FULL MOONLIGHT--Ch 5--Josef's Freshie Benefit Package. PG-13

[lionsonleashes]

FULL MOONLIGHT

*********Chapter 5------Josef’s Freshie Benefit Package.*************

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own ‘Moonlight’, or any of its wonderful characters. I’m just taking them out for a run! No copyright infringement is intended.

SUMMARY: A multi-chapter action-adventure featuring Mick, Beth, Josef, Guillermo, Logan, Talbot, Simone, and some really big werewolves, among others. Rated PG-13 for mild language and violence.

SPOILERS: Follows on from all 16 episodes of ‘Moonlight’, as aired on CBS. Follows on from Allegrita’s FanFic, ‘Presto Agitato’, Ch 1 & 2. (Mick and Beth ‘sealed the deal’ and are now lovers.) Follows on from Desdemona’s FanFic, ‘Silver’, Ch 1 thru 7 only. (Talbot finds out about vampires in general, and Mick in particular, the hard way!) Borrows, with Eris’ kind permission, her original character of ‘Karl’ from her many fine FanFics.

Ready? OK! Let’s go!

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After dropping Beth off at her apartment, and saying goodnight, Mick drove through LA’s darkened streets alone, making his way to Josef’s house. On a beautiful summer night like this, Mick would have ordinarily had the top down on his vintage Mercedes convertible. But with a rogue werewolf on the loose, and targeting vampires in LA, he had decided to leave the top up. Thinking of that decision now as he drove, Mick chuckled to himself and shook his head. What was he thinking? Like the rag top on his Mercedes would stop a werewolf? It wouldn’t even stop a determined thief! He might as well have put the top down, for all the protection it afforded.

Beth had asked a lot of questions on their way back to her place from Josef’s office earlier. She was confused about his ‘Surrogate-Sire’…..as Josef had put it….. relationship with Logan. She also wanted to know exactly what kind of ‘lesson’ Josef wanted Mick to teach Logan tonight.

Mick had explained how he had become a kind of Foster-Sire to Logan, after he was abandoned by his own Sire as a newbie back in the 1980’s. When he told her what ‘lesson’ he was sure Josef had in mind for Logan, Beth’s eyebrows had gone up in surprise…..then she had frowned in disapproval….asking if Mick intended to teach by demonstration. He reassured her that he would not be demonstrating anything…..that he intended to supervise only…. and talk Logan through the process.

That seemed to satisfy Beth somewhat, but he could sense she still wasn’t comfortable with the idea. He couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t comfortable with it himself.

Now, as he drove along increasingly expensive streets, past increasingly luxurious homes, Mick ruminated over Logan, and his own responsibility to foster him properly. He supposed he had actually let Logan down, in a way, by not pushing him, by not making this particular lesson a priority a long time ago. But Mick understood the young man’s reluctance, better than most vamps, because he shared that reluctance himself. He just hadn’t wanted to push Logan out of his comfort zone….said comfort zone being his parents’ basement, and a diet that consisted of bagged blood.

The road began to rise, climbing into the hills surrounding LA. The expensive homes became increasingly large and elaborate, until they could only be called mansions.

Mick knew Josef was right. He had been remiss in his duty as Logan’s Foster-Sire by putting this important lesson off for so long. The fundamental problem was this…..neither the teacher or the student wanted to tackle this lesson….but it was necessary. Josef was also right in that his home was the perfect place and time for this lesson to happen in a safe manner. It was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up.

Mick pulled up to the large ornate security gate that blocked access to Josef’s estate. He smiled up at the security guard, a human, who stepped out of the little guard house to inspect him.

“Mr St. John….”, the guard said politely, returning Mick’s smile, “Good to see you sir. Mr Kostan’s expecting you. Please go right in.”

The guard pressed a remote in his pocket and the gate swung open majestically to admit Mick.

“Thanks Roger.” Mick said as he nodded to the man and drove through the gate. In his rearview mirror, Mick saw the huge gate closing behind him.

Josef’s driveway wound it’s way from the main gate up to the hillside mansion, passing through beautifully maintained gardens, lawns, and shrubbery. Josef enjoyed beauty, and liked to surround himself with it, in all its forms.

