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***Leah's POV***

"Leah." Josie's voice is so soft. I have to strain to hear him through the thick bedroom door. I imagine we must need to talk. I don't want him feeling bad for what he has done.

"Come in sweet Josie." As his head pokes through the door, I pat my hand down on the bed. Josie comes quietly with a look of concern in his pretty features.

"Leah, I need to apologize. I was not in control. You don't understand. I saw my dad inside of your father. I..." Josie chokes up as tears fill his gorgeous blue eyes.

My fingers gently wipe away the overflow of emotions that fill my friend's features. I pull him into a hug before deciding that he may need to talk. This isn't about me or my loss. It occurs to me that he has had a part of his life safely tucked away. Maybe those skeletons need to be evicted from his closet.

"Continue." I whisper. My command is also a request. This soul has continuously been here for my mate. I can be here for Josie when he is in need. I want to be here for him.

"I had a terrible childhood. I bet Christian told you." Josie softly tapers off. The inflection on my beloved leaves room for argument. I take the opportunity to clear my love's name.

"He did not. I had not asked either. Josiah, we are not always interested in the darkest parts of another. However, if you would like to vent, I will gladly be your sounding board." I offer my ear or shoulder, both.

"I think I can." Josie nods his head softly as he pulls away from me. I move his bouncy curls away from his face, leaving his stunning eyes to lock with mine. I give a kind smile of encouragement to my friend.

"My father was a monster. He harmed me. He hurt me in so many ways. That's how I met Christian. He treated my many injuries in the emergency room. Some were small; little knicks, broken fingers or gashes. Others were substantial; broken ribs, cranial fractures, broken teeth. My father was an alcoholic. He didn't fare well while inebriated. Neither did I." Josie twiddles his thumbs as he exposes the sadness of his existence before meeting my beloved. I am suddenly very thankful to be a part of such an amazing family.

"When I saw your father threatening you, knowing how he almost harmed that child, I snapped. I am not proud of my behavior, however I am not sorry either. Someone once called it divine intervention with my father mysteriously disappeared off the planet. It was the most freeing moment of my existence as a human. I did jot wish to know that out there lurking would be a creature so vile as to threaten your happiness. Leah, you deserve to be happy. You have suffered enough." Josie smiles his angelic grin in my direction.

I thought we were having a conversation to alleviate his guilt. Per usual, our little cherub has found a way to uplift a friend instead of taking a well earned path of self-pity.

I open my arms wide for Josie. He gladly accepts the invitation, sinking into the hug as if it is exactly as the doctor had ordered. We rock minutely back and forth as I allow us time to bond over trauma and healing.

A persistent knock breaks us from our moment of togetherness. Josie immediately releases me as Tony swoops in to steal his beloved from my arms. The entire production has a giggle bubbling from my lips. They are just too cute for words.

"I apologize to interrupt, however it is feeding time for the newborn. Josie often finds his way into anywhere but the place he should be. Love you must be famished. You skip far too many meals for my liking." Tony's knowing stare makes me click the pieces together in my mind. I do recall several times since Josiah's change that he has left himself malnourished in lieu of any other activity. Maybe the boy just does not like the night walker diet.

"Sure, it is not on purpose that air worry you. I just do not enjoy the things we must do to have nourishment." Josie let's our a visible cringe. He does not necessarily have to partake of human blood. It makes me wonder if we could try something less barbaric.

"Perhaps we could let Josie try hunting with me. I do not drink from humans. He may not want to be so animalistic however, if I drain a rabbit we can always freeze it for a human meal at a later date. Josie, would you like to try my way of feeding?" I give Josie a look of delight at the thought of eating.

"I think I should try. It could not hurt. I will say, I surely did not mind draining your rancid father. Although, honestly his blood tasted of rotten flesh. Had he been more appealing, I may have made him suffer more." Josie sends me a wink that I return.

The smile that plays upon my lips is most certainly comforting to our little vampire. I do not need him harboring such unnecessary guilt for ridding the world of a nemesis. The heavens above know that there are plenty more to take out.

Tony surprisingly aggressive to my experiment. With Tony trailing us, Josie takes my hand to go into the forest just outside of our hime. Rabbits are plentiful; a few missing will do nothing to diminish their ever-growing population.

I quickly transform into my feline form with Josie standing beside me. The gleam in his eyes shines with both pride and curiosity. I take off swiftly into the trees, showing off as I jump from tree limb to tree limb in my quest to impress my dear friend.

Looking down on Josie, I let out a feral snarl before launching from the branch beneath my paws. I land lithely on top of a rather large hare, snapping its neck as I sink my incisors into the jugular that had just pulses with life.

I quickly drain the blood from the poor animal knowing that Josie wouldn't want the thing to suffer unnecessarily. When I am finished, I slowly walk my kill to Tony's feet where I gently place the carcass before him.

Under normal circumstances I would devour the flesh. This is not for hunger that I have killed the wildlife creature. I eat regularly. I use this exercise as training to help Josie feel comfortable with an alternate feeding ritual.

