Blood & Magic

"Do and say everything i tell you" Melissa's faint voice said.

Kirstin couldn't have been more happy to hear Melissa's whispers in her head. Alan's open mouth and wide eyes were the same expression she'd seen whenever he was outraged at a suspects' confessions. This time it was aimed at her. She needed someone to guide her as she mentally checked out. Being caught with her pants off was something she could not explain, not that she ever could before.

"Kirstin..are you okay?" Alan asked. "What did they do to you?"

"I...I..." she stammered, backing away as she folded both hands over her groin. "Alan...I"

"i received a tip that someone saw some strange men moving a body in here a night ago." Melissa's voice got louder, less of a whisper and more stern.

"I received a tip that someone saw strange men moving a body in here a night ago." Kirstin couldn't look up at Alan at this point.

"Then why didn't you call me!? Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to pursue them on your own." Alan said.

Kirstin had to swallow not to cry, not out of fear but rage. She no one talked to her like this. "Breathe Kirstin. Tell him you didn't want to wait and you thought you could handle them." It was like Melissa was Kirstin's coach, not raising her voice as she kept redirecting Kirstin from spilling the truth.

"I didn't want to wait." Tears stung Kirstin's eyes as she heard the words escape her lips, sealing her fate as being incompetent and irrational. "I thought i could handle them."

Alan's eyes widened again as he tightened his lips. "Kirstin what the fuck?! I know this isn't you. You're way too smart to rush in like this. This is something I'd expect Hillier to do." his eyes lowered to his partner's bare legs. "What did they try to do to you?"

Kirstin's mouth moved rapidly, moving up and down as it waited for words to explain her humiliating dilemma. It would've been easy to blame it on the two men who Melissa had bested, but Kirstin was unsure if they would corroborate a story in which they tried to strip her.

"Don't say anything! we can't rely on those men to take the blame for why you're half naked. Ugh, I can't believe I'm suggesting this. Tell him it turns you on to be naked while in danger. That's why you wanted to go in alone." Melissa said, her words slower as it sounded like she questioned the validity of such a story.

A gasp escaped Kirstins' mouth, the excuse so outrageous she didn't want to own it. But Alan's eyes bore through her own and it was something she had no choice but to accept. "I went in alone because I get turned on being naked when I'm in danger."

"Turned on?" Alan's nostrils flared.

She wrapped an arm around her stomach, "Yes! I'm turned on by being caught naked." her voice cracked as it escaped. Her face was burning, as if it would do whatever it could to throw off Kirstin's focus and not say the absurd excuse she just gave.

"SO YOU DO IT WHILE YOU'RE PURSUING A FUCKING LEAD?!" Alan's scream echoed throughout the warehouse and Kirstin jumped back. "Were there suspects here?"

"Yes." Kirstin blurted out, turning her head towards where the two brainwashed men were laying.

"Stop answering without me telling you! Tell him you managed to knock them out, they were distracted by seeing you naked." This time Melissa's voice sounded as angry as Alan's.

"I knocked them out!" Kirstin said, "They saw me naked and it gave me the chance to get the drop on them.

By now, Alan's anger was so great he couldn't answer. Every time his mouth opened he turned away, shaking his head as he clutched his fists. This gave Melissa the chance to feed Kirstin more lines.

"If he asks. Tell him you have to pleasure yourself as you strip down when in a gun fight. You only do it when you're sure you're in a safe spot. Tell him it started happening after you were first found naked the night you met me. BREATHE AND STOP CRYING!" The last commands from Melissa felt like whiplash, the force of her yell jarring Kirstin's mind from the inside.

"Jesus fucking Christ Kirstin. You realize you could've been killed?" Alan continued, "You never did anything like this before!"

"I don't know it just happened after that suspect stripped me the night we found the Matthew Varnes. I just couldn't help myself." Kirstin tried to cover her mouth with her hand but she knew the words had to come out in order to protect herself, not from losing her job, but from losing her life at the hands of vampires who wished her to be discrete.

Alan pinched the bridge of his nose before looking around the warehouse, shaking his head as he fought to contain his outrage.

"It's working, he's starting to believe it. Don't say anything else about it unless he asks." Melissa seemed to calm down and it seemed like she had the best read on Alan given that she could read his thoughts also.

"So you knocked two of them out. Where are they?" Alan asked, his voice hoarse from shouting.

