TWENTY-THREE (ISELEN POV)

"What's going on here?" I ask confused, looking at the outdoor living room in Ruby's house with surprise. I lean to one side to take a quick look at the garden and pool, gently lit by fairy lights. Everything is so clean that shines like it's new, there're no dry leaves from trees floating on the water, someone has watered the pots and flowers look fresh, there're clean towels on the sun beds... it looks like the spa of a fancy hotel.

Ruby doesn't answer and ignores me while setting the table and punching colorful pillows to put them on the armchairs, moving a step back to check if they look perfect. Terra shrugs when walking past me carrying porcelain plates and Bohemian crystal glasses that she puts on the table, Ruby rushes to help her and mumbles something about napkins before running into the house and opening one kitchen drawer. I look around me confused again, something weird is going on here but I don't know what it is, I have a strange feeling... Like I'm forgetting about something important...

"Where are the dogs?" I ask when I realize everything is too quiet.

"My friend Rob took them to the beach, they'll be back tomorrow and won't disturb us today..." Ruby answers coming back to the garden carrying white, blue and cream napkins, putting them right next to the plates and stepping back before interchanging them while grumbling something. Terra heaves a sigh behind me and I open my mouth to ask what's going on again but the human cuts me off. "If you're going to have breakfast, do it now. I made a toast and coffee for you, there're bags of blood in the fridge, but you must clean it all later. Make sure there's not a single crumb on the counter... and you have to pick out the wine." I look at the kitchen and blink shocked when seeing dozens of bottles of red, white and rosé on top of the island.

"Are we going to hold a party?" I whisper more and more confused.

"There's an important meeting today, do you remember?" Ruby keeps touching napkins nervously and shoots an angry look at the vampire when she tries to sit down on a chair, Terra moves away from the fluffy pillow and leans on the wall, shaking her head.

"Important? You're talking about those idiot guys from my clan..."

"I've never had vampire guests in my house before," the human replies adjusting the position of a gorgeous crystal centerpiece holding several candles.

"Ruby Rose, are you trying to make a good impression on those bloodsuckers?" I ask in disbelief. "Babe, it doesn't work like that," I whisper taking her tattooed hand, feeling her pulse racing. "I'm the queen and you're my partner, they should be worried about making a good impression on you."

"But they're elegant and classy..."

"Snobs..." I hear Terra grumbling quietly.

"The plush toy is right, they're unbearable haughty idiots. Ruby, I don't know what kind of romantic image you have about my people in your head, but you're going to be very disappointed. I think you've read too many novels, my love. Everything will be all right, okay?" The human nods reluctantly but I realize she's still nervous.

"Go and have breakfast, I bet you're hungry." I nod and walk to the kitchen, gesturing at the wolf to follow me inside discreetly.

"How long has she been behaving like this?" I ask quietly, grabbing my cup of coffee and taking a sip, feeling relieved when the caffeine wakes me up definitely. The egg and avocado toast looks delicious too.

"Since she got up this morning, she's dragged me to two supermarkets and a homeware store and has got more and more nervous as the hours went by. Later, she started cleaning the house like crazy. If one of your vampires dares to be mean to our girl, I'm going to punch them, I warn you."

"I'll hold them so you can punch them harder," I answer opening the fridge looking for a bag of blood. "What this stuff?"

"Trays full of canapes from the most popular catering company in the city, enough to feed an army despite only a handful of representatives of your clan will come here today to discuss our plans for Tuesday. She didn't let me try them, not even a tiny one..." I shake my head, rolling my eyes before grabbing my bag. "My people would be happy with cold beer and pizza."

"I suspect my people too, but vampires have a reputation to uphold and they pretend they prefer champagne and caviar served on porcelain plates. This is ridiculous," I whisper watching a dozen of bottles on the marble island.

"I know but I decided that it's best to play along," Terra shrugs and steals the last bite of my toast from my plate, chewing pensively. "Ruby has lost control of her life these past weeks: she's fallen head first into the magic world, she's in love with us but also she's the key of hell, a demon wants to kidnap her to drain her blood, she was attacked several times, she's found out that her dog is her guardian angel, we're going to sneak into our enemy's house taking a big risk and vampires are going to visit her home today... She's a very strong woman and I admire her a lot, any other human would've had a nervous breakdown in the first minute, this is all too much..."

"You're right, it's a miracle she's not in a mental clinic," I answer looking at my girl out of the corner of my eye while she picks out the blue napkins finally.

"At least she can control this," the wolf waves her hand at the garden. "The house is clean, she's bought good food and wine and picked out beautiful porcelain plates. It's better if we let her do whatever she wants in this case."

"And you, aren't you nervous?" I ask suddenly and she stares at me confused. "I know you've met them in the Wind Rose several times these past centuries but they're the same bloodsuckers that attacked your family, we fought for long time and hurt each other frequently, you're also the reason why I killed their leader and became the queen who ignores them all the time... They don't like you."