Mick pulled down into the underground parking garage beneath the mansion. Like the house, it was expansive, and housed Josef’s many vehicles, including his precious Ferrari. His Harem of freshies also parked down here when they were up for their rotation of duty at the mansion. There was an elevator he could have taken up into the house. It required a pass code, which Mick had, but he wanted to walk up and enter the house from the outside. He had a pretty good idea where he would find Logan.

Mick walked around to the side of the mansion and entered through Josef’s protected terrace, with its beautiful koi ponds. Tall concrete walls shielded the terrace pools from the worst of the sunlight during the day, broken only by artistic shapes and designs cut into them, letting some sunlight filter in for the tall shade-loving plants that were growing throughout the terrace garden. The walls were covered with dense Ivy, giving the place the feel of a deep forest or jungle. Fountains bubbled and lily pads drifted. Large, fat koi fish swam lazily about. Just outside the protected terrace, seeming to hang in space suspended above LA’s city lights, was a small, elegant pool. Only this one wasn’t for fish. The bottom of the pool was painted a dark color, giving the water the appearance of endless depth. As always, a few of Josef’s freshies were enjoying the pool, and its spectacular view of the city below. And, as always, the pool was a clothing-optional situation. Most of Josef’s freshie Harem opted not to bother with a swim suit.

As he expected, this was where he found Logan. Mick walked past the freshies in the pool and through the open sliding glass doors into one of the mansion’s spacious living rooms. Josef called this area the Terrace Room. There was a small computer workstation tucked into a corner on the opposite side of the room. That was where Logan sat, his attention shifting from the computer screen, to the nude freshies, and back again. As Mick knew he would, Logan had positioned himself so that he could enjoy watching the girls, but still be far enough away to avoid the temptation that they presented.

Mick sighed. He hadn’t known him when he was human, but he was pretty sure Logan had always been socially awkward, and when he became a vampire…. against his will, just like Mick…. Logan went into a self-imposed exile. He hadn’t had a date since the early 80’s. After the trauma of accidentally killing his first meal, when he was a newbie vampire, Logan had restricted himself to bagged blood, refusing to fresh-feed.

Bagged blood was not nearly as satisfying to a vampire as a fresh meal, which left the vamp feeling chronically frustrated. Mick dealt with that frustration in rigorous exercise. Logan, on the other hand, tended to go the comfort-food route, and overeat. He drank more than he needed in an attempt to feel satisfied. And since the only regular exercise he got was playing ‘Guitar Hero’ on the big screen, Logan tended to be alittle on the pudgy side.

“Hey Mick….”, Logan greeted him as Mick walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder at the screen.

“Hey Logan”, Mick replied, smiling, “How’s it going?”

“Pretty good…..I’ve almost got this voluntary-evacuation notice spammed out to the whole community in LA. I just hope people check their email.”
Logan fidgeted and glanced up at Mick.

“Ah….Mick…..you know I can’t work with you hovering over me like that. Go find something to do.”

Mick grinned. “OK. Where’s Josef? I need to talk to him.”

“Upstairs in his office.” Logan answered, eyes shifting off the screen again to watch one of Josef’s girls climb out of the pool and head for the outdoor shower. She didn’t have a stitch on, and, like all of Josef’s freshies, she was spectacular, silhouetted against the backdrop of the city lights stretching out beyond her to the horizon.

“Enjoying the view?” Mick teased quietly.

“Uh…Yeah….like you don’t!” Logan replied in an annoyed whisper, “They’re totally hot!”

“You don’t have to whisper Logan…..they know they’re hot.” Mick deadpanned. “It’s in their job description.”

“Go talk to Kostan!”, Logan snapped, embarrassed, “I’m busy.”

Mick held his hands up in mock-surrender. “Ok, Ok! I’ll be in Josef’s Office. Come up when you’re finished and we’ll have some dinner.”

“It’s about time! I’m hungry! I was starting to think Kostan wasn’t going to feed his company. I’ll be up in a few minutes.” With that, Logan dismissed his Foster-Sire and returned his attention to the computer screen.

