Moonlight

~ (Las Vegas, NV)

(one week later)

Roxane had finally made it out west where her next target was rumored to have been living. Sin City was far beyond her expectations once she got there, but at least she was away from South Beach. After taking care of her last assignment, the daimons were hot on her trail and she had to get out of town before word got back to their leader that she had been spotted.

Dressed in a white Armani suit, her long black hair pulled back into a thick braid that ran the length of her spine Roxane rented a Chevrolet Trailblazer from the Avis inside the airport before heading out into the city. First, she needed to find a place to lay low for a bit and then get a feel for the city before staking out her next target. Some info had been leaked to her that a Maximus Leon was a traitor to his Were brethren by assisting daimons in their efforts to round up various test subjects for their sadistic experiments. There was nothing that Roxane hated more than a Were willing to betray his own kind for monetary wealth, something that she took very personally.

She drove around Vegas a bit before finally pulling into the parking lot of the Rio Hotel and pulled her laptop out of its bag. After turning it on, she typed in the name of the man she was now on the trail of and most of his personal information popped up on the screen. 'Not bad,' she thought as she looked at his photo. 'Too bad that you're about to see the wrong end of a bullet.'

~****~

After yet another long day at work, Max was half-dead on his feet by the time he arrived back home at his penthouse apartment. After casting aside his coat and laptop, he crashed on the sofa and kicked off his shoes before turning on the television set simply for the noise. Soon exhaustion claimed him as he drifted off to sleep.

Once again, he was dreaming of her...his gataki. This time, she was laying in the middle of his bed with a sheet wrapped around her lush curves. She appeared to be asleep but soon she lifted her head and those vibrant blue-green eyes peered up at him. His groin burned and jerked with need when he saw her, finally that catsuit was gone! "Gataki, you're were waiting for me?" he asked as he walked over to the bed.

"Always," she replied with a smile, rolling onto her side as her thick black hair spread out over the white sheets like the finest black silk. "You look tired."

"I am but around you, I feel refreshed," he said to her.

"Come to bed, Max, and let me help you relax." she purred.

Kneeling down on the bed, he gazed down into her eyes, however, this time her face was visible to him. "You are so beautiful, gataki," he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her full, sweet mouth. He moaned into her mouth as his chest came into contact with her body and gods she felt so good! Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her long legs wrapped tight around his waist as she cradled him against her body. To Max, this woman was pure heaven to touch and hold even if it was only in his dreams. She was his sanctuary. Just as he reached to remove the sheet from his lover's body...a sudden loud knock on the front door of his apartment jolted Max Leon out of his dream, which made him curse loudly in his native Greek.

Getting up from the sofa, he stalked to the door and jerked it open to find both Argona and SC standing there with the cat-ate-the-canary grins on their faces. "Gee, you look pissed," said SC.

"Did we interrupt something?" asked Argona as she and SC pushed their way inside.

"I was having a dream and it was a good one until you woke me up out of it," he said through gritted teeth as he closed the door. The dreams of this mysterious woman were coming more and more frequently, and seemed far too real for his liking.

"So, want to talk about it?" asked Argona as she sat down on the sofa where he had been laying while SC sat with her feet tucked under her in an easy chair. "It will make you feel better."

"Unlike Ari here who's still pissed off at the wolf," snorted SC.

"Shut up, Kitty."

"Not my fault that you have the hots for Scooby Doo," laughed the Were-cat. "I just know that Dallas was ready to ream you a new one after she saw that you had busted her brand new Chippendale coffee table."

Max arched his brow at his friend until she cut him a look that warned him not to even ask what was going on.

"I see..." Max said then cleared his throat. "I have a feeling that your situation is more complicated than mine. I am just having vivid dreams of the most beautiful woman ever to have ever drawn breath, where as you are dealing with flesh and blood."

"Well, from what I have heard," SC chimmed in, "there is a lot of hot flesh, but they haven't drawn any blood yet but that may come if they keep trying to beat the crap out of each other."

"Listen here, little cat!" Argona growled. "First of all he starts it. He is a very surly wolf, always glowering at me and that is like waving a red flag infront of a bull. I take it as a challenge, I am a dragon after all."

Max lifted both brows and calmly stated, "Sounds like sexual frustration to me." SC burst into a fit laughter as Argona promptly gave him the one fingered salute.

