The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death

[ladydeathfaerie]

Title: The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
Chapter Twenty Two: Playing House
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar. all beta work, plot bunny shooting and ass spanking is being done by Gin. 

The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link 

The room was heavy and thick with silence as everyone learned how to breathe again. Rhiannon watched Richard with wide eyes, shocked at the way he'd nearly attacked Minette. She'd never seen him so irrational before, and that was saying something. Frowning, the man was staring down at Aedan, who still had her weapon trained on him. Even though she looked as if she were dead on her feet, her hand was steady and the barrel never wavered from the center of his forehead. And her eyes... Jesus, God. There was nothing in them. Not the anger that had been in her voice when she'd spoken. Not fear of the idea that Richard could turn on her before she could shoot. Nothing.

Her eyes were completely empty.

Rhiannon felt herself shudder and there was suddenly a hand on her shoulder. She turned and found herself staring up into a pair of concerned lavender eyes. Offering a smile to Nathaniel, she let him lead her away from the tense couple at the center of the room. They stopped at the outer edge and he carefully drew her against him. His arm dropped to hang between them, but he was silently offering her his warmth and comfort. She was suddenly grateful for it because this was beyond her ability to deal with.

"If you ever threaten one of my own like that again," Aedan whispered to him, voice now as empty as her eyes. Richard stared down at her, anger continuing to mask his face. Even from where she stood, Rhiannon could see the wolf still shining out of the taller man's eyes. "If you even look at Minette wrong, I'll break the promise I made Anita and I'll shoot you. Silver shot. Right through the center of the forehead. One shot. And you'll drop like a stone. Do I make myself clear?"

"That little bitch kept important information from me. It could have meant injury to one of my wolves," Richard growled at her. The gun inched forward until Aedan was nearly on top of him. She was so close. If Richard lost his temper again, he could easily rip Aedan to shreds.

"The information wasn't hers to give, Richard. It was mine," Aedan informed him carefully. Rhiannon saw her finger flex on the trigger, as if she were still debating actually shooting him. "You had no right to scare her the way you did. Do not make me regret making a promise that I can't keep."

"Who was capable of giving me that information?"

"That would be me. I'm the authorities. It was my call."

"Then you should have called me. You should have called me as soon as you knew." The growl was back in his voice and Rhiannon could see the muscles in his shoulders bunch. She watched as his hands flexed. Christ, he was going to go after Aedan.

"I told Aedan to go get some sleep," Minette finally spoke. Richard's head moved slowly toward the smaller woman, as if he were scenting her location. "She was exhausted and ready to collapse. I was concerned about her well-being."

"So the bitch with the gun is more important than the lycanthropes in the city? Your own people?"

"The bitch with the gun is the one trying to protect your worthless hide, wolf," Aedan replied quietly. "The bitch with the gun is the one who fucking realized that your people were the ones being targeted. The bitch with the gun is the one who told the fucking cops to make sure your people were looked out for."

"Aedan is my family, Richard. Her health is as important to me as the pard. As important to me as Jason."

"Jason is my wolf," he snapped. "He's my responsibility."

"And that's how you deal with your responsibilities? By throwing them into a wall when you don't agree with something they've done? Jason is my wolf," Minette stressed, eyes seeking Jason out. He was settled into a chair and Micah had a towel pressed to his forehead. "Anita gave him to me. Not to you. Not to Jean Claude. To me. And if I hadn't promised to protect your sorry ass, I'd gut you. Ulfric or not."

"You aren't cat enough to gut me," Richard shot back.

"She's Nimir-Ra, wolf-boy," Aedan informed him quietly. The room fell silent and they knew the exact moment he stopped processing that bit of information. There was a look in his eyes that could almost be considered a hang dog expression. "And she's Jean Claude's cat. She has plenty of power. She's more cat than you are wolf."

"That isn't helping, Aedan. Put the gun away," Micah said over his shoulder, She didn't acknowledge him. Instead, she inched the gun higher.

"Micah's right, Aedan. Holding a gun on him isn't going to calm him down any," Rhiannon said, hoping her voice was soft and non-threatening. If anything, the woman's grip tightened on the gun.

"Aedan, please," Minette touched her friend's arm. "You know you can't shoot him."

"I'll feel better if this weapon is between the two of you. If I'm between the two of you."

"Aedan," Minette tried again. "You're only human. He could kill you."

"Then I'll take him with me. That'll save Jean Claude the trouble of doing anything with him after I'm dead," she whispered. The room went still, silent as death as Aedan stared at Richard over the top of her gun.

"You're fucking crazy. You don't have the same speed I do," Richard replied, the smile on his face not very nice.

"I have nothing to lose, Richard. Can you say the same?"

"This is getting out of control," Minette looked around the room. She turned a pleading gaze on both Micah and Jason. It was plain to see by the look on her face that she wanted someone to help her. Both men moved to her side. Micah took up his position as her Nimir-Raj, standing on her left. Jason took the right and the three of them merely watched the other man. Nathaniel slipped away from Rhiannon's side and moved to where Aedan stood.

"Come on, Aedan. Let it go," Nathaniel's voice was soft and gentle. Slowly, carefully, he lifted his hand and curled it over the barrel of the gun. Aedan's eyes never left Richard's but she allowed him to press the weapon down until it hung at her side, her grip on it almost lax. "You should go back to bed. You look horrible."

"I won't leave her alone with him," Aedan replied, but she said it through a yawn.

"He wouldn't dare hurt me here, Aedan. This is Jean Claude's house. He'd have to deal with the Master of the City then," Minette told her softly, though her eyes never left the man standing in front of her. Rhiannon could see the fear had leaked away, being replaced with Minette's own brand of strength. Richard had threatened her family. It appeared there was no worse crime to Minette than having someone threaten her family. Minette was changing from a frightened kitten to a snarling leopard protecting her pard even though nothing physical was happening.

