause would leave vampires in the continent without supervision. The time it would take for the rest of the Five to take control of the situation, there would be too much death already. I didn't need the weight of more innocent lives on my shoulders, so I lived despite the occasional overwhelming urge to just... let go.

It was becoming more difficult, however. My magic had become a restless darkness that demanded to be set free. My control over it was still firm, but it was getting tiresome.

"Sire."

I looked up from my book. Harvey stood in my office. Dressed in his usual three piece suit, he looked the epitome of civility. I knew better. I had seen him disembowel a man with his claws and strangle the said man with his own entrails. It was one of my least favorite memories of Harvey; the smell had been terrible.

"Yes?" I looked down at the book. I had lost interest in the story a few pages ago. Human literature was marvelous, but the past few decades had been a let down. Could no one just write a decent book? Or perhaps I was the one who lost taste to anything? Probably the latter.

"There's a situation in the city," Harvey said, his voice grim. "A demon is on the loose, targeting humans."

I glanced at Harvey with a raised brow. Why was he bothering me with the Order's minutiae. "Isn't that why the Order exists?"

Harvey sighed, tucking a hand in his pocket. The setting sun streaming through the window reflected off his impeccable hairstyle, casting his dark hair in auburn shades. "The Order is not... equipped to deal with this kind of demon."

"Elaborate."

"It's a man-eating demon," Harvey said, triggering memories from such a long time ago, they were mere snippets of images in my mind. It would take me some time to recall the details. Harvey continued, "George was getting nowhere in the case. And now he's enlisting the help of a human headhunter who works for the Order."

"A human?" I asked. "What would the director of the Order need a human for? Bait?"

"No. It seems she has a unique set of abilities that George needs for the case. I had Jesse drop by her place this morning and take a look, but he said she's just a normal Human."

My curiosity stirred. It was such a wonderfully nostalgic feeling, and I paused to relish it. Being intrigued didn't come easy to an ancient immortal.

I closed the book and leaned forward, clasping my hands on the desk. "Tell me more."

*** **** ***

"The demon has struck again," Harvey said from the front seat. "And this time, it's in the middle of a busy street. You should see this."

I accepted the phone. We were driving to the Order's headquarters. I needed to have a word with George, and this case was proving to be a nice distraction from the fatal monotony into which my life had fallen.

Charles was driving the car, Harvey next to him while I took the backseat. Harvey's phone displayed a video. I pressed play.

The screen showed a shaky footage of a gory fight between a small, blonde individual and what looked like a horde of demons. The blond head turned. It was a woman. One who moved like she was born with a blade in her hands.

A slow smile stretched my face. Well, well, well. Who was this little firefly? "This is the human?"

"Yes," Harvey replied. "Quite a good fighter, isn't she? Very intriguing."

That was an understatement. Watching her weave her way through a pack of demons was fascinating. Her body moved with an agility that belied years of ruthless practice. She didn't fight like a human, she fought like an immortal.

I leaned back in my seat and played the video again. Intriguing, indeed. Her weapons of choice were mostly blades. That, in itself, was telling. Most humans relied a lot on guns, even when faced with an immortal who wouldn't be harmed by a normal bullet. It was a psychological thing, humans subconsciously felt safer with a gun.

This little human didn't even have a gun on her. Watching her dance with the blades, I wondered how spectacular she would be with a sword.

Darkness had fallen by the time we reached the Order's headquarters. Harvey left to take care of some matters, and Charles and I made our way inside.

There was a big number of young immortals among the agents of the Order. The Order was an institution I had put into place to handle rogue immortals and cases that straddle the line between the human and the immortal world. How long had it been since the last time I checked on how it was going? How long had it been since I'd last walked through these doors? Years. Decades. Guilt nipped at my good mood. I shouldn't have left things unsupervised this long.

Immortals stopped and looked as we walked through the front doors. Faces paled, breaths caught, and people bowed their heads.

George would have ample warning we were coming. Charles and I got into the elevator. The people who'd been waiting for it didn't get in with us. Sometimes I wondered what they thought I'd do, devour them in a fit of unprovoked rage? But other people's fear never bothered me, it was even necessary sometimes. Immortals needed a bigger monster to stay in line.

"What do you think about the human?" I asked Charles. He was young, and his youth often gave him a perspective I needed.

