Simon Hawthorne, PhD
Simon Hawthorne was born in Gloucestershire in Great Britain on 3rd April 1894. In July, 1916, after the first Battle of the Somme, at the age of 22, he was turned by vampire John Wells. According to his ID he is in his early 30s, and often gets carded because of his youthful appearance.
Originally from a British upper class family, Simon’s older brother, Andrew, was being groomed to take over as head of the family, but he and his wife died on the Titanic. This left Simon with a future he never wanted. He bought a commission in the army and enlisted when war broke out in 1914, in part to get away and figure out how to work up the courage to tell his father. The decision is taken out of his hands when he becomes a vampire, and his family believe him dead.
During the war, he met and fell in love with an enlisted British soldier, Stephen Vaughan, who was killed by John Wells shortly before Simon was turned. Simon managed to escape from his maker and was helped by Forge who educates him about vampires and how to live with what he’s become. He met Declan around the same time through Forge.
Simon returned to Britain, and tried to contact his family, but it went badly. The one person he hoped might accept what he has become, his beloved Uncle Edwin, had died during the influenza epidemic. Simon buried himself in his studies and earned his PhD in history at Cambridge in the 1920s.
After WW1 Simon only met with Forge and Declan a few times, until WWII brought them together again. The three of them worked together with the Resistance to get humans and supernaturals out of occupied Europe, providing a safe haven, passage, and false IDs. Declan encouraged him to pursue a relationship with human Albert Schuster whom Simon had fallen in love with in Germany. Albert's death in 1945 at the hands of John Wells, who was by then convinced Simon was his soulmate, together with the atrocities Simon witnessed during the war sent him over the edge. He drank human blood, trying to drown the memories, and went on a killing spree. He refused to have anything to do with John, who behaved possessively and tried to force Simon into a relationship with him. Declan and another vampire—Cynthia—helped Simon to control his addiction and he hasn’t fed on human blood since.
In the late 1940s, Simon received a letter from Declan telling him about Boggslake, where he and Forge were now living. Simon went to Boggslake to visit them and decided to stay. He, Forge and Declan bought Boggs’ Castle between them and Simon has lived there ever since.
Simon works as a professor at Lakeview University teaching 20th century history. The baby grand piano in his apartment was originally his Uncle Edwin’s-- Simon bought it after his niece died in 1965 and the family’s estate was sold, then had it shipped to Boggslake. A pianist with a love for classical music and jazz, Simon often uses music to work through whatever is troubling him. Despite seeing many technological advances in his lifetime, he has never embraced technology and still acts in many ways the Edwardian gentleman he was raised to be. He drives a 2000 Aston Martin V8 Vantage coupe, similar to the car James Bond drives. He met Ian Fleming briefly during WWII.
Simon met his human soul mate, Ben Leyton, in 2013, and they soul bonded a few weeks later.
Ben Leyton
Ben Leyton was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 13th June 1987. Leaving school he worked in a café for a couple of years before starting university. He graduated from Victoria University in Wellington with a BA in art history and English literature in 2011.
His parents and two younger sisters, Madeline and Natasha, still live in Wellington. Ben’s grandfather, to whom he is close, visited Boggslake in 1951, and suggested Ben visit there as part of his OE (overseas experience). Ben stays in close touch with his friend, Ange Duncan, who still lives in the flat they once shared. Although he is currently working at Miller’s Café in Boggslake, Ben hopes to one day follow his dreams and pursue his passion as a photographer. Ben is also a huge SF and comics geek and played darts at his local pub in NZ.
He met Simon Hawthorne about six weeks after arriving in Boggslake, and was thrown into a world of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and other supernaturals that he didn’t know existed. After soul bonding with Simon, Ben decided to make Boggslake his home and moved into Boggs’s Castle with Simon.
Simon Hawthorne was born in Gloucestershire in Great Britain on 3rd April 1894. In July, 1916, after the first Battle of the Somme, at the age of 22, he was turned by vampire John Wells. According to his ID he is in his early 30s, and often gets carded because of his youthful appearance.