Rhiannon moved to Nathaniel's side and convinced Aedan to take a seat on the edge of the bed. When his hand reached for the gun, Aedan's hand tightened on the butt and refused to allow him to take it. Rhiannon looked up at him and shook her head. There were some things he wasn't going to be able to do and taking her weapon from her was obviously one of them. For the time being, this was the best they could hope for.

"You have no right to come bursting in here the way you did. You have no right to challenge me before my people," Minette told Richard in a quiet voice. She stepped forward, stepped into him the way Aedan had. Rhiannon had been around enough lycanthropes to understand what she was doing. It was time to play the dominance game and Minette was going to assert hers.

"Aedan isn't one of your people," Richard rumbled, not quite ready to give up his anger. Minette looked so tiny beside him, but her power swelled and filled the room. It was almost enough to choke on. Very slowly, as if she were afraid to let it happen any faster, Minette shifted one hand into wicked claws and held them up in front of him. Richard almost took a step back.

"Aedan put her life on the line for my pard. She protected my people. As far as I'm concerned, that makes her one of my people. And my only thought this morning was protecting my people. She was ready to drop. Whatever she saw at that crime scene last night..." Minette paused and swallowed. "No one should have to live with the shit that's in her head. So I did what I thought was best. I told her to go to bed, that she wouldn't be of any use to the pard or the pack by pushing herself."

"Trust me, Ulfric," Aedan whispered and it was plain to hear in her voice that she was lost in whatever she'd seen at the mentioned crime scene. "You don't want to see what I saw. I don't know if you could live with it. I know I fucking can't."

"I don't care. You had a duty to the pack to keep us informed. You should have..." Richard began, his gaze swinging to the bed. Rhiannon saw a flash of shock swim across his face when he really took a look at the woman who was practically asleep between her and Nathaniel. She was leaning on his shoulder, the gun still clasped in her hand and resting almost absently in her lap.

"And I protected you by keeping you from being dragged out of bed at four in the morning for something that may have been a false alarm. How the fuck was I supposed to know some vagrant was going to hide outside Janika's house and try to kill Asher? Of course you don't give a shit that Anita spent her last dying breath asking us to protect him the same way she asked for you. What a dumbass I was, saying yes to a dying woman's last request. Promising to protect people I'd never met. Fuck you, Ulfric. Fuck you."

Richard blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Part of the reason no one called you at four in the morning is because we had to concern ourselves with saving Asher's life," Micah said softly. "He almost died. If Aedan had done what she'd wanted to, she'd have been at your house, talking to you while Asher died in Jean Claude's arms. She healed the wound and saved his life."

"Why do you think she looks so bad?" Jason glanced at the woman and frowned. Aedan was almost asleep on Nathaniel's shoulder. "She used power like crazy to save him. I've never felt anything like that."

"What happened?" Richard's voice had lost the anger and now held concern and confusion.

"Some homeless fuck stabbed him with a silver blade. It was only pure luck that the son-of-a-bitch didn't stab him in the heart," Aedan shifted and sat up. She seemed a little more awake and Rhiannon watched as she thumbed a small lever on the side of the gun. The witch hoped it was the safety and the other woman was clicking it on. Standing, the red-head settled the gun in Nathaniel's hand and stepped away from him, toward the group on the other side of the room. "But it took everything I had and then some to repair the damage and keep him from dying permanently."

"You had to borrow power?" Rhiannon asked. She'd heard it was possible, but she'd never met anyone who could do it.

"I had to borrow power. It was only supposed to come from Minette. But she somehow acted as a focus and I took power from her, Micah and Jason. When I was done, even they were a little weak. Jean Claude tried to get me to bed, but I had other ideas," Aedan explained.

"What did happen after we went to bed?" Micah asked her curiously. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. Rhiannon noticed that now, with the gun no longer in her grasp, they shook just a little.

"I called in a favor and had someone go look around at Janika's apartment..."

"Aedan! You didn't?" Minette stared at her.

"I didn't have a choice, Minette. Someone had just tried to kill Asher. I'd have gone myself, but I wouldn't have been able to hold my gun, much less fire it. He was the only one I trusted to do it for me. I sent Merle with him."

"You what?" Minette's eyes went wide. "Aedan, what the hell?..."

"What are you talking about? Where did you send Merle?" Micah asked, his voice holding a hint of annoyance. Aedan sighed and took up a defensive stance, legs spread and arms crossed over her chest.

"I called Edward and asked him to check around Janika's apartment for any clues. And I sent Merle with him. I also told him that if anything happened to Merle, I would have his balls. The threat amused him. But he didn't hurt Merle and they both brought back more information than I expected. Edward also brought the weapon back. We're lucky Asher didn't die before he got back to us."

"What did they find?" Nathaniel asked quietly. Everyone turned to him, as if they'd forgotten he was in the room. "I want to know, Aedan. What did they find?"

"Someone is stalking Janika," she sighed and moved to slump into the chair Jason had been sitting in. "Whoever he is, he's homeless."

"I knew I smelled something on Asher," Micah frowned. "I just couldn't place it at the time. I was too concerned by what was going on."

"This homeless guy stood outside of Janika's bedroom and listened while she and Asher had sex. Merle said he smelled ejaculate at the scene. And there was blood. And the knife. The hilt was damaged, but... It was a cross. I mean it was shaped as a cross. The design was easy to see even with the crumpled handle," Aedan leaned forward, put her elbows on her knees. Buried her face in her hands. "There was a symbol on it, etched into the blade just under the guard. This whole thing smells of some right-wing religious group."

