Warnings:
Lime-ish NCS moment.
Part Five:
Desperate Measures
“Legends also talk of wolves who know where
Her voice was low and
sonorous over the crackling flames from the fire in the large hearth. The room
itself was quite ostentatious in its furnishings but yet gloomy with only the
fire as its source of light. With its décor reminiscent of the Victorian era,
long cream-colored drapes covered the long glass windows and matching ones upon
several small couches and chairs. Jagara sat before the fire, dressed in a long
velvet red robe. The book she held in her hands trembled a little as she
continued to read. Her voice rose and fell with each word, growing with passion
and a wistfulness that was not lost on her companion.
There was a tray filled with
sweet tea and some biscuits that had been brought in by Darcia earlier. Darcia,
for his part lay upon a couch with an arm over his eyes as he listened to his
mistress read. It wasn’t the first time he had heard this story about the
coming of the Wolves and their reign over 200 years ago. Jagara was obsessed
with it and had taken to reading from the Book of Wolves since it came into her
possession. Of course, she had never told him where she had gotten the book
from. All she had given him was a vague response of it being passed down in her
family over generations. Darcia had seen the gleam in her eyes each time and
had known that she wasn’t telling the truth. However, who was he to complain?
Jagara had rescued him from the depths of hell and in return, he had sworn to
protect her until his dying day.
Selling my soul to the devil, he thought ruefully.
She closed the book with a
slam and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to control her rapid breathing.
It was always this way. Whenever she came to the part about the White Wolf, her
entire visage and body language would be transformed into that of a woman who
must have experienced the most intense orgasm. He watched warily as she arched
her slender body off the chair, her lips moist and full parting with the effort
of trying to breathe normally. A light sheen of sweat was upon her fair skin
now and Darcia fought the urge to get off his position to wipe it off.
Several moments passed before
she settled back in the chair with a soft sigh. She reached for stainless steel
teacup and took a sip of the now tepid drink.
“I grow impatient, Darcia,”
she murmured thickly. She placed the book upon a side stool and wrung her
fingers together. “I must have him. I must reach
A low cry that was almost
like a howl had her brows coming together in an irritated scowl. She turned a
little in her seat to eye the large oak doors. Darcia sighed softly at the
unspoken question.
“They are locked away as you
ordered, my Lady. They will be no trouble from them.”
“I certainly hope not.” She
settled into her chair again, but her body was tenser than before. “I need
those two to bring the White Wolf to me.”
“Do you have any idea of who
might have him, my Lady?”
Jagara’s frown deepened. “I
do not know. I do not know of anyone else who could know about the Book of the
Wolves and about
Darcia watched as the woman’s
lips tightened into a thin line of displeasure. It did not make her look pretty
at all and he was sure that if he were a lesser man, her expression would have
terrified him completely.
“…I’ll make sure they never
see the light of another day,” she finished bitterly.
__
Hige moaned again and Tsume
grit his teeth while counting slowly to ten in his mind. It wouldn’t do to
pounce on this fat bastard and choke the life out of him, but if he had to
listen to Hige make that sound one more time…
“I’m dying here!”
“Like I give a fuck,” Tsume
retorted icily. “We were just fed…” He balked at the way those words had come
out. “…an hour ago. What kind of a stomach do you have anyway?”
“You should talk,” Hige
replied with a light snort as he huddled in the corner as far away from the
angry man as he could. “You haven’t been wandering the streets all your life,
having to scrap for food here and there.”
He began to go into another
speech about his pathetic life as Tsume rolled his eyes and stared at the stone
ceiling above them. Jagara had been ‘nice’ enough to dump them in here after
their hunt for Kiba at his apartment. Apparently, she assumed that they would
be no problem to her because there had been no guard stationed outside their holding
cell. Again, Tsume tried to convince himself of just being here to find out
more about Kiba and their sudden relationship to wolves. However, being treated
like a common dog was really beginning to grate on his nerves. He wasn’t sure
of what time it was now, but from the shadows that had crept in and out of
their stone cell through an extremely narrow slit of an excuse for a window,
Tsume had the feeling that it was already night time.
Great. A whole fucking day
gone and nothing to show for it.
He wondered if Kiba had
returned or if he was all right to begin with. He still couldn’t believe that
someone had come into his apartment just to get Kiba. Something about that
didn’t sound quite right.
