A Lot To Talk About

Viktor looked around the ballroom in Natalia's mansion.

It was the whose who of both monsters and humans in North America, and for it to be pulled off in a matter of days was nothing short of amazing.

But something was setting him off.

"Head," grunted Sasha as he came to stand beside Viktor, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

Viktor nodded but didn't look at his second. "There is something…" Viktor started, only to trail off as Natalia entered the ballroom.

She was on the arm of a human. General Greyson, if memory served, and Viktor raised an eyebrow at that. He was in full dress uniform, complimenting Natalia's black and red dress like he was meant to stand beside her.

"He is," muttered Sasha as he took a sip of his drink. Viktor turned to the man beside him and raised an eyebrow. "Meant to be beside her. She brought him into her House, her actual House, and he is courting her as one of her mates."

"Courting," scoffed Viktor, wishing he had something to drink. Clearly, he had been left behind in more ways than one with his last hunt.

"Old fashioned term, but accurate. She is not one of those women who will just fall into bed with her mates. She is… hesitant," continued Sasha as if he didn't realize his words were like a sharp knife through Viktor's heart. "But we will all dance to her tune, so it's not so bad."

"Mates?" he growled.

Sasha nodded with a hum of agreement. "Yeah, and if you'll excuse me, I'm not willing to step aside and let the others get ahead."

Viktor could only watch as Sasha left his side and walked toward Natalia. His little cub. She was his first…

"And yet you aren't there," grunted a new voice beside him. Viktor was surprised that someone could come up behind him so silently that he was caught off guard like that.

"Is everyone a mind reader now?" smirked Viktor as a waiter passed by in front of him. "I'll take one of those," he continued, grabbing a sniffer of something off the tray. Honestly, it didn't matter what was in the glass. As long as it could help move the shards of glass that appeared just now in his throat, it would be just what he needed.

"No, but you have an expressive face. And she is absolutely captivating," continued the stranger, raising his own glass and saluting the other man.

"No one has accused me of having an expressive face before," smirked Viktor before he downed the drink. The alcohol wouldn't affect him as much as it would a human, but the whiskey in the glass was enough to warm him up a bit.

The stranger just chuckled as he turned his attention back to Natalia as she made her way through the ballroom, greeting people who stepped out in front of her. She could act well, but Viktor could see just how much she hated being the center of attention like that.

"She is like the sun, and we are all Icarus."

Viktor found himself nodding and relaxing around the stranger. For the first time since he appeared, he took a good look at the man beside him.

He looked like a Viking of old; his shoulder-length dirty blond hair was half up, and he was sporting a well-groomed beard.

Tattoos peeked out from the collar of his white dress shirt, but Viktor couldn't see what they were.

However, the man looked like Thor and that rubbed Viktor the wrong way. He could get any woman he wanted, there was no need to be making eyes at his.

And, based on his aura, this man wasn't human, making him even more of a threat.

"Viktor, Head of House Van Helsing," he turned and held out his hand, finally introducing himself.

"A pleasure," replied the other man, and this was the first time that Viktor could hear a faint accent in his voice.

"And you are?" pushed Viktor, raising his eyebrow.

"Michael. But if we are going by the old ways, I am Michael Inger, second to Gabriel Inger, Head of House Inger," smiled the man, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

In fact, he seemed to be studying Viktor, and whatever he saw, he was not impressed.

"House Angel?" responded Viktor like he wasn't clenching his fists, wanting to challenge the other man.

"That would be the one."

"There hasn't been a House Angel in thousands of years," continued Viktor, not willing to take a step back.

"Maybe not in this realm, but I can assure you, my House has always stood strong."

Viktor nodded his head, but there were warning bells going off in his head. What was he trying to imply?

"If you'll excuse me. I need to thank our beautiful hostess for the invitation. To both the party and her house." With a smirk on his face, Michael saluted Viktor with his glass before sauntering off to where Natalia stood, talking to some human.

Greyson was standing just behind her while the knight was on her other side. A wolf stood in the shadows of a column, never taking his eyes off the woman who held the fate of the world in her hand.

Too many men were around the gorgeous woman, and Michael couldn't help but wrinkle his nose over that fact.

But it wouldn't matter who was around now. All that mattered was who was still standing at the end of the coming war.

Viktor's eyes never left Michael's figure as he slipped in and out of the crowd, his eyes locked on Viktor's woman.

"We need to be careful of him," said yet a third man as he approached Viktor. However, his voice was familiar, even if Viktor hadn't heard it in years.

"Nicholas?" breathed Viktor, not sure if he was seeing things or if the man was actually alive after all this time.

"Hello, old friend," smiled Nicholas, but like Michael, the smile didn't reach his eyes. "There are a lot of things we need to talk about."