Voila! My newest fic. :::dodges knives from readers::: ok so i SHOULD be updating my other fics but hey i really loved the idea for this fic and i am writing the next chapters for the others. This fic will have lots of the usual...steamy action, possessive, sexy darien...yum...and of course this is a serena/darien fic with a bit of the senshi thrown in but not really. this should actually turn out to be a longer fic with a lot of suspense and some interesting plot twists. enjoy and don't forget to review so i know what you think.
oh and i checked and my editor checked and then i checked again but there may be some spelling or grammer errors.....you can ignore them or send me an email/ review and i will fix them.
Dangerous Passions
Violet Goddess
Chapter 1
She remembered the exact moment he'd told her just exactly what he was. At first she'd scoffed, a werewolf for Christ's sake! Who believed in werewolves past the age of eight? But once she got over her shock at his claim, she'd gotten angry. Furious, in fact, that someone would tell her such a bald-faced lie. Werewolf her ass! She'd gone to his home and had been in the process of shouting at him, calling him every foul name her mind could dredge up with when he'd drawn her into his living room and 'morphed.' It was the only way she could think of describing it. It was right out of some cheesy Hollywood horror movie. Well she'd done the only thing any sensible woman would do, she'd run screaming in the other direction. Unfortunately that whole being half wolf thing gives them the edge in speed. Kunizite had caught her before she'd taken two steps. Apparently morphing or whatever he wanted to call it could be done pretty quickly when the need arose.
It had taken her some time to accept his....other half. Finding out your fiancé is a werewolf is not something one can just take in their stride. But she loved him and compared with the thought of her life would be without him, she found his wolfish nature wasn't such an insurmountable obstacle. Actually, compared with meeting his family watching the love of her life turn into a wolf had been a piece of cake
Kunzite's family was unique to say the least, he was part wolf after all. His 'pack' was loyal to a fault and would do anything to protect one of their own. She learned quickly that if you attacked one of them, you attacked all of them. She was only meeting Kunzite's immediate pack today, his closest friends and their leader, Darien. This was the all the information he would give her as he herded her towards their living room. She was nervous as she walked into their comfortable living room, but whatever she had expected to see it was not to see ten men lounging about, looking as though they would be comfortable no matter the situation. They ranged from light to dark, blonde to black hair but each one was, without exception, an exquisite male specimen. Mina's jaw dropped to the floor as she took in that little fact. It was then that she noticed the growling coming from Kunzite.
Apparently that wolf part of him was a mite possessive and didn't like her in the company of so many other males, even if they were his family. With a start she realized what was so off about the group, there wasn't a single woman among the group of people sitting in her living room.
"Umm, honey, I don't mean to be rude or anything but if this is your family then where are all the women?" Mina couldn't help the blush that stole across her face at suddenly being the center of attention. Admittedly she loved the spot light but each of these men seemed so focused. As if whatever they were looking at captivated their undivided attention. It was slightly disconcerting.
"Well that's part of why I wanted you to meet my pack. Umm well you see....err."
"What he's trying so unsuccessfully to say is that there aren't any women here because they are so scarce."
"Thanks Jedite." Kunzite muttered with a glare.
"Most pups that our women have are males." One of the men put in, the rich timbre of his voice was sensual and smooth and seemed to fit the dark atmosphere of the room. Mina blushed at her thoughts especially since she could barely make him out. Only half of his face was illuminated by the flickering fire burning so cheerily in the hearth, the rest of the his face lay in the shadows that seemed to swallow the room.
"Some kind of evolutionary defense is all we could think of." Kunzite's voice snapped out of her blatant perusal of the man and Mina was suddenly glad for the limited light to hide her embarrassment.
"We have a violent nature,"chimed in another of the men. His hair was light brown as it flowed past his shoulders. It should have looked feminine but on him it seemed to only highlight his masculinity. "With the nearly constant battles we fight against each other and outside threats, having more males simply equaled survival."
"But after a few generations there develops a lack of females and thus a lack of mates to produce pups and we face extinction." Kunzite finished quietly.
