Disclaimer: I don't own the Dark-Hunter novels. Those are Sherrilyn Kenyon's. I'm just a big fan of her work ^^
This was originally posted on Quizilla as a request from my friend in Quebec. I did it as a sorta thanks for her helping me pass my French class.
The song used is called "You" by the band Groove Coverage.
"No! Sonata, no!"
Remi grappled with he flailing limbs of his best friend, barely managing to avoid a claw to the face. Beside him, Dev wasn't so lucky and got a heel to the crotch. He gasped; almost loosing his grip on the tigardess, but by sheer force of will managed to keep his grip, even though everything in him wanted to clutch at his wounded manhood.
It was extremely difficult to grab onto something moving so much and not touch a no-no place by accident, but they somehow managed it. It was a good thing, too. She fought as well as her brother did, and to let her go would mean their asses would be shredded.
"Cool it, 'Nata. He ain't worth you getting banned." Remi tried to reason to the angered tiger.
But she barely heard him. The asshole had touched her, and she was wanting blood. The pour sod that they were talking about was a large biker that had thought it fun to grope the waitress, who just so happened to be the least pleasant woman in the whole bar.
Sonata Tigarian.
She had her brother s temperament, that's for sure. Though, thankfully, her's was a little more controlled and stable. But with the way her blue eyes were shining, that wasn't going to last. If there was one thing that she couldn't stand, it was someone touching her. As it was, those holding her should be grateful that she hadn't registered that they were holding her. There would be bear-bits everywhere otherwise.
Finally, Remi managed to get his arms up around the angry tigress' shoulders and hauled her back, lifting her 5'10, 120lb, self clean off the ground as if she weighed nothing. And to him, she didn't. Being a bear, he could lift far more than her slight weight and not even notice.
He carried her into the back storeroom, the one that had been soundproofed by one of his brothers as a place to take willing females for a quicky, leaving Dev, who was looking really sour, to deal with crowd control. Aka, kick the dumbass that started this out. And he was going to do the kicking very hard, seeing as how this little scuffle got his jewels hurt.
Remi was just grateful that Wren hadn't been there. If he had seen that guy make a pass at his twin, then it would've been over for him. Nothing would have been able to stop the tigard from turning that guy into kitty-kibble.
Hell, if Remi hadn't been holding her back, then someone would have been having to hold him back. This was his best friend, as good as a sister -well, better, really, considering how he treated Aimee-, and some fils d'une chienne thought he could lay a hand on her!? He hoped Dev threw the guy extra hard on his ass.
As soon as they were safely in the storeroom in the back, Remi dropped her. She spun around to glare at him, growling. "What the hell!? That asshole had it coming!" she hissed, blue eyes flaring.
Remi crossed his arms over his chest, wincing as his arms brushed the scratch through his shirt, and glared right back at her. "Were you trying to get banned!?" he growled. "Dammit, I know that dipshit deserved it, but at the cost of you getting kicked out!? Nu-uh. Maman wouldn't have seen it as you defending yourself. She'd have seen it as you fighting in a no-fighting zone. Remember what she did to Wren, 'nota. I don't want that happening to you."
Sonata sighed, all the fight leaving her suddenly. Remi had that effect on her. Being her best friend, he was the only one besides Wren who could control her rapidly fluctuating emotions. Though, for the record, she was usually the one to keep Wren and Remi under wraps. They were just returning the favor.
And what he said was true. Even though she was more agreeable than Wren, she was still wild, and ever since Wren had left, Nicolette had been looking for any reason possible to get rid of her.
"Sorry, Rem. I guess I'm just feeling a little anxious. You know, seeing as Wren and Maggie are off on their honeymoon." To anyone other than Remi, hearing this much from her mouth would be shocking. Like her brother, Sonata didn't talk much. But unlike him, she would occasionally get up on stage and sing. It was probably the only time she would say more than a few words, but ppl thought it was worth it.
He nodded in understanding. "You're not used to your bro being away for so long. Have you been sleeping alright? You can stay with me if you need to."
She tilted her head at his carefully hidden concern. He may growl more than the others, but on the inside he was still just a teddy bear. "It ain't perfect, but I'm getting some."
"Good." a thought came to him and he smirked, which was a lot better than if he had smiled. His smiles were scary. "I know a way for you to cool own."
That caught her interest. "Oh, really? What?"
Grabbing her arm, he pulled her back into the bar and over to the stage, where the Howlers were readying for another go. "You need to sing." he stated simply. Pushing her towards Angel, the lead singer of the Howlers, he gave a simple command.
"Don't let her off the stage til she calms down."
"Hey! I am calm!" she stated indignantly with a glare.
Angel ignored her, choosing to obey the beast with the bigger paws, even if she had a bigger bite.
"Why're you complaining, Sonata?" Colt, the lead guitarist, asked from his place on the edge of the stage where he was tuning his guitar. "You're voice is one of the best damn things I've heard in yrs."
She flipped him off, but there wasn't any anger in it, so he wasn't worried. He may be Arcadian, but aside from Remi he was probably the least likely person in Sanctuary that would chew on if she lost it right now. "Fine, jerk-off, I'll sing. But if one guy makes a rude comment, gesture, or any of that shit, I swear I'll-"
"Rip his balls off and use 'em for wind chimes." all of the Howlers quoted dryly in unison.
Angel gave her a droll stare. "We've heard it all before. Dammit, you should really stop hanging with that damn Roman Dark-Hunter; he's sharing his culture with you too much."
He walked up onto the stage and grabbed the mic off its stand. "Alright, everyone, we've got a special for you. Let me introduce the beautiful Sonata Tigarian."
Sonata walked by him with a wink, grabbing up the microphone from him as she passed and got on the stage. The sounds of the bar seemed to dull as all eyes turned to her. Some of the stares were curious, some lusty, and some were indifferent, but she ignored them all, and just began to sing.
Damos walked into Sanctuary, desperate for some peace.
He didn't even know why he was in the 21st Century; he hated being this far in the future, but something made him decide to travel from his castle in 1422 all the way through time and space to the New World.
This land may have been discovered so many hundreds of yrs ago, but to a Drakos that preferred to mope around his medieval castle in the forests of England, it would always be the New World.
