A/N: The title speaks for itself, enjoy! Happy summer my awesome readers! BTW if anyone gets my play on words in the title for this chapter I will be super impressed.

Chapter 11: Lycan Unbound

[On My Own, Vivian Wounded/ The Kiss- Elektra/ Saving Josh by Trevor Morris/Beautiful Disaster/Eternity and a Day, Vold Eyes/ Across the Stars]

After he could no longer hear the footfalls of Lucian and Aleeria, Sabas closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. His over-active mind would, as usual, not cooperate. Sabas wished he could hear the Angel of the Night in here. Her voice always helped him to sleep. As soon as Aleeria left his presence, his thoughts seemed to buzz in his mind faster and faster, calming only when she returned. If this kept up, it would be a very long training period with Khan indeed.

Khan. Sabas noticed the way Aleeria's thoughts had turned inward for a moment when she said Khan's name and he began to wonder just how well she knew Khan. She had told him she had no aspirations of being a Death Dealer's woman as her friend Erika did, but her tone said that there was something more to her awareness of Khan then his simple presence in the House she served. Still, he didn't want to ask her about it. If he wasn't being paranoid, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer.

He consoled himself in an odd sort of way by thinking back on her unexpected bout with jealousy and insecurity before Lucian had arrived. Sabas chuckled softly. To think that Aleeria would be suddenly so concerned over whether or not he had a wife before he was turned. Even if he had, his human wife would be quite dead by now. Then Sabas considered his own feelings if he knew Aleeria had been wed before coming to the castle. The rush of possessive jealousy that followed made him reconsider. Perhaps, if Aleeria felt even fractionally as draw to him as he felt to her, it was not so strange that she was concerned about the women he'd had before her. Nevertheless, it had been decades beyond count since he'd felt another woman's touch. Surely, she knew that. Didn't she? Lycans were encouraged to fight each other to relieve their tensions, particularly as there were no female Lycans to be had. Human females, on the other hand, didn't survive well with immortals of any sort no matter which appetites they were sating.

Then again, Sabas reasoned, Aleeria's entire concern might have had more to do with her own insecurities about her inexperience at pleasing a male then any feelings she might have towards him. It wasn't a thought Sabas cared for, but he knew it was a possibility. He, himself refused to define their connection. If he hadn't known Aleeria had been "wholly untouched" before him, wouldn't he wonder how he compared to all those males she had been with before him? Sabas was concerned with her regard for Kahn wasn't he, though he knew from her words that she had not known anyone's touch before his. Sabas went round after round with himself in his head before finally succumbing to a troubled sleep. He woke only when he scented his Fair Captor returning once more.

Lucian and Aleeria said nothing after leaving Sabine's presence until they were back in the hallway of the interrogation room. Lucian held up a hand and checked the hallway with eyes, nose, and ears. When he was satisfied, he lowered his hand and turned back to Aleeria. "What instructions did your Mistress give you?"

Aleeria pitched her voice barely at a whisper, knowing Lucian could hear her perfectly well at that volume. "I have one hour to make sure Sabas is dressed, fed, and ready to stand for inspection."

"How are you going to get him into that uniform? You'll need his hands free."

Aleeria glanced around. "That's not an issue. Timing is an issue."

"You have the key?" Lucian asked incredulously.

"I do. She is very clearly testing me with it. Now, my plan was to get Sabas dressed in his clothes before unlocking the chains, thus giving you time to get food. When you get back, you can help me get him down so I can feed him, and then I'll put him in his uniform."

Lucian shook his head. "Sabas has been chained up for over a day, much longer than you were in there with him. He won't be able to stand, much less feed himself once you release him."

Aleeria nodded in resignation, recalling that Sabine had said something to the same effect. "All right then, you give me five minutes to put on his pants and then help me get him down. I'll look after him while you get more food. There's bread leftover from lunch that I can feed him to help him start to get his strength back. And I can get his boots and tunic on too while we wait for you to get back."

Lucian smiled. "My, your mind works fast for a human."

Aleeria smiled back. "As a human surrounded by immortals, the rule is: think fast and well or perish. Now, let's hurry. We don't have much time."

