As Madeline got ready for the Halloween party, she had no delusions of a relaxing and enjoyable evening ahead. The uncharted atmosphere would make for her biggest challenge yet. To begin with, she’d be mesmerized by Levi again, but she wasn’t going to let that affect her the same way it did last time. As she applied her lipstick, she remembered when she had embarrassedly told him that someday he’d be begging to be with her. That hastily made claim was going to act as her armor tonight, reinforcing her stubbornness enough to resist his wiles. But the more daunting aspect of the evening was that she was going to be surrounded by unusual guests. She really had no idea what to expect, so in her mind, she created the most outlandish creatures she could dream up and assumed they would be there. Next, to her mythical concoctions, animal ears and Hollywood-style vampires would pale in comparison.

Looking at her glamorous reflection in the bathroom mirror, her self pride surged. She knew she was going to turn heads tonight. The dress was hers, not borrowed, and the well thought out image she created tonight was her own as well. She was going to show Levi she was worth all his time and trouble, and that she was a good fit for this world. After slipping into her peep-toe black platform pumps, Madeline checked herself in the bathroom mirror once more. Shimmering bronze eyeshadow with cats-eye liner brought out the gray-blue of her eyes dramatically. The slight gloss of her mauve lipstick complemented her complexion, and her hair, up in curls with a few well-placed loose strands, framed the canvas. She smiled at her reflection, truly pleased with her appearance. She had taken time with the makeup; studying pictures of models, watching videos, and researching color palettes, unlike before when she had stopped at good enough. She put in the maximum effort tonight.

She looked at her bedroom clock. It was just about time to go. In the distance, she could hear Levi closing the door to his room. Clutching her black opal necklace momentarily in a gesture of good luck, she then grabbed her velvet wrap and left her room.

As expected, Levi looked absolutely striking in a tailored three-piece suit. Instead of what would traditionally match a black jacket, his vest was pewter gray and added just the right amount of contrast to his white dress shirt and black tie. His jet hair was done in a sort of shag style, drastically different to the sleek look he had worn to the club a week or so ago.

“So I have to ask,” Madeline began curiously, appreciating his perfect coiffure, “Do you style your own hair, or does someone else do it?”

“I do, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it.”

“Of course,” Madeline smiled in satisfaction, expectant of his answer.

“Now turn around please,” Levi requested politely. “I need to put this on you.”

It was the silver medallion Maseo had given him, only now it had a symbol drawn on it. It was a black, brush-stroked circle that didn’t meet all the way around, with the end tapering off to a thin point in contrast to the much thicker beginning. In the center of the partial circle, at a slight angle, were four lines that looked like claw marks. Madeline noticed it matched the gate key charm Levi wore around his neck. She turned around so he could fasten the ebony ribbon that held the medal around her neck, feeling the weight of the cool metal lay against her skin. For a moment, she detected the intriguing smell of the peculiar cologne he wore. Inhaling deeply, she enjoyed it for the brief moment of contact before he stepped away.

Seeing that it rested comfortably right below her mother’s opal, Levi began to give her some instructions as she turned back around.

“This party is invitation only, and it’s going to have prominent members of our community in attendance. If you see other medallions with different crests on them, they mean the same thing yours does, they’re being sponsored to be there. They will be on their best behavior, just like I expect you to be. You’ll likely be the only human there, so be prepared for some curious and disapproving looks, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to be rude in return. There are going to be lots of visual distractions, so be prepared for that, and just so we get this out of the way now...”

The hair on the top of his head seemed to distort and rise in only two areas as if it was being affected by static electricity. As the change became more pronounced, Madeline’s eyes grew wide and star-struck, causing Levi to give a typical amused smirk. In a matter of seconds, a pair of pointed animal ears covered in short black fur rose up out of the silky black hair at the top of this head.

Madeline clasped her hands together tightly, biting her lower lip to stifle her sheer joy.

“May I please, please touch them?” her inner otaku begged.

