CHAPTER ONE

One Month after the Fade

Dyson

"How much have you had?" I asked, walking in to the Dal and sitting down next to Lauren as she shot back what smelt like a glass of tequila. She let the glass touch the bar before waving on another.

"Rounding on my thirteenth." Her wings were hidden under a black trench coat, though it looked like she'd developed a large hunch back. Her brown eyes were dull, as they had been since a month ago, when her and I managed to get Bo back out of the Fade. If only we'd managed to get her out sooner…maybe things would've been different. "The bonus of being an unlovable freak," Lauren said, swallowing down the burning liquid like it was nothing. "is that I would have to drink forty-seven more of these," she looked at the empty glass "in three minutes just to get buzzed."

"How many to get drunk?"

"in and around two hundred and fifty-eight." She murmured, putting her head down on the bar. I sighed, recognizing the dead look in her eyes. "It's my fault, you know." She murmured and I shook my head, lightly grasping her forearm.

"Lauren, this, in no way, is your fault. You couldn't control what happened to her, none of us could."

"I could've fought for her, the way a mate should. I could've grabbed that horrible old woman by the collar of her blouse and made her return what she took from Bo." Her eyes now blazed with the look of someone whom had nothing but regret and grief left. Someone who had lost everything, and couldn't let anything go.

"Except," I murmured, wiping away a tear that rolled down her face. "That wasn't an old woman. It just looked like one. It could've torn you to pieces, or worse." She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. I watched her for a moment.

Going into the fade to bring Bo back was…gruelling, to say the least. Lauren and I had been sent in by Harbinger and had been the only thing keeping the other from going insane. It brought us closer, made us more reliant and trusting of the other. Maybe not friends, but no longer just two people who pissed each other off on a regular basis.

Since Bo came back, though, Lauren had had to stay with me in my loft. She couldn't stay with Bo for…certain reasons. It was awkward at first, like rooming with a stranger, but eventually we developed an understanding for each other. Maybe it was the animal instinct that had forced us apart at first that had allowed us to realise that we weren't a threat to each other. Maybe we'd just formed a two-person pack.

Plus, Tanner had become like a little brother to me. It was oddly refreshing to find some innocence in a world full of corruption.

Whatever the case, I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and she turned into me, allowing me to surround her in a hug. It only lasted a few seconds until she pulled away again, putting her head back on the counter. "Why are you drinking, anyway?" I asked, watching her shoot back the tequila and rest her head on her folded forearms. "I mean, you can't get drunk without draining Trick's supplies dry." The empty look returned to her eyes. She shrugged,

"I can still feel the bite of it, I need that."

"The pain?"

"At the risk of sounding depressed, yes."

"Why?"

"Reminds me that I'm still mortal. That I may possess the powers of a god, but I'm not one." That was both deep and true. Lauren's abilities had been growing every day. She theorised that it had been Harbinger on its endless quest to restore Bo that had made her strength, her speed and control grow and grow. Which made sense. It had been Harbinger who'd given her the abilities she had already.

"I could use some of that."

"hm." She said in affirmation. "I could sock you in the jaw if you'd like." I smiled and waved to Trick for a beer. "The weirdest part," Lauren murmured, propping her head up on her hand. "is that Bo looks like Bo. She smells like Bo. She even acts like Bo. My body and my instincts recognize her as my mate, but she's not Bo."

I nodded my thanks to Trick as he casted a careful glance Lauren's way; he was no doubt worried she'd have an outburst with all the emotions running through her. "Could it be just the fact that when you see her, you expect her to kiss you, to hug you, but she doesn't?" she raked her fingers through her hair carelessly.

"Maybe. I don't know. I guess I got so used to her being a part of my life that I don't know what to do without her."

The door to the Dal pushed open and in came Bo, dragging along her new pet. Some Dark Fae named Ryan or whatever. Lauren let her head hit the counter with a thud.

"Please tell me that I'm not smelling Bo right now."

"I could, but I'd be lying."

"Is she with the sleaze?"

"Yup. How'd you know?"

"I can smell his gasoline cologne from here."

"I missed my work out today," I murmured, "want me to use him as my punching bag?"

"I appreciate the thought, Dyson." She said, "But-She's hungry." She muttered, the conversation flying way off course, glancing at me. Her eyes were as red as rubies, glimmering in the dim bar lights.

"Probably not for long."

"Hey, guys." Bo said, walking over to us, Ryan tagging along behind. Her long hair was hanging free, lithe body cloaked in a red satin cocktail dress with four inch heels to top it off. Lauren didn't turn around to look, instead she reached for something in her pocket. "What's up?"

"Killing time." I said coolly, eying the Dark Fae carefully. The Loki extended his hand in a friendly manner.

"Ryan Lambert." I glanced at it before taking a swig from my beer.

"Don't Give a Damn." He pulled his hand back and Bo looked embarrassed. She refused to look at Lauren. "What're you two doing here?" Bo looked relieved at the sudden change of topic.

"Well, Ryan and I just got out of a concert happening just a few blocks down so we decided to come here for drinks."

"Before the concert, though," Ryan said, obviously unable to let a single detail of their night pass without comment. "We went to one of the most romantic restaurants in the city. Candle lit tables, violinists, the whole shebang." He smirked cockily and Lauren stood up, making a turn to leave, slipping on a pair of aviator sunglasses she had in her pocket. Ryan caught her arm gently. Lucky for him. Had he used any force, I would've killed him unless Harbinger beat me to it.

"Where're you going, Angel?" He asked, almost patronizingly. "Why don't you join us for drinks?"

"I'm going home. Now if you'll excuse me—"

"But we just got here! Hey, why are you wearing sunglasses inside? Is it that blinding in here?" he squinted, obviously mocking her. I watched her hand clench into a ball by her side.