"A hate group, you mean," Nathaniel corrected.

"Yes. And it just gets juicier. The symbol on the knife was carved into the back of the female victim we found last night. The attack on Asher was instigated by the same people who are responsible for this woman's death."

"What aren't you telling me about it, Aedan?" Richard asked, his voice steady and even. If he was angry, he'd hidden it away. Rhiannon studied him and saw the man he was supposed to be watching the slouched form of the necromancer with concern and a genuine desire to understand what was going on.

"I can't tell you everything. Official police business. There are some details that they'll keep to themselves. But this one... You have to know. This group knows how to kill a lycanthrope. And it would appear they know how to kill a vampire. The woman's body... They tortured her with silver, Richard. They knew and..." Aedan fell silent and swallowed hard enough that everyone heard her. Even Rhiannon heard the clicking of her throat.

"How bad, Aedan?" Nathaniel was the one who asked the question. She shook her head, lifted it to look at everyone in the room even though Rhiannon didn't believe she actually saw them. Her face was ghostly pale and the exhaustion poured off of her in waves. Aedan finally focused on them. She shook her head again. She looked like she was going to be ill. For a moment, Rhiannon thought that Minette would be the one to go to her side. But Nathaniel slid from the bed.

He crossed the room to the chair and knelt before her. She stared at him, eyes wide and even Rhiannon could see that the other woman was hanging on to her sanity by a thread. Slowly, as if he were afraid of startling her, Nathaniel reached out to lay his hand on her knee. When she didn't move, he lifted his other hand to touch her face. For a moment, it looked as if she were going to pull away. Aedan tensed, every inch of her freezing under what Rhiannon imagined had to be the gentlest of touches. Then the tension fled and Aedan relaxed, her body slumping into the hands that offered her whatever it was she needed. "How bad, Aedan?" he asked her again.

"It was bad enough that I think I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life," she whispered. Rhiannon watched Nathaniel with a sense of wonder. He was treating Aedan with kid gloves, offering his strength to her silently. Rhiannon didn't think that it was something Aedan would normally accept. But she was allowing the young leopard to do something she desperately needed and would never ask for. How he'd known she'd need something like that, Rhiannon couldn't say. She did know, however, that it added a dimension to the image of Nathaniel that was growing in her mind. An image of a young man constructed of many layers, alternating levels of strength of will and strength of character. She found that she liked that a great deal.

"Micah was supposed to put the word out today through the coalition. But since you're here, you get to hear it first," Aedan sighed again, abruptly straightening from Nathaniel. If he took offense to her actions, he didn't show it. But he did get up and moved back to his place on the bed beside Rhiannon. "The lycanthropic community is in danger. And so, too, are the vampires. I think last night proves that beyond a doubt. You all need to be careful. Try not to go out alone. Keep the weaker members of your pack close, Richard. Be the king they need and keep them safe."

"I'll do what I can," he nodded.

"I'm waiting on information from Dolph. He was going to dig into this, check around and see if he could find anything at all."

"Speaking of, Aedan," Jason interrupted. "Dolph called. He wants you to call him back as soon as you can. He says its important and related to the body from last night."

"Okay."

"You should get more sleep, Aedan. You still look zonked. I think last night took more out of you than you realize," Minette said.

"I've got to protect you," the woman replied without missing a beat. Minette frowned at her.

"Aedan, you used a great deal of power," Micah told her. "You used more power than you thought you'd need. You have to rest and recoup what you lost."

"Aedan, you can't protect any of us if you're a zombie," Minette crossed to her friend. Rhiannon could see the teasing look in the shorter woman's eyes, as if she'd fallen back into an old joke. Whatever the case, it must have worked. Aedan actually managed a smile.

"If I look that bad, all the make up in the world isn't going to fix it. I've got phone calls to make. Then I'll sleep. I promise. I've got three clients tonight. Can't raise the dead without a clear head."

"You'd better pick someone to snack on, too," Nathaniel suggested. "After the show you gave last night, you're going to have to feed the arduer."

Aedan frowned and glared at the wall for a moment, then heaved a sigh and gave Nathaniel her attention. "And who's my designated snack for today?"

"I am," Nathaniel replied. Rhiannon watched as something slid through Aedan's eyes and she shook her head. "Aedan..."

"No, Nathaniel. Just no," she shook her head again, then looked at Micah. "I want him off the list. Send Gregory to me. Or Noah. Hell, I'll even take Zane. Just take Nathaniel off the list."

"We don't have enough members in the pard to keep feeding you, Aedan. Every time you raise a zombie, you need to feed. You're weakening the pard and taking one of them off the list is only going to make it worse," Micah told her softly. Aedan's eyes darkened and she shot a very unfriendly look Micah's way.

"This is why Gideon would be helpful," Minette told him, drawing his attention away from the necromancer.

"You can't be serious about that," Richard frowned. When Minette leveled her gaze on him, it was plain to see that she was very serious about it. For a second or two, it looked like Richard was going to get angry again, that he was going to have a serious fit. But he finally heaved a sigh and raked his hands through his hair. "He belongs to Padma. You can't be serious. That's just asking for trouble."

"Gideon has power to spare, Richard," Minette explained. "The pard needs that power. And, if what happened last night is any indication, I can maybe distribute the power among us. There isn't anyone else in town that has the kind of power that Gideon represents."

"The pack has that kind of power," Richard told her. Even Aedan gaped at that. She was also the one who recovered first.

"Generous offer, Richard. Are you included in it?" she asked. The look she got from him would have frightened another person.

"No one feeds off me."

