I would like to dedicate this chapter to a real awesome account to follow donovanandrea, Mr. Tate rocks!

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After all of the craziness everyone had just experienced, everyone seemed almost as if the air had been let out of them.

Wolves shifted back into their man form, naked as new born babies. Fortunately Scarlett had clothing available, considering her own boyfriend and friends were shifters. It was fairly commonplace.

Rune felt like he'd awoken from a bizarre nightmare. His adrenaline was crashing, leaving him weak, shaky and bone tired. Scarlett had curled up with her head on his shoulder, as he felt her tears soaking his shirt.

"Mama"she whispered in a heartbreaking tone. "I want my mama back! There's so much she wanted me to learn, and...I - I need her! I love her!"

Her lithe body trembled violently against him as she cried for all she was worth. Rune could barely swallow, her pain was contagious. All the fear, pain and sorrow he had held inside for the last day was catching up with him. He wanted to help her. But he couldn't trust his voice right now.

A thought that he had pushed away a thousand times in the ensuing hours, since this began, slowly gnawed it's way to the fore front of his mind. And he could no longer ignore it.

What of his own parents? Did they try to find him? Or had they intentionally let him leave like they had Wren and Hunter? Maybe he'd jumped the gun a bit, but wasn't this the ultimate result? To be introduced to this world and where he fit into it? They had to know. So much more than they had ever even hinted at him. It made no sense. Why keep him in the dark like this? He almost felt as if his own parents had died in a way as well.

Dan and Jessie had went after Red and the black vampire called Jean Luc Benoit. Nathan, Ron, Nya and the building pretending to be another vampire, were talking amongst themselves near the table.

Rune couldn't help but stare at the guy. He was massive! The one who took Scarlett's mother was a big son of a gun, but this dude had to be the biggest, most muscular sucker, literally and figuratively - Rune had ever seen! He had to turn at an angle and duck in order to maneuver doors! At least six feet, seven niches tall. He looked like the biggest N.F.L. player that Rune had ever seen, that is after said player ate the second largest player!

His long black hair was pulled into a ponytail on the upper part, showing a sharp widows peak. The back hung loose and long, in shiny waves down to the middle of his back. A leather tie held the tail back. Rune couldn't guess his nationality. He wore tight, brown leather breeches with matching boots. He had been shirtless when entering, but now was stretching a t-shirt Nya had rustled up from the stuff in the werewolf clothing drawers. It looked pretty damn big, but the sleeves had to be removed in order for him to move about comfortably.

"Aww, shit!," Nathan chuckled. "that there is one of Ron's favorite New Orleans Saints t-shirts! Now the sleeves is gone and it's all stretched to hell!"

"Shut up, Nate!" Nya rolled her eyes. "We sure gotta ton of problems bigger than stretched shirts! Something beyond the beginnings of understandin' is going on round here! Things been the way they been for a very long time in these parts! All of we different ones found our place in this secret world. Nobody was forced to like folks they didn't want to, or unlike someone else that your brothers and sisters didn't like, as long as they brought no harm to the others. And now something is completely awry! The rank Shoemehl's are a large part of it, I am positive, but there is more than just them, of that I am absolutely certain! I think they have recruited more of the underworld and stronger ones at that!"

"Umm, Nya?" Rune quietly inquired.

"Yeah?" Nya scooted across the floor where she had been to where Rune and Scarlett were sitting.

"Umm, how do you know that guy? He is a Vampire, right? I mean, the incredible strength, Extreme speed and agility, as well as the shiny white fangs gave me a pretty good guess. I just need to hear it said out loud I suppose. Maybe to bring true realization to the whole situation, you know?"

"Yes, doll. I know what you mean. I have been like this since I was born, and still there are things that are beyond my comprehension."
Her large liquid brown eyes looked beautiful in the flickering candlelight and Rune wanted to stop comforting Scarlett, and enfold the tiny Nya into his arms instead. To take the comfort she could give, as horrific as he knew it sounded, he couldn't help it. He could use shoulder to cry on himself right now. No matter how much of a sissy he may seem, he felt like he couldn't stay strong much longer.

There were so many pieces that felt broken inside. Like he had been living on a diet of crushed, torn and rusted aluminium cans, and ground up glass. He felt like the biggest asshat, wanting to leave Scarlett to her own devices until her boyfriend returned. But he felt utter madness lurking at the far corners of his mind.

He scratched and scratched at the lacy looking rash that was getting worse and worse.

Nya reached over and rubbed his shoulder not currently occupied by Scarlett and gave him a gentle smile.

"And, by the way," Nya said with the little lopsided grin she had. "Dude over there? He is definitely a Vampire. I met him about five or so years ago. Got caught in an animal trap. Was about to chew my paw off to get away, when this big, burly motherfucker come just a saunterin' through. At first I start snarlin' and tryin' to act like I wasn't gonna be an easy catch. But who'd I think I was kidding? Stuck tight, in pain I ain't felt before nor after, and the dude I assume to be my captor lookin' like he could eat me and the trap!" Here Nya giggled, as she shook her head at the memory.

"As he knelt down beside the trap, me still tryin' to look tough and all, he looked me directly in my eyes, and that's when I caught the scent. I'd been in too much pain to think before, but his gaze mesmerized me, made me relax. So he went and opened that trap like I would open a piece of bubblegum! I thought maybe he was deaf and dumb or couldn't understand my language or something, because he wouldn't answer a single thing I said! Finally, after darned near talking his ear off anyways, he spoke back. He said he had no name he could remember, that he had been buried for a very long time somewhere near the Nile river. Bits and pieces were all he knew. Since escaping from the prison he was confined to for so long, he pretty much stuck to himself. But now he had what he called a "daughter." A young human about nineteen that had escaped from a facility where they took her arm to the elbow and her leg nearly to the hip. She didn't know how to find the place again and when he told her she was free to go, she clung to him like if she let go, gravity no longer existed, and she would forever float in space until she starved. She called him Khan, he knew not why, but he took her to his cave and let her stay.

After rescuing Nya, he took her there as well. The poor girl with the missing limbs was called Iris. She was overprotective of Khan, but soon enjoyed the company Nya provided. Iris was in charge of healing Nya's awful wound. Which confused the hell out of Nya, considering Kahn most certainly knew she was a werewolf. She would heal when the moon shone! Was she his captive or his guest?

She found out that night when she healed. Kahn had wanted to give her time to rest and Iris a little time with another young woman. After she was better, she promised to come visit Iris and Kahn whenever possible. She had grown quite close to the strange duo over time, and her pack too, were fond of the big vampire and the pretty young girl who'd been robbed of her body parts in some hidden facility nearby.

The current plan made in the corner while Rune held Scarlett, was to go to New Orleans and talk to a few Vodou Queens and locate Jean Luc and find out what he had taken Scarlett's mothers corpse for.