Sidney entered the large foyer of Stephan and Liz's home behind the human who opened the door for her.

"The masters will be down momentarily," he said through his nose, bowing as he left her in the front sitting room.

Their home was the epitome of grandeur and the oldest inhabited castle in the north of Ireland. The decor was very modern and unexpected given the age of the building, and the fact that Stephan was one of the biggest antique dealers in the country. It made the castle feel homely and welcoming. Sidney felt instantly at ease as she sat in the large cream armchair while she waited for her hosts to appear for her unexpected visit.

A pretty, young woman entered the room and curtsied to Sidney. "The masters wish me to offer you sustenance." She knelt on the floor in front of Sidney and offered up her wrist. She kept her head down to avoid looking Sidney in the eye.

"Thank you, but I'm fine," Sidney replied. The young woman looked up with fear in her eyes at her refusal and Sidney caught the faint whisper of a brutal slap that crossed her memory. She helped her to stand. "I've already eaten. Really, I'm fine." She could feel the woman's relief as she all but ran from the room. Sidney couldn't help but wonder at the reason for the fear while she waited for her hosts.

Draped in a peach-coloured, silk robe with lace trim, Liz arrived first - her attire elegant, but for the bunny slippers peeking out below the hem of the gown. She enveloped Sidney in a hug. "It's been too long." She smiled in greeting.

"I know, I keep meaning to call, but something always seems to crop up at the last moment."

Stephan swept into the room, cutting off any further catching up between the two. He had dressed himself in a red, velvet robe that was almost as frivolous as the one Liz wore. "Sidney, dear," he said, taking her hand to his lips for a mock kiss across her knuckles. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

"That's right, assume I'm in trouble." She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm on a fact-finding mission actually."

"Fine." He chuckled. "How can we help?"

"I'll get straight to the point. I've obviously interrupted something." She smiled wickedly. "Is it possible for a vampire to have a werewolf as a mate?"

He returned her smile and indicated for them all to sit. "In theory, yes, I suppose they could. Why? Have you finally found a mate for yourself?"

"Me? No, but what if that vampire already had a vampire mate. Would it be possible to have both?"

"Hmm, two mates, one soul and one bond? I've never heard of such a thing happening. It's highly unlikely but again, in theory, possible," he replied thoughtfully. He sat forward in his seat, anxious to hear more. "Are you going to fill us in on who we are referring to?"

"Well, you know how Sam thinks he's found his soul mate?"

"Yes we've met the girl. Very pretty little thing she is too," Liz interrupted her.

"What do you mean, thinks?" Stephan shushed his wife by flapping his hand in her direction.

"I can see in his mind that he feels strongly for her, and she does for him too, but there's something not right about it. He tried to share blood with her and ended up poisoned by it. We almost lost him. Had it not been such a small amount, Callie's quick action in flushing it out and him being able to feed straight away, we would have. He is still terribly weak, but recovering. I had put the poison down to her having drunk from a young witch just the day before..."

"She was able to drink witch blood without ill effect?" Stephan gasped.

"Yes, and again I thought perhaps because she is a witch herself, it didn't affect her the same way as it would us."

"No, she can't be a witch. How could Sam have turned her if she were?" Liz exclaimed, aghast at the suggestion.

"We have met her and she smells quite delightful - not like a witch at all," Stephan refuted.

Sidney filled them in on how Sam had only had to make her swallow a small mouthful of his blood and how she had inherited her powers several weeks after that.

"Come to think of it now, it was rather strange that she had no blood lust, or newborn symptoms. Perhaps that had something to do with being a witch. I found no information about it what-so-ever," Stephan added as an afterthought, taping his chin with his index finger.

"Then last night, after she had lost a vast quantity of her blood through the rip Sam caused in her main artery, I made her feed from a shifter. Rather reluctantly, I might add. What was strange was that although he has donated for years without emotion or any after effects, he reacted very strongly during her feeding and he became captivated by her. Today she forced him to shift. It was unintentional, but just before that she could hear his voice in her mind while he was in wolf form. I can't even do that..."

"How did he react?" Stephan interrupted again.

"Sexually," she answered. "But in order for her to hear him and then force him to shift she would..."

"Either have to be a more powerful alpha or his mate," Liz finished for her.

"Exactly." Sidney nodded. "She has no intention of taking over any wolf pack."

Stephan scratched his head. "Very curious. Are there any or have there ever been shifters in her family history?"

"Not that she's aware of. Her maternal great grandparents were powerful witches, Noleen and Brian O'Connor, and as far as I can draw from her mind all on her paternal side were human."

"Ah, I knew them, very nice people too. Such a pity their lives were cut short. Hmmm," he sighed, lost in thought, "a vampire witch who is unaffected by poisonous witch blood, can control this shifter...is it just the wolf?"

"So far it's just the wolf. But then there's also the matter of the demon."

"Demon?"

"He was attempting to kill her - to take her power. For all intents and purposes, he has given up being a demon on her say so. Something about a promise she made to help him escape his underworld prison. He has admitted to her that he finds her intriguing. He also saved both her and the witch from a fellow demon who lured them into the underworld." At their confused looks she added, "A long story."

"Did she feed from the demon as well?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no, but she is trying to give him something he craves more than anything else. Something he can't even do himself."

"Okay, so we add 'may be consort to a demon' to the list." More head scratching. "The witch she drank from, do you know how she responded?"

"The only hazy vision I could glimpse of the witch was her writhing in ecstasy under Callie while she drank. Only the fact that Callie is female may have been the deciding factor in the enchanting. I know the young witch was confused and embarrassed by how she felt."

"Oh my! Of course! You just hit the nail on the head as it were," Stephan cried as he rose from his seat to pace the room in panic. "But she can't be! They have been gone for more than three thousand years. If word gets out that she may even possibly be... every being of power will come looking for her, including the council elders. They will kill anything that gets in their way. We will all be in danger..." He stopped pacing abruptly and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"Wait." Sidney frowned at him. "I couldn't quite catch that thought. Can't be what exactly?"

"An Enchantress."

Both Liz and Sidney sent him quizzical looks.

"Explain what an Enchantress, is dear," Liz instructed.

"I only know what I can remember from an ancient script I came across many years ago. I'll have to hunt it out to be sure. From what I remember, whatever animal - be it human, beast, vampire, or anything for that matter - that she feeds from, will fall in love with her. They fall so completely that she can make them do absolutely anything, including taking their lives if she asks it. Whatever magic she weaves can fool shifters into thinking they've found their mates, and vampires their soul mates, etcetera...Whoever controls her will have access to all other beings through her."

"Oh shit. That's not good," Sidney concluded.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Stephan continued. "We are jumping to conclusions, and one wolf does not mean she has control of all the beasts. It could be as simple as having two mates as you suggest." He started pacing again. "We will have to keep an eye on her. Do not let her feed from anyone else, bag feedings only from now on. We cannot risk it just in case."

Sidney rose from her seat. "You'll keep me informed of what you find?"

"I will call on you when I know more," he promised.

She turned to Liz, hugging her in farewell. "Next time I come by I'll leave more time for a decent visit."

"Speak of this to no-one, Sidney," Stephan warned, walking her to the door.

"I won't, no fear of that. I'll be in touch soon." Sidney waved, speeding off to the nearest blood bank on the way to Sam's home.