He didn't think much of this century, either. Sure, his little brother found his woman in this time, but that was an exception. One further proven because she is human. Not that he had anything against humans, but they were very loud beings. Tended to shriek first and ask questions later, he estimated. And, honestly, anything was better than Katagarian.
Had his brother mated one of those, he would have just killed him. Excommunicated or not, that would be a disgrace. Who would want to sleep with one of those mongrels in the first place!? That's what he wanted to know. Waking up to see a beast instead of a person? No, thank you. He much more preferred a warm, lithe body in his arms instead of some giant plushy! And getting a mouth full of fluff in the morning was not his cup of tea.
Damos Kattalakis, Drakos Regis for the Arcadians, walked further into the bar and quickly found himself a table near the corner of the room, though it was closer to the stage than he would have liked. From the place he was at, he had a perfect view of it. After the waitress came and took care of his drink order, he leaned back in the chair and relaxed. Or, made it appear as if he had relaxed. The stench of Katagari was everywhere and it was making him on edge. They may not be able to do anything since this was a limani and all, but that didn't mean he was going to drop his guard around those animals.
His drink arrived just as the band began to make their way back onto the stage. Damos watched with a look of detached interest as they readied their instruments.
And then he smelled her.
Her scent reached him before he saw her. A scent like no other reached his nose, flooding his senses with the sweet, overwhelming scent of daisies and moonlight. It was intoxicating. For a heartbeat he wondered where this utterly arousing scent, but that was answered as an image of complete beauty stepped onto the stage. He was instantly hard.
Damos straightened in his seat, his eyes unwavering from her magnificent form. Tight, black jeans encased long legs he could just imagine wrapped around his waist, even more tempting was the glimpses of soft flesh through the various rips and wear marks the jeans had all the way up her legs, showing her perfect thighs through the long rips.
His groin tightened painfully and, to avoid further problems, forced his eyes higher. If anything, though, what he saw next was worse. A black corset top accentuated and pushed up her perfect breasts. A variety of necklaces and other jewelry adorned her neck and wrists, one long necklace, bearing the Kanji symbol for tiger, hung low and dipped into her cleavage, as if taunting him. Her pierced ears held 3 loops in each lobe and one up in the cartilage and he could see a tiny cross-shaped stud in her nose. Her copper tresses were pulled up and into a rough bun, with most of it wildly falling around her shoulders, slightly obscuring his view of her stunningly beautiful electric-blue eyes.
'I'm in hell' he thought, his body pulsing. 'Or heaven.'
Either one. She was torture and temptation.
Dammit! He forgot that women of this century wore garb like this! He was so used to seeing timid women in dresses thick enough to hide all of the curves that whatever god above had gifted them with that seeing this vision of sublime perfection had him hurting.
As Damos stared at her, entranced, she opened her mouth and began to sing. The music she created wrapped around him, caressing and driving all thought from his mind. The animal within him, which was usually controlled by his human heart, roared for release. It wanted her. As much, or more, than his human side did. It took all of his self-preservation to keep the raging beast inside under control.
Never ever deep in love never had a home,
others holding hands all day while I was on my own.
Would you take my hand would you run away with me,
to a destination where we can be so free.
Her eyes traveled through the crowd until they landed on him. Their gazes locked. Damos could literally feel the words course through him, caressing his skin and insides seductively. He nearly groaned at the pain and pleasure it caused him. He could feel her voice stroke the dragon within, soothing it and exciting it all at once.
Never ever felt this way where have you been before,
I was searching all my life now you knock on my door.
Would you take my hand would you ran away with me to a destination where we can be so free.
'Who is she?' Was the only lucid thought he could come up with.
All others sounded more along the lines of "humina, humina, humina." and "Bow chika wow wow." But, most disturbingly, was the one thought that came to the forefront of his mind, shaking him to his very core.
"Mine!"
And I can be your girl, be your girl tonight,
and I can see the world I see it in your eyes.
We can be, you can be, they can be too,
as long as there's eternity as long as there is you.
Great, he sees a pretty -more like devastatingly beautiful- woman and suddenly he forgets how to make cognitive thought.
Just great. It seemed his brain was taking a coffee break right now. Or, like that saying went, 'lost my mind, back in five minutes'. He only hoped that it was five minutes.
It was times like this that he was very glad he knew how to school his face so that no one knew what was going on in his head, because he really didn't want other knowing that this siren was making it so that he couldn't think clearly right now.
My emotions getting strong your heartbeat close to mine,
if I can be your girl tonight across your soul I sign.
Would you say my name when I'm sleeping next to you,
and would you say it loud when I'm laying over you.
And, he was so going blame his lack of active brain cells for that last clear -no, not clear. Insane!- thought, as well, because there was no way, no how, he was going to accept that thought breaching his mind. And to him, that thought was insane. She wasn't his and he didn't -ok, maybe he did. The ache in his pants wouldn't allow him to think otherwise- want her... but it would be for purely carnal, and not personal, reasons.
A mate was the last thing he needed right now.
No one does it better no one loves the way you do,
as long as there's eternity believe me there is you.
Would you say my name when I'm sleeping next to you,
and would you scream it loud when I'm laying over you.
'Who the hell is he?' Sonata thought to herself, her eyes never straying from the deep amethyst pools of the mysterious man in the crowd. And that's what made the dirty thoughts even worse! She didn't even know who the hell he was and her mind was already flooded with thousands of images! Images of her doing just what she was singing. Laying over him, hearing him scream her name over and over again. Oh, her mind just couldn't stop! She could see herself under him, screaming a name that she didn't yet know.
And I can be your girl, be your girl tonight,
and I can see the world I see it in your eyes.
We can be, you can be, they can be too,
as long as there's eternity as long as there is you.
Ever since she had first stepped onto the stage she had felt his eyes. They hadn't left her form the entire time, and she wasn't sure if it was a bad thing that she wasn't completely pissed by that. He was gorgeous, yes, but normally if someone stared at her like she was the hottest thing since sex and they wanted to throw her down and have their dirty way with her right there she would be a least a little miffed.
