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  Lowering his hands to hold her against him, Sean rolled over carefully, sliding between Daelyn's spread legs as he positioned himself above her and looked down into her eyes.

  "I love you, Daelyn, and I'm so happy to finally share this with you."

  Daelyn smiled softly back up at him, "I love you too, Sean. My uncle was right; you are by far the best man any gal could ever want. Now, what do you say we make the first of many children!"

  Sean laughed and kissed her again. "So, you want a big family, huh?"

  "Do a good job, and I'll even let you put a cub or two in me one day!"

  Sean gave a hearty growl at that, and moving forward, he parted her lips and moved up inside her heat.

  "You really know how to make a lion sit up and beg, don't you?" Sean chuckled.

  "Damn straight!" Daelyn laughed and wrapped her legs around his hips, and started to kick his butt with one of her heels. "Now, get ta work lion-boy! Let's see if we can't break this bed!"

  Pinning her hands to the bed with his, Sean didn't hold back and started in on a hard and demanding pace, sex with Daelyn at times could be almost as rough as a contact sport. She was strong, far stronger than a human woman, she was even stronger than Roxy, and she was tough, Sean suspected that dwarves had metal in their bones because it often seemed they had it in their blood as well.

  And there were times, times like this, when she wanted him to prove to her that he was the strongest, the biggest, the toughest, and yes, the best. With how much he loved her, Sean was always willing to show her just that, setting a grueling pace which she matched, moving back against him, hard. Sean would be surprised if she didn't leave him bruised as he sent his power down inside of her, as they got ready to make a child in her womb.

  Daelyn joined him in his ecstasy as Sean finally emptied himself deep inside her many minutes later, collapsing on top of her as the sweat dripped off of his body.

  "On your back, Lion-boy," Daelyn giggled softly after they'd both caught their breath. "It's time for this cowgirl to do a little tamin'!"

  "Oh, the abuse I take," Sean laughed and putting an arm around her, he rolled on to his back.

  "Hey, what are you complaining about? This time I'm gonna be doing all the work!" Daelyn smirked down at him.

  "You know," Roxy sighed, looking at the two of them as she stood in the doorway, "When I told you to go break in my bed, I didn't mean I wanted you to actually break it!"

  "Umm," Sean blushed, "maybe we got carried away, just a little?"

  "More like a whole lot!" Daelyn laughed tiredly, as she yawned. Sean had his arms around her so tightly as she spooned back against him that she was almost having trouble breathing.

  "Well, the two of you better hit the shower; I'll go get supper cooking. We have a lot to do tonight."

  Sean smiled and kissed Daelyn on the top of the head, then unwrapping his arms, he stretched slowly. "Yum, shower time!"

  "On second thought," Roxy laughed, "Daelyn why don't you hit the shower first, last thing I need to do is explain to my dad why there are holes in the bathroom walls."

  "Umm," Sean blushed while Daelyn snickered.

  "Plus it would probably be hours before we got him out of there," Daelyn laughed and getting out of bed, she bent over and kissed Sean on the forehead.

  "Love you."

  Smiling Sean collapsed back onto the bed. "I think I'll just take a nap."

  Roxy laughed, "Oh, hell's no! I walk into my room smelling like this, and there's no way I'm going back downstairs until I get a turn!"

  "No rest for the wicked, Lion-boy!" Daelyn laughed as she grabbed a towel and headed off to the bathroom.

  Thursday over Lunch

  "Arthur, it is good to see you," Joseph said, standing up and shaking hands with Arthur Troy as he came over to join him at his table.

  "Thank you, Joseph," Arthur said, taking the open seat and sitting down. "You do know how much I enjoy the lamb here," Arthur acknowledged. He really was very partial to the food here, and he'd been very surprised a few months ago when Joseph had spilled the beans that he owned the place. Seeing as this was the place where the different council leaders liked to come and discuss business, buying it had been a very shrewd move by Joseph. One that Arthur was sure nobody would ever have expected.

  Joseph was turning into a constant source of surprise these days.

  "So," Arthur smiled, "to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

  "Well, the first and foremost item on my list has to deal with David and Alan. Both appear to be honoring both your request and the silence. While neither one has attempted to open negotiations with the other, yet, they have both been engaging with one of my council members in regards to making sure that what they do to each other, stays out of sight."

  "They're fighting?" Arthur said, surprised. He hadn't heard anything about that.

  "Sniping mostly." Joseph sighed and shook his head, "It's little things as they continue to feel each other out, though David apparently tried another, less successful assassination attempt."

  "He did?" Arthur asked concerned.

  "Oh, it failed of course. The Vestibulum is quite prepared for such things now, but it makes me wonder just how the previous attempt was so successful. Either the person who did it got lucky, or the Vestibulum really did let their guard down."

  "It's entirely possible that their national leadership back in New Jersey decided to send someone professional in," Arthur pointed out. "They could easily have afforded the best."

  "Yes, there is that, but the Ascendance had several different teams on the road, on their way here to punish Sean and his lycans. Then when they discovered the truth, it appears that they were recalled. Apparently, those in charge decided that they couldn't win a fight with Morgan and his people."