"Don't offer your people up as sacrifices to our needs if you can't put yourself on the menu, Richard," Aedan told him. The sentence was harsh even though the words weren't. She looked at him for a moment. "A good leader leads by example, Richard. If you can't feed either one of us, then what's the point of ordering your people to do it for you?"

"They do what I tell them," he said evenly. Rhiannon prayed that his lack of temper would last. One of his big hands motioned to where Minette stood. "Besides, she's already turned me down. Why offer myself when no one will take me up on it?"

"I'm sorry if I hurt your pride, Richard. But the arduer didn't want you. And, to be perfectly honest, you remind me too much of the man who made me. Between that and the fact that you just attacked my boyfriend, I don't think there's much hope that I'll ever be willing to bed you," Minette explained.

"She isn't the only one who carries the arduer, you know," Aedan's voice was cool and almost empty. When every one turned to her, there was a curious expression on her face. She offered Richard a smile, a real smile, and stepped closer. "Put yourself on the menu and I'll take you to bed."

"Aedan, are you cracked?" Minette squeaked.

"No. I'm not. Because this isn't about helping us so much as it is about scoring brownie points with Jean Claude. Right?" They watched as she took the last few steps that would close the distance between them, until Aedan was as close to Richard as she had been before. Only this time, there was no gun between them. "You've lost your place with the Master of the City and that doesn't sit well, does it? You want the opportunity to win some of that back. You don't want to simply be a wolf at his beck and call. You want to be top dog. Losing your place to Minette, to a cat, has to be humiliating. If you were to freely offer your wolves to us as snacks, then that would make you appear generous to Jean Claude. It would make you happy to be important like that again. Wouldn't it?"

Richard said nothing. He didn't need to. The tightening of muscles at the corners of his eyes and mouth spoke for him. Aedan had either hit the nail on the head or she'd come so damn close, it might as well have been on the head. Rhiannon watched as the other woman leaned into him and laid a hand on his chest. She waited for a flutter of jealousy to hit her, but it didn't. In the past four or five days, the two of them had been as close as possible. At least sexually. And that had been all.

They'd been intimate enough to make some of the more jaded whores of the world blush. But she'd realized fairly quickly that there was some essential spark missing in their relationship. The truth was, they'd come together more out of mutual grief than out of a true sense of passion for one another. Lust wasn't enough to base a real relationship on. It generally only leant itself to sex. Granted, it was excellent sex. But it was still only sex. And Rhiannon knew she wanted more. That she needed more. Despite their amazing sex, there wasn't anything else between them. And there was nothing to be jealous about.

"Put yourself on the menu, Ulfric. That's the only way I'll let Jean Claude consider such a deal. You won't be allowed to offer up your people and not yourself. That's the way it has to work," Aedan informed him, close enough to him that she could probably tell what his religion was without looking. She offered him that genuine smile again. "You only need to play snack once, Richard. After that, you're off the hook and your people would be enough. But you have to be willing before hand."

"Just once?" Richard asked. Aedan nodded. For a moment, the wolf king was silent. Then a sly smile spread across his face. "What happens if you find you like it too much to let it be just once?"

Aedan's smile disappeared, replaced with a deep and steady frown. She stepped back from him, put distance between the two of them. "Your choice, Richard. Yes or no."

Everyone held their breath as they waited for Richard to answer her. He took his time, gave deep consideration to the proposal. After what felt like a lifetime, he finally nodded his head. "Once. That's all."

"Done," Aedan agreed before stifling a yawn. "I need to go make some phone calls, then go back to sleep. Tonight will be long enough without getting some rest."

Jason stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He handed it over to Aedan wordlessly. She nodded at him and tucked it into a pocket. Then she collected her gun from Nathaniel, who handed it over wordlessly. Richard looked at her. "If we have a deal, I'll send Stephen in to you. He's here visiting his brother."

"No. Not when he's dating Vivian," Aedan shook her head as she started for the door.

"They aren't dating anymore," Nathaniel interjected. She blinked at him.

"Yeah. They broke up about a month ago," Jason added.

"She's going out with Merle now," Micah finished.

"Yeah. Okay. Whatever," Aedan finally said. Without another word, she continued out the door. When she was gone, Richard turned to look at Minette.

"Are you still going to use Gideon for power?" he asked.

"Of course I am. I'd be stupid not to try and grab a little of that power for us while I have the opportunity," Minette nodded. Then she offered him a sly smile. "Besides, its good to encourage friendships with other branches of the lycanthropic community. That's what the coalition is all about and I am a member. I'd only be doing my part."

~*~*~*~*~

"You're sure you want to do this?" Micah asked one last time before Gideon arrived. Minette looked at him and nodded, trying hard not to give away her nervousness with fidgeting hands. Not that he wasn't aware of how she felt. It was one thing to talk about it, another entirely to actually do it. "There's still time to back out, Minette. You don't need to go through with it."

"After that big speech I made about power?" she smiled at him and shook her head. "I can't turn back. The pard needs this, Micah. And the arduer needs it. I can feel it lurking, waiting. Better I feed it now, before I lose control of it. And better with someone who isn't one of our friends. I don't want to hurt Gideon, but I want to hurt one of our own even less."

"I know, Minette," he sighed, then crossed the distance to pull her into his arms. She went willingly, allowed him to hug her close. The scent of him helped her relax and she slowly melted into his embrace. "I just want you to understand that you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

She smiled up at him and he eased into a kiss that was sweet and chaste. Before she could do anything to make it something more, he drew away and let her go. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Minette frowned. She was losing it. She hadn't heard or even smelled anyone approaching while Micah had. Maybe the arduer was closer to the surface than she thought. She took a moment to straighten her clothes while he moved to answer the door. Jason stood there, Gideon just behind him. Micah nodded and motioned the man in. Jason let Gideon enter first, then followed behind him. Gideon looked around in confusion.