Shaking his head and grinning, Mick turned away and headed up the gracefully curving staircase to the second floor. Ivy from the terrace grew along the wall above him, having entered the Terrace Room through an upper window. That particular wall was designed to encourage the Ivy to do just that, being made of rough granite. In the Terrace Room, the outdoors seemed to flow inside the house, and that was the idea.

At the top of the stairs, Josef’s Harem-Manger, Heather, nearly collided with him, as she was starting down the stairs. As always, she was attired in a dress that implied casual elegance. Her salt and pepper black hair was pulled back in a bun behind her head. The slim 55 year old woman had the regal bearing of a CEO or a First Lady. She had always reminded Mick of Audrey Hepburn…..Breakfast At Tiffany’s. She had the same elegant grace and style about her, and the same gentle beauty.

“Oh! Hello Mick! Sorry….I didn’t see you there.”, she said, smiling warmly at him. “You’re all set for tonight. I’ve lined up two of our most experienced, and steady, girls, Amy and Melissa. They won’t let you down.”

Mick cast a nervous glance back down the stairs, hoping Logan hadn’t overheard that remark. “Thanks Heather,” he said politely, smiling and nodding to her, and then he made his escape before she could say anything else that Logan might overhear, continuing down the hallway that led to Josef’s home-office.

MLMLMLMLMLML*****************************************

Heather watched Mick hurry away down the hall. What was up with him, she wondered. He was unusually jumpy tonight. He wasn’t worried… Was he? She hoped not. Because if Mick was worried about tonight….then she needed to be worried too. She mulled it over for a moment, and then decided that she trusted Mick too much to worry. She also knew that Josef would never place any of her girls in harm’s way. With that, she shook off her concerns and continued on her way down the stairs. Either Melissa or Amy would be called for soon, and Heather wanted to check in on both of them first, to be sure they were ready. She knew Logan wasn’t a newbie in the technical sense. But he had no experience at all in feeding fresh, other than his disastrous first feeding after he was Turned. Her girls had to be ready to, essentially, help train Logan….and that was always a scary proposition for any freshie. But, both Amy and Melissa had been briefed, and knew the risks. Like Heather, they trusted Mick and Josef, and were willing.

Managing Josef’s large Harem of freshies was not an easy task, but it was a challenge Heather had enjoyed, and excelled at, for many years. She had begun her employment with Josef as one of his many pampered freshies when she was just 20 years old. Then, as now, a freshie was usually recruited at about 20 years of age. At any given time, Josef’s Harem consisted of approximately 100 women. That number of freshies allowed Josef to safely consume a pint a day without overtaxing any of his girls, and still have many left over to feed his guests, friends, and employees. For the occasional large gatherings that Josef hosted at the mansion, he would utilize the services of a Freshie Agency, ‘ordering in’ numerous extra girls to handle the load.

Each freshie in Josef’s private Harem was provided with living arrangements away from the mansion, if they didn’t already have a place to their liking. Josef’s main house was equipped with numerous suites downstairs to accommodate the different freshies as they rotated through the mansion. When it was their turn in the rotation, they would stay at the mansion until they were fed on. Then they would rest up for a day or two before returning to their own homes, and another freshie would rotate in to take their place. Similar apartments existed in Josef’s downtown office building, for use by freshies who rotated through duty there as secretary/lunch for the vampire executives who worked for Josef. One entire floor of the high-rise office building was devoted exclusively to apartments for freshies to rest in before returning to their own homes after donating. Some light filing and receptionist duties were included in those assignments, so most of Josef’s Harem preferred to draw duty at the mansion, rather than the office. Lounging pool side beat sitting behind a desk answering phones any day! To be fair, the girls switched back and forth…..mansion duty one rotation, office duty the next, and so on. It was all very organized and efficient, coordinated by Heather.

Heather also oversaw the numerous job requirements for Josef’s freshies. He insisted on their health…. no smoking, healthy diet, and regular exercise was a must. Josef provided a large, fully appointed, gym and spa on the estate’s grounds. The gym’s staff included a couple full-time personal trainers and several massage therapists. He encouraged regular use of these amenities for all his girls, whether they were on their rotation or not. They were all welcome to utilize the facilities at any time. A well maintained network of jogging paths wound through the estate’s beautiful gardens.

