Fate

Fate - Chapter 9

 (plot)

For the next couple of days things were fairly uneventful, showing that they were adjusting to the new situation and getting used to each other. There was still a bit of stress over the upheaval, but its level had dropped quite a bit as they began getting used to the major life-changing upheaval.

Thursday was the first really chilly day of the season, a sign that winter was fast approaching. Because of his physiology, the cold never bothered Darious; if he felt chilled he would just increase his body heat. After noon the temperature began to fall even more, slowly sliding downwards to the lower 40's and upper 30's. Once home, Darious heard the TV in the living room and assumed that's where she and Mayhem were. After stowing away his things, he changed into some more comfortable clothes.

Stepping into the living room he stopped cold and glared, his temper flaring to dangerous levels. Indeed they were there, and so was Marcus. He was sprawled out on the couch, curled up under a blanket with Dani. Rather than wait to see if his perception of scene was right, he jumped to the conclusion that something had gone on between the two.

Just as he was about to let out a bellow of rage and start chewing some ass, Mayhem poked his head out from under the blanket in front of her. "Hey dere, Bosh! You'sh home!" Then he wiggled out from under it and bound towards Darious.

Looking over at the demon, Marcus saw the anger in his eyes and turned a bit pale, knowing full well what that look in his eyes meant.

Picking up the cat, his anger started ebbing away. It was very unlikely that the two would be doing anything with the cat being under the blankets with them. Once she tossed back the blankets and stood the last remnants of anger vanished. Both were fully dressed, her in a sweat suit and big slippers that looked like gigantic leopard feet, him in jeans and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. Quickly, he realized that he had jumped to an erroneous conclusion and felt a bit embarrassed.

Saying something about starting supper, he headed towards the kitchen, calling for Mayhem to come help him.

Putting the cat down, he looked at Dani, a sheepish grin on his face.

Walking over, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up to give him a kiss. When she broke it up, she looked up at him, eyes dancing with mirth. "Jumped to the wrong conclusion, didn't you Darious?"

Shrugging, he chuckled, "What can I say? It's my nature."

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and grinned at him, "Oh PU-lease Darious! Give me some credit, will you? If I was going to do anything with Marcus and wanted to keep it a secret you would never find out. Nor would I be stupid enough to leave myself in a compromising situation."

Reaching out, he enfolded her in his arms and held her close then kissed her softly. "True. I should have known better, but it was a visceral reaction, not one from common sense."

Jabbing him in the ribs playfully with a finger, she winked, "Well now you do."

Grabbing her, he tossed her over his shoulder and gave her ass a playful swat, causing some giggles, and then walked over to his chair. Sliding her off his shoulder, he sat down and cuddled her in his lap. Wrapping both arms around her middle, he pulled her close and rested his cheek on her head, smelling a light vanilla scent left behind by her shampoo. "It won't happen again, I promise. Why were you under there together anyway?" He asked, curious.

Pulling her feet up into the chair, she curled up to his chest. "We were COLD. Mayhem and I aren't used to it anymore, so it hits us a bit more. Besides, we turned up the furnace, but it doesn't seem to be working right. It's kicking out heat, but not very much of it."

"I had forgotten the furnace isn't functioning as it should. Marcus and I noticed that last season and I was intending to have someone look at it or have it replaced, but it completely slipped my mind. If you want, you can give someone a call tomorrow and have them take look at it."

"If it's fairly old, it should probably be replaced."

"Very true. Do what you feel is best."

"I'll take care of it tomorrow." Then she looked up at him and grinned, "Besides, you told me I could re-decorate the place, remember? I've been working on that so I'll chuck the furnace in with those plans."

Groaning, he rolled his eyes but was still grinning, "Indeed, I did say that. The place is yours to do as you wish. Only thing I ask is to keep this chair, everything else is fair game."

Grinning bigger, she wiggled her eyebrows at him, "Cool!" Looking at the chair, she was puzzled. It was an ancient wing chair that didn't match the tone of the room. Plus it was fairly old and looking a bit ragged. Looking back at him, she asked, "Why keep it? I'm sure that I could come up with something much nicer."

