Now, it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.
"He is a Knight," smiled Sasha as he stood beside me. That was when I finally realized that I was completely surrounded by my guys, my mates.
Greyson remained behind me, his hand on me, tethering me to the world. Matt had come up to my other side, just standing there, not saying a word, and I could feel the gazes of Levi and Nicholas. I wasn't alone, and even if I decided to burn down my house with everyone inside of it, I would still be protected.
"Ah," I replied, ignoring the Governor and turning my attention to the security guard. "A pleasure. I am Natalia Tesalor, the Head of House Gypsy and the Head of House Tesalor."
David and the rest of the bodyguards around the Governor stiffened and bowed their heads to me.
"I am sure you know who she is?" pressed Sasha, and even I could feel just how pissed off he was. "And I am sure that you know your job?"
"Now see here," grunted the Governor once he realized that no one was paying him any attention.
Until House Gypsy, the other Houses were still unknown to humans. Nothing more than myths and legends of a time long ago.
No, it was Jenny and her predecessor that brought their existence to the attention of the humans.
Then again, they were nothing more than humans themselves, so that it would make sense.
I wasn't happy about it, but it did make sense.
However, I couldn't bring my House back into the shadows after being exposed. It never worked like that.
"They are my guards, provided by Knights Securities. They are the best of the best, not only in the US but in the world as well," pressed the Governor.
Sasha nodded his head. "Thank you for that kind endorsement. My name is Sasha Hatmanu. I am the VP in charge of all the different teams. It's nice to know that our men live up to standards. Viktor Singer is around here somewhere. You know who he is too, right? The CEO of Knights Securities?"
I have to admit that it took me longer to remember who Viktor Singer was than it should.
But it made sense that he wouldn't use his actual last name… it was well known, after all.
"Of course, I know who Mr. Singer is," stuttered the man and now it was my turn to feel redundant in the conversation.
"Then, if you want to keep having access to Knights Securities, I suggest that you are a bit more careful about who you are telling to toe the line in the future," continued Sasha. David nodded his head to me and Sasha before making a hand signal to the rest of his me.
As quickly as they appeared, David and the rest disappeared.
"Now, where was I?" I said, straightening my back. I was the Head, and as much as I might now want to play politics, it meant that I could no longer ignore them. "Ah, right. Anyone who had ties with Jenny will no longer have access to House Gypsy. If you are going to insist on keeping the relationship, then I will have to start cutting ties… and you will not like that."
Not giving the man a chance to respond, I walked away, going to greet the next person.
-----
We were at least two hours into the ball when someone strolled toward me.
"Mike?" I asked as he interrupted a riveting conversation between me and some Senator as to why some people should have access to emotional support demons.
I kid you not. That was what he called them.
Emotional. Support. Demons.
"Hey Nat," sighed Mike as he leaned in to kiss my cheek. "It's been a while," he continued, and I could feel the tiredness coming off of him in waves.
"It has," I agreed. The sarcastic comment on the tip of my tongue was swallowed as I looked at him. The bags under his eyes had their own bags, and he was much, much paler than I had ever seen him before. It scared me.
"What's going on?" I asked, taking his arm and leading him to the side of the ballroom and the exit closest to my office. "Is everything okay?"
"What? Not even a 'you look good in uniform'?" chuckled Mike, holding out his other hand to show me the dress uniform he was in.
"You know, things would be much less stressful if you finally retired from the NYPD and took your place as my Beta," I nudged him as Greyson unlocked the door to my office, and we walked in.
"Yeah. But there have been a few murders in the past few months that have kiboshed that plan," sighed Mike as he sat down in front of my desk.
Swishing past him, I took a seat in my chair, sending out a prayer that it wouldn't cause too many wrinkles in my dress. The last thing I needed was Stephanie on my case about sitting in a ballgown.
Mathew went to sit beside our old boss while Greyson, Levi, and Sasha sat down on the couch behind Mike.
My Beta looked around before raising an eyebrow at everyone.
"My mates," I smiled at him.
"It seems like I have missed a lot," murmured Mike, and I could see a hint of pain in his eyes. It was my fault. I really needed to get better at contacting people…
"Nothing you can't catch up on," I assure him. "Now, about this murder."
Mike pulled out a folder that I had only just noticed from underneath his arm and set it in front of me. "I am considering you an expert consultant in this matter," he started as I opened the file in front of me. Nodding my head in understanding, I flipped through the pages.
Me acting as an expert consultant meant that I could have access to the information on an ongoing investigation without having to be a police officer again.
And death was preferable to spending more time in that room.
"There has been almost a victim a week," stated Mike, leaning back in his chair. Matt got up and went over to the wet bar, pouring a drink for Mike before bringing it back and handing it to him. "Thanks. Anyways, each victim has been drained of blood, most likely at the primary crime scene, and all of their internal organs removed before being dumped."