Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Deadly Beautiful ❯ Desperate ( Chapter 1 )

Standard disclaimers apply. Don't own it, wish I did, etc.

 

 

 

WARNING: If the thought of D being with a female, even for a very specific reason, freaks you out: leave the way you came in. I like to throw in my own characters so if that bothers you find the exit. Flames will be removed immediately and I will sneer at you for being a narrow minded loser.

 

Now that the unpleasantness is behind us, let's move on shall we.

 

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“D, are you here?” A woman's voice called into the depths of the pet shop. Hearing no answer but the rustling of wings she pushed the door wider. She smelled something familiar beyond the incense. Blood. Coming into the main foyer she looked around. Tiny droplets splattered across the floor; the trail led to one of the side rooms. She followed her extraordinary ears and nose to a doorway. Pausing just inside the arch, she watched her friend bandaging a human man's left arm. Of all things, she thought. I would have never suspected this of him.

 

D's head shot up from where he was checking Detective Orcot's wound. His eyes narrowed to focus on the intruder. He blinked rapidly, somewhat startled by who it was, then dropped to one knee before her.

 

“Forgive me, Your Sylvan Majesty, I did not hear you enter,” he said, his head bowed respectfully.

 

She laughed and ran one hand through the silk of his hair. “Oh, D. How long have you known me? Get up,” she said. Taking him by the shoulders she pulled him to his feet.

 

“I have known you since my first breath, Your Highness.”

 

She squelched the urge to bite him. “As such a long standing friend, do you think you could find it in you to call me by my name rather than my title?”

 

He laughed. “Your name is nearly the same as your title in meaning.”

 

“True enough.”

 

“Hey, D, who's the honey?” Detective Orcot called. “She's cute.”

 

Her eyebrows shot up in mild surprise. She had never been addressed thusly by a human before. Count D leaned over and slapped him on the back of the head.

 

“OW! What'd you do that for?”

 

D turned back to his guest. “Forgive him. He's an oaf who has no clue as to how to address royalty.”

 

“You mean she's some kind of diplomat or something?” Detective Orcot said, scratching the back of his neck.

 

“She is a queen, you imbecile.”

 

“Oh.” Detective Orcot seemed to sink into his chair a little further. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Coulda fooled me. What kind of queen roams around looking like a biker chick from hell?” he said under his breath.

 

She smiled. “This queen does.”

 

How the hell did she hear me?

 

“Why are you here, Your Maj . . . Regina?”

 

“Do I need a reason other than visiting a friend?” she said somewhat evasively. Glancing at the detective.

 

“Okay. You two need some private time. Gotcha. I'm outta here,” he said, swinging his jacket over one shoulder and wincing at the pain that shot down his arm.

 

“You should have that wound checked properly, Detective,” D said quietly, gesturing to the wound on his upper arm.

 

“It'll be okay. I'll drop Chris off around eight or so in the morning.”

 

“Detective, need I remind you again that this is a pet shop. It is not a daycare center.”

 

“It's only for a day. Or maybe two,” Detective Orcot mumbled as he headed for the door. “Hey, D, she got a sister?”

 

“Out!” D all but shrieked. When he turned back to his guest, he could see she was shaking with suppressed laughter.

 

“You two fight like you're married,” she said with a small smile.

 

D humphed. He remembered his manners and asked, “Would you like tea?”

 

“Of course.”

 

As they settled down to drink the tea, D's mismatched eyes scanned his guest thoroughly. She was thinner than he had ever seen her and there was an almost defeated, exhausted air about her that he had never felt before. Something was very wrong here. She was usually hale and hearty.

 

“How is your mate?” D asked, just making conversation.

 

“Dead,” she said in a hollow voice.

 

“I am terribly sorry. I had no idea,” D said, putting a hand over hers. “How long ago?”

 

“Nearly a year,” she said, her eyes glittering with tears she refused to shed. “I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner, D. But the packs have been in an uproar ever since this happened.”

 

“I quite understand. You have more important responsibilities than visiting me.”

 

“That's just the point, D. I never seem to come to you except when I'm trying to head off an impending disaster and it isn't fair. I should have been a better friend to you over the past few years.”

 

“You have had a thousand and one horrors heaped on you since you took your place among your people. I do not expect you to grace my door step every waking moment. You saved my life on more than one occasion. You have always been there when I needed you. That is enough.”

 

“No. It isn't,” she insisted.

 

“Regina, what do you need to ask of me that is tearing you apart like this?” D said gently, setting both of their tea cups on the low table. “You know I will do anything in my power to help you.”

