The Breed

By Dream Janus

Disclaimer:  All rights are protected and the story cannot be reproduced without permission.

This story is a work of fiction and contains scenes of gay sex between consenting individuals.  If you find this offensive, are under the age of 18, it is illegal wherever you are to read this, stop reading now. Leave this site. If you are offended by harsh language, please exit this page immediately.  You have been warned. This work of fiction is property of myself and may not be copied or used in any way without my express consent.

Much thanks and appreciation goes to AHH, my editor and second set of eyes.

Note from Dream Janus: I received a couple emails from readers that are a bit confused about character references. Namely Ray and Toban...They are the same person.

Ray is his everyday name... the name he uses at school, around humans and family.

Toban is his Clan/Breed name...the name that he uses when dealing with people who are vampires, werewolves, werebears, ghouls and so forth.

Chapter 6 "Family Problems"

  The summer sun woke Ray slowly, a hand was a few inches from his hard dick, and it was resting on his hard washboard abs. He smiled when he realized it was Rex's hand. Ray then took an accounting of his own hands and found the right one under George's head, the left one was resting nestled in George's thick dark brown chest hair. Ray moved his hand slowly rolling it in the thick nest of hair on the massive pectoral muscles that made up George's chest.

  Ray enjoyed the feeling of being between the men. The only problem was even after the six months they had been together in this unique family situation; though he knew he loved both of them; Ray was not sure which of the brothers he loved as a mate, a consort, a Zomé. George was true to his word and had not touched him sexually but the hugs, kisses and the touches were electric and drew Ray into a world of emotions that no one else ever had, even Tommy. Rex at the time was equally attentive and gave to Ray without expecting anything in return. Ray made sure to take Rex's feelings and needs into consideration the few times that they had sex, but even then Rex acted like he did not deserve the attention.

  Today was Friday; usually a lazy day until the evening, but today was very different; it was Ray's 15^th birthday. To keep the peace and secrets, Ray had to have four different parties. The first party was with friends from school at the mall. The second was "a family" party that included Paul, Paula, his bitch daughter, as well as the family, but not George or Rex. The third party was for his breed friends and the last party was for his club friends. Ten, three, eight and eleven were the times they were scheduled.

  Ray sighed as he already knew that Sunday and Monday were already screwed up. He knew that he was expected to stay overnight at his mother and Paul's house from Sunday morning until Monday afternoon. Ray was glad for the opportunity to see his younger sister Valen and brother Toby, who he had not seen in months. His only connection to his life was going to be his laptop and his cell phone, and even then Paul would try to keep that to a bare minimum.

  George growled softly and grasped Ray's hand; he brought it to his mouth and kissed it gently. He then began to nibble on each of the fingers. George then slowly began to sit up. "I got to go to the bathroom."

  Ray giggled softly so not to wake Rex. "That is sure a mood breaker."

  George chuckled but stood and pulled on a pair of shorts and then headed for the door. His bladder could not be denied.

  Once he was in the hall, George came face to face with both Gene and Iris. George nodded to them as he headed to the restroom. When he was done, he noticed that they were both waiting in the dining room looking in his direction. He nodded again and walked into the dining room. He knew they needed to talk.

  "George, today's family party is going to be trouble in the making. Paul thinks he runs something. Even though he says he doesn't want "non family", I want one or both of you within hearing distance of the party at all times," Iris instructed. She knew that she no longer had any real power to make it an order, but she also knew that he cared for her grandson and with Antino's order, George could find a loophole around anything that needed to be dealt with.

  George smiled mischievously, "I already planned to do just that." He then sat down at the dining room table. "Ray already knows that I am going to be hiding in the bedroom." He then sighed. "We're even going to be on call if he needs us on Sunday or Monday."

  Iris and Gene both grimaced at the idea that Ray may need to be extracted from Paul's and Paula's clutches. The reality of course was that it was a very good possibility. The other possibility was that a clean up crew would have to be called in and clean up the mess of Ray, George or Rex getting very mad.