  "So?" Arthur asked while admitting to himself that Joseph really had developed some impressive intelligence abilities.

  "So why didn't they attack after the assassin killed Morgan? They were confused, in disarray; it would have been the perfect time to strike."

  Arthur considered that a minute before answering.

  "There are only two things that come to mind," Arthur said, moving out of the way of the waiter as the first course was served. "The first, of course, is that they didn't think they had the forces to win against Morgan's people, but they still felt a message needed to be sent."

  "And the second?" Joseph asked as the waiter left them alone.

  "The second," Arthur frowned, "is that they didn't do it." Picking up his spoon, Arthur tasted the soup. As always, it was delicious. Joseph really knew how to find the best cooks.

  "You think Sean did it, don't you?" Arthur asked as he paused a moment from eating his soup.

  "Maybe not Sean himself, we do have reason to believe he was incapacitated at the time, but possibly his people."

  Arthur shrugged, "If it was him or his people, tactically and strategically it was a masterful move. Sean doesn't want fights with the councils; though I daresay he would have won any following match up. My suspicion would be that if he's responsible, it would be more that he was worried about the cost in lives, his people's lives primarily.

  "So, is that the reason for this meeting? To discuss hypotheticals about something from over a week ago?"

  "No, but it leads to this thought: I think we may have misjudged the lions, Arthur, I think we may have misjudged them a great deal."

  "I'm not so sure I'm following you, Joseph."

  "Where did the lycan race come from?"

  "Which one? There are so many of them."

  "No, if they were different races, they wouldn't be able to crossbreed, now would they?"

  Arthur gave a small nod of agreement, "I'd forgotten that, and you know, I'd never thought of them like that, for all that we call them by the same name."

  "Yes, interesting isn't it, and that right there is a clue. They predate us, Arthur."

  "They predate magic users?"

  "Not only that, I
suspect that they may even predate humans."

  "What? Are you sure? How can that be?"

  "Well, I'm not certain, not yet at least, but I've looked into the oldest records that we have gotten from the oldest races, I've even sparked enough interest in some of my brethren that they've begun looking too. Want to know what I've found?"

  Arthur nodded, "Of course."

  "When the dwarves came here, the lycans were already here, and we know the dwarves definitely predate any and all magic users. Did you know that dwarves have a special relationship with lions?"

  Arthur shook his head, surprised. "No, I'd never heard of that. What is it?"

  Joseph shrugged, "I have no idea, I just know that it exists. However, I think that helps to explain why the local dwarves are now allied with Sean. To be honest, I'd found it curious that they had done so. I'd found it equally curious that Sean had also gotten married to a dwarf and the others not only didn't care, but they also seem to have approved of it."

  Arthur set down his spoon, having finished his soup, "I did find that rather peculiar, especially as I know his wife's uncle is a rather important and influential dwarf." Arthur thought a moment longer, "What about the elves? Have you talked to them about it?"

  "Not yet, though I have asked one of our members who knows some of their historians to make some inquiries. However, in some of their older ballads that tell of their first trips here, they mention the kings of the land and then go on to describe lions. That had always been a source of confusion to the scholars, who thought the elves meant that the lions were the dominant predators in Europe, not the actual rulers."

  "I must admit I do find this interesting, what prompted you to look into this?"

  "Sean told me to look into our history when I had asked him a question," Joseph shrugged, and then smiled, "and being a man of scholarly pursuits, of course, I did just that."

  "You know, Sean told me that the whole reason the lycans have served us for so long, is that many years ago, the Lions made a deal with the magic users. They would protect us, and we were to civilize them. But that we had forgotten the deal, which I can say is true with Sapientia, I've asked our scholars to research that, but they haven't come up with a single thing so far.

  "Even more interesting, however, is that he called them 'his children' when he told me that."

  Joseph nodded, "Which goes back to the belief that the lions created all of the other lycans."

  "It does raise another interesting question, however, Joseph."

  "And that is?"

  "If they 'entrusted them to us' just where were the lions going? The act of doing such a thing implies that they did so because they would no longer be here to care for them."

  "Huh," Joseph said looking puzzled. "That is a good question. I should see if I can get an idea of just how many lions there were back when the dwarves and the elves first visited our realm."

  Arthur laughed, "And compare it to what? Do you have any idea how many lions there are today?"

  Joseph laughed, "A fine point! No, I don't. They are quite good at remaining undetected when they wish to be."

  "More to the point, until Sean started getting involved here, none of us cared."

  They both paused a moment as the appetizer was delivered by the waiter.

  Arthur was the first to start back up after they'd sampled their dishes.

  "By the by, have you heard the latest on the Sacramento Ascendants?"

  "I heard that Sean somehow managed to make off with all of their lycans in the middle of the night," Joseph nodded.

  "Harris's right-hand man is one Kurt Reese, ever heard of him?"

  "Oh yes, a most distasteful fellow."

  Arthur smiled, "Very. His wife has left him. Came up here to be with the lycans, the rumor is one of them is her lover."

  Joseph stopped eating and looked up at Arthur, "Wait a moment, wasn't that young man you rescued a Stewart Reese?"

  "Yes, he's their son, youngest of three."