Perhaps they had come for me, he thought with a light frown as he lowered his head
to stare blindly at the cold cement floor. Whoever
it is must have probably come for me and they found Kiba instead. But…who?
He had a lot of enemies, that
much was true, but everyone he had had a fight or query with had been wise
enough not to show up at his place. They knew they had no chance of survival.
So whoever these new guys were apparently had no problems meeting him face-to-face.
Shit.
“Quent…Quent…”
Tsume lifted his head with a
wary glance at Hige, who now seemed to be scraping at the door with something.
He raised a brow.
“Just what are you mumbling
to yourself about?” he asked.
Hige placed a finger against
his lips and shook his head. “Shsssh! I’ve got to concentrate.”
“Huh?”
But Hige was already focusing
on his task with increased fervor. It took another second for Tsume to realize
that the other man was trying to unlock the door with something. Now
interested, he shifted across the floor and towards Hige.
“Are you saying that you
could open this door all along and you allowed us to stay in here all this time
for no reason?”
Hige shook his head lightly
and replied in a voice that was almost condescending. “You don’t know how these
things work, do you? You don’t just escape the moment you’re locked in. You’ve
gotta wait and test out the surroundings before making a move.”
Tsume hated to admit that
Hige was making sense but it still didn’t explain a lot of things. “So…you
think you can get us out of here?”
“I can try. These aren’t easy
locks you know.” Hige stooped to his haunches again and began to fiddle with
the lock with the piece of narrow wire he had retrieved from his hair earlier.
“I saw it.”
Tsume’s eyes widened. He had
a vague idea of what Hige was talking about.
Still working on the lock,
Hige continued quietly. “Rather, I saw them.
Quent’s guys…two men and a girl – she was kinda hot.” At Tsume’s growl of
impatience, he continued quickly. “Anyway, they went up to your place and they
brought the guy down. He looked like he was passed out or knocked out or both.
Either way, he wasn’t looking too good, if you know what I mean.”
Unaware of how tightly
clenched his fists were, Tsume asked tightly. “Who are they? This…Quent…who is
he?”
“Quent Yaiden,” Hige said
simply while cursing softly. The wire had pricked his finger and he stuck the
bleeding digit into his mouth. “The guy owns half of the Main city and
everything else in between. He could buy, sell and own anything he wanted. Word
has it that he was supposed to be getting some illegal shipment of drugs the
other day and as fate would have it; Port Victoria got wasted in the process.
You can bet he isn’t a happy camper right about now.”
Hige had turned to face the
lock again and failed to notice the shocked expression on Tsume’s features. So
his hunch was right! Those guys had come for him and had taken Kiba instead!
But how? How had they known where he lived? Had Sykes ratted on him? That was
the only reasonable explanation. It had to be!
“Fuck…fuck…” he muttered
thickly as he ran trembling fingers through his short locks. This was all his
fault. If he hadn’t left Kiba alone, none of this misunderstanding would have
happened. He could only imagine what the other man must be going through or
thinking right now. If this Quent was as dangerous as Hige made him out to
sound, then Kiba’s life was in danger.
“Bingo,” Hige announced with
a wide grin as he pushed open the door gently. Its iron hinges seemed way too
loud in the deathly silence that had surrounded them and both men winced and
then held their breaths.
“Easy now,” Hige pleaded as
he crawled out of the room on his hands and knees. Tsume wasn’t sure of why he
was doing that but he was already impatient to find Kiba. With a deliberate
step, he tried to walk over Hige’s head, but the other man wrapped a hand
around his ankle, causing Tsume to fall in an ungraceful heap next to him.
“Just what the fuck do you
think you’re doing?!” Tsume growled in a harsh whisper. “Do you want to kill
me?!”
“No,” Hige replied just as
harshly. “But it seems as if you want to kill yourself. Who knows what will
happen to you if you get caught?! You can’t just go bounding out of here, pal.”
“I am not your pal and I’m
going to find Kiba!” He made to move again, but Hige tugged him back, this time
by holding on to his jacket.
“It’s all nice and good that
you’re trying to rescue your friend, but do you even know how to reach him?”
Tsume, who had tried to
escape from Hige’s surprisingly strong grip, stopped at that thought. Shit,
Hige was right again. He had no idea where to even start his search. He glared
at the amused glint in the brown-haired man’s eyes and settled down with a
light snort.