I wanna be your girl tonight with you right here by my side,
one thousand miles I'd run for you into infinity.
But there was none of that. The only thing she felt as she stared at him was hot. His burning gaze seared through her, stripping her before him right there. Images of dim lights, sweaty sheets, and glimpses of flesh came flooding her mind suddenly, nearly making her stumble over her words. She didn't, though.
And I can be your girl, be your girl tonight,
and I can see the world I see it in your eyes.
We can be, you can be, they can be too,
as long as there's eternity as long as there is you.
The entire time, she sang to him -and it seemed as if she was, even to her- it was as if her body was on auto-pilot. The words flowed from her mouth, but her mind was completely centered on the dangerously handsome Were sitting there. And it was pretty obvious that he was a Were, no one iother/i than a Were could look that good.
And I can be your girl, be your girl tonight,
and I can see the world I see it in your eyes.
We can be, you can be, they can be too,
as long as there's eternity as long as there is you.
Leather adorned him from head to toe, well, from neck down. His floor-length trench coat was stunningly marked with scales all over... dragon scales. It was beautifully done and only visible when the light provided cast shadow into the grooves of the scales. A plane black tunic-shirt was under that, tucked into a pair of second-skin-like leather pants, the sight of which caused a shiver to run up her spine. Finishing off his leather ensemble was a pair of black biker-boots that had 3 silver dragon buckles on the outer sides of each.
All of the leather would normally be screaming 'Dark-Hunter!'
...had it not been for his eyes.
And I can be your girl, be your girl tonight,
and I can see the world I see it in your eyes.
Eyes the deepest violet she'd ever seen stared up at her as if in a trance from behind a curtain of shimmering black hair that seemed to almost glow with a silvery sheen in the lighting. Not like old silver, but unearthly magic-brought silver which automatically made her think of the silver shine a dragon's scales would have. That hair was bound loosely at the nape of his neck; the long tail of it tossed over his shoulder to settle on his chest and just brushed the top of his pants. His face was, well, words could not describe how sexy he looked.
Now, Sonata was pretty good friends with Eros, and even Julian, to the point that at least once a month the three of them would play poker together, so she knew gorgeous. And he was beyond that. The god of love and his Aphrodite-blessed brother had nothing on this guys looks.
Oh, dear gods above, did she want to jump his bones right then and there!
She had to get out of there! Staying a moment longer meant that she might actually do it, and that a no-no for her.
We can be, you can be, they can be too,
as long as there's eternity as long as there is you
As soon as she was finished, she was off the stage. Colt reached out to stop her, but Sonata just gave him a shake of her head and a small smile and he let her go, knowing better than to try to stop her again. She made her way through the kitchen and past Remi, who immediately saw in her eyes the desire to bolt and so didn't get in her way, instead moving to stand protectively by the back door so as to halt any attempts someone might have to follow.
And she was gone.
Damos saw her make a quick exit and a small smirk crossed his features. He had seen the light flush that had stained her cheeks. While any other that saw it might think it was due to the light, he knew the truth. He had seen the flash of desire in her eyes before the stain had appeared. Male satisfaction flooded him at that, mentally patting himself on the back.
'I still got it.' Even after all the yrs of solitary life, he could still make a maiden blush.
He stayed in his seat only long enough to finish his drink before he was gone, leaving through the front and following his nose to find her. He might not want a mate, but he'd be damned if he'd let that goddess disappear! That... that... angel of music!
Cheesy, he knew, to consider her that, but it fit.
Damos had only made it to the next block before a flood of cold dread filled his heart. Instantly, he knew something bad was happening. Something that had to do with the enticement from the stage.
Rushing into the closest alley, he barely acknowledged that he was completely alone before he flashed himself from there and to where his angel was.
Oh, great.
Here she was, minding her own business, trying to get that leather god out of her mind, when Mr. Fugly Ugly Biker-Guy from earlier appears out of nowhere. Staring at him, she gave a wince at how actually ugly he was. In the lighting from Sanctuary she couldn't really tell how butt-ugly he was, but now that the streetlight was shinning down on him, Sonata felt a pressing need to find a trash can to hurl in. And he had grabbed her ass! She shuddered at the memory.
It just made her even more nauseous. She fought down the urge to grab her nose when he took a step closer to her and she actually got a whiff of his stench. Coughing, she couldn't help making a jab.
"Oh! Damn! What the hell do you use for aftershave? Sweet Honesty?" She gagged, choking.
He growled at her, understandably taking offense to her words. She expected him to, and honestly would have been worried if he hadn't. On the other hand, she didn't know if she should be worried that he even understood the meaning behind what she said. "I'm gonna make you regret that. Your buddies aren't here to save you, now." he gave a laugh.
Now it was her turn to growl, but she did it better. "Who says I need them to protect me!?" Obviously, this guy was stinky, ugly, AND stupid, cuz he didn't seem to notice the killing glare she was giving him. Throwing on a smirk, she crossed her arms over her chest. "They were protecting you."
Well, that was the last straw for this disgusting Neanderthal. With a growl that sounded rather pathetic, he leapt at her. Moving with the grace of a cat, she dodged his fist and spun around behind him, throwing a kick to his back and stepping aside again, elegant as ever. He stumbled but remained standing, turning a vicious glare on her. She arched a delicate brow at this, not at all bothered by his supposed "intimidation". Tubby seemed to be able to take a blow. But how many hits can he take before tubby goes down, she wondered.
"Only one way to find out." She muttered to herself.
And with that, she rolled her shoulders, feeling like a cat about to play with a mouse. He made another rush for her, but she was ready, already jumping in the air. Her hands grabbed a ladder rung above her and she pulled herself up enough to let him run by, then she kicked the back of his neck before flipping down and dusting her hands, turning with a smirk to see him truly furious now. She wagged her brows at him, goading him further, and side-stepping him, she moved with the grace of a cat, and kicked him in the lower back as he stumbled by, this time sending him down.
"That it?" She demanded, wanting more of a challenge.
"Not by a long shot!" he growled, pulling something from inside his leather vest, then made another rush for her. But this time, as she avoided him, he struck out with something in hand, and as it slammed into her chest, she let out a hiss and collapsed, changing from a human to something else, a mix between a tiger, a leopard, and something in between.