It all seemed to make such perfect sense to them but Mina was both confused and a little skeptical. Everything she had learned about Darwinian science and evolution said that a race's females were the most important thing it had. Females produced the next generation and without them the race faced extinction. It was a simple equation and yet these men were telling her their race had survived and even thrived, for only God knew how long, with a decided proportion of their births being male. The numbers just didn't add up. It would only take say five or so generations for their species to die out if even only a small percentage of the births leaned towards male.
"So you mate with humans?"
"Well sort of." Kunzite was hedging again and Mina felt frustration start to bubble up.
"What do you mean 'sort of?' Just get on and explain it!" Kunzite looked taken aback at her outburst but Mina didn't care. It never occurred to her that his wolf instinct was to force his mate into submission and that her display of defiance before his pack would challenge his status, she probably wouldn't have cared at that moment anyway.
"Humans aren't genetically compatible with us." The words flowed out in a husky timber from the far corner of the room. Mina swung about an angry curse hovering on her lips. But it died a silent death when she met the vivid blue eyes that stared out at her from the deep shadows that seemed to be swept around him like a cloak. "Well most humans aren't."
"Normally no children could come from a union between our two species, but we've found over the centuries that there are few humans who carry a recessive gene that makes them compatible with us." Kunzite had switched into his 'scientist of the century' mode again and Mina inwardly groaned. She could almost feel her eyes glaze over in boredom but she knew it was no good to try and stop him and so just let him continue on. "It changes the human's chemistry slightly and they are able to accept the combination of our two different genetic status. It's only present in females but it cannot be passed onto any children the pair produce, unfortunately, as our genes are more dominate." An 'ah' at the end of his explanation was Mina's only reactions until everything suddenly connected.
"And I'm one of these people? I have this recessive gene?" Mina could feel her heart crashing at her feet. She loved Kunzite and until that moment she had believed without a shadow of a doubt that he loved her too, but what if he had only married her because she could have his children. It was a crushing blow and one she was likely to kill him for, she realized as the anger flooded through her veins.
"Mina sweetheart it's not like that." He said as he read the look on her face and barely stopped himself from taking a step back, she was fighting mad. "There still has to be chemistry between the two of us, love. There has to be love between us. I didn't marry you because you could give me children sweetheart, I would have married you either way."
Swallowing past the lump lodged in her throat, Mina stared at her husband, her gaze sliding softly across the loved planes of his face. She knew she could either believe him, believe the man she loved and had married would not lie to her or walk out the door right now, leaving everything behind her. There could be no half way with this. Taking a deep breath Mina stared at Kunzite, read the love there and knew he was telling the truth.
"Ok, so how do you find people like me? I mean you obviously can't put an ad in the paper or go around swiping people's medical files, can you?" She felt Kunzite's arms slip around her waist as she regarded the males lying with such casual readiness around her living room. Inwardly she smiled, Kunzite was showing that possessive streak again.
"Your smell, it's different from other females, more distinct." The one with light brown hair explained as he eyed Kunzite who had begun to absentmindedly nuzzling her neck. Shrugging off her affectionate husband Mina stared at the man in amazement.
"Smell? I smell different from other women of my species?" A dark glint appeared in his eyes at the question and Mina took a step back, as Kunzite starting growling again. Mina could already tell this whole "alpha male" thing was going to get old real fast.
"Most definitely. You're scent is....sweeter, I suppose is a good way to describe it." A small smile curved his lips as he watched her discomfort, seeming to find it as amusing as Kunzite's territorial posturing.
"Stop it Nephrite, you're only antagonizing Kunzite and wasting our time." Came that now familiar voice as blue eyes locked with hers, a hint of amusement sparkling in the husky depths. "Now-" A sudden knocking cut the conversation short as everyone stared at each other in momentary confusion before Mina jumped.
"It's the door." She said lamely, feeling foolish for staring like an idiot as the persistent knocking continued. "Stay here while I get it. I don't think we need to scare the hell out of whoever is visiting with a room full of werewolves, no matter how human you look." A few smiles were her only response as she made her way towards the door.
Mina hadn't a clue who could be coming to visit, she and Kunzite lived fairly well out in the country specifically for the privacy it afforded. Neither she nor Kunzite liked the confined spaces of the city this elegant Victorian house out in the middle of nowhere had seemed perfect. She supposed now that his dislike of the city made more sense. Smiling Mina opened the door only to have her jaw drop in surprise.
