Seizing Darkness (Fur, Fangs, and Fairies)

by Mariana Thorn

  The Pierce County Sheriff arrived on the scene and came toward us. Uh oh, I thought. There were going to be a lot of questions. I’d dealt with enough humans the last few days to last me a lifetime. I looked around from the two officers that were approaching, to the dead body, to my companions.

  “Dante, you take care of this. I’ll stay with her,” Radek said quietly.

  Dante nodded and headed over to the police officers. I let out a sigh of relief that I wasn’t going to have to deal with them after all. I could almost kiss both of them in appreciation.

  I looked down. That’s when I noticed my arm. It was crooked. What is it about some injuries, that you don’t notice them until you look at them? The pain hit me in waves as I looked, doubling me over. If I had been able to, I would have shifted right then from the stress of the pain. It was lucky that it was my night. That also meant, however, that I wouldn’t heal as fast.

  Radek put his arm around me for support. His warmth enveloped me. That helped a great deal more than I would ever tell him or even wanted to admit to myself. His scent surrounded me again. I tried to concentrate on that smell. It was pleasant. He stood silently with me pressed into his side as we let Dante handle the officers.

  Dante said, “Hello, officers. I am Special Agent Dante Ramoni with the PIB.” He showed them his credentials.

  “I’ve never heard of the PIB,” one officer said gruffly.

  “Regardless. This involves one of our people, so we will be handling this investigation. Call your superiors if you must, but we have this covered. Thank you for coming out so quickly.” Dante was quite persuasive, but it wasn’t working on these men.

  I wanted to tell him to just use his vampire mind control thing on them, but I knew how he felt about it. Times like these I wished he would drop his moral code for a few minutes.

  “I’ll do that, and you three will stay here while I call this in,” the first officer said sternly.

  “Go ahead, but make it quick. We need to get her out of here,” Dante said.

  I was wondering if anything could break Dante’s calm demeanor. I tried to straighten up and Radek helped me. I could feel that my eyes had changed from the dark blue they usually were to the light sea-blue of my inner tiger. The dark shadows were jumping to life. My night vision was incredible when I was human, but when I was a tiger it was just as good as my day vision. This was not a good sign. I shouldn’t even be able to shift my eyes tonight. I must be in major distress for it to happen.

  “Ma’am? Are you all right?” the other officer asked.

  I hadn’t noticed that he’d been staring at me while his partner was radioing in. I knew that my voice would come out as a growl so I just nodded my head.

  “She will be well taken care of, and is not any of your concern,” Radek snarled.

  I knew he was being overprotective, but it brought me some comfort. I would never admit it, but I was a little scared. I wasn’t used to being this defenseless. It was unnerving. Having both Dante and Radek here helped. I knew they could protect me from almost anything.

  The officers studied Radek for a moment, as if seeing him for the first time and instantly disliking him. I didn’t feel up to answering their questions. I was clenching my teeth, making noises as I inhaled the ice cold air through them. My fangs had lengthened as well. I tried to calm myself.

  The firemen were getting the blaze under control, I noticed as I glanced past the officers. Finally, the answer came through to let us have the investigation. I felt Radek relax a bit.

  “Okay, that will be fine. Do you need to go to the hospital?” one of the officers asked me.

  I was having trouble controlling myself. I had an urge to bite him. Again, not a good sign. An injured shifter was a dangerous shifter. I trusted Radek and Dante to not let me do anything stupid though.

  “She’s in good hands,” Dante said smoothly. “I don’t want to cause any further unnecessary stress for her tonight. So if you wouldn’t mind, Special Agent Kirov will make sure she is taken care of.”

  The officer nodded. Radek started to walk me to a car that was parked haphazardly in my drive. The officers asked a few more questions of Dante, but I didn’t catch them.

  “Come along, Nat,” Radek said. “Did you manage to get anything out of there?” He motioned with his head toward the house.

