(Hope you like this one. I know it might seem slow but I'm easing into this story, instead of rushing hadlong with it and messing it up.)

Remi lifted the keg of beer off the floor of the storage room behind the bar in Sanctuary. He turned swiftly as the door was an inch from closing and pushed the toe of his boot into the gap, catching the door he flicked his foot hard, sending the door crashing back and rebounding with a bang off the concrete wall. The excessive and utterly unnecessary noise did nothing to alleviate his bad mood and steadily rising temper. If anything it spiked his ire even more and rather then turn his anger inward he wanted to lash out at someone. Unfortunately the kitchen and bar staff knew not to come near Remi so it left his father to see what had caused such a racket.

"Remi, why are you making such a noise?" Aubert Peltier eyed his son sternly; Remi said nothing as he gripped the keg firmly and moved around his father. Aubert let him go and as soon as Remi had deposited the keg where it was needed he went to his room. Remi laid himself out on the bed with his hands stacked under his head and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

It was better for everyone if he was out of the way, then no more episodes like the one just now could happen. And he wouldn't be forced into confrontations worse then that which he had come close to with his father just now.

It was disrespectful, he knew it. But after his capture and incarceration last year, the remnants of good in him, the part of him that could be controlled only by his family was dying. He didn't want to dig too deeply into why it had affected him so but then he didn't have to, Remi knew. The phenomenal confidence that he had once possessed had been left shaken slightly by his experience, not because he had come off worse in a fight, but what had happened after. The metriazo collar had kept him in animal form for a year and almost three months, in that form he hadn't sent out any psychic feelers for people to trace him. Remi had often wondered why he hadn't been tracked by scent. the fury at the thought that his family may have left him in that hell hole because they couldn't be bothered to track him down literally scolded his insides raw. He hadn't said anything about it for fear that his family would find out the extent to which he had suffered, not physically but mentally. The humiliation and degradation he had endured at the hands of the Arcadians and humans had scarred deeper then he wanted to admit.

Rather then talk about it with anyone, or answer questions, Remi had let it fester. The memory of it was there all the time, brooding and brewing away in a pot of emotions that sloshed over the rim on to people who stoked the fire too much. The pot hadn't as yet, fully over turned and spewed forth its terrible concoction of hate, anger, pain and the rest of the black emotions he felt, but it was close. Knowing his propensity for violence and his innate temper, Remi had locked himself away from people, his family saw it as a negative thing, but Remi knew he was saving them from himself and the violence within. And to be honest they were probably, deep down, glad for his uncharacteristic silence and mood of staying out of the way. Things probably flowed easier and people breathed freer without his threatening presence around.

Remi opened his eyes; he would not be able to sleep. He hadn't slept properly since he had come back, he hadn't eaten properly either, and he was meaner then ever. At night he thought of the humiliation and it made him so mad he wanted to rip the plaster from the walls with his bear hands, the damage done to his pride was irreparable and he could not live much longer without assuaging it. His need for vengeance was colossal, but if he stewed on it too long it caused tantrums and fits of temper that his family had begun to dread. So instead he thought of the woman and it was only then he had some semblance of peace in his troubled mind. Although he hated humans, especially those amateur gypsies that had abused him, he thought of her often. He conjured her up in his mind and the very image of her eased his troubled soul long enough to catch a few minutes rest. He had dealt his own justice to the operators of the carnival, slaughtering them had not eased him entirely but it had helped. For a while at least.

But that woman, she called him Beau so in his mind she became Belle, she had saved him. A mere, insignificant little human had been compassionate and brave enough to free him and for that he owed her his life. His honour dictated that he find her and guard her for the rest of her life, he was forever in her debt, and though it shocked him, he truly did not mind one bit.

The female that had saved him had been fascinating, her beauty, her sadness, her bravery, such a heart. And her soul! So instinctual and pure it radiated out of her like she were a beacon for ships in the storm. She drew him like a bear to honey, Remi grinned at the pun. It was the first time he had smiled since coming back home, she did that, she gave him that. Nameless woman of such valour, his Belle, he would willingly serve her for the rest of his life. Of course he would never say that to anyone, not even to the woman herself. The thought of people seeing him as being subservient to humans took him back to the gypsy wagon and back into the feelings of bitterness and hate. The moments of reprieve her face had given him had faded and he was cold once more. The thoughts of tracking her down were dust in the wind. He would never track her down because he couldn't find her and even if he could, he wouldn't. She had saved him, he honoured her for it, but that's as far as it would ever go.