With one hand kept over her lower half, Kirstin pointed to where the two others were tied up. "I managed to tie them up Jacob Varnes is-" the sight of watching him die without making any attempts to protect him flooded back into her memories. "-dead." She let out a weak cry and

Alan approached her, taking off his jacket and handing it to her. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you're okay. Show me where Varnes is. I called backup so make sure this is tight around you. We'll say you got a tip but that when you went in they got the drop on you and tried to strip you."

It was better than the truth, that she had seen something so terrifying she jumped out of her pants and was then hoisted in the air by her panties as the real people in charge fought below. "I can't find my pants." she said.

"Just lead me to where they are and we'll worry about them later." Alan mumbled the words, he seemed to forget about how scared he was in losing his partner and now realized that what she needed was empathy.

Kirstin led Alan to the end of the warehouse where the two men lay, both of them with their eyes to the floor before looking up at spotting Alan.

The man with the van dyke goatee looked up. "Well looks like someone's boyfriend showed up." he said.

The other grinned and examined Kirstin's bare calves peaking out from under Alan's jacket. "She tell you we got a free show?"

"Shut up." Alan said, kicking the man in the leg. "Exactly what did you try to do to her?"

A sour feeling rose in Kirstin's belly as she stared at the men, unsure if Dominic had covered this aspect of the story or if they were about to blow her cover. Her legs squeezed together as both men stared at her.

"She attacked us." the man with the facial piercings said said, "I don't know why she had no fucking pants on. Kind of hard to fight back with a hot police chick showing off her pussy."

Despite relaxing to the fact that the two men couldn't fill in the gaps that lead to her state of undress, Kirstin's cheeks burned at the vulgar comment, she wanted to kick him but didn't think her bare foot would do much damage.

"We want our lawyer." Van Dyke said in a dry tone, as if he was ready to move on knowing he would be caught.

"I haven't read your rights yet asshole." Alan snapped. "But we'll get to that later." he looked to Kirstin and asked, "do you know where your gun is?"

Kirstin nodded, biting her lip as she wiped her eyes.

"Okay, go get it, and watch these two, I'm going to check on Varnes' body. Where is he?"

"He's over there in that office." Kirstin pointed in the direction before walking to where she remembered dropping her gun. She looked straight ahead and saw the pistol on the ground, gaining tunnel vision as she knew that it would only be moments before Alan would find Varnes' body at the hands of someone other then the two men who Alan spoke to.

"Varnes was doomed Kirstin. Do not think about how you could have saved him. Just act like you didn't know he was dead. DO NOT THINK ABOUT LYING TO YOUR PARTNER! IF YOU THINK YOU"LL FEEL GUILTY AND HE WILL NOTICE! BLOCK THE THOUGHTS OUT!" Melissa's voice rose again, more anxious than Kirstin recalled ever hearing the vampire hinted at.

Kirstin ran her arm under her nose and bent down to pick up the gun, careful to lower her legs first so as not to bend forward and show her rear. She returned to the two handcuffed men and watched Alan leave. She stared down at the two men who looked straight ahead, as if in a trance from having Dominic warp their minds. She was afraid they'd look up and objectify her but then Alan's scream replaced her fears with absolute terror. It wasn't a scream of surprise, it was one of utter horror. It took everything Kirstin had in her to not fall to her knees and weep, but she knew she couldn't do that, they still had a story to weave to the black and white cars she saw in the distance.

****

The two men were booked and processed. The entire time Kirstin remained silent, something the other officers thought were strange as it was her case. they would nod and take orders from Alan while looking at her. She had managed to find her pants right around the time the other officers show up, but the shame remained, particularly every time Alan exchanged glances with her. When it was clear Van dyke and Face-piercings weren't going to talk until their legal council came, Alan suggested Kirstin go home.

The journey from the interrogation rooms to her car was the longest Kirstin had ever felt walking, her eyes aimed down as she tried not to think of how her embarrassing situation would be shared throughout the department. Although Alan would never give away what happened, she still felt naked, taking a walk of shame as the experience stayed fresh in her mind.

Tired and numb from what she had witnessed, what she did not tell Alan, Kirstin drove to Sakeena's, the only person who would offer support to her rather than directions.

