#incubus! lance has my throat right now

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Lance bot was feeling a little silly today

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Fangs, Fur, and Phantoms - Chapter 7

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

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Lance has a heart-to-heart with his future alpha-in-law.  Shiro and Allura are stressed for a variety of reasons.

Enjoy!

If there was one thing Lance knew about Kolivan, it was that he liked his privacy.

After all, why else would he live in what was little more than a trailer home in the middle of the woods?

It took Lance forever to find the place, driving up and down roads that were only dirt and gravel and probably didn’t even have names.  Eventually, though, he did find the house and knocked on the door.

Kolivan opened the door a crack, keeping the chain fastened, “What do you want?  If you’re selling something—“

“I’m not,” Lance interjected, “I need your help.”

Kolivan’s eyes widened, “You’re Keith’s mate, aren’t you?”

“I…yeah, that’s me.”

Kolivan seemed to hesitate a moment, before unlatching the door chain and ushering Lance inside.

The decor was about what Lance expected, functional and masculine, no frills or fuss.  Kolivan gestured to a table with two chairs and they both sat down.

“Now,” said Kolivan, “What’s this visit about?”

“I think Keith might be in danger,” said Lance.

“Keith is an adult.  He can take care of himself.”

“No, you don’t understand,” said Lance, “I’m being blackmailed and the person blackmailing me is threatening Keith’s life.”

That made Kolivan sit up and take notice, “Who is this person?”

“I don’t really know, I’d never met him before.  He said his name was Lotor and that he’d kill Keith if I didn’t do what he asked.  I can’t let that happen.”

Kolivan frowned, “Strange…”

“What’s strange?”

“I’m just confused as to why you seem so concerned about Keith’s death.”

Lance stared, incredulous, “Because I care about him?  What the fuck, Kolivan, he’s part of your pack!  Don’t you care about his death?”

“Yes, but that’s because I’m mortal like he is.”

Lance sat back in his chair.  He was beginning to see what Kolivan’s problem was.

“I suppose I’ve never heard of a vampire caring for a mortal so much.  I want to know why.  If you’re just going to outlive him, why bother forming this kind of connection?”

Lance thought for a moment, “I guess it’s because I need him.  You know he’s not the first person I’ve had a romantic relationship with, right?”

“I figured as much,” said Kolivan, “No doubt you’ve had a whole slew of lovers in your time on earth.”

“Not just lovers,” said Lance, “My last wife was a woman named Jenny.  I loved her from the moment I met her to the moment she died.  When our kids were born, I loved them too.  And when our grandkids were born, I loved them as well.  I love Keith no less than I loved any of them.  And if we have kids someday, I’m going to love them too.”

“It sounds heartbreaking,” said Kolivan, “Loving so many people and having to watch them die.”

“Well yeah, it is,” said Lance, “But the alternative is trying not to feel anything about other people, and that never ends well.  Other vampires have tried that and they end up being the ones you read about in the horror stories.  If I didn’t have people to care about…if I didn’t have Keith…I’d turn into as big a monster as people say I am.”

Kolivan studied him, “You know, Lance, I wasn’t sure about you when I first met you.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“But now I think you might be exactly what Keith needs as well.”

Lance perked up, “So you’ll help me?”

“First you have to tell me how to help you.  What does this Lotor person want you to do for him?”

“He wants me to kill these two people.  Their names are Agents Shirogane and Prince.  I don’t know what they did to this guy, but he wants them dead badly.  I don’t want to do it, they seem like they’re not bad people, but I can’t risk him hurting Keith.”

“I would think you could hold your own against a simple human if it came down to defending Keith from him.”

Lance shook his head, “He’s not just a simple human.  He’s…well, I’m not sure what he is.  I don’t think he’s a witch, but he can do…things.  Mess with your mind and stuff like that.”

Kolivan got out of his chair and stood next to Lance, “Then we’ll need help from our pack to take him down.”

“Our?” said Lance.

“Yes,” said Kolivan, the barest hint of a smile on his face, “If Keith’s mate needs my help, who am I to refuse?”

***

It was the night before Halloween and Shiro was about ready to tear his hair out.

He stewed in his frustration as he and Allura walked back to their hotel for the night.  Tomorrow was the All Hallows Eve festival.  The whole town would be filled with people coming in for the festivities and the two of them were no closer to stopping the monster stalking the town than they were when they first arrived.