The leather clad butt-ugly jumped back the moment she changed, the taser concealed in his hand falling to land beside her as he slammed his back against the alley wall as a rather girlish scream arose from his throat.
The moment she stopped changing long enough to speak, Sonata haphazardly reached out and grabbed the taser, throwing it away hard enough to break on the wall as she said painfully, "What the hell is a prick like you doing with a taser on hand? Do you carry it around for jollies?" She raised her brows to him, gandering at his shocked and agape expression. "You don't use it for jollies... do you?" But before she could get his reply, she was changing again, until finally, she subsided into an unconscious stupor, and the moment she stopped in a weird animal form, the biker took off, but ran smack dab into a rock hard man-wall just outside the alleyway.
Stammering, stuttering, and blubbering, the big pussy biker declared, "There's- there's a monster back there! It's a big mother! Ugly, too! It'll eat you! Run for your life!"
The man-wall, aka the leather god that had been the eye-candy for the evening, but preferring the name Damos, looked passed sissy-biker-boy in front of him, and his eyes caught sight of something large and white in the alley. Figuring what it is already, he grabbed the biker by the collar and started dragging him along, saying smugly, "If it's a monster, then as men, it's our job to do something to-" he didn't even reach the alley before the big baby fainted, falling to the ground in a heap of butt-ugly blubber. Now, being a gentleman, and also a believer of giving to the poor, the hero of the evening searched through the unconscious mans pockets until he found his wallet, then pocketed it and headed for the alley. 'Shouldn't pass out in an alley.' He chided mentally. He turned into the alley, and froze.
The first words out of his mouth are the first that come to mind. "What the hell is THAT??"
He moved closer to the creature on the ground, looking closely at it. It looked like a strange mix between a tiger and a snow leopard, and the thing was friggin' huge! He had never seen anything like it.
Damos cautiously moved closer, sniffing the air. What he found was shocking. Jumping back, almost stumbling over the ugly lump, he stared at the tigard in utter shock. "Oh, shit! She is a Katagari!?" he gaped.
In Sanctuary, the lighting had been bad, and his senses had been overrun with dozens of other scents, so he hadn't been able to tell what she was. It had been very obvious that she had been a Were-Hunter, no human looked that good in jeans, but he had been thinking, had been hoping, that she was Arcadian. He'd seen how she had reacted to the Arcadian guitarist when he'd tried to stop her from leaving. She'd smiled. He'd never seen a Katagari smile at an Arcadian.
Her being Katagaria was the worst thing that could have happened, even worse than if she had, indeed, been human. He hated those beasts, loathed them with every fiber of his being, and he had been imagining what she looked like naked and under him! But that wasn't even the worst part.
What made it all the more unbearable was that he couldn't feel disgusted. For some reason, she didn't bring his hatred forth.
Staring at her now, having her heritage thrown so blatantly in his face, and he couldn't bring himself to hate her. But, earlier wasn't he thinking about how revolting that species was? How he would never even think about bedding one? Why was that the only thing he could think of?
Why was it that, instead of being repulsed, he was instead wondering if her fur was as soft as it appeared? Did he even want to know? Besides the obvious fact that she was a Katagari, she was also... whatever that thing was. It smelled like an odd mix of a tiger and a snow leopard, something that he thought was extinct in this century. Well, whatever she was, she wasn't a Drakos.
Damos briefly recalled a meeting of the Omegrion that had taken place close to a yr ago. A Katagari snow leopard on trial for his parents' murders. Murders that he had been framed for, by his own family members on the snow leopard side, they later learned. Accused of being insane. Of suffering the trelosa.
Wren Tigarian, that's who it was.
...Tigarian...
They were related. Cousins, maybe. Or siblings, but he couldn't remember if any were mentioned. Wren was a half-blood, Damos remembered that much. Tiger and snow leopard. He was both and yet neither.
So was she.
Damos could see that, now. She was clearly a tigard. Meaning she had to be the sister of Wren; it made sense.
Well, whatever and whoever she was, she was out here in an alley, in her were-form, and vulnerable. He couldn't, in good conscience, leave her. Katagari or not, he wouldn't leave her out here to be picked up by some dog catcher or whatever they were called nowadays. She may be taken to a zoo, for all he knew, and he couldn't let that happen.
He was a gentleman, before a dragon, after all. And on top of that, dragon's were known to be honorable, and he wasn't about to sully that by leaving her.
They were also known for kidnapping virgin maidens... but now wasn't the time for that.
Making up his mind, he moved closer to her, taking in her massive size that, while it was no where near his enormous size in his dragon form, was still large. She looked to weigh at least 500lbs in this form, and that would be a little difficult to lift.
"I better not get a hernia." he muttered to himself as he kneeled to lift the massive cat into his arms. He was immensely stronger than a normal human, and could normally lift things heavier than this with hardly any effort, but because of her odd shape and size, added to the weight, he was struggling to get her up into his arms. When he was sure he had her, he flashed from the alley and back to his apartment.
"I can't believe I had to be saved." Sonata growled to herself, wincing slightly as a aftershock of pain shot through her veins.
Across from her, Damos threw himself into a chair, moving it farther from where she sat on the couch.
She had just woken up from her taser-induced slumber and the first words from her rescuers mouth was how heavy she had been and how grateful she should be that he had saved her. What a hero.
"Yeah, well, I can't believe I just saved a Katagari." He snapped back.
She glared, clutching the throw from the couch closer, it being the only thing between her and the whole world until she recovered enough to summon some clothes. "You know, you didn't have to save me! You could have just left me there to handle things on my own!"
He groaned, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling. "No, I couldn't! As much as I hate your kind, my momma at least brought me up to always protect a damsel in distress." he reached up to cover his eyes. "Didn't yours ever teach you how to accept help?" he asked, forgetting that Omegrion meeting and what had happened to her parents.
She sure hadn't forgotten, though, and glared at him furiously. "She had better things to do than teach a freak anything!" She spat bitterly.
The pure malice in her words was enough to startle him into moving his hand to look at her. "What's your problem?" he questioned.
