So, I realize that I haven't said this yet, but I DON'T OWN GRIMM. IF I DID RENHARDT WOULD BE SHIPPED SO HARD. Okay, so this chapter I thought was really hard to write, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you all like it, too! And I hope you all are okay with my chapter lengths. I don't like chapters that are less than 5,000 words. I always feel like I'm not giving the readers enough and I don't like that. If you all don't like the length I can definitely shorten my chapters. It's up to you! Well, here's chapter 3!
Work was terrible. He didn't get any further in Frank Rabe's murder case, plus Hank and Wu decided to take it upon themselves to repeatedly pester Nick as to where or who he got the hickeys on his neck from. On top of that, it was very hard to be normal around his captain. Renard seemed to pull it off well enough, though Nick knew he was having just as hard a time as he was. When the Royal was certain no one was looking, he would lightly graze his hand against Nick's, desperate for the touch of his Mate. About halfway through his shift, Renard called him into his office. Nick wasn't exactly sure why; he was doing everything he could on the Rabe case, but all that went out the window when Renard pressed Nick against the door and roughly forced his lips upon a willing Nick, ignoring the loud sound that came from the door and focusing more on the loud sound that came from his smaller Mate's mouth.
On a brighter note, the precinct had already fixed Renard's very thick, pretty much sound proof windows.
Currently, Nick was putting on the only suit he owned. Renard told him at the office to wear a green tie, so he found one and attempted to tie it around his neck. Before he got too frustrated with the fabric, he heard a knock on his door.
He practically ran down the stairs to answer it, already knowing who it was. When he opened the door he swallowed heavily. His captain looked really good in a suit.
"Hello, Nick. Do you mind if I come in?"
Nick blinked, unable to comprehend words quite yet. "Uhh, yeah. Of course."
Renard chuckled, but entered when Nick stood to the side to let him in. Renard stared at his Mate, loving the sight of him in formal wear, knowing that this man was his. He found it oddly adorable to see the wrinkled tie hanging around Nick's shoulders, knowing that he had tried to tie it several times on his own. "Let me help you with your tie."
Nick looked down, then smiled sheepishly. "I've never really had a reason to wear a tie, so I never learned."
"Then leave your ties to me and you can cook your eggs. It's an even trade, yes?" Renard smirked.
Nick laughed, remembering their morning together. "Sure, oh glorious God of Ties."
Renard just leaned down to kiss Nick deeply, the Grimm happily returning it. It was hard enough when Nick was at work to keep away from him, but when Nick left to get ready? That was the true meaning of torture.
"Are you ready to go?"
Nick nodded, his eyes still half-lidded. "Yeah."
Renard held his arm out and Nick took it. "Then let's go."
In the car, Nick teased his captain incessantly about his chivalrous actions. "You're such a gentleman! You hold the door open and offer your arm, what's next? Are you going to lay your coat on a puddle for me?"
Renard just released one hand off the wheel to poke Nick in the side, who definitely did not yelp loudly. "Are you ticklish, my dear Grimm?"
Nick's face turned red. He said nothing.
"I'll take that as a yes." Renard smirked. "I'll make sure to use that at a later time against you."
Nick glared. "You wouldn't."
"Try me."
Nick mumbled an apology for teasing him very quickly.
They arrived shortly after that in at a place Nick didn't recognize. He knew they were slightly outside of the Portland city limits, but he didn't know much about this area. It was nice and quiet. Night was just starting to settle over the area. This formal was surprisingly held outside; Nick thought it would be in some building, but thinking about it now he figured this was a better setting. A lot of wesen felt more comfortable outside.
There were tables and food of all kinds. There were canopies and chairs, everything a party would need. There was even a bar as well as a karaoke machine set up. Nick smiled at the atmosphere this place gave off. He couldn't wait until people started to arrive.
"Why are we the first people here?"
"Well, we are the ones who have organized this, so we must be here to greet the guests."
Nick was confused. "I didn't put this together. I shouldn't get credit for this. Sean, this is amazing. You really did think of everything. I can't take any credit for what you did."
Renard shook his head. "That's not how it works in the wesen world, Nick. You are my Mate now therefore you are just as much a part of this as I am. I wouldn't want it any other way."
