So Many Questions: Twice Bitten, Part One

As you may know by now, several Wenches are doing a slow re-read of the Chicagoland Vampire books by the lovely Chloe Neill. This re-read has made me realize that I have a lot of questions about this universe and the events that have yet to occur. I've already covered Some Girls Bite, and Friday Night Bites in two parts (one and two). I'm here today to dive into the questions I had while reading Twice Bitten, which I've determined is one of my favorites of the whole series. I had a ton of questions while reading this one. So, this will also be broken into two parts. Keep reading after the break to see part one!


​What would the Red Guard do if the GP overstepped their bounds?

We make sure the Presidium doesn't overstep its authority, like a check and balance on the power of the GP. We also ensure the balance of power between Masters and Novitiates stays relatively stable.

What exactly would the Red Guard do if this happened? Or, if a Master got a little too

big for his britches? We really haven't seen the Red Guard take actually take action on anything. They've pretty much just played backup for Merit and the Cadogan shenanigans. What happens now that the American Houses have split from the GP? Does that change anything for the RG? What would the GP or a Master have to do to goad the RG into action? I feel like the events of the first half of the series are MORE than enough to warrant action from the RG, and yet, they do nothing.

Noah took House oaths?!

"I understand your reticence," he said. "I know what it means to take the oaths to your House. I've taken them, too...."

Noah took House oaths?! What House was it? When was this? Was he born into a House and defected or was he born a Rogue? What position did he have within the House? Why did he defect? Or, like Malik, was his House shut down or his Master killed and the House disbanded? Noah is obviously a strong and influential vampire. He's the de facto leader and spokesperson of the Chicago Rogues and a leader within the RG. Is he strong enough to be a Master? Is that why he either defected or was kicked out? Did his master feel threatened by him, by his strength?​ Or, did he feel that his RG calling was stronger than his House oaths? I am definitely going to need a book, or preferably an entire series about Noah.

Does Merit get called to Red Guard duty?

"You'd want me to leave Cadogan House without a Sentinel in the middle of a war?"

Will Merit be called to action by the RG before the end of the series? Is that the test she and Ethan have to endure before their possible vampire baby? We know that, currently, she and

the RG are kind of on the outs. Would they even bother trying to call her in? Can you leave the Red Guard or is it a lifetime commitment? Merit called on the RG several times before officially joining their ranks. Will that come back to bite her? Will they expect her to help them, even if she doesn't want to be a part of them anymore? While I understand Merit's loyalty to Cadogan, I understand Noah and Jonah's point. Yes, she would be abandoning Cadogan in a time of need, but it would be for the greater good of all vampires. It is quite the conundrum. 

What would have happened to Amber if Merit agreed to be Ethan's Consort?

To be sure, Ethan felt the attraction as well. He'd offered to make me his mistress even before Amber decamped to join Team Desaulniers.

Merit would never in a million years agree to it. But, what if she had? What would have

happened to Amber? Would she have been assigned another job? Would she have been traded to another House to keep things from being too awkward? Would she have continued to live in the House? That would be the worst, for both of them. Amber may have left to join Celina much sooner than she had, if Merit had said yes. How might that have changed the narrative? And, now that I'm thinking about it, do the female Masters have male Consorts also? Or, is this practice strictly a male Master thing?

​How do vampires feel about homosexual relationships among their own kind​?

The women, and a few of the men, stared at the action below them, eyes hooded, cheeks flushed, all of them enjoying the sights below.

Vampires aren't born, they are made. So, they don't have to worry about the procreation side of things. But, a fair amount of them were born in a time when that kind of lifestyle was not accepted. Does that prejudice carry over? Or, does it depend on the vampire? Are the more conservative vampires against it? I feel like Darius and a large portion of the rest of the GP would be opposed to it.  What about shifters and other magical beings that are born into their powers? How do they feel about homosexual relationships? Is it ok as long as they....make their contribution to the species as well? What about inter-species relationships? For example, Adam Keene hits on Merit pretty obviously at the beginning of the book. How would a vampire/shifter relationship be looked upon? What about Paige and the Librarian later in the series? Do either of them get flack for dating outside the species?

What happens to the Packs now?

"And if the Pack decides that we go," Gabriel weightily added, "then we go."

We know that they ultimately decide to stay. But, can this decision be reversed with another ConPack? How does their reveal to the world change this possibility? Could they still retreat to Aurora? Would people just follow them there, revealing their hidden location? Could one Pack decide to leave and the rest stay or is it an all or nothing situation? What about people like the Breckenridges or Jeff, who are a little more tied to their homes? Could they stay, even if the Packs left? Are there Rogue shifters? Is this was the Brecks and Jeff would become if the Packs made the decision to retreat at this point?

How many shifters are there?

They walked toward the door, the leader of vampires and the leader of shifters, the fate of thousands in their hands.

How many shifters are in each Pack? How many vampires are there? We know there are just shy of 400 vampires in Cadogan. How do the other Houses compare? How many vampires are there worldwide? Can that even be determined with the Rogues? What about the shifters? Are each of the Packs fairly even in numbers? What about worldwide? Are there shifters in every part of the world? What about other supernatural creatures? How many fairies are there? How many sorcerers? How many nymphs and trolls?


