AU In which shapeshifters do exist and are called Cursed, they look and pass as human but aren't, their inner beast is always just under the surface. They have to hide from the world and where they interact with humans people tend to get hurt.
Set in the Cursed 'verse. You may need to read my story Cursed to understand a lot of what is going on, I hope you enjoy this small little snippet of the past and how Paul learnt to enjoy being Diane's prisoner, not because of chains but because he started to fall in love, first with having a family and finally Diane herself as he will in time learn to overcome his prejudice towards Cursed.
Rated M (Just in case).
Warnings: Abduction, hints of dub-con.
Don't like don't read, though constructive criticism is always welcome (plus any reviews).
I own nothing, literally.
Cursed Prisoner
17 Years Earlier:
Sitting at the deserted train station Paul puts his head in his hands and tries to work out how his life got so out of control, and how the entire town had simply turned on him.
Glancing at his ring finger he can see the tan line from wearing his wedding ring for so long, a wedding ring his ex-wife had demanded back as she raided everything they'd owned and taken it all. He'd loved her, he'd spent his life building everything for them and now in under a few months it's all gone.
He still doesn't understand how him being infertile had done this to her, they could've adopted, they could've gotten sperm from a sperm bank, he wouldn't care that their child wouldn't be his biologically.
She had other ideas.
At first he'd thought she was just being clumsy and walking into things, and had wanted her to go and get checked out because she was normally so elegant. He had fussed over her even more thinking she was upset because of his fertility tests, he'd wined and dined her, told everyone it was 'just a phase', he'd done anything she'd asked of him.
He'd walked right into her trap.
The memory is so clear in his mind, how he'd been cooking for her, desperate to make her smile again, the doorbell ringing, the police manhandling him to the ground, and the sight of his wonderful wife appearing tearful and all bruised, battered and beaten as he was lead away.
They'd appointed him a lawyer.
The lawyer had pointed it all out, he was lucky he wasn't in jail for beating his pregnant wife, but she'd played the judge and there was now a restraining order out, one he couldn't cross without ending up in a jail cell.
She and her lover had everything and he had nothing. Not even the child, she'd been four months pregnant when she'd staged the beating and his subsequent arrest, everyone thought the child was his, but he'd known the truth.
Holding back a sob he tries to work out what to do next, he literally has nothing but the old and ripped clothes he's wearing, and a small paper bag in his hand that has his drivers licence and about thirty bucks in it. He can't put it in his jeans' pockets because of the holes in the material.
Lost and bewildered he can't hold the sobs back any longer. There's no one here to see him and even if they did they'd think he deserved it. How could they all believe he would do that to her? How could they think he could ever hurt her? And how could she do this to him?
Betrayed he only cries harder feeling like more of a failure for not being able to keep his emotions in check, he doesn't lose his temper, he tries to be a nice person to everyone, to the point that the people who used to be his friends said he was a soft touch who needed protecting from the world.
Paul's almost glad his parents are dead, at least they didn't live to see this, they'd told him she was bad news that she wasn't what he thought she was but he'd loved her so much.
Curling up on the station bench he lets it out and the sobs wrack his body as he rocks back and forth in misery.
He's never felt more alone in his life.
Wrapped up in his pain he starts when something cold and damp touches his hand. Abruptly he looks to find the most beautiful dog he's ever seen in his life, she's a yellow Labrador colour but with golden eyes and she takes his breath away.
Not really a dog person he has no idea what type of dog she is, she seems to be a strange mixture of all the dogs he's ever seen but so much more, it's as if she's the purist version of dog there ever was and she's wagging her tail at him.
"Hey girl," he tentatively reaches out to her and she ducks her head so that he can rub her ears, "Oh, your fur," it's like silk under his fingers. She just wags her tail again and gives him the most intelligent look he's ever had from a dog.
"Oh aren't you beautiful," Paul compliments her and she seems to agree that yes she really is beautiful and for a time they sit there companionably together as he gets bolder and strokes his fingers down her back, she sighs deeply and rests her head in his lap.
Occasionally he sniffs and while the crying has helped to ease the pressure in his chest he now has a headache instead. "What am I going to do?" He asks the world in general but the dog whines at him, those ears are pricked up at him and she's staring at him, "Sorry little lady, I'm just not good company right now, I suppose you could say I have nothing left to lose."
Tail wagging she huffs and nuzzles his hand, indulging her he carries on petting her as he uncurls bit by bit and leans back into the bench. At least his new doggie friend doesn't care that his wife had falsely accused him and then divorced him.
Suddenly the dog moves and grabs the little paper bag out of his fingers, "Hey!" But she's trotting off along the platform, getting up he hurries after her, "Hey, dog, no come on give that back, you can't eat it, you'll make yourself sick, I need that puppy."
Turning she looks at him and then jumps off the end of the platform and vanishes into the undergrowth leading to the forest.
Hesitating he clambers down and then she pokes her head around a bush and he walks towards her as non threateningly as he can, "Good girl, come on, I won't hurt you, I'm too soft for that, I can't even kill spiders and I'm terrified of those," she doesn't move and cocks her head at him. "That's it, good girl," he's nearly there and he stretches a hand out to her. Only a few more inches to go, and then she darts off at the last second into the forest.
It seems she's found a forest path and he walks down it catching the odd glimpse of her yellow flank now and again between the trees, she's not that far ahead of him.
There's still a few hours of daylight left and he's sure he can find his way back to the station, tomorrow morning he'll catch the train out of here and start a new life somewhere, at this point he doesn't care what his new life is as long as it's far away from here.
Whistling in case that will bring her back he calls out to her and gets nothing in return, typical female.
Eventually he reaches a clearing and in the middle is a rather decrepit RV that's seen better days. The dull browns of it's bodywork should have hidden the rust spots but seemed to show them off instead.
