40 This place needs a makeover. The East coast headquarters of the vampire Council were not what one would expect if they’d ever been a guest of any of the coven houses in U.S. or Europe. Instead of a mansion, the headquarters was a plain stone building hidden in the woods of upstate New York. There were no sumptuous furnishings or delicate antiques here. Instead, the furniture was massive and heavy, imported from the old country and their earliest days as an organization. The entire place was a throwback. The only concession to comfort was the richness of the rugs on the floor. Alec studied the imposing and impossibly large dark wood table in the central meeting hall. Even though it was rare for all the members to attend a meeting at the same time, tradition dictated that there be a s

