Chapter 1

Lauren

"How've things been?" Amelia asked as her and I sat on the couch of Bo's place. Bo agreed to let Amelia stay for the time she was in town. I sipped my wine, leaning my head on my hand, elbow resting on the back of the couch. "It's been a while since I last saw you and didn't get a chance to ask when I was busy saving your ass." I laughed, nearly spitting the sweet wine out. Amelia's personality was infectious. If she smiled, you smiled. If she was sad, you were sad too. I don't know exactly how she and I were so close after only two encounters, but it felt as though I'd known her forever. Maybe it was the whole saving each other thing. She set her own glass down on the coffee table, pulling her hair back from her face in a ponytail.

"It's been…interesting, to say the least."

"You look tired."

"I feel tired."

"Wouldn't have anything to do with that lovely succubus, would it?" I rolled my eyes at the teasing sound to her voice, pulling my sweater around me tighter. "Hey, I wouldn't blame you, that fae is everybody's type."

"You're rather nosey for a wise medicinal healer, you know that?" She gave me her signature smirk and sipped from her glass.

"No matter how 'wise' I am, I'm always going to be a dog at heart." I shook my head "spill! Doctor! Tell me all your dirty human secrets."

"No. Nothing's happened between Bo and I since…"

"You got in her pants because it was 'the will of the Ash'?" She put air quotes around the last part of the sentence and I winced. She sighed and took another sip. "What happened to not compromising your morals because of who owns you?"

"I didn't compromise my morals."

"Ah, yeah you did. You slept with her because some tight ass guy told you to. Unless…" she narrowed her eyes at me, scrutinizing. She sniffed the air and her eyes widened with surprise. "Noooo way! You're—"

"I'm nothing with Bo. Well…maybe not nothing but…I haven't exactly had a chance to go over this yet." I cut her off. She rolled her eyes

"Yeah, whole near death-thing can really eat up your time." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"How're your children?" Amelia looked at me and cocked her head in thought.

"They're fine, they're with their father, Nicolai, back home."

"I'm glad." She looked at me closely as I put my empty glass down.

"How've you been feeling since you woke up?" She asked suddenly, a curious expression on her face, eyebrows knitting together. I rolled my neck.

"Exhausted, mostly."

"No aches or pains, no unusual behavior?"

"Not really." I narrowed my eyes "Why?"

"Doctors are supposed to follow up with patients, you know that."

"I mean, what did you do to bring me back?" The door opened and in walked Bo and Kenzi.

"Lauren! We found out where—" They both stopped when they saw Amelia and I. Bo cleared her throat and started again. "We found out where the manticore came from. A human on the edge of town set up a breeding pit of some kind, selling them to anyone who can afford them. Dyson figures we hit it hard and take the breeder by surprise, we can figure out who he sold the one that attacked you to."

"Dyson." Amelia scoffed, standing up and stretching, rolling her neck. Bo narrowed her eyes "Let's hit it."

"Are you sure it's a good idea, Amelia?" Bo asked, a standoffish edge to her voice. "What about your kids?" She laughed quietly.

"Sweetie," The tall blonde said, trailing her fingers over Bo's collar bone as she circled her. "I've fought in more battles than you've boinked people. I can handle a human and a pack of manticore." She brushed off the brunette's shoulder before breezing around Kenzi. "Get dress, Doctor, dearest. We're going to kick ass." She disappeared into her makeshift room and shut the door. Kenzi plopped down on the couch, muttering about the human comment. I stood up to greet Bo.

"Wow, that Amelia..." I smirked.

"You're not jealous, are you?" She looked shocked.

"Jealous? Me? Why would I be jealous that some super hot wolf shifter is…alone…with you…Should I be jealous?" I shook my head and brushed my fingers over her cheek bone.

"No." She smiled "now do you know how I feel when I see you and Dyson?"

"Oh please, Dyson and I…" she hung her head "yeah, yeah I guess so." I laughed and pulled my sweater off, making to exchange it with my brown leather jacket. Bo's hand stopped me, her hand resting on my forearm then moving to the long lines stretching across my chest.

"It's still amazing you healed this fast, it only happened, what? A four days ago?" I shrugged.

"Amelia's use of herbs is astounding, the fact that she could stop my bleeding without the use of technology…" I smoothed Bo's furrowed brows with my thumb. "The point is I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good. Now, sit down and we'll be back." Oh, what the hell?

"No way. That manticore nearly killed me. I want to give its creator a piece of my mind." She sighed

"Lauren. You just promised me you weren't going anywhere."

