"Where's Quinn?" asked Santana, looking around.

"She left with Tamar, Ted and Martin about twenty minutes ago," answered Luanne.

Santana laughed darkly, "Yeah, figured she wouldn't want to get her hands dirty."

"Why? Who are Tamar, Ted and Martin?"

"None of your buisness right now, vampire," replied Craig.

Blaine sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I've made it perfectly clear that I'm on your side--well as far as giving humans their rights and all. I'm not too sure about this regicide buisness."

"Perhaps you will be once we explain what's actually going on," said Luanne.

"That will certainly help, I'm sure."

The two werewolves sat down at their table with the vampire, five humans Santana. Silence filled the cabin as they compiled their separate thoughts so they did not come off as obscure in their story.

Finally, Craig said: "Well I'm sure you know part of it already, count, seeing as how you've had an attempt on your life."

"Actually I've had three--two directly while the other is the reason my coven and I have lost our estate. That one, by the way, probably would have worked if it weren't for these four people you see before you."

Blaine jestured at Kurt, Puck, Rachel and Artie.

Craig and Luanne both looked startled by this information, but they did not dwell on it by grilling Blaine for more details. Instead, Craig continued with what he had to say.

"Yes well, those assassination attempts are part of a wider scheme, one that affects all of us who wish to help our distint kin."

"Or not so distant depending on your view," observed Blaine.

"Quite," agreed Craig. "Anyway, back about ten years ago now it was discovered that some of the same vampires who convinced the king to enslave humans were trying to do the same with werewolves.

"Fortune must have been on our side for us to have overheard this plotting and also for the king to say 'no' outright. The only problem is, these vampires of his court have not let up on the subject and it was recently discovered that the king is reconsidering his original opinion on the matter.

"We are a people quick to act as I'm sure you know, count, and so we have been operating on an underground level for five years now, becoming a network of werewolves, escaped slaves, rebel colonies and a few younger vampires who have agreed to help us."

"You trust the young ones?" Blaine interrupted, "They can be more dangerous then the older ones."

"The few we have working for us have human relatives," explained Luanne.

"It can still be dangerous without their sire or a mentor. Even if it is just a few."

"We know how to handle them, vampire," Luanne told him with a slight growl in her voice.

"Sorry. Go on."

Craig cleared his throat and continued, "Something I want you to understand though, count, is that we will not kill the king outright. Instead, we wish to get him alone to speak with him--or rather, our commander does."

"But you plan on killing him if your commander can't get through to him?"

"Actually we plan on holding him captive until he agrees to throw those members of his court who deserve it. We also wish to negotiate the freedom of the humans again."

Blaine cocked an eyebrow, "Bit of an undertaking."

"We never said it wouldn't be."

"All of you are aware of the fact that you have enemies that know what you're up to, right?"

"Yes, and you apparently took care of one of them for us from what our spies found out," said Luanne.

"So Julia was hiding something. Her widower is still at large out there."

"We have people tracking him. Would you like us to bring him back alive?"

Blaine shook his head, "I have nothing to say to him. You could always try and wring more information out of him though."

"We always do before we do away with them," Luanne said.

"Why do they want to kill human slaves though?" inquired Kurt.

"That's right," said Blaine. "After Julia failed in blowing my head off she admitted that she was going to kidnap Kurt and kill him along with other human prisoners. Something about it being an example."

"We knew about the humans they had captured. We didn't know what they planned on doing with them. If anything, our leader assumed they were going to rape and feed from them. It doesn't make any sense to kill them though."

"We were going to break them out and get them to a safe house."

"That's something I don't understand," said Blaine. "They should have been able to find your base with the Blood Tracker. You said you have escaped slaves helping you can't tell me that their DNA wasn't added to that machine just like every other captured humans'. The officals should have been able to trace them back to whereever you have them hidden."

Craig smiled, "You think your people are the only ones with such advanced technology on their side? Our scientists and engineers have developed something to scramble the signal."

"And the best part is that none of your officals will admit to losing track of them, especially when there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the machine."

"May I see one of these devices?"

"Not unless you're going to join in our cause."

"Why don't you," said Puck, "I mean, no offense, dude, but they kind of turned against you anyway. Didn't they?"

"You can do whatever you like, Noah, as can Rachel, Artie and Kurt. I'm in no position to tell any of you what to do?"

"Why can't you join up too?" asked Kurt.

"I can't abandon my coven, Kurt."

"So ask them to join too. The ones we know we can trust anyway, like Thadeous."

Blaine grinned, "I'm not sure they would go for that."

"I don't want to leave you though," Kurt said quitly. "But I don't want to leave them either." He nodded to his friends.

Blaine squeezed his hand.

"Is there any way that your leader would agree to meet with me before I decide one way or another about pledging myself to them?"

"No."

