Lauren's POV
It had been a long few days. All of the Doctors were overworked due to an influx in patients. We literally had to use make shift tents because we had to move due to constant attacks. Once we were secured and more troops had been deployed to protect us, I thought things would slow down a bit.
I was wrong because Dr. Idiot thought he knew what was best and tried to treat patients after he hadn't slept in days. He didn't follow the emergency rotation schedule that we had set up so that everyone could get a few hours sleep.
When it was my turn to sleep, I welcomed it. I walked to my tent as fast as I could, fell on my cot, and quickly asleep. Besides the constant buzzing of overhead aircraft, I was finally relaxed. The sounds were a Soldier's lullaby. Well for those that could actually sleep.
What felt like two hours had passed when I heard an explosion. Thankfully I hadn't gotten out of my clothes. I jumped up and grabbed my gear. I ran out and it looked like all hell had broken loose again. There was smoke coming out of the two closest tents to me. I ran in the opposite direction, trying to find the others.
"Lauren over here! Julia screamed. I ran over to her and she looked as worried as I was.
"What happened? A suicide bomber with one stick of dynamite. The patients in those tents had already been airlifted out of here", Julia explained.
"But...", I started. We had a ton of patients still needing to be treated.
"The others couldn't be saved", Julia sighed tiredly. By the looks of her clothes, it looked like she had tried to drag them out, wounded or not.
"Julia where's Scott? He was a pompous bastard that likely bought his way up the chain of command.
"He took off in a Humvee after the explosion went off", Julia said.
"What he just left us here? I asked.
"I tried to stop him but he said he had somewhere to be", Julia said rubbing her head.
"Hey are you ok? I asked.
"Yes. It's just a slight headache", Julia said. I had to admit she looked worse than that but I'm sure she wouldn't try to hide something from me under the circumstances.
Grabbing the only gun I had on me, I gestured forwards. "Come on, let's go see what and who else is still here to be saved".
Julia was all Doctor. She never wanted nor found the need to use weapons. Other than her mind. Reminded me of someone I knew very well. She flinched when she saw my gun but she knew I wasn't a novice shooter. I wasn't always good. During my first tour, I grabbed old soda cans and lined them up for target practice.
I found one brave soldier that wanted me to shoot two off his fingertips. I was hesitant at first but since he insisted, I did. The others rounded up and watched. They wanted to see who's gamble would pay off more, theirs because they put up good money to watch me succeed, or his to see if he peed in his pants from fear of me missing.
I finally took my shots. Both cans flew off his fingers and his eyes went wide. He never asked me to do that again and neither did anyone else. They figured my skills were good enough to trust from then on. When I was needed in combat, they pulled me from the Doctor rotations. Soon after I was quickly promoted to Captain. I saved as many lives as I took. Killing was the only part of the job I never liked.
Hours later the remaining patients that had minimal injuries were lifted up and out of the area. Julia and I were still looking for Dr. Williams. I don't know why I cared so much. His own cowardice and stupidity ran him off from the rest of us. It was starting to get dark and he knew not to run off.
"None of the choppers have seen the Humvee from the air", Julia said.
"Well if he's out here, we need to find him and soon", I said pulling out two pairs of night vision goggles from my bag. The guy was a pain in the ass, but we needed every Doctor we could get since the others were deeply wounded and had been taken to another location. It took quite some convincing to make them leave us behind but I managed to do it.
"There! He's coming right towards us! Julia screamed as I turned around to look for myself.
She was right. Dr. Williams was driving at a high speed.
"Jump Scott jump! Julia screamed.
The guy that was running after Scott on foot was holding a stick of Dynamite in his hand. "Another suicide bomber! I screamed as I watched Scott jump from the Humvee. Thankfully it rolled off in the other direction.
Dr. Williams had made it over to us. "Take cover! I screamed and watched them hide behind two large boulders.
"Lauren you can't make that shot! Scott said. He never trusted me or any woman really. Although he did have a glaring soft spot for Julia.
"Come on, lift it", I whispered. I just needed one clean shot and this would be over in a matter of minutes.
"Dr. Lewis. You can't make that shot, you haven't the skill", Scott said. Well it was more of a whine.
"Bingo", I said taking my shot and running for cover behind another boulder. When the dust had settled I came from behind it to survey the damage. The bomber was dead on the ground, covered in dirt and debris.
