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Jules felt the arrival of Richard and a couple of his wolves, along with Anita and the Vampires. She noticed the band stop and look to her for guidance. Shaking her head, she continued leading the band through their warm ups. Once the sound check was complete, she motioned for everyone to join her in front of the stage.

As they did, Richard, Anita, Jean-Claude, Jamil, Jason, and Asher stepped out of the shadows where they had been watching. Jules stepped forward and greeted Richard in the manner of a visiting wolf. He had to bend down as they rubbed cheeks and buried their faces in each other's hair, smelling the skin of their necks.

Meanwhile, Patrick had walked up and stood at Jules' left, back two steps. When their greeting was over, Jules stepped back and smiled at the others. "Let me introduce you to my family. You've already met Patrick, he's a weretiger. I've known Patrick all my life. He was a trucker who came to town every couple of weeks. He's the one who found Timmy and me in Serenity. He hasn't left our sides since." Patrick remained behind Jules in guard mode but nodded his head at everyone.

A large bald man with silver earrings in each ear nodded solemnly at the group. He looked tough, with muscles bulging in his crossed arms, until you got to his eyes. His eyes told a different story. They were an amber color and held a touch of sadness to them.

Stepping around him, Jules went and stood between two women. "This is Jessica and her sister Chloe. They are the only survivors of their family from a rogue werewolf. Jessica was infected, but Chloe managed to escape. They have been inseparable, which is usually the problem where packs are concerned, as most of them don't allow non-weres to join. They are my back up singers and dancers." Jules placed an arm around each of the girls in a sort of hug and kissed them each on the cheek before moving on to the next person.

As soon as Jules moved away, the two girls moved together, each sliding an arm around the other. They were twins and their soft brown hair was long to their waists while their green eyes reflected the shadows of their past. Both were taller then Jules and slender, almost willowy. They could have been models.

"This wonderful couple here is Ruth and Jamie. Jamie is my guitarist and fellow singer. He's a wereleopard. Ruth is his wife and our stage manager. They've been with me almost as long as Patrick has." Jules smiled lovingly at the couple.

Just then a squeal split the air and two small bundles came tumbling down one of the ramps that had been set up around the stage area. Jules laughed as she caught them both and hauled them up. "Whoa, you two. We have company."

Immediately, they quieted and Jules set one of them down. "That is Rebecca, Ruth and Jamie's daughter and this fur ball is Sir Alfonzo Haversham, better known as Shammy."

The couple smiled at their daughter and Ruth bent to pick up the suddenly shy three year old. Ruth was short with deep auburn hair cut in a no-nonsense style. She was slightly stocky. Jamie was about four inches taller than his wife and well built. He had dark brown hair that hung around his shoulders. They both had brown eyes which they shared with their daughter, who was definitely a mix of both parents.

The fur ball that Jules was holding was one of those long haired yippy dogs. Jules set him down and he sat obediently at her feet. "Shammy is our little mascot and baby-sitter. He keeps an eye on Becca for us. We got him from a pound somewhere along the way. Not quite sure what kind of mix he is, but he's one of the best."

Jules walked over to three men. "These gentlemen are the rest of my band members. Howie also plays guitar and sax. Robert plays keyboard and trumpet, and Keoki plays bass. Howie is a werewolf, Keoki is a werepanther, and Robert is a wererat."

As each gentleman's name was said, he nodded his greeting. Howie looked to be of dark Italian descent but with the name Howie, you couldn't be sure. Robert had sandy blond hair with blue eyes and looked to be your typical California beach boy. Keoki was a true blue Hawaiian; at least he appeared to be.

Richard looked over the band. "I thought you said that there were thirteen of you?"

Jules looked around at the collected group. "Oh, there are. Timmy and Sonja should be here any minute."

As if on cue, a door offstage opened and shut. A young man of about eighteen wheeled himself onto the stage and down one of the ramps.

"Speak of the devil and in he walks." Jules laughed as she walked over to the young man and gave him a quick kiss. "This is Timmy…" Timmy gave her a quick pinch and Jules shook her head good-naturedly. "Sorry, Tim. He's not really a little boy anymore, is he?"

Tim, as he obviously wanted to be called, would have been a tall young man if he hadn't been in a chair. His upper body looked strong and his legs were in braces. Tim's wavy brown hair kept falling into his eyes which after a while, he quit pushing back. The blue eyes peeking through were highly intelligent and sparkled with good humor.