Nick blushed and Renard leaned down capturing his soft lips once more. He pulled away, but only barely. "I don't know how much longer I can keep pulling away, Nick. The Bond… it's very powerful."
Nick felt his body heat up for an entirely different reason than embarrassment and he bit his bottom lip. "Then quit resisting," he answered.
Before Renard could say anything to that, a man walked up to them, bowing low to both him and Renard. "Sirs, I have set up a defense perimeter around the area, all with photos of the other Royals. They won't come here unspotted."
Renard nodded. "Thank you, Meisner."
Nick was confused. "Who's this guy?" He asked bluntly.
"I appreciate your subtlety, Nick." Renard said, refraining from rolling his eyes in the presence of his subordinate. "This is Martin Meisner. He is a member of the Laufer."
Nick nodded. He knew of the Laufer. Rosalie's brother Freddie was a part of it. He knew it was a resistance group against the Royal families and that Renard was the leader, but he didn't know much else. He'd have to ask Renard about it all later. Nick held out his hand to Meisner. "It's nice to meet you."
The man looked shocked that Nick held out his hand to shake and took it hesitantly. "Forgive me, Sir, but to have someone such as yourself shake my hand as if I were an equal is truly an honor."
Nick blushed. He knew he was Sean's Mate, a Royal's Mate, but he didn't expect to be treated like, well, royalty. He was about to tell the man that he was nothing more than a man, but another part of him – the part the was usually right – told him to keep his mouth shut because something like that would be seen as a sign of weakness.
Renard watched the small interaction with pride for his Mate. It was not easy to gain Meisner's trust. To do so was an incredible feat, and Nick was already on his way there. Meisner liked to be respected which Nick gave him in the form of a handshake. However, Meisner was also a straight-forward, traditional man. He knew who Nick was and therefore knew that he was not an equal to a Royal's Mate. If Nick had said something to suggest otherwise – and he knew his Mate wanted to – Meisner would see it as a personal insult. He did not like to be led under false pretenses of any kind.
"So, when the Royals get here, how do you plan on getting everyone out of here?" Nick asked. "Because I'm not going to have a public showdown with crazy Royals. We don't need the fear that would be instilled in the wesen if they knew that the entire Royal family was in Portland. Also, if they decided to attack for some reason, we wouldn't be able to protect all of them and I don't want any casualties."
Sean blinked. He wasn't expecting that. Nick probably didn't even know it, but the Grimm had just proven himself competent. He briefly wondered if Nick was a tactical officer in another life.
Meisner answered coolly. "We have put in the announcements of the formal that we will unfortunately need to cancel early as Prince Renard has a prior political engagement that is urgent to attend to."
Nick nodded and turned to the sound of tires coming to the area. "It seems our party guests have arrived."
"I must return to my station." Meisner bowed low once more, then walked to his area.
Nick let out a puff of air as Renard wrapped his arms around his Mate. "You did well, Nick."
"Doesn't mean I have to like acting like a prick." He mumbled.
Renard laughed and pressed a kiss to Nick's neck. "I am sure that you're not the only one."
Soon enough, wesen of all kinds filed into the area. People chatted, drank, negotiated, anything but fighting. Nick smiled at this. It was nice to see that fighting didn't always happen as he mostly experienced with the wesen world. Sean apologized to Nick when he had to leave for a moment, but Nick told him it was fine.
The party continued to go very well. Nick stayed to the side most of the time, trying to stay as unnoticeable as possible. He was still wary about being a Grimm in this setting. He was worried he would cause something bad to happen. However, something surprised him when someone he didn't recognize right away took the microphone from the music stand.
Later, he should have known it was Bud. "H-Hello everyone. I want you to excuse my nervousness, but I wanted to have people's attention.
It was strange seeing Jagerbars and Blutbadden turn to listen to an Esbiber, but Nick kept listening.
"I just wanted to say how awesome it is that we can still do this after all these years. We have Prince Renard to thank for that. I think we owe his Majesty a round, right?"
Everyone cheered and clapped and howled, whichever they felt was right, they did. Nick smiled softly. He didn't know the wesen respected Renard this much. He knew a little bit about it, but not to this extent.