"What the hell were you thinking? I snapped at Dr. Williams.
"I was just trying to find the guys responsible for the earlier attacks", Dr. Williams snapped back in his own defense.
"And you thought to bring a maniac back towards us? I snapped. Yes it was mostly Julia and me now but we still mattered and not only that, what about the others that were out on assignment? This is why I loathed the guy, a good Doctor but a moron too.
"Lauren" Julia said softly.
"Let's go. We need to get back so we can be picked up. But I will not be dropping this", I snapped pointing at Dr. Williams
For that time only, Julia held a sweet spot for him and all I head was disdain. The months after that proved me right. He had moved up to Captain after he lied about saving us. Julia and I were vocally against it, but as women our voices went unheard.
"Dr. Lewis? Dr. Lewis are you listening to me? Dr. Williams asked mockingly.
"Sit down", Lauren bristled.
"Pardon? Dr. Williams scoffed at Lauren's audacity.
"I said sit your ass down", Lauren said angrily pushing a chair in his direction.
"It's Captain Williams, in case you've forgotten Lewis", Dr. Williams snapped.
"Oh I remember everything. Now sit your ass down! Lauren said pushing him into the chair this time.
"I don't have to sit if I don't want to", Dr. Williams snapped trying to get up.
"Ohh but you will", Lauren said with her eyes glowing. She smiled a bit when she saw his fear. Who's the bitch now?
"Bo", Lauren said softly.
The Succubus stood up and paced around. She explained about Kyle and how she was sorry it happened because she didn't know what she was and how to control her powers yet. But she could not forget or forgive Dr. Williams sending anyone after Charlotte. She could take care of herself but her baby was just starting out in life. She and Lauren had so much to teach her and anyone that threatens that, threatens her future. Their future.
"You're still the animal that killed my son, so I'm going to kill your family! All of you", Dr. Williams snapped and shrieked in his chair when he heard Lauren's small roars.
"Your threats won't work here. You're my bitch now", Lauren snapped showing her sharp teeth.
"Lauren? Are you hungry? Bo asked.
"No but I could always go for a bite", Lauren snapped with a bite showing her teeth again.
"Honey if they don't kill you, you will spend the rest of your miserable life in prison", Tamsin laughed.
"What? Bo asked.
"He killed his wife", Tamsin said looking over the paperwork her undercover handed her.
"What? When? Bo asked. Here she was feeling guilty about leaving Kyle's family without him and his only remaining family was his bastard father.
"He killed her in her sleep by putting a bullet in her mouth. When the responding officers arrived they found his saliva on her lips and traced it back to him", Tamsin said pointing at Dr. Williams.
Bo stood staring at him. All of these years she hated herself. She hated herself for being a killer. She hated herself for every year Kyle's family had to live without him. She hated herself for not knowing what she was soon enough to stop it from happening. She hated herself for not coming forward when she did find out. Maybe Mrs. Williams would still be alive and away from her punk husband.
"Bo? Lauren said gently touching the Succubus on the shoulder.
"He's dead", Bo responded and jumped when she heard Lauren's roar.
"No! I'll do it. You go home and be with Charly", Bo said.
Lauren knew Bo enough to know when she was being serious and this was not a good time to push her.
"What about Nate? Tamsin asked.
"Take him too. If it wasn't for Kenzi, you would be dead! The Succubus snapped.
Tamsin walked over and grabbed Nate by his arm. Lauren went to hug Bo one last time before she followed them out.
"Tamsin! Bo snapped.
"Yeah? Tamsin jumped turning back to her.
"Make sure he's the last on the fool chain", Bo said pointing towards Dr. Williams.
Kenzi
Kenzi was relieved when Tamsin called to say Bo and Lauren had spared Nate's life but that Bo was still insistent that he would not be allowed in their house. Kenzi hated that Bo was still so angry with Nate but she understood.
She blamed herself for not quite explaining the Fae to Nate way back then but if he dealt with Evony, he knew the shit he had gotten himself into and should have come to them to get himself out of it.
Lauren, Tamsin and Nate
Thirty minutes had passed since they left and Lauren was asleep on the passenger side. Tamsin was driving and Nate was locked in the trunk. Just because Lauren and Bo spared his life, doesn't mean she trusted him in her car. In all of her life she knew nobody was completely clean and she wanted to get the word on the Dark Fae streets to find out what else he had done for Evony.
