Title: Worth the Wait
Authors: Serpent in the Shadows & AbeoUmbra
Rating: M/R
Pairing: Riddick/Harry
Warnings: Slash, blood, Were/Vamp Hybrid Harry
Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or the Chronicles of Riddick
Summary: Centuries old Harry Potter is has made some sort of life for himself in the Pit of Crematoria with his makeshift Pack. That is, until a man named Riddick looks him in the eyes.
Chapter 9
Riddick stared at the green-eyed male in front of him - his face blank - as his thoughts swam. He had to agree with Kyra, you shouldn't just make someone your mate without, at the very least, informing them. But it seemed as if Harry had done just that, all for the sake of protecting a pack of beasts.
While Riddick had never had any grand illusions of finding love, he had also never given any thought as to even finding a suitable partner. He was a loner, a hunter, and a willing killer if the situation arose - simple companionship wasn't part of the plan. He had fought all his life to be free, to be able to live his life without the stain of his birth and past and now that seemed to be coming to an end.
He had a stupid prophecy hanging over his head that he really didn't want any part in but they had killed Iman - and that had made it personal. And even though he had killed the Necro that had done it, he had then been forced into fulfilling the damn thing when they found out that he was the last Furyan and a threat to the Lord Marshal Zhylaw.
Then, he just had to find Kyra who had gone and done something stupid and ended up here of all places - rescue a girl that didn't want him to.
His life, he realized, was a pain in his ass.
"No, consent is something given between two people. Both make the choice together, not one for the other." Kyra's raised voice brought him out of his internal musing and he flicked his gaze to her. "And what about what Riddick wants? Don't you think he would have liked to wait for someone that he loves?"
Harry tilted his head to the side and frowned slightly, altogether looking very confused. "What does love have to do with anything?" Riddick had to agree there, love was overrated and sounded like a cheap romance novel. "This is for the survival of the Pack. Both Riddick and myself are strong, but together we are even stronger. I can support him and he can support me."
The Furyan could see the anger in the female's eyes as Harry turned away and calmly walked over to the now dozing pups. It was plain to him that both Fang-the-wolf and Harry-the-human-like-male were basically one in the same when it came to mentality, but to Kyra, if one looks like a human, they should act like one too.
For all of Kyra's past - life and death on an unknown planet, running with Mercs, and now Crematoria - she still didn't know enough to really survive.
Sometimes, one just had accept how things are and go with the flow.
Like now.
It could be worse, Riddick knew this. And while he was sure it would take a very long time to come to terms with the fact that someone was tied to him, that someone else would be there to watch his back, he also knew that Harry could take care of himself and wouldn't be one to slow him down.
Kyra started pacing, her hands going to her hair and pulling on it harshly, Riddick couldn't help but be amused at the sight. "You may think its alright to think like a dog, but Riddick here is human!" Both the males snorted at that, causing Kyra scream in frustration.
"I lost my first Pack."
Both Kyra and Riddick froze as the words reached their ears - Kyra out of being interrupted, Riddick because this was the first time that Harry had mentioned anything about his own past.
"I was Changed on my seventeenth birthday and formed my own pack soon after. I can still remember their names even after all this time - Ron, Hermione, Tonks, Neville, Remus, Ginny, Moody, Luna..." His voiced drifted off as Harry closed his eyes. "Three years later, the last battle of an on going war was fought, with me in the center of it. One by one I either watched them die - unable to help them - or found their broken bodies as the battle went on." Harry opened his eyes again, and both Riddick and Kyra were surprised to see that they were now a stunning gold. "I finally killed the man that was the cause of everything."
He turned away from them, silence lingered in the air, as he gathered the still sleeping cubs up and placed them on the pile of cloth. "Remus and I were the only ones that survived. So you see, I will do everything to make sure that the Pack I have now survive - even if that means being mated for life to a person who doesn't want to be. Happiness and love have nothing to do with this."
With one last look at the two cubs, Harry let his wolf completely take over - shifting - before heading out of the den, leaving the other two behind.