"I thought..." he began.

"There are some things you need to understand before anything happens between you and Minette. A few rules and explanations that have to happen. If you can't agree to any of it, then there'll be no sex," Micah explained.

"Okay," Gideon crossed his arms over his chest and cast a serious glance at them. "What can't I do?"

"It isn't so much about you as it is about me," Minette told him. Gideon's face showed his confusion. She motioned him toward one of the chairs in the room. He moved and sat, his curiosity growing by the second.

"When Anita gave me some of her powers, she inadvertently handed me the arduer. Right now, I need to feed it. It isn't so bad that I'll lose control of it, but the minute I get into bed," she sighed and shook her head. "The power is new to me. Both the arduer and my position as Nimir-Ra. I never used to be this powerful. Anita's gifts changed a few things. I'm still trying to learn how to control my power. And while I'm doing a good job of it in most places, bed is one of the few that I still have trouble with."

"Because you lose yourself in the sex," he concluded. Minette nodded. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I don't want to hurt you, Gideon. But I intend to feed the arduer off you. As long as you agree. If you don't, then nothing will happen."

"So you brought me here to use me as a snack?" he asked her. When she nodded again, he gave her a frown. "That's all? You didn't really want to..."

"Oh, no!" Minette shook her head and blushed. "No. I did want to... I mean I do. Shit. This isn't coming out the right way."

"What Minette means, Gideon, is she was serious in her offer to you. She merely wanted you to know that she was going to feed off of you. She didn't want to go into this without making sure you understood everything," Micah explained. He motioned to Jason with one hand. "We'll both be present. Because Minette doesn't trust herself not to hurt you. So she needs someone to keep an eye on her."

Gideon stared at them for a few moments, obviously giving thought to everything he'd been told. Minette waited with her hands curled into one another, trying to keep herself from marking her nervousness by showing it with a telling gesture. It was bad enough that he could smell it on her. She didn't want him to see it. After what felt like an eternity, he offered them a smile. "I guess I can play snack to the kitten, so long as she doesn't eat me up. And I guess I'll have to live with the two of you watching over us," he said and rose to his feet. "However, if we're going to do this, we should probably do it before Padma wakes up. I don't know how he'd react to it and there's a chance he might try to control me."

Minette turned to look at Micah and Jason. Both, though unhappy with the situation, gave her a nod of encouragement. Giving her attention back to Gideon, she stepped closer to him, staring up at him with a look of mild confusion. His smile slid into a grin and he reached out for her, drawing her into his embrace. "Strangers aren't your thing, are they?" he asked her softly. She shook her head.

"No. I'm not really big into..." she began, but he lifted a hand to lie against her mouth. She fell silent and stared up at him.

"We'll just have to take it one step at a time then, kitten," he told her quietly. She nodded and stared up at him, caught up by his gaze and the gentle smile that was playing at the corner of his lips. Their eyes held like that for a moment, the two of them simply staring at each other. Then Gideon bent toward her for a kiss. She went up on tip-toes to meet him and barely noticed when his hands curled over her arms and helped steady her. There was a moment of hesitation while he tried to pick the right spot, then his head tilted to the side and his lips took hers.

The kiss was soft and gentle, a sweet touch meant to soothe and relax. It worked. Minette found herself leaning into him, found her hands climbing up his chest to grasp at his shoulders. Slowly, as if he were afraid he'd break her, his arms slid around her waist so that he could press her against him. She was shocked to find that he was already hard. The idea that she'd turned him on so quickly was like an aphrodisiac and she felt desire kindle deep inside.

Her arms slid around his neck while his hands dropped to her ass. The heat of his palms scorched her flesh through the denim of her jeans. His fingers curled, cupping her cheeks, and he pulled her upward so that he didn't have to stoop into the kiss any longer. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on to him so that she could explore his mouth more fully. When his tongue pressed her lips, she opened to him on a soft moan and let him in.

Minette's head swam with growing need. Gideon's kiss was slow and masterful, demanding that she give everything to him without forcing her to do so. He drew her passions from deep inside of her and brought them to the surface. She'd thought that it would be hard to slip into the proper frame of mind for sex with Gideon knowing that both Micah and Jason were in the room with her. But the touch of his mouth on hers, the way his tongue stroked the interior of her mouth, the feel of him against her and the scent of his arousal was working together to push their presence from her head.

When he broke away to gasp for breath, she could see that the orange that spiked his eyes was swallowing the yellow, his tiger shining through in them. She suspected that her own had gaze had gone from normal human green to the sparkling emerald of her leopard. Caught in his embrace, staring up into his face, she suddenly understood why she'd made that comment the night before. The feline within wanted him.

Desperately.

As if reading the need in her expression, he allowed her to slide from his grasp until her feet touched the floor. Wordlessly, he reached for the shirt she wore and began working it up over her head. His motions were slow and controlled as he casually dragged the garment off of her and tossed it into the corner. She could see his eyes darken further as he stared down at her breasts, encased in silk and lace. A sigh left her when his hands lifted, forming to the shape of her breasts. Weighing them. Thumbs stroked across her nipples, tightening them and drawing a shudder up her spine. His hands shifted until they were behind her back. It took him only a few moments to unhook her bra and relieve her of it. It joined the rest of her clothes in the corner.

She could only watch as he dropped his attention and his hands to the waist of her jeans. He carefully slid the button from its hole. Slowly dragged the zipper down. His hands pushed at the denim and he followed them to the floor until he knelt before her. He lifted her feet, one at a time, and pulled the jeans away from her ankles. They joined her shirt in the corner. When he was finished, he remained kneeling before her, his gaze holding her own. Butterflies fluttered through her stomach as he leaned forward, sliding his arms around her waist so that he could press his face into her belly. The nip of his teeth drew a gasp from her and she buried her hands in his hair.