The women of Josef’s Harem had only one job really, …..feeding Josef, or his friends and employees. For that service, they were well paid with a generous salary. But, to encourage them to follow the rules, there were additional ‘carrots’. After two years of service, a generous Trust Fund was established for each of them. After five years, they were vested, and the amount in their personal Trust Fund doubled. After ten years in the Harem, at the usual ‘retirement’ age of 30 years, their personal Trust Fund was tripled. Josef would also happily invest his girls’ money for them at any time, bulging their bank accounts even more. Generally, by the time a freshie ‘retired’ from the Harem at age 30, she had an expensive home free and clear, a large bank account, a Trust Fund large enough to live on comfortably for the rest of her life, and something else……a college education.

Josef insisted all of his Harem members avail themselves of higher education. They had no other duties beyond feeding him and being beautiful, other than the occasional light secretary chores when at the office. They had plenty of time to be full-time students. He paid their tuitions and gave them lots of encouragement. Josef had never admitted it to anyone, but he felt it was his way of giving back to humanity, his little ‘scholarship program’, as he called it. He had produced more than a few doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc…., over the decades.

Heather had followed the same path through Josef’s Harem in her youth. But, early on, she had shown a high degree of organizational skills and leadership. After a couple years, Josef had asked her to manage the Harem for him, coordinate its details. Prior to that, Josef had managed all those details himself, and turning it over to Heather was tremendously liberating for him. She managed to wrangle the Harem, serve as a freshie herself, and get her MBA too. She was the only member of the Harem to live in the mansion full-time. She had a large suite of rooms that was hers alone, and it included an office and a private terrace

When Heather hit 30 years of age, after 10 years in Josef’s Harem, her Trust Fund tripled, and it would normally have been time for her to ‘retire’ and leave the Harem. Josef didn’t want to go back to managing the Harem himself, and could think of no one else who could do as good a job as Heather had done for several years. He had asked her to stay on as the Harem’s permanent manager. She had happily accepted.

That was 25 years ago. Heather was now the 55 year old den-mother to the Harem, and she ran a tight ship, loving every minute of it. She hadn’t served as a freshie since she was 30, but kept herself fit, out of habit. The gym and the jogging paths made it easy. She still lived in her own spacious suite of rooms in the mansion, even though she could easily afford to buy her own home. Managing the Harem was easier if she was on-site full-time. There would be plenty of time to buy her own home whenever she decided to retire from Harem-Management.

MLMLMLMLMLML*******************************************

As Mick approached the open door of Josef’s home-office, he heard purring. Not the purring of a contented vampire, which was a much deeper tone, but the purring of a common housecat. Mick smiled……Heather’s cat, Smokey. He kept his footfalls silent, not wanting to scare the little creature away.

As he slid quietly through the office door, he spotted Smokey preening herself in the best seat in the house……Josef’s lap. Josef was studying something on the computer screen on his desk, current stock values undoubtedly, while absent mindedly stroking the cat.

Both Josef and Smokey noticed Mick at the same time. Smokey froze, her pink tongue half-way out of her mouth in mid-lick. She stared at Mick with wide green eyes. The happy purring ceased abruptly.

Josef smiled at his friend and his eyes flicked down to the little rusty-gray cat in his lap. He was surprised she wasn’t running. She usually ran and hid from any vamps, other than himself, or his Head of Security, Karl.

“Hey Smokey….” Mick said softly, trying to reassure her, “That’s a good girl…..you’re OK. Easy now….”

Smokey turned and stuffed her face in the crook of Josef’s elbow, balling herself up tightly in his lap. If she could not see Mick, then surely, Mick could not see her. Josef stroked her sleek, short fur, and scratched her behind the ears, trying to sooth her.

“Close the door.” Josef said to Mick quietly.

“You sure? What if Smokey wants to run?”

“I don’t think she will.”

“OK…” Mick shut the door very quietly and then moved just as quietly to a chair in front of Josef’s desk, settling himself in it.

Smokey slowly lifted her head out of Josef’s elbow and cautiously regarded Mick over the desk top. Mick smiled softly at her and made it a point not to lock eyes with her….a fearful cat would consider that a threat.