Iris knew that Ray's training was about the change gears and become more practical with less studying. Antino would give him more responsibilities to further his training, but also give him more people to buffer him. He would also earn greater respect in the conclave.

"Well, I see you got kidnapped," Ray said sticking his head into the dinning room. He then giggled and walked back into his room saying, "Found him."

The Mall party was lively and loud, the boys took over two tables at the food court. Ray noticed Mike hanging back from all the activities, but would plaster a quick smile on his face whenever someone looked his direction. That became more than a curiosity to Ray. Ray felt a deep sadness flowing from Mike, that when he snapped the smile up again Ray winked and shook his head, Mike's smile faltered.

[Mike is hiding something,] Ray projected to Rex.

Rex nodded and then handed Ray his first present. Over the next twenty minutes, Ray opened the presents from his friends. Ray received a couple music CD's that he wanted and couple video games that he also wanted. The present from Mike was a homemade birthday card. Ray smiled when he read the card, as it had a good joke in it.

Mike blushed because he felt his gift was so lame. He just knew that Ray was only being kind to him and only was acting that way not to hurt his feelings. Mike felt that he was worthless, just like his parents had told him. Now even Ray knew he how bad of a person he was.

Ray's face flashed several emotions as he felt the sadness and self doubt flow from Mike. "I have to put a stop to his sadness," Ray thought. Then he had an idea, "Mike, can you give me a hand? I left something in the car."

[Talk], Ray projected to both George and Rex. George then tossed Ray him the keys to the car. Ray smiled and nodded to both of them. [Give me about fifteen or twenty minutes].

Both Rex and George nodded and then turned back to the other boys and acted like nothing was going on. Rex knew most of the boys so starting a conversation was not a problem. The other boys accepted the explanation as a fact with only a minor mental push from Ray.

Mike bowed his head the moment they were out of sight of the other boys. He felt this was Ray's way of telling him he no longer wanted to be friends because of his shitty gift. Mike was surprised when Ray instead playfully bumped into him and smiled.

"I know something is wrong," Ray said simply. "You can talk to me."

"My gift was shit!" Mike blurted out, blushing with frustration.

"It came from your heart and that was all that matters to me" Ray began. "The other guys spent maybe five minutes picking my gift out, you had to have spent at least twenty."

Mike blushed even deeper, he had spent over an hour making the card, but he understood what Ray meant. He didn't have the money to spend on any CD's or video games but Ray had been the best friend he had and they just were not personal enough for that. He felt the need to try and express that feeling without going and getting girlly about it.

Ray smiled as he realized that one small problem had been taken care of, but he realized as they reached the car, that Mike had been faking happiness before the gifts were given. "So what had you bummed out before that, Bud?"

"Trouble with my parents," Mike said very softly. "They hate me." Mike felt tears welling up in his eyes and fought the feeling. "I am an embarrassment to them. I am not a jock like my brother or popular like my sister, I am weak." Then Mike began to cry softly.

Ray quickly got Mike into the car. He felt he knew the direction this conversation was heading but he didn't want to push Mike or chance being wrong and scare off a friend. "There is something else isn't there?" Ray said softly, "kind of like a secret that you are trying to keep from everyone?"  

Mike looked horrorstruck and the color drained from his face. He hid his mouth with his hands. His brain was terrified of what Ray would now do, now that he had figured it, but had he really figured it out or was he guessing. What was he going to say?

Ray smiled and quietly said, "Dude, you and I are friends, if you got a secret that is fine, it doesn't change the fact that we are friends." He then laughed, "Who the hell says I don't have a few secrets of my own, that may be even juicier than yours?"

"Even if I might be gay?" Mike whispered with his head down and his eyes filled with tears. He was ready to bolt out of the car at a moments notice or even try to fight, if he had to against the much bigger boy. Mike's eyes flew up at the sound of Ray laughing.

