He had healed rather quickly, much to his own surprise. Nick had felt Renard's gaze on him several times in the last days, but there was no arguing about it. There were no traces of his injuries and his cover story had been a bad bout of flu. Hank and Wu and the others had believed him, remarking that he still looked a bit pale, but the broken skin had mended.

Arranging another dinner with Mireille hadn't been difficult. She had been talking to Nick by phone or sending him mails or texts every day, inquiring into his health, how her brother was treating him if she could help him in any way.

This time it went smoothly.

Very smoothly.

She left them with a meaningful look at Nick, and a not-so hidden wink, around midnight.

"Lunch tomorrow?" she asked. "My treat."

"We'd love to," Nick replied before his mate could say anything.

Renard raised an eyebrow, but he didn't object. Mireille smiled more.

"I can see why he is your mate, Sean."

And then she was off.

Renard's expression darkened a second, then he turned to his mate.

Nick gave him a flirtatious look. "She can see it."

"Of course she can," the regnant rumbled.

"And it's a bad thing?"

It got him a huff. "No."

"Then relax. She's gone, I'm fine, you still have me."

And it made Sean sound like he was some kind of instinctual creature without a mind of his own, without restraint or control. When it came to Nick it was most likely the truth. The man had managed to get to him in so many ways, even before they had become an item.

x x x

Renard's eyes were drawn to his lover, who was looking at him with an almost feral expression of hunger. It made him shiver. Those gray eyes were lit up with an intense fire.

The next thing he knew, Nick had pushed him against the wall and his mouth was thoroughly ravaged by the angel. Renard curled his fingers into the waistband of his lover's pants, drawing him closer, his tongue battling against Nick's for dominance while in the same breath submitting to the man's need. He loved it when the younger man let the Grimm play. It was a powerful surge, something from deep inside Nick, that targeted Renard as its victim, its prey, while also recognizing it as a fellow hunter. The regnant reacted to that surge, his own powers rising, meeting the Grimm, challenging him, wanting more and wanting it all.

They separated, breathing hard, eyes wild and dilated. Renard's glowed golden and he rumbled softly. A flush covered Nick's fair skin and his hair looked unruly. He had never looked more desirable and a longing rose inside the regnant, a longing so primal it shut out everything else. Something seemed to fizz through him, sizzle along his nerves, settling way down south.

Renard drew his mate into another kiss that grew more demanding with every second. He was acutely aware of Nick's body against his, so perfect, so familiar, but still very new and exciting. His desire rose several notches, thoughts colliding with each other, tumbling around in his head.

He had no idea how they made it to the bedroom. He only knew they were suddenly there, in the stylish private rooms of his condo. The bed was just behind him.

Nick was on him then, tugging at his shirt, trying to get to the skin underneath. It was an almost frantic gesture and Renard caught the hands. He kissed the insides of the wrists, nibbling at the sensitive spots, making the Grimm moan, knees buckling slightly.

"Sean..." he whispered hoarsely.

"Slow," Renard murmured. "Don't want to rush it."

Yes, he wanted it all right now, but he also knew that Nick was still feeling the bruises and other assorted injuries. While the Grimm healed faster than he had expected, he wasn't completely back to one hundred percent just yet.

He pushed the hands down and let his eyes rake over his mate, then reached out and trailed a finger down the shirt-clad chest. Nick closed his eyes as the wandering finger scraped over a nipple. The shirt was divested off and Renard spread his hands over the chest revealed to him. He massaged the soft skin, kissing a spot here or there. Nick reacted beautifully to each stimulation and by the time Renard made his way to the strong back, he was breathing hard.

The regnant let his hands slide down the stomach to the waistband, and made quick work of the zipper, all the time kissing and nipping at the shoulders and shoulder blades.

Nick groaned as his arousal was freed and he stepped out of his pants.

Renard smiled and walked around to the front again, then continued the exploration of his lover. Nick's fingers wove into his hair as he sank lower and finally arrived where Nick wanted him the most. He gasped loudly as warm lips and a moist mouth took him in. Renard paid very keen attention to each sound Nick made and the regnant's fingers dug into the firm buttocks and hips, holding him in place whenever he twitched.

"Sean..." Nick whispered, touching his head, raking his fingers through the short hair. "So good..."

His hips moved again and Renard steadied him. He repeated his ministrations, sometimes adding a new little twist, until Nick whimpered with the desire of release, which he wasn't given. One finger sought that special spot and when he finally touched it,

Nick gave an inarticulate scream.

Sean caught his lover as Nick's knees buckled, and for a while, both men just lay together. The only sound was harsh breathing.

"That was amazing," the Grimm murmured.

Renard smiled maliciously. "Isn't over yet, Nick."

The gray eyes shone with passion, love and desire, the heat in their depth making Renard shiver.

"I certainly hope not."