Lucian held the door open for Aleeria and she moved swiftly into the room. "Sabas, we don't have a lot of time. I have only an hour to get you ready and fed before Sabine comes down."

Sabas came awake quickly as he heard the frantic pace of her heart enter the room. "I see. Well then, let's not waste any time. What can I do to help you?"

"Just hold still. I'm going to put you pants back on and then Lucian will help me get you down."

"You have the key?" He asked incredulously, a nearly perfect clone of Lucian's reaction.

Aleeria looked into his eyes, holding them. "I do. I'm going to unchain you in a few minutes. Now, let's get those pants back on."

Sabas chuckled, vibrating the chains. "I never thought I'd be in a situation where I would be excited about the prospect of you putting clothes back onto me, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eager to get out of these chains."

Aleeria's mischievous smile almost hid her state of frustration that had been building steadily all day. "You're not the only one."

She moved quickly grabbing the warm, dry leather pants, supple from her efforts, off the table. Aleeria had to reach around Sabas quite a bit to get them on, her body pressed close to his, brushing against him while she worked. She smiled in an apologetic sort of way. "Sorry there's no time to linger," She murmured.

Sabas smiled at her. "So am I."

She fastened the pants down to his mid-thighs and considered the time. "I'm going to call Lucian in now. I can finish with your pants after we get you down while Lucian gets food for us."

The only part of that sentence that registered for Sabas was the part where he would be alone, unchained with Aleeria and likely locked in the room with her for at least twenty minutes at his estimation. His body became more alert at this news as he readied his limbs to be free once more.

Lucian came in almost as soon as Aleeria opened the door, both of them moving swiftly into position to get Sabas down.

Lucian stood under Sabas's right shoulder, ready to catch him as soon as Aleeria released the locks. Lucian tried to convince her to let him release the locks himself, but Aleeria would not be swayed. Sabine would scent the key carefully upon its return. Aleeria knew it was vital that she and she alone touch the key at all times or there would be hell to pay and in the castle that was often meant literally. The sort of hell that kept you awake all night for weeks of terror wondering what form the punishment would take until you exhausted yourself with it, let down your guard while foolishly thinking yourself beyond the statue of limitations on reprisal. Then and only then would Sabine strike. She preferred her victims to not know when she would strike so they could not defend themselves, could not be prepared, and could not brace themselves against the blow.

As Aleeria stood on the long bench from the table once more, unlocking the manacles one at a time, she could feel a tension building, an anxiety that threatened to tear the room apart. "Sabas I'm going to release your right hand and Lucian will help support you." She turned the key and moved swiftly to his left hand edging down the bench.

Sabas tensed his legs, bracing to catch himself as well as he could. As the second manacle released, Sabas dropped, not in a way that Lucian would catch him, but to his feet, like a cat jumping down from a wall.

For a moment, just a moment, Aleeria had a very real understanding that she was human and Sabas was not. His eyes looked feral now that he was free and she felt an instinctual terror for just a moment as she was intimately aware of how powerful he was. She could see his leg muscles coiled under the leather, ready to spring. A bolt of fear launched through her making her instantly ready to dodge and flee, but she held it in check, reminding herself that this was her Lycan and he wouldn't harm her. Then Sabas stood up and he wobbled a little on his feet, the feral look fading back from his eyes. As that look faded away, so did her sudden surge of adrenaline and Aleeria moved in to help Lucian guide Sabas to the other bench beside the long table.

Sabas noted her momentary look of fear and frowned. He should have just let Lucian catch him, but he thought that by catching himself, as he was perfectly capable of doing, he would save Aleeria some of her worry about his forthcoming training. He could see now that it had been a mistake. Once Lucian left the room again he would need to use well the time they had alone together to reassure her.

As soon as Aleeria and Lucian had Sabas settled on the bench Aleeria turned to Lucian. "You need to hurry. Go get food from the kitchens and return as quickly as you can. I shouldn't put on the uniform until after we've eaten so it doesn't get dirty."

Aleeria's moment of trepidation did not go unnoticed by Lucian either and so he held her eyes a moment longer after she spoke to him until she nodded that it was all right for him to go.

Lucian nodded. "I have to lock you both in again, but I'll be back soon." He toned the last word as a promise and a reminder to both of them and Sabas and Aleeria nodded, to show that they understood it as both.