Remi sighed into the darkness of the room and dissolved into his bear form before he could give in to the urge to release water from his eyes, the shedding of tears would only increase his sense of self-disgust and shame. He felt he had betrayed his Katagaria heritage and bear brothers for being so weak, how could he ever be an honoured Strati now, after this …

In the distance, beyond the window pane a wolf howled and Remi thought of Fang Kattalakis, the wolf that had stolen his sister's heart. After being attacked and nearly having his soul sucked out of him by daimons, Fang had been in a catatonic state for months, his eyes lost and wandering. Remi felt akin to the wolf in a way he had never done so before with another creature. Remi had once admonished the wolf in secret, thinking him weak for being unable to pull himself back from the effects of the attack. Now he understood completely. And if he had liked the wolf or been the type he might have talked to him about it now, but he wasn't and he wouldn't because he still had his pride left and that's all that mattered.

Belle …

********************************

Lucille stared for a long time at the doors of the bar across the street before walking towards it; outwardly she looked calm, perhaps a tad bit edgy if one looked closely. On the inside, however, she was whimpering pathetically. She hadn't had to go for an interview in over five years; her last interview had been for Baron & Baron, the law firm she had worked at since her graduation from college. She had never expected that she would need one again, never dreamed that she would one day be seeking employment for something other then being a lawyer. Lucille couldn't decide which was worse. The fact that she had been fired from her nice, comfy job that she expected to stay in until she was ready to retire; when she was nicely settled with a good pension and a partnership at Baron & Baron. Or the idea that she was applying for a job as a chief in the local biker bar?

A biker bar! Of all places! She hadn't worked in a bar since college. Not to say that she didn't like it, because she did. In fact Lucille would attribute losing a large portion of her shyness because of the demands of her bar job.

Lucille had worked at a nice, cosy café during the week, fitting her shifts around her school timetable. Then on weekends, rather then go out for the night with friends, drink too much and throw up all over her dorm room floor. Lucille had worked nights as bartender, chief and sometimes part time entertainment. Bobby, the owner of the club, which incidentally, was called Bobby's Lounge, would have paid her big bucks if she would have relented and become his paid singer, but Lucille still retained that modicum of shyness and insecurity that made her refuse even his most generous offers.

Lucille held back a groan and pretended that her heart wasn't aching at the memory of her firing and at the reality that she had now, once again, become a slave - erm, waitress …

All because she had let loose a bear - that by the way was being extremely ill treated, not that the head honcho's in charge cared about that - the idiot she was, she had left her finger prints everywhere and had been sued for every penny she had. She even had a police record now, which would go beside her other files …

Strangely, the only thing Lucille didn't hate or regret about the situation was the releasing of the bear. Liberating him had been a wonderful feeling, empowering. She hadn't felt like a victim helping him, she felt like a leader, like a pioneer, she felt powerful and good. Obviously she was missing some vital brain matter but that was how she felt about it, it was the only thing that made her smile in this whole dark, morbid mess. There had been no sightings of Beau the bear, even though his 'owners' had disappeared some time later, there was no news on either of them. Lucille often wondered if he had sought his revenge? If he had had the brain to think in those terms? It would have been very fitting to her mind, she had always been one for revenge. Just never brave enough to carry it out for herself. But then Beau's revenge would have been justice, so would her own. There was a difference.

Lucille crept into the cool interior of the bar, not surprised by how packed out it was - word was this bar was one of the hottest spots in town, not only for bikers but tourists and locals. The frightening notion that the whole bar would suddenly go dead silent when she walked in was quickly dispersed as the doors swung shut behind her. A few people glanced up at her, perhaps to see if she was the late friend they were waiting on, or simply to be noisy, either way as soon as they saw this ordinary, average looking woman, they soon became primarily interested in their drinks. Straightening her shoulders, Lucille moved lightly through the crowd, trying to make herself as small as possible. She plotted up in the darkest corner of the bar, which was still unfortunately, brightly lit up. A plain, slightly plump, middle aged man opposite her gave her a smile which she returned tenuously, she flicked her gaze to the busy bar staff, knowing out of the corner of her eye that the man was still staring at her. She chanced another quick look his way to confirm her suspicions - shit! He was not only staring but moving his stool closer; he stopped very close to her elbow which she tucked under the bar without looking at him. His relentless stare didn't make her nervous in a way that made her feel that he could do her harm, but simply nervous at being scrutinised so keenly by someone.