"Serena!" Mina promptly enveloped the petit blonde in a crushing hug.
"And hello to you too Mina." A sunny laugh echoed off the walls and Mina sighed quietly at the light her friend was already bringing with her.
"Come in Serena, come in. So what brings y-" The sudden hand gripping her arm tightly interrupted Mina's chatter. She turned to find a disturbed Kunzite holding her arm, trying to herd her into the next room with little success.
"Darling, can I speak to you for a moment." Confusion was reigning supreme at the moment, right behind annoyance at her husband for stopping her from greeting her friend, but she decided it was probably better not to berate her husband at the moment.
"Serena just hang you coat up over there,"she nodded in a the general direction behind her, "and I'll be right back." With a smile of apology Mina followed her restless husband down the hall.
"Ok now we are in the kitchen, mind telling me why you just dragged me away from welcoming my best friend, whom I haven't seen in months, since our wedding if I recall, into our house?" Mina was tapping her foot impatiently as she stared at her husband. Strangely he didn't seem at all sorry about his actions, in fact he looked worried, almost panicked.
"Mina you've got to get her out of here!" Kunzite rushed out, his eyes darting to the kitchen door as if expecting someone to come bursting in at any moment.
"What are you talking about Kunzite? You aren't making any sense." Mina was worried now, Kunzite was never like this. He was always cool and collected, always kept his head in any situation and here he was practically ranting.
"She can't stay here."
"What the hell do you mean she can't stay here?! She's like a sister to me and I will be damned if I won't let her into my home." Rage flowed over each clipped word.
"You don't understand Mina, she CAN'T stay here."
"Why the hell not? Give me one good reason why I should turn away the one person who has been my family? The one person who has supported me time and again. One damn reason, Kunzite, just one!"
Kunzite stared at his wife in annoyance and anger but also with a grudging bit of pride. She was a hellcat when she was defending those she cared about and there wasn't anyone she cared about more than her family, namely Serena. Kunzite had only met her once, at their wedding but it had been enough to make him realize why Mina loved her so much. Serena was the kind of person who would give you her last dollar to help you just because that was who she was.
The two girls had met in the foster care system. Being jostled from home to home was something that few people could walk away from unscarred and so the two girls had banned together. Mina had told him of the leaky and cold shelters and the loveless homes the girls had been shuffled too. They weren't always placed together but the social workers quickly found out that one girl or the other would run away from their foster home to find her "sister." They were sisters in a way that ran deeper than any bloodline. They'd shared horror and tears together and there was nothing on this earth they wouldn't do for the other.
It was something few people would understand but Kunzite did, he understood it and that's why it was killing him to tell Mina to turn away her. But Serena could not stay there. He had dragged Mina into his world; he couldn't let the woman she regarded as her sister to be dragged down as well.
"Damn it Mina you know why. She's like you, I can sense it. That's one of the reasons you two formed a pack. Like calls to like." The news stunned her for a moment and he realized she'd never suspected, never had even an inkling of suspicion but then he saw her jaw set and her shoulders square and inwardly groaned. This wasn't going to be easy.
"She stays." Mina azure eyes flashed with defiance as Kunzite reached out to placate her. God when had making this defiant, troublesome woman happy become the most important thing in the world to him? Sighing he admitted to himself that it had happened as soon as she stormed into his life like the tornado she was.
"They'll claim her Mina. Mark her and then claim her just like I did you." At his words Mina seemed to waiver for the first time. She'd never considered that Serena being claimed was a possibility, it seemed so remote that she had never really given the worry any credence.
"How can you be sure they even CAN claim he? She may not be able to be a mate. You told me the chances of finding a compatible human mate were one in a million. How do you know Serena is that one?"
Sighing Kunzite wrapped Mina in his arms, her cheek resting against his chest. He could feel the fear and despair edging through her body. She didn't want her sister trapped into a life she had no say in.
"I knew when I met her at our wedding. I could smell it in her blood, faint though it was. She smells like you. Any of the pack would know if she came within ten feet of them. She could be a mate, she could have children." Pulling back Mina stared at her husband, sorrow and confusion shining in her eyes.
"Isn't that what you want though? She could be a mate to someone in your pack, carry on your line." Kunzite's felt his chest tighten at his wife's stricken expression and only pulled her close to him.