"I meant metaphorically speaking, I am, however, going to go kick ass." With that, I zipped up my jacket and brushed past her, hearing her remorseful humph and shoes following me towards the door.

Bo

"Alright, everyone know the plan?" The group nodded, and by group I mean Dyson, Amelia, Lauren and I with Kenzi waiting in the car. We were standing just outside the warehouse, waiting for my signal. Dyson and Amelia would take on any manticore coming at us and I would go for the guy running it. Once we had it all under control, Lauren would come in and beat the living hell out of him. Then, we'd deal with the manticore accordingly.

Dyson looked at Amelia "You ready?" the blonde's eyes turned wolf-like, her grin decked out with extended canine teeth.

"Oh please, Puppy-breath," she said, stripping her jacket from her shoulders the same time Dyson did. "I'm nearly a thousand years of ready." And, with that, they took off through the entrance of the warehouse, surprises yelps and snarls met by fierce barks and growls. I turned to Lauren

"You know when to come in, right?"

"When you sound the all clear, I know Bo. You keep yourself safe in there, alright?" I nodded and pulled her in, clutching her in a brief hug before Amelia's distinct howl rang out. But it wasn't the one I'd expected. A chorus of shrieks filled the air and I ran in, met with total chaos.

They were absolutely everywhere.

The manticore had taken over, some with scorpion tails, some with the faces of people, some with wings and others with a complete lion body. Amelia and Dyson fought back to back in a midst of them, tossing them to the side, using sheets of scrap metal to deflect on coming spines. I saw the owner of this hell making a run for the back door and grabbed him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" I wrenched him back and sat him down on a chair. I touched his cheek and let my succubus voodoo do its job. Soon enough, the familiar dopy smile spread across his face. I turned around just in time to be taken down by a flying lion. A flying-freaking-lion!

It pinned me to the floor, nails digging into my shoulders painfully. Her ears pinned back against her head, muzzle so close to my neck I felt her whiskers tickle my skin. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Dyson and Amelia were too far away to help me, too overwhelmed to risk losing concentration. I pushed against the giant paws, trying feebly to break free. It was pointless. Her jaws opened, revealing several rows of pointed, interlocking teeth, sharp enough to tear me apart with ease. I held my breath and closed my eyes as the death trap slowly lowered towards my neck, a low rumbling growl echoing from its throat.

"Bo!"

Then, suddenly, the weight was gone, a new roar resounding through the air. I sat up just in time to see Lauren chuck the giant creature through the air like a pillow.

All commotion in the room ceased. Every beast and person stopped, watching as the monster picked itself off from the ground and turned to face Lauren as she stepped in front of me. It growled and crouch the same time Lauren did. When it leapt, she leapt, both of them colliding in midair. I just sat there, watching.

What the hell was going on? How could Lauren be able to tear something that large off of me like it was a stuffed animal? How could she jump at it and manage to knock it on its back? It had to weigh over a ton at the least. This didn't make any sense.

And yet, as the great beast lunged, Lauren countered, grasping its scruff in clawed hands and wrenched it to the side. It recovered mid air, its spin-shooting tail curling up over its back. The quills shot through the air directly at the blonde, embedding in her front. She didn't seem to notice as she charged the creature the same time it leapt at her again. This time, however, Lauren caught it from underneath, fingers slicing cleanly through the large beast's throat. With a heavy, earth shaking thud, the monster laid limp on the ground, leaving Lauren standing there, panting.

"Lauren?" She turned around, hands clenched by her side. I couldn't hold back the gasp that slipped through my lips.

Her eyes were a vibrant red; her canine teeth and the teeth on either side were extended and sharpened, dangerously pointed like the ones on the beast she killed, blood welling from her gums. Her ears had sharpened and somehow folded down against her head. She looked horrifying, like a thing that crawled out of a nightmare.

The air was still when her features turned back and she fell to her knees, chest heaving as she spat blood on the dirt floor. Though in shock, I ran to her, letting her lean on me for support. Her entire frame shook in my arms as she pulled away and looked at her stomach. The quills that had been shot at her were lodged deep within her torso. With me too shocked to stop her and with shaky hands, she reached for them, pulling them out slowly, agonizingly. She held them up at eye level, staring at them bewildered. They were clean. No blood, no nothing.

I lifted her jacket just in time to see the holes heal over within seconds. We both turned to looked at Amelia who held a grave expression on her face, one of guilt and shame. In a voice shaking with both anger and fear, Lauren asked her something I was sure everyone wanted to know.

"What did you do?"

Reviews are like presents, it's far better to give than not give…or something.