CHAPTER TEN
Bo
I stared at Ryan's body in the middle of my living room floor, my dagger sticking out of his chest, his blood pooling slowly on the floor. I sat on the couch, knees pulled to my chest, waiting for Lauren and Dyson. I was going to be sick. In fact, I had already vomited twice and was now waiting for round three to begin. I shook my head hard. Kenzi was at Nate's and I couldn't call her and tell her 'oh, by the way, I totally murdered my boyfriend.' It wouldn't be fair to ruin her night. I wiped my nose on the back of my hand.
That night hadn't started out so terribly.
"You're cut off." I look up at Trick who gives me a warm glare as I wave for another drink. I blink groggily.
"I'm not even drunk."
"But that look on your face says you're heading there fast." I pout, resting my chin on my hand. He sighs, wiping the counter. "What's got you so down?" He asks as if he knows the answer. "I thought things were good with Ryan?"
"They are—it is but that's the problem." He looked at me like I was insane. I took a moment to figure out how to explain what I was feeling. "Lauren came back to her and Dyson's place with this chick, Nadia. A human! And they were so into each other!"
"And this human saw her wings?" I nodded.
"Yeah! And the weirdest part was that she wasn't even freaked out about it! Lauren can't be with a human!"
"Why not?" he asked and I blinked at him.
"Because there's rules and shit!"
"Lauren's human, Bo, there's no rules about two humans being together. Besides, I thought this was about you and Ryan."
"It is…or was…I don't know." I dropped my head to the bar.
"I think it's good for Lauren to be seeing someone. Give you both your space. You're happy with Ryan, Lauren's happy with this Nadia. Win-win, right? Especially if this human has no intentions of telling Lauren's secret." I narrow my eyes at the bar keep, noting how he seemed to be pushing Lauren and I away from each other.
"What are you hiding, Old Man?" I demanded and he looked at me, startled.
"What do you mean? I'm not hiding anything."
"Then why are you so happy that Lauren's got a new human whatever?"
"I'm happy because she's been alone for so long. It's nice that she has someone."
"What? I'm not good enough for her? I'm such a bad person because I can't remember a damn thing about this apparent 'relationship' we had?"
"Bo that's not—"
"Not what? Because no one will tell me a flipping thing about what happened to me and yet everyone is all super concerned about it. I just wish someone would tell me what the hell I was like before that goddamn demon bitch took it from me!"
"That's enough, Isabeau," he snapped and my jaw snapped tight. "No one has told you because it's better that you don't remember." I blinked at him.
"What do you mean? Was my life really that bad before?" He shook his head, muttering under his breath. "Why the hell won't you answer me?!"
"I said that's enough!" I stared at him a moment longer before snatching my wallet and phone from the counter. I turned and left, tossing a curse under my breath.
A knock on the door jolted me out of my daze and I stood up, slinking around the body on the ground and edging my way to answer it. Lauren was standing in front of Dyson, a stern look on her face.
"Hi," I whispered.
"Hi," she said almost curtly, walking around me, slowing when she saw Ryan.
"What happened?" Dyson asked and I sat down on the couch again, pulling my knees back to my chest. I bit my thumb nail as I tried to organize my thoughts.
"I…" I shook my head. "I don't know, he was yelling at me when I got home. I tried to calm him down and he hit me." I touched the bruise on my cheek. Lauren crouched down in front of me, pulling my hand away. She probed the area with skilled fingers and I winced. She breathed a quiet sorry before tilting my head to see better. "He kept coming at me after I told him to stop. I panicked so I…" I hung my head "I stabbed him." Despite her cold demeanor moments before, Lauren pulled me into her arms.
"It's okay," she told me, pulling her fingers through my hair. "You're okay, Bo. Dyson will take care of this and everything will go back to the way it was."
"No it won't!" I pulled away from her, looking her in the eyes. "Nothing can ever be the way it was, Lauren! Not when I'm some victim who can't remember a damned thing! Not when I can't remember my life and who I am. Not when no one will tell me anything!" I stood up and walked around her and Dyson, running to my bedroom. I slammed the door and locked it.