Shaking his head, he replied, "No thanks, I want to keep this one. It's the only chair I've ever found that is comfortable and will accommodate my wings when I'm in demon form."

Understanding, she nodded, "Got ya. Can I at least get it recovered or fixed up?"

"That's fine, do what you need to with it."

Around noon the next day, Nyssa buzzed to let him know his lunch had arrived. Putting his pen up, he shuffled the papers he was working on then set them aside. He had to admit that he really enjoyed the lunch deliveries from the Pussycat. Not only was the food top-notch, among the best he had ever had, it also allowed him to become acquainted with the Pussycats' staff. When the door opened Marcus stepped through, carrying the normal basket. Smiling, he looked at the big werewolf, "Damn! I usually get to see a beautiful woman bring it. I'm disappointed."

Sitting the carrier on the desk, Marcus chuckled, "You're stuck with my ugly-ass face today Godzilla, sorry to disappoint you. Dani had some business to take care of at the club. They're busy today so they asked me to bring it in to you. Sorry to get your hopes up."

Pulling the dishes out, Darious arranged them then began to dig in to the heaping mound of ribs before him. "Delicious!" he said between bites.

"Oh yeah. I had them for lunch." Grinning, Marcus then looked at Darious.

Arching a brow, Darious cocked his head, "What? I know that look; it means you're up to something besides being a delivery boy. Spill it."

Pulling a slip of paper from his shirt pocket, he then handed it to Darious. "After work you need to go to this address, not the house."

Taking it, Darious glanced at it then looked back at Marcus, "Why? What's up?"

Grinning from ear to ear he replied, "Because your mate is having the house redecorated. The things we need have already been moved to her old house where we'll be staying until they're done."

Groaning, Darious shook his head but was still grinning, "I figured she had something up her sleeve last night when she mentioned it I just didn't think it would be so soon. You sure everything we need has been moved?"

Nodding, he replied, "Positive. Supervised the whole thing myself then did a double check to be on the safe side."

"Well, I'll have to pop home anyway to pick up the computer. It won't shut down without the password."

"It's been moved already."

Shooting him a sharp look, Darious said, "How? You know not to pull the plug on it because it may lose files. The only other way to get into it is my password. You can't do anything without it. I've made sure it's almost un-hackable."

"Well, apparently it isn't. Your mate was able to crack it and shut it down, don't know how though. Apparently it wasn't hard either; she managed it in a couple of minutes."

"It appears I'm going to need her to show me just how she managed it then have a talk with my techs about a better security system." Darious said, eyebrow quirked.

It was funny, a half an hour after arriving at her place he decided he liked it much better than he did his own. It wasn't nearly the size or as opulent as his, it was basically an ordinary two-story middleclass home, but somehow or other it 'felt' better. Immediately it was apparent that she had great taste when it came to decorating because it was beautiful and all the furnishings were magnificent as well as comfortable. It seemed to him that the reason might be that while she wanted things to look nice she had an eye for comfort instead of just looking good. Most of all there was a warm feeling associated with it, almost like a welcoming presence rather that the austere feeling his had. For the first time he really understood what people meant when they say it feels like a home.

Being someone that likes to know what's going on, he quizzed her about her decorating plans but she wouldn't tell him anything beyond some basic changes like a new furnace/ central air system, weatherizing the windows and a couple other things. Mostly she just told him that he would have to wait and see. However, he did learn that she had hired werewolf contractors to do the job. Because their work ethics and rules were different it would take a week or less to finish it. Unlike humans werewolves worked three shifts, seven days a week and were masterful at sound-proofing, so no one was disturbed by the noises.

The following afternoon, while Dani was still in bed sound asleep, Darious shifted all his office material into her den so he could take care of some work that needed done. When Mayhem and Marcus went out for a walk, he settled in then went to it. While he was pouring over some progress reports her phone rang. Since he had enabled call forwarding last night he assumed it was for him. Slipping the hands-free headset on, he answered it.

"Darious, this is Jolene," the familiar Cajun-accented voice said.

Smiling, he put the paperwork down and leaned back, "Hello Jolene. How can I help you?"

"Is Dani around?"

"She's still in bed but she's here. Do you need me to wake her up?"