Originally from a British upper class family, Simon’s older brother, Andrew, was being groomed to take over as head of the family, but he and his wife died on the Titanic. This left Simon with a future he never wanted. He bought a commission in the army and enlisted when war broke out in 1914, in part to get away and figure out how to work up the courage to tell his father. The decision is taken out of his hands when he becomes a vampire, and his family believe him dead.
During the war, he met and fell in love with an enlisted British soldier, Stephen Vaughan, who was killed by John Wells shortly before Simon was turned. Simon managed to escape from his maker and was helped by Forge who educates him about vampires and how to live with what he’s become. He met Declan around the same time through Forge.
Simon returned to Britain, and tried to contact his family, but it went badly. The one person he hoped might accept what he has become, his beloved Uncle Edwin, had died during the influenza epidemic. Simon buried himself in his studies and earned his PhD in history at Cambridge in the 1920s.
After WW1 Simon only met with Forge and Declan a few times, until WWII brought them together again. The three of them worked together with the Resistance to get humans and supernaturals out of occupied Europe, providing a safe haven, passage, and false IDs. Declan encouraged him to pursue a relationship with human Albert Schuster whom Simon had fallen in love with in Germany. Albert's death in 1945 at the hands of John Wells, who was by then convinced Simon was his soulmate, together with the atrocities Simon witnessed during the war sent him over the edge. He drank human blood, trying to drown the memories, and went on a killing spree. He refused to have anything to do with John, who behaved possessively and tried to force Simon into a relationship with him. Declan and another vampire—Cynthia—helped Simon to control his addiction and he hasn’t fed on human blood since.
In the late 1940s, Simon received a letter from Declan telling him about Boggslake, where he and Forge were now living. Simon went to Boggslake to visit them and decided to stay. He, Forge and Declan bought Boggs’ Castle between them and Simon has lived there ever since.
Simon works as a professor at Lakeview University teaching 20th century history. The baby grand piano in his apartment was originally his Uncle Edwin’s-- Simon bought it after his niece died in 1965 and the family’s estate was sold, then had it shipped to Boggslake. A pianist with a love for classical music and jazz, Simon often uses music to work through whatever is troubling him. Despite seeing many technological advances in his lifetime, he has never embraced technology and still acts in many ways the Edwardian gentleman he was raised to be. He drives a 2000 Aston Martin V8 Vantage coupe, similar to the car James Bond drives. He met Ian Fleming briefly during WWII.
Simon met his human soul mate, Ben Leyton, in 2013, and they soul bonded a few weeks later.
Ben Leyton
Ben Leyton was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 13th June 1987. Leaving school he worked in a café for a couple of years before starting university. He graduated from Victoria University in Wellington with a BA in art history and English literature in 2011.
His parents and two younger sisters, Madeline and Natasha, still live in Wellington. Ben’s grandfather, to whom he is close, visited Boggslake in 1951, and suggested Ben visit there as part of his OE (overseas experience). Ben stays in close touch with his friend, Ange Duncan, who still lives in the flat they once shared. Although he is currently working at Miller’s Café in Boggslake, Ben hopes to one day follow his dreams and pursue his passion as a photographer. Ben is also a huge SF and comics geek and played darts at his local pub in NZ.
He met Simon Hawthorne about six weeks after arriving in Boggslake, and was thrown into a world of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and other supernaturals that he didn’t know existed. After soul bonding with Simon, Ben decided to make Boggslake his home and moved into Boggs’s Castle with Simon.
Jonas Forge
Jonas Forge was born in a small settlement on the edge of the West Virginia wilderness near what later became known as Point Pleasant in the early summer of 1743.
He had no education, but as a young man he joined the militia and was able to save enough money to purchase a French model 1717 rifle, which he has to this day. Considering his later relationship with Declan it’s almost prophetic he chose this weapon.
His best friend, Emmaline, was raped and became pregnant. At that time, rape was often blamed on the woman so Jonas did what he thought was the right thing. He married her, even though he was not attracted to women. No one other than Jonas and Emmaline knew that the child she bore wasn’t his. The little girl was named Johanna.