And there at the bottom of the steps leading into the RV is the dog. Her tail is still waving around and she must have been waiting for him because the moment she spots him she vanishes inside the vehicle.
Stepping into the clearing he can now see the path the RV must have come down and whoever lives here must enjoy their privacy as the road is a bit overgrown.
Nervously he approaches the RV, he's too old to take credence of the silly horror movies that are on TV, the ones where some idiot wanders out into the woods on their own and then comes to a sticky and bloody end.
A few feet from the RV he calls out, "Hello! Hi, um, my name is Paul, Paul Karinski. Err your dog snatched my bag from me, it has my driver's licence in it, can I have that and my thirty bucks back please?"
Nothing.
If there is anyone in there he can't hear them moving around.
"Um, hello? Is there anyone in there?" Paul winces because that was a really stupid thing to ask. Shaking his head he moves a few steps closer, "Um, sorry but I really need that licence back, and the money," pausing he hesitates at the door and the hairs on the back of his neck are standing up, something is seriously wrong and he doesn't know what it is, sensation of being watched settles over him and he shakes it off, there's no one here.
"Okay, don't be afraid I'm just going to get my stuff and then I'm gone, I promise I won't touch or take anything, and I won't hurt anyone, I'm completely harmless," and that's bound to reassure the person inside he thinks and puts his foot on the first step.
Peering inside the interior is as dated and tired as the outside, but it's clean and smells freshly scrubbed. Trying to listen he can't hear anything and then he hears the tell tale scrabble of claws and turns his head to see the dog vanishing up the far end of the RV.
"Here girl," he whispers, "Come on, please," he begs softly, "I really don't want to break and enter. Oh god I am so going to jail over this," and he starts to follow her down the RV.
Shaking slightly at his unfamiliar illegal actions he pauses at the last door of the RV, it leads to a big bedroom and the dog is curled up on the bed with the bag in her mouth. As her tail's wagging he hopes that means she's still friendly, "Hey girl, easy, it's okay, I just need to take my things, okay?"
Inching into the bedroom he tries not to startle her, he doesn't want to get attacked and bitten.
Behind him the door slams shut and the distinctive click of a lock is loud in the silence, and then the RV rumbles to life. Maybe those horror movies weren't so farfetched after all. Spinning he grasps the door and tugs futilely on it.
A quiet grunt from the bed and he goes statue still debating whether to look or not. It can't be that bad can it?
Apparently it can and he whimpers jamming his back and shoulders into the door willing the damn thing to open as the beautiful dog shifts in front of his eyes into a beautiful naked woman with long dark almost black hair, and when she glances up he can see dark eyes that flash with gold.
Golden eyes.
He mentally kicks himself. She's Cursed. He's just followed a Cursed into the forest and into an RV. Beneath his feet the RV starts to move and he's being taken god knows where. No one cares about him, no one will fill out a missing persons on him, why would they, they'll just think he left town.
And he'd thought sitting on the bench was bad, he'd give anything to be back there right now bemoaning his fate, because at least it would mean he had a fate to bemoan.
So many news items on the TV and half remembered newspaper articles on Cursed run through his mind. No one really knows much about them, they're simply natural destructive forces of nature that can fake looking human. He's sure there's some park ranger somewhere who was interviewed and he'd said you stand a chance with gold eyed Cursed you can talk to them, silver eyed Cursed will gut before you blink.
It never occurred to the interviewer to ask the man how he'd known that and Paul prays the man was right and isn't a nutjob wanting his five minutes of fame.
Sliding down the door, as his knees give out, he hunches in and tries not to look threatening, or too edible, as Cursed are meat eaters and are said to prefer the taste of human flesh.
Staring fixedly at the floor near him he waits, the dull roar of the RV is drowned out by the rushing of blood through his veins and the pounding of his panicking heart.
The whole vehicle jolts and they must be going over bumps in the track leading somewhere. The RV smoothes out and grumbles along picking up speed, they must be on a road, a road that's going somewhere that isn't the town.
Bitterly he recalls his earlier thoughts and he really should be more careful what he wishes for, because when he wanted to be anywhere but there with a new life this wasn't at all what he was imagining. He'd wanted a nice little apartment, nothing big, a simple job, and access to the library. His needs have always been simple.
Up until now the Cursed has left him alone, maybe she'll get bored and let him leave alive and intact, it's not like he's a reliable witness or anything he has a criminal record now.
A rustle from the bed and he stubbornly stares at the floor not risking upsetting her. Tanned slim feet come into view and he flinches trying to remember if running from them is bad.
"Paul?" Her voice is like honey and how does she know his name? "Paul my Sweet, why do you sit down on the floor? The bed is far more comfortable for you, you humans are such fragile delicate creatures I have had to be so careful to make your new home perfect for you."
Blankly he stares at the floor and he doesn't understand. Swallowing loudly he gazes up and his eyes flick past her body to her face, those dark eyes must be brown and she's watching him with an amused expression. "How do you know my name?" And then his mind catches up with what she said, "Wait, my new home?"
Oh god how had Jackie managed to get hold of Cursed? Was this some extra punishment his ex-wife had set up for him? How could anyone deal with Cursed they were pure evil abominations or unthinking animals depending on who you spoke to, the only thing everyone agreed on was that they should be destroyed on sight, if only someone could come up with a way to kill them.
The Cursed woman kneels down so she can look him in the eyes, "Yes Paul this is now your home. We will live here for a long time my Sweet. And I could say I know your name as it's on your driving licence, I could say it's because you called it out in the forest clearing," she says lightly almost teasingly.
"But..." He adds.
"But, I have been watching you my Sweet, and I know your name from the courts as your foolish lying ex-mate has given up all rights to you in the thing called a 'divorce'," her nose wrinkles, "You humans are so strange, why take a mate only to give them up?"