"She's a good fighter, from what I've seen," he replied. "But I spoke to Jesse. He confirmed she's just a human. Maybe someone trained her well? An immortal?"

"Hmm, perhaps." But my instincts told me otherwise. Or maybe it was just my wishful thinking; wanting there to be more to her than what met the eye in order to break this long spell of ennui.

The elevator doors opened. We made our way to George's office. His receptionist stood wooden behind her desk, her skin chalky with fear. The receptionist downstairs must have warned her of our arrival.

George opened the door to his office as we approached. He stepped aside and bowed his head. "Sire."

"George," I said, walking past him inside. His office was dimly lit, the glow of the floor lamp in the corner the only light.

Charles planted himself by the wall. I strolled inside, aware of George closing the door.

"I heard you have trouble, George," I said, walking around his desk and plopping down on his chair. Mhm. A nicely padded chair. No wonder he was getting comfortable.

George stood in front of the desk, his hands clasped behind his back in a stiff soldier position. He opened his mouth. I raised my hand, stopping him. "And don't try to brush it off. I heard enough from Harvey to judge by myself. Playing the issue down will not put you in my good graces."

George gulped, a sheen of perspiration beading his forehead.

"Tell me about the human," I said. Picking up a file on his desk, I opened it. It was about the human female. Elle Sanders.

I glanced up when George stayed quiet. He was debating how far to tell me. He must know he screwed up. "You're not speaking, George."

"She's displayed a unique immunity against the demon's powers," George said. "So I thought we could use her."

"I see."

George gulped. "She's coming with agent Kim to my office. She should be here any moment now."

A spark of anticipation tightened my guts. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. "Perfect. We will wait then."

The silence stretched for several long minutes. For an ancient immortal, minutes were laughably inconsequential. But I found myself wishing time would go faster.

At last, footsteps sounded outside the office. I smiled and sat up straight in the chair.

A knock on the door before it was pushed open. A shapeshifter paused in the doorway. Ah. The little legendary fox. I remembered Harvey telling me about her. Her kind were notoriously reserved, and they kept to a certain geographical area in the world. How did one end up an agent of the Order?

My curiosity about the fox took a backseat when she entered, followed by a human female.

Watching her fight had led me to believe she would be at least six feet tall. She most certainly was not. How could a small human fight so courageously, so dangerously?

She walked in, her eyes down and her shoulders tight. Her hair glinted in the soft glow of the lamp. Spun gold. It looked like strands of spun gold.

The two females stood on either side of George. They were injured, covered in blood, and stinking of demon gore.

The human female carried herself like a soldier, but her confidence was not that of a subordinate. I could feel Charles come at attention, but my eyes were fastened on her.

"Hmm... so this is the human," I said.

"Yes, Sire."

I was watching her carefully. The moment my identity registered in her brain, she turned to a block of ice.

Then she looked up, and I was not prepared for her eyes.

I had seen countless beauties in my life. Women who would turn a man into a fool with one look.

Elle Sanders wasn't a raging beauty. Her features were dainty and delicate, and I assume she would be called pretty by the average man- if he didn't look into her eyes.

Living emeralds. I'd never seen eyes hold so much life in them, they almost glowed in the dimly lit office. Such a pure green it put spring to shame. How could a pair of eyes be so clear?

She raised her head fully and let my eyes, a challenge in hers. My magic snapped up at attention, its darkness rearing its head to meet the provocation. To my surprise, however, it did nothing but watch this small female with eyes of polished emerald.

For the first time, I didn't have to keep my magic from snapping at someone who dared challenge me. My magic was simply... watchful.

Intriguing, indeed.

I blinked, breaking the spell. Charles, who would not ignore a challenge to me even as insignificant as prolonged eye contact from a human, had taken a step away from the wall towards her.

I didn't take my eyes off of her. She glared at me, and a spark of amusement flared to life in me. She was injured, a human, in my own domain among my people, and she still had the courage to look at me as if my mere presence had insulted her somehow. I couldn't decide if she was truly fearless or simply reckless.

I leaned back in my chair, my eyes never leaving hers. I found that I couldn't, and I didn't want to.

"I've seen a video of you and agent Kim fighting from this evening. I must say, you fight incredibly well for a human."

Her reply was almost instantaneous. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because you're doing a horrible job at it."