"Really? I'm happy to hear that. I aware that my presence at your side makes them grit their teeth and look at me disapprovingly and I love that. Unlike Ruby, I don't give a damn about what those idiots think about me. You're the only vampire whose opinion I want to hear..." I can't help smiling, amused.

"In my humble opinion, you look hot wearing that shirt," I whisper fixing my eyes on the tattooed soft skin of her chest.

"You don't look bad either, bloodsucker," Terra answers smiling and tilts her head to one side to kiss my neck while I put my arm around her waist to drag her closer to me. The wolf leans against my body, trustingly, and her wonderful forest perfume makes me sigh happily. "We'll fix this mess together."

*****

"This wine is delicious," Hans raises his glass in front of Ruby and the human smiles, relieved, while I watch them with a critical eye. I barely had time to give instructions to the vampires when they arrived, my girl ran to the door the moment the bell rang and I only managed to whisper some words discreetly: be nice. But they seem to have understood it and they're all behaving like civilized supernatural creatures, sipping at their wine and munching canapes, sitting around the pool under the fairy lights. They didn't even dare to stare at Terra with hostility. They're obsessed with pleasing me tonight.

The truth is that vampires are not social beings like werewolves, we don't usually live in big packs and prefer to travel in smaller groups. But we have set a handful of very clear rules to be able to survive in the magic world and the most important one is that you must respect the leader of your clan, they're usually your blood father or mother or the blood parent of the vampire who turned you. Even if you don't meet them for centuries, you know you're a member of that family and they'll help you if you have a problem. For creatures that live so long in a world that changes nonstop, it's crucial to feel you belong to something and that there's a person who symbolizes a home where you can go back whenever you need it. I became that person after killing my vampire father and, since I ignored them for centuries, they didn't have that home even if the Wind Rose could've worked as a substitute sometimes.

This is the first time I ask them to do something, usually, I just help the to resolve their disputes when the situation gets out of control or they come to my forest to beg for something they need, but this is the first time they can reciprocate and that makes them feel relieved. They seek my advice and guidance and I ask them to do something for me in exchange, that's the foundation of a normal relationship in vampire clans, and they seem to believe this is a first step for our family to behave like others do. I sigh inside my head when I understand that they'll come to visit me often to the Wind Rose from now on, I hate dealing with these idiots, but I can't ignore them anymore. I need them...

"This is the map of the garden perimeter, according to Google," Terra points at a piece of paper on the table and some vampires look at her puzzled, not all of them are good at dealing with modern technology, but two of them nod when she points at the house main door and the service door that cooks and waiters will use to get in, most likely.

"So, we have to monitor the perimeter and wait," Hans looks confused because I'm asking them to do something very easy.

"Our plan is to sneak into the house discreetly, take a look and leave unnoticed... But we all know even the best plan can get ruined in a second, so you'll be watching and waiting but, if I need you, I'll call you. You have permission to kick the butt of every demon and magical creature you run into but, concerning humans, I think it's better if you knock them out so they don't disturb us, but don't kill them, we don't need the police department trying to find out why there're some bodies drained without blood..." The bell ring cuts me off and Ruby gets up to open the door immediately.

"It should be Zoe, she told me she'd get here a little later... You know she loves making dramatic entrances." Hans smiles and my stomach turns of anxiety, my heart races and I'm about getting up to prevent my girl from opening the door but she already has her tattooed hand on the knob, so I lean back on my chair and keep a straight face, pretending that there's nothing wrong with me although Terra is staring at me from her couch suspiciously. Fuck, the situation feels really awkward all of a sudden...

"Madame," Zoe purrs bowing her head while smirking mischievously, standing in front of me but very close, almost touching my pants with her bare leg. She's still a beautiful woman, blonde with fair skin she got from her Polish ancestors but she also got her great-grandmother's dark eyes, she was a Byzantine princess also named Zoe. The result of the mix is exotic and attractive, sensual... and this is why she was my first lover after becoming a vampire. My first informal girlfriend, so to speak. And she was my occasional lover for a long time... and a couple of times in the last century when Terra behaved especially distant and cold towards me. Or maybe I was the one keeping her away because I was sure she could hurt me, I don't know.

I'm over all that and happy with my two girls now despite this mess about demons and keys of hell. I feel more confident on an emotional level and depression is a bad memory from the past, the wolf and the human actress can keep me away from that deep and dark hole in my head. I'm madly in love with them... and they're going to meet my ex-girlfriend today. I don't know how Ruby will react but werewolves' possessiveness is as legendary and vampires' jealousy. This won't end well...

"Would you like a glass of wine?" Ruby asks kindly, she looks surprised staring at the short and tight green dress, embellished with sequins, that our guest is wearing. It's totally inappropriate for a work meeting in a house garden but it's obviously a very expensive and fancy designer dress and highlights the lady's curves deliberately. Terra raises an eyebrow and I can see a flash of realization in her eyes while I make an effort to keep a straight face.