"Of course, I want nothing more than for my family to have mates, for my species to have pups but I can't ask you to bring your sister into this world." Kissing her lemon yellow hair gently he spoke softly, desperately trying to make her understand before it was to late. "Mina I gave you a choice." He only tightened his hold on her when he felt her try to pull back to question him. "If you hadn't loved me I would have let you go and said to hell with everything else, they won't let her go. Things are worse than when I met you, several of our females died in childbirth and too many males are banding together against the established groups, trying to steal other men's mates."
"They would claim her whether she wanted a mate or not?" Kunzite flinched slightly at her tear-filled voice. Shame welled up inside him that what he spoke was nothing more than simple truth but truth it was and it would accomplish nothing to hide from it.
"They would claim her, fight to claim her."
"Dear God we have to get her out of here." Mina's frantic declaration was the only thing to fill the suddenly ominous silence.
* * *
Serena could only smile as she watched fiery Mina be dragged down the hall by Kunzite. Those two certainly made an interesting couple but she had to admit she had never seen her friend so happy. Kunzite had swept her off her feet and after only two months of dating they had gotten married. Serena had been in Maine at the time, working odd jobs and just soaking up life in New England. Cold was the one word that seemed to exemplify it. She'd made it to the wedding though, a simple ceremony with only a few close friends. Neither had had any close relatives to invite though Kunzite had made a few vague references to some close friends who couldn't attend.
Shrugging it off Serena went in search of the coat closet. Mina had only been living in her "quant little farm house" as she so affectionately termed her mammoth Victorian house, for a few weeks. Seeing no obvious closet doors she set off down in the opposite direction Mina had gone. After smashing into several pictures and trying several different doors Serena had found the parlor, a study and even the bathroom but no coat closet. Muttering about someone turning on the lights somewhere she found herself before two double sliding doors, heavy oak like everything else in the house. Saying a prayer that there was a coat closet, or at least a map to this place in there Serena slid them open.
An expansive living room greeted her but it was the occupants that gave her the shock. A number of men lounged about, looking for the world like there was nothing that might surprise them and yet one could feel the slight tension humming through the room. That tension fairly exploded as they, almost as one, noticed her. All eyes turned to her, seeming to take in every aspect of her in that single glance. It was unnerving and Serena found she couldn't meet any single person's stare.
"Umm don't suppose you know where the coat closet is?" She asked with a tight smile and could almost see every body tense in reaction. Serena was confused and disconcerted. Something was going on in this room that she didn't understand and so decided that retreat was the best option.
"Well I didn't mean to interrupt, so I'll be off to continue the hunt." She finished lamely but no one replied, no even made the slightest sound. Stepping back she nearly slammed into Kunzite.
"Serena what are you doing here?" His gaze flew from her to the men in the room several times, as if trying to gauge her reaction, or theirs.
"Got lost looking for the coat closet. You know Mina and her directions." She felt a little more at ease now that Kunzite was here. These were obviously his friends and even if there was something going on between him he would let her escape this bizarre situation.
"Why didn't you tell us Kunzite?" The words were cold, no emotion colored them and yet Serena shivered at the underlying threat even she could read there.
"Leave her out of this, she's Mina's sister and one is enough."
"Damn it Kunzite you knew! You knew and yet you told no one! She could be a mate for one of us and help our race and you told no one." This from a man with tawny hair and light green eyes. He had jumped up in the middle of his speech, his eyes flashing with anger and his body tensed as if ready to attack. Oh yes it was time for her to go.
"Kunzite, I'm going to go find Mina. I'll uhhh leave you with your friends." With that she made to leave only to slam into a hard chest. Stumbling in shock she reflexively looked up and found herself staring into the most extraordinary pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. Misty and dark they seemed to seize her and she felt frozen in place, and then he smiled. Gleaming white teeth were revealed and still he didn't move, and neither did she though they were standing absurdly close. She heard a savage curse behind her but she couldn't drag her eyes away from the man in front of her.
His skin, bronzed by the sun, stood in stark contrast to the impeccable white shirt and black suit he wore. He looked so completely perfect, the epitome of masculine beauty and he was staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. Suddenly his smile slipped away and he stared behind her, that menacing tone reappearing and she knew he was the man who had first spoken.