Mick had always loved animals. He missed them. As a child, growing up, his family always had at least one dog, and usually several cats. But he thought the ability to have a pet ended when he became a vampire. Animals sense that vampires are predators, and are naturally fearful of them, just as they would fear a tiger. He had almost forgotten how soft a cat’s fur was before Beth had dropped Mo’s cat, Travis, into his lap after Mo was murdered. Mick had been human then, temporarily, due to the ‘cure’. The cat had warmed to him immediately, purring and demanding to be petted. Mick had been unable to suppress the feeling of childlike wonder that rose in him as he stroked that soft fur, and he was sure he was grinning like a fool. He had suddenly realized what people were talking about when they referred to ‘pet therapy’. They say petting an animal will lower your blood pressure, slow you heart rate, and improve your immune response. After holding Mo’s cat for a little while, Mick had become convinced that was all true.

Smokey sat up in Josef’s lap and regarded Mick openly, with more confidence. Mick feigned disinterest. Josef smiled.

Many of Josef’s freshies had pets at home, but he had never allowed pets in the mansion. The freshies who weren’t on-duty would take turns pet-sitting for those who were staying at the mansion or the office. The favor would be returned when they were on-duty and had to leave their pets at home. A few of the freshies who were nearing retirement had acreages and horses. Barn-sitting was also taken care of by their fellow Harem members.

But Heather lived at the mansion full-time in her capacity as Harem Manager. So, that had always meant no pets for her…..until the day, a few years ago, when a scrawny, half-starved kitten had shown up on her private terrace. Heather had fed her, taken her to the Vet, got her spayed, and fell in love with the odd little calico. She didn’t try to hide her from Josef…..she knew he would smell the cat on her. He did, right away. He had looked up at her across his desk, raising one eyebrow. Then he had just smiled and said, ‘No litter boxes…..and it had better not mess on the floor or claw the furniture.’ And that was that…..Smokey was there to stay.

The little calico was what the Vet called a ‘dilute’ calico…..meaning that she had no white on her, like most calicos do. She was slate-gray, mottled with lacey patches of rusty-brown. She was the color of dead leaves drifting across granite.

It hadn’t taken long for Smokey to go from starving stray kitten, to the queen of all she surveyed. She never needed a litter box, meowing at the door and relieving herself outside, and fortunately for her, she left the furniture completely alone. She roamed the house and it’s grounds at liberty, usually following Heather around. She demanded tribute in attention from all the freshies. She also demanded, and received, attention from the two vampires who lived at the mansion, Josef….. and Karl, Josef’s Head of Security. She had been around both of them since she was a kitten, and had come to trust them. Visiting vampires, like Mick, were another matter. She feared them…..strange predators in her territory.

Smokey continued to eye Mick, and Mick continued to feign disinterest. He could hear the animal’s heart rate slowing. She was calming down.

Watching the cat perched regally in Josef lap, behind his large and ornate desk, with Josef calmly stroking her fur, Mick was suddenly struck by how much the scene looked like something out of an old James Bond movie. He snorted with laughter softly, causing Smokey to flinch.

“What?” Josef asked with irritation, feeling pretty sure he had just become the butt of an inside joke.

Mick raised one hand to his mouth and lowered his head, trying to cover the involuntary snickering smile that he couldn’t suppress. “Sorry….sorry…” he said. “It’s just that you two have the whole Dr Evil and Mr Bigglesworth thing going on right now.”

Josef rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I don’t know who those characters are…..nor do I wish to know, but I’m certain it’s not flattering. Mature, Mick. Really mature, thank you. Now can we move on to more substantial matters?”

Mick forced a straight face. “Of course…..sorry.” A smile broke through again, but he managed not to laugh this time.

Josef sighed. “It’s a really good thing that this damn cat of Heather’s usually makes herself scarce when other vampires visit. Otherwise, my reputation as a hard-ass would be in ruins.”

“Very true.” Mick replied, grinning broadly.

“How’s Logan coming along?” Josef asked, hoping to get the topic off of the cat.

“He’s almost done.” Mick replied, “Said he’d be up in a few minutes.”

Josef smiled, “Is he hungry?”

“Of course he’s hungry.” Mick groused, his earlier humor evaporating in an instant.

“Did you tell him?”

“No! He’ll bolt!”

