Author's Note: This is probably the beginning of the gratuitous sex scenes and unadultered violence. Well, no, not really. Maybe a preview. In this world, there are four types of people. The humans, no powers or furry nights. The Lycanthropes in all their teeth and nails glory. The Vampires and their fanged teeth and porn star poster boy, Cian. And lastly, the Witches who make up psychics, tarot readers, palm readers, and all that other crap and their embodiment of power, Lisa Mayfair.

It took nearly forty minutes and several detours to get to the Menagerie, but they had arrived in one piece. Lucian had taken Zoe, moving as far and as quickly away from Lisa as possible. Lisa, on the other hand, was alone since Cian had immediately been taken off her arm. Alone, Lisa stood outside of the club, recalling the names and faces of the current case.
Several nights ago, children under the ages of fifteen had been sexually assaulted near and around the center of the investigation, the Menagerie. Lycanthropes weren�t known to be sexual predators, only if they were recently tagged lycanthropes, either by pure accident, getting the wrong anti-serum, or stupidly getting into a fight with a lycanthrope. Most of the suspects that fell into that category were teenagers and young adults. Usually by the time they had reached adulthood, they infinitely knew better. Living in a semi, holier-than-thou era, sexual abuse was not tolerated along with underage drinking, substance abuse, and sex, whether consensual or not, and it was up to the Knights of the Order to uphold the ways of God.
For the past few nights, Lisa and Lucian had gathered at least twenty new lycanthropes that ranged from either werewolf, were-leopard, or were-tiger. Because most of the attacks involved teeth and claws and semen, all female suspects were immediately let go. Unless of course, by show of numerous tests that a few of the women were really men or...hermaphrodites. Each suspect had an alibi, but there were a few who were quite questionable. Maybe the Cardinal was being haggled by the media to come up with a scapegoat. Or maybe the Cardinal and others like him, who were accused of sexually assaulting altar boys several years ago, wanted the case closed as soon as possible. They didn�t want the supreme court to open the case on them again, did they?
Lisa sighed and dug into her pockets for her license. Aside from being an ID, it also showed her occupation as well as rank in the society. She had top honors, sitting pretty as the last Mayfair Witch, a woman who could do anything she damn-well pleased. She was also a Knight, someone to be feared, someone that could walk into a twenty-one and over bar and not be carded or required to pay the cover fee, and someone who could easily execute you if she found probable cause. She was let in without a hitch.
There was some kind of sound barrier that prevented whatever noise inside from getting out. The moment she entered the Menagerie, she was bombarded by motion, sound, and visuals that would leave any sober person feeling drunk and drugged. She staggered to the nearest wall and waited until her senses absorbed the sensory overload and she could think clearly again. She turned in a slow circle and began to assess her surroundings.
She stood in the short walkway that was the only public exit and entrance to the inside. The entire ground-level was the MC booth and dance-floor with cages hanging by thick chains over the dancers. Unlike normal dance clubs, like the club�s name, there were animals in the cages for everyone to see, rather than dancers. Of course, to any human it would seem they were tame, but if one looked closely into the animal�s eyes, they would see human intelligence. The second floor was the bar where tables were scattered across teetering walkways and set precariously close to stairs, all the while having a thin, nylon rope their only grip in case they fell. Of course, everyone inside was a lycanthrope so no one would get hurt too seriously. The third floor was VIP only. She could easily get in using force and her reputation, but she knew she wouldn�t get the answers she needed.
She sauntered around the dance floor, eyes meeting every lycanthrope that crossed her path. She made two revolutions around the floor and couldn�t find Lucian or Zoe. With her luck, Cian was probably on the third floor, starting an all-night orgy. She moved up towards the second floor, catching Zoe standing by the bar and Lucian pressing close to two men, not in an intimate manner, but of one who was bringing fear. Comforted that her brother was already at work, she looked up towards the stairs that led to the roof, the VIP section, also known as No Man�s Land. She had no other choice. Her brother held fear over everyone�s head and all she had was her name.
Lisa flashed her ID to the bodyguard and instead of asking questions, the man all but scampered away in fright. She walked the short flight up, wary that everyone by the door was looking at her with either absolute fear or loathing. She ignored them and knocked once. Well, she didn�t necessarily knock, more like punched her fist into the door, letting it resound like a bomb going off. So she had her name. And her power to back her.