I took a few breaths, my back against the door. I slid to the floor, putting my face in my hands. I was so sick of this. I wanted answers earlier and Trick wouldn't give them to me. Lauren and Dyson sure as hell wouldn't either. She was the last one I should ask about this. Most certainly the last person who would want to relive everything that happened. I put my face in my hands.
I sat there for almost fifteen minutes before a soft rasp echoed by my ear.
"Go away," I muttered, wiping my eyes.
"Bo," Lauren's voice resounded through the wood. "Please let me in."
"No. I don't want to talk to anyone right now."
"Okay," she sighed. I heard fabric slide down the other side of the door and then the muted thud of her landing. "Then I'll talk and you can listen." I didn't respond. "The reason I haven't told you about what you—I mean we—were is because I thought it wasn't right to force you to deal with all of this. To force you into a life that you didn't belong in. Or, rather, I guess I was worried that you would reject the life you were taken from and revolt. I was worried that, if you knew just how much commitment we had to each other, you would get scared and run away. It seemed logical that if I left you in the dark, you would stay. I was selfish. But I was scared." She drew in a slow breath and hit the back of her head against the door. "If you want to know about something, open the door and I will tell you the truth about anything you ask." I paused.
"Really?"
"Really." I reached up, swivelling onto my knees and grasping the door knob. I opened the door and she met my gaze evenly, though dread shone clear in her eyes. "Can I come in?" she asked and I nodded. We rose at the same time.
I caught a glimpse at Dyson and Hale wrapping Ryan up in a tarp.
Lauren stepped forward, forcing me back into the room. She shut the door behind her, wincing when she moved forward again. She glanced back behind her; her feathers were caught in the door. She opened the door, pulling her wings in tighter before shutting it again. One of her feathers fluttered to the ground. She plucked it from the ground before walking past me. I watched her as she came to a stop before the bed. She motioned to it with her hand. "Please." I obeyed and sat down. She stood in front of me, crossing her arms over her chest. "So," she began, looking at the feather in her hand "where do you want to start?"
"Um, I don't know." She gave me an amused smile. "The beginning?"
Lauren and I talked for hours. Most of it I couldn't remember by the time I ran out of questions. She'd kept her promise, told me everything she knew about anything I asked. There were some things she couldn't tell me, because she just didn't know the answer. She had told me that we were bonded as more than just the Champion and Guardian. We were mates, even if I couldn't remember. That was why I reacted the way I did that night at the Dal with Ryan. She told me that I had promised her my whole life and that she promised me the same thing.
But before I met her I'd apparently been running for years, never staying in one place long enough that anyone got to know me well. And that all of it changed when I met Kenzi.
She told me about the first time we met and the first time we'd slept together. How she had been in my bed because the Ash ordered her to and that she'd done it believing that it was the only way to keep me safe.
There was so much to take in that none of it had fully registered with me yet.
She ended up laying on the bed next to me, staring up at the ceiling. Her hands were folded neatly over her stomach, her jacket was hanging off of the chair in the corner. I looked over at her before staring back at the ceiling too. Neither of us had said anything for at least half an hour now.
"Did you sleep with her?" I asked in a breath. She inhaled deeply and sighed.
" I don't see how that has any pertinents to what we're talking about."
"It involves you," I said, looking at her again. "At one point anything that involved you involved me too. Besides, you said I could ask anything I wanted and you would tell me the truth." she waited a second.
"Yes," she stated without emotion. "I needed to be close to someone. She was a more than willing participant."
"hm." she smirked
"She was good too."
"Swell."
"Jealous?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yup."
"Then stop thinking about beating Nadia's head in and then ravaging me in this bed."
"Stay out of my head."
"Stop thinking about sex so loudly."
"I'm not thinking about sex so loudly."
"Then why can I hear you telling me to say your name?"