"She's mine."
* * *
:::sigh::: sexy Darien. could just dip him in honey. yeah so i fixate, oh well. so leave me a reivew to tell me if you like this story or if i should even continue you it. i don't write if nobody's reading. :)
oh and i checked and my editor checked and then i checked again but there may be some spelling or grammer errors.....you can ignore them or send me an email/ review and i will fix them.
Dangerous Passions
Violet Goddess
Chapter 1
She remembered the exact moment he'd told her just exactly what he was. At first she'd scoffed, a werewolf for Christ's sake! Who believed in werewolves past the age of eight? But once she got over her shock at his claim, she'd gotten angry. Furious, in fact, that someone would tell her such a bald-faced lie. Werewolf her ass! She'd gone to his home and had been in the process of shouting at him, calling him every foul name her mind could dredge up with when he'd drawn her into his living room and 'morphed.' It was the only way she could think of describing it. It was right out of some cheesy Hollywood horror movie. Well she'd done the only thing any sensible woman would do, she'd run screaming in the other direction. Unfortunately that whole being half wolf thing gives them the edge in speed. Kunizite had caught her before she'd taken two steps. Apparently morphing or whatever he wanted to call it could be done pretty quickly when the need arose.
It had taken her some time to accept his....other half. Finding out your fiancé is a werewolf is not something one can just take in their stride. But she loved him and compared with the thought of her life would be without him, she found his wolfish nature wasn't such an insurmountable obstacle. Actually, compared with meeting his family watching the love of her life turn into a wolf had been a piece of cake
Kunzite's family was unique to say the least, he was part wolf after all. His 'pack' was loyal to a fault and would do anything to protect one of their own. She learned quickly that if you attacked one of them, you attacked all of them. She was only meeting Kunzite's immediate pack today, his closest friends and their leader, Darien. This was the all the information he would give her as he herded her towards their living room. She was nervous as she walked into their comfortable living room, but whatever she had expected to see it was not to see ten men lounging about, looking as though they would be comfortable no matter the situation. They ranged from light to dark, blonde to black hair but each one was, without exception, an exquisite male specimen. Mina's jaw dropped to the floor as she took in that little fact. It was then that she noticed the growling coming from Kunzite.
Apparently that wolf part of him was a mite possessive and didn't like her in the company of so many other males, even if they were his family. With a start she realized what was so off about the group, there wasn't a single woman among the group of people sitting in her living room.
"Umm, honey, I don't mean to be rude or anything but if this is your family then where are all the women?" Mina couldn't help the blush that stole across her face at suddenly being the center of attention. Admittedly she loved the spot light but each of these men seemed so focused. As if whatever they were looking at captivated their undivided attention. It was slightly disconcerting.
"Well that's part of why I wanted you to meet my pack. Umm well you see....err."
"What he's trying so unsuccessfully to say is that there aren't any women here because they are so scarce."
"Thanks Jedite." Kunzite muttered with a glare.
"Most pups that our women have are males." One of the men put in, the rich timbre of his voice was sensual and smooth and seemed to fit the dark atmosphere of the room. Mina blushed at her thoughts especially since she could barely make him out. Only half of his face was illuminated by the flickering fire burning so cheerily in the hearth, the rest of the his face lay in the shadows that seemed to swallow the room.
"Some kind of evolutionary defense is all we could think of." Kunzite's voice snapped out of her blatant perusal of the man and Mina was suddenly glad for the limited light to hide her embarrassment.
"We have a violent nature,"chimed in another of the men. His hair was light brown as it flowed past his shoulders. It should have looked feminine but on him it seemed to only highlight his masculinity. "With the nearly constant battles we fight against each other and outside threats, having more males simply equaled survival."
"But after a few generations there develops a lack of females and thus a lack of mates to produce pups and we face extinction." Kunzite finished quietly.
It all seemed to make such perfect sense to them but Mina was both confused and a little skeptical. Everything she had learned about Darwinian science and evolution said that a race's females were the most important thing it had. Females produced the next generation and without them the race faced extinction. It was a simple equation and yet these men were telling her their race had survived and even thrived, for only God knew how long, with a decided proportion of their births being male. The numbers just didn't add up. It would only take say five or so generations for their species to die out if even only a small percentage of the births leaned towards male.