Harry slowed his pace down once he had gotten far enough away from the other two. He didn't know what possessed him to give them that piece of info on his past, but he guessed that he needed to explain himself to the girl. She obviously cared about Riddick, and he could understand that, what he couldn't understand was her need for them to 'love' each other.
Knowing Riddick's past and having lived his own, Harry knew that sometimes love was just a fairytale. Sure he had seen examples of it - Ron and Hermione for one - but it didn't help them in the end, they hadn't even died together.
No, he had taken Riddick as his mate because he knew that Riddick was strong and could handle anything that would be thrown his way - he wouldn't break and he did stick by those that he had let get close enough to him to be called 'friend'.
They were a good match - plain and simple.
Rounding the corner, Harry stopped and made sure to stay within the shadows. He knew that the Necros were here, but not exactly where. He would have to be careful from here on out, knowing that they would see him as nothing more than an animal and therefore something that couldn't be converted and would have to be killed.
He let his eyes gaze around the small bit of area he could see, catching glimpses of prisoners now locked in their cages. Not seeing any of his pack, he figured they had gone back to their cages and so he took off in that direction.
Using his nose to catch any unfamiliar scents, Harry continued on til the smell of blood and Pack reached him. Rooted in his spot, he lowered his head, sniffing the ground, catching a very faint odor of something...it was almost completely covered up by the smell of blood, but it was there and it set Harry on edge. Hackles raised, he growled lowly and began to stalk towards the source, and upon finding it, his eyes bled gold and his wolf pushed everything aside, allowing no room for the small bit of 'Harry' and his vampire to even exist in the same conscious.
For lying on the ground, in a cooling pool of blood, was the Pack Mother.
oOOoOOoOOoOOoOOo
"How can you just sit there? He's basically enslaved you to him!" Kyra ranted at him, furious on his behalf. Riddick watched her pace, somewhat amused, but also knew Kyra wouldn't rest on the subject until he put her at ease.
"Kyra – " Riddick began, only to be interrupted.
"Marking you like a dog, and then expecting you to follow him around and help him protect his 'pack'." Kyra snarled, sneering at where 'Fang' had disappeared to. Riddick sighed and tried again – this time he didn't even get to speak before Kyra was pacing and ranting again.
"Ought to kill him while you can, Riddick, damned asshole deserves it – " Riddick's eyes narrowed, and he stepped foreword, blocking her path. She looked up at him – he was a good head taller, but with her hands set on her hips, unafraid by what would have most men fearing for their lives, she seemed to stand just as tall as Riddick.
"Kyra, you know, for all I may look it, I am Furyan and we are not exactly human. My people all but perfected becoming warriors - that involved breeding - arranged marriages, sometimes multiple partners, just to insure that the next generation was even stronger than the last," Riddick stated, his tone oddly soft. Seeing that Kyra was still frustrated and confused by the habits of the two males, he continued. "Love is just not done where I am from. If one partner died, they didn't mourn the loss, just found them another suitable partner and began anew. So, you see, I never even bothered to find it myself - could really care less - but at least with him, it's a worthy one." As he finished, Riddick stepped away from her, feeling his point had been made.
"Gods, Riddick, I just want you to be happy - not to be used like this!" Kyra's tone was pleading for him to understand her side of things. Riddick glanced down at the cub that had just whined in its sleep, showing that her raised voice was on the verge of waking it up. In response, Riddick narrowed his eyes at Kyra, showing his annoyance and she just blinked, slightly taken back that he would be upset about the sleeping habits of those things.
"He has my respect - and you of all people should know how hard that is for me to give."
Kyra blinked again, her mouth opening and closing several times before she finally settled on the unintelligent answer of "Wha?"
"He's the only one of his kind, older than either of us can comprehend, and lived alone in this Pit for a century. Can you imagine that Kyra? All this time, living with these foul people, protecting something that's not even remotely like him, can't even communicate with them. He protects them, doesn't turn his back on them and I know he would do the same for you, even if it is just for me." He stared her right in the eyes, feeling awkward that he was pretty much speaking of feelings that he really didn't want to even consider that he felt. But, for some reason, he plowed right through, knowing that he needed to make her understand.
