He'd gone rogue when he first went through the change any born vampire suffered before becoming immortal. Out of control, out of his damn mind. But it hadn't been his fault as much as hers. Their kind, the descendants of the original seven vampires, prepared for the change throughout their lives. They learned about it, were trained to control themselves and all of their urges long before they settled into immortality. Only, her family had been so focused on her—on training her and on keeping her alive and breathing long enough for her to change—that they'd completely ignored Alexius, leaving him to his own devices. No wonder he'd gone off the rails.

After he was hunted down and brought back to Oldcrest, his punishment was having to forever remain there, locked in his home. A punishment he hadn't deserved. She'd been turned by the time he came back. Diana couldn't even bear to look him in the eye. So, she'd taken off, and she'd stayed away, swearing that as long as he had to pay for his sins, so would she. He couldn't leave Oldcrest; she would not return. It was just fair.

Now, she'd heard that Alexius had broken his curse. It was time. She had to come back. Even if she wasn't welcome. Her blood demanded it. Staying away from Oldcrest for this long wasn't healthy for a Helsing. The source of her family's power was buried here, under the hill, beneath their home. Cutting herself off from it had slowly drained her. She deserved nothing less, though.

The moment Diana's bike reached the wards of Oldcrest, she grinned. For a second. Then, her wheel hit an invisible wall at full speed. Her grip tightened on the handlebars, but the force of the impact still sent her flying forward, and she crashed face-first into the wall.

The bike drifted sideways on the field of grass with a plaintive squeak.

On the ground, her clothes ripped to shreds on her right flank, and her skin irritated enough to piss her off, she blinked, confused for long moments.

Then she realized what was going on.

Juniper had been right.

She'd been locked out of Oldcrest.

Wine and Company

"Is that a smile?" an annoying and familiar voice asked.

Mikar promptly wiped the grin from his face and sipped his red wine.

"Oh, no, Ash," Alexius Helsing chortled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You don't get to deny it. You, my friend, were smiling. Here, in my home." Their host was so dramatic. He held his hands to his chest, shaking his head. "You warm my cold, dark heart."

"I thought that was my job," the woman at his side pointed out.

Avani, a gorgeous redheaded she-wolf, far too good for the likes of Alexius, placed a kiss on the clown's jaw.

Somehow, they fit together. Alexius had always been a jester, but there had been a mean, cold edge to his mockery before Avani came into their lives. She grounded Alexius. And he forced her to have fun. The girl was too serious. No wonder. Her life hadn't been easy. Hurt, changed into a beast—something she hadn't been born into—then hunted. Her mother had died in front of her. Then her savior had brought her here, to Oldcrest. Not to the relative safety of the hill, or into the custody of the Institute. She'd been dumped in the Wolvswoods, of all places. Into a pack so wild they had no place in the mortal world.

Mikar admired her. She'd somehow survived all that and remained sane. Not many had such strength of spirit. He'd know. His own beginning hadn't been too dissimilar from Avani's, and unlike her, he hadn't taken well to the change.

He shot her a genuine smile. "Nice party."

They used to hold parties on the hill almost weekly, before Chloe's arrival. Levi's protective streak had made him reduce the number of visitors he allowed on the territory from the moment she'd arrived. Mikar didn't blame him. If he'd found his own fated mate, he would probably end up locking her in a tower. With barred windows and bubble-wrapped walls.

Many assumed that most vampires met their end at the hand of a huntsman, or battling another vampire. They'd be right, if they were talking about young, foolish hotheads, but ancients like him or Levi? Half of them died by their own hand because of pure, simple boredom. Lack of passion. After thousands of years on Earth, nothing was new, nothing was exciting, no pleasure hadn’t been tried a hundred times over. It was easy to succumb to a void.

Mikar hadn't yet reached a point where his immortality was a burden. He had a job, friends, colleagues. There were wines to be drunk and music to dance to. He was far from despair. But he was starting to understand the weight of immortality. The redundancy of life.

Chloe's existence had shaken his life, changing it so dramatically that every day was an adventure now. They'd been attacked three times. The next time could be tomorrow. He liked the disruption. Still, last year, when he'd been fighting off a Stormhale ancient, there had been a moment when he'd almost kicked the bucket. A Beaufort slayer had attacked from behind while he was in a vulnerable position. And he hadn't felt his fight-or-flight response kick in. There had been no survival instinct telling him that he should do whatever he needed to in order to live another day. He'd known then that he was a lot closer to the void than he'd believed himself to be.