No sooner did Kirstin knock on Sakeena's door was she greeted by Sakeena, hair hanging on her shoulders wearing a white longsleeve sweater and grey leggings. Her arms embraced Kirstin, pulling her into the house. Kirstin was silenced by feeling Sakeena's lips pressed hard against hers. She pulled away immediately and slapped Kirstin across the face. "What did I say?"

"What the fuck is your problem?" Kirstin's hands balled into fists, tears welling up in her eyes, her weight pressed into her heels as she leaned towards the door.

"I told you guns wouldn't work in this situation. You went in there helpless, you could have died!" Sakeena's voice went flat as she yelled. She paced back and forth, "What's worse is the Sheriff saw you!"

"Stop just stop." Kirstin's hand was up it wasn't a plea, it was her stepping into her role as an officer with command presence, her only resource to keep from breaking. "I've had a very shitty night and morning, i know i fucked up, so the last thing i need is to be lectured again. Who the fuck is this sheriff?"

Sakeena nodded, holding her hands over her temples as she registered the look of hurt and rage in Kirstins' eyes. "You're right, I'm sorry. Please come inside and I can explain." she didn't want for Kirstin to answer, she took her hand and pulled her into the leaving room, sitting her down on the couch.

"I'm sorry I hit you." she gently caressed Kirstins' cheek, "I was just up all night worried about what would happen,

Kirstin hugged herself and lay against Sakeena, closing her eyes as she tried to find comfort after a long night of horror, "I know. I was stupid, so fucking stupid." She tried to cover her mouth with her hand but the sobs came out, "I just wanted to stop them and

I didn't. Jacob Varnes is dead and I couldn't do anything except look like a fucking idiot."

Sakeena's arms were like a vice grip as she pulled Kirstin closer, making shushing noises as she listened. "Oh baby, I'm sorry, I'm sorry i wasn't there."

"I felt so helpless there. I didn't know this was all so big. There are so many people like Melissa in control." her emotions calmed upon feeling Sakeena's hand over her head, the realization wasn't any less painful, but she was finally able to verbalize it to someone. "They just killed him like it was nothing and then cleaned up the story like it was some movie."

"I know." Sakeena said, "Melissa told me. It's what they do to survive baby. The less humans know about their existence, the more it enables them to survive and run things. That's why i didn't want you to go, because i knew if you did, they'd have to keep you close to them to maintain the Masquerade."

"The what?" Kirstin lifted her head to look up Sakeena, wiping her eyes.

Sakeena closed her eyes, puckering her lips and taking a deep inhale before looking back at Kirstin. "The Masquerade. A primary rule vampires must follow that involves concealing their existence from humans. Anytime there is evidence of vampires killing humans or a situation that might gives away the possibility that supernatural creatures exist, vampires will do whatever they can to close those loose ends, even if it means killing people."

It wasn't a revelation that Kirstin found to be that shocking, but it was another layer of this growing world of darkness that she was sick of being immersed in. "Sakeena." she said, sitting up right and pulling away from her partners' embrace. "What else do you know about the vampires in Ann Arbor? I feel like every time i think i get a grasp of things, there's something else showing up like a sheriff or new vampire I'm not aware of."

Sakeena let out a long, deep sigh, her chest collapsing as if she was already drained from the weight of the topic. "There's a hierarchy within the vampires of the east side of the state of Michigan. Of course, because I'm not a vampire, my knowledge of this is limited, but i have attended several courts where I've heard vampires addressed as such.

"The sheriff, is pretty hard to forget given that he's the size of a professional wrestler. Anytime there is conflict, he gets called in to address the situation. As you can imagine not many people, vampires included, try not to upset him."

"What did you mean by 'courts'? Like a court of law?"

Sakeena rolled her eyes, "As in a Prince's Court. There is a Prince of Detroit who all vampires in the region answer to. The Prince is entrusted with protecting the city."

"Is it always a male?"

"This one is. The title is from a patriarchal practice back from medieval times, but from what Melissa has said in the past, this Prince is actually less..traditional than those in the past."

"Are there any other titles i should be ware of?" the dramatic tone of this education brought levity to the mood as it sounded so absurd to Kirstin as well as Sakeena.

"There are. Some I'm not all sure of, but if i were to sum it up." She bit the inside of her cheek, "Let's divide this up in families. There are apparently several clans that vampires' are born from. Melissa is born to a clan when she was created and so on. When they are created, they are expected to follow specific guidelines, and if they don't, well it's up to the prince to decide that persons' fate."