"Welcome to the crowd, Dude," Ray explained quickly before Mike thought he was laughing at him. Ray then pulled him into a friendly hug. He then ruffled Mike's hair. "So are George and Rex, by the way," Ray announced when he noticed that the brothers were several feet away trying not to be obvious. He then motioned them over to the car.

"If you need any of us for anything day or night, call us. If you can't call come to my grandparents or the club," Ray said staring directly into Mike's eyes. "I don't want to hear anything about `no money' either," he smirked knowingly. "I will pay for a cab if I have to." Then he glared in a very convincing manner, "UNDERSTAND!"

"Yes, Ray," Mike said sheepishly.

"Good, you're family and family takes care of its own," Ray said with a bit of a growl in his voice.

Ray and George heard the last bit and understood immediately that they now were to take care of Mike as a member of the family as well. Both of them smiled and then started playfully manhandling Mike as they got in the car. At first Mike did not know what to think, but quickly he realized they were playing with him and he took the opportunity to grab a few quick feels on the muscles of both George and Rex. Ray jumped into the back seat of the car to avoid being squashed in the middle of the three others. Eventually Mike was settled in the middle of the front seat with a hand on one of George's legs and one of Rex's legs and each of them claimed their own leg from Mike. Needless to say, Mike was in Heaven and Ray had the giggles.

Mike's house was very small and needing painting very badly. The yard looked like his father used it to store spare car and motorcycle parts in random order all over it. The sound of loud hard rock music could be heard half a block away. As they approached, Mike's demeanor changed, he removed his hands from both George's and Rex's legs; lost the smile and tensed up.

When the car stopped at the curb Mike's father walked out of the attached garage wiping his hands on an oily rag. The man looked like the typical example of a bad biker, greasy hair in a bandana, bad teeth, nasty smirk, muscles and leather. The smirk turned into a scowl when he saw Mike.

George, Rex and Ray all got out of the car to show Mike their support and show his father their combined size. The man noticed George's size with a double take and also noticed that Rex and Ray were buddies of Mike's. They all shook Mike's hand in a very manly fashion, but added a hidden wink. Ray whispered, "You better remember." And then they let him go. They watched as he headed into the house, but their awareness was actually on Mike's father.

The Family Party was a different situation. George and a stash of food were hidden in Ray's bedroom; Rex and a similar stash of food were also hidden on the roof of the house. When Rosann's car pulled into the driveway Ray was filled with a mixture of dread and excitement. Dread at having to see Paul and his bitch of a daughter Paula and excitement about seeing his mother and little sister and brother.

The moment the car stopped both Valen and Toby launched from the car and ran into Ray's arms. The three of them giggled and laughed as Ray hugged his much smaller brother and sister to him and twirled around. They both landed very wet kisses on a cheek and said in stereo, "We miss you."

"That is enough of that Bullshit!" Paul snapped as he stepped out of the car.

"This is my property and they are grandchildren." Iris said from behind Ray. "They may greet each other as they see fit." She then glared at Paul, "and if you don't like it you may leave!" She then continued without giving Paul a chance to respond. "If you want a say in the matter, marry my daughter and then maybe you will have one, MAY-BE!" She then took her younger grandchildren from Ray and walked into the house.

Paul was now furious; the old bitch had usurped his authority to not only the two small brats but with the older one too, as well as showed him up to his own daughter. That was not going to fly. He had to figure some way of getting her back. He could not let this lay; it was bad enough that he could no longer punish the boy for being a smartass, but a smart ass old woman, that just would not fly. "Oh well time to put on the face to get this over with," Paul thought.

Paula climbed out of the car. She did not want to be here any more than her dad did; but she had to show support to him. That way she could disappear tonight and not have to worry about making up a lie. The biggest lie Paula had told her father was that she was still a virgin, that had been lost when she was eleven, she was fourteen now. Ray and her father bumped heads all the time, but Paula liked to look at him at least.