The American Revolution was broaching the horizon and Jonas joined the fight. He was mortally wounded during the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774 at the age of 31. His comfort as he lay dying was Emmaline and Johanna would be the widow and child of a war hero, not ostracized for being an unwed mother and a bastard child.
Jonas didn’t die. He woke up in a mass grave surrounded by dead bodies. Not understanding why or how, he was frightened beyond rational thought. Jonas felt an uncontrollable thirst for blood and without thinking he drank blood from one of the bodies. The blood of a dead human is poison to a vampire and made him desperately sick. Jonas recovered and ran off, living off the land in the wilderness for nearly half a century and never touched human blood again.
In the early 1800s Declan found Jonas and coaxed him back to civilization. He taught Jonas about what he’d become: a vampire. Friendship made a quick leap to lovers. It was a struggle, since Jonas had been living alone, other than the dogs he had, for many years, but together they managed. To Jonas, Declan became Babiche, an Algonquin word that loosely translated to cord or thread. For Jonas, Declan had been a lifeline. Declan often referred to Jonas as ma moitié—my half.
Declan taught Jonas to read and write then arranged for him to attend William and Mary College. Jonas had aspirations of studying drama. He soon gave that up for law. Thanks to Declan’s influence, Jonas learned the languages of French and Algonquin as well.
When Jonas began his studies people naturally asked his name. He didn’t like the man he’d been before, and other than Declan, he didn’t want people calling him Jonas. Like the man who’d become his lover and mentor, Jonas decided to use another name to go with the new person he was becoming. He became just Forge and though many people know his first name, only Declan uses it.
Both Forge and Declan are convinced they’ve lived as long as they have and remained sane because of their relationship with each other.
They made Boggslake their home base but traveled the Americas, working as mercenary soldiers and spies. Boggslake was a tiny settlement when Declan and Forge first encountered the Coate pack. Boggs's Castle would eventually become their home.
When war broke out in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century Forge went with Declan to do their duty however they could. It was then Forge briefly met Simon Hawthorne and helped Simon through becoming a vampire. They returned during the Second World War, working for the Resistance with Simon. They also aided in moving intelligence information from Nazi Germany to the Allies.
The three of them eventually purchased Boggs’s Castle in Boggslake. Forge became a detective with Boggslake's police force using skills he owed to Declan’s tutelage in tracking. Always feeling it was his duty to keep others safe, Forge concentrated on his little corner of the world.
After living nearly 240 years, and most of that time as a vampire, Forge met his soul mate, Blair Turner. All their lives Declan stressed how important it was for vampires to move with the times and accept change. Forge learned a valuable lesson: things could change, but the people he loved and who loved him were forever.
Blair Turner, PhD
Blair was born September 27, 1984 in Roswell, New Mexico. He lived there with his father who investigated cybercrimes for the FBI by day and, unbeknownst to Blair, consulted for a clandestine group of men on the other side of the country digging up information on supernatural threats. Blair excelled with coding and computers from a young age and for a while walked a fine line between legal and illegal activities until his father caught him. He decided he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and fight cybercrime so pursued an education that allowed him to further his goals.
When his father, Robert, died unexpectedly Blair was devastated. The night after his father’s funeral Blair went to a bar and met a man. One drink too many and Blair, who was hurt and lonely, hooked up with the stranger. Blair was forced into a situation he couldn't get out of when the stranger coerced Blair into taking him home. The next morning when Blair woke up, his life was changed forever.
There was a vial of blood and a note on how to obtain more left for Blair, the man nowhere to be seen. He knew something had happened to him and finally worked out he’d been changed into a vampire. Not knowing anything about what he’d become, Blair turns to popular literature. Researching how to be a vampire wasn't easy and his only source of information was graphic novels, movies and novels, none of which were entirely accurate. However, Blair didn’t know that and took all the myth and pop lore as gospel.