"That's very kind of you," Zoe answers taking a quick look at Ruby and ruling her out as a possible competitor immediately. She doesn't know how wrong she is... "I'm happy to see you, Iselen, it's been a long time. Around 50 years?"

"More like 80," I answer with a neutral tone of voice while the vampire sits down on a chair in front of me, she manages to move with elegance, somehow, and doesn't show her underwear to everybody in the garden despite her dress is made with little amount of fabric. Ruby hands her a glass and Zoe doesn't bother to look at her, she's too busy watching Terra with curiosity, noticing her worn out jeans and floral shirt, and trying to hide a smugly smile. I roll my eyes hard, upset, and Hans rushes to show the map to the newcomer, explaining her what I told them to do.

"What was I thinking of?" I mouth quietly turning my head to look at the werewolf and she answers raising an eyebrow again, patting the pillow right next to her to tell Ruby to sit down. "She's an unbearable spoiled brat."

"Of her tits, that's what you were thinking of," Terra mouths back while the human stares at us confused and I shrug; she's right, I wasn't interested in debating about philosophy with Zoe, to be honest.

"Yours are better," I reply winking at her and the plush toy looks at me suspiciously again before nodding and leaning on the couch to whisper in Ruby's ear. It's pretty obvious she's explaining her who the vampire is because my girl opens her eyes wide in shock for a second before looking at her from head to toe, at her long legs that the short dress shows shamelessly, at the gracile curve of her neck and the blond hair falling in soft waves over her back. For a second, the human looks almost sad and slumps her shoulders but gets over it immediately and stares at me with fury, leaning to cuddle closer to Terra who puts her tattooed arm over her shoulders. "It's not my fault that she's here," I mouth quietly again and both women look at me with squinty eyes.

"Okay, I understand," Zoe smiles moving away from Hans and leans on her chair, closer to me. "Is there anything else we can do for our queen?"

"No, thank you, I have everything I need," I answer with a harsh tone of voice and the vampire jolts, startled. She looks a bit confused and I decide to set things clear, just in case. "Ruby, my love, can you pour me another glass of wine?" My girl gets up after kissing the wolf's lips gently, takes the bottle and moves closer to me while I extend my arm, holding the glass. "Thank you, babe," I blow a kiss to her and she smiles back while Zoe stares at us utterly floored. "Do you know what you have to do and what time you should arrive to the house to get things ready?"

"Yes, of course. I think we can gather at least 40 vampires easily, they'd be enough for this task. Any questions?" Hans puts his glass on the table and ignores Zoe who opens her mouth to speak. "Okay then, we better leave now to send some messages and get stuff ready. Thank you for the wine and canapes, they were delicious." All vampires get up and Zoe follows them reluctantly after Hans shoots a serious look at her. The girl seems to be very confused and walks slowly across the house so I get up to make sure they leave without giving trouble.

"It was really nice to see you again, Iselen. I'll stay in the city for a week at least, I hope you phone me to go out for dinner together..."

"That won't be possible, Zoe, I'm sorry, I'll be very busy. I have to fix a serious problem that affects my partner..."

"Your partner..." the vampire repeats staring at me in disbelief.

"Yes, the human one. The werewolf is my other partner... Thank you for helping me with this. I'll see you next Tuesday in the evening before the party starts. Bye." I close the door abruptly, leaning my forehead on the wood surface and sighing relieved, before turning around but I can't even move one step because both women are standing in front of me, staring at me with a straight face and their arms crossed over their chests.

"You have a terrible taste in women..." Terra grumbles and Ruby nods while I look at them in disbelief.

"Hey, I chose you both!"

"That's what redeemed you in the end..." the human admits reluctantly. "Zoe is really beautiful."

"And very stupid..." I reply immediately, moving one step closer to her. "Arrogant... haughty..."

"She's elegant and sophisticated..." Ruby answers again and I get even closer, putting my arm around her waist to hold her tight against my torso.

"She's superficial and selfish..." I lean forward to kiss her forehead and see Terra out of the corner of my eye, she's still looking at me angrily with her arms crossed so I put my own arm around her waist too in order to drag her closer to us. The wolf lets me hug her although her muscles are still tense.

"I don't understand why you got involved with her if she's such a bad person," she growls and Ruby nods, agreeing with her.

"I was young, stupid and inexperienced. Now I'm mature, smart and know what's good for me..." I answer firmly and smirk mischievously, leaning forward to kiss the werewolf. "I admit Zoe is... flamboyant, but I already have two pure diamonds. I'm not satisfied with costume jewelry anymore."

"If she dares to get close to you, I'll kick her vampire ass," Terra growls but kisses me back.

"Fine with me, in the meantime, Ruby and I will wait sitting up in the stands cheering you and eating popcorn."