He cupped Renard's cheek with one hand and leaned forward to kiss him gently. It turned from gentle and soft into hard and demanding.

Part of Renard amazed at the incredible power behind each touch, the flaming desire that was burning across his very soul. Another part just wanted to throw his Grimm across the bed and get on with it. That part won.

x x x x x

Renard leaned over Nick and gave the soft lips a gentle kiss. His hands strayed over the sweaty body and a faint tremor answered the touch. A moan escaped the other man and Renard cupped the sensitive groin, squeezing gently. Hazy gray eyes sought Renard's. They were glowing a bright golden now. The regnant's gaze was drawn to the bite on Nick's shoulder and he licked over it, smiling possessively.

The last hours had passed in a whirl of heated pleasure and incredible satisfaction. All of him was still highly sensitive, just like Nick. His mate looked as exhausted as Renard felt.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Have you told him?"

It was a simple question, but there was no simple answer. Renard stalled, looking at the woman sitting amiably across from him, long legs crossed, holding a glass cup filled with tea.

The room was bathed in soft light, the sounds muted, the décor expensive and tasteful. It was a private suite in a very upper class hotel. The suite consisted of more rooms than a standard house and most of the floor belonged to the one guest paying the exorbitant rent per night. Right now it was being paid by a wealthy British woman by the name of Mireille Luce Renard.

"Told who what?" Sean asked and sipped at his own tea.

It was delicious.

A dark eyebrow rose, the eyes holding a scolding expression. "Please don't play dumb, Sean."

"There is a lot to tell."

"Like that you had his aunt murdered?"

His face remained neutral, but there was a slight twitch around the eyes.

Mireille nodded as if that was her answer. "I see. You are playing a dangerous game, Sean. The bond will grow and you won't be able to keep all your secrets from him. You already trusted him with who and what you are, revealing more than I thought you able to. He will get behind the truth."

"Maybe."

"Definitely. And by hiding you will only make it harder."

"Knowing the truth would destroy the bond," Renard said neutrally. "I won't risk it."

"It will kill you… he will kill you… if you push everything away from you. Sean, he's your mate!"

"I killed his aunt!"

"Why?"

He blinked, green eyes slightly baffled. Mireille leaned forward, her similar eyes intent.

"Why did you kill Marie Kessler when her health problems would have taken care of that? Do you really think her last months would have been able to turn Nick into a monster? I've talked to him a few times, we met, we talked more, and you can't warp someone so badly within such a short time. I also know that Marie wasn't like she behaved in her final days until her sister and brother-in-law were killed. Things like that change people. A thing like that could make Nick into what we all fear in a Grimm."

Renard was silent, staring at his tea.

"Betraying what he feels will turn him, Sean."

"Telling him what I did will, too."

"Why did you kill her?" Mireille repeated her earlier question.

"I didn't send the reapers after her," he finally answered. "They are a thorn in my side already."

"You sent a hexenbiest instead."

"For different reasons."

"I'm listening."

Renard sighed. "When she came back to Portland, she announced her presence to me. She knew who I was, she knew I was Nick's boss at work. We had a brief… talk… before she went to see her nephew to tell him that she had little time left."

Mireille's eyes widened a little.

"She told me that she had gone a darker path because of her own pain and loss. She gave up everything to care for the child of her sister after their murder. And she was still a Grimm."

"She didn't inherit her sisters powers?"

"No, they were both Grimms."

"And Nick's father?"

Renard was silent for a moment. "Not a Grimm," he then said.

"But?"

"I don't know."

Mireille leaned back, thoughtful. "Go on? She came to you and…?"

"And we talked. About Nick, about how she never told him, how she had hoped that she would have her own offspring one day. That the Grimm wouldn't come out. But it all went differently and in the end he inherited something he had never been trained for. She asked me to protect him."

"Marie did?"

"In her own may." Renard let his eyes roam around the room, dredging up memories he hadn't pondered in a while. "She knew the reapers were after her. She knew they would be after Nick as well. She also knew that she had little time left."

"So you what? Helped it all along without being too obvious about it?"

"In a way. The transfer of power had to be made quickly for Nick to survive, to be able to use what he already had and what would be given to him. Marie knew that her slow death would be his death as well. He would be stuck between Grimm and not-yet-Grimm. The reaper got to her, but he didn't kill her because Nick shot him. Adalind was supposed to end her life quickly, covering my involvement in this. She failed."

Renard's lips were thin lines of misgiving. He had sent the hexenbiest because she was capable and trained. It had to be a clean, painless kill. He had orchestrated it all, played his part of cold and ruthless ruler perfectly. He had said all the right words, had shown all the right emotions, and none would be the wiser.

"So then what?"

"I upheld the façade. I continued the play. No one was supposed to know that it was a mercy killing on her request to assign Nick as the next Grimm. It had to look good for the reapers. Adalind chose humans, but Nick had already appointed a bodyguard. A blutbad. He had somehow managed to get the loyalty of a blutbad despite what he… they… were." He smiled, feeling proud in a way.