Oh god a Cursed had been watching him, that can't be good news.
"Now my Sweet, come sit on the bed with me, I will bite you," he flinches at that, "And then you will be my mate."
"Oh god," he whimpers and turns to hammer his fists on the door, "God, somebody, please, let me out, let me out, no, please!" He tries the door again in desperation, killing him was one thing, mating him was something else entirely.
Slim, yet strong arms, hold him still and he shakes in their embrace terrified, "Please, don't do it, please, god, just don't. I'm not that kind of man, I swear I never hit my wife, I swear I'm not a bad man, you have the wrong person," he's not some deviant evil person, he's a nice person, he is, this can't be happening to him.
A snort in his ear is followed by, "I know you didn't hit your silly ex-mate, I know you are a nice man, you're what I've been looking for and my instincts lead me straight to you. One sniff of your scent," a nose is pressed against his shoulder and she takes a deep breath, "And I knew you were what I have been looking for my Sweet."
"I... I don't understand," everyone knows that only evil people with something wrong with them are picked by Cursed to be their mates. Even in the states without the death penalty for any other crime it's stuck, no one wants a Cursed's mate hanging around, better to kill them quick and make the world a better place.
"You don't have to understand my Sweet, just let your instincts take over," and she's somehow managed to pick him up bridal fashion as she carries him over to the bed. He's put down incredibly gently but she follows and pins him to the bed.
"Please let me go," he tries to buck her off, it's pointless she's too strong, "No one would listen to me about you, they'd think I was crazy," he's babbling now as her face leans in to his neck and a tongue licks him. "God, please, please don't, please, I'll do anything, just don't do this."
"Shh my Sweet," her voice is tender, "Don't cry, it will hurt but then it will heal, shh," he hadn't even realised he'd started sobbing again. She bites him and he screams as she worries at the bite, her teeth have sunk into the joint of his neck and his shoulder and it feels like liquid acid is being dripped into the wound.
Burning hot and cold he can't do anything but lay there as shivers wrack his body and when unconsciousness comes up to claim him he goes willingly into the dark.
~oOo~
A month after the bite:
The click of the lock turning wakes him and he sits up grasping the bed covers and trying to keep his naked body from showing. As usual it's Diane and he stares at the food she has in her hands.
He knows she's trying to give him what he needs in his diet as a human but she can't seem to grasp it properly, hence the turnip in her hand.
A whole turnip.
"My Sweet, see I have brought you the 'vegetables' you asked for," she's so proud of herself that he doesn't say anything. He doesn't like turnips, cooked and mashed revolt him, he's fairly sure that raw are worse.
"Diane," he wracks his brains on how to put this, she doesn't think like he does, and he has to be careful how he explains it to her, "Thank you for the food," she beams and it transforms her from incredibly beautiful to breathtaking in a second. "But you must have noticed that humans cook most of their food," her face falls and she starts to scowl. "Maybe if you let me out I could go shopping with you and I could pick out food I could cook…" He stops as she crosses her arms, never a good sign.
"My Sweet, I've already told you that you are not allowed outside until your mating heat has come, once we have consummated our relationship then I know you won't run away from me," it's the serious way she says it, as if it makes logical sense and so far he's avoided doing anything sexual with her by telling her he was having a human moment. Surprisingly she was taking the no sex thing in her stride, but she'd convinced herself that the reason was that he hadn't gone into heat yet.
Paul knows there are more Cursed in the RV, two adults and something called a cubling. Not one of them has set foot in the bedroom that he knows of. After he'd recovered from the bite with a fever that had resembled flu he's not been allowed out of the bedroom once. It had a toilet and a shower in the corner, plus Diane had stolen his clothes and he was forced to go naked the rest of the time.
Since then he's spent most of his time trying to get her to understand his food requirements and he'd been upgraded from cold tinned soup, to cold tinned soup and bread, and they'd finally brought him fruit too. Apparently they were moving onto vegetables.
He'd spent two weeks in abject terror but for a bloodthirsty crazed murdering beast she was remarkably even tempered and out of sheer boredom he's been attempting to have conversations with her. He knows women are different to men, but talking to Diane was like talking to someone from a very foreign land who's grip on English wasn't that good, you're both saying the same word but it has a completely different meaning.
Sighing he lays back down turning the new problem over in his head, "Um Diane, vegetables are different to fruit in that humans have to cook them to make them edible, some we can eat raw, but cooking makes it better and easier for us to eat," it's not a total lie, "And if you look at restaurant dishes we often eat a mixture of different types of foods so that we have a bit of everything we need."
The bed dips and she lays down near him, "My Sweet you humans are very strange creatures indeed, things would be much easier if you ate as we did, pure raw meat every few days. These fruits and vegetables you eat are disgusting," her nose wrinkles cutely and he pulls his eyes away from staring at her, he's been doing that more and more lately. "I will try harder to provide for you my Sweet," she promises.
"If you let me out I could show you what to buy for me," he slips that in, he's not holding out hope that she'll go for it, he's aiming to mention it each time she's in here and maybe she'll give in and let him out, and then he can escape.
All the windows are too small for him to get out of and they never leave the door unlocked, he's stuck in here for now. As prisons go it's not that bad. He now has food three times a day brought to him by a very gorgeous guard. It's comfortable, warm, but he's so very bored.
He's old enough to know that being in here might be the safest place with two other Cursed around, when he escapes he's going to have to be very careful not to run into the other Cursed without Diane to protect him. He's never heard of Cursed being anything other than solitary but then he's never heard of them being able to drive RVs either, and the trap she'd laid for him had been fiendishly simple, he'd practically delivered himself to her with a bow on.