“As long as it calms you down,” Levi disciplined. “You can’t act like this at the party. At all.”

Muffling a giddy squeal, she tentatively reached up with both hands and brushed her fingertips lightly along the velvety ears. They were so soft and warm that she could have happily kept stroking them for hours. After a few moments of revealing in the heavenly sensation, she regretfully pulled her hands away.

“Thank you,” she whispered gratefully, albeit a bit wistful.

“You’re welcome. I didn’t know you’d be that excited about them. Maybe after this is all over, I’ll take you to my room and you can play with them all you want,” Levi chuckled, giving her a flirtatious wink.

“N… no thank you,” Madeline responded, banishing the thought from her mind. She didn’t want to play his game, and she needed him to see her as something other than a plaything he had around the house. As it was, she was pretty sure he’d stopped taking her seriously shortly after she started living here. She wanted to change that and tonight gave her an excellent opportunity.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged as his once prominently displayed pointy ears dispersed.

“I take it no tail?” Madeline asked as she looked around to his backside, not being able to stop herself.

Levi snickered, her words instantly triggering his dirty mind.

“You know what I mean!”

“I would’ve had to cut holes in my expensive clothes for that to even begin to be comfortable, so no,” Levi responded.

A sudden thought occurred to Madeline as she tried to visualize what a complete “Levi cat” would look like.

“Wait a minute,” she said, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “When I first woke up here… that black cat in the bed, that was you?”

“Yes, that was me. And before you start getting twisted in a knot about it, I thought it would be better for you to wake up next to a cuddly animal than a strange man. Don’t you agree?” he said as he opened the door for her, and the two headed downstairs to the taxi that awaited below.

He had a point. It still didn’t make sense how she heard the shower running. He couldn’t have been in two places at once. Unless he ran into the shower after passing her by in the kitchen. Tricky.

Despite all her mental preparation, Madeline was still extremely nervous on the drive to the club, mainly because she was actually aware of what she would be facing this time. She was going to do her best to prevent herself from staring, but at the same time looking like you’re not trying to stare is often worse than just staring to begin with.

Levi suddenly squeezed her hand.

“Remember what you’ve learned so far, mind your manners, and remember our little question and answer game,” he advised. “Think of this as just another test, except you get free food and drinks.”

Taking his words seriously, she nodded her head while continuing to psych herself up as the taxi pulled up behind a few others in front of the club. Patiently they waited their turn, and as the doorman opened the back door, Levi slid out fluidly, adjusted his tied, and held his hand out for Madeline like a complete gentleman. The same bouncer from last time greeted them and waved them through, and after passing the podium at the end of the long hall, Madeline was astonished by how enchanting the Golden Lotus had been decorated for the party. Each of the black clamshell style booths sported large green bows on the backsides, matching the jade of the wall tiles. There were gorgeous white pillar candles in the center of every table, and down from the high ceiling hung hundreds of sparkling crystal lights making it look like a swirl of bright stars.

“Wow,” Madeline expressed in an awed whisper. “It’s breathtaking.”

“Yeah,” Levi agreed, taking a look around appreciatively. “Better than last year.”

A section of the booths on the right side had been removed, and in their place was a couple of low, rectangular coffee tables which matched the smaller ones found all over the rest of the club. There were about a dozen or so lounge chairs casually surrounding them, already half occupied with guests. Levi politely led Madeline by the arm in their direction.

“This area is reserved for those sponsored,” he said, leaning in to whisper into her ear. “What that basically means is that this is where you go if we happen to get separated.”

“Got it.”

“And feel free to mingle with the other sponsors,” he added. “In most cases, they will be just as nervous and new to this as you.”

“Perfect,” Madeline replied, actually a bit excited at that prospect. “Mind if I have a seat with them now?”

As she turned to await Levi’s answer, she noticed his adorable ears were back. Swallowing her glee, she only allowed herself a bright smile instead.

