Kickdrum Beating in My Chest Again (Alternate Version)

Chapter 119

!!!!!!!!!!Author's Note!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone! Happy Friday (almost)! I hope everyone had a good week. Mine was very busy. We came home from our trip to Sonoma for the NASCAR race on Tuesday and the next day, we picked up our Westie puppy!  He's 8.5 weeks old, absolutely adorable, and super sweet and loving!   We named him Ranulf.  It's an old Norse (Vikings) word that means shield wolf and wise wolf.  So, we have our hands full, but we love him already and he seems to be adjusting to life with us very well!   He likes having an older brother to play with.  Let me explain.  We have an elder Westie who is 14 and we know his years are limited.  When our cats have died, we got a new one quickly, which helped us heal.  We don't know how long our elder Westie has left, but we wanted to make sure we had another one when he goes.  This is different than it was with the cats.  We adopted kittens from the shelter, but with a purebred dog, you can't just go get one at the shelter.  You have to go through a breeder.  We found a breeder about an hour away from us and she said we would get the first pick of the males dogs she had in the next litter.  Ranulf was born on May 17, 2025, so we've been waiting for him to be old enough to come home.  The reason we went with a purebred was because these dogs don't shed, except for after baths and are considered hypoallergenic.  I think I've mentioned this before, but I have HORRIBLE allergies, so two shedding cats is all they can handle.  I'd attach a picture of him, but I don't know how to do that. If you'd like to see him, contact me on tumblr @dancecoaster.

This week, we learn the backstory of a new character, Lauren, Elisa's assistant. She's not what she seems and we find out that Gabe is blackmailing her to work for him, by putting her in an impossible situation, making her choose between the safety of her family and a shit-ton of money for her and her family. Most of this chapter is told in flashback. We also learn how she was turned and how that effected her relationship with her family. When we return to the present, find out how unhappy she is about this arrangement and how it's slowly eating her alive inside. This chapter does discuss a gambling addiction, so if this triggers you, skip this chapter.

As always, enjoy, tell your friends, and if you like it, feel free to leave me kudos or a message. As I mentioned above, if you'd like to see a pic of our new puppy or discuss the story directly with me, you can find me on tumblr @dancecoaster. Happy Reading!

Chapter 119

********No Trigger Warning for this Chapter...Yay!!!********

Lauren watches as Elisa picks up the phone and tries to call some of her friends at the various court offices. Once she's busy and distracted, Lauren gets to work looking like she is beginning to assemble the parts of Dr. Stump's case to refile with the court scheduler so they can get a court date for Dr. Stump's initial hearing. Lauren has no intention of doing any of that though. In fact, she plans on dragging this out for as long as she possibly can because that is what she is there to do. Elisa has no idea, but Lauren is also a vampire who begrudgingly works for Gabe.

(Italicized because it's a flashback)

Lauren had actually already been working for Elisa as her paralegal for several months. She'd gotten the job on her own and was very excited to work in the legal field to gain the experience she needed to move up the ladder to a Senior paralegal and eventually to being a lawyer herself. Lauren was eager to work, and she wanted to do the best job that she could for Elisa. She was also still very close with the members of her coven. She didn't live in the coven's house because she liked having her own space, but she'd made sure that her apartment was near enough that she could still visit and be a part of the things that took place there. Lauren had a great work/life balance. Coven matters and activities never crossed over into her work life and vice versa. In fact, she'd made distinct boundaries between the two and didn't ever allow one to influence the other. She hadn't even told anyone in her coven where she works, only what she did.