That was when they noticed the young woman standing in the shadows of the stage. Jules turned and looked at her. "Sonja, it's okay. Come on down. No one will hurt you."

The young woman came quietly down the ramp and stood behind Tim and Jules, grabbing her hand as if she was her lifeline.

"Sonja has recently joined our little troupe and is helping out with things backstage. She was dating a young man who was a wererat. He never told her and one night close to the full moon, he lost control and bit her before she could get away. The boyfriend tried to see her the next day but she had really been freaked out by what she had seen. She was also embarrassed and didn't want to tell her parents. A few nights later, the full moon came and she changed. Her parents thought that she was a rogue wererat and chased her out of their house. When she went back home, her parents had figured it out and disowned her. I found her wandering the streets of Baltimore when we were playing there."

Squeezing her hand, she released her and moved back in front of her people. When she did this, Sonja moved more behind Tim's chair as if she was using is as a buffer between her and the world.

"Well, Richard? What do you think? Can we stay?" Jules asked.

Richard looked over the assembled group of weres. "I can only speak for you and the wolves but yes, you may stay."

Jules smiled and turned to Anita. "May my leopard stay Nimir-ra?"

Anita looked a little startled as she had never been asked permission for a leopard to stay or not. Of course they hadn't had any leopards move into town yet either. Feeling a little uncomfortable at being asked, she answered. "Yes, he may stay."

"I found out who to contact for my rats and he has given his permission if I got both of yours," Jules told them, looking a little curious. "Now, why would the rat king do that?"

Anita smiled slightly. "He is a friend of ours."

Jules nodded her understanding. "I figured that must be what it was. Otherwise he would have been here to check us out as well. Now is there anyone I need to contact for the others?"

Richard shook his head. "No, those weres are pretty much independent here as there aren't enough of them around to create a pack or pard of their own."

"Then it's settled. We stay, at least for the two week contract," Jules announced to the room at large. It was amazing to see the relief and the sudden relaxed air the band got at those words. "Now, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but some of us have a show to put on in another hour and we haven't had our dinner yet. If you'd like to join us, please do. If not, I hope that you'll come back for the show."

Jean-Claude spoke for the first time since they had arrived. "I am glad that that is settled. I would hate for tonight to be your opening and closing night. Your offer to share your meal with us is most welcome, but alas, we cannot join you. Some of us will be back for the show, however."

"Thank you, Jean-Claude," Jules replied. "We look forward to seeing everyone who can make it tonight. Once again, Richard, I thank you for allowing us to stay."

Richard moved forward once more. "You're welcome. I would like to talk to you about the Eir sometime, if that is possible."

Jules held her hands out to Richard and again they did the greeting. "That's not a problem. Just let me know when and where."

Richard stepped back and Jules approached Anita. "I would greet you as I have Richard but I feel that you are still not comfortable with the way of the weres, especially since you truly aren't one. Don't worry though, I'm not insulted." Jules grinned holding out just one hand. "How about a good old fashioned handshake instead?"

Anita smiled and took the offered hand. "I would like to be able to talk to you as well."

Jules nodded. "I would like that and thank you, Anita, for letting us stay. I have found that most Lupas are worried about me taking their place. It is so nice to find this is not the case here. If you distrust me, it is simply your nature to distrust any stranger."

Anita nodded her head slowly, the smile leaving her face. At first she was going to accuse her of reading her mind again but then she thought about the band members and knew that it was nothing more than instinct.

Jules stepped back from Anita, looked over the rest of the entourage and smiled. Turning away, she looked at her family and her smile got bigger. "Okay people, let's go eat. We have a little under an hour before we need to be back here."

Everyone turned and left, Jules and Patrick were the last to leave. When the Eir were gone, Anita glanced at Richard and then at Jean-Claude. "I need to go. I have four appointments tonight. The first one is across town in an hour, so I'll see you all later." Giving both Richard and Jean-Claude a quick kiss, she was out the door, leaving everyone else to look after her.

Jason chuckled, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "What is so amusing?" Jean-Claude asked a little coolly.

Jason held up his hands. "It's just that I don't know which is worse? Anita dating both of you, Anita only dating one of you, or Anita avoiding both of you."

Richard and Jean-Claude both stared at Jason for a few minutes before they both turned and walked out the door. Asher shook his head and followed behind them while Jamil growled before he left to catch up. "You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?"

Jason's smile got even bigger as he looked at the retreating backs. "Nope." Looking around, he realized that he was the only one left. Taking his time, he strolled to the door and out into the street.

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