 

She gave a little shuddering sigh and leaned against him. “You know that the packs were forced to accept me in the first place. Not only because my father left no other heir, but because I fought for it.”

 

D nodded. Remembering the myriad of times she had come to his father or grandfather bloodied and bruised almost beyond recognition but still alive. The last time she had looked as though she had been nearly torn in half. “That is the nature of your people. I remember how hard won your title is. I remember my father and grandfather tending your wounds after almost an entire pack had attacked you at once. You fought them all off and came to them because they were the only ones you trusted with you half shifted.”

 

“We heal faster in Volos form.”

 

“But you are not fully Volos. You can shift and have incredible strength as the purest of that bloodline do. You are leader of your people through right of conquest. But the fact remains that you are half human.”

 

“Therein lies the trouble.”

 

D's finely arched brows shot up in curiosity. “How so?”

 

“No one ever suspected that Volos genetics could combine with human ones. Though my people look human and have adapted to their ways, the DNA is different. The fact that I exist is a minor miracle. It makes things . . . difficult.”

 

“How many litters have you lost?” D asked, knowing instantly what she was talking about.

 

“Countless. I always knew from the start I'd lose them. I could feel it from the moment I conceived.”

 

He wanted to cradle her. He wanted to protect her as she had protected him on so many occasions. But he knew she would never allow it. “I can not imagine how terrible that must have been for you.”

 

She shrugged. “No more terrible than my mate trying to kill me while I was recovering.”

 

D pulled back and looked at her. Shocked by what he was hearing. He drew her tight against his side.

 

“So, instead, you killed him,” he said.

 

Her fingers dug into the silk of his cheongsam and she nodded slowly. “Survival of the fittest,” she said bitterly. “Evidently, I am the fittest.”

 

“Undoubtedly. What is it they want of you that has you running to me?”

 

She pulled back and stared at him for a minute. Trying to find just the right words to ask for what she needed. But, as usual, she didn't need to ask.

 

“You know there is no guarantee that my genetics will combine compatibly with yours,” D said, a slight frown marring the perfection of his face. “And as that is not the way my line reproduces . . .”

 

“It's a risk I'm willing to take if you are. I know this is imposing a lot on our friendship, D. But I don't trust anyone else. None of the packs would think to question any of the children's right to rule if they were yours.”

 

“That is true. How long do you have to offer them proof that you can carry to term?”

 

She laughed bitterly. “A whole week. I'm so sorry, D. I know this isn't your thing but you're the only one I trust enough to allow that close to me.”

 

D sighed and looked into her face. It was a good face, he thought. Strong without being harsh. She had the most extraordinary eyes for her kind. Almost all of her people had striking green or golden eyes. Hers were an electric blue, due to her human genetics no doubt. There was a curious appeal in the fall of her soft mane of sable colored hair.

 

“I am honored that you think so highly of me. But again, there is no guarantee that I would be able to give you what you need.”

 

She sighed and pulled away from him. She stood up and pushed both hands through her hair.

 

“I truly am sorry, D. Don't worry about it. This is my problem, not yours,” she said turning to leave.

 

D reached out a long finger nailed hand and stopped her. “Regina, my friend, did I say that I was refusing you?”

 

 

Several hours later Regina propped herself up on an elbow and looked into D's face. It was so strange looking down into the eyes of her friend. The father of her children, she corrected herself. That sounded so peculiar, even in her own head. Evidently their genetics were highly compatible. She smiled slightly.

 

“What is amusing you so?” he asked.

 

She smiled at him. “You. You really love this detective, don't you.”

 

“He is an obnoxious pig.”

 

She laughed. “Ah, yes, my friend, you have it bad.”

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

“Easy. The smell from the two of you when you're together. You smell like sex and rain and something more ethereal. Basically, you smell like love. I don't think he's actually aware of it though. Not yet. If he is, he's fighting the attraction.”

 

“Quite probably.”

 

“D, how involved do you want to be in your children's lives?”

 

“I would like to always be there for them. They will naturally grow much faster than normal human children would. Are you certain you can carry these to term?”

 

“Yes. Whatever term is for me. I'm not really sure considering there are so many odd factors coming into play. For the Volos gestation period is usually two months. Though with a human being, it's nine. We'll not even discuss how weird your side of the family is. Could go anywhere in between, I suppose.”

 

“Yes, an in-between time is likely.”

 

“These will live. They already have souls, I can feel them. I'll bring them to you as soon as they're born.”