The whole right side profile felt exposed to his stare, it made that side of her feel cold and unpleasantly sensitive to the breeze that flowed over to her from the fan, while her left side facing away from him was becoming increasingly hot and twitchy. Unable to stand it anymore, Lucille turned her eyes on the man, who gave her a lecherous grin that showed yellowing teeth.

"Hi," he said in what he was sure was a smooth and suave voice. Lucille gave a pleasant nod, her lips pressing together tightly, having trouble meeting his confident stare. Men like this always worried her, men who were sure that the woman they approached were happy for their attentions, Lucille blew a strand of hair from her nose. Seeing a blur out the corner of her eye, she jerked back so quickly and violently that she nearly rolled backwards off the stool.

The guy held his hands up in mock surrender, and laughed deeply that caused Lucille to curl her lip at him.

"Sorry, Darlin'," he drawled, "just trying to help you with your hair."

Lucille perched her butt back on the stool, aware of the man's every movement in case she had to dodge his mitts again.

"If I wanted you to touch me, I would have given you a written invitation," she said with quiet dignity. She didn't like to be touched by people she didn't know, and people she didn't allow to touch her.

"C'mon now, you don't mean that, do you?" He said it in such a way that it made her insides clench sickeningly. The way a man might talk or coax a small child, Lucille took a deep breath, she wouldn't get hysterical. Not every man that came on to her way a complete fiend, a jerk maybe but usually no more then that. Still, she wanted nothing more then to sprint for the door; she was very good at sprinting …

If only she didn't need this job so much.

***************************

Remi lumbered his way down the stairs, his face was a dark and threatening, as he made his way to the bar. He had very nearly taken Kyle's head off when he had stood outside Remi's door arguing with Jasyn about who was going to knock and tell Remi they needed help in the kitchen. Remi run a hand through his hair, gripping the curls and pulling so hard it hurt, frustration and anger and so many other feelings he couldn't deal with swirled inside of him. He cursed his human half bitterly for allowing him to feel so deeply, with such intensity and complexity, he hated it! Being in bear form helped a little but not enough to block out his ever growing frustration, he had given an entirely new meaning to the phrase 'bear with a sore head'. There were times when the darkness of the emotion became so severe that he felt painful aches rise in his throat, and that would in turn double the sense of shame and anger that he felt. Remi would simply push it down and lock it away under ruthless restraints that he had built against this powerful thing called feeling. There was just no reprieve from this darn hurting.

The bar crowd had swelled in size since he had been in his room, which didn't really bother him too much as his family's attention would be fixed on the customers rather then him. Perhaps he could slip away for a few hours, perhaps pick a fight somewhere out of town, or sit in the cemetery until dawn. Remi scanned the bar and his eyes fell on an auburn man who sat serenely nursing a beer while his light brown eyes scanned around. The man's age was indefinable, even with the neatly trimmed auburn goatee he looked young yet old; his face had some what of an angelic quality. The guy gave Remi a lazy what's-up kind of smile before calling loudly over the music. Remi went cold when he heard the words.

"What?" Remi said, stepping forward so he could scent the guy out.

"I said you're built like a bear, man! Look at you!"

Remi breathed easy, he thought he'd seen the guy's lips form the words 'hey there, bear'. Gods, Remi groused mentally, please don't tell me I'm becoming paranoid to?

Remi was too relieved to sneer at the guy so he nodded instead to red-head's empty glass; the guy gave a slashing gesture near his neck to signal a decline for another drink.

"You must be pretty good with the ladies, huh?" red-head said again and Remi rolled a splendidly sexy eyebrow up, wondering vaguely if the guy was coming on to him, Remi was just about to rip into the man when he spoke again.

"Perhaps you could give me some tips," red head laughed and nodded in the direction of the opposite end of the bar. "I want to give her a try."