Bud continued. He almost broke down with his next words. "But we have another to thank. If you don't know already, which I know all of you do, there's a Grimm in town." Nick tensed, hoping nothing would happen. He barely noticed when Renard came up behind him. "I'm sure you all know the stories of the Grimms. We've all been told the horrors that they portray.
"But this Grimm, Nick Burkhardt, is nothing like that. We've seen his compassion for each and every one of us. Something I witnessed before was that he saved a wesen from a human. That human was going to murder a wesen and, even though other Grimms would have helped kill the creature, he stopped the human because he broke the law. To him, as long as we do not break the law we are kept under his protection. He sees us no differently from humans.
"I want to propose a toast to Nick. I know he's here. I've seen him standing on the sidelines like he doesn't belong. I think we need to give him a warm welcome."
Everyone cheered loudly, but Bud continued. "I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I've always known the Day of Truce formal to be a way to form alliances between families and wesen. I'm pretty sure it's time to make history. I think we should form an alliance with our friendly neighborhood Grimm, what do you say?"
Nick didn't notice it when Monroe walked up to the mic, probably because he was going into shock. "I think I speak for me and my wife when I say we're totally in this with you, man." Monroe held up his drink. "I stand by Nick."
The crowd was cheering wildly and Nick just stood there frozen. He had no idea that the wesen in Portland cared so much for him as well. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he could hardly breathe steadily. He didn't know if he could take much more of Bud's kind words and the sheer support he was receiving, but the Esbiber kept going. "There's one more thing that I want to say, and then I'll leave everyone to it. Bud looked at Renard for this. "Sir, I say with the upmost respect that Fate has done you the kindest of services. I never even thought of a Grimm and a Royal being Mated, but seeing you two together, I can't think of another person that would be a better match.
"And Nick, you will make a great ruler. You and the Prince will be the most unstoppable team. But, when you do officially take your seat, I ask that you do forgive me if I call you Nick. King Nicholas will take some getting used to." He smiled.
Nick's eyes widened as the crowd chuckled. Renard just laughed, knowing exactly what his Mate was freaking out about.
"Let's hear it for our future Kings, yeah?"
Wesen cheered in every way possible, Howls, chirps, chants, claps, whistles, and shouts could be heard all around them. Nick couldn't be happier. They accepted him. It was a bit of a shock to hear that they already knew of Renard and his budding relationship but, he figured, between the wesen that could smell his and Renard's mingled scents and the way gossip spread, he knew that he shouldn't be that surprised.
What did surprise him, however, was when the Royal spun him around and kissed him amidst the crowd. The wesen only shouted louder and the Grimm added cat calls to the list of cheers. The creatures thought that their Prince and his Mate were publically announcing their relationship, but Nick knew better. With every swipe of his tongue, with every possessive pull and tightened grip on some part of his body, Nick knew this was Renard's own way of staking his claim. Nick was his and, honestly, Nick didn't want it any other way.
Renard pulled away, but still kept Nick flush against him. It took the Grimm a moment to notice, but the Royal seemed tense all of a sudden.
"Sean?"
"We need to get everyone out of here."
"What? Sean, what's going"-
Nick couldn't finish his sentence, however, because Sean was motioning to Meisner to take the mic. "Okay, everyone," Meisner began. "As you know, the Prince is a busy man, so we'll have to cut it short tonight, but thank you all for coming. Have a nice evening."
People shook hands, quickly saying goodbye before heading to their vehicles. Everyone was gone within fifteen minutes. Nick thought briefly back to his high school days, remembering how long it took just to get out of the parking lot when there was some kind of event. "Jeez," Nick said. "People sure are efficient at getting out of here, aren't they?"
Renard chuckled, though he still seemed wary of his surroundings. "I guess they are."
Meisner walked up to them, his eyes on Nick. "Sir, if you'll come with me, I will take you to a safe location."
Nick glared. "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving Sean here alone."
Renard spoke to Nick in what he hoped was a logical manner. "Nick, they're after you. If you don't leave, we're basically handing you to them."
"Or, if I leave, you'll get hurt and taken hostage and I'll just be forced to meet with them to negotiate your release, which will obviously be a trap. I'll get captured and then where will we be?"
Renard paused. He hadn't thought of that. Gritting his teeth and against his better judgment, he told Meisner the change of plans that he really didn't want to happen, but was the lesser of two evils. "Nick will stay here, then."