The RV grumbles to life again and makes some suspiciously strangled coughing noises, looks like it's going to have to be fixed at some point, and then the familiar jolting as it starts moving forward means they're travelling again. The only time they stop is to get him food or to fill the RV up with gas in the remotest of places. He can't see a lot from the windows but he knows they've taken him off the big roads to the smaller less travelled roads.
Paul's come up with some very crazy and offbeat escape plans since he's been kidnapped and his latest scheme involves getting abducted by aliens, he's fairly sure that's never going to happen. But the sci fi buff in him is intrigued over who would win in a grudge match between Cursed and super hi tech aliens with death rays. Depressingly he's betting on the Cursed.
"Where are we going?" He asks certain he will get the same answer as usual.
"We are following the deer," and yes there it is, it makes no sense to him, deer are everywhere, why did they have to follow them?
"I meant the name of a town or the state we're in," he clarifies.
"North, and to the west," she supplies so their direction hasn't really changed yet.
"Are we going to cross the border?" His latest hope is they get to the Canadian border and somehow the entire Canadian army are doing manoeuvres and then he gets rescued.
Chuckling she shakes her head, "No my Sweet, we will run parallel with it and then swing down the coast and head south."
"Following the deer," he mutters.
"Yes my mate," he flinches at her words, he's still not that kind of man, "Following the deer."
A deep shuddering rattles the RV and this loud grinding noise fills the air right up to the point a loud metallic shriek blasts out, and then silence falls, the RV is now very broken and maybe this is the chance Paul has been needing.
Broken RVs needed to be repaired, and that equated to humans, and far more avenues of escape than being stuck in an RV with three Cursed.
Getting up Diane hurries out of the bedroom and in her haste she's left the door unlocked. Sensing an opening Paul gets up wrapping the sheet around his middle, for modesty and warmth, and with no attempt at stealth he walks to the doorway.
The rest of the RV was deserted, the door he'd originally came in by was wide open, it was the perfect opportunity. Listening just in case he can tell where they are all he can hear is the lack of engine noise.
On one of the booth seats is a basket, he doesn't pay it any heed as he heads towards it and the exit. And then a little dragon's head pops up over the top of it to stare at him. Stopping in his tracks he stares back into the intelligent and curious golden eyes that belong to a dark green head on a long mobile green neck. The longer he stands there the more details he can make out, the brown and gold stripes, the way the little dragon has its tongue stuck out to one side.
Neither of them move, they simply keep staring.
The open door crashes back and Diane is jumping into the RV muttering, seeing him there she tilts her head, "Paul? My Sweet? Is something wrong? Why are you not in our den?"
"Um," he can't think of anything that doesn't involve escape and then blurts, "Is the RV okay?"
Her body relaxes, "No my Sweet, the RV is dead," the little dragon swings it's head around at that and makes a surprisingly sweet sounding chirp, Diane glances down at the dragon and then reaches out to pet it. The dragon rubs against her hand and Paul's shocked when it purrs softly. "We'll get another and then we will move dens," she's tickling under the dragon's chin.
"How are you going to get another RV?" He's partly mesmerised by the sight in front of him but the reality of him being a prisoner hasn't left him and he's searching for a way out, a weak point he can use to his advantage, even if it is against his normal gentle nature.
"Hmm? Oh I have funds stored away Paul," she's dismissive, "Now into the den for you, you must rest and eat to get your strength back so that your heat will come."
And they're back to that. Paul lets her herd him back to his prison and he has one more question, "The dragon in the basket was that another Cursed?"
"Yes my Sweet," she seems happy he's asked, "That's our youngest cubling or child, Dave, he's about a year old now."
With that the door is closed again and he sits back down frustrated that his dash for freedom had been thwarted, the tantalising hints of the outside world had been snatched from him, but maybe that could work in his favour, if Diane thought he wouldn't run away he could use that to gain more and more freedom before he made a run for it.
It's the most promising idea he's had so far.
He's at a distinct disadvantage in any bid for freedom as he's really bad at lying and he's terrible at scheming, it's not something he's used to doing, he prefers being honest and helpful. Of course that's counted for nothing when Jackie decided she wanted to divorce him and take everything.
Flopping back on the bed he rubs his face, maybe if he did do those sexual kind of things with Diane he'd be able to have more freedom that he could build up and then make a clean get away from them. Except that would mean getting naked with a Cursed, which he already was, but it would mean doing sexual things with a Cursed, a very illegal and taboo thing to do.
All the stories of Cursed basically said they either ate you, or sexually assaulted you and then ate you. Diane's done none of those things and he's confused as to why she's being so nice, she's so much stronger than him, she can take whatever she wanted from him.
Suddenly the RV shifts and moves but the engine isn't running.
Sitting up he climbs onto the bed so he can open one of the small back windows to peer out. They could have gotten a tow so he won't be able to see anything, but he can verify how fast they're moving.
Balancing with one leg on the bed and one on the bedside cabinet he looks out and a movement makes him crane downwards where Diane and another woman are pushing the RV. Oh dear god he knew Cursed were strong but they're pushing the RV effortlessly!
The woman next to Diane must be Cursed too and her hair is the same straight dark colour, she glances up and he's caught by bright green eyes, "Dad? Are you okay? Do you need something?"
Dad? Why had the other Cursed called him dad?
"Paul?" Diane's looking at him now, "Are you well?"
"Yes Diane, I just noticed the RV moving and I was curious," he clings to the tiny window, at this moment in time watching them push the RV was far more interesting than staring at the walls.
They haven't stopped pushing and they seemed to have picked up the pace a little, "My Sweet we will push the RV somewhere safe and then Kitty," she nods to the woman next to her, "And Marcus will fetch the new RV and we will move into the new den and get you comfortable."
Kitty, the Cursed's name was Kitty.
"Oh, fine, but wouldn't it be easier to push the RV to where you want to buy the new RV and we can just move in?" He's proud of that moment of inspiration.