~****~

Aisling was in the garage with the radio blaring tracks from the lastest Seether CD while he used a laser tool to carve a wolf's head out of a block of ivory when his mobile phone began to ring. Fetching it from his back pocket. Hitting the 'mute' button on the radio remote control. Aisling answered, "Aye." Expecting his twin or Dal to be on the other end. But the voice he heard was one not heard for a long time. "Hey, Wolf Boy, How are you?" the feminine voice purred.

"Roxane?" he returned with a bit of surprise in his voice. "Where have ye been keepin' yerself, lass?"

"It's me, here and there as always," she replied. And I'm in Vegas. Got a few minutes for an old friend?" Roxane piped back.

"Aye, for ye always."

"Great, so where are you?" Aisling then gave Roxane the home address and she repeated it back before ending the call. Turning the radio back on, the wolf wondered what the pantheress could possibly be doing in Las Vegas of all places. Then again, it was her personal business and he wasn't about to pry. Even though he considered her like a little sister there were somethings he would never ask her, especially since he knew what she was capable of doing. He merely shook his head and returned to work on the carving that he was working on...

~****~

Walking along the Strip, Roxane decided to kill some time before heading over to pay Aisling Lachlan a visit. The sights and sounds of the city assaulted her sensitive senses. Dressed in a skintight navy blue velvet long sleeved catsuit, black leather knee high stiletto boots, and a black leather pirate coat Roxane could have easily passed for one of Vegas' many characters.

Passing in front of the Caesar's Palace Hotel, Roxane's senses suddenly went off. There was other weres close by. Stopping and slowly scanning the area, Roxane could not believe her luck. There was her target walking out of the casino with a tall, black and purple haired woman. They seem to be arguing about something. Curious, she slowly worked her way around the crowd to come with in striking distance of them. However, she couldn't kill him in a crowd without a good escape route. All she could do was listen to the conversation, hoping to gain some intelligence on her intended kill.

"Max, I swear I don't know why you are so obsessed over a dream. She isn't real," the woman said.

"You are not telling me something I have not told myself a dozen times, Ari. But I really believe that it's not just a dream." Max returned.

Suddenly stopping and turning toward the lion. The woman scowled at him. Placing her hands on her hips. "Are you saying you are having preminitions. This woman in your dreams is real and you need to find her?" she huffed.

"Well, yes, I suppose that is what I am saying. She feels real." Max insisted.

Argona suddenly reached out and smacked him upside the head. "Ouch! what the hell was that for?" Max growled.

"Just seeing if I can knock some sense into that cross-wired brain of yours. I think you are losing it old man."

Still rubbing the side of his head. "Well, thanks for nothing. My brain is fine. I am not crazy."

Ari sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, I'm sorry. I believe you. Just becareful. I didn't save your ass from the Romans just for you to end up in the nut house. You and SC are my only family I really have. So watch your back. I got wind that the daimons are on the move again and they are nervous as hell. Something or someone has them in a huff."

"I'll watch my back. I'll talk with you later." Max agreed.

"Sure Max."

Giving the old lion a hug Argona then turned and started walking away. "Oh, Ari." Max called out to her. Looking over her shoulder she called out, "Yeah, Max?"

"Try bedding the wolf instead of breaking furniture. It will be a lot more satisfying," he chuckled. Argona promptly flipped him the bird and called him every dirty name she could think of in every known and unknown language as she stalked into the night.

Roxane watched the one called Argona curiously as she stalked away before turning her attention back to Max. He stood with his back to her, completely unaware that he was the one being hunted. His long, wavy blond hair brushed his broad shoulders and Roxane could tell that he was once a warrior from the way he carried himself. 'Good,' she thought to herself. 'At least this one will give me a fight when I take him out.'

Just then Max turned to go back into the lobby of the Caesar's and the pantheress immediately had to make her disappear before he saw her. Looking around, Roxane took cover behind a row of slot machines as he walked past before she stood up, watching him head over to the elevator bank.

Max had the strangest feeling that he was being watched by someone and yet when he turned to look over the floor of the casino, he saw no one that stood out. But yet, he could not shake the feeling he was getting. It was as though he was being stalked by a predator from the vibes the unseen intruder was giving off. 'Maybe I am losing it,' he said to himself as he stepped onto an empty elevator and punched the button that led up to the penthouse floor.