"Yes, him. Well, I hired him to help me watch over all our people, to make sure they're okay, and let me know when they're not."

  "So you put him in charge of morale?" Peg asked.

  "Yeah, that, too. I'll take him with me on a few trips to check on the other forts so the guys and gals out there get to meet him and learn who he is. Between them and the remaining Vesti lycans, I'm sure word will get around that they can trust him."

  "Aren't you going to bite him?"

  Sean shook his head. "Not unless he asks. To be honest, I think not being a lycan and being known as a magic user who took care of lycans, to the point of standing up to his own people, might work out better for him."

  "Good point," Jolene said with a nod. "It'll show he has a record of being someone they can trust."

  "Guess your mom's guilt trip worked?" Roberta asked with a grin.

  "You're just sorry she beat you to the punch," Sean said and stuck out his tongue.

  "Oh! What a wonderful suggestion, Lion-boy!" Daelyn snickered. "Girls, I think hubby here 'as earned a reward. Don't you?"

  "Earned a reward, indeed," Roxy said with a snicker and hit Sean in the face with her shirt after peeling it off.

  By the time he'd pulled it away from his face, they were all quite nude, and attacking his clothing.

  "Ah, it's good to be the king!" he said, and then laughed as they dragged him down to the floor.

  It was approaching noon when the smell of food finally enticed Sean to crawl out of bed. He almost went downstairs in just his fur, but he remembered his mom was there, and, well, he was still human enough that there were some things you just didn't do. So he grabbed a pair of shorts after a quick shower.

  "You look cold," Louise said, looking at her son as he padded into the room, still damp from the shower.

  "If I don't eat something soon, I'm liable to waste away to nothing," Sean said with a grin and came up behind Roberta, who was cooking. Putting his arms around her, he laid his chin on her shoulder.

  "Don't drool," she said. "Better yet, go sit; this is almost done."

  "Have I told you how much I love you?" Sean said, trying not to drool on her shoulder. He really was starving.

  "Only because I'm making you food!" Roberta said with a laugh, and then swatted him with the back of the spatula. "Now, Sit!"

  "Yes, dear," Sean said and gave her butt a rub with a hand. The robe she was wearing was rather thin, and he realized suddenly that she wasn't wearing any panties under it.

  "Ach! None of that!" she said and swatted him again. "Food first!"

  Sean laughed and took himself and his growling stomach to sit at the table. Daelyn came over and put a stack of buttered toast by his plate, and he started in on it immediately. By the time Roberta put the large omelet she'd been making on his plate, less than a minute later, he'd already demolished half the toast.

  "What did you girls do to him last night?" Louise asked as she watched her son wolf down the omelet. Roberta was already making a second one. Louise had wondered about all the sausages Roxy had made earlier while the others were eating. Roberta chopped them up and threw them in with a lot of other things as she cooked.

  "Everything they could think of," Sean said between bites, with a grin. "Twice!"

  "And after that, he used his imagination!" Roberta teased from the stove.

  "No wonder he sleeps in all the time!" Louise said with a chuckle.

  "If he didn't have to eat sometime, I swear he'd never leave the bedroom," Roberta said, coming over and dumping another omelet onto Sean's plate, then deftly dodged his hand as he tried to grab her.

  "Uh-uh, none of that, Lion-boy," Daelyn teased. "We have to make the rounds today."

  "Hmm?" Sean asked as he went back to filling his stomach. They really had put him through his paces last night—not that he hadn't done the same to them. It'd been months since he'd had the chance to indulge all his wives' lusts, as well as his own. Knowing he had nothing to do the next morning—nothing important at least—meant he was free to spend himself completely on what really mattered in his life: his women.

  "All the lycan family heads want to pay their respects, and seeing as her mom and your mom volunteered to watch the kids for us, Roxy thought it would be best if we spent the day visiting them and enjoying the sights."

  "What's wrong with having them come here?" Sean asked as he paused a moment to catch his breath.