"None of your business!" she growled.
He sighed, covering his eyes again. "Damn, I should've figured you'd be one of them 'distressing damsels', instead. Save me the headache." he muttered irritably.
She actually did hiss at him, then, causing him to drop his hand and look at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement. "Did you just hiss?" There was amusement in his voice, further pissing her off.
She ignored his comment, though. "I wasn't in distress!" He raised an eyebrow, as if saying 'yeah, right', and she had to roll her eyes. "Ok, maybe I was in distress. But I had things under control. I've been around over 40 yrs, I do know a few things on protecting myself."
He snorted. "And I'm over 1,400. And if you call having electricity zap through your veins 'under control', then I'd really love to see what you consider 'totally ape-shit'. I might just have some fun, then."
Her eyes glowed in your fury. "If I had been in enough trouble then Wren would have known. He always knows when I need him, just like I know when he needs me." She suddenly winced.
He hadn't needed her when he had been hunted by their cousin. He'd just left her in Sanctuary with Remi while he went off and tried to get himself killed. He hardly ever needed her any more. It hurt, not being needed by the one person that had always been there for her. Growing up, it had always been just the two of them; two freaks together for all times.
But then she became friends with Remi, him with Nick, and while they both stayed closer than most would understand, they now weren't as close as before. He had moved on, found Maggie, while she was still in Sanctuary with Remi. The friend she would always have, but never love like her brother loved Maggie. She had yet to run across a mate for her. And it definitely wasn't Remi. Been there, tried that. Never got passed first base.
Sonata turned her head away, not wanting the drakos to see the pain her thoughts brought. It was a weakness to have an enemy see your pain. And he was an enemy, he had practically said so himself. The only good thing she had learned from her parents growing up; attack when you see weakness, and right now, she was at her weakest. She quickly pushed back her pain, locking it inside, before facing him again.
"Look, we can sit here, throwing jabs at each other, all night long another time. Right now, my guts feel like jello and I'm naked. So, you can either take me back to Sanctuary and ditch me, or you can shut the hell up and let me heal. As soon as I can stand properly, I'm gone, so you can stop looking at me like I'm trash!"
Wincing again, she looked away, a pain filling her eyes that had nothing to do with physical discomfort. "I got enough of that growing up." she muttered in a whisper, almost too low for him to catch. But he had, and his eyebrow rose at the amount of hatred and pain that was apparent in her voice. He could see that she hadn't intended for him to hear that last comment, but he wasn't about to let this one slide.
"Ok, what's up? What the hell happened to you?"
She gave him a glare. "What? You mean growing up?" He nodded. She snorted. "You mean, what didn't happen. Wren and I may be young in the eyes of most Were's, but we've been through more shit than anyone could understand." and she left it at that.
What happened in her past was for her and Wren only. And Maggie, since she had gone with him to the past and saw some of it first-hand. She had no reason to tell this asshole anything. Especially since he hated her. Now, normally that shouldn't bother her, since she was used to being hated. But for some reason, it was bothering her that he hated her. Other Katagari, as well as Arcadian's, had always hated her. Humans were afraid. The only human she had known that hadn't been at least a little afraid was Nick, and he was gone now.
The only Katagari that didn't completely hate her was Remi. The others in Sanctuary may be somewhat friendly to her, but they were all wary. When Wren had stood up against Nicolette almost a yr ago, they had all turned on her, as well. All but Remi. He had stood by her and kept the others off her back.
Even though everything in her had wanted to follow her brother when he had left, it was because of the friendship with Remi that she had stayed. Wren could take care of himself, he always had, but if she had gone then he would have worried about not just Maggie, but her as well.
Staying at Sanctuary had been dangerous, yes, but with Remi there, he had known that it would be better for her to stay there. And she had, though they still didn't trust her. That little act earlier probably didn't help her case much, either. There may no longer be the accusations of trelosa, but they all knew that she was just a tab bit less feral than Wren had been, and they watched her.
As she was lost in her thoughts, so was Damos.
Damos shifted a little in his seat, but it had nothing to do with moving away from her, and everything to do with hiding the painful "dragon" in his pants that had been present ever since he had first laid eyes on her. Katagari or not, she was hot! No, better yet, damn sexy. It was taking everything in him just to stay in his seat and not grab her up, toss her on his bed, and have his passionate way with her until she walked funny for the next decade. At that moment, he was really cursing his hatred for the Katagari.
He gripped the arm of his seat tighter, trying to ignore how soft her pale shoulder looked, peaking out from the top of the throw. The dragon inside him stirred, recognizing something that he didn't. His human heart beat a little quicker. His breath came just a tad bit faster. He felt like he would die if he didn't touch her, taste her.
He fought with himself over whether or not to got to her. His human heart screamed to stay away, but his beast roared for release. It wanted her. Desperately.
He was watching her. Closely.
Sonata could feel the heat of his gaze on her. It made her skin itch, but not in an unpleasant way. Her animal side growled with pleasure at the attention, but she quickly pushed that aside. As much as she listened to her animal side, she wasn't up to listening to it right now, especially since it was wanting to jump his scaly bones. Images flooded her thoughts again. Being under him, over him, and... she...
Well, that was a dangerous thought right there. One she didn't need to think about.
She had to get out, before she really did jump his bones!
With the plan of flashing herself back into her room in Sanctuary firmly in mind, she stood. Unfortunately, her subconscious decided to ruin whatever exit she had in mind by having her foot catch on the end of the throw around her shoulders.
She tripped, the throw being jerked from her grasp as it caught, and her naked self went sailing through the air. But that didn't last long.
As quick as lightning, Damos was up from his seat and right there, catching her before she could make acquaintances with the hard ground. He pulled her close, her body flush against his, but she didn't notice.
She was staring up into his eyes in shock. Her hands were caught between both of their bodies from when she had reached out to catch her fall and were pressed firmly against his chest. She could feel his heat radiating from his body under her hands, feel his muscles bunch and twitch under her fingertips. Her fingers twitched in reaction. The action sent a shock of desire through them both.
And it reflected in his eyes.
The amethyst in his eyes burned with want. With lust.