  Joseph gave a heavy sigh, "If I know the rumor mill, and I've heard from far too many of them, I'd guess they're saying the boy is the lover's son?"

  "They're leaning more towards the story that all three children are the lover's son."

  "That young man's life just seems to go from one interesting event to the other, poor lad."

  "That's not the part that worries me," Arthur sighed.

  "Oh? What is?"

  "Harris's right-hand man, a man with a nasty reputation mind you, has just been dealt a very serious and very public insult. He's going to wish to do something about it, and he does have Harris's ear."

  Joseph paused a moment and considered that chewing on his lip a moment, "I daresay you are right. You know, something else just occurred to me as well, especially now that our seers seem to be more than a little concerned with the future."

  "And that would be?"

  "If it is true that the lions went away, where did they go?"

  "I'd be more concerned with what happens when they come back?"

  Roll the Bones

  Sean walked in the front door of Dolitt's casino with Peg on his arm. He was dressed up rather nicely, as was Peg. He had his enchanting framework running, as well as his defense framework. He expected a place owned and run by mages to be rather heavy on the magical protections, and so far it was looking like he was right on that. He'd felt it the moment they'd come in through the front doors, the place was warded against scrying and any number of outside attacks.

  "You feel it?" He asked Peg in a soft voice as they looked around and headed towards the gaming floor.

  "Yup, I feel it. But, that's the point, isn't it?"

  Sean nodded. "Can you still block the cameras?"

  Peg snorted, "Easily. We're nothing more than a couple of fuzzy images."

  "Think they'll notice?"

  "If they do, just get all indignant on them. A lot of mages really don't like having their image recorded. Where do you think I learned the spell?"

  "I really need to get you to teach me that, one of these days," Sean told her for probably the tenth time.

  "But then what would you need me for?" Peg teased.

  "Oh, I can think of more than a few things, never fear, Dear. Now, let's find a roulette table to lose some money at while I get a feel for this place."

  "Do you even know how to play roulette?"

  "Yeah, you put money on the little numbered squares, they spin the wheel, and you lose it."

  "Close enough," Peg laughed. "I think I see one over there," she said and motioning off to the left, they both headed that way.

  For the next half hour, Sean, or actually, Peg, placed bets and played the game. Apparently, Peg knew something about it because they weren't losing as badly as Sean had figured they would.

  While she was placing bets, he was extending his magical senses and trying to get a feel for the magical wards that were guarding the place. Most of them seemed to be of the observation type, and rather blatantly so. It made Sean, and Peg, uncomfortable at first, which was when he finally puzzled out the reason for them: to encourage magic users to go someplace else.

  Apparently, Harold Dolitt didn't trust or care much for his compatriots gambling in his casino and considering the kind of person a lot of magic users, and Harold Dolitt were, Sean couldn't blame him. It was a lot easier to encourage mages to go elsewhere, then to try and police them from cheating after all.

  Sean was happy for the time he'd spent out on the floor of Ted's casino, getting an understanding of the typical wards and spells used to police the magic users and keep them from cheating. He found all of those here as well.

  Then it was on to check for what spells that they had here that might affect lycans. He couldn't find anything here, by the table, but there was the large stage to the western edge of the room and several smaller stages scattered throughout the place. Sean had seen the same thing in many of the other casino's both here, and in Reno. Usually, a band or something would perform on
one of the smaller stages to keep the gamblers entertained, and distract them from their losing. The larger stage was used for the acts that brought people in to get them gambling in the first place. His nose was telling him that all the acts here were obviously animal, or lycan rather. Even the small stages smelled of lycans.

  "Come on," Sean took Peg by the elbow before she could bet again, "Let's look around and see if we can find better luck elsewhere."

  "But I almost got 'em beat!" Peg sighed.

  "Yeah, you said that in Monte Carlo right before you dropped a hundred grand," Sean chuckled.

  "Okay," Peg grumbled and they left the table. Sean noticed that the pit boss heard their little exchange and was talking into his radio.

  Sean and Peg wandered around a bit, ostensibly looking for another table to play at, but in fact, Sean was looking for any magically obvious traps. As he came to the main stage, he found several. All were silver traps, and all were deployed to stop anyone from leaving the stage once activated. He also found a number of pellet triggers scattered around the casino, but only near the exits, which was odd as none of the staff were lycans, all of them appeared to be mundanes.

  Of course, it was late on a Thursday night, so there weren't a lot of people here, and all of the acts were done for the night. Sean wondered if the pellet triggers were to keep the Dolitt's lycans in, or to keep others out? As the pellets needed to be keyed to specific triggers, he wasn't sure how that could work, however.

  He told Peg in a whisper about the silver traps so she could warn the others when the time came. The last thing they needed was for one of the firemen to get caught in one.

  During their wanderings he saw Jolene and Cali, who were masquerading as a rich woman and her exotic lover. Any magic users here would immediately recognize exactly what Cali was and probably jump to a number of conclusions about Jolene.

  They were so busy keeping an eye on the two obviously very wealthy and probably powerful magic users, that they really didn't notice Daelyn, who came in and used the bathroom, then left a minute later.