Always quiet and an introvert, Blair isolated himself from the world thinking he’s become a soulless, evil monster. Taking the screen name Alucard, Blair continues the supernatural research work of his father. It’s not until Simon’s soul mate, Ben moves to Boggs’s Castle and strikes up a firm friendship with Blair that Blair is prompted to leave New Mexico for Boggslake, Ohio.
He’d known Jonas Forge only as a voice over the internet. He had no clue Simon and Forge were vampires as well and that Lucas is a werewolf. Ever since Blair and Ben began trading graphic novels via mail Blair had developed a bit of a schoolboy crush on Forge. Fearing Forge’s life, and the lives of his other friends, is in jeopardy Blair makes the trip to Boggslake.
Blair is as surprised as Forge when they realize they are both vampires. Blair got an instant indoctrination into the real world where vampires, werewolves and humans coexist, sometimes they even get along. However, Forge isn’t just any vampire, he’s Blair’s soulmate, whether they like it or not.
Eventually Blair came to discover he and Forge are destined to soulbond because they complement each other so well. Both were changed and left, though for entirely different reasons. Where Blair is quiet and introverted, Forge is gregarious and extroverted. Blair had never felt that he fits in anywhere and has few friends while Forge gets along with everyone and is comfortable in all sorts of situations. In the course of their bonding they develop an uncanny ability to sense the other’s emotions that only strengthens as time goes on.
The rocky start Blair has with Forge, and the others, eventually evens out and cements. He’s found his place in the family they’ve all created.
Jonas Forge was born in a small settlement on the edge of the West Virginia wilderness near what later became known as Point Pleasant in the early summer of 1743.
He had no education, but as a young man he joined the militia and was able to save enough money to purchase a French model 1717 rifle, which he has to this day. Considering his later relationship with Declan it’s almost prophetic he chose this weapon.
His best friend, Emmaline, was raped and became pregnant. At that time, rape was often blamed on the woman so Jonas did what he thought was the right thing. He married her, even though he was not attracted to women. No one other than Jonas and Emmaline knew that the child she bore wasn’t his. The little girl was named Johanna.
The American Revolution was broaching the horizon and Jonas joined the fight. He was mortally wounded during the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774 at the age of 31. His comfort as he lay dying was Emmaline and Johanna would be the widow and child of a war hero, not ostracized for being an unwed mother and a bastard child.
Jonas didn’t die. He woke up in a mass grave surrounded by dead bodies. Not understanding why or how, he was frightened beyond rational thought. Jonas felt an uncontrollable thirst for blood and without thinking he drank blood from one of the bodies. The blood of a dead human is poison to a vampire and made him desperately sick. Jonas recovered and ran off, living off the land in the wilderness for nearly half a century and never touched human blood again.
In the early 1800s Declan found Jonas and coaxed him back to civilization. He taught Jonas about what he’d become: a vampire. Friendship made a quick leap to lovers. It was a struggle, since Jonas had been living alone, other than the dogs he had, for many years, but together they managed. To Jonas, Declan became Babiche, an Algonquin word that loosely translated to cord or thread. For Jonas, Declan had been a lifeline. Declan often referred to Jonas as ma moitié—my half.
Declan taught Jonas to read and write then arranged for him to attend William and Mary College. Jonas had aspirations of studying drama. He soon gave that up for law. Thanks to Declan’s influence, Jonas learned the languages of French and Algonquin as well.
When Jonas began his studies people naturally asked his name. He didn’t like the man he’d been before, and other than Declan, he didn’t want people calling him Jonas. Like the man who’d become his lover and mentor, Jonas decided to use another name to go with the new person he was becoming. He became just Forge and though many people know his first name, only Declan uses it.
Both Forge and Declan are convinced they’ve lived as long as they have and remained sane because of their relationship with each other.
They made Boggslake their home base but traveled the Americas, working as mercenary soldiers and spies. Boggslake was a tiny settlement when Declan and Forge first encountered the Coate pack. Boggs's Castle would eventually become their home.