“All right, you’ve got me
there,” he admitted reluctantly. “So what do we do?”
“We?” Hige looked
incredulous. “I don’t recall saying I was going to help you out, did I?”
“Why you…!”
“I’m not cheap, you know.”
Hige looked smug as he began to crawl out of room and into the narrow corridor.
It was damp, dank and smelled like wet stone. “If I help you, you’re gonna have
to pay me…plenty.”
“Don’t worry,” Tsume said
coldly. “I’ll give you what’s coming to you if you don’t hurry up…”
“Physical violence is not an
option,” Hige interrupted as he came to a stop at the small flight of stairs.
He stood up and dusted his yellow sweatshirt with a wide grin. “So…partners?”
Tsume eyed the offered hand
with a low growl. The urge to squeeze that offered flesh till he felt the bones
crack beneath the pressure overwhelmed him, but with great effort, he accepted
it with a tight smile. “Partners…but only until we find him.”
Hige’s grin did not waver as
he released his hand. “What’s he to you anyway?” And at Tsume’s thunderous
scowl, he waved his hand in dismissal. “Sorry, I asked. Let’s go.”
And as he led the way out of
their dungeon, Hige was oblivious to the flush that had crept up Tsume’s neck
and face.
Just what indeed was Kiba to
him?
Nothing more than a pain in the ass, he concluded as he leapt after Hige. Just remain alive until I find you, you
bastard! I’m the only one allowed to kill you.
__
Darcia’s eyes flew open and
his brows came together in a frown. He turned his head a little to see that
Jagara had fallen asleep in her chair. He turned his gaze to the window and
allowed a small smirk to come to his lips.
So the wolves had escaped.
Jagara was not going to be
very happy when she woke up in the morning.
__
Kiba groaned and opened up
his eyes slowly. The first thing to hit him was the chill of the room against
his naked flesh and second the smooth feel of the cloth beneath him. For a
moment, nothing seemed to make sense until the sharp and pungent scent of the
one person he loathed filled his nostrils. With a low growl, he scrambled up,
wincing as the handcuffs around his wrists chaffed his already raw flesh. He
glanced around him wildly, taking in the black and gray décor of the bedroom he
had been left in.
It was a very large bedroom,
with a bed that seemed to take up the entire space. Its four poster design was
intricate and decadent with carved images of naked men engaged in rather lewd
and promiscuous acts. Several pictures on the bedroom wall showcased the same
images and Kiba could feel a reluctant swell of his cock as he clamped his
thighs together to prevent it from becoming too evident.
Soft, soothing music seeped
from unseen speakers and the rich smell of incense was becoming overwhelming.
There was a small round table set with food and drink that looked tempting and delicious.
Kiba heard his stomach growl in response and he closed his eyes, trying to
swallow the moisture that had gathered in his mouth. His nipples felt as hard
as rocks, the cold air not making things any easier as he reached for the black
sheet with hands that trembled. Wrapping it around his body as best he could,
he scrambled out of the bed and walked, rather unsteadily, towards the
food-laden table.
He hadn’t eaten anything
since Tsume’s meat and potatoes the night before and staring at the plates of
roast beef, chicken and pork had him salivating hungrily. He pulled out a chair
and sat down quickly, allowing the sheet to pool to his waist as he reached out
for a large chicken leg. He took a huge bite and almost passed out in pleasure at
how good it tasted. The chicken seemed to fall off the bones and melt in his
mouth as he continued to munch away. Finished with that, he reached for a mug
of wine and drank thirstily, hardly caring that it was beginning to trickle
down his chin, throat and down to his chest.
Licking his fingers, he dove
for a plate of ham and was just about to feast on it, when soft rumbling
laughter had him spinning around quickly. He tried to get to his feet, but a light
wave from the man had him falling back into the chair rather clumsily.
“Ah, forgive me for not
joining you in time,” the man said with a wide grin as he walked closer to the
table. He was dressed in nothing but a black bathrobe and Kiba could tell he
had nothing underneath due to the sheer material of the cloth. He cringed
inwardly at the sight of the man’s erection which was threatening to rip a hole
right through the cloth and turned away quickly.
