The first cut is the deepest
Ryodan walks away. Leaves Dani, our fast little woman, with his number and a shit ton of teenage angst. Fuck. We've been watching her since she was just a kid, figuring out what she could do under Rowena's tight firsted reign, then Mac's clumsy mothering, and finally into her own brand of super hero. When she'd disappeared, we'd all been certain she'd need us, or more directly Ryodan or Barrons and she'd come back sooner rather than later.
We didn't know about her slipping into the silvers until valuable time had passed. Barrons had withheld that vital little bit of information. Ryodan's mark, meant for us to further keep tabs on her had been an epic bust. The destruction the boss had wreaked on his personal space and various parts of our underground home had been a thing of pure fucking beauty. He'd been riding on the edge of beast and man, prolonging his own agony, swamped in a raging mix of guilt and fury.
We'd all stood back, our own animals rattling deep in our chests, letting him get it out. Most of the nine didn't have the emotional attachment to Dani that the boss has. There's something going on with her that only Ryodan is aware of. Have I asked him about it? Not a fucking chance. He only tells us what we absolutely need to know and half the fucking time? We don't need to know much past what's going on in the next week. Ryo's got the thousand yard stare.
I look for the nearest blond in my vicinity. Priorities. I definitely got mine in line.
Problem is, I have an emotional attachment to her. Don't know what Ryo's gaze saw in me that made him think that the neanderthal "Bonecrusher" would make a good babysitter, but I've been keeping an eye on Dani for years and been rooting herself deep in my gut (fuck it, my heart) from pretty much day one.
The fucker stalking into the shadows. He's another story altogether; his head needs a good firm yank from the region of his ass. He's thousands of years old and leaving his future in the hands of...well, she's years older but compared to us, is still infantile. I rub my hand down my face and flip the bird in Ryodan's general direction. I hope like hell one of them breaks down and calls the other.
Dani is the bane of my fucking existence. Quite possibly the love of my platonic life. It takes a week for me to get her routine and it's not hard to see that it consists mainly of burying whatever she's feeling for Ryodan with work. With inhuman ears, I know she's failing miserably; I can hear her adding a laundry lists of grievances against the world in general and Ryodan specifically into a "box". I keep copious notes and plan on letting Ryodan know, in graphic detail, all the ways in which Dani feels he's fucked up.
I growl when she throws some shade at me. What the fuck did I do? I'm here. Watching over her ass like the boss has asked me too. She's dragging me around Dublin, out to the abby, to Barron's bookstore where her thin frame sags just a bit, past Chesters where her body tenses and does the thousand mile per second vibrate for hours at a time and leaving smelling like ancient paper, and finally, past the new fae club. There's not enough quick energy foods around anymore. We both fuckihng hate this place. People died in Chesters, willing sacrifices to the pseudo gods of lust and greed that pulled at the weak and the false sense of security others wanted to feel, as if Chesters was a sanctuary against a world that now violently killed with no rhyme or reason.
Mac's rule about leaving the fae alone doesn't sit well with anyone but the fae. It's pissing Dani off. I see her hand wander over to her sword, stroke it as she stares at what should frankly be free game, then move on. Little honey, we wish. I'm pretty sure we'd both like to get our hands on Mac and give her a good shake. Well, I'd do more, but that's a personal preference. She doesn't move in hyper speed any longer. The availability of quick, energy bumping foods has been reduced and she's learned to be smart.
She lifts her nose in the air and starts heading towards it. In reaction to her hunger, my own stomach rumbles beneath my silent heart. I need to eat.
Only myself, Fade, and Kasteo remain freely roaming in Dublin. Ryodan's on lockdown, Barrons is tied to his woman, the newest of our numbers is in Scotland learning control, and the rest most likely have a laundry list of shit to do given to them by the boss in the hopes of keeping them busy and under the radar. Ireland has been our seat of power for decades, but the boss is anything but short sighted. The world is ripe for raising an empire and to do that, expansion is a must.
For now, Chesters as our base of operations is dark. Though the bulk of our base sustained minimal damage, without the rest of the once nine, the base doesn't sit well with those of us that remain. I only return to grab shit that I might want or to make sure squatters haven't taken the notion to take up residence in our space. No human, long time resident of Dublin or new arrival, goes too near it. The light fae aren't keen on toeing the remaining wards. The dark fae, those fuckers, they sniff around a little close for comfort on occasion.
Dani has hidey holes all over the city and to the untrained eye, she picks one at random to crash every few days. I know her better than any human, and second best to the boss. I can spot her moods a mile out and figure what pad she's going to crash at. Most often, when she's been running towards empty for a bit, she'll head to a high end loft. A huge grin spreads across my face. I don't think she realizes it, but the style and furnishings mimc Ryodan's personal taste. She's so his, she doesn't even know it yet. I get a sick kick out of seeing what she wants so clearly when Ryodan pinwheels in indecision.
A scowl spreads across my face as a young man steps into her path on her way to the flat. Honey's tall, taller than the guy hitting on her, and she's bright. Not just the vibrant hair or vivid green eyes; she radiates power and vitality. Baring teeth, I mentally curse my directive, which is stay the fuck out of her way and let her live her life. It's hard. She's too good for this puny man. Fuck, she's too good for any pathetic human man.
When she brushes him off and he walks away dejected, I thank whatever's out there that we've never become fathers of daughters. We'd go bug fuck or lay waste to empires if someone was sniffing around them. Mad respect for Ryo that he allowed Dani to love and have sex with her Dancer. I'd have murdered the boy and never thought twice about it.
She blasts away, moving faster than she had before the silvers and a little faster yet since she's been isolated in the city. We move parallel to each other, her into her flat and myself to a building slightly lower than hers and into the shadows that hug me when I chose it. I watch as she downs food, moves restlessly around her space, occasionally stopping to groom her Hel-cat.
Fuck. Like a pair of females, Dani and I cycle together. By the time my heart's stopped beating from my last meal and I'm ready to hunt down an available blonde, Dani dances. I don't stay to watch. Somewhere along the way, she developed a sensual side that my beast will not ignore, no matter how the "man" feels about her. With a snort, I turn away from the large windows framing Dani's space and text Fade to come spell me.
I'd feel sorry for Ryodan if he hadn't put himself into time out. If he could see Dani now, he'd put aside his reservations and just make her his.
An alert sounds on my phone and I check it only to growl impotency on the bastard Fade. Like hell I'm anything like a woman.
When I can hear Fade a block away, I take off, stripping clothes as I go. I'll eat. Take a dip in one of the public fountains that's been restored, and see if I can't entice a blond with this form to satisfy some other urges plaguing me.