He was filled with patience as he carefully peeled her panties away from her, lips pressing tiny kisses to her flesh to soothe the tiny bites he made across her belly with the sharpness of his teeth. Her legs trembled and shook and she knew, without his hands there to hold her up, she would have tumbled to the floor like a rag doll. He rose to his feet, all feline grace. Hungry predator.

"Undress me," he ordered softly. Minette found herself obeying without thought. Her hands moved with the same slow, fluid motions that his own had used to remove her own clothes. His shirt was stretched across his shoulders and she allowed her fingers to trail up over his abdomen, ghosted them across his pecs and nipples, then traced the muscles in his triceps as she pushed the material up over his head.

The need for him drove her hands so that she nearly tore the button off his jeans. His chuckle rumbled through the room and brought her attention back up to his face. He was watching her with amusement, sending a rush of color up to stain her cheeks. "We have some time, kitten. No need to rush just yet."

She nodded and drew a breath, trying to bring her racing heart back under control. She wasn't sure it was possible, but she had to try. If she didn't, he could get hurt in her haste. Forcing herself to calm, she slowly slid the button free of its hole and pulled the zipper down. The jeans were old and well worn, dropping to his ankles with just a single tug of her hands. She vaguely made note that he hadn't been wearing any underwear. Her gaze was focused entirely on him.

Wow.

Gideon had broad, muscular shoulders. His chest was muscled, too, and drew the eye naturally down the line of his body to the narrow width of his hips. His legs had the appearance of power to them, as did his arms. There was an aura of natural grace that radiated from him, gathered over the years of his long life being bound to Padma. That grace was coupled with his own natural confidence. The woman in her responded to that in the same way that the cat in her responded to his animal scent growing heat.

He kicked his jeans away while reaching for her, his hand taking possession of hers. She allowed him to pull her toward the bed with him. When he sat, he left his thighs spread so that he could position her between them. His mouth took hers once more, delivering a kiss of such exquisite need that she thought she could climax just from the feel of it. Her arms slid up around his neck so she could press herself close to him. His hands explored the lean line of her back, fingers ghosting over each bump of her spine, tracing the flow of her ribs. Each touch was slow and precise, designed to draw the most intense of reactions from her.

The hunger between them grew, prompting her to lean further and further into his embrace. He toppled backward, taking her with him so that she lay fully on his chest. The cleft of her ass was nestled against the thick line of his cock. His skin against hers, his mouth on hers, his hands on her. All of it worked together to drive thought from her head until she was nothing more than living, breathing need. And she needed him.

A growl rumbled up her throat. She wasn't sure if it was meant as a warning or a plea. It didn't matter. It accomplished what she wanted. She found herself on her back, Gideon still kissing her, his body pressing hers into the bed. Her fingers fisted in his hair and tugged, urging his mouth away. His head lifted and she panted for air. Then gasped when his mouth closed over her throat, the sharp tips of his teeth barely breaking through the skin there.

Need warred with desire. The need to feel him inside of her opposed the desire to feel more of his mouth and hands on her body. She wanted him to stroke and pet her, to bring her closer to the edge before he tasted of her flavor, before he pressed himself into her and drove her up the mountain side into breathless wonder and blissful release. She writhed under him, trying to fight herself, trying to make this last as long as possible.

It occurred to her that she was perhaps being driven by the arduer, that it was what found him so devastatingly attractive. That it craved the power he offered. She didn't particularly care. He was careful and considerate, his hands questing ahead of his mouth. He'd already shifted his attention from her throat to a shoulder, his mouth nibbling along the bone while his hands stroked downward toward her breasts. She arched into that touch, pressed her breasts further into his palms. He rumbled his appreciation before pulling back from her shoulder.

When his mouth touched one hardened peak, she thought she would come undone. His teeth grazed the sensitive flesh as he suckled at her nipple, his other hand squeezing and manipulating the generous mound of flesh in its grasp. Oh God, she wanted more.

His lips, soft as silk, left off of her nipple to blaze a trail down over her abdomen. He stopped for a few moments to press tender kisses against her belly button. When his tongue dipped into the indentation, she arched, a gasp bursting from her throat. She writhed beneath him again, begging silently for more. His chuckle was silent, but it vibrated against her belly and shot hot need through her.

The tip of his tongue slid over the lower half of her stomach, tracing a line across her skin and through the curls between her thighs. Then it flicked over her clit and the world shattered around her. Until that moment, she hadn't realized just how close the edge she'd been. But the touch of his tongue as it passed against the tight bundle of nerves drove her into mindless pleasure. It exploded through her body, driving thought from her head as her limbs tried to tense and shake at the same time.

Before she had time to collect herself, Gideon had buried his face between her thighs. His tongue probed gently between her nether lips, pressing into her between the times his teeth caught the swollen folds between them and bit down just enough to bolt small amounts of pain through her system. When her hips lifted, his hands pressed them down against the mattress and held her there with ease. And he took his time tasting her, feasting on her as if she were the most expensive, finest of meals available. Each nibble, each flick of tongue, each press of lips pushed her closer and closer to the breaking point.

"Gideon, please!" she begged, voice a breathy whisper in the silence of the room. His mouth pressed against her flesh, tongue dipping deep to plunge into her time and again or to lick at her clit with slow, heavy strokes. Minette felt her lungs go tight and her limbs quiver. Heat flashed through her before the dam broke and pleasure rushed into every cell in her body. She came with a loud moan, hips pressing against his mouth despite the grip of his hands on them. Before she had the chance to collect herself, she was suddenly on her stomach and his hands were pulling at her waist.