He’d made it thanks to Gwen, a weather witch, who’d saved his skin by freezing the ground under one of his adversaries’ feet, messing with his balance.

Having a mate was the one thing that could irrevocably change the descent into madness. Mikar watched his boss sway against Chloe in the living room. Their slow dance was practically clothed sex, but the rest of the crowd was doing the same thing. Levi, like Alexius, was living, for the first time in centuries. And damn if Mikar wasn't jealous of both of them.

He'd had his fair share of relationships, casual and otherwise, but Mikar had never found anyone who’d kept his interest for more than a few weeks. Months, at most. He'd certainly never been tempted to create a bond with anyone.

It was possible to bond with someone who wasn't his fated mate, but such bonds were breakable in time, unlike what Levi had with Chloe.

“Are you throwing yourself a compliment?” Avani chuckled. “You and Chloe planned it.”

Mikar shrugged, not bothering to defend himself. Whatever they said, Alexius and Avani deserved a celebration, and they were obviously glad to have their friends over.

“Thank you for that. We kind of decided on the wedding thing at the last second," Avani admitted. “We weren’t going to put anyone at risk, but we really wanted to be married. We weren’t going to make a big deal out of it…but I’m glad you forced us to.”

“Don’t thank me, I didn’t have any choice. I had to help. Chloe pouted."

Avani laughed at him. “No one can resist that woman.”

“No one’s foolish enough to try,” he shot back.

“Chloe was right. You got married. You should make a big deal out of it," Catherine Stormhale pointed out, walking in with a big white present wrapped with an extravagant blue bow.

At her side, her mate, Bash Venari, was holding another present—smaller, and considerably less flamboyant.

Cat kissed Avani's cheeks, and hugged Alexius for half a beat, handing him the larger gift. "That's from Seth. Whatever's in there, I'm not responsible."

"This is from us," Bash added, giving his gift to Avani.

The couple had spent the summer traveling. They'd come back at the beginning of the semester because Avani was enrolled at the Institute. Mikar suspected they didn't want to risk her mentor's wrath. Fin Varra, the elder fae lurking in an alcove and nursing a glass containing a black beverage that Mikar didn't want to know about, was as scary as he was dramatic. He would have hunted them down beyond the end of the world.

Mikar understood why they’d snuck out to get hitched. It wasn’t just that they’d been conscious of the security risk if their friends accompanied them. They’d probably wanted to make their vows private. Ancient vampire customs dictated that bonding rituals were only witnessed by one elder. Weddings weren’t the same as a true blood mating, but Mikar would have bet that Alexius hadn’t wanted the whole hill to hear the words they’d whispered to each other before exchanging matching rings. Eternal, unbreakable bonds weren't anyone's business but that of those who entered the agreement.

Chloe, however, wasn't impressed. She'd been raised as a human, after all. To her, weddings were parties. Although Mikar guessed she wouldn't have planned a party for the couple while they were on their way back from town, without even asking for their thoughts about it, if she hadn't been bored to tears.

“How did everyone have time to buy gifts?” Avani mused.

Mikar chuckled. “Immortality has a way of preparing us for all eventualities. We keep a supply of appropriate presents just in case.” He had a cupboard with neatly wrapped packages, with everything from baby blankets to Cuban cigar sets.

Alexius unwrapped Seth's present, looking like a kid in a candy store. Seth Stormhale, Cat's elder brother, ranged from annoying to enraging depending on the day, but he and Alexius had hit it off from the day they’d met. Unsurprisingly.

Mikar sniggered when Alexius victoriously exhibited the present. Avani groaned. From the looks of things, Seth wanted to get bitten by a bear-size she-wolf.

He'd sent a wooden spanking bench, with black leather upholstery, and complete with soft cuffs to lock arms and legs in place.

"I'm gonna kill him," Avani announced cheerfully, while Alexius passed it around.

"Maybe we should really get married too," Levi prodded Chloe.

She slapped his shoulder and bared her fangs.

Mikar was laughing with—at?—the couple, like everyone else, when something changed in the air, catching his attention.

Levi's gaze immediately lost all humor as he turned toward the house's entrance.

Something was wrong.

Mikar caught Levi's eyes. They'd known each other for long enough to not have to exchange words. He was offering to check it out, if only to avoid alerting Avani, Chloe, or ruining the party. No one would pay attention to his leaving for a while. Levi nodded, accepting his help.