But still, she reached up and pulled the sunglasses from her face, exposing the glittering rubies that were her eyes. Ryan nearly flinched but Bo stared at them for a long while.

Then, something weird happened.

Bo's own eyes began to glow, her chest rose and fell rapidly and I could hear her heart start to pound in her chest. Bo's body was reacting to Lauren's, against the brunette's will. Bo lifted her hand slightly, fingers clenching and unclenching as if she was torn between going to Lauren and staying where she was. I stood by, watching carefully. Watching Ryan, more specifically.

This could be it! I thought, looking at the two of them, Lauren's eyes analyzing the succubus, Bo obviously overwhelmed by Lauren's presence. It was the way it had been before we lost Bo in the Fade. Bo may not have remembered Lauren, but her body certainly did. She shivered as Lauren let her head slowly tilt to the side, eyes raking over Bo's body as she too began to lose herself, her eyes glowing faintly in the dimly lit tavern.

"You okay, baby cakes?" Lambert asked the succubus and she smiled goofily, like she was drunk.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine. She's just…" Bo paused, swallowing hard as Lauren leaned against the bar, closer to the brunette. "your aura is so…amazing." Lauren shifted slightly, her wings fluttering with anticipation. Bo reached her hand out, fingers hovering from the blonde, touching something that no one else could see.

"Well then," Ryan said, rubbing his hands together like he'd come across a gold mine. "Why do the three of us retire back to my place?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Bo said without hesitation or breaking eye contact with Lauren. The blonde, however, narrowed her eyes, pupils contracting to thin, cat-like lines, the connection with her old lover suddenly broken.

"Shall we—" he put his hand on Lauren's shoulder and, without hesitation, she grabbed the back of his head and brought his face down to meet her knee. She then proceeded to throw him on his back. It all happened almost too fast for me to see. Blood was trickling from his nose and Bo stared down at her feet in shock.

"I'd rather have my eyes gouged, you sleaze ball." Lauren snarled. Bo looked back at Lauren just as the Guardian grabbed the final shot glass of tequila from the counter and downed it easy. Everyone stared at her, hostility and fear clear in their eyes. She didn't seem to care as she looked at Bo one final time, a look I couldn't decipher in her eyes, and walked out of the Dal.

I kneeled down next to Ryan, to check she didn't break him too badly. I pushed his hands away from him face.

"Fuckin' bitch!" he panted, hands shaking. "She broke my nose! She broke my fucking nose!" I shook my head at him. It was definitely broken, but the bleeding had stopped. It was clean, he wouldn't end up disfigured.

Unfortunately.

"Consider yourself lucky, Lambert." I said, standing up as Bo helped him to his feet.

"Lucky? How is this lucky!" he asked, rage burning in his eyes as he looked at his shirt, now covered in blood. "This shirt cost five hundred bucks! This nose," he pointed to the swelling thing on his face "is priceless!" I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to me, eye to eye. I took a second to control my anger before talking.

"You're lucky, because had she wanted to, she would've smashed her knee into your thick skull so hard it would've shattered like antique china. I've seen her take down a full grown manticore like it was a kitten. She didn't want you dead, Ryan." I spun around and slammed him against the bar.

"Dyson!" Bo cried

"But if you lay a sleazy hand on her again," I snarled in his face, watching his pupils dilate as I loomed over him. "I'll make you wish you were." And with that, I let him go and went after Lauren. The cold night air hit me hard, forcing me to pull my jacket around me tighter. I didn't have to look for the blonde too hard; she sat on the sidewalk against a clothing store just half a block away, head in her hands. I could hear her soft breaths and I sighed. I walked towards her, making sure to give her just a little bit of a heads up so she wouldn't punch me out.

Slowly, I lowered myself down beside her, careful not to sit down on her wings, now exposed from under the trench coat. I could smell the saltiness of tears mixed with the sharp scent of alcohol. We sat there for a while with only the sound of her sniffling to keep us company.

"She's gone, Dyson." She said, her voice thick with emotion. With agony. The tears rolling down her face reflected the moon light, making them look like crystals. "She's really g-gone." I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me. Her arms wound around my torso, head tucked under my chin as I gently pulled my fingers through her hair, trying to give her a comfort that didn't exist.

What was worse than losing someone you love? Someone you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? Having that someone walking around, not remembering that they loved you. That they had wanted to spend their life with you too. Watching them walk around with someone else. Knowing they're sharing something that had been special with someone else. Knowing that they sleep in the arms of another being.

Nothing in the human or fae world could comfort Lauren. Nothing would ever comfort her again.

"I know, Lauren, I know." Her fingers clenched in my jacket as I planted a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I know it's not much of a comfort, Doc," I whispered to her softly, "but I'm going to be here for you. I mean, I know I'm not as soft as you'd like, but pack animals aren't meant to roam alone. I need you as much as you need me." She nodded and I rested my cheek on her head.

We sat there for a long while, neither of us needed to say anything. The quiet was a refreshing change.

"What do you say we head home? Huh?" I asked her and she sat up, wiping her eyes.

"I think I need a walk, actually. But I'll meet you there, okay? Tell Tanner I owe him double for missing the bedtime story." I nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Don't be long, okay?" she nodded and we both stood up. I turned to leave and only took a couple steps before her voice stopped me.

"Dyson?" I didn't turn around, but waited. "Thanks." I smirked and continued on my way.

Ah, a refreshing bromance.

Anyway, I'm going to start releasing chapters on weekly intervals starting Sunday (as to replace the TV show) so at least I have a better chance of not falling behind. Just so's ya knows.

If you review, I promise we can do it doggy style so we can all watch X-files.