Kitty sniggers at his words, "No dad, we're not going to let you out where you can get hurt, you have to mate with mom properly, and if you're not up to mating you're not up to going out." It's that same annoying logic that Diane uses.
"Oh…" Baffled at how to counter that he stands there and watches them some more, neither of them are paying him a huge amount of attention and the one called Kitty seems friendly enough, he's not stupid enough to be left alone with her though in case she reverts to type and eats him.
They make pushing an RV look easy and he knows he'd never be able to push it so he adds that to his list of things that Cursed do that he hadn't known about as he tries to estimate their strength.
At some point they must get to a turn off as the RV veers to the left and whoever Marcus is must be steering them to a place they consider to be safe. The trees start to close in and not once do the two Cursed pause or show any sign of getting tired.
When his legs start to ache he sits back down on the bed and waits. He's already missed lunch due to the turnip and RV moment and judging by the sky it was probably about dinnertime. He makes a bet with himself that he'll be given cold tinned soup and bread.
The RV stops moving and he doesn't bother to think much about it until the door to his prison opens and a man is standing there. He's tall, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, "Dad?"
Why are they all calling him dad? Not sure if it's him or not Paul makes an 'Hmm' noise that could be taken any way the Cursed feels like.
"Kitty and I are going to be flying off soon, mom said you need to cook the vegetables, we'll get an RV with cooking things and we will get you some more food," a scrap of paper and a pencil are held out, "Write down what you want and we'll get it for you."
Stunned he stares at the offerings and then scrambles to take them, he makes sure to say thanks and then tries to think of what he'll need that doesn't warrant being frozen or refrigerated. He doesn't know how well they read or write and he does his best to make it as clear as possible for them.
They've left his door open and when he's finished he stands up with his sheet and peers into the RV where the three adult Cursed at all standing and talking quietly. The little Cursed dragon from earlier is perched on the back of a chair and Paul gets a good view of it.
It's about as big as the full-grown tomcat from his old neighbourhood, the damn thing was forever terrorising the other smaller cats; there are four legs and a pair of wings, a long tail and a long neck. It's covered in scales which are the same dark green though more khaki now he can see it better, and those brown and gold highlights are like stripes over it's body. There are no ridges running down the back of it's body and it opens it's mouth to make those chirping noises to revel sharp teeth and a forked tongue.
Moving further into the RV and being as meek as he can Paul slides into a seat and waits, even if all he can do is talk Diane into letting him sit in here during the day it's a step up from the bedroom.
"My Sweet," Diane's smiling at him, "Do you have the list?"
He hands it over, "It's all I can think of for now, I hope it's clear enough."
"It'll be fine," the Cursed he thinks is called Marcus says and then the man and Kitty are walking out, Paul's curious about what happens next. And then he blushes as they strip down naked. Going down on all fours they start to change shape and Paul's fascinated and a little nauseated at the change but when their scales burst into colour on their skin he gasps.
Kitty is brown with green and gold stripes and this close to the forest he can see the amazing camouflage for what it is, if she froze and he didn't know she was there he'd walk right past her. Marcus is the most breathtaking blend of blues, he sticks out on the ground but Paul is certain that when Marcus takes flight he'd be unspotable until the last second.
"Beautiful," he murmurs and both their heads swing around on those long necks towards him in the RV, their attitude reminds him of Diane as the dog, of course they were beautiful. Each of their front paws grips a small bundle that contains their clothes and then they settle back on their haunches before leaping up into the air, their wings unfurl and Paul loses sight of them so he hurries to the open RV door to stare up into the sky and the rapidly fading shapes skimming over the top of the trees.
"Wow," Everyone talks about how dangerous they are, how evil and destructive, no ones says how beautiful they are.
A cough from behind him and Diane is standing there watching him as is the little Cursed who's now sitting on the table with it's wings folded and it's tail wrapped around it so the tip was just in front and twitching slightly.
Determined not to end up in the damn bedroom for a few minutes Paul stalls, "Food?" And he sits back down at the table even though it puts him far too close to the baby Cursed for his liking. When Diane hands him the bowl of soup he stands up and puts it in the microwave and he's back to being stared at by the two Cursed.
At the ping he takes his now hot soup out and sits at the table. Lifting a spoonful of soup up he blows on it and the baby Cursed sniffs and uses it's tongue like a snake. Ignoring the dragon he eats his soup, slowly. Paul drags out eating his soup and bread to the point that Diane sits down opposite him and strokes the little dragon who curls up and purrs softly.
So he hadn't misheard the purring.
When the soup is gone Diane hustles him back to the bedroom and he's locked in again. But for once Paul's genuinely hopeful. He hadn't run away and he had been given more freedom, another idea has occurred to him and he'll have to wait for nighttime to enact it.
That night when Diane joins him to sleep he doesn't wiggle away from her, he turns his back on her and lets her spoon him, she's unbelievably warm and soft against his back, and she doesn't push any of the boundaries, she simply falls asleep. Laying there he turns the day's events over in his head, this could be the long term solution to escaping, he just has to be patient.
~oOo~
A week after the new RV arrives:
"Diane," Paul calls softly from the bedroom of the new RV, "I'm booorrreeddd, talk to me."
He can't believe they stole the damn RV, Marcus and Kitty apparently found a holding lot that sold RV's, waited for nightfall and then stole it by doing the equivalent of hot wiring it, he has no idea how you do that but they did and they broke in somewhere else to steal a new ignition.
The plates are swopped for their old ones and then Paul had innocently walked into what he'd thought was a paid for RV only to find out two days later it wasn't so he thinks that makes him an accessory to grand theft.
They've locked him in the bedroom again and not let him out except for meal times, it was a step up but he can't take staring at the damn walls much longer.