Aleeria was back on her feet the moment she heard the door lock. She knelt in front of Sabas and began to work swiftly to finish re-buckling the sides of his pants.

Sabas chuckled. For a long moment, when she'd started to kneel in front of him, he let himself hope her intentions were considerably less practical. Aleeria looked up at him, confused for a moment and then she caught on to his line of thought and blushed deeply. Sabas saw her embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to let my thoughts wander so, but I couldn't help myself."

Aleeria lifted a shoulder briefly, smiling back at him. "Think nothing of it. After the last few hours, I suppose it would be surprising if we had both not thought of it, but Lucian is right, we must be careful and we have little time."

"I know," he sighed. There were so many ways he'd rather use this precious time than talking about her possibly harboring fears toward him, but he didn't want any such fears to fester for weeks either, so he launched in. "Aleeria, before when you released me, you looked frightened. I didn't mean to scare you."

Aleeria looked up at him through her lashes. "I know. I'm sorry. I just have been so cautious around immortals all my life and for that small moment, my instincts to be wary of those much swifter and stronger than myself overrode me. I know you would not harm me. If you were going to, you would have before now."

Sabas closed his eyes a moment. It wasn't exactly the resounding vote of trust he'd hoped for, but it was something. He seemed to be living on 'something's lately. "Aleeria, I'd never hurt you. You know that. You're safe with me." He reached out to touch her, but sharp terrible tingling pain shot through his arm.

Aleeria looked up sharply as he winced in pain. "What's wrong?"

"I lost most of the circulation to my arms awhile ago. It's all right. They'll be better soon." He reassured her, hissing at the awful sensation.

"Let me just finish this up and then I'll see what I can do to help." Aleeria quickly bound his feet in strips of cloth before sliding them into his boots and then finished with his pants. Sabas marveled at her speed and efficiency. Then Aleeria sat beside him on the bench and tool his left arm and drew it to her. She began massaging his arms at the shoulder and then working her way down to his hand. When she had done this twice to his left hand, she repeated with his right. "So how did you manage to catch yourself when I released your chains?"

Sabas forced a smile through the extreme discomfort of his blood rushing back down his arms. He wished she was massaging his arms under much more comfortable circumstances. "This was not my first chaining," he gritted.

"Ah," Aleeria managed, suddenly very aware that Sabas was only half dressed. She was also acutely aware of the bulge of his furless tail concealed by the leather once more. After all, she had wrapped the leather around him only minutes before. She'd kept the buckles loose around his waist, letting the pants hang low on his hips, as she was unsure where to tuck all his sensitive parts and she didn't want to pinch anything. More than that, she knew if she'd taken the time to arrange anything with her hands, she would have lingered when she could ill afford to. Even worse, she would have had his scent on her hands, which would be damning once Sabine arrived.

"It was however," He continued, leaning closer, letting her tugging on his arm draw him closer to her, "By far the most memorable and infinitely the most pleasurable chaining I have ever experienced." The increased proximity of his hand to her body helped distract her from thinking about the other, less pleasurable times when Sabas had been bound in chains.

Aleeria's fingers slid up his bare arm, exploring the feel of his skin rather than seeking to bring circulation back into the flesh. His eyes had pinned her once more, but now Sabas was free and she was very aware of how little separated them. She was trembling, but she moved her face closer to his none the less, letting his eyes pull her closer, or was it his arms? She wasn't sure anymore, nor did she care. She felt his hand cup her hip and slide up to her waist. Aleeria moaned lightly. "Your arms feel better now?" She asked, her voice breathy.

"Much better, thanks to your efforts," Sabas replied, his low, silky smooth voice wrapping around her again. He gently touched his forehead to hers and as they had before when he was chained, they rubbed their faces against each other, eyes closed, lost in the sensation of nearness and connection. They began to rub the lengths of their noses against each other. Then their lips brushed just once and restraint was forgotten. Aleeria's hand slid up his arm and into his long hair while Sabas's other hand stroked the side of her face. They explored each other's mouths with lips and tongue, trying to be soft and gentle, but growing less so as the minutes wore on and their breaths became more ragged and mingled. Finally, they pulled back, their foreheads their main point of contact again as they caught their breaths.