Sonata's eyes drifted to his lips and suddenly, for the first time in her life, she wanted to know what it was like to kiss a man. She wanted to know what he tasted like.
His arms were around her small waist, caressing the soft skin at her hips, and sending shock-waves through her body. She didn't even notice that she was standing completely naked in a room with -and in the arms of- a complete stranger. His touch was too mind-numbing, all rational thought was gone. All she could do was stare up into his beautiful eyes that were animalistic, and yet not.
Ah, damn. That was it... His brain was dead.
A little funeral was held. There were lots of flowers. Many cried. Okay, just his self-preservation did, but his dragon was singing songs of praise and doing pagan dancing. Pagan fertility dances. The squishy mass of useless tissue in his skull cavity had long since ceased answering any commands he gave to let the woman in his arms go. No matter how much he told himself to release her, let her cute Katagari ass meet the floor, he couldn't make his mind send the signal to his arms.
Although, the thought of her sweet ass pressed to the ground as he pressed into her was...
No!
If he went down that road than many things -disastrous things- would happen. He knew it, his brain knew it, his self-preservation damn well knew it, and yet his body didn't seem to want to compute.
It did react, though. Just not in the way he wanted. That's what he told himself, anyway.
Slowly, his arms began to draw her closer, pressing her body firmly against his, molding her soft, toned body to his, letting her feel every inch of his mercilessly hard body through the leather. And, boy, was there a lot of inches!
Her face heated with just that one thought, but she couldn't help but agree with it. He was big. Towering over her by a lot, which wasn't easy since she was 5'10 without heels. But, his height wasn't what was drawing her attention at that moment besides the absent mental comment that her neck was starting to get sore from looking up so much. What was on her mind was how hard he felt under his tunic and... pants.
He seemed to be able to read her thoughts through her eyes, because a small smirk crossed his features, turning them from handsome to devastatingly sexy. If she had been human, she would be drooling.
Just then, he moved, slowly lowering his head. His nose brushed her cheek softly, a caress, the gentleness of this action drawing a sigh from her. He took this as an assent to continue. His lips followed, lightly passing her cheek to her ear, where he gave a soft nibble that made her breath hitch, before moving on. Those lips grazed down her neck to her collarbone and he took a moment to suck on the skin right there.
She gasped, barely holding back a moan. He didn't like that, giving a low dragon-like growl in warning, he lightly bit the tender flesh he had been sucking. That sure brought a moan forth. She felt him smirk against her flesh before his tongue soothed away whatever pain might have been there.
Sonata didn't notice if there had been pain, too focused on the pleasure. He gave another low growl against her skin, completely intoxicated with her taste and scent.
Ever so slowly, he kissed his way back up to her ear, tugging lightly on the lobe. She gave another gasp, her body pressing closer to his. His growl became a groan of longing in her ear and his grip tightened even further on her body, his arms wrapping completely around her slim waist to press against the opposite hip. Fire went racing through her bloodstream.
"Oh, Damos...." She breathed into his ear, her breath feathering his hair and skin, lighting his own fire inside.
"This is... utterly insane." he murmured hoarsely against her neck. She dragged her arms from between the both of them and wrapped them around his neck, holding him closer as he pressed butterfly kisses to her flesh.
"Completely... ludicrous." She agreed, equally breathlessly.
A large hand shifted from her hip, along her spine, sending shiver up and down it, and slowly moved it closer to her breast. "We... shouldn't be... doing this."
"Are you..." She gasped as his hand brushed what he sought tentatively, seeking her reaction. "...going to stop?" she finished, her lips moving to ghost over his pulse.
He gave another growl, barely holding back his desire to toss her on the ground and just take her there and then. "Do... you want me... to?"
And that was the question. This was the moment before they both reached the Point of no Return. As much he wanted her right at that moment -self-preservation already been gagged and locked in a small airtight box and tossed into a dark corner- he wouldn't take an unwilling female. Even though she felt damn willing here in his arms, all she had to do was say that one word and he would let her go, playing Frankenstein to resurrect his dead brain if need be. All she had to do was say the word.
Yes.
"If you... stop now... I'll kill you."
Well, that answered that. Just as his self-preservation died of suffocation in its little box in the dark corner, he swept her up into his arms and carried her into his room, thoughts whirling in his head of all the things he planned to do to this lithe seductress in his arms.
Slowly, she came awake, vaguely noting as she shifted back into her human form that she felt as if she had had the best sleep in her life. That was surprising. Not once since Sonata had come to Sanctuary had she had a decent nights sleep, not unless she was staying with Wren or Remi, anyway.
Being close to her littermate was always enough to calm her enough to sleep peacefully, and Remi was seriously a giant teddy bear to cuddle with. There was the plus that being with him let her relax her guard, something she just never did normally, especially not in Sanctuary and especially because of those Weres that would really like Wren and her furs on a wall.
So, the question, was... what had made her drop her guard enough to sleep to soundly?
A draft from the open window hit her, raising goosebumps along her naked skin. Wait... what!?
Her eyes shot open and she jolted into a sitting position. Looking down, she noted that, indeed, she was naked, at least from the wait up, since the sheets were bunched at her waist, and she wasn't up for lifting them just yet. Clutching the black silk sheet around her, she closed her eyes, the memory of getting tasered by that fat Sweet-Honesty-asshole slowly filtered into her mind, answering the question of what had happened to her clothes.
"Oh." She muttered simply, remembering.
When she had rapidly begun shifting, they had been shredded. Great. Remi is going to just love this one. She gets attacked by a guy that smells like damn shit-awful...
It was then that a foreign scent hit her nose. Her eyes shot open, and she was instantly on the defense. Looking around she came to the startling realization that this wasn't her room. Her mind was slowly processing what it was seeing, providing answers as she glanced around. It was then that she remembered the Arcadian drakos, Damos. He'd come to her rescue.
Taken her back to his place.
"Oh." She muttered again, this time with a slight nod.
Something brushed against her leg, nearly making her scream. She didn't, though, but it was at that moment that the rest of last night came back to her, along with the realization of what it was the brushed against her.