"Because those are your own thoughts."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"So I'm guessing I also imagine myself in your living room wearing only my lab coat asking you in a seductive tone if you want to, and I quote, 'play doctor'?"
"Seems that way doesn't it?"
she chuckled and shook her head.
"Do you love her?" She stiffened at the question. It took her a second before she relaxed again.
"You already know the answer."
"Do you love me?" I rolled onto my side to face her. She looked at me, a wistful glint in her eyes but quickly replaced with a glimmer of despair.
"Yes." She directed her attention upwards again. I stifled a yawn and she smiled, rolling over and propping herself up on her elbow. "Come on," she said, pulling at the comforter "Dyson's finishing up and you need to get some rest." She managed to pull the blanket out from under me and lay it over my body. "I'll come back and check on you in the morning." She moved to get up and I caught her hand.
"Stay," I whispered, "please? Just for tonight." She hesitated before nodding and lied back down. I gripped her hand and pulled her closer to me, rolling over so we spooned. Her hand came to rest on my stomach, chin on my shoulder. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing further into Lauren's embrace. She kissed my shoulder blade as I ran my fingers over her arm, pushing up the sleeve of her blouse. All was still for a moment and then I felt it.
The stir.
I could feel Lauren's chi stirring in her, warm and bright. I could feel her aura surrounding me, filling my lungs with the gentle caresses like reunited lovers. I swallowed hard. My body wanted me to feed. My body wanted Lauren's chi. Her arm tensed around me, no doubt feeling my need. I didn't know if she wanted me in that moment or not. But it didn't matter.
By the time the pulse of my power left my hand and travelled into her, I could barely think straight. I was hurt. I needed to heal.
Lauren trembled behind me, a low gasp passing through her lips. Her fingers tangled in the sheets, her head bowed against my back. "Bo," she moaned, I could tell if she was asking me to stop or to keep going. I hit her again and she drew in a shaky breath. I rolled over to face her, seeing the way her eyes were squeezed shut, her arm trapping me to the bed.
"Lauren…" I whispered and she bit her lip, keeping her eyes shut. Her wings fluttered. "Lauren, look at me." She didn't move so I grasped her face, pulling her head up. "Look at me." She obeyed finally.
And that's when whatever kind of self-control she had disappeared.
She opened her eyes, and those glorious rubies stared back at me. A sharp spike of want shot through me and I saw my eyes light up, reflecting off of hers.
"Please," Lauren begged, grasping my forearms. "Please." her voice, as distraught and emotional as it was, had no impact on me. "Bo, I can't…" she struggled to pull her eyes from mine, but she was just as trapped as I was.
"Shhh," I cupped her face, no longer in control of my words or my actions. It was as if I was operating on blind instinct. "It's okay, Lauren…" I could see her features growing emotionless as she too was over taken by whatever was driving me. "Let go…" then we clashed together.
Our lips met in a violent crash of teeth. She lifted herself and drew me under her, pulling my legs up on either side of her waist. Her lips left mine and latched firmly onto my neck as her hands made their way under my shirt. I moaned, reaching my hands down her body, sinking my nails into her back and raking them over her soft skin. She growled. I tore her altered shirt from her body, taking a moment to run my hands up her sides and feel the twisted steel beneath her skin. Her wings fanned out at my touch, their span creating an imposing presence as she clutched me to her. Our lips met again, but this time I fed.
If I thought the first time I'd done it had been incredible, I didn't have words to describe it now. Her lips parted as I pulled the chi from her. She supported my head with one hand as the other gripped my clothes. I could feel her pushing her chi into me, willing me to take it from her. To take it all from her.
But there was something else. Some thing underneath our passionate romp.
Desperation.
Fear.
The playfulness had disappeared.
She clutched me tighter. I pushed her up. She gave a small wail of despair. "Bo, please-"
"What are you so afraid of?"
"I have to-you have to take it. Please!"
"Lauren! Answer the question!"
"You have to take it, Bo, I can't stop her."
"Stop who?"
"Bo, just take it!"
"Would you just talk to me?!"