Just then, a black truck pulled up to the area, and outstepped four individuals. Nick immediately recognized the driver. It was Sean's cousin, Viktor Beckendorf. This man had worked with Sean's deceased brother Eric to kidnap him. He had sent countless wesen to kidnap him and kill his friends in the process.
The next person was a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Nick assumed she was Renard's sister, Natalia. She had a calming demeanor about her. The other man that walked alongside her must be the other brother Shane. Shane and Renard could almost be twins if it weren't for the fact that his Mate had green eyes and Shane had blue. There was also something in Shane's eyes that Nick thought was unsettling. He didn't like that man, though he didn't quite understand why.
The final man that walked in front of them all was someone Nick knew was dangerous. The way the man's eyes fell on him with such sheer hatred almost had Nick recoiling, but he held his ground. He was a dark-haired man with blue eyes, a scar lining one of them. He had scruffy facial hair that was obviously as well kept as the rest of him. He had an aura of power around him that was unlike anything he'd felt before. It was a dark power. This man did not mean anything good by his visit.
This man was what Nick would truly call evil, and he was his Mate's father, King Frederick Renard.
Renard instinctually stepped in front of Nick. "What a pleasant surprise, Father. What brings you to Portland?"
The King smirked. "How did you find out I was coming?"
Renard shook his head. "It wouldn't do me any good if I gave you all my trade secrets, would it?"
Frederick nodded. "No, I guess not, but it doesn't matter." He paused. "I'll get straight to business here. Hand over the Grimm."
"Do you really believe it'll be that easy?" Renard challenged. "Nick is mine. You will not take him so long as I'm alive."
Shane laughed. "Then let's kill him! He killed Eric, so we should return the favor for our brother."
Frederick considered this for a moment. "One more chance, Sean, or I will take the Grimm by force and remove you from the city."
Renard growled low. "You will not touch him or my city."
Frederick glared at his youngest son. "You have been nothing but a problem for me, Sean. I've done nothing but good for you and this is how you repay me?"
Renard smirked, no traces of humor in his eyes. "Good for me? You have done nothing for me. You sent your fucking dogs to kill my mother and me. We were on the run for years."
"I let you back in the kingdom, didn't I?"
"You let me back in, but I haven't seen my mother in decades, so forgive me for wondering whether or not you did me any good.
"You listen to me, Father. I will take your kingdom if it is the last thing I do. Your reign will be over. You will not instill fear into the people any longer, do you hear me?"
The King's expression changed drastically. The insanity he must be harboring showed through, making Nick hold back a shiver. "Kill him and take the Grimm. Do whatever has to be done but the Grimm must be taken alive!"
The attack happened before they could comprehend it. They weren't prepared for this. So much happened in such a short amount of time that Nick wasn't sure what exactly happened, but one minute he was standing behind his Mate and the next he was being dragged away by Viktor while Shane fought his brother. "Let me go!" Nick yelled as he struggled against the man.
Viktor smirked. "You won't get away that easily, Grimm. I am a Royal as well. My strength is superior to yours."
Nick didn't care. He struggled against the man, using every amount of strength he had. He used his leg to kick back at Viktor, earning him his freedom, but only for a moment. When he tried to run to his Mate, who was losing the battle against his brother, Viktor tackled him to the ground, this time holding a knife to his throat. "Now, where were we? Get up, Grimm."
Nick called his bluff and continued to struggle, regardless of the weapon held against him. "You won't kill me. You need me."
Viktor smirked. "Yes, that is true. I won't kill you, but I can beat you within an inch of your life and you'll cost Sean his life."
Nick froze. "What are you talking about?"
Viktor walked them over to the others. "What do you say, my King? Should we let little Nick decide?"
Renard was held down by his brother, his father yelling at him and hitting him every so often. However, the pain of the physical blows was nothing to the panic that surged through him as he saw the knife pressed against his Mate's throat. "I'll kill you, Viktor! Let him go!" Renard yelled, struggling with renewed vigor against his brother.
The King grinned maniacally. "Alright, Grimm. What's your decision? Will you come with us quietly and let Sean live, or will we have to use other measures?"
Nick was at a loss. He didn't want Renard to get killed. He knew if he didn't go quietly then the city of Portland along with the rest of his territory would be taken over by the Royals. He knew he should go quietly. He knew he had save the city and Renard. He knew what he had to do.