  “Just my phone, but I dropped that when I was attacked.” I was having trouble forming the words with my elongated fangs.

  “I’ll have Dante find it. If he can’t find it, we can issue you a new one.”

  I hesitated at the passenger door, not wanting to get blood on his nice leather interior. “Just get in, Natalya,” he said. “It can be cleaned.”

  With a quick glance into his golden brown eyes, I settled into the seat. He was in the driver’s seat before I could blink. When he cranked up the heat, I noticed how cold I’d been. I started to shiver beneath his leather jacket. My bare toes felt like ice cubes. He turned on the lower vents and the warm air hit them. It felt good to my aching body.

  The car smelled like him. With my right hand I pulled his jacket closer around me, leaned my head back and closed my eyes. My arm hurt too much for me to sleep. I just held on, knowing that it couldn’t last forever.

  Chapter Four

  “Natalya? We’re here,” Radek said softly, rousing me from the trance I had sunken into. The pain had not allowed me to seek the blissful comfort of sleep.

  My eyes were heavy and felt like they were glued shut. When I raised my left hand to rub the grit out of my eyes, white, hot pain flashed through my body. Deep breaths helped. Soon the pain subsided to a manageable level. I used my other hand to clear my burning eyes. I felt disgusting. Blood, soot and dirt were plastered to my weary, battered body.

  It took a minute, but I finally noticed that Radek had my door open and was waiting for me. His expression held no emotion. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking and found myself wanting to know.

  “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, holding his hand out to me. I accepted it and slowly unfolded myself from the car. I held in my groan as every muscle in my body protested the movement. I didn’t want to give up the contact of his hand, but I did with a heavy sigh. The night shift was usually the busiest, but it was quiet as we walked through headquarters.

  I stumbled into the women’s locker room which was housed in the basement of the headquarters building. It gave me pause when I noticed that Radek had followed me in. “Hey, you can’t be in here.”

  “I have to clean your wounds and then set the break before you do anything else. Do you have clothes in your locker here?” His voice was low and soothing.

  How could I argue with that? After contemplating my predicament for a moment, I realized that I could not get myself fixed up. I grimaced. Setting my arm was going to be painful; just thinking about it made me feel ill. But I knew it had to be done.

  Then I remembered that I’d cleaned out my locker yesterday. I barely kept from saying something not very ladylike. This was just not my night, I thought. “They’re in my washer at home,” I muttered.

  He just raised his eyebrow at me and shook his head. “I’ll find you something. Let’s get your arm fixed up first. Hold tight for a second; let me get an emergency kit.”

  Was that amusement I saw in his eyes? It better not be, I thought. “That would be helpful,” I griped. I really wanted that shower.

  He was back in a minute, carrying a case with a big red cross on it. Dante followed him in.

  “Really, why did they even bother making separate locker rooms if you two insist on ignoring it?” I was snapping at them due to the pain, lack of sleep, and the anger that was seeping into my consciousness.

  “We could always go do this in either the men’s locker room or an interrogation room.” Radek gave me a look that told me he knew what I was feeling. Hell, he could probably smell the emotions coming off me.

  “This will be fine. So, Dante, do you have any information
on who just tried to kill me?”

  “Not yet,” he said sharply.

  He was a little touchy, I thought. I guess we were all a little on edge.

  “Come sit down,” Radek said, indicating the counter by the sinks. “We need to clean the wound first and get all the debris out. Give me your arm.”

  I went to the sinks and was trying to figure out how to jump up there without using my arm when I felt Radek’s hands on me. He lifted me and set me on the counter. I felt a rush of heat spread through my body at his touch.

  I gritted my teeth as he gently took my arm and examined it under the bright light. The bleeding had stopped, but the bone was still protruding through the skin. I took a chance and glanced at my arm, regretting it as soon as I did. It was a clean break, which was lucky, but rolling around on the ground had covered it in dirt and other debris.