"So you mate with humans?"
"Well sort of." Kunzite was hedging again and Mina felt frustration start to bubble up.
"What do you mean 'sort of?' Just get on and explain it!" Kunzite looked taken aback at her outburst but Mina didn't care. It never occurred to her that his wolf instinct was to force his mate into submission and that her display of defiance before his pack would challenge his status, she probably wouldn't have cared at that moment anyway.
"Humans aren't genetically compatible with us." The words flowed out in a husky timber from the far corner of the room. Mina swung about an angry curse hovering on her lips. But it died a silent death when she met the vivid blue eyes that stared out at her from the deep shadows that seemed to be swept around him like a cloak. "Well most humans aren't."
"Normally no children could come from a union between our two species, but we've found over the centuries that there are few humans who carry a recessive gene that makes them compatible with us." Kunzite had switched into his 'scientist of the century' mode again and Mina inwardly groaned. She could almost feel her eyes glaze over in boredom but she knew it was no good to try and stop him and so just let him continue on. "It changes the human's chemistry slightly and they are able to accept the combination of our two different genetic status. It's only present in females but it cannot be passed onto any children the pair produce, unfortunately, as our genes are more dominate." An 'ah' at the end of his explanation was Mina's only reactions until everything suddenly connected.
"And I'm one of these people? I have this recessive gene?" Mina could feel her heart crashing at her feet. She loved Kunzite and until that moment she had believed without a shadow of a doubt that he loved her too, but what if he had only married her because she could have his children. It was a crushing blow and one she was likely to kill him for, she realized as the anger flooded through her veins.
"Mina sweetheart it's not like that." He said as he read the look on her face and barely stopped himself from taking a step back, she was fighting mad. "There still has to be chemistry between the two of us, love. There has to be love between us. I didn't marry you because you could give me children sweetheart, I would have married you either way."
Swallowing past the lump lodged in her throat, Mina stared at her husband, her gaze sliding softly across the loved planes of his face. She knew she could either believe him, believe the man she loved and had married would not lie to her or walk out the door right now, leaving everything behind her. There could be no half way with this. Taking a deep breath Mina stared at Kunzite, read the love there and knew he was telling the truth.
"Ok, so how do you find people like me? I mean you obviously can't put an ad in the paper or go around swiping people's medical files, can you?" She felt Kunzite's arms slip around her waist as she regarded the males lying with such casual readiness around her living room. Inwardly she smiled, Kunzite was showing that possessive streak again.
"Your smell, it's different from other females, more distinct." The one with light brown hair explained as he eyed Kunzite who had begun to absentmindedly nuzzling her neck. Shrugging off her affectionate husband Mina stared at the man in amazement.
"Smell? I smell different from other women of my species?" A dark glint appeared in his eyes at the question and Mina took a step back, as Kunzite starting growling again. Mina could already tell this whole "alpha male" thing was going to get old real fast.
"Most definitely. You're scent is....sweeter, I suppose is a good way to describe it." A small smile curved his lips as he watched her discomfort, seeming to find it as amusing as Kunzite's territorial posturing.
"Stop it Nephrite, you're only antagonizing Kunzite and wasting our time." Came that now familiar voice as blue eyes locked with hers, a hint of amusement sparkling in the husky depths. "Now-" A sudden knocking cut the conversation short as everyone stared at each other in momentary confusion before Mina jumped.
"It's the door." She said lamely, feeling foolish for staring like an idiot as the persistent knocking continued. "Stay here while I get it. I don't think we need to scare the hell out of whoever is visiting with a room full of werewolves, no matter how human you look." A few smiles were her only response as she made her way towards the door.
Mina hadn't a clue who could be coming to visit, she and Kunzite lived fairly well out in the country specifically for the privacy it afforded. Neither she nor Kunzite liked the confined spaces of the city this elegant Victorian house out in the middle of nowhere had seemed perfect. She supposed now that his dislike of the city made more sense. Smiling Mina opened the door only to have her jaw drop in surprise.
"Serena!" Mina promptly enveloped the petit blonde in a crushing hug.
"And hello to you too Mina." A sunny laugh echoed off the walls and Mina sighed quietly at the light her friend was already bringing with her.