"Go to Hell." He said, spitting in the King's face.
Nick felt someone hit him hard on the back of the head. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but he was dazed for a moment.
The King glared heavily at Nick. "How dare you, you little shit!" He kicked Nick so that he fell to the ground. Renard was slowly starting to woge, his panic over his Mate overriding his need for composure. "Give me the knife, Viktor."
"Yes, Sire."
The man handed the blade over to his King. "I gave you a choice, Grimm, and you will pay the consequences."
Nick watched in horror as Frederick stabbed Renard in the stomach. It was like watching it happen in slow motion, though it happened very quickly. He screamed, tears rolling down his face at the sight of his Mate collapsing to the ground. He fought against Viktor and in a frenzy attacked the man with all the strength he had. He was breathing heavily, almost to the point of hyperventilating, but he kept punching Viktor. Shane let Renard fall and ran to pull the Grimm off his cousin, but Nick kept fighting. The Grimm wanted them dead. He didn't care the consequences. He just wanted to kill them. He fought against the two Royals and put up quite a fight, but they soon overwhelmed him in his panicked state.
"Sean!" He screamed as he was dragged away by the King himself.
"Make sure he's dead. I don't want him making any recovery."
Nick was silent for a moment. This couldn't be happening. He was stronger than this. He would stop this. He had to.
As they got closer to the car, however, Nick felt the crippling despair. He did this. This was his fault. He couldn't… He didn't…
A blood curdling scream ripped from Nick's throat, the pain of failing his Mate and knowing he was going to die just too much. Just as he screamed, a large pulse emanated from his body, sending the King as well as the truck flying in different directions. A surge of power rushed through Nick and the wind blew strongly, as if the weather itself was bending to his will. He didn't know what this power was, only that he knew how to use it. It was instinctual. His eyes gleamed with the silver of the Grimm as he used his new power to force Viktor and Shane away from his Mate with a simple outstretch of his hand.
He knelt down to Renard, whose eyes were closed in pain, faintly gripping the knife in his stomach.
"Get him you idiots!" He vaguely heard the King shout. When Shane and Viktor tried to make their way to Nick, the Grimm didn't even acknowledge them. A fiery circle erupted around them both, protecting Nick and Renard from anyone who tried to enter there.
Nick pulled the knife out of his Mate, wincing as the grunt of pain went through him. "I'm going to help you, Sean. We're going to get out of this." He said in a shaky voice.
Nick held his hands over the man's wound and a green light erupted from them. His Mate's face eased in its painful expression and Nick leaned over his Mate, trying not to let the tears fall in front of the others.
He felt Renard's large hand pat his back. Nick looked up with wide, teary eyes. "Thank you, Nick."
Renard stood then, completely healed and ready to fight. "Sean…" He whimpered.
"It hasn't hit you yet, but you will want to know what is going on." He looked around. "We can't continue fighting here. I'm sure people have seen the fire."
Nick blinked and looked around, seeing the circle of flames that surrounded them. Nick started to breathe heavily as he remembered that he'd done that and didn't know how. Before he could really panic, that power surged through him, reminding him that they were still in danger. The Grimm took over once more and he lowered the fire. He was ready to charge and attack, but Viktor, Shane, and Frederick were gone.
They both took a breath and the wind slowed, but they both stayed on high alert, wondering if the other Royals were simply hiding. Through the trees they saw a bunch of cars headed their way. Renard recognized the vehicles as the ones that belonged to the Blutbad and Hank Griffin. They pulled up quickly and, surprisingly, out of the back of the Blutbad's car sat his sister, Natalia.
Renard growled, ready to attack his sister, but she held up her hands in surrender. "Calm down, Brother. I am not your enemy."
"Prove it," he growled. He was exhausted to the bone, but he would protect his Mate until the moment of his death.
"I'm sure you're wondering who the Jagerbar's informant was. I'm the one that got you the keys, Sean. I'm the one who warned you."
Renard hadn't told anyone except Nick about the keys, so he lowered his guard somewhat. He still kept up his defenses, but he had a feeling his sister was telling the truth. When he was a child, Natalia always watched over him like the older sister she was. They got along the most and he knew she wouldn't hurt him.