In the dining room, Gene was watching the television with Valen and Toby when Rosann finally entered the room carrying Ray's present. Ray had already decided that he was going to veil his true emotions about the present and appear to like it regardless of what he really felt about it. When he noticed that the box was thin and long, he immediately figured that it was most likely a shirt or a pair of pants.

Iris came out of the Kitchen carrying a chocolate cake. Ray immediately knew that it was double fudge chocolate pudding filled cake, his favorite. As was tradition in the family, Ray cut the cake. He made two small pieces especially for his brother and sister and then a larger piece of himself; he then served them on to plates and left the rest of the cake for the others.

[Save two pieces] Ray projected to Rosann, Iris and Gene at the same time. All three of them nodded.

"Now it's time to open presents," Rosann announced after everyone had finished their cake.

"Ours furst," squealed Valen.

Ray chuckled at her excitement and reached for the box.

"There are two gifts in the box," Rosann explained. "You should be able to guess which came from them."

Ray opened the gift and was greeted by a pair of SpongeBob Square pants boxers in his size and a dress shirt also in his size. He burst out laughing and held up the boxers for his grandparents to be able to see. He then said, "They are just what I always wanted"

Everyone in the room, except Valen and Toby burst out laughing.

The next present was from Iris and Gene, It was a new hand tooled leather wallet. The wallet was had no designs or other markings on it, but was definitely expensively made. [Look inside later] Iris projected.

Ray smiled said, "Thanks everyone"

Everyone gave the customary "You're welcome," some more heartfelt than others.

Ray felt now was the best time to get what was on his mind out and over with so "What all do I need to pack for Sunday?" He already knew that he was going to take his cell phone and laptop regardless of whatever else, but he had to appear as if he was bowing to Paul's authority, at least right now.

"A couple changes of clothes and toiletries," Paul said. "My mother expects you at church on Sunday night." A smirk appeared on his face.

"No problem," Ray said softly. "Remember I have `class' Monday evening so I have to be back by 6 pm."

"Yeah, yeah," Paul said with annoyance in his voice, "We'll have ya' back by then."

"I have a couple assignments that I have to work on, so I have to bring my laptop with me," Ray said giving his mother a purposeful look. [I am also bringing my cell phone in case he decides to be an ass.] He paused to collect his thoughts. [I will not allow him to raise a hand to me at all.]

Rosann nodded solemnly. She realized that her son now had the ability and right to not only defend himself but to kill Paul and Paula if they deserved it. She also realized that if she did not protect Valen and Toby from Paul and Paula's abuse, Ray could and probably would bring charges against her directly to Antino. Rosann finally realized her son was developing into a powerful and powerfully connected Shadow Lord.  

Thirty minutes later, the party was over and Paul, Paula, Rosann, Valen and Toby were in the car and headed down the street. George and Rex were no longer hiding and were enjoying their pieces of Ray's birthday cake. Ray took the time to investigate the contents of his new wallet. It contained a fifty dollar bill, a debit credit card and a calling card.

"The debit card is a pre-paid card, so you can add money at any time," Iris explained. "It has another $50 on it now." She then pointed to the calling card. "That is in case you ever get separated from your cell phone and need to make a phone call, it is billed to the house phone," She was quickly hugged.

Ray understood that the contents of his wallet were more or less an emergency kit and he intended to treat them as such. If and when he had to use part of it he would replace it as soon as possible, even paying back the house phone for any phone calls. Ray put his wallet in his back pocket and broke into a big smile.

The restaurant had its lights on. This actually surprised Ray; he had never seen the place looking like people were expected to go inside. That is exactly what George and Rex led Ray to do. They went inside the front door. It actually smelt like food was being cooked in the back. The smiles on George's and Rex's faces told Ray he was showing his shock and that indeed there was food being prepared in the back.

There in the center of the restaurant were several tables pushed together and draped with blood red table clothes. George noticed that the table already had people seated and took it upon him to make introductions.