"I had hoped we would have enough time now for me to start to repay my debts," Sabas lamented, panting.

"Are you so eager to be free of them?" Aleeria breathed.

"Certainly not, but I also am very aware that I would need a great deal more time to repay you adequately."

"It would seem we won't see much of each other for the near future." Aleeria replied, her voice shaking. "I don't think we'll have that sort of time for awhile."

"Don't worry Fair Captor, I won't forget. I'll simply be planning my repayment." Sabas assured her, his voice low and husky.

Aleeria's insides turned liquid. She'd experienced what he could accomplish with only a few hours of planning. If Sabas had several weeks of planning, she could only imagine the delights he might have in store for her.

"When they finish training me, you're Mistress will doubtless ask you to clean me again, so we'll see each other then if not sooner," he consoled.

"Probably not sooner," Aleeria admitted sadly. "It would be dangerous for me to visit you in the barracks. And I will have to stay with Sabine more closely if she accepts my request."

"What request?" He eyed her sharply.

"I asked Lucian to train with you at night if she'll allow it and I'll stay closer to her side while you two train. Lucian can still protect me by day, but I will feel better if you are not the only Lycan training with Khan."

Sabas shook his head, bringing his eyes up to meet hers. "I would feel better if he were watching you while I train."

"I will be safe with my Mistress. Please, accept this . . . for me." Aleeria pleased, her voice soft and coaxing.

Sabas nodded, giving in to her large blue eyes for what he was certain would not be the last time. "Very well, but you must promise to be extra careful."

"I will," Aleeria promised, relieved by his acquiescence. "And when you're done training and I've cleaned you up, you will keep watch over me."

Sabas smiled roguishly. "I look forward to that day Fair Captor." He traced her jaw with his finger.

Aleeria caught his hand in hers, pressing it to her lips. "As do I, but for now I must finish dressing you." She rose reluctantly, shifting her thoughts back to the practical. "Can you hear Lucian coming?"

"Not yet, but there's no point in being foolhardy," Sabas's tone was resigned, but tender as he said it.

"No, there isn't," Aleeria agreed. She stroked the side of his face with her hand and then crossed the room and brought his tunic over. "I would have given your arms and shoulders more of a massage after all those hours being chained up, but we just haven't the time."

Sabas grinned at her as she buckled the left side of his tunic. "I'm sure this is not the last time I'll be bound in chains for hours. Perhaps next time you'll have more liberty to do so."

Aleeria quirked a smile at him as she finished with his left side and moved to his right. "Perhaps," She teased, "If I feel so inclined to bestow more of my attentions on you, My Prisoner."

"I'll have to see what I can do in the meantime to try to sway you to bestow more of your good graces upon me then," He replied matching her tone.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," she replied saucily. Indeed, she could already see him plotting behind his eyes. She finished with his tunic and scanned the room. "Ah yes, your bracers; I almost forgot."

As Aleeria went across the room to get them, Sabas saw the cloth Aleeria had used to wash and pleasure herself and then him lying forgotten on the bench beside his thigh. Before Aleeria turned back from the drying table, Sabas folded and tucked the cloth into his tunic. In the coming weeks apart, he could scent her from the cloth and imagine their mingled scents soaked into the fibers were from their lovemaking and it would make the nights easier even if it only increased his hunger for the reality rather than the fantasy.

While he was standing, Sabas took the opportunity to adjust his leather pants and all they contained. Aleeria saw his hand reaching back out of his pants and then fine-tuning the side straps of his pants and felt her skin overheat. She wasn't sure why this moment seemed more intimate and erotic to her, but she decided that this might perhaps be worse than when he was in chains. At least in the hours before, she could have acted in some fashion upon her desires, but now they were both technically free, but bound by rules and well-founded fears.

Sabas heard the telltale flutter of her heart racing again as well as the scent of her renewed interest and he knew she'd caught him. "Sorry, I just needed to-"

"No need to explain," Aleeria replied hastily. "I really was, ah, uncertain how to proceed there, with your pants I mean, and I just hope you weren't too uncomfortable until you could, um, finish dressing yourself."