  "We were lucky enough to get ya' out of bed once this morning; I don't think we'd be able to drag you out of it a second time if we stay here."

  "Yeah, because you'd probably be too busy dragging us back into it," Estrella said with a laugh, coming into the kitchen, stealing a piece of toast out of his hand, and eating it. "Besides, I'd like to see more of this town. The last time we were here, we barely stayed."

  "Fine," Sean said and went back to eating, a bit slower now that the edge was off his appetite, as his eyes followed Estrella's ass in the short, tight leather skirt she was wearing, enjoying the lack of panty lines there as well.

  Yeah, there was definitely something to be said for taking some time off now and again.

  The first place they'd stopped had been Ted's, of course.

  "Sean! Great to see you!" Ted said, meeting them within moments of them entering his building.

  "How are things going?"

  "Well, obviously, we're not having problems with any of the casinos anymore. Especially not after the Feds came by and arrested the owners of the Hi-Wire and The Forbidden City, seized their casinos, and threw them all in jail for tax evasion."

  "What about Circus of the Moon?"

  "They sold and left town within a month of your attack. I guess somebody tipped them off about the IRS coming after them."

  "So even magic users are afraid of the IRS?" Daelyn asked.

  "When they can seize your bank accounts and have the gaming commission revoke your license? Yeah, they are. I don't know if any of the owners got convicted or not, and honestly, I don't care. But they didn't come back, so either they're in jail now, or they fled the country."

  "Well, that's progress, I guess. What else?" Sean asked

  "I still don't know if I should be happy or mad that you put me in charge of the city's defense force," Ted said with a wry look on his face.

  "If I hadn't pulled Bill up to Carson City to work for me, I would have given it to him. But face it, Ted, you're the obvious choice. You know everyone here, and they all know you. Plus, you know I will put you through a wall if you don't follow orders," Sean finished with a smile.

  "Still haven't forgiven me for that, have you?"

  "Not when I can get mileage out of it!" Sean said with a chuckle. "Anyway, just give me the nickel overview. Then me and the girls are going to cruise the strip for the rest of the day."

  "What about the other clan heads?"

  Sean smiled. "Like I said, we're going to be cruising the strip. They can come and find me. I don't think I'm gonna be that hard to find, Travis over there"—Sean motioned to the head of his security detail, who was wearing a bright pink Mohawk, which even showed up when he shifted; Roxy definitely had ways of getting even—"is tied into your comms, so you can always ask him if you need to know."

  "What happened to him?" Ted asked, looking over the new haircut.

  "Roxy happened," Travis muttered, "but it was worth it!" he added with a laugh.

  "I think somebody wants his tail shaved," Roxy growled.

  "Umm, I think I'll shut up now," Travis said, but he was still smiling.

  "Wise move," Ted agreed with a nod. "Anyway, come on into the office. I'll give you the highlights, not that I suspect you haven't heard it all before."

  "Mostly Sean wants to know about the troops," Roxy said. "How they're doing, how's their welfare."

  Sean nodded. "Yeah, you know, the kinds of things that don't usually make it into the reports."

  "Ah, okay. This'll be quick, then. I'm not the kind of guy to let dissension or bad morale linger."

  They followed him into his office, and fifteen minutes later, they were on their way.

  "He really does have a good handle on things here," Jolene said as they headed down to the strip.

  "All the locals grew up working for him," Roxy reminded her, "so they're not afraid to come to him with their problems."

  "What about the ones who weren't born lycans?"

  "There are so many here that were, I don't think that's much of an issue."

  "But it is an issue with the troops, isn't in?" Jolene said, looking over at Sean, who nodded.

  "Yup, and that's why I asked Mike for help, and why him not being a lycan may work to his advantage."

  "As well as being a lycan trainer," Roxy added.

  "Yeah, that gives him experience in dealing with lycans learning their powers and abilities. I'm sure every problem he's going to see, he's seen before."

  "Great! Now enough shop talk!" Peg said. "Let's go see the sights, and maybe relieve a few casinos of their stolen gains."