Remi automatically flicked his eyes to the corner and spotted the woman. Immediately his breath slammed out of him and he merely stared for one long moment. Delight, fear, panic and lust rocketed in a complex mix through his bloodstream, settling for once on delight. The happiness of seeing his Belle again had Remi in a state of euphoria, until he realised that she was upset, panicked bordering on terrified to be more precise. The fat ass sitting near her was edging into her personal space, crowding her, cornering her. Remi could smell her fear and perspiration, her adrenaline pumping, her shampoo and her body lotion. He could smell fat ass's sweat and smoke, his blood full of beer and the defective scent that told Remi the guy was diabetic.

Without a second thought, Remi marched towards them and moved out of the bar area to where his Belle sat. The guy reached out a chubby hand to set it on her slender knee, but before his clammy skin could make contact Remi held his wrist in a crushing grip that caused the guy to give a high pitched, piggy squeal of pain.

"What?" he cried out, fear clouding his eyes on seeing Remi, taking in his full length and width.

"You want this ass wipe near you?" Remi bit out at Lucille, even he registered that he sounded belligerent, but he could not help it. He was seething with rage; this man had no right to touch her. Lucille shook her head, caught between fascination of this person's masculine, sinful beauty and the aura of menace and violence he exuded. Remi leaned forward so the tips of his long, loose curls grazed the man's thighs, before speaking in a low, commanding, utterly chilling voice.

"Get. Out."

The jerk jumped from his seat and made a mad dash for the door, he was out in seconds, Remi watched until the door swung shut again and he turned his gaze back to her. Her eyes were wide with amazement, her mouth slightly open in shock at his height, it made him want to smile. He didn't, he simply studied her in turn. Lucille wanted to blink but the silly notion that this earth-shatteringly handsome man would disappear - which of course was utterly ridiculous, no man so strong and solid looking could possibly be a figment of the imagination. Lucille realised she was staring, she felt her face flush warm at the recognition of her rudeness, she cast her eyes away from him and cleared her throat before fixing them back on to his right shoulder. Perhaps if she had chanced a look up at his face she might have seen the warmth and amusement there.

"Thank you very much," Lucille murmured, wondering if her voice had been anything more then lip movement. He seemed to have heard her however for he inclined his head.

"What are you doing here?" he asked and Lucille's eyes shot to his, his tone suggested that it was not a mere curious question but implied that her appearance here shocked him.

Remi quickly realised his mistake and smoothed it over by clearing his throat and saying as casually as he could. "I've never seen you here before. And if you don't mind me saying so, Miss, you aren't the usual clientele."

His deep sexy half French, half New Orleans accent making her want to purr, Lucille gave him a shy smile that made his groin tighten.

"I'm actually here for an interview. Apparently they are hiring - why are you looking at me like that?"

Remi stepped back when he realised that he had his eyes were almost closed and he was swaying towards her. Her beautiful voice, thick with southern strength and charm was lulling him into a bliss that had eluded him his whole life, her scent was so soothing to him he felt as if someone had slipped him a sedative. Snapping back to attention, he refocused on her words.

"Where did you hear we were taking on people?"

We? "Do you work here?"

Remi gave a half hearted shrug that she took for assent. "So your not hiring?"

Remi hesitated then gave a shake of his head that was a little indecipherable, Lucille made a noise of aggravation.

"Are you just fooling with me? Do you really work here?"

Remi nearly grinned at her spurt of temper, though when he considered his own hers wasn't even a ripple in the breeze next to his hurricane.

"Yeah, I do. But like I said, we ain't hiring."

Lucille wanted to let her shoulders sag with disappointment, as much as it stuck in her craw she was reduced to witnessing again, she desperately needed the money. Even her crumby little apartment, horrid and decaying though it was, needed to have the rent paid, plus additional utility bills. The few months of being out of work had depleted her savings terribly. Lucille became aware after a moment that the man was watching her carefully, studying her features intently the way the jerky guy at the bar had done. Though this didn't make her uncomfortable or make her feel threatened, in fact it flattered her as there was no mistaking the look in this man's eyes for what it was - unbelievable though it seemed to Lucille - attraction and a healthy dose of lust and … something more. Affection perhaps? But that was stupid, she didn't know him, though she hadn't pegged him for the friendly, help your neighbour kind of guy. Her basic instinct usually kept her contact with men very brief unless it was in a court room, then professionalism took over, with this man however Lucille could not help but feel a warm vibe of protectiveness vibrating from him towards her. She knew he would not even consider harming her.