"What if we talked to him?" asked Artie, "You tell us what you want to say and we'll tell you what he tells us."

"Our leader is female," Luanne corrected.

"And no outsider--regarless of who they are--shall be give inside information!" added Craig.

"Then it seems we have reached a bit of an impasse," said Blaine. "I can't just abandon those under my care nor can I force them to join a cause not all of them will necessarily agree to."

"Whatever you decide is no concern to us," Luanne told him.

Blaine's lips twisted into something between a smile and grimace.

"I should think not, though it would be great concern to me. After all, I highly doubt you will let me go back to my friends after everything you've told me and I do not wish to die right now. I'm still young by the standers of vampires."

"I wouldn't let them kill you," Kurt told him, turning a fierce eye on the werewolves.

"Don't be ridiculous, Kurt, they could kill you in a matter of seconds."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," said Puck, "he has a pretty powerful kick."

Puck's hand subconsciously moved towards his privates and Blaine wondered if the two men hadn't gotten into some kind of scuffle in the past.

"I said I was sorry about that," Kurt muttered, blushing a little. "I won't be sorry to do the same to you though," he looked pointedly at Craig. "Not if you try to kill Blaine."

"We wouldn't kill him," said Luanne. "We would, however, keep him confined somewhere so no one could get the information out of him that we have just divulged."

"Listen, dude," Puck turned to Blaine, "are you sure you can trust any of them anyway? I mean, one of them did try killing you and who knows how many of them are on her side rather then yours?"

"I'm sure Thadeous can be trusted as well as Oscar and a few others whom I know share a like mind when it comes to the treatment of humans."

"Perhaps you could bring them here," suggested Craig. "You propose this idea to them and see how many agree."

"What would you do with the ones who don't? I want no harm to come to them."

"We will take them to our leader and let her pass judegment on them. She's tough but also fair, if that sets your mind at rest."

"It doesn't, but I don't have much choice in the matter, do I?

"Is that what you're going to do then?" asked Kurt.

Blaine sighed, "It seems my only option."

"Then go and collect them. Santana will escort you."

A few minutes later, Blaine, Santana and Kurt were all in Blaine's car, heading back to the hotel.

"Santana, what did you mean about Quinn not wanting to get her hands dirty?" Kurt craned his neck around to look at her.

"Hm? Oh that. Tamar, Ted and Martin are in charge of communications. Basically all they do is sit in a room all day and watch TV monitors and tell their allies what's going on."

"I hate to interrupt--"

"Then don't."

Blaine rolled his eyes, "But how are we going to get past the police. I'm sure they're still at the hotel and it will be rather odd if I request a meeting with my coven for no apparent reason. We need to give them a foolproof excuse as to why we're all leaving the hotel."

"So tell them the same thing you're going to tell your coven," Santana snapped.

"My coven will go with me without any explanation. They really have no other choice as it's been hard wired into them. Even Julia would have come with no questions asked. No, it's the police we have to worry about."

"Tell them it wasn't actually Karofsky's scent that Santana picke up on. They'd have to go back to the station then, right?"

"Possibly, but it's a big gamble. I'm sure they examined his scent as well and probably checked it when Santana found the trail."

Santana roared with laughter at that statement. Blaine glared at her through the rearview mirrior and demanded to know what was so funny.

"You really think those snobs put their noses on the ground to inhale dirt and soil?!"

"They're supposed to..."

"If they did they wouldn't need werewolves to help them. Kurt's story will probably work."

There was a beat of silence, then: "Very well. We shall go with that then."

Santana's prediction turned out to be true and the officers left after agreeing to meet with Blaine after the next full moon when Santana could sniff out the trail again.

"Do you think they'll file a missing person's report when we all drop off the face of the earth?"

Santana's question was retorical, but Bliane answered her anyway.

"They'll probably try looking for me. Not sure about anyone else though."

Blaine had a bellhop tell the rest of the Dalton Coven that their count wished to meet them all down in the lobby.

They were all gathered there in ten minutes time.

"Blaine, what's going on?" Thadeous asked.

"I'll explain everything in more detail shortly. Right now I want all of you to get in your respectful vehicles and follow me."

The fire had not touched the garage out at Dalton Esates and so all of the coven members had their various cars. The slaves of Walter and Julia rode with Oscar in his old station wagon.

"What are you playing at, Count Anderson?" Oscar demanded as they parked outside the woods.

Blaine didn't answer, only began walking into the forest.

He didn't bother checking to see if anyone was following him. He could hear the sound of their feet on the warn trial and knew that they were obeying his original command.

He remembered what that felt like. Being so subservient that your coven leader could very well tell you to take your own life and their hold over you was stronger then your instinct to survive.

He clenched his jaw as he remembered the promise he had made to himself about never abusing his control that had been passed onto him after he became the Dalton Count. He just hoped his entire coven didn't turn their backs on him after this.