When war broke out in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century Forge went with Declan to do their duty however they could. It was then Forge briefly met Simon Hawthorne and helped Simon through becoming a vampire. They returned during the Second World War, working for the Resistance with Simon. They also aided in moving intelligence information from Nazi Germany to the Allies.
The three of them eventually purchased Boggs’s Castle in Boggslake. Forge became a detective with Boggslake's police force using skills he owed to Declan’s tutelage in tracking. Always feeling it was his duty to keep others safe, Forge concentrated on his little corner of the world.
After living nearly 240 years, and most of that time as a vampire, Forge met his soul mate, Blair Turner. All their lives Declan stressed how important it was for vampires to move with the times and accept change. Forge learned a valuable lesson: things could change, but the people he loved and who loved him were forever.
Blair Turner, PhD
Blair was born September 27, 1984 in Roswell, New Mexico. He lived there with his father who investigated cybercrimes for the FBI by day and, unbeknownst to Blair, consulted for a clandestine group of men on the other side of the country digging up information on supernatural threats. Blair excelled with coding and computers from a young age and for a while walked a fine line between legal and illegal activities until his father caught him. He decided he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and fight cybercrime so pursued an education that allowed him to further his goals.
When his father, Robert, died unexpectedly Blair was devastated. The night after his father’s funeral Blair went to a bar and met a man. One drink too many and Blair, who was hurt and lonely, hooked up with the stranger. Blair was forced into a situation he couldn't get out of when the stranger coerced Blair into taking him home. The next morning when Blair woke up, his life was changed forever.
There was a vial of blood and a note on how to obtain more left for Blair, the man nowhere to be seen. He knew something had happened to him and finally worked out he’d been changed into a vampire. Not knowing anything about what he’d become, Blair turns to popular literature. Researching how to be a vampire wasn't easy and his only source of information was graphic novels, movies and novels, none of which were entirely accurate. However, Blair didn’t know that and took all the myth and pop lore as gospel.
Always quiet and an introvert, Blair isolated himself from the world thinking he’s become a soulless, evil monster. Taking the screen name Alucard, Blair continues the supernatural research work of his father. It’s not until Simon’s soul mate, Ben moves to Boggs’s Castle and strikes up a firm friendship with Blair that Blair is prompted to leave New Mexico for Boggslake, Ohio.
He’d known Jonas Forge only as a voice over the internet. He had no clue Simon and Forge were vampires as well and that Lucas is a werewolf. Ever since Blair and Ben began trading graphic novels via mail Blair had developed a bit of a schoolboy crush on Forge. Fearing Forge’s life, and the lives of his other friends, is in jeopardy Blair makes the trip to Boggslake.
Blair is as surprised as Forge when they realize they are both vampires. Blair got an instant indoctrination into the real world where vampires, werewolves and humans coexist, sometimes they even get along. However, Forge isn’t just any vampire, he’s Blair’s soulmate, whether they like it or not.
Eventually Blair came to discover he and Forge are destined to soulbond because they complement each other so well. Both were changed and left, though for entirely different reasons. Where Blair is quiet and introverted, Forge is gregarious and extroverted. Blair had never felt that he fits in anywhere and has few friends while Forge gets along with everyone and is comfortable in all sorts of situations. In the course of their bonding they develop an uncanny ability to sense the other’s emotions that only strengthens as time goes on.
The rocky start Blair has with Forge, and the others, eventually evens out and cements. He’s found his place in the family they’ve all created.
Lucas Coate, MD
Lucas Coate was born in Boggslake, Ohio, on October 10, 1981. He is the eldest son of Jacob Coate, the leader of the local Coate pack, and descended from an old and powerful werewolf family. Jacob is also the leader of Boggslake's Supernatural Council. Lucas’s uncle, Jasper, who also sits on the council, owns the Old Curio Shoppe, which is the front for the council meeting chambers. Lucas’s sister, Anita, is a neurologist. They have many half-siblings but their mother is Jacob’s favorite and his wife.