The door opened slowly, like a scene from a B-rate monster film. She almost imagined her vision to go to black and white and she, being the fearless heroine, would be face to face with the owner of the Menagerie. She would walk up those last few inches and be in the room, eyes slowly moving over the floor as she saw couples, some locked in an intimate brace, others naked and joined in erotic positions. Her eyes would suddenly look upon Garret Marsden, a were-hyena, and she would give him her best glare. Then she would speak and all hell would break loose.
Instead, she was staring at Cian who was lying on his back, legs spread wide open and several men and women crawling over him, touching him, kissing him, lust in their eyes and mouths open and salivating at the sight of Cian�s generously proportioned appendage. Lisa herself caught her eyes drifting towards Cian�s member and it gave her both a thrill and a pleasurable shock to find that he was indeed a man of colossal size. Then, slowly, but surely, one of the men put his mouth over Cian�s cock and began to suck him off. She heard Cian�s guttural groans of ecstasy and couldn�t turn away as one woman had taken Cian�s hand and slid it down between her legs. The other women began to touch themselves as they moved their lips over Cian�s chest, over his face, and lower to take part in the action. She almost expected to see a camera somewhere, but she was frozen, stuck watching as Cian was made the epicenter of the orgy. She couldn�t speak in what she thought was a millennia until something that sounded like a choked-back sob escaped her lips. Cian suddenly lifted his head and he stared at Lisa across the room, eyes wide as if his hand had been caught in the proverbial cookie jar.
�Lisa...I can explain.�
As if a switch had been thrown, everything stopped and the men and women turned their sights on Lisa. Each one made noises, each one succinct, each one belonging to their own species. They moved away from the vampire slowly, hissing, growling, until they made a semi-circle in front of Lisa, angry that they had interrupted their mating frenzy. Shaking her head, Lisa reached over and shut the door, shaken and stirred.
She climbed down the steps, wondering why she felt betrayed, why she felt so damn jealous. She had met him only earlier tonight and she was acting like the jealous girlfriend. It didn�t matter to her what he did with his body, but did he have to flaunt it wherever he went? Maybe she felt this way because of the look he had given her in Lucian�s car? For one foolish moment, she actually bought into the bullshit the vampire was giving her. What was with that stare he was giving her? What the hell was she thinking, believing the intentions of a vampire who sidelined as an adult film star?
She leaned over the nylon rope, looking down at the dance floor. If she hadn�t been staring downwards, she would have missed several of the faces she knew were the suspects in her case. She began to weave her way through the crowds, roughly pushing, sometimes being pushed back, and making her way down to the ground level. She got a few steps onto the dance floor when something got into her way. She wasn�t paying much attention to the figure, only that she had to talk to the group of lycanthropes that were making their way to the center floor, an obvious place for a group that large to hide. She wanted to push the figure aside, but hands grabbed at her and she was face to face, once again, with the vampire.
�What are you doing?� Lisa demanded of Cian. �I just found my suspects and I have to talk to them.�
�They can wait.� Cian whisper-shouted over the music.
Lisa struggled harder. �No, they can�t. Once they catch wind that me or Lucian are here, then they�ll run.�
�I promise they won�t get away from you.�
Instantly reminded of the promise he had spoken to her in the car, she spat back at him. �Fuck your promises. Now, let me go.�
�If you would just listen to me!� Cian shouted.
�I don�t have to listen to you!� Lisa screamed. �I don�t owe any obligation to you. I don�t owe you shit. I don�t care what you do with your body or with whom as long as I�m not involved.�
�And if you are?� Asked the vampire. �If you are involved with me, would you care?�
She would have liked to say no, but he had that look in his eyes. The look that was so utterly human, vulnerable, as if her rejection would break him. She turned away from his eyes, trying to change the subject or avoid it altogether. But he held her, shook her so that she had to look at him again, had to answer. But from the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of recognition in her suspect�s eye and he ran. She tried to run after him, but Cian held on strong.
�Answer me, then I�ll let you go.�
�I don�t have time for this!�
�You�ll make time.� Cian said gravely. �Or else you lose him indefinitely.�
�Maybe.� Lisa said hastily, hoping to wrap it up as quickly as possible.
�Maybe what?�
Lisa let out a loud sigh of frustration. �If you and I were involved, maybe I�d care. But right now, I care more about catching my suspect.�
�Stay here.� Cian ordered her. �I�ll get him.�
�Cian!� Lisa shouted, but he was already gone from her sight. Swearing under her breath and knowing better than to get between two powerful species, she stayed where she was, cursing from what she had said earlier. Did she really mean what she said? Would she care about him if they were romantically involved. How could she get involved with a porn star? Him having sex with men and women for a living, showing off his dick to everyone, anyone, anytime. She worrying if he had children, somewhere, out there, or him having a sexually transmitted disease, which was rare. Could she really compete with money-paid plastic dolls who were literally painted up and sculpted to look perfect? She was nothing but a human with a powerful family name. Sure, she could use a glamour like vampires, but deep down inside, she was plain Lisa Mayfair.