He's gotten underwear, jeans and t-shirts so at least he can get dressed but he's still stuck in here and he wants out. "Diane!" He calls louder, he's learning quickly that they can hear much further than a human. "Diane, please, please, please, please talk to me!"
A click from the door and he mutters, "Finally," to think he's gone from not wanting anything to do with her to begging for her company, he shakes his head, whoever said they were evil and killed you didn't know the depths of despair from being locked in a nice plush room with only a beautiful Cursed woman who wanted sex with you.
Except it isn't Diane, it's David. Paul can't call him Dave, David suits him better. The cubling is supposed to be only one, but as a human he looks about two, he can talk and he has the attitude and mind of a teenager already.
Sitting up Paul smiles, of all the Cursed he's least afraid of David, who is shockingly cute with dark brown curls and brown eyes, he has the shyest smile and is curious about everything.
"Hi David," Paul greets him.
"Hi dad," the little Cursed says and smiles softly.
That was another thing, the two other Cursed and David insisted on calling Paul dad, Diane had tried to explain that they were all hers so her mating Paul wouldn't normally make a difference but as humans were so weird about things they were adopting human rules on this, and that made Paul their dad. When Paul had imagined kids he hadn't really imagined this.
Jumping up onto the bed with ease David sits down and looks up at him, "Mom's driving so she can't come and sit with you, I said I would because Marcus is being mean again, the complete fuckwit said I can't drive."
And David has somehow picked up the foulest mouth from god knows where, "Language David," Paul scolds him automatically, "And Marcus is right," that gets him a huff and a whine, "You're too small at the moment to reach the peddles safely, when you get taller I'm sure you can learn to drive."
"But dad…" The boy pleads.
"No. When you're taller you can ask your mother, I know you're smart so you'll pick it up really quickly," Paul can't help the smile on his face, there was something adorable about a toddler sulking about not driving. "How was the hunting last night?"
Like a switch being flipped the boy's no longer sulking but excited about how he'd flushed out a rabbit and then how he'd hunted it down, "I know you don't like hurting anything dad," the boy twists and puts his hand on Paul's who has to ignore the tugging on his heart, "But I was careful to end it quickly and painlessly and then I ate all of it!"
David's so proud of himself that Paul's hand moves on its own to run through those curls, the boy snuggles in and Paul's fairly sure he's a goner where the child is concerned, he was prepared for the adults, he can defend himself against them, but David is a different matter and he's wanted kid's forever.
That scowl is soon back, "And then Kitty said I couldn't hunt with them because I can't take down a deer." Short arms are crossed, "I can too dad, I can take down a deer, they treat me like I'm a baby, I'm not a baby I'm a cubling and I bet I could beat up a bear," a fierce growl erupts from the boy.
"Oh I'm sure you could," Paul keeps touching those curls, "But again, it's more that you need to grow a little taller, and you will before you know it."
"Okay," the boy slumps so his head rests on Paul's thigh and he wishes David were a real human boy because he's falling for the boy, and he's falling hard, all those fantasies about kids, about pushing them on swings, going fishing, reading to them at night, sitting in the stands at whatever sports or events the child is at cheering for them, watching them grow up and become their own person, he's not sure he's going to be able to walk away from this intact.
Diane is bad enough, the Cursed fusses over him and clearly wants more from him than sex, he's found his mind drifting towards her again and again, his excuses on not having sex are getting weaker, his resolve is slipping the more he gets to know her.
Marcus and Kitty are like older step kids, adults in so many ways but totally accepting of him. They have the same weird logic of their mother and he's learning that Marcus likes to paint and Kitty likes to sew. He has to fight to remember that they're monsters, that they're Cursed, it doesn't matter that when they turn into dragons they're beautiful and he wants to run a finger over their scales, he has to remember the plan, he has to escape, it's what he wants after all, isn't it?
The lines have started to blur, he's mourned losing Jackie and frankly he had to do all the work in that relationship, she hated doing anything, she never praised him or showed any true affection to him and he's getting more with a Cursed than he ever did with his ex-wife. He'd certainly never be driving around in a stolen RV with Jackie, she'd never had set foot in one, and he has kind of wanted to do this since he was a kid, camping in style…
… No he wants to escape, that's the plan, he's going to escape. He will.
Marcus stomps into the bedroom and collapses onto the floor and hisses back the way he came, "Dammit, that's not fair."
"What's not fair?" Paul asks, he's stuck in here and can't hear what's going on in the main room, it's enough to trigger Marcus telling him how he's banned from map reading because they are about two hundred miles off course.
"It's easier when I'm flying dad," the Cursed is says, "You can feel the magnetic fields and see the ground under you, instead of that dreadful map thing and the twisting lines that aren't quite right."
"I've always been good at reading maps," Paul volunteers and eases David's head so that he can make an unhurried dash up the RV to snag the outspread map from Kitty's hands smoothing it out over the table.
"Paul, my Sweet," Diane is about to start on why he needs to sit in the damn bedroom.
"Diane, I'm good at reading maps now why don't you all start by telling me where it went wrong and what the last sign you saw was…"
~oOo~
Two weeks since he started reading the maps…
Each night they lock him in the bedroom with Diane, which is turning out to be much less of a hardship than he'd ever thought it could be. They talk late into the night as Kitty and Marcus drive them down the coast.
Each day he sits in the main RV area and reads maps, plans routes, and even helps with the main budget that is being taken up with gas for the RV and food for him.
Marcus has been grumbling at not being able to paint, while Kitty curls up in a seat and sews occasionally annoying her brother by reminding him that she can sew while he can't paint. Diane has to step in a few times to make them stop.
David shifts shapes and mock hunts up and down the RV as a jet black feline until Paul takes pity on him and catches a stray beam of light on his watch face letting it play just ahead of David's whiskers. It keeps them all entertained for an hour as David goes mad trying to catch the piece of light with his paws.