Lucas is Boggslake's medical examiner. He met Forge and Simon ten years previously, shortly after Lucas graduated Sum Cum Laude from Dartmouth with a medical degree. Against his father's wishes he pursued a career in forensics. Like all werewolves, Lucas reads body language extremely well.
He met Simon when an injured Simon stumbled out in front of Lucas’s car and he hit him. After helping patch Simon up, Lucas helped him and Forge with the case they were working. Lucas also joined the Boggslake Police Department at that time as their head of forensics.
Already not seeing eye-to-eye with his father and not prepared to follow in Jacob’s footsteps and take his place as pack alpha and his position on the council when the time came, Lucas’s friendship with vampires was the last straw. After one final argument, Lucas’s father threw him out. Simon and Forge offered him a home at Boggs’s Castle where he's lived ever since.
Lucas’s wolf form is a huge gray wolf.
Lucas Coate was born in Boggslake, Ohio, on October 10, 1981. He is the eldest son of Jacob Coate, the leader of the local Coate pack, and descended from an old and powerful werewolf family. Jacob is also the leader of Boggslake's Supernatural Council. Lucas’s uncle, Jasper, who also sits on the council, owns the Old Curio Shoppe, which is the front for the council meeting chambers. Lucas’s sister, Anita, is a neurologist. They have many half-siblings but their mother is Jacob’s favorite and his wife.
Lucas is Boggslake's medical examiner. He met Forge and Simon ten years previously, shortly after Lucas graduated Sum Cum Laude from Dartmouth with a medical degree. Against his father's wishes he pursued a career in forensics. Like all werewolves, Lucas reads body language extremely well.
He met Simon when an injured Simon stumbled out in front of Lucas’s car and he hit him. After helping patch Simon up, Lucas helped him and Forge with the case they were working. Lucas also joined the Boggslake Police Department at that time as their head of forensics.
Already not seeing eye-to-eye with his father and not prepared to follow in Jacob’s footsteps and take his place as pack alpha and his position on the council when the time came, Lucas’s friendship with vampires was the last straw. After one final argument, Lucas’s father threw him out. Simon and Forge offered him a home at Boggs’s Castle where he's lived ever since.
Lucas’s wolf form is a huge gray wolf.
Declan
Declan was born into French aristocracy on February 24, 1721 with a very long and pretentious name. At age fourteen his father arranged a marriage for Declan with the daughter of another prominent family. Unable to defy his father and having no interest in marriage to any girl, Declan fled France on a ship bound for the New World. It was two years before he landed in North America. In that time he saw his first vampire, learned to use a blade in self-defense and discovered he’d have to make tough choices in order to survive. The skinny boy of fourteen who left France became a resourceful and, when necessary, brutally ruthless man by the time he left the ship two years later.
After being taken in by the native people that first winter in North America, Declan met and eventually fell in love with a man named Kitchi. While living with the Algonquin Indians Declan learned to accept he was homosexual. To the Algonquin, vampires and homosexuals were another part of the natural world. Kitchi eventually changed Declan from a human to a vampire. It was during this time he adopted the name Declan, which was the name of an Irish saint. When Kitchi was killed years later Declan left his tribal home to explore the countryside eventually meeting with Jonas Forge.
Jonas was living alone, with just his dog, in the wilderness. Declan understood Jonas didn’t know much about what he’d become, only that he’d been changed somehow. Declan taught him to read and write and ultimately was able to arrange for him to attend William and Mary college in the mid-eighteen hundreds. After Jonas graduated they traveled North, then to Central and South America honing skills that led them into work as spies, military police and con artists and, in Declan’s case, an accomplished thief.
Declan knew of and traveled to the small settlement on the southern shores of Lake Erie which would eventually become Boggslake since its earliest days. For Declan and Forge it remained their home base for more than a century. They purchased Boggs’s Castle with Simon Hawthorne in the 1940s at Simon’s insistence and have been permanent residents ever since.
Declan and Jonas traveled for a short time to Europe during World War One and World War Two. It was the first time Declan returned to Europe since leaving France as a boy. However, Declan didn’t travel to Europe regularly until the advent of commercial airline trans-Atlantic flights became less a luxury of the super-rich and more affordable and popular in the United States in the 1950s.
