Lauren paced restlessly in her apartment waiting for Vex to return. What was taking him so long? Did something happen? Did the hunting party claim different victims because their original quarry had fled? What if something had happened to Bo? Gah, why did she even care?

She was startled from her thoughts by the arrival of the Mesmer, bouncing into her living room as he usually did, without even waiting for her to answer his knock.

"What happened," she asked, before he could even get close enough to carry on a conversation.

"So inpatient luv. These things take time you know, there are protocols to follow and torturing to be done and – "

"Vex, I get it. Just tell me, did you stop them before they hurt anyone?"

Vex grinned at her like a cat who had just eaten all the canaries in the pet store. "By anyone, do you mean a delicious succubus with a penchant for black leather?"

Lauren huffed, She knew that Vex would only prolong her agony the more she pushed, so she resorted to plan B. "Vex, either tell me what you know I want to know, or I will cut your balls off and feed them to a Wendigo."

Staring at his leader, he made a rather unpleasant face before relenting. "Fine. But let me tell you first, you need to get laid. This sexual tension you have building up with the sex monster is making you very unattractive and no fun to be around."

"Vex – "

"Fine. Yes, she is fine. She had taken down one of the ogres and was sucking the tracker dry when I got back to her. I took out the other two ogres and then your guards rounded them all up and took them to the dungeons. She was kind enough to leave the tracker alive, so we may be able to get some intel from him at least."

Lauren sighed and went to sit down on her couch. "What am I doing Vex?"

"Clearly not enough banging," came the cheeky reply.

"You aren't helping. "

"I'm sorry, have you met me?"

Lauren chuckled. "Good point"

"In case you care, she asked if you had made it out okay when we were scooping up the ogres. Never bloody once asked how I was even though I saved her arse from two of them!"

Lauren smiled.

"Oh, and the other thing, no one can stop talking about you two going at it at the club. Light and Dark."

"What? We weren't *going at it*, we were just uh, talking. Close."

Vex snickered. "So that's what kids are calling it these days. Look, it's not a bad thing. The Dark like a leader who isn't afraid to be bold and a little naughty. Grinding on the unaligned succubus in a nightclub is definitely both of those."

"We weren't grinding," Lauren tried to plead her case but she knew it was useless if people were already talking. And honestly, she was about 30 seconds from doing a lot more than grinding with the succubus, her desire for her was so strong at that moment.

"Whatever you say luv. Look, maybe you should call her or summons her or kidnap her or whatever it is you do. If nothing else she may prove useful in fighting whatever this big bad that is coming. And who knows, maybe you will get a good shag out of it."

"Vex – " she started, but he was already out the door. Slumping back in to the couch, she wondered if maybe he was right. She hadn't been intimate with anyone since Nadia almost seven years ago. The first few years she was so distraught about her being sick, she spent all of her free time working on a cure or just sitting in the room with her stasis pod, talking to her. But as the time wore on, and the possibility of finding a cure dimmed, she withdrew more and more in to herself. And it wasn't like there were a ton of suitors to distract her from her solitude – she was surrounded by fae who cared nothing for her. Sure a few attempted to start something, but she kept her heart closed and her icy facade up, and never took anyone up on anything.

When Nadia was killed, she was devastated. She had spent five years as a slave to get someone back she now never could. And to find out that she hadn't been sick all along, well, if the Ash hadn't died that same day she would have killed him herself.

She naively thought that once Nadia was gone, she would be released from her contract, but of course the fae were having none of that, not after how valuable she had become. Lachlan, the new Ash was a giant asshole and couldn't 'find' the contract she had signed with his predecessor. When she protested, it was back to the dungeons until she was ready to be the subservient and obedient human doctor again. She can still remember the look on his face when she was named the Morrigan. And now she took such great pleasure in opposing him at every opportunity, which wasn't a hard thing to do since he was such a tool.

She was sure he would have heard about her and the succubus at the club. She smiled to herself at how that must be driving him insane. She knew the succubus was rumored to possess power never before seen in the fae world, power she wasn't even aware of and she knew Lachlan coveted that power for the Light. The power of the succubus was intriguing, she had to admit, but right now all she wanted was her hands and her lips on her, anything to soothe the unfamiliar ache that started at the club and was still burning inside of her.

Suddenly remembering she had her phone number from her earlier visit, she retrieved it from her desk and sent off a quick text. She knew Vex said she was fine, and she trusted him, but she had a deep need to hear it from the woman herself.