She nearly wrecked her car when she heard Lauren roaring and fidgeting in her seat. Tamsin shook her head and wondered what hell Lauren was dreaming about that made her look like that. She even noticed Lauren's Lioness hair surfacing which meant she must be about ready to shift or she was fighting someone in her sleep and her body was responding. "Fuck this", She said and put her sirens on taking Lauren back to their house.
Kenzi and Charlotte
"Shitballs. If I had balls they would be made of shit", Kenzi said as she paced around the living room. Bo and Lauren were not going to like this but what else could she do.
She had gone up to get something to eat and when she heard Charly stirring she went back down to the basement to check on her. If she escaped again, Kenzi's days of babysitting will have come to an end.
Kenzi walked over to pick Charly up and she was scratched again as she started to shift. This was not like the others. She had deep cuts and her clothes were torn. Thinking on her feet and hopeful that it wouldn't leave a mark, she dropped Charlotte and ran for the door. Closing it behind her, she took the brunt of the young shifters efforts at trying to escape.
"Damn that kid is strong", Kenzi said pushing back against the door as hard as she could. She called out to her in her softest voice hoping it would calm her down. And it was working for awhile. She went to get one of the other shifters to come and hold the door back. She gave strict instructions that Charlotte was not to be allowed out. Luckily she picked an old shifter who's strength was too much for the baby to knock down with the door.
When Kenzi was satisfied that all was well, she went back upstairs to pour herself a shot. Or two. Then she heard a loud thump and ran back downstairs to see what it was.
The shifter had been drained and she could see chi still flowing into the basement from under the door.
Yep. Kenzi knew it. She was screwed. The only other thing she thought to do was to get another shifter and block off the airways. That didn't calm Charlotte down. She could still hear her roaring and pulled her phone out to call Bo and Lauren. She reached Bo and was told Lauren was on her way. She breathed a sigh of relief. If she won't listen to Kenzi, she would definitely listen to Lauren. She didn't bother telling Bo about the chi because the Succubus sounded angry as it was.
Bo and Dr. Williams.
"You know I tried to be nice about this. But you came after my family. I told your punk ass that killing Kyle was an accident. I thought as a Doctor you would understand. But given all that you have said and done, nothing I said or did would have sufficed", Bo said.
"Shut up Succubus. I wanted you dead and I still might get my chance. Either you, your bastard gf or baby will die and I will use your bodies for science experiments", Dr. Williams laughed.
"Mrs. Williams must have been the good parent because Kyle was nowhere near the bastard you are. Makes me wonder if he was even your son", Bo taunted him. She wanted to use the fact that he was always away on business as a tool to show his wife may have cheated on him.
It worked too because Mr. Williams was not laughing at all. In fact he looked angrier than even Bo expected him to be.
"So what. Kill me. I would still have ways to get to you", Mr. Williams snapped. If he was going to die he wanted to strike fear into the Succubus. He did his homework and knew she was not a stay-at-home gf or mom. Something would always pull her away from Lauren. Some wolf. Some dog. Some lover.
"Yeah? That's why I have Tamsin looking into that. You really shouldn't have come. I'm the Fae nobody wants to fuck with", Bo snapped her eyes blazing blue.
"You can and will die Succubus", Mr. Williams laughed. He knew it wasn't true but what the hell. He was trying to buy some time to think of a way to escape.
"Foolish Dr. I can raise the dead too. But you, you will stay dead and nobody will find your body", Bo snapped. She was tired of his shit and finally hungry enough to drain his chi, and she did.
Lauren's POV
I was running as far and as fast as I could. They were after me. I could hear them as clear as day and smell their hot breaths as if they were right in front of me. I toppled tree after tree trying to find somewhere to lick my wounds. The damage was deep. I had thick cuts across my chest. Bite marks near my neck. It would have been worse had I not known how to kick and push them off of me. I guess I found the wrong spot to hunt for food. I wasn't really hunting for food though. I was hunting for dog. That dog. The biggest piece of shit I knew. Dyson.
For all the time we bonded over Bo his words really were bullshit. But he doesn't matter now. Nothing matters now except that I need to get home and stake claim on a new one.