Sabas's eyes warmed. She was so adorable when she was flustered like this caught between her sense of propriety and her own desires. "Your efforts on my behalf were perfectly adequate, but much as I could adequately tighten a bodice, I'm sure the effect is more tailored when you do so yourself."

She laughed nervously. "Yes, I'm sure that's true." Though instead of genuinely considering the comparison he'd made, the words had her thoughts considering his fingers, now free to do as they liked, unlacing and adjusting her bodice and all it contained until she could hardly think straight anymore. Aleeria heard Sabas's stomach growl from across the room, giving her a welcome distraction. "My goodness it has been awhile since lunch hasn't it? We still have a loaf of bread from lunch if you're interested."

Sabas's eyes bored into hers. "Very interested," he replied in a low growl that left in her in no doubt of what he was interested in.

Aleeria cleared her throat, trying to calm her hormones. "If your arms are too tired, I could feed it to you while we wait."

"That sounds delightful," he replied in a low sensuous tone.

She had been trying to be helpful, but now she could see she had set a trap for herself and sprung it. Still, there was no backing out now. She would simply manage. She would have to become an expert in managing is they were to pass Sabine's muster.

Aleeria sat beside Sabas again, facing each other on the bench and broke the break taking a piece and moving it towards Sabas's mouth. He took the bread from her fingers sucking them into his mouth, licking her digits slowly before releasing them to chew the bread.

Aleeria started mentally calculating how much time it would take her to take his pants back off, have their fun, and get them on again before Lucian returned.

"Delicious," Sabas rumbled after he swallowed.

Aleeria swallowed hard herself and fed him another piece and then another, soft moans erupting from them both at each feeding. Sabas continued to use each bite of the bread as an opportunity to explore her fingers with lips and tongue letting her mind wander to what he could do to her under less innocuous circumstances. By the time half the bread was gone, Aleeria was nearly cross-eyed with want and Lucian's warnings seemed a very distant memory.

"Aleeria, you seem faint. I think you need some of this bread yourself," Sabas suggested, his tone innocent while his eyes were anything but.

Aleeria blinked at him, only half comprehending his words at this point. She felt like she was caught in a trance, a delightful trance.

"My arms feel much better," he continued. "Why don't I feed you what's left?"

Aleeria dimly saw herself hand him the bread, shaking her head lightly to clear it. This was not the time nor the place to forget the tenuous nature of their situation. Still, fair was fair. She had no doubts from that look in his eyes that Sabas knew exactly what he was doing to her at the moment. If he thought she was going to be the only one suffering, he was sorely mistaken.

Sabas tore off a piece of bread and moved it towards Aleeria's mouth, his smile playful. Aleeria, mimicking his earlier movements, wrapped her lips around his fingers, taking the bread, and sucking on his fingers each in turn before releasing him and chewing her food. Sabas made a low moan in his throat and gave her another piece. Aleeria took more time with his middle and index fingers this time, swirling her tongue around the tips with firm, even pressure. Sabas's eyes went nearly black as the sensation overtook him.

Sabas could smell her want and was vividly aware of his own desires. At the moment, all his thoughts were focused on Aleeria's lips and tongue and the other parts of his body he'd like to have her repeat her attentions to his fingers on. It was only Lucian's warning that stayed him from tossing the bread aside and covering her body with his own as they both seemed to want him to.

They continued this game until all the bread was gone. They both stared at each other and unconsciously looked around for more food, but finding none, turned back to each other. They both stared to move closer to each other on the bench, but then Sabas's ears caught the sound of Lucian's boots scraping over the stone hallway floor. He held up his hand in warning, putting a halt to any further activities. "Lucian is returning."

"Just as well," Aleeria sighed. "Too much longer in here by ourselves and I think we'd get into some real trouble."

Sabas raised an eyebrow on the verge of asking her just what sort of trouble she had in mind when Lucian came through the door with a tray laden with food.

Lucian looked at the pair of them, sitting near each other, but their clothing and persons' seemed composed even if his keen Lycan senses told a different story. He had expected he would need to peel them off of each other when he returned or at least would have found them in some obvious state of disarray, but their restraint impressed him. It boded well for the survival of their interest in each other. After all, if they were not sufficiently restrained, Sabine might very well decide to kill Sabas for taking advantage of her favorite handmaiden. "I have the food, so we can all eat something quickly before she gets here." Lucian explained unnecessarily.