  Dante’s phone rang. As he answered, we could all hear Val’s voice coming through the speaker, and man was he pissed off. I cringed. Val angry was a scary thing. The lower his voice was, the more enraged he was – and his voice was downright lethal right now.

  “What the hell happened? And why is Radek not answering his phone?” Val shouted.

  “He’s right here. You can ask him yourself.” Dante quickly handed his phone over to Radek.

  Radek made a face at him.

  Yep, they are definitely brothers, I thought. It was amusing. My head was feeling light and I was beginning to get a little punchy too.

  “You start on her then,” Radek said, taking the phone out the door with him.

  “Val seems a bit perturbed.” I wondered what exactly Radek had done to deserve his ire.

  “Oh he is, and not just with Dek.” Dante took Radek’s place. He carefully held my arm over the sink.

  I felt his cool hands on my skin as he held my arm steady. I focused on his bent head, noticing the blond streaks in his dark auburn hair. How had he managed to get blond in his hair without going out in the sun?

  Pain flashed through my body, bringing my mind back to reality. “Why?” I asked through clenched teeth. He was using water and tweezers to remove the debris from the wound. My eyes watered from the pain, the tears making tiny streams along my cheeks.

  He glanced at me quickly, then went back to work. “He doesn’t like people messing with what he considers his family. And before you can argue, you are part of our family now,” he said, sternly emphasizing his words.

  “Yeah, I kind of figured that out,” I said, my voice thick with pain.

  “Dek isn’t too happy either,” he added.

  “I noticed. What’s his deal?” I asked, hoping to keep him talking so maybe I would have something to think about besides the pain.

  “Oh the usual, he likes to be in control all the time. He was supposed to keep you safe and he wasn’t there when you needed him. That’s eating away at him at the moment. But don’t worry, he’ll get over it. On top of that, the two bodies from last night were agents. That makes five dead in the last week alone. He’s a bit cranky to say the least,” Dante said calmly as he continued to clean my wound.

  “I can take care of myself, you know. I can see how he would be upset about the agents though,” I said.

  He let out a low sarcastic laugh. “Sure, I can see that,” he teased.

  I just growled at him, earning me another laugh.

  Something had been on my mind since yesterday morning. I tried to decide whether I should ask or not. The pain wasn’t helping my decision-making process, so I just went ahead and asked. “What happened between you and Radek when you became a vampire?”

  He glanced at me again, his expression not giving anything away, of course. Being a vampire made that easy for him. “He was a bit talkative, wasn’t he?”

  “No, it was what he didn’t say that made me think something was up.”

  “I see. Well, the short version is that I disappeared for a few years and he wasn’t too happy about it. He was really angry when I did show up with my tail tucked between my legs, so to speak, as a vampire. That was a long time ago though. He’s forgiven me. I think.” He added the last part in a whisper.

  So it had been that bad. I felt sad for Dante and Radek. They had a close relationship; I could tell from the short time I had seen them together. I wouldn’t want to see anything come between them. I cared for Dante. He was my partner and I could see it still pained him after all these years. I was sure this was why he hadn’t shared it with me until now.

  “You know, you aren’t too bad for a vampire,” I said. My vision was getting a little fuzzy around the edges again. I was trying to breathe slowly, hoping that it would help. Another tear made its way down my cheek.

  “Thanks. And you aren’t too bad for a fur ball,” he said.

  I couldn’t see it, but I knew he was smiling. “I wish I could remember why I don’t like vampires,” I said, my voice straining. His scent was making me a little ill, but I wasn’t going to say anything about it.

  “I might have some ideas about that,” he said, “but I’m done here and Dek is back. Let’s get your arm set before you start healing more than you already have.”

  Radek walked through the door looking very disgruntled.

  Dante winked at me before turning to his brother and saying, “You hold her; I’ll set it.”

  “Fine,” he said.