The first was furious man with reddish brown hair that seemed to cover most of his body. "This is Darius, Leader of the wolf clan," George announced. The man made sniffing noise at Ray and then turned away from him, it was just short of disrespectful.

The next man needed no introduction to Ray; it was Nigel Fer'il, the present `King' of the bear clans. He and Ray glared at each other but both remained silent for the moment. Ray had been warned that this party would be as much a diplomatic party for him as a birthday party.

The next man was evidently a Lasan De'nan host as his skin was deeply blue. This surprised Ray as he had never seen one with such a dark blue coloring. The man smiled when he was not introduced by a very perplexed George and introduced himself, "I am Joshua Dal`gen'gel`na." He continued to smile and held Ray's hand, {we can communicate through touch, I am the leader of the symbiotic council, and my symbiots are very old.} He then spoke verbally, "They are almost as old as Antino."  

The last was a very delicate looking man with fine features and soft looking skin. He stood and rushed over to Ray and shook his hand. "Oh, I am so glad to meet you finally, my name is Harold Walert, but you can call me Harry." He said in an almost breathless way. "I am in charge of the clean up and disposal of leftovers and the undesirables." He then paused, "I am a ghoul."

Ray smiled and almost laughed at Harry, the man was so animated and active. He never stopped moving for more than a few moments. Harry affixed himself to Ray's left arm and directed him to the first chair on the left at the head of the table. He then promptly sat down beside him. Ray noticed that Harry began to pat his hand.

"It is so good to meet you," Harry gushed. "Antino and Elzabeth have spoken so highly of you recently, it is almost like I know you." He continued to pat Ray's hand. "Tonight is such a big night for you," he tittered. "And you don't even know how big," Harry gushed.

"Now Harold," Antino's voice came from a near by shadow. "No giving away surprises." At that moment Antino, Elzabeth and Charlett stepped out of the shadow and became fully visible. Charlett's eyes went from their almost black color to red and back to black. "Charlett's ability to blend into the shadows themselves has its advantages," Antino said with a slight chuckle. "Now if everyone would take their seats please."

At that moment a dark whirlwind formed behind the chair on the other side of Harry. It formed and dissipated within a few seconds. When it disappeared, Jeremiah stood in it place, not a hair out of place. He was wearing suit, an actual man's suit, Ray was shocked and honored. Jeremiah smiled and sat down.

[I am honored, Lord Jeremiah], Ray projected with a great smile.

[You beta be suga, it is a one time thing], Jeremiah smiled, [Tonight's extra special.]

"Tonight is a very special night for our young Lord Toban," Antino began.

"I beg to differ" Nigel interrupted with bit of a laugh. "Young Toban may be having a birthday today, but he has no right to be called a Lord."

Elzabeth stood to her feet, her ample breasts bouncing, her face contorting in rage, she sputtered in fury, "How dare you?"

"Peace, Mother," Antino said softly, his voice in deadly calm. "He speaks in ignorance as well as lack of proper Conclave manners." Antino was silent as Elzabeth sat down. "Plus, he forgets that Toban is my protégé, and he not only disrespects Toban, but me as well!"

"I beg to differ with your knowledge, Nigel," Antino said with a cold vindictive smile. He then turned back to Elzabeth. "Mother, do you think that it is time for young Toban's gift?"

Elzabeth glared at Nigel and then smiled at Antino. She stood up and looked at Ray. "Stand up child, this here is important shit." She said with a girlish giggle.

Ray stood with a confused look on his face. Elzabeth walked over to him and smiled as they looked into each other eyes. Elzabeth removed a small black box from a between her breasts. She opened it without a word and removed a small pin. The pin was a stylized capitalized L made of platinum with silver capitalized S intertwined within. Elzabeth pinned it to his shirt and kissed Ray on the forehead. That very act showed she accepted him as Shadow Lord.