"If you would please, I have something I need to talk to her about."

Not pressing the issue or asking what it was, he woke up the sleeping Dani and gave her the phone. He then closeted himself up in the den again, resuming what hew as doing.

About a half an hour or so later Dani came in and wrapped her arms around his neck, "What are you up to Darious?"

Putting a hand over hers, he leaned his head back and gave her a soft kiss, "Good morning sleepyhead. I'm just catching up on some paperwork that I didn't get to yesterday, nothing of vital importance."

Letting go, she walked around and slid into his lap, "I have to go to the Pussycat for a while. There are some people there that need to talk to me. If you're not to busy I'd like it if you came with. But I'll understand if you can't."

Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her, "There isn't anything I'm doing that can't wait until later. I'll go see about rounding up Marcus and Mayhem then we can go."

Once at the club a couple of the she-devils snagged Marcus and Darious before they could go inside. They needed help moving some appliances that had just been delivered. While they went off to lend their brawn to the task, Dani and Mayhem ducked inside. Once the cat was off his leash, he made a beeline for a cluster of she-devils sitting in one of the booths. Looking around, Dani spied a group of werewolves at the far end talking with Travis. That was what she was looking for so she headed that direction.

When Travis spotted her coming, he nodded and said something to the others. All eyes turned her direction, the oldest of them stood then walked over to her, a smile etched on his face. Giving her a hug, he then stepped back, "Dani! It's great to see you!"

"Same here Wuuky. It's been a long time." she replied, giving him a peck on the cheek. She and Wuuky had known each other for several centuries, long before he ever became the clan leader of the Dreadmore. They had met for the first time before the time dark creatures had been outted. At the time he was just coming into adulthood and was full of the same piss and vinegar that most young werewolf warriors were. Arrogant and egotistical, he and his clan mates had the cocky assurance that they were tough as they came and almost invincible.

Their first encounter had come in a werewolf bar. He and his clan mates had been there celebrating a victory in a war-game between several clans when she walked in. Of course they had noticed, all non-werewolves rather stood out like a sore thumb, especially a small, good-looking one like her. She had slid up on a chair next to the werewolf she had come to meet. They had some information they needed to share with the other so they had agreed to meet at that particular bar because it was almost exactly dead center between where they resided.

The more they drank the more arrogant Wuuky and his friends became. Of course they knew she was a she-devil and that the ladies were always welcome in werewolf bars. Like most other werewolves Wuuky and his gang had been cautioned about tangling with she-devils and the consequences of what might happen but as they sat there looking at Dani their egos and badass attitudes fueled by the booze started to override their judgment. That skinny woman didn't look all that tough, certainly no match for the likes of them. Then they began to speculate about what a boost to their reputations it would be if they were able to defeat a she-devil. The thought of the glory that would bring finally overrode any nagging voices they had.

Once her contact left, Dani sat quietly and sipped her drink, talking to the bartender. This was the queue they had been waiting for. Slipping up beside her Wuuky began trying to goad her into a fight. Of course, the trash talk and attitude was nothing new to her, many times in the past the young and stupid among the werewolves had tried the exact same thing. Not wanting to be draw into a fight with the cocky werewolf she ignored him the best she could until she could finish her drink, then she would get the hell out of there.

However, Wuuky had other plans; taking being ignored as a personal insult he challenged her to a fight. As he was reaching for the knife that hung from his belt, she rounded on him so fast that she was a blur and slashed him from pubic bone to under his sternum with her razor sharp claws. She was so fast at it that no one had seen her hand shift and claws extend. The next thing he knew was he was standing there, looking at his innards hanging out the gaping wound in his stomach, not knowing what had happened.

Luckily for him, she had just wanted to send a message to him and his buddies that she didn't want messed with instead of deciding to kill them. While he had been disemboweled, she had done it in a manner that wasn't meant to kill him. The next day after he had been stitched up the best they could do and was laid up in bed recovering, she had come to visit him. From that point on they had become friends.

