“SHE DID WHAT?!” Katya yelled into the speakerphone on her desk.

“She formally requested refuge Ma’am.” Silas repeated over the speaker in the large office, currently occupied by Katya, Natasha, Sophia and Emily, Sasha’s mother, who breathed a sigh of relief.

“How did he react?” Natasha asked curiously.

“I’m reasonably sure he mentally threatened to strangle the next vampire he saw.” Silas said.

Natasha snickered at that.

“You find this funny?” Katya said, ice in her voice.

“Ma’am, we’re in disarray. Hearings are being called on both sides of the fence. We have representatives of elders and clan heads flying in from all over the country today, if not beyond, and our precious pure-blooded heir is being protected by the very person who single-handedly took out Sicilia and her entire Court.” Natasha said, eyes shining with mirth.

“He’s unstable.” Katya stated, not quite as happy with the situation.

“He’d never hurt her; he risked his life for her on instinct. Besides, on a professional note? We’re all a little unstable.” Sophia interjected.

“Fine, but I still want additional security surrounding the mill. I don’t trust these old fossils not to make trouble until we get them settled.” Katya said, turning to her head of daytime security.

“How do we go about that, Mr. Hendricks?” Katya asked.

“As we’ve discussed at length, based on his psychological profile and... History. Our best bet would be to treat his property as if a foreign embassy.” Hendricks replied professionally.

“Our property.” Katya corrected.

“Actually, Ma’am, I believe that is a lost cause. Like a hermit crab, I don’t imagine he’ll leave His territory unless we offer a better alternative.” Sophia added.

“The notes we’ve compiled on what he’s disclosed in passing about his people and their customs paint quite the picture.” Sophia said, pulling something up on a large monitor hanging on the wall.

“Oh god.” Emily said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“What is it, my dear?” Katya asked, concerned.

“You wouldn’t have happened to let Sasha in while doing one of these, Strategy meetings discussing the customs of Mr. Titanos, would you?” Emily Asked with a groan as she had already guessed the answer. Unconditional love was so easy to manipulate, after all.

“Hmm, well, there was the time where she’d had a bad dream and wanted to fall asleep on my lap. You should have seen her Emily, she was the most adorable lit-” Katya fawned but froze mid-sentence in realization.

“Yeah, I wonder where she got the idea of formally seeking refuge with a Titan? Mystery solved.” Emily said with a heavy sigh.

“You know what? I’m going to go stay on the spa floor for a couple of days. Don’t call me.” Emily said as she left the room.

Hendricks cleared his throat.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll start upping security around the Tower and steel mill. Ma’am, Miss.” He nodded respectfully goodbye to Katya and Natasha and left.

“Rue, the world that sees that little devil as a Sentire.” Katya muttered proudly.

***

On the other side of town, the deal of the century was going down, unbeknownst to anyone else except for its participants.

The outcome of this deal would change the future of this entire city for generations to come.

“Two Caramels, two chocolates and one pony necklace.” Sasha said, trying her best to mimic her grandmother’s appearance while negotiating.

“Nope, I want all the candies, you can keep the pony... Wait, is that silver? Okay, I want the pony necklace too.” The unfair man called a Titan said.

“That’s not how you do it. You’re supposed to go back and forth until you come to an A-mi-ca-bell agreement,” Sasha argued, pouting.

“That’s not how Titans negotiate.” The unfair man replied with a triumphant grin, popping a chocolate in his mouth.

Sasha sulked as the Titan literally took candy from a child.

***

“FENRIS! Come show the guest to her room!” I yelled with a smile.

“Fenris would sooner kill me than harm a child, but she doesn’t know that. This should scare her enough to go home. I’m gonna have to bribe him later for hurting his feelings with this, though.” I thought.

Sasha stood wide eyed as a pitch-black wolf the size of a small horse came lumbering in from the back room.

Her head barely even reaching chest height of the giant.

Sasha stood wide-eyed and stunned, absentmindedly dropping her wolf Plushie. But before I could even step in, she had shot forward with no hint of fear or hesitation, furiously burying her head in the massive wolf’s long fur, letting out muffled giggles of pure joy.

I literally felt Fenris’s heart ache. It felt like getting punched in the gut. The big softie always wanted to play with the kids anywhere we went, but he quickly outgrew everyone’s expectations, just like his namesake. Soon kids wouldn’t go near him, and adults chased him away or ran in fear. It broke his heart.

“Fuck. Now I have to let her stay, or else I’ll be the one sleeping outside.” I thought.

Deciding it was best to have no further part in this, I headed down to my workshop. I heard heavy four-legged paw steps behind me, as well as a flood of gleeful laughing.

We passed a floor level window with a panicked and not at all overprotective vampire staring in frantically.

I Swear I could see Silas almost faint as he saw Sasha riding a giant black wolf. He ran for the door, but when he gripped it, a defense rune activated, letting out a mighty-

PZZZZT

It shot his ass about 15 feet. He laid there smoking and twitching slightly.

“It wouldn’t have killed a human, so he should be alright.” I thought as I kept going like I’d never heard or seen anything out of the ordinary. Sasha and Fenris both perked up at the sounds as if in sync, but decided playing Princess Sasha and her battle-wolf was more important.