"Oh!" Moving her head slowly, she looked at the place beside her on the bed, only to meet a deep lavender eyes. Huh, guess they changed between shades of purple throughout the day, she noted absently. He really made lavender manly. At that moment she was pulled back to reality VERY PAINFULLY!!
As if planned, both of them jerked away from each other, her hand flying to clutch the opposite wrist as pain shot through her entire arm. Sonata began using every curse word in every language she knew -and since she lived in Sanctuary with Remi, the guy who makes a point to know as many ways to insult someone as there was possible- her words were starting to distract the agonized dragon beside her enough to have him gaping through the pain.
As the pain slowly began to dissipate, he remarked breathlessly. "I don't think half of that is even physically possible."
She sent him a shaky smirk. "Trust me, piss Remi off and it is." She replied back before turning her attention to her hand, not noticing how his eyes turned to Imperial Tyrian purple at the mention of another man. For some reason, the thought of her being even near another man made him want to tear something apart.
He was drawn from his thoughts were when he heard a gasp. Instantly, he was there. "What is it?" he asked softly, gently.
Sonata turned her stunned gaze to him and simply held up her hand, letting him see the small intricate tattoo-like mark on her right palm.
His blood turned to ice instantly. He jerked his own hand up and, sure enough, on the palm of his left hand was the same beautiful tattoo-mark.
"Oh, merde sur une brindille!!" he murmured.
"You can say that again." She agreed. And so he did.
Sonata, on the other hand, was beginning to panic a little. All of her thoughts went back to what she remembered of her parents and what they had gone through and what they had put Wren and her through. She couldn't help but think of what would happen if she were in that position. They, at least, had both been cats and so Wren and she had, yeah, turned out being freaks, but were at least cat-freaks.
But a tigard and a dragon?
Oh, she didn't even want to think about what that would look like. A tiger with wings? A chimera? Whatever children there would be would run the risk of being a hybrid freak like her, and she couldn't bare it if her child went through the same torture that she had.
It was why she had shown no interest in finding a mate before. It's why Wren hadn't, either. Until Maggie, that is. They were damaged. Flawed. She had done her best to keep any potential lovers as far away as possible, fearing that this very thing might happen. That she would find one with amazing eyes and a gorgeous body and succumb to whatever seduction he used. And now she had, and she had the mark. This had been the very reason why she had chickened out with Remi the one time they had thought that their relationship might be going in that direction. She had been terrified that it might appear.
A gentle hand reached up to brush away a tear that slid down her cheek. She turned to Damos in shock, she hadn't even realized that she was crying until he had done that. He stared at her in worry, his now royal purple eyes darkening in concern.
That surprised her most of all. Why would he be worried? Yes, they had spent the night together and, yeah, she now held the mating mark, but she was also Katagari, and he had made it quite clear last night that he held no love for her people. He should be pissed, not concerned. She didn't understand.
"What's wrong, dearheart?" he asked with infinite gentleness. Well, if she wasn't shocked before, she definitely was now. Never in her entire life had anyone ever used an endearment for her, not even Remi did. He knew she'd rip his spine out his ass if he did. She had half a mind to do that to the dragon beside her, but doing that wouldn't solve her problems, only make more. Instead, she found herself doing the impossible; answering him truthfully.
"Everything." That surprised her most of all.
Never before had she felt the need to be so close to another being besides Wren. Not even Remi could get her to open up when she didn't want to, and yet this creature only had to say a few words, proclaim she was something dear to his heart, and she was practically spilling her guts out. Damn, being around an animal that actually had a personality and didn't growl all the time really did a number on her.
He frowned. "What do you mean? The mark? Yeah, I agree that it is rather unexpected, but I'm sure we can-"
"It's more than just the mark!" She cried, cutting him off, suddenly feeling more tears well up.
And that disgusted her more than anything. A show of weakness, no matter what it was, was something that just wouldn't do. In the wild, the weak were food for the strong and the vulnerable didn't last long. But this guy didn't get that. She could see it in his eyes. He still didn't understand the way of nature; the real food chain. Humans weren't at the top, it was actually whatever animal decided to chew on the human that was.
He gave her a startled look. She decided to elaberate a little more. "I'm a freak, Damos! You saw that for yourself last night! An abnormal mix between two species that should never have mated. In the wild we would have been left to die when we were born. Hell, we should have been! We're not right, Damos. I'm not right!"
She almost choked on a sob, but forced it back. He had to understand. Right now, it didn't matter if the mark said that they were meant to be together. They weren't. There were too many differences between the two of them. Last night she hadn't been thinking clearly, lust had been overriding all of her senses. And that was all it had been; lust. She refused to think that it could be anything like that emotion that Wren had discribed to her when she had asked him nearly a yr ago why he wanted to pursue Maggie.
Damos moved closer to wrap an arm around her shoulders, his touch sending a quiver through her body that she refused to acknowledge. "You're not a freak, Sonata." he murmured in her ear, but she didn't listen. She jerked away and leapt to her feet, spinning to face him, not even caring or noticing that they were both in the nude and, while the sheet was barely draped over his *ahem*, she was standing completely out there.
"You don't get it!" She almost cried, but held on to that last thread of control. "I'm deformed! Wrong! I don't belong with you, in your world. You deserve better than me."
"Sonata, I-" he began, but she quickly cut him off.
"It's over, Damos... it has to be. Whatever this is has to be done." The tears welled up, but didn't fall, instead they made her eyes look like the ocean depths. "It was fun while it lasted, but we both know that it would never work. Not only am I a tigard, but..." she looked away, feeling a single tear slide down her cheek as her eyes closed. "I'm not Arcadian, Damos."
Damos moved too quickly for the eye to see. One moment he was on the bed, the next he had her in his arms, staring down at her with such passion that it set her heart ablaze.
"I don't give a damn about that, Sonata!" he growled, sounding very much like the dragon he was. His Imperial Tyrian eyes smoldered. "I want you. I admit that, woman. And I'm not going to give you up just because we're different races! Others have handled it. We can, too, and I'll tear apart anyone who says otherwise."