Even when in Europe for extended periods of time, Declan made regular trips back to his home in Ohio. Every ten or fifteen years Jonas would join Declan, assisting him with whatever long con Declan was working on. His most recent trip abroad kept Declan away for a decade, other than short trips to meet up with Jonas for a few days. Even though Jonas bonded with a soulmate, Declan returned to Boggslake when evidence of demonic activity came to light. He, Jonas and Simon had become family decades ago and Declan expected their relationships to fluctuate over the years. It was the nature of vampires to endure change over long periods of time and this was no different. Declan and Jonas would never be lovers again, but that didn’t matter, they’d always have a deep love and friendship. Knowing his family was safe became Declan’s main concern.
Upon his return to Boggslake he met his match in Lucas Coate. Vampires didn’t often bond with werewolves, but when it happened that bond was special. Declan’s early life with the Algonquin prepared him to accept his unique bond with Lucas. Three times was the charm and to Declan, Lucas was a precious gift.
Declan was born into French aristocracy on February 24, 1721 with a very long and pretentious name. At age fourteen his father arranged a marriage for Declan with the daughter of another prominent family. Unable to defy his father and having no interest in marriage to any girl, Declan fled France on a ship bound for the New World. It was two years before he landed in North America. In that time he saw his first vampire, learned to use a blade in self-defense and discovered he’d have to make tough choices in order to survive. The skinny boy of fourteen who left France became a resourceful and, when necessary, brutally ruthless man by the time he left the ship two years later.
After being taken in by the native people that first winter in North America, Declan met and eventually fell in love with a man named Kitchi. While living with the Algonquin Indians Declan learned to accept he was homosexual. To the Algonquin, vampires and homosexuals were another part of the natural world. Kitchi eventually changed Declan from a human to a vampire. It was during this time he adopted the name Declan, which was the name of an Irish saint. When Kitchi was killed years later Declan left his tribal home to explore the countryside eventually meeting with Jonas Forge.
Jonas was living alone, with just his dog, in the wilderness. Declan understood Jonas didn’t know much about what he’d become, only that he’d been changed somehow. Declan taught him to read and write and ultimately was able to arrange for him to attend William and Mary college in the mid-eighteen hundreds. After Jonas graduated they traveled North, then to Central and South America honing skills that led them into work as spies, military police and con artists and, in Declan’s case, an accomplished thief.
Declan knew of and traveled to the small settlement on the southern shores of Lake Erie which would eventually become Boggslake since its earliest days. For Declan and Forge it remained their home base for more than a century. They purchased Boggs’s Castle with Simon Hawthorne in the 1940s at Simon’s insistence and have been permanent residents ever since.
Declan and Jonas traveled for a short time to Europe during World War One and World War Two. It was the first time Declan returned to Europe since leaving France as a boy. However, Declan didn’t travel to Europe regularly until the advent of commercial airline trans-Atlantic flights became less a luxury of the super-rich and more affordable and popular in the United States in the 1950s.
Even when in Europe for extended periods of time, Declan made regular trips back to his home in Ohio. Every ten or fifteen years Jonas would join Declan, assisting him with whatever long con Declan was working on. His most recent trip abroad kept Declan away for a decade, other than short trips to meet up with Jonas for a few days. Even though Jonas bonded with a soulmate, Declan returned to Boggslake when evidence of demonic activity came to light. He, Jonas and Simon had become family decades ago and Declan expected their relationships to fluctuate over the years. It was the nature of vampires to endure change over long periods of time and this was no different. Declan and Jonas would never be lovers again, but that didn’t matter, they’d always have a deep love and friendship. Knowing his family was safe became Declan’s main concern.
Upon his return to Boggslake he met his match in Lucas Coate. Vampires didn’t often bond with werewolves, but when it happened that bond was special. Declan’s early life with the Algonquin prepared him to accept his unique bond with Lucas. Three times was the charm and to Declan, Lucas was a precious gift.