Before I got back to work, I pulled Sasha and Fenris aside and set a few ground rules for playing around in the workshop, making sure Fenris was going to be careful and keep the little heir safe.

***

Raeni wiped her sweaty palms on her ripped skinny jeans, suddenly feeling very conscious of where she was heading. If anyone else had asked, she would have replied with an immediate Hell no.

But Silas had called it a favor, and it was never a bad thing to be owed a favor.... It definitely wasn’t because he was hot.... Like beyond reason, hot. Not at all, and the thing giving her the determination to pass the gate definitely wasn’t seeing him drenched in the rain with his sad puppy dog eyes. Absolutely not. Wait..... Is he smoking?

A tiny voice in her head replied, damn straight he’s smokin’.

***

I was just putting the finishing touches on a protective charm for Sasha. Couldn’t have some old rusted piece of scrap metal fall and crush the little heir. They’d never forgive me.

When I froze.

“Someone’s messing with my Runes.” I thought with a frown.

The surrounding shadows whispered to me about a little mouse scratching at the runes on my door.

“He called for backup, huh? And from a freelancer, no less.” I thought as I got a devilish idea.

“Oh, Mighty Princess Sasha, I am in need of thy aid!” I called, as if in need of a hero.

Turning a corner, riding Fenris while wearing a small bucket as a helmet, Sasha emerged.

“There is no need to fear for the Mighty princess Sasha is here! Now what is the problem, peasant blacksmith?” she asked imperiously.

“I need your help to defeat a pathe... I mean Mighty witch! And I will reward you with this precious ring of protection!” I said, acting my part, but gritting my teeth a little at the Peasant Blacksmith.

“I’ve made things that would reshape continents... Peasant blacksmith, my hairy a-”

I handed over the ring and told her in a serious voice not to take it off no matter what or I’d scold her.

Then I pointed towards the door the mouse was scratching at. And they sped off towards it, Fenris now knowing she wouldn’t get hurt.

***

Raeni was trying to dismantle the trap spell put on the door while Silas raved behind her like a worried mother.

“And then she told me she’d never forgive me unless I drove her. That she’d find a way out on her own and probably get hurt in doing so. I had no choice. I had to take her!” Silas asserted, distraught.

“T-then I see her ride some kind of monster wolf more than twice the size of any wolf I’ve ever seen. And I know he put that rune on the door on purpose, just to punish me. Thank you so much for helping me. I wouldn’t know what to do without your help!”

“Do all Sentires get this upset when they lose an heir? I mean, sure, this guy is scary, but a giant monster wolf? Please.” Raeni thought to herself.

She turned back to him, still crouched.

“Don’t worry Silas, we’ll get her back in no time.” She said with her best consoling voice while gleefully thinking of all the things she’d do to this perfect vampire.

But before she could get any further, his expression changed as he looked past her.

She turned around to find herself staring right into the chest of something big and very wolf like....

“Be warned evil-doers, you are in the presence of the mighty princess Sasha and her trusty battle-wolf!” A high-pitched, imperious voice said. Barely visible atop the giant wolf.

Raeni gulped slightly and didn’t dare move.

“Now off to jail you go.” the voice giggled in child-like glee.

Silas and Raeni were about to argue, but a low growl sending primal shivers up their spines conveyed more than words ever could.

“Do as the little lady says... Or else.”

***

I was vaguely aware of the vampire and witch being marched towards a large walk-in tool lockup cage.

“Hey, at least he finally got inside.” I chuckled to myself. Settling down to put the finishing touches on a section of runes on my upper arm.

I finished around dawn, finding both princess and company had fallen asleep. I went around and made sure no windows would toast our sun-sensitive friend, because I’m nice like that. Not nice enough to unlock the clearly padlocked gate, though.

I went upstairs to find the terror of the workshop cuddled up against a furry mountain inside the guestroom. I covered her with a blanket but doubted she’d need it. Fenris was like a space heater.

I went out into the living room and sat down in a worn-out sofa chair and drifted off to sleep.

***

Natasha had gotten one of the security teams around the mill to leave a note by the gate saying they’d be coming by at sunset to pick up Sasha. Which was about 4 hours away.

I informed the groggy ball of puffed-up brown hair of this and received yawning in reply as she continued her late breakfast while watching cartoons on an old tv.

I, on the other hand, undertook the arduous task of coaxing the young witch away from her comatose vampire body-pillow.

I offered her some breakfast, and had an energetic discussion about Engraving, Enchanting and Inscriptions, culminating in me whipping together a forged iron pen with a thin Truesilver core, engraving it to match her style and working with her to adjust it to be just right.

She thanked me profusely and kept engraving random junk around the workshop. Things would occasionally sputter and hiss or just outright blow up in her face. Sasha found this infinitely more entertaining than her cartoons and took to watching her instead.

And just like that, the sun set over my bustling workshop.

***

4 large SUVs roared past the gate outside, making me perk up. Silas was awake and noticed the change in me. I nodded towards the window as we both got out of our seats, and he rushed over to survey the situation.