"She's going to kill him, Bo," her voice broke, her head dropping to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders as she cried, her body shaking violently. "I can't save him."
"Lauren, what are you-" the clicking of metal cut me off and Lauren was wrenched off of my body. She let out a choked yowl of surprise as she crashed to the ground. I lurched up.
There stood the Morrigan with four of the biggest men I'd ever seen. A metal collar was clamped around the blonde's neck and cuffs were placed on her wrists.
"Sorry to bust in on your love nest, Succubus," she said flippantly, "I'm here doing dirty work." she turned on the three hundred dollar heel and face Lauren as she struggled feebly against the restraints. "By order of the Dark Fae elders," she sighed like she was bored already "I, the Morrigan, charge you with attempted murder of Thompson Walker as he attempted to feed from a human.
"She's my human though!" Lauren wheezed around the collar. The Morrigan laughed.
"Oh Honey, you can't make a claim on shit. As far as the laws concerned, you're human." She cleared her throat. "In the name of the Elders, I place you under arrest and will confine you in my compound where you will be held until such a time that a trial will take place." They forced Lauren to the ground as she tried to get back up.
"You can't do this!" I yelled.
"Uh, yeah I can. A Light Fae human tried to kill a Dark Fae incubus who just so happens to be the great grandson of one of the elders. It's kind of my job, which is unfortunate considering the little prick has been a pain in my side since he could walk." She looked at Lauren "I wish you would have just finished the job, to be honest. Now I'll have to listen to him bitch and complain about it."
"You can't take her," I said, this time my voice held a command that surprised me. I stood up on the bed. Strength flooded my limbs as Lauren whimpered as the chains were wrapped firmly around her torso, binding her wings to her back. I was pissed. And scared. They had no right to do this. They had no right to take Lauren from me. She was mine. They couldn't have her. Lauren's chi stirred inside of me, melding with my own.
I'd die first.
My vision went dark and the world faded away.
Lauren
The chains tightened around my body and clamped my limbs still. I'd given my strength to Bo. As much of it as I could. Now I was barely strong enough to stand, let alone fight.
I was so tired.
So, so tired.
I trembled as I struggled to sit up, only to be shoved back down. It was over. I needed to make the decision. I needed to choose.
And I did.
"You can't take her."
My heart stopped beating. It was as if the world had paused in time. Her voice was...different. It held a tone that forced me to look at her.
"Bo?"
Her body was pulsing, her bones glowing beneath her skin. Her eyes were glowing a brilliant violet, brighter than I had ever seen before. Her hair and clothes floated around her body as if lifted by a wind that only found her. Her eyes locked with the Morrigan's. I could feel whispers of her influence tickling my skin. I searched for her thoughts, digging to find the reason behind whatever it was that was happening. That was a mistake. I heard nothing, just a low humming that vibrated through my skull. I felt her control slipping into my mind.
"What's going on?!" Dyson and Hale burst into the bedroom, stopping in their tracks when they saw Bo. "What..?"
I groaned as Bo looked at me, her eyes sending a spasm of pain through me. I dropped my head, feeling my limbs beginning to give out. "Stand." She commanded evenly. I opened my mouth to tell her I couldn't, that I was too weak, but it clamped firmly shut again.
My body moved without my permission.
My limbs collaborated to get me to my feet. I stood before her, my entire frame shaking. The chains pulled tight as I moved to straighten my body. Her eyes held no look of emotion, of concern or affection. It was the look of a general assessing the troops. She had told me to do something and my body obeyed. No one else in the room moved. They were frozen on the spot with fear or shock.
"Ready yourself." I looked at her, confused by the command. But my body wasn't. Agony shot through me as I began to shift against my will. My teeth extended, letting the taste of blood fill my mouth as a fang punctured my unprepared tongue. I cried out but it didn't stop the quills from sliding through my skin, tearing it, letting more crimson leak from my body. Some spikes interlocked with the chains, poking through the links, jamming me up even more.