Lauren: Thank you for your help earlier. Vex said you were ok, but I wanted to make sure.

She didn't need to wait long for a response.

Bo: Lauren?

Oh yeah, she hadn't given the brunette her number.

Lauren: Yes

Bo: I am fine. I hope you made it out safely as well.

Lauren: I did. And I want to apologize to you as well.

Bo: for what?

Lauren: For provoking you about your hunger. It wasn't a nice thing to do.

Bo didn't respond for a few minutes and her silence made Lauren start to panic. Should she have mentioned it at all? What if Bo was angry with her for doing it? Shit. She should just have left well enough alone.

Finally a response.

Bo: It's okay. You were right, I was a little hungry.

And then another text came a few seconds later. This one caused Lauren's heart to seize in her chest.

Bo: If we hadn't been interrupted, would you have been upset if things had gone where they were going?

Lauren stared at her phone for a few minutes too shocked to respond. She knew what the brunette was asking, and she knew the answer. What held her back was what giving Bo that answer would mean. What if Bo was just asking and didn't feel the same way? God, what if she did feel the same way.

Realizing she had to say something, she typed in her response and hit send, praying she wasn't making a mistake.

Lauren: No

Lauren's thoughts spiraled as she waited for Bo's response. Thankfully it was quick to arrive.

Bo: Me neither

Lauren smiled as her heart pounded in her chest and she felt butterflies racing in her stomach. She didn't know where this would lead, or even how far she wanted to pursue it considering what the woman was, but now neither one of them could deny the mutual attraction they had. Resisting the urge to send back a smiley face, she finally said her goodbye.

Lauren: I'll see you around Bo. Have a good night.

Bo: You too Lauren.

This is ridiculous, she thought to herself. What the hell had that woman done to her? She needed to get out of her apartment, maybe have a drink. Just because she was the Morrigan didn't mean she couldn't use some time to de-stress.

Getting up off her couch, she decided to head for the Dal. It was neutral territory, it was not a nightclub, and people would leave her alone so she could get her mind off that damn succubus. She smiled to herself, pleased with her plan.

xxx

The Dal was quiet when she arrived, something she was thankful for. Being the Morrigan didn't leave her with a lot of privacy, something she naturally craved. Vex had insisted on coming with her for protection and she was silently grateful since the threat of assassination seemed to be growing. Knowing she needed her space, he wandered off to the pool tables, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

She had always liked the Dal, even when she was a slave to the Light. The fact that it was on neutral territory isolated it from a lot of the fae drama that the Light or Dark bars had, and Trick the owner did a very good job keeping the peace. She was fond of Trick, he had always treated her with respect and appreciated her intelligence. There were many times over the years when she had sought out his counsel, knowing he was one of the most knowledgeable on fae history and species. She didn't know what type of fae he was, but she could sense he was very old and powerful, so powerful that even the Ash was afraid of him.

Glancing around, she did not see him working, so she grabbed a seat in the corner of the bar and ordered a beer from the woman who was bar tending. Taking a few sips, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and felt herself relax immediately. She missed the simple things like being able to grab a beer whenever she wanted. Being the Morrigan meant she had 24 hour protection and every action she did was scrutinized for motives and hidden meaning. Even though it had only been a year, she was tired of it, and had started to look for a way to hand the job off to someone else. She knew Vex wanted it, and she would be delighted to pass it on to him, she just had to figure out how to convince the elders.

To those who didn't know him, Vex was an grade A evil bastard. Being a Mesmer took that to new levels, since the fact that he could control most anyone without even touching them made him one of the most powerful and dangerous fae in the world. He had a tumultuous relationship with Evony, which was on one of their downward swings when she was murdered. When she was named the Morrigan, she had found him rotting in the dungeon, his Mesmer powers having left him. She let him go, and being a doctor she couldn't help but try to figure out how to get his powers back. After a few weeks, she discovered the parasite that the Morrigan had infected him with. She worked up a drug cocktail that would kill it off in a few days and she was hoping that it wasn't something she would come to regret. In the weeks after she had released him from the dungeon, she had grown to appreciate him and enjoy his company. He had been close to the Morrigan for many years and knew so much about the Dark that he was invaluable in helping her step into her new role. He would fill her in on who was who, the types of fae they were, their weaknesses and strengths. He would offer his opinion on things she asked of him and she was surprised at how much she respected it. But that was all before he had his powers back. She was honestly afraid he would go back to being 'Vex' once he had them back.

