"Trick, I've had it!." Kenzi stormed into the building.
"Now what is it, Kenzi?." Trick asked as if he didn't already know.
"You and Dyson are ancient as fuck! How the hell do these two fools have you both by that balls so easily?." Kenzi stomped around in a circle.
"That's not true, Kenzi. I have told you this now for a thousand times, they are family. Aife may be lost to be me but Isabeau is different. I could have a real relationship with her. I just need to be patient and wait for the opportunity to come around." Trick threw the towel he was holding into the laundry bin and huffed.
"I don't have time like that. You are Fae. I am a human. My time is slipping day by day. I want revenge on that old bitch. If you won't or don't do something soon, there are others that may want to strike." Kenzi stopped and looked the old man dead in his eyes.
"The Morrigan won't screw around with Aife. Isabeau is new to us, her mother is not." The man shook his head and turned away from the young woman.
"There are others out there. The Elders. Humans. I will and can raise my own hell if I want to. Don't make me do that, Trick. The three of us have always been close but since these fucks hit town, Dyson's been in heat and you've been a raving coward. Afraid of a little backlash. I know who you are and what you can do. Just do something to show them that we are powerful too. That we can make their lives hell just as assuredly as they have made ours. Mine in particular." Kenzi took a deep breath and let it go.
"You will not go to the Elders. You certainly won't go to the humans. Don't forget, you are the only human walking freely among the Fae. The rest couldn't do that if they wanted to. They, unlike you, know the risks of exposing us to humans and vice versa. Go home. Go to bed and sleep this stupidity off. You won't live another night if you do something as crazy as what you are thinking!." Trick almost growled as he spoke.
"They must pay or else. You remember that." Kenzi pointed between them as she walked out with her back to the doors. Trick had changed since these idiots ambushed them. She could almost vomit knowing Isabeau bought her a cheeseburger but won't let her into her life at all. That's an ally with power that she could use. But it's all being used on Lauren. She rolled her eyes. Of all the people in the colony that she could have chosen and befriended, she chose that boring ass woman.
Isabeau and Lauren
"Ok!." Isabeau laughed.
"I'm sorry?." Lauren suddenly turned towards the woman.
"We are on our date but it seems like you have gone into geek mode." Isabeau warmly smiled.
"I what?." Lauren looked worriedly.
"Lauren, it's ok. You can't help yourself. I can tell you have spotted a scientist or scientists." Isabeau gently nudged the doctor.
"Yes. I know them but I'm on my date with you." Lauren smiled shyly.
"I have forever with you. That includes tonight. I can wait for you to go and hang out with them." Isabeau looked across the room at a few women who were ranting on and on about science experiments, books or studies they have read.
"I will go." Lauren smiled.
"Enjoy yourself." Isabeau gently kissed the blonde's hand. "If you come with me." Lauren's words floored the woman. "You want me to come with you? I know a lot of things doctor but not much about science." Isabeau's face went almost ghost white.
"Is that a yes?." Lauren asked.
"For you? Of course." Isabeau got some color back in her features and allowed herself to be led across the room. She panted as butterflies bubbled up in her stomach. It wasn't nerves. It was the anticipation of so many spontaneous moments with Lauren that will assuredly come with their future.
"Lauren?! My goodness it has been a long time, girl!." One of the women screamed in glee.
"It has. It has!." Lauren smiled and nodded. "Kelsey, Dawn, Sheila and someone that I don't know, this is my girlfriend, Isabeau!." The woman cooed as she squeezed the brunette's hand. A chill ran up and down her spine in excitement when Isabeau squeezed back.
"Ladies, nice to meet you!." Isabeau smiled and tried to pull away from Lauren.
"Excuse us for a few minutes." Lauren held onto her lady and walked a short distance. "Stay."
"Lauren, they are your friends. I want you to be able to take time to catch up. To enjoy whatever comes up in conversation." Isabeau shook her head as she looked at the tight grip the woman had on her hand.
"Yes, my work is important and it has been a long time since I saw them. But things are different now. I'm still a doctor. Curious about everything. But what piques my interest most is you. I won't enjoy my time with them if you are standing or sitting somewhere alone and uncomfortable. Like you said this is our date. Which means, I get to decide how we spend it, too. Well, I have decided that I want to spend it with you holding my hand as I do have those conversations. They are doctors. They have manners. They won't keep us long. I won't let them. Now, are you coming with me or not?." Lauren smiled.
Isabeau almost had tears in her eyes. But if she shed them, Lauren would be distracted by that and wave off her friends. She didn't want to put the doctor in that position and swallowed her emotions. "Let's go."
Lauren smiled and turned back towards the table. Just as the succubus thought, it didn't take long for them to talk shop. She understood most of it but not all of it. What she did note for sure was how smart Lauren really is. How warm and caring she is. How she is Isabeau's girlfriend and vice versa. She smiled at all of it. They all laughed good naturedly and like Lauren said, they said their goodbyes and went about their own plans. She watched a few other women and a man approach the table and each grabbed a date or spouse. She wasn't sure which was which but as long as Lauren wasn't on their radar, it didn't matter.