Josie stares at me before a rueful smile takes over his lips. I watch in awe as he copies my movements with twice as much speed. He is fluid in motion. His path is but a blur to me it would be invisible to the human eyes. In seconds a second hare is dropped before Tony.

I stare at Josie with pride noticing that he has not one hair out of place. There is no evidence of the blood that he drained in an effort to provide nourishment to his weakened body. If he is this powerful with an empty tank, I imagine him to be a force to be reckoned with when he is full.

"That was spectacular, love." Tony pulls Josie to his arms, kissing him enthusiastically as he praises his beloved.

"Leah, that is much better than human blood." Josie runs his fingers through my fur eliciting a purr to rumble in my chest. I rub my head against his hand as a show of appreciation for his affection.

With nothing more to do in my feline skin, I transform into my human flesh before both Tony and Josie. I am thankful that transforming does not leave us without clothing. The wolves have the issue of nudity. I however have the blessing of modesty. Thank God that the Goddess had mercy in that way. If I were charged with carrying clothes in my small jaw, I would be less inclined to shift so often.

"So, is this a method you would prefer over human blood?" I ask kindly. Josie looks abashed as my question leaves him on the spot.

"Honestly, I don't have an aversion to human blood. The process of attaining it is where I am left with a moral dilemma. This does cure the issue. However, I prefer animal blood because I only want the blood of my loved ones to flow through my veins." Josie's admission is both sweet and concerning.

I feel as though he should have been able to tell us that qualification to start with. We are all so open with communications it worries me that he still does not feel comfortable with telling us his desires and needs. I have been here for far less time. I do not have an issue voicing my needs.

"Josiah, if that is the case, you should have just stated your preference properly. You are under no obligation to put anything into your mouth that you do not find appealing." Tony speaks so factually but it does not stop the laughter from spilling out of my lips. The innuendo is just too amusing not to bring attention to.

"Leah!" Josie giggles out innocently. However, I am hyper aware that he heard exactly what I had. Tony really stuck his foot in his mouth with that.

"You two are impossible." Tony rolls his eyes, letting us see how dramatic he can pretend to be.

"Okay. Okay." Josie's hands come up in a sign of surrender. His little giggles muffle out into small heaving breaths from lack of air.

Tony picks Josie up as we head back to out home. Once inside, I see my mate standing in the kitchen watching us from the window. Without provocation, I head towards him. Christian smiles down on me as I wrap my arms around him. His engulfing hug immediately fills my heart with warmth. My face buries in his chest while his scent surrounds me in peace.

"Did you have a good day?" Christian pulls me towards a chair where he sits down. I take a seat in his lap, nodding my head in response to his question.

"Did you?" My fingers lazily trail up his neck as I relish in the texture of his strands against my flesh.

"I did. I missed you though." Christian's eyes are filled with honesty. I bend down to peck his lips. Christian has other ideas as his tongue finds it's way into my mouth. I moan softly as I turn into his arms to drape my legs over his thighs. This could get out of hand quickly.

When we break away from each other, I whisper the same sentiment. I feel exactly the same as my mate. The days are becoming more involved with thoughts of Christian. I find myself yearning to see him, talk to him when he is not around. It appears to be getting harder to separate him from myself. It's as if we have fallen into a place where his presence is directly related to my happiness.

"We taught Josie how to catch wildlife in lieu of tributes." I give Christian a run down of my day without eluding to the fact that both Tony and I were manipulated by the little angel.

"Josie is too involved with Tony. He would prefer to drink from his beloved over strangers. Tony should know this." Christian looks at the door causing my eyes to follow his line of sight. I am quite surprised to see both Tony and Josie already in the house. I did not even hear them come in. They really are very good at making a quiet entrance.

"We figured that out." Tony runs his hand down his face in exasperation. Josie just shrugs. I imagine Tony should have known that.

"I'm sorry. I guess I should voice my needs better." Josie's voice becomes small as you can feel the disappointment in himself surrounding his being.

"You could but, I admit, if I were paying more attention, I could have drawn the conclusion myself. You didn't do anything wrong, love. I just wish I had caught on earlier. I do not like to think that you are not having all of your needs met. I hate to think that you do not feel comfortable telling me what it is that you desire. We will work on it my sweet Josie." With that, Tony kisses his beloved's lips, drawing a happy smile from Josie.

Christian presses his fingers into my hips before standing me on my own feet. I step to the side so that my mate can stand. Christian wraps his arm around my waist as he pulls me closer. We walk away from the kitchen towards the living room where we situate ourselves into our recliner.

Momentarily, Tony follows us into the family room. He brings Josie to his lap as he occupies their chair. With a click of the remote, we settle into watching a movie.

My heart feels full at the common phenomenon of our new ritual. As the movie plays, I think of how far I have come in such a short amount of time. Christian has made the transition east for me to go from being a nomad feline to a domesticated mate.

If I am being honest, it is becoming very difficult to see a life where our relationship had not existed. Suddenly, I am more than willing to thread the strings of Christian's love into the spaces where I did not know I needed the affection. At the rate this is going, I will find myself knocking down all of the walls that I have carefully built to guard my own heart.

I have to say, the idea seems rather delightful.