"Come in Serena, come in. So what brings y-" The sudden hand gripping her arm tightly interrupted Mina's chatter. She turned to find a disturbed Kunzite holding her arm, trying to herd her into the next room with little success.
"Darling, can I speak to you for a moment." Confusion was reigning supreme at the moment, right behind annoyance at her husband for stopping her from greeting her friend, but she decided it was probably better not to berate her husband at the moment.
"Serena just hang you coat up over there,"she nodded in a the general direction behind her, "and I'll be right back." With a smile of apology Mina followed her restless husband down the hall.
"Ok now we are in the kitchen, mind telling me why you just dragged me away from welcoming my best friend, whom I haven't seen in months, since our wedding if I recall, into our house?" Mina was tapping her foot impatiently as she stared at her husband. Strangely he didn't seem at all sorry about his actions, in fact he looked worried, almost panicked.
"Mina you've got to get her out of here!" Kunzite rushed out, his eyes darting to the kitchen door as if expecting someone to come bursting in at any moment.
"What are you talking about Kunzite? You aren't making any sense." Mina was worried now, Kunzite was never like this. He was always cool and collected, always kept his head in any situation and here he was practically ranting.
"She can't stay here."
"What the hell do you mean she can't stay here?! She's like a sister to me and I will be damned if I won't let her into my home." Rage flowed over each clipped word.
"You don't understand Mina, she CAN'T stay here."
"Why the hell not? Give me one good reason why I should turn away the one person who has been my family? The one person who has supported me time and again. One damn reason, Kunzite, just one!"
Kunzite stared at his wife in annoyance and anger but also with a grudging bit of pride. She was a hellcat when she was defending those she cared about and there wasn't anyone she cared about more than her family, namely Serena. Kunzite had only met her once, at their wedding but it had been enough to make him realize why Mina loved her so much. Serena was the kind of person who would give you her last dollar to help you just because that was who she was.
The two girls had met in the foster care system. Being jostled from home to home was something that few people could walk away from unscarred and so the two girls had banned together. Mina had told him of the leaky and cold shelters and the loveless homes the girls had been shuffled too. They weren't always placed together but the social workers quickly found out that one girl or the other would run away from their foster home to find her "sister." They were sisters in a way that ran deeper than any bloodline. They'd shared horror and tears together and there was nothing on this earth they wouldn't do for the other.
It was something few people would understand but Kunzite did, he understood it and that's why it was killing him to tell Mina to turn away her. But Serena could not stay there. He had dragged Mina into his world; he couldn't let the woman she regarded as her sister to be dragged down as well.
"Damn it Mina you know why. She's like you, I can sense it. That's one of the reasons you two formed a pack. Like calls to like." The news stunned her for a moment and he realized she'd never suspected, never had even an inkling of suspicion but then he saw her jaw set and her shoulders square and inwardly groaned. This wasn't going to be easy.
"She stays." Mina azure eyes flashed with defiance as Kunzite reached out to placate her. God when had making this defiant, troublesome woman happy become the most important thing in the world to him? Sighing he admitted to himself that it had happened as soon as she stormed into his life like the tornado she was.
"They'll claim her Mina. Mark her and then claim her just like I did you." At his words Mina seemed to waiver for the first time. She'd never considered that Serena being claimed was a possibility, it seemed so remote that she had never really given the worry any credence.
"How can you be sure they even CAN claim he? She may not be able to be a mate. You told me the chances of finding a compatible human mate were one in a million. How do you know Serena is that one?"
Sighing Kunzite wrapped Mina in his arms, her cheek resting against his chest. He could feel the fear and despair edging through her body. She didn't want her sister trapped into a life she had no say in.
"I knew when I met her at our wedding. I could smell it in her blood, faint though it was. She smells like you. Any of the pack would know if she came within ten feet of them. She could be a mate, she could have children." Pulling back Mina stared at her husband, sorrow and confusion shining in her eyes.
"Isn't that what you want though? She could be a mate to someone in your pack, carry on your line." Kunzite's felt his chest tighten at his wife's stricken expression and only pulled her close to him.