"Now Lord Nigel, I expect one of three things to happen now." Antino said with a slight growl. "You will apologize to Lord Toban or Lord Toban will fry your brain as you deserve or you will leave my table..."

Nigel glared at Toban, Elzabeth and then Antino. He had no intentions of apologize to Ray.

Ray was furious, he allowed his old fury to surface. His eyes began to darken and blacken even the whites darkened. The darkness began to glow with the hatred. " [Oh please, let me kill him,]" Ray growled both speaking and projecting his thoughts to everyone in the room. The pure hatred was known to one and all as it piggy backed the thought projection from Ray.  He stood; glared and open mouth growled at Nigel, all four of his sharp canine teeth were exposed.

Ray smiled evilly, [I have learned a lot!], Ray thought projected directly at Nigel. He then laughed as Nigel's head snapped back with the impact of the projection. Ray's eyes gleamed when he noticed blood coming from Nigel's nose.

Nigel stood and walked quickly out of the restaurant. He withdrew a silk handkerchief from his suit pocket and dabbed at his nose. To fight this would only seal his death warrant and open channels for his enemies to take over the Bear Clan. "That mutt will get his!" thought Nigel as he reached his car, an instant later, he felt a hand clutch his heart, then a thought [I learned a lot] filled his mind as he passed out.

Ray calmed down for a few moments. "I am sorry everyone, I should not have lost control."

"Lost control?" Antino questioned. "I would have popped his head like a pimple if it were me." He then laughed.

"Indeed you showed great restraint" responded Darius softly a small smile escaped his lips. "You have a nice set of canines for such a mixed breed."

For an instant Ray was not sure if that was intended to be a compliment or not, but he realized that it was and smiled. "Thank you."

"Now my gifts next," Antino said with a snap of his finger. Almost immediately, three familiar looking human servants walked up. The first was a blonde woman carrying a folder. The second was a blonde man carrying a small box. The last was a brown-haired boy.

 "Sheila," Antino said motioning for the blonde. He took the folder from the blonde. "Every Lord should know about their past and where they come from," Antino said almost absent mindly. "You, my young lord have never known anything about your biological father thanks to your mother's lack of personal self assurance," he said with a slight nod. "I am about to correct that issue."

Antino then opened the file and read from it, "Toban McFearsome, Genetic profile: Matriarchal: ½ Bear, ¼ Wolf, ¼ Human. Patriarchal: ½ Ghoul, ½ Human.  Toban Profile: ¼ Bear, ¼ Ghoul, 1/8 Bear, 3/8 Human. The subject is classified as half breed at 5/8 mixed-breed blood." Antino sighed. "Well, Well, Well..."

Antino smiled and slid the file over to Ray. "Another item that was the reason Nigel was pissed tonight." He then realized that Ray did not understand. "Please explain Darius."

"Of course Antino," Darius said softly. "As a person who has blood of a breed equal to or more than fifty percent breed, each race has a responsibility to your life." He paused. "The more blood of the race, the more responsibility they carry." He then smiled. "Nigel is pissed because he had the responsibility to have this test done years ago and didn't have it done and now he has to pay triple for it."

"If I had known about you," Harry interrupted. "We would have taken care of you."

"As it is," Darius continued. "Each of us is responsible to you financially for past payments that should have been made." He then snapped his fingers and a young woman with a check. "Because your grandfather was of regular blood we owe you for fifteen years of back pay for a 1/8 child, that is $54,000 and $300 month.

"Antino said since I didn't know about you until now, we shouldn't be punished," Harry said softly. "He said we could just start paying $500 monthly, we didn't think that was fair." He then paused. "The ghoul council decided that we felt three years of back pay and the gift of our 1323 Network property." Harry then pulled a check from his shirt pocket, "$18,000 plus of course $500 a month."

"The Bears left their check with me," Antino said with an evil grin. "Because of his lack of concern for your well being, I punished them by charging them 3 times the amount due," Antino hand the check to Ray. "It is for four million and fifty thousand." Antino smiled benignly. "Of course a Lord, who knows his past and has money to maintain his present situation in life, must choose to invest and invest wisely." He then turned slightly toward the blonde man behind him, "Thomas."