It's feeling more and more like a family and Paul's almost forgotten why he's still scheming, badly, to escape from this. David back flips and scrabbles to get back on his four feet, his black tail swishing wildly.
They're about to pull into a gas station so David shifts to a human and pulls on his clothes to clamber up next to Paul acting as childlike as possible. That's the bit that tends to freak Paul out, David's mentally older than human children his age but in order to blend in he has to act like a child.
Diane goes to fuel up as Marcus and Kitty go to pay and to peruse the tiny shop. Glancing out the window Paul gets to see a rack of second hand books and the lure is too strong to stop him. Getting up he sneaks to the door when a hand grabs his pant's leg. Looking down he can see David staring up at him.
Not wanting to argue with the boy or to lose this opportunity he stoops down to pick David up, those brown eyes go huge and the boy's arms go around Paul's neck. For a second he's stunned at how trustingly David's looking at him and then he walks out carrying the Cursed boy.
Going to the bookstand he balances David on his hip and keeps an arm locked around him, "Are you okay there?" he whispers.
"Yes dad, I've not been carried since I was three days old though," the boy's more curious than upset. "Are you going to get a book?"
"Yes, as fun as it is to finally be out of the bedroom and up front I need something to do with my time and I love to read," he picks up one and reads the back, he puts it back and then works his way through a few more before snagging one and walking into the shop where Marcus and Kitty are glaring at him when the owner's back is turned.
The owner is an older man with grey in his hair and the moment he spots David he starts to coo, "Oh my, he is a cute one isn't he?" David hides his face in Paul's shoulder, "Don't be shy little one, I've got several grandkids and no offence to their parents but the kids are no where near as cute as you."
"He is cute isn't he," Paul agrees and plonks his book on top of the few items that the other Cursed have picked out, he'd admitted a weakness for candy and Diane seemed determined to spoil him so there was a pile of candy on the counter, none of the Cursed ate anything but meat, they could if they needed to but they didn't enjoy it.
They talk for a bit longer and Paul's laughing at the man's stories about potty training and daft things kids say to embarrass their parents, all the time he cuddles David and rubs that tiny back.
Diane's there and she must have finished fuelling the RV, "All done?" Paul asks her.
"Yes my Sweet, is this everything?" She points to the counter.
"Yes, that's everything," Paul nods and the man rings up their sales complimenting Paul on his little family and Paul wants it so badly, he wants this so much, it's something he's always dreamed of and he's so very tempted.
Kitty picks up the candy and they all troop into the RV, Paul not looking for an escape for once too caught up in the little body he's cradling so tenderly. Inside David wiggles to be let down but they sit side by side in a booth seat. The RV pulls out of the gas station and Paul slides his book closer.
"Dad, what book did you get?" The boy asks.
Handing it over Paul watches in fascination as the child reads the back, "And that's interesting to you?"
"Yes David, you can learn a lot from books, inside those simple pages are new worlds filled with people and ideas, thoughts and morals, experiences I will never have first hand but through the ability of the author I will get to see things I never would," he loves books, he loves reading he always has.
Opening the book to the first page he starts to read aloud to David and it's not until the end of the first chapter that he looks up to see Marcus paying him attention and sketching, while Kitty was sewing but stopping frequently to listen. Even Diane was cocking her head to not miss anything.
Reading them a few more chapters Paul stops and David looks up at him, "You were right dad that wasn't boring, can I hear more?"
"Of course you can David, but I need a glass of water or my throat will get sore," three Cursed make a dash to grab him a glass of water and Diane chuckles at them from the driving seat, in the mirror their eyes meet and Paul's heart stutters.
~oOo~
Five days after he bought the book:
Paul's perched on the edge of the bed doing up the second hand hiking boots Diane got for him. Today they're parked up and they're going for a mini hike, it's been too long since Paul did any kind of exercise and he wants to stretch his legs.
They're all outside as canines waiting for him to get ready.
Not exactly how he'd envisioned walking with his family when he was younger and he has to remind himself again that he's not staying, that this isn't real, that he's lulling them into letting their guard down so he can escape.
And then he's walking out with them into the sunshine, they've promised not to go far and it's nice to get out of the RV for a while, to get some fresh air. They bound around and sniff at anything and everything, each of them takes it in turn to walk with him and with the three adults he can rest his hand on their shoulders as they really are that tall when they're not hiding their sizes to blend in as normal dogs.
Diane's yellow fur is soft under his hand and he runs his fingers through it gently, she lets him grip it so he can get over fallen trees and he feels safe here with them. Nothing is stupid enough to attack them and all around him the sounds of the forest are soothing as the wind rustles the leaves in the treetops.
He has to take little rests now and again, he really is out of shape, not that he did a huge amount of exercise anyway, he'll have to work out and stop eating so many of the candies Diane gets him.
Ahead of them David is chasing the last of the seasons butterflies and hunting around, he's so cute and fluffy, just a little puppy really, his pale white fur with hints of grey to give him stripes so very reminiscent of a tiger's. The normally exotic Marcus is a dull brown that seamlessly blends in with his surroundings and Kitty is a dark smoky grey.
Reaching a clearing they stop and Paul sits down on a tree stump that's smoothed out with age. Diane sits at his feet and he can't seem to stop touching her, that soft fur of hers draws him in again and again.
Jerking her head around to the right and up he follows her gaze and sees a squirrel jumping about and chittering at the birds up there too, it must be searching for nuts for the winter. Enchanted he watches it's antics for a bit longer and laughs at some of it's more spectacular acrobatics, it scolds him loudly and he laughs harder at it.
When they leave the squirrel is washing itself and acting offended at Paul. On the way home the other Cursed all point out birds in trees and odd brightly coloured bug for him, he thanks them each and every time.