While she was taken aback by his words and the deathly promise she could see burning in his eyes, she still couldn't help but point out some things. "We're not just different races, Damos. You're a dragon, and I'm-" now it was his turn to cut her off. "-A big-ass cat that gives a great cuddle." He said before she had a chance to finish whatever self-deprecating statement she had been about to going to make. Her eyes opened wide in shock. He grinned roguishly. "Seriously. I always used to think having a Katagari as a bed-fellow would be terrible because of the sleeping beside the fur or scales or whatever. But last night, lying next to your fluffy ass, was one of the best nights I've ever had."
Sonata couldn't help but blush at that, despite the crudeness of it. "You... weren't bothered by that form. When I slept last night, I was in my true form; a tigard. I don't usually do that while I sleep, but I was just... really tired."
"I did tire you out last night, didn't I?" he asked with a grin, but then his eyes lit with surprise as his mind registered what she had said. "Wait, you can choose what form you have?"
She nodded. "I'm a hybrid. I can be a snow leopard, a tiger, or... both. Being in my human form during the day also doesn't bother me." she tilted your head to indicate the window and the early morning light that leaked through the curtains.
"Well, now that's interesting." he said with a notch of his eyebrow. Damos suddenly turned his attention back to her, his thoughts moving back to their previous conversation.
"Sonata... I have no idea what I'm feeling for you right now." he said truthfully. Her could see in his eyes the conflict, but there was also a determination that surprised her. "I may not know what I'm feeling now, Sonata, but I can tell you that, given time, if could become love."
Her breath left in a rush. Did he just say...?
But he wasn't done yet.
"If you tell me to leave right now, my lady, I will do so... but I cannot promise -nor will I- to stay away." he lowered his head to lovingly nuzzle her cheek as his left hand sought out and grasped her right, entwining his fingers with hers and pressing the tattooed palms together in a manner reminiscent of the mating ceremony.
"You're my mate, whether you refuse me or not." A pained expression crossed his face, tearing into her heart. "But, please, don't refuse me! Not just because you'll be leaving me invalid, but because my heart could not take it. I have lost too much, Sonata, I do not want to lose you, too."
Sonata stared up into his face for an untold amount of time, just gazing into his beautiful eyes. His heart wrenching words ran through her mind, twisting something in her chest that she was starting to realize was her heart, an organ that had hardly ever been used except when around Wren or -more recently- her father.
But, this twisting in her chest cavity was far different than anything she had ever experienced around them. This was something altogether different and new and... oddly not completely unwelcome.
Her thoughts turned to his proposition. The weight of his hand entwined with hers a stark reminder. He wanted her. Flawed as she was. He didn't care that she was Katagari or a freak, he wanted her. Could love her given time. Well, the mating window was open for 3 weeks. If he wanted her this much after only an evening, then by two weeks she could very well see herself jumping his scaled bones.
And that was another thing... what would their children look like? He was a dragon, and she was a hybrid tiger and snow leopard, how would that work?
She couldn't help but voice this.
"Damos?"
"Yes, my lady?" he asked softly, still practically holding his breath in anticipation and fear.
"If we do this... mate... what would our children look like?"
His eyes widened before scrunching in thought as he contemplating her words. But then a grin spread across his face and he laughed. "We'd have a litter of flying cats!" He swept down to press a firm kiss to her mouth. He pulled back a moment later and grinned sexily at her dazed look.
She snapped out of it and shook her head, giving him a firm look. "What if they are rejected? What if...?" She couldn't finish that thought. If he rejected her children, like her own father had for a time, after saying such beautiful and sweet words then it would kill her.
He seemed to read her mind, as his arm around her waist tightened to pull her closer and his hand grasping hers held fast.
"I will not turn away any child we have, no matter what it is."
Those words, spoken with such conviction and certainty, spoke to Sonata in the most telling of ways. He was honest, sincere. He would love whatever child she had with him. He would love her.
Damos could see the indecision and insecurities wash from her eyes. Her face softened and her eyes glowed. Sonata gave him a beautiful smile, one that he had never seen on her before, and he felt his heart stop for a breath before it started again in a pounding rhythm that he was sure she could feel through her own chest.
Her free hand came up to tangle in his long hair, drawing his head down towards hers. When their lips were a hair apart, she whispered. "The Fates chose us to be together... who am I to deny the gods?"
And she kissed him.
Damn! This one is super long! hehe *cough* *cough* that's what she said *cough* *cough* Couldn't resist that one, sorry.
Ok, ppls, I made this for a friend of mine as a thank you for helping me learn French. Her Quizilla username is SonataDeLuna, and so that is why my OC is named Sonata.
Ya'll that read this better like it, since I stayed up very late to edit and make it shiny for this site!
Here's the translations for the French used. I'm sorry if the French isn't top-notch, but my book doesn't cover calling someone a "son of a bitch", so I kinda had to improvise. I think I got the "Shit on a stick" comment right. I really like that one, seeing as how I use it a lot. Hehe, hope I did it right. ^^'
And, just as a side-note that is totally not needed, but I thought would be funny, the mention I made of Sonata's scent being one of daisies and moonlight was a little bit of fun I had. See, for big cats, mostly leopards, the smell of daisies is like catnip to a housecat. It drives them wild. So I thought it would be funny if she smelled like that all the time. (I found this out on Animal Planet, lol)
For anyone who didn't get the "wind chimes" comment, here's an explanation. The Romans were a very sexual people. They actually had phallus-shaped wind chimes. Nifty, huh? ^_~ And the Roman Dark-Hunter that was mentioned was Valerius, if you couldn't guess. I know that he isn't a Dark-Hunter anymore, but the Were's will always consider him one.
I also gotta throw out kuddo's to my twin. She helped me with my little "fight scene". I'm really bad at those, hehe. So, thanks StunningEyesBlind!
Oh, to explain that "Sweet Honesty" comment, I am sure that anyone that has smelt the stuff, which is a perfume that is distributed through Avon, would understand this. The stuff smells more than bad, it could almost make ppl pass out with how bad it smells, believe me, my ma is an Avon-lady. My twin once used the stuff in a stink-bomb she made!
And, as for the color Imperial Tyrian I mentioned to be the color of Damos' eyes. Tyrian purple was the original purple, and is a very pretty shade. Look it up on wikipedia to see the exact color.