"Thank you." Lauren whispered as she leaned into the succubus.
"No need but you're welcome. That was amazing, Lauren. You looked like you were glowing while you were talking and they looked like students in class." Isabeau smiled as they slowly walked, hand in hand.
"We've all had our turns doing that. If they discovered something before me, they would be the center of attention. But, of course, I can't tell them about the Fae. I won't risk both sides of life like that." Lauren stopped and waited for them to be officially seated at their private table.
"I won't keep you from anything, Lauren. If you ever want to do anything and I know about it, I will insist that you do it. No matter what time of the day it is." Isabeau spoke softly as she played with the woman's hand.
"I would apologize but I know you won't accept it." Lauren smiled.
"No ma'am, I would not. There is no need for apologies between us. I know who I fell in love with. You are more than just Lauren Lewis. You are a doctor. I can't imagine what goes through your mind on an hourly basis. If not seconds. They held you prisoner long enough. You are free of that. You are free of me too. I am not going to staple you to my ass. You deserve to get out and do whatever you want to do." Isabeau released the blonde's hand when the waitress came to take their orders.
"Getting rid of me already?." Lauren touched her chest and winked.
"You know that will never be true." Isabeau laughed. "But I'm serious. Part of loving someone is allowing them to be themselves. To fulfill every need that it takes to make and keep them happy."
"Like your need to feed." Lauren whispered.
"Already planned for that." Isabeau smiled as she waved her phone in the air.
"Is he safe, too?." Lauren asked.
"Who my love?." Isabeau asked.
"Dougie. Can he safely feed you through the phone without arousing suspicion?." Lauren asked. She had never thought about that side of their arrangement until now.
"He gets off the streets to do it. He's always careful. But thank you for thinking of him like that, too." Isabeau smiled. The doctor is right. She does need to feed in so many ways.
"Well, we're walking a tightrope. One slip and the other humans in the world will find out your secret." Lauren licked her lips and took a bite of her salad.
"When mom and I knew we were leaving him behind, we had a long talk. He's my guy and I'm his girl. We both know that. He's a busy boy but always makes time for me and vice versa. I'd bust balls in a minute over that boy." Isabeau popped her lips after sipping on a glass of wine. Wine is for dinner. Whiskey is for bars and parties. She had often lived by that rule since the thought of it. "Don't say that again, doctor."
Lauren smiled and closed her eyes and mouth. "I won't say it but I will say it's obvious that you've never sat across from yourself or watched yourself in a mirror."
"What do you mean?." Isabeau frowned and half smiled.
"There is something otherworldly, quiet and powerful about you. Like all of this is foreign to you. The food. The wine. The clothes. Everything." Lauren leaned back in her seat and braced for the response that she knows is coming.
"No, you're right. In a way all of this is foreign to me. Human food is just that food. The wine and liquor are just drinks. It would take a lot for me to be drunk off of my ass but I never need to be. I don't need to hide from anything. Or shall I say, I don't need to unwind from anything. You are otherworldly too, dear lady. You called to my succubus before I ever saw you. You talked to her when others would run. If that's not ballsy and foreign, then I don't know what is." Isabeau smiled as the main course was set before them.
"To be honest, I wasn't as confident as I looked, but I took the chance that it would work." Lauren blushed at the thought.
"That's what makes you, you. You do things without immediately thinking about the consequences. While I don't think she would ever raise a hand to you, it's adorably gutsy." Isabeau smiled and cut into her meat.
The doctor had looked at her plate and noticed she was all but finished with her food. She looked at Isabeau's and saw that the succubus hadn't been eating as quickly as she had been. "You don't have to do that."
"Yes, I do. You still have a few bites left." Isabeau used her steak knife to point with.
"You don't have to finish your food. It's ok." Lauren picked up her glass and drank. She set it down and downed the rest of her food.
"This is the perfect dish on the perfect date. No, I will finish this." Isabeau laughed and eyed the woman as she took a huge bite.
Lauren shook her head and leaned back with her wine glass in her hand. A lump caught in her throat as she watched the succubus again. Beautiful beyond words. Innocent and tenured. She didn't speak, she just looked up and nodded whenever Lauren would ask something. Her answers were never no. She doesn't know if the woman knows that word when it comes to her. That she would ever deny her of anything that she asked for.
She thought about that night at the Dal. She had simply come to give Trick an update on a case she had been working on for him. Then the succubus in front of her appeared in front of her asking for a seat. She granted her wish, grabbed her bag and left. To be honest, she felt something when the woman took the seat she had sought after. There was a quiet, raging warmth about that moment. Just like that moment she is having right now. How can anything so beautiful be contained in a human body?