Suddenly, the food on the
table looked horrible and nauseating to Kiba. He tried not to vomit as he
glared at his reflection in a mirror in irritation. How could he have acted so
stupidly? Just because of food, he had lost his mind and had forgotten his need
to escape. If Tsume were here, he was sure the silver-haired man would have
smacked some sense into him.
“Ah, you beautiful, beautiful
creature,” the man crooned thickly as he reached out to thread his fingers
through Kiba’s hair. Kiba tried to move, but the older man’s fingers tightened
within the soft locks causing Kiba’s eyes to water in pain. He suffered the
mint filled breath and abrasive wet tongue on his neck, closing his eyes in
humiliation as he felt the strong and rough hand wrap itself around his
traitorous erection.
“I am so lucky to have you in
my life…Tsume…”
Tsume. Tsume. Tsume!!
That name rang like an
incessant bell over and over in his mind. He could feel Tsume’s lips on him.
Tsume’s breath. Tsume’s body…ah his body.
“I…” Kiba began thickly,
lifting his leg slowly while fighting the urge to moan as the man’s fingers
toyed with wet cock. “I am not…not…TSUME!” He growled and kicked out angrily.
The image of Tsume’s face had given him the extra burst of energy he needed and
as he felt his foot connect with the soft flesh of the man’s groin, he smirked
coldly and leapt away.
“You….you…piece of…shit…”
came the harsh wheezing words from the man who was now doubled up on the floor
while cupping his precious but swelling jewels. Kiba could see him trying to
reach for something on his left and in a flash; he moved to place a foot upon
the groping hand.
The man’s howl of pain was
sweet music to Kiba’s ears as his smile became a feral grin of triumph. “Who
are you?” he asked coldly. “Who are you and what do you want with Tsume?”
The man seemed to be foaming
at the mouth and his eyes, which had been golden earlier, rolled into whites
that looked blank and empty. Kiba frowned. He didn’t think he had hurt the man
that badly, but he stepped off the hand only to find himself being flung
against the room. He hit the wall with a painful thud before sliding to the
ground, groaning in pain as he lifted his head to eye the smirking man now
standing, albeit unsteadily, before him.
“Do you know who I am?!” the
man bellowed in fury as he dove for Kiba to wrap his hands around the younger
man’s neck. “You don’t fuck with me, do you understand?! My name is Quent
Yaiden and I can do whatever the hell I want with you, you beast!”
Kiba choked and tried to
release Quent’s death grip. He tried to use his legs again, but Quent was
clearly stronger at this time. His blurry vision was forced to stare into the
blazing gold ones before him, wondering why that look was enough to send
shivers of fear down his spine. It was clearly that of an animal. A wolf at
most. And that instinct that had always lain dormant within Kiba threatened to
rise to the surface again.
“I will make you the best
thief in the city,” Quent continued with a victorious grin as he pressed his
knee against Kiba’s throbbing erection. He relished in Kiba’s choked cry of
pain and pleasure and leaned close to claim the younger man’s lips again.
“Yes…you…will become my puppet and the best one at that…”
The shrill ring of a phone in
his room had Quent cursing loudly. Reluctantly releasing Kiba, he dove for the
black device and all but barked into it. “What?!”
Kiba couldn’t hear what the
other person was saying, but he didn’t plan on remaining here a minute longer. With
a soft grunt, he pushed himself away from Quent, who was too slow in reacting
to what was about to happen next. One minute he was staring at Kiba diving
across the room, the next, his face was splattered with burning wine and
shattering glass. As he fell to the floor, a low gurgling sound of blood
escaped his throat as Kiba scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily as he tried
to make his way out of the room. Cursing the hindrance of the handcuffs, he
opened up the door and stepped into the hallway. He glanced up and down the
empty corridor, wondering which way they had come from. Deciding that the left
looked good enough, he began to run that way. He knew he didn’t have much time
and that Quent’s henchmen would be likely to find him if he didn’t escape in
time. If he could only find a way out of this hell, then all would be well
again.
At least he hoped that.
__
Two large hamburgers and a
pizza later, Tsume and Hige found themselves sitting upon an adjacent rooftop
staring down into the lights and buildings below that belonged to the great
Quent Yaiden. They could make out several guards patrolling the large compound
and Tsume grit his teeth at how tight the security was. Last night he had been
in a similar position at the port, tonight he was about to head into something
he wasn’t sure of and a survival rate that could very well be non-existent. Hige
had been surprisingly efficient in leading them here and for the umpteenth
time, Tsume wondered just what history lay behind those amused brown eyes.