“Sure, if you want,” he said, taking notice of her reaction and grinning back, “I’ll go see who else is here, and get us some drinks. Impress me.”

Slipping her arm out of his, she walked with confidence toward the small group that was already seated, taking the closest available chair which happened to be next to a slightly pale gentleman about the same age as herself. He wore a silvery-gray suit that was tailored in such a way that it was more fitting for a Vegas nightclub than a formal ball. Only certain personality types would wear something like that, so Madeline noted him as being extremely self confident. Around his neck hung a medallion similar to hers, except with a different mark, one that looked like a triangle with what appeared to be a “plus” symbol in the middle of it.

“Well, hello there,” he said, turning to welcome her with a wide smile and offering his hand in a casual greeting. “I’m Scott. Scott Pearson”

As she took his hand, she noticed it was not as warm as it should have been, and the skin felt a bit stiff. Keeping a friendly expression, she studied him. His silvery-white hair was cut short and obviously dyed, controlled with product that made it wavy and accentuated his squared-off jawline. His waxen lips were full, turned up at one end with a self-assured smile. From the way he sat leisurely cross-legged to the way his arm hung lazily off the edge of the armrest, Madeline could tell he was either a very arrogant person or had mastered playing as one.

“Madeline,” she said, introducing herself as she watched his brown eyes sparkle at her.

“Can you believe this place?” he continued to grin as he momentarily glanced around the club. “I was just talking to Kane and Keith over here about how crazy this is. Who would have thought, huh?”

Madeline nodded politely to the twins called Kane and Keith who were seated on the other side of Scott. They appeared to be high school age, wore dark brown suits that resembled school uniforms, and sat close together quietly. Cute caramel colored ears poked up out of their short hair and their golden eyes were also very cat-like, so it was pretty obvious what they were, however, Madeline was making no final assumptions just yet. Surprisingly, they wore no medallions.

“Yep, it’s amazing,” Madeline agreed before turning her attention to the twins. “Is this your first time here? It’s only my second, but the atmosphere is so different from before that it might as well be my first time.”

The twins nodded in unison, eyes darting from her’s to various distractions around the club’s large ballroom.

“Are you here with family or friends?” she continued, asking both the twins and Scott.

“Family,” the twins answered. “Our mom and dad are around here somewhere.”

“And I am here with my sire,” Scott interjected, clearly not wanting to be upstaged by the young twins. “What about you? It’s rare to see a human at one of these events.”

“Oh, I’m here with my mentor,” Madeline answered quickly. It was the only word she could come up with that made sense.

Scott and the twins looked at her oddly. Of course, they did. She was human, and that was a strange association.

“I’m paying off a life debt,” she elaborated, thinking quickly.

“Oh, I see,” the twins said in unison, their body language indicating something like that was commonplace.

“A life debt?” Scott asked. “Is that a nice way of saying you’re a slave?”

“Pretty much,” one of the twins answered for Madeline.

“That’s harsh,” Scott said, surprised. “What put you in that position?”

Madeline knew she had to turn this around fast. It wasn’t her plan to be the center of attention here.

“You make it sound a lot worse than it is,” she replied. “But I’d be dead otherwise.”

“He’s an well-known felinae,” the other twin told Scott, speaking of her mentor. “I can tell by her medallion. Most of us felinae’s treat our pets nicely, so she’s fine as long as she does what she’s told and doesn’t try to run away.”

Madeline smiled agreeingly. A pet? Sure. Why the fuck not, it sounded legit.

“I still don’t think keeping someone like that against their will is nice, but then again, I’m still new to all this. Still learning,” Scott admitted.

Staring past Madeline, he watched someone on the other end of the ballroom, closer to the dancefloor.

“Your sire?” Madeline asked. That word again. She was betting money he was a vampire.

“Yeah, just watching him dance with the grown-ups,” he replied. “Oh shit. I just realized this area is the equivalent of the kids’ table at Thanksgiving dinner.”

Madeline laughed out loud.

The twins didn’t get it.