They had become so close that before his father had passed on and he had taken the mantle of leadership Dani had been made an honorary member of the Dreadmore. Unlike other clans, the Dreadmore were a small group, hidden away in the deep woods of the Appalachian Mountains that really hadn't grown much over the centuries. While they were the rough and tough mountain fighters like others, their small numbers made them vulnerable. It was Wuuky's friendship with her that had saved them from warring with other clans. None of the other clans wanted to incur her wrath, so the Dreadmore were left alone.

While he did look a bit older, he was still pretty much the same as she remembered him. His shoulder length hair was now iron-grey instead of the salt and pepper color it had been since he was young. The barrel chest he had always had was only a little bit bigger, but his brown eyes and youthful-looking face still had the same spark that had always been there. After he sat back down, she slid into the chair beside him and took the glass of moonshine Jolene had brought her.

Quickly, Wuuky introduced to those of his clan that were sitting there. It had been quite a long time since she had been to the clan enclave, usually the two of them communicated via phone or met somewhere else so most of his clan hadn't laid eyes on her before. Slapping the man beside him on the shoulder, he grinned at her and winked, "This is Greyson Bloodstorm, my adopted son. You do remember him, don't you?"

Roaring with laughter, she nodded, "How could I forget him? He's the little shit that tried to take an axe to me when we met up in Russia during the Second World War. Problem was he it was too big for him and he couldn't even lift it. I still remember the expression of his face when I took it away from him!" she said, eyes twinkling. Looking at the young werewolf she winked, "He was also the one that insisted on sleeping with me and followed me around like a little lost puppy after that."

Grinning, Grey said, "Yup, that'd be me."

Looking back at Wuuky, "What brings you here? I very much doubt it's just to say hi, not with how far away the clan enclave is."

"You're right, I have a motive. The werewolf council announced that you had taken a mate. There have been rumors stating that before so I decided to come check it out for myself."

"Well, for once the rumor mill is right, I took a mate." she replied, holding up her hand so he could see the ring.

Mouth dropping, Wuuky started at her, "Holy shit! Congratulations!"

Following Wuuky's lead, the rest of his clan passed along theirs as well. However there was one in the group that was less than thrilled over the announcement, Grey. Now that he was full-grown and starting to assume the duties of a clan chief's son, the inevitable talk of taking a mate was being broached. Like a good leader, Wuuky kept his eye on what was in the clan's best interests that was why he talked with Grey about taking Dani as a mate. If she became a Dreadmore not only would is be protection for them against other clans but they would gain some serious political power. Almost instantly Grey had warmed to the idea and agreed. From his side of the issue the mere thought of the prestige, like that of a trophy wife who snares a rich man, that would come excited him. As time went on and he thought about it more he wanted to. Now that chance had been taken away, leaving him a bit angry.

As a rule the sons of clan leaders were an arrogant, cocky lot, even more so if they were the ones that would take over leadership after their fathers. Grey was no exception, if anything he was even more so than most. Unlike the others in the clan he wasn't born into the Dreadmore, he came from a clan called Mountainsmoke. Born to the clan leader, Volkov Bloodstorm, Grey had spent most of his childhood at their clan enclave deep in the Ural Mountains of Russia. The fourth son, as well as the youngest, of Volkov he wasn't expected to take over leadership unless his brothers couldn't for some reason.

Instead of learning all the ins and outs of clan politics he was taught to hunt, track, fight, etc, all the things a normal child of the clan would when young, hunting, fighting, tracking, etc. While he was schooled in other things that would allow him to either join the council or become an emissary to other clans, positions that were usually reserved for people like him, family of the leader.

Like other clans that resided in Eurasia his father had paid close attention to what was happening in Europe when the Nazis came to power. As the war began urgent meetings were held among the clans to decide what to do about the situation. It was Hitler himself that made the decision for them, as he spread out over Europe and Africa clans whose enclaves had been in Europe since time immemorial pulled up stakes and moved out of the Nazis' way, lest they be discovered. After it was brought to the dark creature leaders attention that the Nazis' were actively looking for their kind, to turn them into the ultimate warriors to fight for the Reich, there was an urgency to get all their kind out of Europe. So-called 'spies' had been sent in and had infiltrated where they could in the government to aid in getting all dark creatures out of Europe, Dani had been one of them. Adopting the name Countess Katrina Wagner, a real person whom she resembled, she began working in the Reichstag so she could pass along all the information she could get her hands on.