George choked on air. Charles took another step toward the human. I cocked my head to the side and regarded her carefully. The boredom and dreary prospect of eternity all vanishing under her words.

The air flickered behind her. I would bet she had just reached for one of the many blades strapped on her person. Her eyes flickered to Charles, and I wanted to make Charles disappear. My magic snapped, unhappy about the loss of eye contact. Hmm...

My lips twitched up. I put my elbows on the arm rests and clasped my hands beneath my chin. Charles didn't seem to like her very much.

"Charles, stand down," I said. Charles immediately resumed his post by the wall, ignoring the human, Elle.

I glanced at George and nodded, my eyes immediately finding Elle's again.

"Agent Kim, report on the case. From the beginning," George said.

The fox did as told, and I listened with one ear. The longer I looked at Elle, the more my instincts pinged. There was something about her... I didn't know what it was yet, but I would be an idiot to ignore it.

Finally, the fox fell quiet. Time to adress George. He made a mistake. As much as I didn't particularly care about the human world, innocent deaths, preventable innocent deaths, were something I would rather not have on my land.

So, despite my ardent desire to keep my eyes on Elle Sanders and poke this mysterious woman, I focused on George. "This is quite a mess, George."

I leaned forward, everyone in the office stiffened, but my ears were attuned to one particular heartbeat. I wanted to smile when it jumped. As much as she liked to portray otherwise, Elle Sanders was afraid of me. So she did have some sense in that pretty head of hers.

"Why didn't you notify me?" I asked George.

"The Order has it under control, Sire."

I hummed. "Under control. So that is why you brought a human into it, when one of my seconds would is strong enough to take on the demon killer."

"Miss Sanders had a specific ability we would use. I saw no reason to engage one of the seconds in such a case. The risk wasn't considerable."

The glare that the human bestowed on George was amusing. She looked like an angry kitten.

I stood up. "Miss Sanders, Agent Kim, you'll be working directly under my people on anything pertaining to this case from now on. You'll be briefed tomorrow on the changes. You're dismissed."

The two women left eagerly. I stared at the door long after it was closed. Elle Sanders. I had a feeling she would be a wonderful surprise.

I focused on George.

"Useless pride has no room in my army, George," I said, moving around the desk. I sat down on its edge, facing George. "You've made a decision that sacrificed innocent lives-"

"Human lives-"

That was all he got before he was slammed against the wall, inches from the ground. My magic lashed out, wanting to squeeze him until he was reduced to mush. I settled for squeezing off his airway. To his credit, George didn't struggle or show the slightest hint of discomfort. There was a reason he was the Director of the Order. That did not give him a free pass, however.

"I'm not done speaking, George," I said, strolling toward him. "I don't care if they're humans, animals or insects. I do care that my reputation will be tainted by these incidents. A demon comes into my city, deals with the highest agents of my Order, and is still walking around freely picking lives as if he was in a meat market."

I let him drop to the floor. He immediately picked himself up and stood straight, breathing heavily. I stood inches from him. His eyes fixed on my chest, not daring to look up. His pulse skittered in his neck.

"You've made a blunder. You've been doing whatever you want because I haven't been paying attention recently, haven't you?"

He opened his mouth, and immediately closed it. Good call.

"Now," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. His fear stank the air. "Let's discuss how you'll pay for your mistake, George."

There was no discussion. The punishment was already decided. George would spend some time with Charles. It would do him some good and remind him that he wasn't the biggest monster around.

I left the office, my mind already set on another puzzle I must solve. Harvey waited for me in front of the building in his car.

"Done?" Harvey asked when I got in beside him.

"In a way," I replied, a smile lifting the corners of my lips. "Take me to the agents' living quarters."

Harvey sighed. "She's human, my lord."

Harvey had been with me long enough to know I was interested by the woman. Although he probablyy thought my interest was that of a male toward a female. It was more than that.

I chuckled. Harvey glanced at me in surprise, looking like he saw a ghost.

"If Elle Sanders is human,"I said, "then I'm not one of the Five."

I would pay her a visit. My insides fluttered in a way I was not used to. It took me a moment to recognize the feeling. Giddy. I was feeling giddy. What a wondrous feeling.

Elle Sanders. Finally, someone interesting enough to shed the dust off my tedious existence.

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Thoughts? Do you want more from Arthur's pot?

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Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.