"Even when he was nothing more to me than an intelligent wolf, there was something there that drew me in - a kindred spirit if you will. Now that he's more than just an animal..." Riddick trailed off, shrugging, not really knowing just what he was trying to say.
Kyra sighed, letting her anger at Riddick's predicament go for now. There was nothing she could do about it until Riddick himself wanted to. The man could be more stubborn than the best of them and she knew that if he really wanted out of this, then he would find a way.
"Alright, Riddick, you win - for now. I'll wait and see but, for the record, I still don't like this."
"I didn't expect you to. All I asked is that you refrain from upsetting him. I'm not sure I could really stop him if he wanted to - " Riddick's words were cut off when a howl pierced through the stone walls, followed by shouts and gun fire. His whole body tensed, and he looked briefly between the now awake cubs and the female in front of him. "You, stay here."
"But -"
"No buts Kyra. Don't leave and keep an eye on them," he said as he raced out the door.
She gave a frustrated scream, pissed that he had ordered her to stay hidden and babysit.
oOOoOOoOOoOOoOOoOOoOOo
Fury ran through him like hot molten lava. Fang - as he now acknowledged himself as - let his lips draw back in a deadly snarl as gazed at the stiffening body. There was a large chard area centered in her back and he knew this was how those things had caught her off guard long enough for them to slit her throat. The Hellhounds' 'skin' was like armor plating, with its thick scales and the only way for someone to get to the soft body that it protected was to knock them out first.
As he stalked forward, he inhaled the air around him, taking in the scents and then casting aside any that he recognized, singling out the one that smelled like something dark and dead. He locked onto it, noting that it was coming from a floor above him and to the right. Throwing his head back, he howled - long and piercing - calling for the rest of his pack before he took off, following the scent that he had locked onto.
Voices were suddenly heard, as if in response to his call and Fang found himself suddenly being blocked by one of the Necromonger's 'bloodhounds', a Lensor. The clicking from the damaged Necromonger became faster and its 'handler' looked up from the screen it was reading when Fang growled.
He rushed the duo before the handler could notice anything amiss. In a blur of black fur, sharp teeth, and deadly claws, Fang ripped into the Lensor, crushing its chest with his weight - claws as sharp as dagger points shredded the soft flesh.
Without hesitation, he closed his jaws on the face mask, crushing it, thrilled that his teeth tore into the already damaged face beneath it. The wheezy clicking stopped as the body died.
When Fang looked up from his prey, both he and the handler's eyes locked. The Necro brought his weapon up, but he wasn't fast enough. Strong jaws wrapped around his throat, cutting off any yell of warning or even a scream of pain.
NOTICE: I will not be updating next week as it is the holidays and I won't be anywhere near a computer. But, yes, I will be back with another chapter the Friday after that. For now though, I will leave you with a teaser for Chapter 10.
Leaning back over Harry, Riddick brought his hand up and around to the back of Harry's head, grabbing a hold of the now messy braid, and tugged harshly, causing the were-slash-vampire to hiss and bare his throat even more. With a smirk, Riddick bit into the exposed flesh, causing Harry to buck beneath him. He wasn't sure why, but something told him that he needed to break the skin, needed to draw out the vampire's blood and take some of it for his own.
The blood tingled against his tongue, like little 'static' shocks, and Harry moaned as he continued to lap it up. A small shift below him and Riddick could feel hands on front of his pants, undoing the buttons and a pleased growl reverberated from his chest. Smooth hands slid past the waistband of his pants, sliding down his skin while pushing the fabric away from his body.
Those soft hands were enticing, slow and methodical as they spread over his taut thighs, around the back and up to his buttocks and gave a daring squeeze - Riddick jerked harshly on the braid and tore his mouth away from Harry's neck, attacking his lips instead as a rebuke for getting too bold. His mate should be passive, not touching him in places that he hadn't won the right too yet.