"What's your name?" Remi asked, his heart thudded uncomfortably in his chest, never in his life had a woman produced such an attraction in him.

"Lucille."

"Lucille," Remi drawled out, letting the word wash over his tongue like a fine wine. One word, a simple noun, had his blood pumping rapidly through his system, hardening his groin to iron.

"I'm Remi Peltier, my family own this bar," Remi introduced himself, he swept his hand out in front of him in an uncharacteristic show of gentlemanly gallantry. "Come with me, Belle, and we'll see what we can do for you."

Remi saw her hesitate briefly and he got the feeling it wasn't through fear.

"Please, don't feel that you have to do this," she mumbled shyly, perhaps she thought it was charity, Remi wasn't sure how to set her mind at rest.

"I don't," he said sharply and instantly regretted it as her eyes widened slightly, "I'm only trying to give you a chance, you haven't got the job yet."

Remi watched with relish and fascination as she bristled abruptly and straightened her shoulders. Lucille's eyebrows drew down and she struggled not to feel offended, something about what he said and the way he said it set her ire off big time. Lucille had never been under any illusions of her capabilities, she was a wimp, a big time coward, hid her many insecurities behind the kick ass lawyer façade she had always had and was emotionally fractured from her past. In a few short sentences those were her major faults and flaws laid bare, but Lucille was and had always been - barring the emancipation of a certain bear - a perfectionist professional. She was proud of her ability to walk into a court room and have her voice heard in a way she could not make it heard in her own life. That was where her self-confidence lay, never had she ever been refused a job she had gone after and this wouldn't be a first, especially as it was for a pathetic chiefs placement.

"Lead the way," she said clearly and Remi gave her a quick grin that instantly sent butterflies crowding in her stomach.

Remi wasn't sure what he was doing, or how he was going to explain to his maman that he'd hired another worker. Truth of the matter was deep down he didn't give a shit. He wanted, no needed, to do something, anything that want help this woman. If giving her a job could even half pay back what she had done for him then so be it, it wasn't enough by far but it was a start. This woman had rescued him from hell, the least he could do was offer her a job. Remi led her out the back of the bar, he caught Justin's blatantly curious gaze and growled at him. Justin stiffened and his eyes narrowed on Remi who was holding open a door for Lucille to walk through. Lucille recognised tension and sped quickly under Remi's arm and through the doorway.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Remi snarled and Justin was about to say something when Colt came up beside him.

"Justin, Dev and Sera need some help at the door," Colt said briskly, Justin threw down the towel he was using and sending Remi a filthy look moved out of the bar area, Colt turned to Remi. "Cool it down. We don't want no trouble tonight."

"Why is it special?"

Colt rubbed his eyebrow tiredly. "You know what I mean, Remi. Just …"

Colt trailed off when he noticed Lucille staring avidly at him from under Remi's arm, he quirked a curious eyebrow but said nothing. Remi looked back at Lucille and his face hardened, he didn't like her looking at Colt that way and he hadn't liked the way the damn panther had looked at her either. In fact he'd wanted to rip the bastard's head off.

"Keep your fucking eyes in your head!" Remi hissed advancing a step towards the Arcadian bear. Colt was not a coward, Remi knew this for a fact but he also was not stupid, and stepping back with his arms raised in mock surrender was not a sign of fear or weakness from him. Remi realised with a certain feeling of dread that the human bear was seeing a whole lot more then he should.

"Dev don't want help," Justin returned, just as Lucille stepped up to Remi, without thinking she placed a hand on his bicep to get his attention.

"I can come back another time if this is inconvenient?"

Remi looked down at her, making no moves to shrug off her touch, he wanted to pick up the small hand and nuzzle it. Hold it in his while he led her up the stairs to his bed … Remi jerked back from her. He was such a bastard!

He would never take her to his bed, she was worth so much more then that. Deserved so much more then what he could give her, then what he was worth.

"No," Remi said, his throat dry. "Follow me and I'll take you to someone who deals with all this shit."