“I’m more worried you’re going to bolt.” Josef smirked at his friend and stroked Smokey’s head. “So….I’ve got two of my most experienced girls standing by…..”

“I know…..I ran into Heather by the stairs.”

“OK…..It would be a good idea for you to feed from one of my regular girls first while Logan watches, show him how it’s done, but we’ll keep the two really experienced ones set aside for Logan.”

“I’m not feeding…..I ate at Beth’s place.”

Josef raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Happy hour?”

“Not ON Beth!” Mick snapped, “AT Beth’s place…..on the blood she keeps there for me.”

Josef chuckled and shook his head. As he did so, Smokey jumped down from his lap and made her way around the desk, coming to sit on the rug in front of Mick’s chair. She looked up at him with large green eyes, considering him. Mick glanced down at the cat. “Hey girl,” he said softly, “Good girl…”, he patted his lap.

After a few seconds pause, Smokey sprang up into Mick’s lap, perching there and gazing up into his face, as though trying to judge him better. Mick stroked her soft rusty-gray fur. She began to purr. Mick smiled….suddenly looking like a delighted little boy. Her fur was so soft. She pushed her face into Mick’s hand and Mick realized she had just marked him with her scent, from glands on her muzzle…..letting any other cats who might wander by know…..this vampire is one of mine…..paws off!

“Look Mick,” Josef said, his expression shifting to one of a person handing out important advice, “I know you don’t want to fresh-feed, but you should make an exception in this case, for Logan.”

Mick’s smile faded. He glanced up at Josef briefly, and then returned his attention to Smokey. The cat stretched out in his lap, her paws kneading the air in front of her as he stroked her and scratched her behind the ears.

“You promised Beth you wouldn’t, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“She’d understand…..”

“No……she wouldn’t!” Mick snapped, disturbing Smokey and causing her to look up at him from his lap. “Remember how upset she was when she caught me just taking a sip from Simone? I’m not going there again, and I promised her…..I’m not breaking a promise to Beth! If you think it’s so important for him to watch someone else feed first, then you demonstrate for him. Otherwise, it’s my plan to talk him through the process.”

“OK, Ok!” Josef said, resigning himself, “You’re the Foster-Sire. It’s your call.”

“Thanks.”

There was a soft knock on the office door. They both looked up, surprised. They had been so engrossed in their conversation, neither had noticed Logan’s approaching scent. Mick hoped desperately that the younger vamp had been too polite to listen in on them.

“Come in.” Josef called quietly.

Logan opened the door and peeked his head inside, his eyes flicking from Josef to Mick, and back again. “Um…..Mick said something about dinner?”

Smokey dove off of Mick’s lap and darted underneath Josef’s desk, only to reappear in Josef’s lap, her face, once again, firmly buried in the crook of his elbow.

“Yes Logan.” Josef said, “Come on in and have a seat. I’ll have dinner sent up. I’ve got to take this damn cat back to Heather, so if the two of you will excuse me?” He rose from his chair, signing off of the computer, and headed for the door, still cradling Smokey, whose face remained planted in his elbow.

“Nice cat.” Logan commented, eyeing the animal as Josef passed him in the doorway. Smokey started to tremble. Josef hugged her to his body just a little tighter.

“Thanks,” Josef replied, “Dinner will be up in a minute. And, Logan?”

“Yes sir?”

“The cat is strictly off-limits. House Rules. Understand?”

“Yes sir…..no problem sir.” Logan replied, bobbing his head politely.

Josef nodded back, satisfied. He then turned and left with Smokey, heading down the hall towards the staircase, and leaving the office door open behind him.

Logan watched him go and then turned to look at Mick, who was still seated in front of Josef’s desk, but had turned in the chair to watch the exchange between Josef and Logan. “Come on in and sit down Logan.” Mick said, trying to sound more relaxed than he felt. He smiled warmly at Logan.

Logan smiled back and moved toward the leather couch against the wall, sitting down slowly, like he thought he might break it. He could sense that Mick was anxious about something…..but he didn’t know what. Must be about the werewolf….or the Legion….or both, he decided.