They are getting closer. I took a deep breath and pushed forward as hard as I could, then there was nothing but darkness.
"Lauren? Hey Lauren wake up! Tamsin said. She wanted to slap her but the fur standing up on her skin told her fuck that.
"What can I do? Nate asked.
"Wait on the porch and do not go in. I'll call Kenzi", Tamsin said. She wasn't about the face the wrath of a Succubus and Lioness tonight by allowing him in their house. Bo and Lauren may forgive it, but they won't forget it.
All the other shifters surrounded Tamsin's car. She nearly wet herself from the loud roars and growls. Lea really did send a variety pack to protect them.
"Oh thank goodness! Kenzi screamed opening the front door and closing it again.
"What the hell happened to you? Tamsin asked looking at a worn and torn Kenzi.
"Nakedra is tripping and tore my clothes in the process", Kenzi explained.
"Charlotte? Tamsin asked looking towards the house.
"Charly, Kedra, whatever you want to call her. I can't get her to calm down", Kenzi said.
"Girl please, she's a baby. I have my hands full with Lauren", Tamsin said pointing towards the sleeping Doctor who looked angrier.
"Well shit. I was hoping she would calm Charly down", Kenzi sighed deeply.
"Where is she? Tamsin asked as the shifters grew louder.
"She's locked in the basement", Kenzi said.
"What? You just left her down there? Tamsin asked.
"Dude do you see my clothes? She doesn't even know me at the moment and besides she drained one of the shifters through the door", Kenzi explained.
"Shit! Tamsin snapped. How the hell was this baby doing this? Lauren was out and Bo wasn't home. What a hot mess they were standing smack dab in the middle of.
"You're telling me! Kenzi laughed. Lauren and Bo were going to take her clothes shopping because Charly tore up her best outfit.
"What can I do? Nate asked walking towards them.
"Hide! Tamsin and Kenzi said in unison. He was still a threat as far as Charly knew.
"Where? Nate asked softly.
"Go to my club, go in the basement and do not come out. Tell Marcus I said it was ok to allow you down there", Kenzi said.
"What? Where is your club? Nate asked.
"The clubhouse. Now hurry up and go", Kenzi said.
Tamsin and Kenzi paced back and forth in what little area the shifters were allowing them to do so. It seemed they were guarding Lauren now too.
"Charly! Tamsin screamed.
"What? Dude I told you, she's a hot mess right now", Kenzi said.
"Go get her. She can wake Lauren up from whatever the hell Lauren is doing", Tamsin said noticing the Dr was still fidgeting.
"Bo are you heading home? Kenzi asked in her phone.
"I'll be there in ten minutes Kenzi", Bo said. She had finished off the Doctor and took his body to burn it.
"Doesn't sound like Bo will be here soon. So Charlotte it is", Tamsin said.
"Hell to the no. Not me. Look at my clothes. That kid will strip me naked", Kenzi said.
"Fine. Ya big baby. I'll get her", Tamsin said scurrying off to do so.
Kenzi laughed. Tamsin was in jeans, a t-shirt and black jacket. Charlotte will have her looking like something out of a bad Halloween movie.
And just as she had predicted the Valkyrie returned with scratches and holes in her clothes.
"Shut up", Tamsin said looking at Kenzi.
"Let's see your plan in action Sherlock", Kenzi said stepping back.
"Watch and learn", Tamsin said pulling the door open and placing Charlotte in Lauren's arms. Lauren's fur tickled Tamsin. She was still shocked how Lauren could still be sleeping and roaring. She stepped back when they both started roaring.
"What are you guys doing? Bo asked pulling up.
"Shhh Bo! Kenzi and Tamsin screamed.
"Not a good idea to tell someone to be quiet and scream it", Bo laughed.
"Shhh", Kenzi said pointing towards Lauren and Charlotte. They were both stirring and roaring identically.
"What the hell is this? Bo asked.
Their roars got louder as did the other shifters who were now pushing Bo back.
"They're protecting Lauren", Kenzi said.
"Lauren! Charly! Bo called.
The trio jumped when Lauren and Charlotte roared while snapping their heads in Bo's direction. They roared again when Charlotte jumped down. Lauren and Charlotte shifted and took off running with the other shifters following behind them.
"What the hell?! Bo screamed.
TBC.