"Of course, I want nothing more than for my family to have mates, for my species to have pups but I can't ask you to bring your sister into this world." Kissing her lemon yellow hair gently he spoke softly, desperately trying to make her understand before it was to late. "Mina I gave you a choice." He only tightened his hold on her when he felt her try to pull back to question him. "If you hadn't loved me I would have let you go and said to hell with everything else, they won't let her go. Things are worse than when I met you, several of our females died in childbirth and too many males are banding together against the established groups, trying to steal other men's mates."
"They would claim her whether she wanted a mate or not?" Kunzite flinched slightly at her tear-filled voice. Shame welled up inside him that what he spoke was nothing more than simple truth but truth it was and it would accomplish nothing to hide from it.
"They would claim her, fight to claim her."
"Dear God we have to get her out of here." Mina's frantic declaration was the only thing to fill the suddenly ominous silence.
* * *
Serena could only smile as she watched fiery Mina be dragged down the hall by Kunzite. Those two certainly made an interesting couple but she had to admit she had never seen her friend so happy. Kunzite had swept her off her feet and after only two months of dating they had gotten married. Serena had been in Maine at the time, working odd jobs and just soaking up life in New England. Cold was the one word that seemed to exemplify it. She'd made it to the wedding though, a simple ceremony with only a few close friends. Neither had had any close relatives to invite though Kunzite had made a few vague references to some close friends who couldn't attend.
Shrugging it off Serena went in search of the coat closet. Mina had only been living in her "quant little farm house" as she so affectionately termed her mammoth Victorian house, for a few weeks. Seeing no obvious closet doors she set off down in the opposite direction Mina had gone. After smashing into several pictures and trying several different doors Serena had found the parlor, a study and even the bathroom but no coat closet. Muttering about someone turning on the lights somewhere she found herself before two double sliding doors, heavy oak like everything else in the house. Saying a prayer that there was a coat closet, or at least a map to this place in there Serena slid them open.
An expansive living room greeted her but it was the occupants that gave her the shock. A number of men lounged about, looking for the world like there was nothing that might surprise them and yet one could feel the slight tension humming through the room. That tension fairly exploded as they, almost as one, noticed her. All eyes turned to her, seeming to take in every aspect of her in that single glance. It was unnerving and Serena found she couldn't meet any single person's stare.
"Umm don't suppose you know where the coat closet is?" She asked with a tight smile and could almost see every body tense in reaction. Serena was confused and disconcerted. Something was going on in this room that she didn't understand and so decided that retreat was the best option.
"Well I didn't mean to interrupt, so I'll be off to continue the hunt." She finished lamely but no one replied, no even made the slightest sound. Stepping back she nearly slammed into Kunzite.
"Serena what are you doing here?" His gaze flew from her to the men in the room several times, as if trying to gauge her reaction, or theirs.
"Got lost looking for the coat closet. You know Mina and her directions." She felt a little more at ease now that Kunzite was here. These were obviously his friends and even if there was something going on between him he would let her escape this bizarre situation.
"Why didn't you tell us Kunzite?" The words were cold, no emotion colored them and yet Serena shivered at the underlying threat even she could read there.
"Leave her out of this, she's Mina's sister and one is enough."
"Damn it Kunzite you knew! You knew and yet you told no one! She could be a mate for one of us and help our race and you told no one." This from a man with tawny hair and light green eyes. He had jumped up in the middle of his speech, his eyes flashing with anger and his body tensed as if ready to attack. Oh yes it was time for her to go.
"Kunzite, I'm going to go find Mina. I'll uhhh leave you with your friends." With that she made to leave only to slam into a hard chest. Stumbling in shock she reflexively looked up and found herself staring into the most extraordinary pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. Misty and dark they seemed to seize her and she felt frozen in place, and then he smiled. Gleaming white teeth were revealed and still he didn't move, and neither did she though they were standing absurdly close. She heard a savage curse behind her but she couldn't drag her eyes away from the man in front of her.
His skin, bronzed by the sun, stood in stark contrast to the impeccable white shirt and black suit he wore. He looked so completely perfect, the epitome of masculine beauty and he was staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. Suddenly his smile slipped away and he stared behind her, that menacing tone reappearing and she knew he was the man who had first spoken.
"She's mine."
* * *
:::sigh::: sexy Darien. could just dip him in honey. yeah so i fixate, oh well. so leave me a reivew to tell me if you like this story or if i should even continue you it. i don't write if nobody's reading. :)