Josephine gred down at the Guild Master, "I will behave myself." the man smirked and looked straight ahead into her abundant cleavage that was on dispy.

  "Yeah, sure. I am just saying he is newly Awakened; he has all sorts of conflicting instincts at the moment, don't push him too far!" the Dwarf cautioned me as I continued to stare down at him.

  Josephine sneered at him, "I know how to handle a man, even a Pureblood." she quickly responded.

  The Guild Master smirked, "Uhhu, just remember he already ended your Patriarch because he pushed him wrong. You keep pushing and he may very well surprise even you." The Dwarf cautioned her before turning and opening the door.

  His escort fnked it and ushered her into the room, and Josephine nearly tripped as she caught sight of the new Pureblood. He was taller than her but still clearly recovering from the Awakening. Despite his slightly atrophied look, his white hair almost seemed to glow, while his silver-blue and grey eyes stood starkly out of pce and drew her in, causing her to saunter towards him.

  Yet the illusion was shattered when he frowned slightly causing her to reevaluate him, based on his reaction, her looks wouldn't win her anything and that reaction made her feel slightly furious. Who had hurt him so much that her looks had zero impact on him, she made a mental note to do research on his personal history as soon as possible. Josephine was pulled from her thoughts as he offered his hand, and she did her best to school her control as she took the polite offer.

  Still, it had been over a decade since she encountered a Pureblood, the familiar warmth washed through her and it was all she could do not to throw herself at him, "Of course, I am just here to pay my respects to the Pureblood as I don't want to make the same mistake as my former Patriarch." she tried to assure him and the Guild Master as she did her best to hide the blush of embarrassment she felt as she quickly released the Purebloods hand and sat down.

  It didn't stop her from eyeing the fine specimen's ass as he walked around the table, she looked towards Veronica, a slight rival from House Aldbridge, and smirked towards her causing the other woman to blush. Josephine felt a slight rush of jealousy and relief knowing she wouldn't have to deal with the Pureblood constantly. Josephine sat back and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned her focus back towards this Victor Bck to see what would happen next.

  I studied Josephine Cruze, she was easily on par with my ex in the looks department, but I found her more attractive just because she was smarter than that horrible bitch. Seeing that her looks hadn't impacted me the way she expected, Josephine had adapted quickly and pulled back the thin veneer hiding her intelligence and was paying attention. "I requested your presence here because your former Patriarch made a grave mistake." I tapped the box containing Emilio's head.

  Josephine gnced towards the box, "I assume that is his head?' I nodded my head slightly, 'I am not Emilio, I have no interest in trying to control you or your ascent to power within the Midwest Region. As far as I am concerned, House Cruze has no grievance with you." Josephine stated.

  I raised a single eyebrow and gnced towards the irritated guard, "Some members of the House don't seem to agree with your choice, but the question at this point is it your decision to make or not? I have been told you are a far better leader than the te Emilio Zoido but turned down the leadership position before, will you do the same thing again or will you step up?" I inquired as I sat back.

  Josephine narrowed her eyes slightly, then gnced towards the man in question. "You don't seem to be giving me much choice...As for any detractors, I will deal with them." I shrugged my shoulders as the man in question froze.

  "It seems you have as much choice as I did, as for House Cruze you have my support for taking the mantle of Matriarch for what it's worth. Others are sure to be more pragmatic and smarter than others." I told her as I looked at the other guard who had called her and seemed to be quicker on the uptake. I shoved the box towards her and Josephine stopped it before it slid to the floor, "Tell me, why did the Pureblood of Central America Region initiate a purge of House Cruze and exile the survivors?" I asked her.

  Josephine froze slightly, if I hadn't been watching her I doubt I would have picked it up. "My father, Emilio's predecessor, was turning everyone he could into Vampires despite the ws that had been passed by the Twilight Council. My father was building an army and when the Pureblood that ruled the Central America Region became aware of what was happening, he moved quickly destroying most of House Cruze in the process." she quickly informed me.

  I stared at her in silence, "Tell me, how stupid was Emilio?" the tone of my question was soft, but all the Vampires in the room tensed and I could feel the confusion from the Guild Master. I turned towards the Dwarf, "Emilio was stupid and ambitious, the question is was he stupid enough to make the same mistake as his predecessor? Unlike the Central America Region, there is no current oversight in the Midwest Region which would give him a greater chance at succeeding as there is no unity and little to no oversight." I expined causing his face to harden as his focus zeroed in on Josephine who was tense.

  Based on the slight twitch of her body, my aim wasn't wrong or far off. "I am dealing with it, the newborns are being hunted down and destroyed." Josephine finally offered.