How does Ethan strength compare to Merit's?

I heard him walk around me, circling again, waiting for his moment to strike. Could he hear as well as I could? Were the lights on for him, metaphorically, because he could detect my movements?

Obviously their age will make a difference. And, Ethan's clearly a superior fighter. But, how would their strengths compare, if they were the same age? Will Merit grow to be stronger than Ethan? Will Merit rival Amit Patel? If and/or when Merit is tested for her own House, how will her scores compare to his? For that matter, how do Merit's scores compare to Lacey's or Morgan's or Nicole's? Just how strong is Merit compared to other vampires? And, how strong is Ethan compared to others? Will we ever know this? If she's given enough time to grow into her vampiredom and enhance her skills, I think that she will be quite a site to behold. Is that why Darius and the GP was so hard on her and so eager to tamp down her Sentinel duties? Did they see what she will become and were seeking to prevent that? Can Seth or Gabriel or one of the sorcerers see how strong she will be when she matures? Have they just not mentioned it? Or is that what Gabriel saw when he said that their families will be connected? Did he see what she will be and that she will use her skills to protect all races, not just vampires?

Did Tony see a prophecy?

When he looked up again, his eyes swirled with something deep and unfathomable. It was the same mystical revelation I'd seen in Gabriel's eyes when we'd first met, right before he made a cryptic remark about our intertwined futures. It was a visual expression, somehow, of a connection to the things he'd seen, the places he'd been, the lives he'd known... and lost.

What exactly did he see at that moment. He clearly wasn't seeing what was in front of

him. Did he see his own death looming just in front of him? Was it the fate of the Packs? Did he see Merit or Ethan or other vampires? How far into the future do shifters see exactly? Can all of them see the future or predict things or is it an Apex trait? How clearly do they see what will happen? Can they change what happens in their prophecies? Or, like the Harry Potter centaurs, do they prefer not to be involved?

Will the other Packs ally with Cadogan?

"As we have agreed to the convocation," Gabriel said, his gaze on his cards as he interrupted the silence, "if the decision is made to stay in Chicago, it may be time to consider allying with one of the Houses."

We know that the NAC makes a formal alliance with Cadogan. But, will the other Packs ally with them as well, eventually? Or, would it make more sense to ally with Houses closer to their home territories? Is there a House in Alaska or close enough in Canada for the Great Northwestern Pack? What about the other two Packs, which Houses are closest for them? Would any of the other Houses be as open to allying with a shifter Pack as Cadogan is? Or, do their prejudices run too deep for that to be a consideration?

What happened to the Pixies?

"If we don't keep up, we risk ending up like the pixies--creatures of dreams and fantasy and fairy tales. No one thought they'd come to that kind of end, did they? And in the end, running back to the forest didn't save them."

What happened to the pixies? Are they extinct now? Why did they run back to the forest? What were they so opposed to that they decided to run? Or, like in the Mercy Thompson series, did the world evolve too much for them and they couldn't adapt? Like in Mercy, with the Fae and iron. Are there any other creatures that we would consider mythical that are actually just extinct or in hiding? If they pixies aren't entirely extinct, where are they? Would creatures such as yetis and the Loch Ness Monster fall into this category? What about Centaurs and all of the creatures from Greek and Roman mythology? Do those creatures still exist somewhere? Where they possible shifters, caught in between forms?

Does Robin have an extra gift?

"Robin?" Gabriel asked, without turning to face him.Robin shook his head. "I don't feel him. I don't feel anybody."

Does Robin have an extra gift of sensing magic, like Lindsey's psychic powers? Are his magical senses heightened because he's blind? How bad ass is Robin to be blind and still be Apex? Even if he inherited the spot, as Gabriel did, to keep it he'd have to be a tough motherfucker. Do some shifters have extra gifts, as vampires do? What kinds of gifts do they have? Is it only Apexes? Are they the only ones gifted with extra abilities? Will we see Robin, Jason, and whoever the new Apex of Great Northwestern is before the series is over? I would like to. I would actually like an entire series of shifters. Maybe Jeff and Fallon's story. Or, Gabriel and Tonya's. I'd even take one of the other Keene brothers finding his HEA. I might prefer that actually.

How high up in the Pack rank is Jeff?

Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked toward the bar's front door. The two shifters who stood outside keeping watch moved aside to let him in, both nodding their heads respectfully as he passed. The kid was definitely a wonder.

We know that, in general, the people that shift into predatory animals are higher in rank

than those who are say, beavers. So, we can deduce from this that Jeff, being a tiger, would be fairly high up to begin with. But, exactly how influential is Jeff and/or is family? Do they have Gabriel's ear or are they just another set of shifter royalty, given that they are tigers? Gabriel obviously knows Jeff, he says at one of their first meetings, that he and Merit have a mutual friend, meaning Jeff. Are Jeff and his family the Amit Patel's of the shifter world? Extremely powerful, but shun leadership? Or, do these guys just move aside because he's with the Ombud's office? Is that how Gabriel knows him?

Well, that's it for Part One, lovely Readers! Stay tuned for Part Two coming soon. Let me know your questions below!