“Those aren’t company plates.” he said, training kicking. He went over to retrieve his jacket and gun rig, quickly climbing the stairs to get a vantage point.

I went over and picked up my axe and dagger, putting the axe inside the loop of my belt and tugging the sheathed dagger down the back of my pants.

Raeni took Sasha to the back of the workshop, and I sent Fenris with them in case the uninvited guests were cleverer than they appeared and had put a team at the back entrance.

Though treading on a Titans domain uninvited was an enormously foolish decision.

I tapped my axe on the metal support leading up to where Silas sat above to get his attention and nodded towards the back; he hesitated for a moment, but he knew what took priority in this sort of situation and he nodded affirmative before heading towards the back of the workshop.

I walked up to the door and waited until I felt them leave my perimeter before I stepped through the door to greet my unbidden guests.

***

When I stepped outside, I was greeted by a half-circle of twelve Sanguinares flanking an officious-looking vampiress and what I presumed was a witch in her 50s.

“I am Selma Nasgar of the Red-” she paused, then sniffed the air. Her entire body language changed from official to sneering disgust at greeting livestock as if equal.

“Bring out the girl.” She ordered, this time as if commanding a servant.

“What for?” I asked with a simple, innocent smile.

The guards itching to step forward to teach the inferior his place for questioning a command.

But everyone halted when the Witch walked forward, leaning in to whisper to the Vampiress.

“He is not what he seems.” She warned in a low voice.

The Vampiress reevaluated me, eyes landing on my axe, before going to where my shirt didn’t quite cover the runes on my body.

She stiffened and quickly said something to one of her guards in a foreign language.

He took out a phone and handed it to her.

I made out a couple of words: Eve, Custodes, heir and finally Titanos.

Selma’s face hardened, and I swear I could see her start to sweat as she realized she had made a terrible mistake.

In focusing all my attention on the vampire, I had failed to notice the witch as she extended a small tendril of energy towards my mind. Asking a simple question: Where is Sasha of Clan Eve? An image of a photo following.

It wasn’t a question; it was a demand for an answer.

Fury whirled into a mad frenzy in my body and lashed out at the tendril. She tried to pull back, but it was far too late for that.

The witch let out an ear-piercing scream as my power ripped and tore at the part of herself that she’d used in the spell. A small trinket of pearls and bone fell from her hands and burst into crimson flames.

One of the vampire guards saw this as an opportunity to charge me with inhuman speed, rivaling that of a cheetah.

I couldn’t match that speed, not yet at least, but then again, I didn’t have to since he was coming to me.

I pushed my energy deep into the asphalt beneath my bare feet and grounded myself. My new cluster of runes hummed to life, glowing through my shirt as I willed a massive amount of power through them, causing a fine dark mist to cover my skin.

He impacted me with the intention of breaking me in half, instead I felt his spine crush and his back bend in a grotesque and unnatural way as he fell to the ground howling in agony.

I turned back and locked eyes with the vampiress as I slowly crushed his head underneath my bare foot, causing her to flinch as his head popped.

“That was a mistake.” I smiled with a vicious and brutal expression.

***

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Katya screamed at the foreign dignitary of the White Court.

“I told them where to find her. I understand the protective instinct for one’s bloodline and how it can cloud one’s judgment of what needs to be done. They only intend to question her about this Titan. In the old world we’ve always been on good terms with our distant cousins.” the dignitary said using a wise and condescending tone.

Katya knew this was a lie. The elders of the Council had wanted Sasha ever since she was born. Sasha possessed an incredibly potent recessive Sentire gene. So potent, in fact, that she had unconsciously awoken to her Sentire powers even before her rebirth.

But that was beside the point, considering the gravity of what they had just done.

Sophia’s report had theorized that Mr. Titanos, or maybe even Titans in general, wouldn’t act without cause. Something these idiots had just handed him on a silver platter.

“You pompous, ignorant, rat-brained MORON!” Katya’s words dripping with venom, the guards beside the dignitary starting slightly at the insults and mental pressure exuded by Katya.

“How Dare yo-” the dignitary was interrupted in her indignation by Katya’s anger.

Katya sent out a mass of mental information, images of the night at Sicilia’s mansion seen from a camera mounted on a Custodes’ shoulder, then images of the steel mill and reports from Natasha and Sophia. Not too much, but enough to get the point across.

The dignitary’s face became more and more distraught, falling into despair.

“We have to intervene!” the representative-elder yelled out, rising from her seat.

“You’re free to do so. But this is not a problem of my making.” Katya said, calming down after receiving a message from Natasha informing her one of the security teams has retrieved Sasha unscathed.

Katya knew why the one across from her was actually upset. Her clan had leaked information to suck up to the reds, but now it would appear as if they’d been sent to their deaths on purpose.

She quickly skimmed a brief report from Silas detailing the events he’d witnessed and their likely conclusion.

“Katya, please... The one leading them is young, but was turned by an elder of the Red Court. She is favored.” Tiana pleaded, now taking the tone of an old friend.

Katya smiled wickedly, a scheme forming in her head.

“This should give them pause next time they want to do as they please on this continent.” Katya thought with a smile behind mental barriers.