Dylan walked into the staff room and pushed the door open.
A few people were still inside. Noah was sitting in a chair, leaning back and smoking, staring at the ceiling like he was rethinking his entire life.
Dylan clapped his hands once.
"Alright, everyone still alive in here, meeting," he said.
Someone on the couch groaned. "Now?"
"Yeah, now," Dylan said. "Insurance renewal stuff."
A few people immediately started complaining.
"Again?"
"I just signed something last month."
"They change insurance more than we change menus."
Noah looked at Dylan. "Insurance?"
"Yeah," Dylan said casually. "Work insurance, accident insurance, life insurance, the usual. This place is dangerous for our wallets."
Noah frowned slightly. "Do I have to come too?"
Dylan shook his head. "Nah, yours will probably take a few days to process. New employee stuff."
"Oh," Noah said. "Okay."
"Just finish your cigarette and sleep," Dylan said. "We'll probably be a while."
"Alright," Noah said.
Dylan then looked at the others in the room. "Come on, move. Madam's waiting."
Everyone in the staff room stood up and followed Dylan out.
Noah stayed behind, sitting in the chair, slowly smoking and staring at nothing.
Meanwhile, in Madam's office, everyone had gathered.
Lena stood near the wall.
Marco stood near the door with his arms crossed.
Ryan leaned against a cabinet.
Emily stood near the sofa.
Dylan walked in last with the rest of the staff.
Madam was sitting behind her desk, a cigarette burned slowly between her fingers, smoke curling upward.
She looked at everyone in the room.
"Good," she said. "Everyone's here."
The room was quiet.
Madam leaned back in her chair.
"Most of you already know this by now," she said calmly. "But I'll say it clearly."
She tapped ash into the ashtray.
"Noah is a human."
No one in the room looked surprised.
Dylan crossed his arms.
Lena didn't react.
Marco just nodded slightly.
Ryan sighed quietly like he already knew.
Emily looked curious but not shocked.
Madam looked at all of them.
"He doesn't know anything yet," she continued. "And he will not know until I decide."
She paused for a moment.
"Until then, no one touches him. No one scares him. No one feeds on him. No one tells him anything."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.
"If I find out someone ignored this order," she said calmly, "I will personally throw you out of this club."
No one said anything.
No one argued.
Madam then leaned back and looked at everyone for a moment.
"It's been a while, right?" she said casually. "Relax yourselves."
The atmosphere in the room changed immediately.
Dylan rolled his shoulders and let out a long breath. His eyes slowly turned yellow, his pupils narrowing, and his teeth looked sharper when he smirked slightly. A faint growl almost escaped his throat before he stopped himself.
Marco cracked his neck, and his skin slowly started to change color and texture, turning gray and rough like stone. His shoulders looked heavier, and small stone-like ridges formed along his arms. He looked less like a man and more like a statue that had come to life.
Ryan stood quietly for a moment, then strings slowly appeared from his fingers like thin threads hanging in the air. His movements became slightly stiff, like someone was pulling invisible strings attached to his body.
Emily smiled slightly, and for a moment her eyes changed, becoming darker and sharper. Behind her, her shadow split slightly, and multiple thin spider-like legs appeared in the shadow before disappearing again.
Lena didn't change much, but her eyes became colder, and her nails slowly grew longer and sharper, like claws.
The office no longer felt like a normal room.
It felt like a room full of monsters pretending to be human.
Madam watched all of them calmly, like this was completely normal.
She took another slow drag from her cigarette and looked at all of them.
"Remember," she said calmly, "that human is now part of Eclipse."
She exhaled smoke slowly.
"And anyone who belongs to Eclipse… belongs to me."
The room stayed quiet after Madam said that.
No one argued. No one joked. Even Dylan didn't say anything this time.
Madam tapped her cigarette on the ashtray and looked at everyone one by one.
"I'll say this once," she said calmly. "The human stays."
She leaned back in her chair.
"He works. He gets paid. He sleeps here. He eats here. He is a staff."
She paused for a second.
"And the staff are under my protection."
Marco nodded once.
Ryan crossed his arms.
Emily looked thoughtful.
Dylan scratched the back of his neck. "So basically, he's off limits."
Madam looked at him. "Yes."
Dylan shrugged. "Fine by me. He's funny anyway."
Lena rolled her eyes slightly but didn't say anything.
Madam continued.
"I don't care what you are," she said. "Werewolf, vampires, demons, whatever you were before you came here."
She tapped the desk lightly.
"When you are inside Eclipse, you are staff first."
She pointed toward the floor.
"This club is neutral ground. No hunting. No fighting. No feeding on customers. No feeding on staff."
Marco spoke for the first time. "What about outside the club?"
Madam shrugged slightly. "Outside is your problem. Inside is mine."
That made sense.
Ryan then asked, "Does the human know anything?"
"No," Madam said. "And he won't. Not yet."
Emily tilted her head slightly. "What if he finds out on his own?"
Madam took a slow drag from her cigarette.
"If he finds out on his own," she said, "then that means he was meant to know."
The room went quiet again.
Dylan looked around at everyone. "So we're basically babysitting a human now."
Lena immediately spoke. "You are not babysitting. You are working. Same as always."
Dylan smirked. "Yeah, yeah."
Madam then stood up from her chair slowly and walked around the desk.
Even in heels, her footsteps were quiet.
She walked past Marco, past Ryan, past Emily, and stopped in front of Dylan.
"You," she said.
Dylan looked at her. "Me?"
"You brought him to the first table tonight," she said.
"Yeah."
"You'll keep an eye on him on the floor," she said.
Dylan sighed. "So I'm his supervisor now?"
"You're his senior," she said. "Try not to corrupt him too fast."
Everyone in the room laughed a little at that.
Dylan put a hand on his chest. "Madam, I am a very responsible person."
Lena immediately said, "That's a lie."
Marco nodded. "Big lie."
Emily laughed quietly.
Ryan just shook his head.
Madam ignored all of them and walked back to her desk.
"Meeting is over," she said. "Get back to work."
Everyone slowly started leaving the office.
Dylan stretched his arms. "I hate meetings."
Marco opened the door and walked out first.
Ryan followed him.
Emily walked out while checking her phone.
Lena stayed for a moment.
"You sure about this?" she asked Madam quietly.
Madam sat down again and lit another cigarette.
"Yes," she said.
"He's just a human," Lena said.
Madam exhaled smoke slowly.
"No," she said. "If he was just a human, the city wouldn't have sent him to me."
Lena didn't reply.
She just nodded once and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Madam sat alone in the office, cigarette burning slowly between her fingers.
She looked toward the door for a few seconds, then quietly said to herself,
"Let's see what you become, Noah."