They were sitting in her office one of the days they were waiting for the drugs to kick in, when a man broke in to her office with a dagger and an overwhelming desire to kill her. He was a Faban, a rare type of fae known for their speed. They had been used on the battlefields during the fae wars as advance troops since they were able to penetrate enemy lines so quickly they were often not even seen. Unfortunately these were almost always suicide missions. Today there were only a handful left, and most of them were assassins.

Lauren heard the door open, but didn't even see the fae until he was standing over her, dagger in hand, bringing it down to plunge in to her heart. She didn't have any time to move or defend herself, and remembers thinking that this would be the end. But before she could finish that thought, the man froze above her, the blade 6 inches from her chest. Quickly recovering from her shock, Lauren backed away from the man to see Vex standing there with a huge grin on his face. "Guess those drugs worked luv. Lucky for both of us." And that was, as they say, the start of a wonderful friendship. She trusted Vex with her life and she knew that he trusted her. They didn't always get along, and he was still an evil bastard a lot of the time, but it worked for them. He did not mind doing the things that needed to be done that she couldn't stomach, and he always made sure people thought she was just as evil and unstable as he was, which even though it wasn't true, the fear of it allowed her to keep and maintain power with less difficulty.

Thinking to herself that she needed to get back on track trying to figure out how to make Vex the next Morrigan, ideally without getting herself killed, she ordered another beer, not noticing the shifter sitting down next to her at the bar.

"Hello Lauren", he said, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Dyson," she could only grind out, all the stress flooding back in to her body.

"What brings someone of your importance to the Dal tonight? "

"It's none of your business. And if you don't mind, I was enjoying my solitude."

"I guess all that time spent in the dungeons did have an effect on you," Dyson snickered at her.

"Dyson, don't start. I just want to drink my beer in peace. Please go find someone else to annoy."

"Oh, but where is the fun in that?"

Lauren sighed and moved to get up from the bar when she was stopped by the site of Bo walking in her direction. Immediately she felt the heat flood her body as she was once again taken by the succubus. Bo clearly noticed her reaction, as she grinned widely and headed over towards her.

"Well, never thought I would see the two of you sharing a beer at the Dal," she spoke, looking between the two of them. Dyson had his usual condescending sneer on his face, while Lauren looked uncomfortable despite the fact that Bo could tell her libido was on fire.

"We weren't sharing anything. In fact I was just about to head to the ladies room and then home," she said before turning to face Bo. "It's nice to see you again Bo. I enjoyed our chat earlier, perhaps you could come by my office and we can speak some more?" Lauren knew she was blatantly flirting with the woman, but couldn't resist doing so in front of the dog.

Bo gave her a lascivious smile back. "It is nice to see you too. Perhaps I will come by for a chat."

Nodding to Bo, she smiled gently and them moved away to head to the bathrooms in the back of the club. Bo watched her walk away, paying extra attention to how hot she looked in her tailored pants. She was interrupted from her fantasy by Dyson, who was growling at her.

"You seriously cannot be thinking about doing anything with her, Bo?'

Turning to him, she gave him an annoyed look. "It's none of your business who I think about doing things with."

Unable to help himself, Dyson reached out and grabbed her arm. "Bo, I am serious. She is an evil bitch and will break you if you try to get close to her."

Bo wrenched her arm free and moved closer to the wolf, looking him right in the eye. "Listen to me Dyson, you don't own me and you don't control me. *I* decide who I want to be close to and who I don't. And if you EVER touch me like that again, I will break every bone in your furry little body. Understand?"

Dyson nodded, knowing full well how powerful Bo was and how not in control she could be when she was angry. Satisfied with his response, Bo turned and walked out of the Dal, wanting nothing more than a cold shower to calm her own libido, and a long nights sleep so she could dream about the things she wanted Lauren to do to her.

xxx

Bo made it half a block down the street before she felt the first one. She had no idea who or what it was, but she was beaten to the ground so quickly, the wind was knocked out of her. Struggling to breath, she tried to turn over to fight her attacker when a second one came at her, landing a crushing blow to her ribs. She doubled over in pain, looking up just in time to see a hairy fist flying towards her face. The pain of it connecting with her eye was the last thing she felt before blacking out.