For some reason swearing in front of her made him almost blush, she shouldn't have to hear such crudity.

"Perhaps I can help you?" Justin said immediately with a smirk, Colt groaned with his hand going over his eyes, he knew what was coming. Remi turned with a ferocious growl and sent his huge fist into Justin's face, Lucille jumped back with a cry of shock and fright. The guy was insane! He was a schizophrenic! Lucille had primarily been quite drawn to this Remi's moody persona and devilishly good looks but he seemed to go ballistic at the drop of a pin. Lucille edged away and bumped into the chest of someone. Looking up there were two more Remi's behind her and when she turned with a gasp another was swinging his legs over the bar. All three Remi doppelgangers latched on to a body part of the two fighting men and heaved. Making noises like that of cats in the wild and ferocious growls, they were pulled apart, each bloody and looking distinctly worse for wear. Remi wrenched free of what was obviously his twin and growled, his lip was bleeding and his long hair was wild around his face, he was favouring one side slightly as if he had a few bad jabs to the ribs.

The black haired man whom Remi was fighting, Justin, Lucille recalled his name, had a black eye already swelling shut, his lip and nose were bleeding and there were vicious cuts along his face and neck as if made by animal claws. The lawyer in her saw a law suit and compensation, the native New Orleans girl saw that this fight would not be heard of outside this bar. There would be no law suit here, no filing for damages, this was the nitty-gritty life that she thought she had left behind for good. Feeling suddenly very tired Lucille slipped behind the men and made a beeline for the door, throwing it open and sucking in the fresher air, she almost made it two steps down the street when a hand clasped her arm. Lucille turned with a gasp and saw Remi, his long gold curls were tossed messily to one side, so it obscured the redness of his cheek and eye. Her heart melted unwillingly, he was probably unhinged and dangerous yet the way he looked at her with such … longing? She couldn't just walked away from him. Lucille didn't know why she felt like this, perhaps she was just lonely, well she was definitely lonely but she didn't want to analyse that too much anyway. Raising a hand she brushed his curls from his face, she stiffened when he stepped forward abruptly. So close that his hair was touching her face, his breath warm against her skin, the fabric of his t-shirt stretched over his huge chest rubbed against her shirt each time they breathed.

Lucille felt trapped and yet at the same time freed, a whirlwind of emotions and feelings, from longing to fear went through her. She wasn't sure what to do, she shifted her footing and the toe of her shoe hit the toe of Remi's scuffed boot, Remi reached out and pulled her forward. Snaking his large paw like hand around her waist with exquisite gentleness, he yanked her flush with his body, he was going to kiss her! She was sure of it. Why else would he look so intently down into her face? Why would his eyes go back and forth between her own in such a searching way? It gave her a jolt of complete shock when he simply wrapped his arms around her and urged her head upon his chest. He lay his head over hers, stroking a soothing hand down her back. Why an act from a complete stranger her should soothe her in such a profound way she had no idea, but Lucille recognised that she reacted to it deeply, and stayed willingly in his warm embrace.

"I'm sorry, Belle," he whispered, Lucille pulled back and gave him a smile.

"Its okay, really it is," she exhaled and removed herself from his arms, shivering at the loss of warmth. Remi rubbed his bare forearm as though he too were experiencing chills. Lucille smiled shyly once more when they looked at each other, she glanced away from him at her feet. Remi reached out and took her face in his hands, smoothing a thumb over her eyebrow.

"Who protects you, Lucille?" He asked thoughtfully, as though to himself. What a strange question. Lucille shrugged.

"Myself?"

The side of his mouth quirked up, he looked genuinely amused. "I believe you are right."

Lucille paused at his tone. "Does that disappoint you?"

"It fascinates me and saddens me too." Remi let his hands drop away from her face and Lucille had the insane urge to clutch them to where they were, the loss of heat and connection was unbearable.

"If you worked here, we would protect you."

Lucille didn't know why her throat felt tight but she fought against the feeling for all she was worth.

"I don't need protecting."

Remi would have liked to argue but with this woman he found a restraint he didn't know he had, all he knew was that he wanted to protect her. Taking a deep breath he consciously lightened his face.

"You still want the job?"

Lucille smiled, relieved that tense moment passing between them had gone, she nodded and followed him back to the bar.