No one mentioned what amazing company they were and it's like Paul's eyes are being opened in ways he never thought could happen. They still have the strangest logic and miscommunication was rife but overall they were easy to get on with, and the fact that they were travelling and mingling with humans all the time is confusing him with how any attacks happen. He'll have to ask Diane some time, but not now, he's actually happy right now.
Getting back to the RV he's in no hurry to go inside, not on such a lovely day so instead they all lounge outside. The Cursed shift to dragons and bask exactly like he imagines snakes do, he shudders as he hates snakes, perhaps lizards are a better example.
Diane and Kitty are almost identical in colouring, but he's learnt to spot the differing stripes. Putting his light jacket down by Diane he sits and leans into her shoulder, her wing arcing up and over him sheltering him from the harshness of the sun, the bright light filtering through the paper-thin membrane.
Fascinated he runs his fingers down the membrane and traces patterns causing Diane to start purring, the rumble vibrating into his body from her and he smiles at the sensation. How many people ever get the chance to caress a dragon?
Her scales are soft but impenetrable, and there's a very pleasant smell rising off of her, he can still smell it when she's human but it's much fainter. Just as her fur is addictive so are her scales and he rubs them over and over again.
It's not until his stomach rumbles that he even notices what the time is and he stands up waving Diane back down, "It's fine, I'll get myself some soup and come back to eat it here," he tells her as she raises her head on that long sinewy neck. Unable to resist her he trails a finger down her nose, "I'll be here before you know it," he promises and heads to the RV.
David is missing and then swoops in to land in front of Paul chirping sweetly, "Hi David, are you having fun?" The little dragon nods and bounds along beside him, "I'm getting some soup and I might grab my book too, if you've finished playing I can read to you all…"
Behind him Marcus chirps, the sound is deep but still surprisingly sweet and utterly cute, "Okay Marcus," Paul agrees to the wordless pleading, "I'll read to you all." The other two dragons add their own happy chirps.
Distracted by a flying bug David's soon charging off as Paul jogs up the steps into the RV. Humming he rummages in the cupboard and he might be overdosing on soup but he can't summon the energy to chop and cook vegetables tonight, he'll open a tin and behave tomorrow.
A flicker from the corner of his eye and Paul hides a smile, trust David to sneak in and pounce. Peeking over the top of the cupboard door he freezes in place as the tail end of a snake slithers around a seat in the RV. He has no idea if the snake is poisonous or not so he double checks the floor around him and then exits the RV as quickly and as safely as he can.
Outside he checks where he puts his feet and then yells out, "Snake!" Pointing inside to let them know where it is, he's expecting them to turn human so they can plan how to remove it and search for others, he's not expecting the three adults to charge towards him as David flies maniacally towards him dipping straight into the RV with a bugling trumpet cry of challenge.
"David!" Paul goes to follow him in but Diane is there hissing and growling. Marcus and Kitty go human and storm into the RV. Diane is trying to move him away from the RV and he struggles a little, "Diane, the kids, we have to help them, what if they get hurt?"
Snorting and rolling her golden eyes she falls forward to shift human, "Paul my Sweet, very little can get through their skin and scales. Now tell me where the snake bit you," she's pale and trembling as she sniffs him and pats him.
"Bit me?" He echoes confused.
"Yes my Sweet, tell me where you are hurt," she shakes him slightly, "Come my mate, you must trust me, I can get you to a hospital, you're going to be fine," and the normally composed Cursed is babbling and acting panicked.
"Diane," he ends up comforting her, "I wasn't bitten, I saw it and then got away from it, there was no bite."
"No bite?" She drags him into a hug, he has to rub her back for her as she's shuddering and if she were human he's sure she'd be crying.
"It's okay Diane, I'm okay, you're okay, everything's okay," he murmurs and then the three Cursed troop out of the RV, Marcus holding up the mangled corpse of the snake, "See the snake is dead, and I'm fine."
"We'll search the rest of the RV," Marcus says and they're back inside turning it upside down to make sure nothing else crawled in there while they were away.
"There, there," Paul caresses her long hair, "It's going to be okay Diane."
"I thought you were hurt," her voice is so quiet he barely catches it, "I do not want you hurt my Sweet, not my Paul, my mate, you are so fragile, so gentle, so good to us."
He lets her babble and it's painfully obvious that she wants him in her life, in her children's life, and she has deep feelings for him.
Standing in the clearing as he holds her he surrenders to her, she's won, he'll stay locked in the damn RV for the rest of his life so he can spend every moment he can with her, he's caught up in chains he can't break anymore, he's fallen in love and he knows it will only get better as they learn more about each other.
Staring at the spot the three Cursed had been basking in a short time ago he makes up his mind, "Diane? You know you've been talking about taking my name? Well I think Karinski is tarnished with what happened with Jackie. Would you…" he pauses and hopes she likes it, "Would you consider Kar – Of – Sky? Kar from my name and of sky from you, because you're a dragon and can fly."
"Paul?" She shocked and it's the first time he's ever seen her at a complete loss for words. "I… You…" She's baffled and he can't help the laugh as he leans forward to kiss her tenderly.
"Finally!" Kitty says behind him and he turns to see the three of them in the doorway, "Looks like your heat's kicking in dad."
And they're back to that.
He has a lot to learn about Cursed and they have a lot to learn about humans, his arm tightens on Diane's body, it's not going to be easy but it'll be worth it. Leaving the battle about heat alone for now he's going to take it slow with Diane he wants it to mean something when they enter the sexual part of their relationship.
"Is the RV critter free?" he asks and they nod, "Good, someone can make me some soup, and someone else can get me a book, then I'm going to read to you for a few hours."
They stampede back into the RV as he and Diane share a look and a laugh, this is what he's always wanted, what he's always needed and he's going to enjoy being with his family for as long as they're together.
A/N: Sorry for any and all mistakes, I've tried to catch those I could, but I'm only human.