“Um…..I hate for Josef to wait on me,” Logan said with a nervous smile, scanning the office’s rich décor with his eyes, “….go get food for me…..but I didn’t want to paw through the guy’s fridge trying to find something for myself. That would be rude….right?” He looked to Mick for reassurance.

Mick smiled and nodded. “Yeah…..Josef is an attentive host, but he’s territorial….you don’t go snooping around where you’re not invited. Besides…..Josef doesn’t fetch and carry for anyone. He has highly paid staff for those jobs.”

Logan swallowed hard, suddenly very glad he had decided to come ask, instead of foraging through the fridge on his own. “So….” Logan began, “What happens after dinner? More computer stuff, I assume?”

Mick nodded. “Yeah…..you and I are going to do an online search of planes, trains, and automobiles for any recent arrivals who might be our rogue wolf. Hotels too. The guy had to have gotten here somehow, and he must be staying somewhere in the city.”

“Do we know who we’re looking for?”

“No idea…..other than it’s a male, from out of town, and someone who is very big…..a tall, powerful guy…..maybe even as big as Karl.”

“LA’s a big town with lots of people coming in everyday.”, Logan observed. “That’s a pretty wide net to cast.”

Mick shrugged. “It’s all we’ve got.”

Logan nodded. “OK.”

Both vampires heard her footfalls coming lightly down the hallway, approaching the office. They also caught her scent, a human female in excellent physical condition.

Amy appeared in the doorway of the office. She leaned against the door jam and smiled at them. “Hi guys.” She said warmly.

Amy was 28 years old, and a real stunner, with a model’s beauty and figure. Her long black hair hung almost to her waist, and her large brown eyes and olive skin gave her a very exotic appearance. She was barefoot on the thick carpeting, and dressed casually in denim shorts and a low cut green tee-shirt.

Logan gulped and his eyes darted frantically to Mick. The woman didn’t appear to be carrying any bags of blood. What was going on?

“Logan,” Mick said, “This is Amy. She’s a very experienced member of Josef’s freshie Harem. Amy, this is Logan, computer genius.”

Amy stepped forward, extending her hand towards Logan in greeting. By the time she had taken two steps, Logan moved, darting with hummingbird speed to the other side of the office, as far from her as he could get. He plastered himself into a corner over there, regarding Mick and Amy with alarm.

Heather had warned Amy that this might happen, that the quirky vampire named Logan was afraid to fresh-feed, and had not even tried since a disastrous first attempt right after being Turned decades ago. She knew that Logan’s first feeding had been fatal to the donor….but she trusted Mick.

Amy sighed and smiled at Logan. He reacted to her smile by jamming himself even further into the far corner, as if trying to become one with the woodwork. Amy moved slowly toward the couch Logan had just vacated. She sat down to wait on the far right side of it, so that Logan, when he was ready, would be obliged to sit on her left. She wanted him to use her left arm, just in case she was sore afterwards. She didn’t want a sore right arm…..she was right handed.

Mick glanced at Logan, and then favored Amy with an embarrassed smile. He stepped towards the door and pushed it closed. Logan’s dark eyes widened even further. His scent told Mick that he was close to panic…..experiencing what could only be described as the vampire version of PTSD.

“Logan….” Mick said softly, turning from the closed door and stepping towards him, “It’s OK. Amy is a very experienced freshie…..and I’m right here. I’m not going to let anything go wrong…..I promise.”

“I want…..want….bagged blood!” Logan stammered, his eyes washing out to crystal-white briefly, and then back to their human shade of deep-brown. He was shaking. “I don’t want this…..” His eyes darted to Amy and then back to Mick, pleading.

“This is an important skill that you have to learn eventually, Logan. It’s time.” Mick took another cautious step towards him.

“You don’t fresh-feed!” Logan protested in an accusing tone, “You drink bagged blood!”

“True….” Mick responded, keeping his voice calm and even, “But I know how to fresh-feed successfully if I need to.” He took a couple more slow steps closer to Logan and held out his hand. “Come on, Logan. It’s OK….trust me.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone!” Logan howled, distraught. He sounded close to tears.

“Logan, look at me!” Mick commanded. Logan’s eyes focused on his Foster-Sire. “I’m not going to let you hurt Amy…..I promise. Josef would never place one of his freshies in danger. He trusts me…..and he trusts you…..so does Amy. You can do this.”