Gone was the awkwardness that had marked their first kiss. Gone was any hesitancy or reluctance. In the place of those things was raw, unstoppered need. Both of them were caught up in the web of desire that had been crafted around them. There was a rumbling in Gideon's chest as he dragged her to her hands and knees before him. Minette felt an answering sense of wildness that had nothing to do with her desire. This was her beast, eager to break the constraints she'd placed on it and run free with the tiger. Her fingers curled into the bedding, clutched tightly at the material to help keep her grounded.

She could feel him behind her, his power eating at her skin as he struggled to control himself. She was sure that he was trying to resist the urge to simply fuck her, to keep himself from taking and taking without giving in return. With the loss of her shyness, she was consumed with the animalistic urge to mate. It was that need that saw her wiggling her hips, thrusting them back into him until she felt the hard, heated length of his cock slip against the wetness between her thighs. He didn't need any other invitation.

Despite the hunger beating at both of them, Gideon pressed himself into her body slowly, a bare inch at a time. His hands gripped her hips so tightly that she couldn't drive herself back. And she wanted to, wanted to impale herself on his length and fuck him until they came with such intensity that neither one of them would be able to move. But he wouldn't let her, simply held her in place with his strength while he carefully fed himself into her hungry center.

It felt like an eternity had passed before he was buried completely inside of her. Her body was stretched tight around him, eager for his first thrust, eager to feel him sliding in and out of her while driving them both toward their orgasm. She could feel the arduer building, slowly growing larger beneath her skin. It crept from her to collect around him, to sink into his skin and bring him to the very heights of madness that she knew were only a heartbeat away for herself. He tensed, telling her that he'd felt the magic take hold of him, and then held himself there for a long, excruciating minute where all Minette wanted was to feel him slam his hips into her and pound her into the mattress.

He drew back and held himself on the verge of leaving her body completely for several long seconds before driving into her again. She cried out and pressed back until he was fully buried inside. He set his pace, long and slow and steady. Each forward thrust saw him buried deeply within her. Each withdrawal saw the head of his erection caught just inside of her opening, on the very edge of slipping from her completely. And no matter how hard she tried to urge him faster, he kept his pace. He filled her slowly, made sure to stroke over every inch of her tight channel.

He was going to drive her mad.

The slow, steady pace held despite her mewling protests and blatant invitations, made with rocking hips against his own. He refused to give her more, continued to press into her with just enough force to feed the desire, but not enough to send it into flames within, to burst the bubble and draw forth her orgasm. And she wanted to come, needed to come so intensely that it nearly stole the pleasure of their joining.

He felt amazing inside of her, as if he'd been made just for her. Maybe the thought truly belonged to her. Maybe it belonged to the hunger of the arduer. She wasn't sure. Didn't care. Only wanted more, needed more, had to have more. "Gideon. Please!" she panted.

"Alright, kitten. All I wanted was to hear you beg me for it," he rumbled behind her. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him off, to tell him that he had no right keeping from her that which she desired. And then he thrust into her so hard that her arms almost gave out. The slowness was gone, as was the tenderness. Left in their place was hunger and raw need, the desire to take and to pleasure and to fuck. She welcomed it with a growl and drove her hips back into his.

Need spiraled out of control inside of her. Her beast prowled beneath the surface, anxious to be set free, to be given free reign. Minette struggled to keep it confined, struggled to concentrate on their bodies, joined by a delicious length of flesh that filled her completely. She needed to stay aware, needed to focus so she could feed.

Her body writhed against his, hips rocking back to meet each forward thrust, to take all of him into her. It was a heavenly feeling, her nerves on fire with need. That fire was spreading, slowly taking over each part of her until she felt as if she were nothing more than a burning vessel of desire. All she was, all she had been made for, was this. The passion and pleasure, the need and hunger. The steadily growing flames. They licked at her skin and begged for more fuel, begged for everything she could give them.

"Faster, Gideon. Harder. More," she panted in time with his strokes, arms trembling against the urge to collapse. Something prodded her to remain on all fours, to keep her head up. And the arduer was building inside of her, the alien and yet familiar feel of it swelling beneath her skin as it made itself ready. It knew he would feed them well, knew that it would give them such a rush. It wanted everything he could give them. It urged her to push him on, urged her to make him give them what they needed.

He complied with her demands, hips slapping against hers hard. Cock shoving into her deep and fast. Her muscles rippled around his invading length, sucked to keep him there and hold him tight. Tried to milk his orgasm from him. Tried to make him a part of her.

Sweat trickled out of her hair, rolling down over her cheeks and nose to her chin. She could feel it beading up on her back, at the crooks of her knees, along her neck and beneath her breasts. She could smell it on him, the sting of salt mixing with his own musk. The scent was enough to make her wild. She rocked into him harder, moaning open mouthed each and every time he struck deep inside of her.

Time had lost meaning, the room around her fading into the background. All she could feel, all she was concerned with, all she knew, was Gideon. His flesh against hers, inside of hers. The sound of his voice as it rumbled up his throat, soft sounds that belonged to the cat within. The heat of his body poured across hers, scalding her with its intensity. The feel of his desire slipped over her skin, coaxing her to give him more, silently asking that she let him have everything.

She rode him, rocked with him, clutched at him greedily. Hers. He was hers. That was all her body and mind could tell her beyond the thrum of power against her skin and the rush of pleasure beneath it. She was hungry. It was hungry. They were hungry. All she wanted to do now was to feed. To take what it was that would slake her needs.