Ten minutes passed and Lisa was sure Cian had her suspect and was probably screwing him to get the information she needed. She couldn�t help that with every thought she had of Cian, it always ended up in sex. A part of her seriously wondered that if she did start a relationship with Cian, would their only connection be sex? The thought somehow saddened her and she found that though Cian was a very handsome man, she wanted more than his body. She wanted his mind, his soul, his love. Something that could, hypothetically speaking, be given once in a vampire�s entire existence.
Another five minutes passed until Lucian found her, still standing where Cian had left her. Most of the party-goers were gone, a few still gyrating and moving in frenzied rhythms. Zoe�s eyes looked bloodshot, as if she had been drinking, but she claimed she was just tired. Lucian didn�t look too happy. The men he had spoken too were clean, no scent of blood, too scared to change or fight, and generally not the type to go for young children. As for the vampire? Lisa still couldn�t say.
�Sorry I�m late.�
Lisa turned and there was something like relief in her eyes. Thankfully, she had turned her back to her brother whose only response was a guttural growl. Zoe, on the other hand, was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open and didn�t comment on her brother�s appearance. Cian, however, had a bloody lip, his shirt torn on the hem, and his long hair was mussed, as if he had been struggling. He was holding Lisa�s suspect by a broken arm and gripped it slightly to let her know that the man was still alive.
�We had a bit of a fight, but he�s confessed to the attacks.� Cian said.
�Are you sure you didn�t try to fuck him?� Lucian sneered.
Lisa shot her brother a look. He held shrugged and followed his sister�s motion to take the man. She stepped towards Cian and touched the sliver of blood that slowly made its way to his chin. She wiped it off with a single swipe of her finger and cleaned it on her pant leg. For some odd reason, he looked so much more human, beaten and bloodied. She shook her head in a placating manner.
�I thought you were suppose to be invincible.�
�I am.� Cian answered. �I just wanted to prove that I�m not a complete pretty boy. I can get messy and get my ass kicked like anyone else. I don�t want you to think that I can�t handle myself and would always have to ask you or your brother for help.�
Lisa crossed her arms, intrigued. �Now why would you care what I think?�
�You have more of an influence on me than you think.� He leaned closer, trapping Lisa�s crossed arms between them. �I would do anything to make you happy. I would change my entire life if you demanded it of me. I would give up everything for you.�
�That�s a lot of things to give up for someone you hardly know.� Lisa replied, trying to turn away from him. He had moved so that he was still in her sights. He was almost on his knees as he looked up at her, his arms around her waist, his face close to her stomach.
�It pales in comparison in what I can gain with you.�
Suddenly, she was angry. She pushed him away and tried to run, feeling him close behind her before she could get far enough away to create a psychic shield. She felt his fingers on her back before he pushed her against the wall and turned her to face him, holding her arms above her head while he snarled at her.
�What?� He demanded. �What did I say to piss you off?�
�You�d give up everything for me just so you can gain power. Isn�t that right?� Lisa asked, knowing it was futile to struggle. She fought him anyway, but deep in her mind, she knew he wouldn�t hurt her. �You just want me because of my family name. We are not slaves nor conductors of power. We are power! You can�t hoard it or sell it, it comes directly from our soul, through our blood. It courses through us, through every inch of muscle and nerve. When we die, the power dies with us and you can�t have it.�
�Is that what you think I want?� Cian asked. He released her so suddenly that she almost welcomed back his aggressiveness. �If I wanted that I could have taken it before your family was executed. I would have someone to share this cursed existence with. I would have you and I wouldn�t need anything else, not money, not fame, not even a name. I would have you and that is all that would matter to me.�
Lisa spun around, intending to drop the subject. �You talk pretty for a man of your status. Like I can believe what a porn star says?�
Cian grabbed her hair with enough force to make her scream. Instead he pushed her against the wall again, pinning his body against hers, making her feel the evidence of his arousal. �If there is one thing that you can truly believe, the one thing that can make me seem genuine, is the truths that I speak. Ask anyone in my line of work, ask those who have known me since I was a fledgling vampire, ask Zoe, ask anyone and they will tell you that I have never lied to anyone in my entire life. And I tell you now that I am in love with you.