Deep in the mountains, Volkov was alarmed and concerned about the events and helped the best he could but didn't feel that they needed to move. He, like many other Russian clan leaders, felt they were safe, that Hitler wouldn't be stupid enough to invade Russia and fight a war on two fronts. They had been wrong. On June 13th, 1941 the Nazis launched Operation Barbarossa, and began the push into Russia. Alarmed, the ancient clans that had lived in Russia for centuries abandoned their villages and pressed deeper into the heart of the country. Following the lead of the other clans the Mountainsmoke left their homes to resettle elsewhere.

Two days before they were to join up with the Blackclaws they ran into a clutch of demons. While they put up a hell of a fight and shed the blood of many demons, the end result was the annihilation of every member except Grey. While his father was going to fight with everything the clan had, he was realistic. He knew they had no chance of winning the battle. During the initial attack, he grabbed Grey and carried him into the woods. After telling him to stay hidden, he made the youngster promise that if no one came for him in 24 hours, then he was supposed to continue the journey alone and meet up with the Blackclaws. When he did, he was to tell Urlekstan, the clan leader, what happened, and to not come back for them. If there were any survivors, they would find them.

Taking the double-bladed battle ax from its sheath on his back, he presented it to Gray. That ax had been in their family for centuries, and was handed down from father to son as the leadership mantle was passed, a fact not missed by the young werewolf. After telling him to guard it well, he gave his son a final hug and told him he loved him then shifted into his lupine form and took off the direction of the battle. That was the last time Grey had seen his father, a gray and white wolf running through the forest like a patch of mist being blown along by a sharp breeze.

A little more than 48 hours later, he encountered Wuuky and his warriors. Once they heard what the child had to say two of their party went to bury the dead and see if there had been other survivors. Wuuky and the rest would push on towards the appointed meeting spot. It had been arranged for him and a few of his best warriors to meet up with Dani once they had finished tying up the last few loose ends they had.

Things had reached the point that she would be in danger if she stayed so she was under orders to leave ASAP. Once they hooked up all of them were to head to the furthermost tip of Siberia where they would meet up with other clans before crossing the ocean. As they waited for her to arrive they tended to Grey who was quiet and sullen, obviously upset and in shock. Hyper-vigilant, he jumped at any noise. Although he was exhausted, he wasn't sleeping for more than a half hour at a stretch. Clutching onto his father's ax, he took it everywhere he went even though it was too heavy for him to pick up.

They hadn't made much headway with him when Dani arrived with Darious. While none of them had been thrilled about having a demon in their midst they grudgingly let him stay once they learned he was the reason Dani had been able to get away. It was her that had finally been able to get through to him. Wuuky had asked her to try, hoping that because she was a woman he might respond better to her. After plucking the ax out of his hands, much to his surprise, she handed it to Wuuky for safe keeping. After that, he seemed to switch his attachment to her, not letting her out of his sight. Much to Darious' disdain he even slept with them. When it was time to push on it was decided that Darious would fly both her and the boy to Siberia, rather than make him endure the journey on foot.

Once they arrived and he was back among his own kind, the Blackclaws were there as well so he knew several people; he relaxed and seemed to do much better. However, even then he seemed unwilling to let go of his attachment to her. When Wuuky and his men arrived, reporting the grim news that there had been no survivors, the leaders of the various clans sat down to discuss what to do with the child.

In the end it was decided that Dani would leave, Darious would be flying her to Alaska rather than making the trek by boat, in the middle of the night when Grey was asleep to avoid any trouble with him that may arise when he found out she was leaving. They knew he wouldn't like it but felt that it was the best course of action. After that he would join the Dreadmore. Because of an old battle injury Wuuky was no longer able to have kids. In the past his mate had become pregnant, but the offspring hadn't survived so they would adopt Grey and raise him as their own.

Like most others of his stature he was spoiled a bit, used to getting his way or what he wanted. That very sense of entitlement and wanting things his way fueled his anger over her slipping through his fingers. He had been surprised that the Lady Danyealla everyone talked about was the woman he had known as Kat, Wuuky and the others had used the name Darious did for various reasons so he hadn't known who she really was. It was that knowledge that stoked the flames of anger even higher. Now he didn't just 'want' her, he 'would' have her no matter the cost.