  I scooted off the counter and Radek caught me before my bare feet touched the cold tile. He had me turned around with my back against his chest before I had a chance to protest. With one arm around my waist and the other just below my neck on my upper chest, he held me in a tight grip. There was no way I was going anywhere – not that I wanted to. His warmth enveloped me, bringing me comfort. I was nearing the passing out stage. I gritted my teeth to keep it at bay.

  Dante grabbed my arm and said in a gentle voice, “This will hurt. The more you relax, the quicker it will be over. Are you ready?”

  “Just do it, please,” I said in a strained voice, trying to think relaxing thoughts as my body pressed into Radek’s. He was breathing into my hair which distracted me just enough. I melted against him a little more.

  There was no hesitation in Dante’s actions, which made it go quickly. I gasped harshly as my arm snapped back into place and the waves of pain washed over me. I tried to not pass out. Radek’s grip tightened, holding me against him. Dante disappeared for a moment and came back carrying strips of cloth, plastic and duct tape. Radek relaxed his hold on me a little. I was still too unsteady to stand on my own though, so I stayed where I was. It was like I belonged there. I had to fight myself to not turn around and bury my head against him.

  Dante made short work of stitching up the wound before wrapping it. The plastic and duct tape were to keep it dry in the shower. I was feeling less dizzy by the time he was done. I’m normally a fast healer, but as I said before it’s the one night of the month that I’m basically human. It sucks really. Out of all the other thirty days in the month, why does it have to be this night? I thought.

  “How are you feeling?” Radek’s whisper against my ear made me shiver not from the cold or the pain, but a different emotion that I didn’t want to dwell on.

  What was with me? I was having all kinds of feelings about this tiger I barely knew. I needed to get a handle on this. Reluctantly I pushed away from him. He was too close and affecting me in ways I wasn’t prepared to deal with at present. His hand was on my good arm, spreading warmth throughout my body. I collected myself. “I’ll live. Just wondering how someone knew which night to attack me.” I needed to stay focused on the problem at hand, not the enticing male weretiger at my back. That was the theory, anyway, but putting it into to action would be a problem if he continued to insist on touching me.

  “We can work on that later. Go get cleaned up. We need to get some rest; then we can investigate.” He gently nudged me toward the showers.

  “Will one of you get my shower stuff from my locker please?” I said. They might as well be useful s
ince they were here. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it that far anyway. I was still lightheaded. Not to mention that I hadn’t slept yet.

  “Of course,” Dante said with a look of amusement. I gave him my combination and he went and returned with my things quickly.

  “I’m going to get cleaned up and I’ll find you some clothes,” Radek said, his footsteps heavy as he went out the door again.

  I looked at Dante. “What’s his problem now?”

  He shrugged as he handed me my shower bag. “Who knows? I suspect Val gave him a good chewing out though.”

  “Why?” I asked, confused.

  “You do know the old saying curiosity killed the cat, right?” he asked suggestively. “Besides, you need some sleep. Now go. Dek or I will be here if you need us.” He pushed me toward the showers.

  “Fine, I’m going, I’m going,” I said, intending to question one or both of them later.

  Showering with one arm was very difficult, I discovered. I carefully stripped off my clothes while the shower was warming up. The water felt good. The cuts stung, but they had already started to heal so it was tolerable. It was hard to wash my hair with only one hand, but I managed. It took longer than normal, but I was finally done – and exhausted. I dried off in the shower stall, knowing that one of the two men was still out there. From the scent that sent my blood rushing quickly through my veins, I could tell that it was Radek.

  “Hey, did you bring me clothes?” I called. My heart started beating wildly with the thought of him just on the other side of the curtain. I tried to breathe deeply to calm myself, but his scent was driving me crazy.

  “Here, see if these work,” he said.

  A hand appeared from around the curtain with clothes.

  “Thanks,” I said, relieving him of the items. They smelled like him. Great, that was just the way to dispel these inappropriate feelings I was experiencing.