The blonde man approached carrying the small box. He bowed and handed the box gently to Ray. Thomas made sure not to touch Ray in any way. He then walked backward away from Ray. He kept his eyes on the floor as he went.

Ray opened the box, inside was platinum Visa credit card. Ray looked shocked and then looked at Antino. He was beyond shocked at this point. The feeling of contentment soon replaced the shock as a pair of arms wrapped around him and he felt the shock drain. It took a moment to realize that Elzabeth had stood up and hugged him.

"Every member of the Shadow Council gets a platinum card" Antino explained. "You are presently an initiate member of the Council." He smiled and then nodded to Elzabeth.

"Child, you is to come with Mama Wednesday to meet the rest of the Council," She said softly and then hugged him again.

"Yes, Mother," Ray responded.

Elzabeth sat back down and then snapped her fingers. Almost immediately, several servants appeared and brought everyone at the table blood-laced drinks. Elzabeth, Antino and Ray each received Bloody Janes; Harry received a Zombie, Jeremiah received a Cosmo, Darius received a Hair of the Dog, George and Rex received bloody screwdrivers. Elzabeth smacked her lips loudly as she brought the drink to her lips.

"Every lord that has his past in order and has his money invested wisely," Antino began again, "must have two other things; first their own home and their own servants to take care of them and their home." He then turned to the boy and waved him over.

The boy noticeably shook as he walked toward Ray. His eyes personified fear but they were locked on Ray's as resolutely moved into arms reach. "I am Davey, My mommy and daddy sent me here to rep'sent them. We is your new serve'nts if you want us to be. We live at your house."

Ray reached out and touched Davey with a calming influence. Davey's shaking slowed and stopped. "It's ok Davey, Don't be scared, and don't worry." Davey relaxed at that point and breathed deeply.

Ray turned to Antino, "Please explain".

"Your new house is at 6745 Hillock Ave." Antino began, "The house was once owned by a not so nice vampire, who would punish his servants by sending away [eating] Davey's siblings. Davey is the last child of his family." Antino continued to speak one conversation and at the same time thought transferred another one. "The bad vampire sold me his house and Davey came to make sure his family was wanted by you." [When I found out what he was doing, he was brought up on charges and destroyed. Davey was sent to make sure his family was wanted by you] 

Ray realized that the dual conversation was for Davey's comfort more so than anything else. He then turned to Davey and winked, "I want to tell you a secret, Davey." He then leaned in and whispered in the boy's ear. "You can tell your mommy and daddy this, I am not a vampire and I am part human."

Davey's eyes grew very big and his face showed his surprise. He then looked around then room and held his little finger to his lips to remind himself to keep the `secret'. He looked back at Ray who nodded and winked. "I won't tell them..." He said, looking around the room again.

Ray couldn't help but smile, "Tell your mommy and daddy that I will be there Monday evening." He then patted Davey's bottom to send him out of the room.

Once Davey was out of the room, everyone exploded with laughter at the boy's secret. The slight amount of remaining tension in the room was long gone now. Antino shook his head slowly as he stopped laughing, brought it to a smile and finally to a smirk. He took a small sip of his Bloody Jane and looked purposefully at Jeremiah.

Once everyone was calmed down, Jeremiah spoke, "Now suggah, when a lord got all that stuff he need to start making himself an individual. You already know that you need a personal mark to show what your property is and to mark personal messages."

Jeremiah clapped his hands and immediately a cocoa skinned boy appeared carrying a wooden box. "I researched available marks that would fit your personality," Jeremiah explained, "I found four interlinked chain links, representing your four bloodlines. The overlaid dual `M' of Mar'uul, your grandmother, the dual reversed mirror A of Antino, your patron, and a drop of blood, representing your personal power." Jeremiah then motioned to the boy.