  "No using magic on the mundanes, Peg," Sean said with a sigh.

  "Don't have to! I know how to win!"

  "I think I've heard that one before!" Daelyn said with a chuckle.

  "Nah, it's easy. I suck at craps, but the great thing about it is, you can bet against me! So when I lose, you win!"

  "Huh, ya' know, you just may have a point there…"

  Sean really enjoyed the time with Roxy, Jolene, Daelyn, Peg, Cali, and Estrella. Estrella was especially fascinated, as she'd never seen the casinos Vegas was famous for, and she had a lot of fun playing all the different slots. Peg, true to her word, really did suck at craps, and Daelyn was making enough money that Sean was thinking of a really nice dinner.

  Sean noticed from the get-go that he was getting a lot of looks from people, even though he was in his human form. Part of that was having seven extremely hot women paying him the kind of attention every guy likes to get from his gal, and part of it was the armed security following him around, pointedly keeping an eye on him and the girls.

  Each of the clan heads showed up and spent some time chatting with him while they were out. Sean got the feeling they were a little put off at first, but when he asked how their people were dealing with all the changes, how they were holding up mentally, they quickly voiced their concerns and their issues, and Sean made note of their complaints.

  None of it was anything major or earthshaking, but he had a feeling if he extrapolated this to his troops out working the DEZ, he might learn a few things. He'd turn it all over to Mike, of course, and it felt good that he now had that option.

  "I just wonder what else I'm missing," he said to Estrella and Cali at one point while they watched Peg losing spectacularly. So many people were watching and betting along that even if she had been using magic, the casino probably wouldn't have cared. He was just surprised so many were betting along with Peg, who really sucked at the game.

  Maybe it was the low-cut top she was wearing? Every time she bent over to roll the dice, it was a minor miracle she didn't fall out of her top.

  "Whatever it is, I'm sure you, Chad, or Steven will figure it out," Estrella said, leaning into him on his left, while Cali did the same on his right. "Assuming, that is, one of us doesn't figure it out first."

  "Peg! Left!" Cali called out suddenly, and her arm moved in a flash. There was a loud yelp of pain as Cali nailed some guy's hand to the side of the craps table with one of her daggers.

  "Keep your hands off my sister wife!" Cali growled at the guy, whose hand was dripping blood.

  "Guess that's my cue to cash out and leave," Peg said as she and Daelyn gathered up their chips. Sean noticed the casino's floor manager immediately made a beeline for him.

  "I'm so sorry, sir! Madam!" he said to Sean, then Cali. "Please! Accept my apologies! I'll cash that out for you if you wish, madams," he said, looking over at Daelyn, then he apologized to Peg as well.

  "How about a nice table in the restaurant, and you take our dinner out of our winnings?" Peg asked with a smile. "It's not like you or the casino is at fault."

  "I'm sorry about the bloodstains," Sean said as casino security came over and freed the man's hand, put a temporary bandage on it, then escorted him away.

  "I believe this is yours, ma'am?" one of the guards said, returning Cali's dagger.

  "Why, thank you. I apologize for the mess."

  The casino manager waved his hands. "Oh, no, please don't apologize! We know exactly who you all are! I'm just happy you didn't kill him! Now, I'd be more than happy to escort you upstairs to our restaurant, Mr. Valens, and all the lovely Mrs. Valens!"

  "How long have you known who we were?" Estrella asked, curious.

  "Since about three seconds after you set foot inside," the floor manager said as he led them towards the large staircase. Sean noticed that everyone who'd been watching Peg gamble now had their phones out, taking pictures of him and the girls.

  "How'd you do that? Magic?"

  "Oh, no. We have a very advanced facial recognition system. All the casinos here do. We even share our data with each other. Mainly we use it to keep an eye out for crooks and cheats, but when someone famous or important comes in, we do our best to make sure they're treated with the courtesy their position demands."

  "You know, Sean," Estrella said after a moment, "maybe we could use something like that."

  "For what?"

  "Tracking demons."