 

“You will not have to. I intend to be there when you have them.”

 

She stared down at him for a moment. “D, you don't have to. I know you're busy here.”

 

“When has any father been too busy to see his children born?”

 

“In the human world, the number is endless.”

 

“This makes me profoundly thankful that I am not human.”

 

“I wonder what your detective will say when he finds out you're to be a father?” she mused.

 

“Probably make some snide comment alluding that I would be a better mother.”

 

“Hmm. Possibly. You are beautiful, after all.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

She shrugged. “The truth is what it is. No matter how any of us may seek to alter it to our own purposes. The truth is you're beautiful.”

 

“There is nothing wrong with your looks either, Regina.” D smiled slightly and nodded. “What will your people say concerning this?”

 

“Probably not much,” she said, stifling a yawn. “They're more concerned with my ability to reproduce rather than who the father might be. There were many noises being made about whether or not I was too old to carry. And as I've said, none of them would question it considering it's you. Those who would probably question it are the ones who questioned my right to rule because of my mixed blood.”

 

“Your cousins.”

 

She nodded. “It's strange that my father and uncle are both from the same litter and are so vastly different. But I suppose that's true of all families. Look at you and your father and grandfather. You all have the same face and some of the same mannerisms but everything else about you is different.”

 

“Truer words were never spoken. Get some rest. You'll need it.”

 

“D?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“It was no hardship,” he said, smiling as she curled up against his side. “No hardship at all.”

 

 

Eight the next morning saw Regina still at the pet shop. Detective Orcot's younger brother, Chris, came bursting through the doors a few moments later. The detective following in his wake. Chris skidded to a halt in front of Count D and Regina.

 

Hey, Count.

 

“Good morning, Chris. May I introduce you to Her Sylvan Majesty?” D said, turning to Regina, who groaned at the use of her title.

 

Regina crouched down to Chris' level. “It is good to meet you, Chris. My name is Regina.”

 

Hi! What's sylvan mean?

 

“Basically it means of the woods.”

 

Okay. I'm gonna go find Pon-chan. Bye!

 

“He's adorable,” she said.

 

“Yeah, takes it after his brother,” Orcot said.

 

“Let us sincerely hope that is the only thing he takes after you,” D said.

 

“What the fuck is that supposed to . . .”

 

“Okay, boys! Enough,” Regina said, smiling. “D, I have to be going. Thank you again.” She put her arms around his neck and kissed his painted lips. “I'll let you know when it's time.”

 

D smiled down at her. “Thank you. Be well. No fighting.”

 

“Yes, D,” she said, smirking. “Have a pleasant day, officer.”

 

“Later.”

 

Orcot waited until the pet shop door had closed before turning to D.

 

“Since when did you start doing booty calls? I didn't think you even liked women.”

 

“I beg your pardon. What are you talking about, Detective?”

 

“Beautiful woman shows up here yesterday afternoon in leather and is still here the next morning. She leaves wearing one of your dresses. Got to be something freaky that went on last night.” Leon wasn't sure why but he was highly disturbed by the thought of D and the woman who had just left doing the mattress mambo.

 

“Detective, there is no reason to be rude and offensive.”

 

“Damn it, D. How do you do it?”

 

“What, in your not so humble opinion, have I done this time?”

 

“How the hell do you wind up with a hot little honey like that when you wear a dress all the time?”

 

“Jealous, my dear detective?”

 

“Damn straight.”

 

“If you must know, Regina is one of my soul mates.”

 

“Soul mate? What the hell are you talking about, D?”

 

“Just that, Detective. It is possible to have several soul mates in one lifetime. She just happens to be one of mine,” D said, smiling.

 

“You are so weird. Anyway, I'll be back to pick Chris up this eveni . . . D, do you have a hickey on your neck?”

 

D reached up and lightly traced the edge of his cheongsam collar, feeling the slightly abraded skin on his neck. “Actually, I believe that is a bite mark,” D said, taking great satisfaction at the look on the detective's face. He smiled even wider when thinking of the long marks down his back from Regina's incredibly sharp claws. She had been very gentle with him all the same considering a fraction of her strength could have easily broken him into a million pieces.

 

“I don't even want to think about it,” Orcot said with a mild shudder, stalking to the door of the shop. “I'll pick Chris up this evening.”

 

“That will be fine, Detective. Have a good day at work.”

 

Orcot grumbled something unintelligible and stalked out the door. D smiled to himself and went in search of Chris.