"You're doing it again, huh?." Isabeau laughed. Lauren smiled and gently waved her hand. "You don't have to say anything, Lauren. You may study me as many times as you wish to. It's flattering really. A woman as beautiful as you is studying me." She smiled and took her last bite of food.
"It is good that's your last bite. You need to hurry and get Dougie on the phone." Lauren set her glass down and wiped her mouth with her napkin.
"Do I look bad?." Isabeau froze.
"Not at all. I just know you need to feed. I'm a doctor. I can't help it." Lauren stood so that would force the succubus to stand too. Just like she thought, the woman was up on her feet and throwing the tip on the table.
"I had planned to call him within a few hours." Isabeau looked out of sorts for the first time since the doctor had known her.
"We can dance if you want to kill some time." Lauren waved her hand towards the dancefloor. "She can wait a little longer. That's my doctor brain opinion."
"No time with you is wasted but sure, let's dance." Isabeau smiled and took the hand that was waiting for her own. She gasped when their bodies touched. The doctor was soft and warm in her arms. She looked the woman dead in her eyes and could have sworn they changed colors but knew it must be the lights from the disco balls hanging above and around them. "Sorry, I didn't know what type of music you wanted, so I ordered everything to be on standby."
"Studio 54 used to be my shit." The Morrigan laughed just a few feet away from them.
"Unless you are ready to die. Do not approach us. Namely, Lauren." The succubus growled.
"I just made an observation. No need to be testy, succubus. I could really use your skillset with the Dark Fae. You have no patience or time for bullshit. You'd immediately fit in." The Morrigan stood far enough away to prevent a sudden attack. The succubus growled and the music stopped.
"Go call him. I got this." Lauren pulled back and pushed the succubus away from her. "Go. Now."
The Morrigan watched the moment and smiled. "My, my doctor, what skills you have."
"Evony, it would suit you well to walk away from us. Find another part of this restaurant to haunt." Lauren straightened her outfit and turned to the woman.
"It would also suit you well to refer to me as the Morrigan. Just because she freed you doesn't mean you should have lost your manners among us." The brunette tapped her heel on the floor.
"You have wanted a succubus for years. We have all always known that. But you won't get that one." Lauren stood firm and tall.
"My game is centuries older than yours. She just needs a little more convincing. I can offer her far more than you can. But let me be clear, it's not sexual. It's a business arrangement. An insurance policy in case the Light thinks they can suddenly start shit with me." The Morrigan never moved. She almost admired the human's moxie. Too bad it had come years too late. She would have been in her labs had the Ash not won out on who got to own her.
"I don't normally do violence but you need to leave. I can make that succubus come out at will and you would be dead. Melted mush like the shit you have left on the streets for years. Now, let me be clear. She is mine. Sexually or not. She is mine. All of her. Get out of our space and you may live to see tomorrow. If not, this former Medical Examiner of the Light will and can easily report your cause of death to the new ME." Lauren never needed to turn around to see if Isabeau had returned. She had grown used to her walk. When she was calm and when she was upset. The doctor suddenly turned and swung, knocking an ogre on his ass. "You're too big and clumsy to attempt a surprise attack." She laughed.
"I warned you." Isabeau's succubus growled as she turned her palm upwards and drained the man. When another was about to grab Lauren, the doctor ducked out of his reach. "I just had this cleaned." Isabeau screamed and suddenly the three of them were the only ones left in the building. Lauren raised her palm and blue eyes turned brown.
"What the fuck!?." The Morrigan screamed. She looked around for help. For something or someone to whisk her safely out of there.
"I told you. She is mine. Now, go find your own but I wouldn't suggest Aife. She's important to me too." Lauren never turned back towards the woman. She kept her eyes on Isabeau. "Did you get enough?."
"Not even close to being nearly enough." The succubus lunged for the doctor and kissed her. She didn't feel her succubus about to surface this time but she knows she's enjoying this moment just as much. She pulled back so the doctor can get some breaths but the doctor immediately pulled her back.
Minutes later.
"What the hell do you want?." The Morrigan scoffed.
"It appears that you and I have something in common. We want that succubus." Kenzi stood just a few feet from the woman's limo.
"Girl, go back to your barbie dolls. This is one war, your human ass can't fight in." The Morrigan laughed. "But, should you find or hear some intel that I can use, call me."
"She won't be needing this. Thank you, Morrigan." Dyson grabbed the card before Kenzi could.
"Dude." Kenzi groaned.
"Kenz, what have you done?." The wolf whispered.
"Fucked up. That's what she's done. The Queen's daughter shall hear of this. See this, shall I say?" A stranger laughed as he pocketed his phone and disappeared. Dyson closed his eyes. He never needed to pray but this is a bigger mess than he could get her out of by himself. He snatched his phone from his pocket. "Trick...".
"I already know! Bring Kenzi to me, now!."
TBC.