  "Djevels," Cali teased.

  "Okay, djevels!" Estrella chuckled.

  "Won't they notice the cameras?" Daelyn asked.

  "I didn't," Estrella said. "So, no, probably not."

  "What's the reason?" Jolene asked. "They're all trapped inside the DEZ, so what would we learn from it?"

  "Maybe we could figure out who's talking to whom? And of course, see how well they're cooperating. What do you think, Sean?"

  "I think the idea may have merit, but right now, I think a couple of big, juicy steaks might have even more merit!" he said with a grin.

  Dinner was good, and when the casino comped them for it, Sean had them give all Daelyn's winnings to the staff as a tip for the service and the food. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and Sean and the girls had no plans, other than to spend it and Christmas Day with family and their kids.

  Christmas Presence

  Sean was in a good mood. They were sitting around the living room, pieces of wrapping paper scattered everywhere, as his kids and his kid sister played with their new toys. He'd gotten everyone to agree to keep it simple, one gift per child, though of course Sampson and his mom had also bought each of the kids a gift, and Bill and Gloria had done the same.

  Still, no one had gone overboard, and no one had gotten anything extravagant. They'd kept it small and simple, and the kids were just as happy as if someone had spent a million dollars. Sean knew, before his father had been killed, his parents had gotten him some pretty expensive toys; they'd been rich, after all. But the much cheaper and simpler gifts he'd gotten from his mom, and even Sampson, in the years afterwards had meant a lot more to him.

  Sure, he wanted his kids to have a good life and the benefits of the things he'd worked hard for, but he didn't want them to end up spoiled, either. Peg, surprisingly, had been very vocal in her agreement with him when they'd all discussed this. She'd grown up incredibly spoiled, even more so than Jolene had.

  It also meant it would be a lot easier to haul everything back with them when they left.

  There had been one other surprise for today, which was Sean's doing: he'd flown both Sheila and Deidre in, along with their children, last night because he didn't want his kids with them to ever feel like they were less than the others. And also because he didn't want Sheila to spend the holiday alone, nor did he want Deidre to think he didn't care about her, either.

  The look he got from Sheila was hands down the most lustful gaze she'd ever focused on him. He was looking forward to getting her alone later today. He'd finally gone from being worshiped to being loved by her. Someone had once told him that it was the small gestures in life that mattered. He was learning that they were right.

  And of course at that moment his phone decided to ring, and the looks he got were a bit less than happy.

  "That's Chad," Sean said, pulling out his phone and recognizing the ringtone. The number of people who had this phone number was incredibly small, and almost all of them were currently in the room with him.

  "Merry Christmas, Chad," Sean said. "What's up?"

  "Merry Christmas, and how soon can you get back here?"

  "What's wrong?" Sean asked with a heavy sigh.

  "A bunch of senators, congressmen, and a few news reporters are about to land in Carson City. They're here on a 'fact finding' mission. I just got off the phone with Steve; he was pretty shocked, they all had gone home for the holidays several days ago. None of our people knew anything about this. He even called Molson, Lewis, Scheckley, and Conway. None of them knew, either."

  "Okay, so what do you need me for?"

  "They know you're in Vegas. They know how long it'll take you to get here from Vegas. So obviously they're going to be playing off that. As all our generals are out in the field, celebrating the holidays with the troops, if they brought along a ranker, that might let them sow some serious chaos in the ranks and fuck up who knows what."

  "Okay, so how long until they're on the ground?"

  "Thirty minutes."

  "They landing at our field, or the General Aviation one?"

  "Ours. I think they want to make sure they can't be shut out. They're coming in on a military aircraft, which is how we found out. The pilot called and asked for clearance, and told us who was onboard."

  "Great." Sean sighed. "Okay, I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

  "Now that would be a Christmas miracle," Chad said.

  Hanging up, Sean stuck his phone back in his pocket and looked around at everyone.

  "I take it you all heard him, right?"

  "It's Christmas, Sean," his mother said while everyone else in the room sighed.