As he had grown Grey had developed a mean streak, one that seemed as though it was almost sociopathic at times. If something were denied him he would stop at nothing to get it, not caring how he went about doing so. That's what he was feeling right now; the person he felt should be his mate had chosen someone else. Now he was going to have to figure out how to get rid of the rival so she could be his. Now he was going to have to wait and see who it was to formulate a plan to get him out of the way.

After giving her a pat on the shoulder, nodding his approval, Wuuky nodded, "I never thought I would see the day you took a mate in my lifetime. I've very happy for you. Is he anyone I know?"

Winking, she chuckled, "You've met him before, but don't 'know' him."

"So, is Romeo around or have you exhausted him already and left him home to sleep?"

Overhearing the remark, Jolene laughed, "Hang on, I'll fetch him. We put him to work when they pulled up." She then disappeared into the backroom.

A couple minutes later Darious appeared, clad in his sleeveless undershirt, a bit of dirt and grime smeared down the front of it, and jeans, the button-down shirt he had worn slung over his shoulder. If he was in normal clothes you could tell he was a good sized being but in the t-shirt, which clung to his upper body like a second skin, it was very obvious he wasn't just big, but huge. Heavily muscled, with the six-pack abs most strove towards when working out; his biceps were bigger than Dani's thighs and rock hard. While he wasn't as big as a bodybuilder was, he was most certainly well defined and in great shape. As he stepped around the bar and up to where she was sitting, he slid the shirt back on. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he kissed her softly, smiling, "What's up? Jolene said you needed me."

Kissing him, she smiled, "Yeah, I have someone I want to reintroduce you to." Turning to Wuuky she grinned, "I'm sure you remember Darious Wuuky, you just called him Darien at the time is all. His real name is Lord Darious Mooksoon." Looking up at Darious she winked, "This is Wukrend Nightwolf, you probably remember him from when we were in Russia."

Reaching out, Darious took Wuuky's outstretched hand, nodding and smiling, "Nice to meet you again, Wukrend."

Nodding, a bit shell-shocked, Wuuky nodded, "Same here, make it Wuuky, please."

"Alright Wuuky, just plain Darious will do on my end."

Picking Dani up, he slid into the chair then settled her onto his lap. Taking the glass of brandy Jolene had set on the bar, he sipped it, ignoring the murmurs he heard from the werewolves.

After taking a bracing swallow of his drink, Wuuky looked at Dani, puzzled, "I thought you both had split up in Alaska? If I remember right that was the plan for you. I didn't know you stayed together all this time."

Shaking her head, she smiled, "We didn't. As we planned we split up in Alaska and went our separate ways. Not long ago we reconnected."

Of all the beings she could have mated none would have shocked Wuuky more than Darious. It was a well known fact most Garou clan out there had or had thought about trying to find one of their own to offer up as a mate, all had been rejected of course or probably would be if they had tried. While he had made the proposal to Grey about giving it a go he knew that realistically there was no chance at all of her accepting. Like most others, he assumed she was one of the few in the world that would probably never take a mate, sad as that was. Yet here she was, she had a mate and it was obvious from the look in her eyes that she loved him, very much so. Strange!

Nudging Darious in the ribs with her elbow, Dani looked up at him and winked, grin spreading across her face, "Do you recognize the person sitting next to Wuuky?"

Looking at the person she was talking about, his eyes narrowed a bit and he shook his head, "I sure do. That's the little shit that wouldn't let me sleep alone with you while we were in Russia." he said dryly, causing her to giggle and Grey to grin.

"He's now Wuuky's son."

"Only child?" he asked Wuuky, who nodded. "I can understand why." Darious said, rolling his eyes, sipping on his drink.

Despite seeing Darious as an obstacle and wanting him out of the picture, even Grey laughed at that one. Eyes twinkling, he looked down the bar at the demon and winked, "I've gotten much better about not interfering with people's intimacy."

"I certainly hope so!" Darious replied dryly.