“Why do I have to learn this?” Logan moaned softly. “Why can’t I just keep drinking bagged blood? What’s wrong with that?”

Mick took a few more steps towards Logan’s chosen corner of the room. “Nothing’s wrong with bagged blood. As you pointed out, it’s my usual dietary choice. But bagged does have its down-side. It’s not as satisfying as fresh, and, while I hate to admit that Josef is right, he is about this issue. Bagged blood is not only less satisfying, it’s less nutritious than fresh blood. It’s the vampire equivalent of junk food….but a guy can live on it just fine.”

“I lived on junk food when I was human too! I like junk food!”, Logan said defiantly.

“But,” Mick continued, “what if you find yourself in a situation where no bagged blood is available? What then? Don’t you think you should at least know how to fresh-feed successfully, without harming your donor? Just in case? It doesn’t mean you have to continue fresh-feeding if you don’t want to……but it’s important that you learn how to do it right, in case you ever have no choice. Understand?”

Logan blinked at Mick, and then his eyes slowly shifted to Amy, who was still sitting on the couch across the room, patiently waiting. She had tucked her legs up underneath her and was leaning on the arm of the couch, resting her chin on the heel of one hand, calmly watching the exchange between the two vampires.

“You promise you won’t let me hurt her?” Logan asked, so softly that Amy couldn’t hear it. But Mick could.

“I promise.” He responded, his expression solemn. Logan looked at Mick for a moment. He knew Mick didn’t make promises lightly, and that he kept the promises he did make.

[coco]

Fantastic once again lions
Love that Mick is helping Logan feed fresh
Looking forward to more

[lionsonleashes]

Fantastic once again lions
Love that Mick is helping Logan feed fresh
Looking forward to more

Thanks again Coco! So glad you are enjoying my yarn. Yes, Logan needed some basic training.....we got to get him out of that basement more often!

[jen]

Excellent!

I don't think we ever saw Logan feed fresh. His hesitance is just adorable and Mick is the perfect person to handle this lesson (who was it that said, the best way to learn is to teach).

This is a wonderful interlude in the werewolf tension.

Thanks, Lions

Jenna

[jen]

Lions

A couple of nights ago I started rereading this classic and it does not disappoint. The Moonlight universe you have created here is rich, detailed and very satisfying. The backstory you have provided for Logan is fabulous.

Josef is a wonderful leader for the vamp community and is seeing to the higher education of freshies and the practical education of traumatized vamps and nervous surrogate sires, as well.

Thank you for your wonderful vision! This is a real treasure!!

Jenna

[lionsonleashes]

Oh, thank you so much, Jen!
When I first wrote these backstories, I was worried readers would find it boring....but it was in my head, and I felt driven to write it down. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[jen]

bumpage

[lionsonleashes]

Thanks Jen!

[jen]

Lions

Don't you love it when you find a detail in a fic you have read before that you never really noticed in earlier reads?

This time, it was the tidbit about Josef's freshie program, where he gave the freshies the time and resources to pursue higher education and produced a number of doctors, scientists, etc.

There is a number of highly placed, well educated, influential women out there with intimate knowledge of the existence of vampires. Nice.

This chapter was wonderful, again. Of course, I loved the 'Dr. Evil and Mrs. Bigglesworth' reference. That is so the type of joking I would expect to hear between Mick and Josef. And Smokey is not alarmed by Josef because she is used to him and so she warms to Mick.

Thank you!

Jenna

[jen]

Lions

It's Jen (again) revisiting one of my favorite fics.

The 'freshie' detail is a wonderful feature of the Moonlight universe and it has been so fabulously explored in fanfic, both the positive aspects, as you do here, and the darker sides of the freshie experience.

It continues to be amazing that a number of intelligent, well educated, professionals (who are aware of the existence of vampires, have good memories of their associations with them, and have been financially benefitted by that association) that Josef Kostan has placed in the workforce.

Interesting.

Love Heather and Smokey, of course.

And Logan is growing up!

Thanks!

Jenna

[francis]

Poor Mick has to show Logan something that he's not comfortable with himself. It must be like when I try to teach my niece to swim.