Aleeria nodded. "Sabas, I mean no disrespect," she began, her tone all business once more, "but unless you are used to using tableware, you should let me feed you again. I'm not sure I'd have enough time to clean your hands thoroughly again if you eat with them and frankly I would get punished most severely if you are not impeccably clean when my Mistress arrives."

Sabas met her eyes and nodded. "No disrespect taken. Lycans are not permitted tableware in the cells so we are hardly proficient in their use. Besides, I didn't mind you feeding me so much the other times." The gleam in his eyes referenced the bread they had just devoured much as they wanted to devour each other.

Aleeria smiled at him, their glance sharing the private joke and took two of the plates from the tray Lucian brought in. She fed Sabas a bite of steak and then fed herself a bite as well using the same fork.

Lucian was rather amazed. He knew for a fact that no human or Vampire in the entire castle would share a utensil with a Lycan. The only person who might was his beloved Sonja and she would only do so for him in private. Lucian tried to picture Erika doing the same thing and nearly choked on his food with laughter. Erika would have thrown up at the very idea, she'd rather starve than share a plate or a fork with a Lycan, much less eat in their presence. Clearly, his warnings had made them comfortable letting him see this much of the bond they were forging, though he wondered if they even recognized the significance of the gesture. They were so wrapped up in each other at the moment, savoring the minutes before Sabine arrived, that they very well might not have thought anything of sharing a fork or spoon.

When the food was gone, Aleeria raced into action again, making sure Sabas's person bore no sign of having eaten anything ever and used the small brush and toothpaste to clean his mouth again. She also cleaned his hands once more, using the lavender soap to erase any trace of her scent and then did the same for herself.

Sabas put his bracers back on and Aleeria took the uniform meant for Sabas out. Sabine had only provided the over tunic for it at this point. The over tunic was blood red and bore the seal of Marcus in black ancient swirls illuminating the letter "M" across the chest and back. Aleeria had Sabas stand up and put the tunic over his head with his help as he was quite a bit taller than she was. Then she straightened it and placed the belt with pouches and dual frogging for a sword and a dagger around his waist. The frogging was empty for now and would remain so until Sabas passed his training. Aleeria knew this, as she had seen many Vampires pass the training and tests. Thinking of Sabas going through that same training sent shivers of worry through her again, but she forced them away. She could worry later and Lucian would protect Sabas during his training. All she need do was talk with Sabine about it when she arrived.

While Aleeria prepared Sabas for inspection, Lucian made himself more presentable as well to aide Aleeria's request that he should train with Sabas. When he was satisfied, Lucian excused himself to return to his watch of the hallway.

Sabas and Aleeria stared at each other, the tension palpable once the door closed.

"We likely have only moments." Aleeria reminded him in hushed tones.

"Then we should make them count." Sabas replied softly. He leaned down to her, one hand again lightly on her waist, the other cupping her cheek and kissed her. His kiss was gentle, not full of barely restrained passion as before, but just a soft, intense meeting of lips. He didn't want to leave any sign or mark that would bode ill for them both. He just wanted to leave her with a reminder of their time together that had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with an entirely different sort of need.

Aleeria melted under his touch, her left hand pressed against his chest, the fingers of her right hand brushing the ends of his hair, so silky after being cleaned and tracing the hard line of his jaw. She wanted to remember everything from this moment from the press of his body against her to way he felt under her fingers and the way his scent surrounded her.

The knock on the door came too soon. They pulled away and risked a final private smile before Aleeria made certain her dress and hair were perfectly arranged. When she was satisfied, she set about making final adjustments to Sabas's uniform, waiting anxiously for Sabine to enter.

A/N: I'm evil, I know . . . tell me what you think. More to come and well underway for a change.

**Warning: I am going to be away some in the next few months, so updates will probably continue to be more spaced out depending on inspiration and time. Also I am thinking of taking a very temporary break to write a bit more on my POTC fanfic soon, but I'll keep anyone who's interested in which project I'm working on updated with my profile as usual. **