Mireille chuckled. "Nick mentioned him. Monroe, right?"

Renard nodded. "I staged a final act and I'm not proud of what I did. She was his only family and Nick values family because of his past."

"That he does. It's a new concept for our kind, isn't it?" his sister teased.

He grimaced. "He wouldn't understand, Miri. Never. I took his aunt from him in a violent way. I never wanted it that way. All best-laid plans went out the window. I pushed him into this world and hid who I am. Politics of the wesen world elude him and he can't understand or know half of what I do. Who I am with him is not the man I am when it comes to everyone else. Knowing some of my decisions would endanger him, harm him, hurt him…"

"He will know one day. This thing between you is growing. He already has access to you through the bond. He keeps you balanced and mostly cool-headed. This might not come out in the next months or even the next year, but it will leak. Sooner or later. And if you open this old wound, it will bleed, Sean. A lot. Tell him while you can still keep things level."

Renard closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I can't, Miri. It will kill us. Me. If Nick severs the bond…"

"He wouldn't. He will hurt, but time will also heal that hurt," she stated. "Andrew… didn't know who I was either."

Andrew being her mate, her husband. He wasn't a regnant, which wasn't really exceptional since regnant genes were dominant and all offspring would always be regnants.

"He thought I was a wealthy heiress, dabbling in politics. He didn't know what I was, or how many had fallen for me."

Renard knew what that remark meant. People had died for Mireille and because of her. She was just as territorial and hard and downright nasty when it came to her protectorate and her people as he could be.

"No, I never killed any of his family members, but I took care of matters my own way. He didn't take kindly to some of my actions." Her face was cool, composed, but the ring of gold around her iris was tell-tale of her emotional state.

Renard knew how much his sister loved Andrew Luce M.D., how hard she had fought for him to understand that there was more to her than what was known about regnants. Andrew wasn't a maushertz, but schwanensee, even males, weren't predators either. They were mostly found in caring professions, some even as teachers, but mostly medical care and everything associated with it. It had come as a shock for him to see her true nature when she had dropped her shields.

"But you never killed," Sean now said.

"No. And when you tell him that his own aunt wanted it this way, it sheds a whole different light."

Renard didn't look at her, his eyes faraway and closed off. He knew things wouldn't smooth over that easily. The lies surrounding him were a dense net and Nick knew just a little of everything. Politics were Renard's main excuse to disappear and not inform his Grimm, despite the fact that to rule and to protect and to handle matters the regnant had to be truthful to his arbitrator. Nick would one day run into something that would unravel he net and until then, Sean Renard planned to lie.

He would deal with the pain later.

And it would be agony.

Mireille seemed to see the truth, his very thoughts, and her frown told him what she thought about it. But her mate wasn't a Grimm. Her mate wasn't Nick Burkhardt. And she had never manipulated everyone around her mate like Sean had done.

"He's stronger than you think he is," Mireille broke the silence.

"I know how strong he is."

"Do you? Our partners have to be powerful. We would never accept a weak beta mate. But a Grimm is more than that. He is independent and hard-headed and powerful and has abilities yet untapped. He isn't anything like the other humans you surround yourself with. He's more than them and different from us. His aunt died a long time ago. He has dealt with that. He has accepted a male partner. He has accepted you. He has his place in your protectorate and the wesen here respect him. He even has the loyalty of some very dangerous predators." Mireille studied him through neutral eyes. "But you see him as a fledgling to be protected. You won't see him as the more powerful of the two of you."

Sean's head snapped up and his eyes flared with a rim of gold.

"He is, Sean," she said levelly. "He is the one to rein you in, to balance you. He isn't weak at all. He has you to deal with. Think about it. And," she added slyly, "you would never have chosen a weak mate. Even if you had been thinking with your dick instead of your brain."

Renard growled softly. He knew Nick was strong. He knew the younger man wasn't to be trifled with. The past months had shown him just how much Nick had grown into his role, how quickly he had embraced his heritage. He was learning about the wesen world and about the different creatures in it. He had made allies and friends.

He was Renard's equal, just like it should be in this kind of relationship.

Still…

"And he knows you're a manipulative bastard," Mireille added with a smile. "No more and no less than any of our kind."

He gave her a dark look.

She rose gracefully and he followed her example.

"Talk to him, Sean. I mean it. Face the pain now instead of later."

Renard didn't answer and she shook her head with a sigh.

"I'll be on my way home tomorrow," Mireille told him. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"My pleasure."

It got him a knowing smile. Having another of his kind in his territory had been grating on Renard's nerves and both knew it.

He left the hotel not much later, deep in thought, wondering what would be the lesser evil right now: tell Nick and have it over with, or wait and see if time might lessen the impact.

He had no answer to it, only the fear of what would happen.

tbc...