Determination stole over her and she began working him. Each time he shoved himself into her, she squeezed her muscles down around him until it took effort for him to pull back. Each time cost her some of her precious control, but she didn't care. She was going to make him lose himself within her. She was going to make him give her what she wanted and needed. His cum, his power. She'd take his soul of she could.

The thoughts weren't hers, didn't belong to her. She knew, on some level, that it was the hunger that made her think such things. The arduer wanted him, all of him, wanted to consume every last bit of his power until she'd drained him dry.

It was coming, building to a fever pitch. Her body was primed, only needed a touch to send it over the edge. His wasn't far behind. Even through the lust and hunger induced haze, she could feel his rhythm speeding, faltering. He was close. So close. She imagined that his balls were tight and hard against his body, ready to spend himself inside of her. She writhed against him, working them both up toward the peak that lurked in the distance. And the arduer grew and swelled beneath her skin, preparing to pounce when she gave it the chance.

His breath plumed hot against her back, his hips picking up their pace. She mewled with pleasure, ignored the pain of their coupling. All she cared about was the pleasure he gave her, the feel of him inside of her. She was caught up in him, in the need and hunger. She needed to come, had to come, had to climax and suck him down. Needed to have him fill her. She... needed.

Her control faltered and the full arduer poured from her and into him. She felt as if she were caught in the middle of a room filled with nothing but power and pleasure. He stilled behind her a moment, then a growl rumbled up out of his throat and his hips flashed. Pain spiked through her, bringing the rush of sweet sensuality with it. Her body perched on the very edge. It would take little more than a touch to send her tumbling headlong into the waiting arms of fulfillment.

And he gave it to her, offered her the nudge that would send her screaming into the abyss. Gideon bent over her back, his sweaty skin pressing hers, until his mouth caught the back of her neck. She froze, tensed, shattered apart as she came with a scream. His teeth sank into her flesh while his cock swelled within her. His hips moved with short, sharp staccato bursts of strength while he filled her with his own release. She could feel the ropes of hot seed as they shot into her.

The arduer rose and fed, consuming them both. She could feel his power draining from him in the same way his ejaculate drained from him, Both the physical and metaphysical poured into her, filling her up until she was giddy and bloated on him. He collapsed, pressing her down into the mattress and pinning her beneath him. Still, it fed until she thought she'd explode with the power.

He was so heavy against her and she struggled to shift his weight off of her. She was full, sleepy and sated. When Gideon didn't move right away, Minette felt a thread of panic slip through her. She worried that she'd taken too much. But she couldn't get him off of her to be sure. If she didn't move him soon, she was going to freak out.

Micah and Jason were there, helping ease his body from hers. When she was free of him, Jason cuddled her against his chest. She chanced a look at Gideon and found him smiling, eyes fluttering as he fought exhaustion. She managed a faint smile. "I think I took too much," she whispered, glad to have Jason's sure and gentle touch on her arm.

"I'm fine, kitten. I just need a bit of rest and I'll be right as rain. That was... intense and amazing. It'll make a good going away present."

Minette smiled with relief and reached out to touch his face. Gideon roused himself long enough to reach for her hand with one of his own. He lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the palm. Then his arm flopped back down on the bed and he closed his eyes. "Should I have someone take you back to your room?" she asked him softly.

"There's no need, kitten. I'll manage on my own. All I ask is for a few moments to lay here and gather up my strength," he opened his eyes to look at her. She nodded and relaxed against Jason. Micah came around the bed and reached out to lay his hand on her cheek.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "You look power drunk."

"That was one hell of a feeding," she replied softly. She glanced again at Gideon, who was almost asleep. "I was afraid for a moment I'd hurt him."

"Judging by the smile on his face," Jason teased, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He looked at Gideon and chuckled. "I think you've just made a friend, kitten."

Minette shot him a look and shook her head. Leave it to him to tease her when she felt like she would burst. She couldn't be certain, but she thought she'd managed to draw enough power from Gideon to feed all of the pard. She just didn't know how to go about delivering it to them. It wasn't like there was a manual to explain all of the new and strange shit she could do. No instruction booklet that told her how to go about doing what she could do. For a moment, anger shot through her at Anita for putting her in this position. But she shoved it down and turned her focus to the bloated feeling of power that rippled under her skin.

"Minette?" Micah's voice was soft. She glanced up at him absently to find him frowning. "Is there something the matter?"

"I need to get rid of this power. I feel like I'm going to burst open. I just wish I knew how," she replied, still lost in thoughts of how to feed the borrowed power to the rest of the pard.

"Well, how did Aedan take it from us?" Jason sounded curious. She frowned and thought about it.

"I don't know. I think she just... took it." He merely nodded at the answer, but it was enough to make her think. When healing Asher, Aedan and seemed to simply concentrate and call the power to her. Maybe feeding the power back to the pard worked the same way, only in reverse.

Closing her eyes, she thought about every member of the pard, pictured their faces in her mind. One by one, an image of each of them rose in her head. She held them there while gathering up the power taken from Gideon, imagined touching each of them. A caress of the hand, a press of lips. She could almost feel their skin beneath hers and, with each touch, unwound the coiled mass of power and fed some to them. Imagined it passing, golden and pure, from her to them.

Each time she pictured such a thing, she felt a little less bloated.

Minette wound her way through each member of the pard, filling them with power until the only member left to feed was Micah. But there was more power than she needed for herself. Smiling, she leaned toward the Nimir-Raj and took his lips. He kissed her hungrily, allowed her to gift him with his share of the power. When he pulled back, his eyes were bright, pupils dilated with need. Then she turned to Jason, kissed him and repeated the same process.

Drawing away, Minette felt like herself again. She offered the two of them a smile, predatory and dangerous. She could get used to things like this. Kitten, indeed.