  Veronica snarled and lunged forward but arrested her movement as I held up one finger stopping her, surprisingly Josephine hadn't reacted despite the other woman's actions. "You have one year to clean up the mess and get your House in order, at which time House Cruze will be audited. Its holdings will be inspected, every member will be questioned. If anything is even a little out of pce, you will face my judgment. Is that understood, Matriarch Cruze?" I asked her as I continued to stare into her gold-flecked eyes.

  I don't know if it was fake or real, but Josephine looked exceedingly nervous. "Yes Lord Bck, it will be done, and you won't have any problems with House Cruze now or in the future." Josephine tried to assure me, but I had learned the hard way words meant little.

  Of course, the dumbass had to open his mouth and ruin things, "You stupid puta, you stroll in here and---" his words were cut off as Josephine moved grabbing the man by the back of his head and smmed it into the floor.

  "STOP!" I snapped before she could snap his neck. I gnced towards the suddenly furious Guild Master, "Internal discipline is yours to dispense, but it will not be done here on guild grounds. Enough bloodshed has been done due to our politics, anything else will result in negative effects for everyone here.' I commented earning a nod from the Dwarf as I stood and the other guard called Michael quickly moved to grab the stunned Vampire, "I think this meeting is at an end. I will be in contact with you Matriarch Cruze soon enough, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out." I told her as I shook her hand again.

  Josephine nodded her head and turned to look towards the Guild Master but surprisingly didn't let go of my hand, "I apologize William for my outburst, it won't happen again.' Josephine apologized before turning back towards me, 'I don't have your number, my lord, how will I contact you?" Josephine asked as she leaned towards me.

  That was when Veronica moved pushing her back, but not hard enough for it to be called an attack. "I will make sure you get mine and you have Marcus's number." she quickly reminded her as she put her back to me.

  Josephine smirked and made sure I was looking at her before she winked and sauntered away, her two guards proceeding with her leaving us alone with the Guild Master. "Well...that could have gone worse," I commented.

  William opened then closed his mouth before shaking his head and chuckling, "You got that right; if I was you I would be very careful d, she either wants to fuck you or kill you." he warned before leaving the room.

  I turned towards Veronica, "Was that necessary? If she wanted me dead, she wouldn't kill me in the middle of the guild!" I commented, irritated by her reaction.

  Her two guards chuckled, but it cut off as Veronica gred at them. "I don't want her getting her cws in you, House Cruze has been nothing but trouble for decades. If they have to be put down, I don't want you to hesitate just because you feel some personal affection for that woman!" I blinked as I stared at her and shook my head as I yawned again.

  "That w is clear and while it predates my Awakening, I agree with it. If House Cruze is still a problem in a year, they will cease to exist. Now my lodging, why do you have a problem with me staying here in Austin?" I pressed her as someone else came into the room with a rge bag.

  "Sir, this is your equipment and Skill Primers you paid for as part of the agreement, will you be staying here at the guild or at your personal residence?" the staffer inquired.

  I grimaced and gnced at Veronica and the two guards, "I will be traveling to Dals and will be taking up residence with House Aldbridge for the moment, will that be a problem for the Adventurers Guild?" I asked the man who sighed.

  Clearly, that was something they were hoping for, "Not at all sir, I will make sure the paperwork is forwarded to our Dals and Fort Worth offices immediately." with that, the man practically ran from the room leaving us alone. I eyed the third gauge on my HUD, Blood Thirst like my Health and Mana was quantified by the System and it was already sitting at twenty percent despite the cup I had consumed with my meal.

  "I need more blood, then we can get on the road," I told them as I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me.

  "Thank you for listening to me," Veronica commented as she looked towards the guards who moved off.

  I looked at her, "Don't make me regret trusting you." I told her as she led me towards the door after grabbing the bag. I followed her as she put a steadying hand on my shoulder, "Where are we going?" I asked her.

  Veronica smiled slightly, "We have a car out front, we will take it to the airport where we will fly to Dals. The flight isn't long, but you can sleep once you are on the pne, it isn't big, but Marcus had beds installed in the pnes and buses he owns." I raised an eyebrow at that. Veronica shrugged her shoulders, "Most Demi-Humans come with an increased libido for some reason, the scientists and phycologists think it's an instinctive drive to increase our numbers and due to the constant dangers." I chuckled.

  Not surprisingly, it was a proven fact to happen in human history. "Well don't think I am going to join any orgies and as far as Josephine goes, my ex was in her league, and she wasn't Integrated. I can handle myself with a beautiful woman, you don't have to try and protect me from those trying to manipute me using their looks." I informed her. Veronica raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on my expnation.