"Bo,"I grunted between clenched teeth, feeling my control beginning to slip. Harbinger began to stir for the first time in months. It pulled me back as The Champion called it to the surface. "Bo, stop." I begged, struggling to keep in control. "I can't..."
"Lauren, what's happening?!" Dyson demanded, fear evident in his voice.
'I don't know. Subdue Bo! Knock her out, do something! I'm not in control!"
Dyson let out a snarl as he dodged around the dark fae and leapt through the air at Bo. His claws extended, eyes gone the yellow colour of the wolf. The succubus didn't flinch. She caught him by the throat like it was nothing. His body swung forwards with the momentum, still Bo didn't move. He clawed at her hand, choking around her grip. She stared at him for a moment before chucking him away. He flew through the air, slamming into the wall and then through it. She turned back to me where I stood shaking. She stepped forwards and then down to stand in front of me.
"Alright, bitch" The Morrigan said, stepping forwards. She held her hand out in front of her. "One more step or command from your luscious lips and I'll melt you into a pile of succu-goo." Bo smirked at her, amused by her threat. She looked at me again.
"Fight."
My body convulsed at her mental command. My limbs pressed against the restraints, tearing the quills from my arms. I cried out but couldn't fight against it. Still, my body struggled against the dwarven chains, making the metal squeal but not give.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Kenzi's voice joined in "Bo? What the shit?!"
"Lauren!" Simba shouted, his paws hammering against the wood floor. He pushed off, hurtling over me and heading straight for Bo. She swatted him aside. He spun in the air and crashed down on his side.
"Mortals," Bo scoffed, shaking her head, "so foolish." She touched my face. "But you and I, my love," she whispered, running her thumb over my cheek. I looked at her the best I could through the blur of pain that clouded my vision "you and I are the only things that are important. We are the ones who will be the change. We will be the ones to end this war."
"Bo, please, stop this."
"I will not allow them to take you. If you will not fight them of your own free will, I will make you fight them. You have a purpose to serve at my side." she pushed the hair from my face. "I will be queen. I will lead the fae, united as one under my rule. And you will be there with me, my protector." She wiped the wetness from my cheek. "My Guardian."
She stiffend suddenly and turned her attention to her arm; a tranquillizer dart was lodged into it. She looked up and I followed her gaze. Dyson stood in the hole in the wall, one arm pulled tight into his chest, the other pointing a dart gun at Bo. It must have been left over from when they came to hunt me down at the cabin.
The brunette plucked the dart from her arm and tossed it off somewhere. But it had already started taking effect. Within seconds, she collapsed to the ground. Without whatever power she had used to make me stand, I followed in suit. My body crashed to the ground, shifting back to my docile state. I curled in on myself, my body still bleeding from the torn wounds. I moaned, biting back the bile that rose in my throat. I couldn't move anymore. Couldn't cry. I just laid on the ground and closed my eyes, wishing someone would bludgeon me so I could escape.
"Knock her out," the Morrigan ordered, sounding more than a little ruffled. "I don't want to drive back to the compound having to listen to her sniffle the entire time." someone kneeled down in front of me, a syringe in hand. They tugged carefully at my bloodied arm, wiping the inside of my elbow. I whined pathetically and tried to move away.
"It's okay, Lauren," a familiar voice echoed through my head. I looked up and squinted through the daze.
"Amelia?"
"Yeah, human-face," her words were playful but her tone was dead serious. "It's me." I turned my face into her leg.
"I just want to sleep." I breathed and she smoothed her hand over my cheek.
"I know. Just a pinch and then you can sleep all you want." she pulled the skin taught and slid the needle in. I didn't feel much of a pinch, but I did feel the dull warmth that flooded my veins
The warmth that lovingly lulled me away.
Long time no see.
I've got no excuse as to why I was gone. I can't promise I'll be regular with updates either. But I got Lost girl season 1 for Christmas and got inspired.
I'm too brain dead at the moment to write a witty review plea. But just know that, when you review, it's like putting a snuggie on my heart.