The boy quickly walked to Ray, opening the box as he walked. He had a big smile as he handed the box to Ray. He bowed slightly and then turned around and walked into the back of the restaurant.

The contents of the box confused Ray. The box contained a CD disk, a black & white picture of the design, a color picture of the design and a silver cylinder. Ray's face showed his confusion.

"The silver cylinder has the design on one end and is to be used with wax to seal envelopes," Antino started to explain. "The color and black & white pictures have several possible uses. The CD has digital copies of the pictures as well as a secure digital signature. That way, it can seal emails."

"It is my turn now," Charlett said softly. She stood up and walked to Ray, "Now that you are a lord you will need to protect your self and others." She handed Ray a bracelet and necklace with pendant that appeared to be made of black liquid metal. "It will take some time for you to get used to using them; but once you do, it will be like second nature."

Without question, Ray put the bracelet on his right arm. The instant it was locked on his arm the latches disappeared. Ray looked at the necklace and saw that it had no end, so he touched the pendant to his neck and found the necklace instantly wrapped around his neck.

"You have proven that you trusted me," Charlett said with a warm smile. "The bracelet is a shadow dagger bracelet." She was not surprised when several gasps were heard. "The necklace is shadow armor." Again more gasps were heard. "They haven't told you yet, but you are the first non-vampire Shadow Lord in over one hundred years. I feel you deserve to be protected at all costs."

"Agreed," echoed Antino, Harry and Elzabeth at the same time.

"They will begin to make themselves known to you over the next weeks, each person controls them different and they do different things for different people," Charlett finished explaining.

"I guess we are last," Joshua said, his blue skin gleaming. "The symbiotic council and we are please to be here to acknowledge your arrival at your birthday and gaining of your Lordship. We offer you, Lord Toban, two things: first your selection of two books from our psychic library; the second is your first job as Shadow Lord."

"As his Shadow Council Patron I must ask what is the job includes?" Elzabeth asked.

Joshua nodded but paused as the meal began to be served. He waited until the servants finished serving and then nodded again. "It is basically surveillance of a drug ring that may or may not have ties to the Regia'an. He would be expected to clear out one drug house and interrogate at least one hostage to verify any connection if any." He paused. "We would expect to pay the going rate of $20,000.00 to the council and $10,000 to Lord Toban per week.

"If the Regia'an are found to be connected, you realize that you must use the blood oath rate instead," Antino interjected.

"Of course, Ancient," Joshua said with a nod. "We expected nothing less."

At that moment Ray's cell phone began to ring, "Damn" he swore. "Sorry everyone. There is only one non-breed person who has the number so it must be an emergency." Ray answered it immediately.

"Hello, Mike"

"Ray I need help bad," Mike's voice came through crying.

"What happened?" Ray asked, even though he felt he already knew the answer.

"My dad beat the hell out of me," Mike's voice said very softly.

"Where are you?" Ray said in a very cold voice.

"I ran away," Mike said.

"Tell me where you are!" Ray demanded, his link forcing Mike to comply.

"I am at Tully's," Mike answered in a voice that Ray realized was the voice of someone answering because they were forced to, not because they had free will.

Ray knew the location of Tully's convenience store; it was about a mile and a half away from Mike's house. Ray was furious, but he could not allow his fury to seep into his conversation with Mike or it could directly affect him. "Go into the store and stays near the clerk until we get there," Ray began. "Tell them that help is on the way."

"I understand," Mike said and then hung up the telephone.

"Mike was beat up by his father," Ray announced once he put down the telephone. His rage now was able to properly be expressed. "That boy did not deserve such treatment!" His hated now gleamed in his eyes. "Zoméa (My loves), I want that Mez'hae (asshole/bastard) dead tonight!"       

Editor's Comments: Wow! Now we know more about Ray and his family but more importantly, we see how Mike is beginning to be very important to Ray. What will happen next to Mike and what will Ray have to do?