“Still wanna go inside?” Hige
asked as he watched the conflicting emotions criss-cross Tsume’s features.
“It’s next to impossible, you know. They’ll find you before you can even get to
the gates.”
“Don’t worry,” Tsume replied
with a cool smirk as he placed his knife between his teeth and began to peel
out of his jacket. “I’ll figure out a way to get in there. Where there’s a
will, there’s a way, right?”
Hige blinked as he barely
caught the clothing thrown at him. “Hey…you’re not really thinking of…hey!
You’re gonna get yourself killed!”
Tsume had already leapt down
from his perch and into the darkness below. His slender figure was a blur as he
ran and leapt through shadows and hidden corners. Hige watched in fascination
as Tsume slinked against the wall that surrounded the mansion before leaping
out of the shadows to make quick work of the guards that had been standing by
the gate.
“Wow…” Hige whistled in
appreciation as he cracked his knuckles. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Hey! Wait
for me, Tsume!”
And with a blind leap, Hige
dashed towards the taller man. He caught a hold of a guard who had been running
out of the building and made quick work of him with a well-placed blow at the
side of his head. Tsume stopped long enough to eye the grinning man in
surprise.
“Didn’t know you had it in
you,” he said simply as he began to run across the well-kept lawn as quickly as
he could. So far, they had not alerted any other guards and that was a good
thing. They would have to get into Quent’s home as inconspicuously as possible
or finding Kiba was going to be a pain in the ass.
“Psst! Hige!” he whispered
harshly. “In here!” By this time they were within a large lobby that was
surprisingly empty. Both men stood like deer caught in headlights as they tried
to make sense of their whereabouts. They were bloody and out of breath having
killed several men by this time. Hige licked his lips and bared his teeth as he
heard something.
“Over there!” he whispered to
Tsume. “Someone…or something’s coming. Let’s go, Tsume!”
“Not so fast, intruders,”
came the calm voice that had the two men spinning around quickly. Standing at
the top of a flight of stairs were a young woman with dark blue hair and a
young boy of about fifteen, with brown hair and a rather cheerful disposition.
“Who are they?” Tsume asked
beneath his breath as he sized up his new opponents.
“The woman was the one who
came to your apartment…the kid…I dunno…probably works for Quent too.”
“Can I have the one with the
white hair, Blue?” the boy asked sweetly as he began to walk down the stairs.
“He looks good enough to kill! I’m sure the boss would be very happy if I
brought him for dinner.”
Damn brat! Tsume growled and
smirked coldly. “Come on then, kid. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Wait a minute, Toboe. What
did you come here for?” the woman asked as she held up a hand to stop her
impatient ward. “You must be here for Tsume, correct?”
Tsume blinked in confusion
for a moment before the situation dawned on him. They had mistaken Kiba for
himself, of course!
“Oh, Tsume?” Toboe laughed
softly. “He’s with the boss right now.” He winked and cocked his head to the
side with a knowing look. “If you know what I mean. The boss always likes to
initiate his new recruits.”
Slow, dull rage slowly boiled
within the pit of Tsume’s stomach as the words sunk in. The old geezer. The old
geezer was touching Kiba…probably had the guts to do more than just touch Kiba.
His vision became glazed as he lowered his head to growl out in a tone that
could freeze water.
“Take me to him.”
Toboe stopped laughing long
enough to blink at the older man and at his ridiculous request.
“I beg your pardon…argh!”
Tsume had moved so fast that
neither Blue nor Hige, let alone Toboe, had seen him do so. The young boy found
himself pinned to the wall with a knife at his neck. His own weapon had long
slipped from his hands to slide upon the polished floor. Blue had made a move
to help him, but Hige blocked her way with a wide grin.
“Not right now, sweetheart.
You just let them go now and no one gets hurt.”
Toboe shivered in absolute
fear as he stared into the furious golden eyes before him. Tsume bared his
teeth and revealed a pair of fangs that had him crying out. He was looking into
the face of a beast and he knew that if he didn’t cooperate, he would be killed
in an instant.
And in a trembling voice, he
complied weakly. “I’ll…I’ll take you to him…”
TBC…