Sakeena's sarcastic tone left by the end of that sentence, and memories of Jacob Varnes' fate returned. "So the sheriff, Dominic, and Melissa know I know of them and all of them know my embarrassing past. I guess, what should i do to make sure i don't end up like Jacob Varnes?"

Sakeena grabbed Kirstin's hand, but rather than playfully squeeze, it felt like a vice grip, enough to get Kirstin's attention to hear Sakeena say. "Do what they say and heed my warnings. And that means, the Varnes case is over. Let them handle it."

Her grip loosened and she took both of Kirstin's hands in hers, "I'm so sorry you had to witness Varnes get killed, but unfortunately with gaining knowledge of vampires, comes learning about their awful methods of protecting their cover."

"So is that my duty to them now? Covering up every murder or who knows what else that they commit in the future?"

"I'm sorry Kirstin, but unfortunately you can't opt out now. The one thing I will say is the Prince has a rule against killing police, so you'd have to do something very threatening to the Masquerade for that to happen.'

"Great, I just have to lose my integrity in the process." Kirstin felt as if the couch swallowed her up, "Sakeena, i don't know how much i can take, i can't just sit by and watch people die without doing anything." she expected a scolding from her supernatural partner, but instead, watched as her eyebrows raised and the corners of her mouth sagged.

"I know Kirstin and I"m sorry I couldn't protect you from them." she grabbed Kirstin's hand and reached to place her hand on the back of Kirstin's head, pulling it so Sakeena's cheeks touched against hers.

The scent of Sakeena's body wash hit Kirstin first, lilac with a hint of jasmine. Her warm breath against Kirstin's was the next before hearing her say, "I don't want you to be alone in this. I can't stop them and I'm not your therapist, but please let me be someone you can go to to talk about how fucked up all of this is. It is fucked up, they are monsters, and I help them. But That doesn't mean we have to become them as well. Do you understand?"

Kirstin's throat strained, her arms slid around Sakeena to hug her close, she didn't want to talk for fear of breaking again. Instead she nodded and kissed Sakeena again, making a silent oath never to go in alone again.

****

Lauren had never expected to be so close to the glass doors to her balcony apartment. There she was, hands pressed against it, face so close her breath fogged up the class, beads of sweat sliding down her face with every thrust forward.

She was bent at a ninety degree angle, skirt pooled at her feet, pink brassier pushed up over her swollen breasts that were also pressed against the glass. Her matching panties with floral lace inlined were pulled down to her thighs. Her mouth was open, a wide smile as she felt Alan inside her, his hands on her rear cheeks for stability as he stood behind her.

There was a warmth from his cock sliding against Lauren's inner walls, the momentum of his hips making her backside shake. Lauren couldn't help but wince in sync with each thrust. Her legs were sore from maintaining the pose she rarely held, but the warm pressure building up from her core convinced her it was worth it. Even the embarrassment of standing in plain view of any of her neighbors walking by, the potential of them looking up to see the professional Dr. Bastien being fucked making her blush.

The possibility of a voyeur was real, being that she knew she did have an audience, just not one watching. Also possible was Alan regaling his colleagues with tails of having her bent over, spanking her as he had her moaning with delight. The subtle thought of humiliation actually felt empowering to her as she imagined other officers envying Alan.

A sharp pain shot across the back of her ass and she shuddered as she looked back up at Alan, his wide chest coated in sweat. He looked down at her with a smirk and she nodded, allowing him to raise his hand, giving her one brief glimpse of his toned triceps before spanking her again. She closed her eyes and let out a loud cry, her pitch rising as his speed picked up, pushing so hard she felt him go deeper than she ever managed herself with the use of a toy. "Harder! Harder please!"

'Oh fuck." he hissed, pulled on her hips so he could lean back and push harder, feeling Lauren back in. From behind her ass looked like a wide tear drop, her rear cheeks almost looking like she was twerking, a striking image in contrast to the professional mental health clinician he had known her to be. Seeing her in this state of primal lust had Alan on the verge of exploding. He recalled moments before opening her blouse, seeing the hot pink brassier and her crimson face as she turned her head away, so shy of being seen unclothed, her professional armor providing some mental fortitude to her.