Nick, meanwhile, was slowly coming down from his adrenaline rush and was swaying on his feet. His head was hurting severely. He tried to stay awake, but he eventually felt himself falling.
Renard caught his Mate's unconscious body. He forced himself to believe he was fine, because Nick was. His heartbeat was strong and his breathing was evening out. He was just overwhelmed with the amount of energy that he used.
Rosalie and Nick's long time best friend, Juliette, ran over to help, but Renard growled, his instincts driving him to protect his Mate. "Woah there, Captain. They're just here to help." Hank soothed.
Renard breathed, knowing they were telling the truth. He helped them carry Nick to his car. Juliette drove and Rosalie sat in the passenger seat, running a list off of things they'd need to help Nick. Renard sat in the back, holding his unconscious Mate until they got to the spice shop.
Renard, needing to distract himself so that he didn't go on a rampage through the city in search of his blood relatives, asked, "How did you know where to find us?"
"The Princess came to the spice shop, saying that you two were in trouble. At first I didn't believe her, but we couldn't just ignore something like that if there was even a chance that it would be true. You had said earlier that your family was coming to Portland, so we went. I called Hank, who was with Juliette, for backup and we all came to help as soon as we could, though it seems we are a little late on the arrival, which I apologize for, Sir." Rosalie explained. "If I may ask, whose blood is on your shirt?"
Renard look down, long forgetting about the healed stab wound. "It's mine."
"You seem to be in no discomfort. Do Royals really heal that quickly?"
Renard smirked. "No, we don't. I should have died from that wound, but Nick healed me."
"Healed you? I thought Grimms didn't have that kind of ability?" Juliette said.
Rosalie nodded. "They don't."
Just then, they pulled up to the spice shop and all shuffled inside. "We need to take him to the back room. There's a bed there. He'll be more comfortable there." Rosalie informed.
Renard nodded and listened to the Fuchsbau. He may be a Royal, but he was not afraid of listening to those who had more experience than him. He would lay down his pride for his Mate.
Meisner walked into the shop, bringing some supplies along with…
"Adalind? What are you doing here?" Renard said, the threat evident in his voice.
Meisner stepped in between the Royal and the Hexenbiest. "I apologize, Sir, but I figured she could be of help considering your Mate's current… magickal condition."
She smirked, knowing she had won this argument. "It seems the Grimm is a lot more than he seems. You know he will need my help. He's going to need more help than a half Zauberbiest can offer."
"Why are you going to help him?"
"That's for me to know and you to shut up about."
Renard growled, but didn't do much else.
The rest of the night was spent preparing various oils and drinks that Adalind and Rosalie prepared with the help of Juliette and Natalia. Hank, Monroe, and Meisner kept lookout, in case the other Royals returned.
After everything was prepared and most of the tension had settled Adalind spoke to Renard. "So when were you going to tell me that the Grimm had Witch blood?"
"I wasn't. It was none of your concern."
"It is now." She said simply, and that was all Renard needed to know where Adalind's loyalty was.
Several hours later, Renard rubbed his eyes after everyone was asleep. Meisner was keeping watch, but everyone else was on the floor, wrapped in a blanket of some sort, waiting for Nick to wake up. Renard knew he should have told Nick sooner about his heritage, but he never got the time to. Now he would have to explain not only Nick's family tree, but also the fact that he would be forced to spend some "quality" time with his favorite Hexenbiest, Adalind Schade. It was for the best, but he had a feeling Nick wasn't going to like it.
Nick was going to be pissed when he woke up but, watching his Mate sleep – albeit a troubled sleep – and knowing that they were both alive was worth any wrath his Mate could bestow upon him.
He leaned down and kissed his Mate's forehead, then curled up beside him and quickly fell into a troubled sleep alongside Nick.
I'm a mean person to Nick.
I wanted to make note that I appreciate all the reviews I get. It brightens my day when I see someone who reviewed. I get all excited and fangirly.
So, what do you think's going to happen? You should definitely tell me what you think.
I love Adalind. I love her character. I love her sass and her evilness and just ugh... Adalind is the sassmaster. I think I'm going to name a Chapter "Adalind the Sassmaster" just because she deserves to be recognized. If you guys see a chapter with that name, know it's because I adore Adalind's character.