At least now they knew what they were dealing with.  Keith’s name had been cleared and for that, Shiro was grateful, but in terms of the bigger mission, a monster from Anglo-Saxon folklore causing the killings only made things more complicated.  The beast had no more sentience than a wild animal, which meant he and Allura couldn’t exactly go knocking on its door with an arrest warrant in hand.  And it was infinitely more dangerous than any animal.  Shiro had heard rumors circulating the town of people going missing over the last few days, pets disappearing from backyards.  If the festival came around and this grendel was still on the loose…

“Even if we did find it,” said Shiro thinking out loud, “how are we supposed to kill it?  I didn’t bring any firearms besides my handgun and I doubt that would cut it with a creature this big.”

Allura huffed, also frustrated, “I’ve looked through every book I could find that mentions this thing and none of them list any weaknesses.  It’s immune to damage from all weapons.  Only one person’s ever been said to defeat one.  The hero, Beowulf.”

“Well, how did he do it?”

“He ripped the creature’s arm off with his bare hands.”

“Ouch.  Okay, not an option,” said Shiro, nervously putting a hand to his prosthetic, “What if we called in Coran?  Do you think an exorcism could stop it?”

Allura shook her head, “It’s not a demon.  I think that puts it outside of Coran’s jurisdiction.”

“Well, then what…” Shiro froze.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think we’re being followed.”

Across the street, Shiro was aware of another person keeping pace with him and Allura.  Definitely a cause for concern this late at night with the street as empty as it was.  Shiro turned and pretended to point something out to Allura in a nearby storefront window so they could get a good look at their follower.

Except that their follower did not appear in the window’s reflection.

“What the…?”

“It’s a vampire,” whispered Allura.

Slowly, Shiro turned to face the stranger.  “It’s McClain.” he whispered back.

Recognizing that they had noticed him, Lance McClain waved at the two agents and crossed the street.

“Evening,” he said, “You folks going on a bar crawl?  Mind if I join?”

“You’re Keith’s boyfriend, aren’t you?” said Allura, trying to hide her uneasiness.

“Yup, the name’s Lance.  It’s Shiro and Allura, right?”

“Listen,” said Shiro, “Is there something we can help you with?  We’re kind of trying to get home.”

“Actually,” said Lance, “yeah, there is something.”

Suddenly Shiro felt someone grab him by the arms.  He couldn’t see who they were but they were big and very strong.  He heard Allura give an indignant shout next to him.

“I’m really sorry about this,” said Lance, grabbing the collar of Shiro’s shirt and pulling down.

“What are you—“  Shiro was cut off as Lance bit down at the skin between his shoulder and neck.  He felt his needle-sharp teeth inject something into his bloodstream just before he blacked out.

He woke up in someone’s living room, tied to a chair.

“…prepare a blood transfusion for them?” he heard a deep voice say as he came to.

“I think they’ll be okay.  We don’t need a lot of blood, just enough to make it look convincing. But maybe prepare a blood bag, just in case.”  That was Lance’s voice.

“Hey…” Shiro croaked weakly.  He cleared his throat and tried again.  “Hey!”

His vision began to clear up and Lance’s face appeared in his line of sight, “Oh, good, you’re awake.  What’s your blood type?”

“Where’s Allura?”

“Sitting right behind you.  I think she’s starting to wake up too.”

Sure enough, Shiro heard Allura give a weak groan behind him.  She must have been sitting facing away from him, because the first word out of her mouth was, “Shiro?”

“I’m here,” said Shiro.  Then to Lance, he said, “What the hell is going on here?”

“I’m trying to save lives,” said Lance, “That’s what’s going on.”

“Saving lives?  Whose?”

“Yours.  And Allura’s.  And the lives of a lot of people I care about, including Keith.”

“What do you mean?” said Shiro, “Is Keith in danger?”

“He will be if I don’t do this.  You two wouldn’t happen to know a guy named Lotor, would you?”

“He’s an incubus,” piped up Allura, “We arrested him not that long ago.”

“Ah, that explains why he wants you dead so badly.  Apparently the arrest didn’t stick.”

“Lance, listen to me,” said Shiro, “We’ve dealt with people like Lotor before.  Whatever kind of deal he made with you, he is going to double-cross you.”

“Yeah, I figured.  That’s why I’m going to double-cross him first.”

“What?”

“Ulaz can explain it better than me,” said Lance, gesturing to the nearby doorway.  An extremely tall, white-haired werewolf stepped through it, holding what looked like an IV tube.  “This is Ulaz.  He’ll be your doctor for today.”

“We’re going to be taking a bit of blood from both of you,” said Ulaz, “Just enough for Lotor to be able to identify your scent when we fake your death.”

“When you what?”

“Oh, that’s the other thing,” said Lance, “Once we’ve collected the blood, we’ll need you to take your clothes off.”

“Excuse me?!” said Shiro.

“So that we have something to show Lotor to prove that you’re dead.”

“Don’t worry, we brought spare clothes for you to change into,” said Ulaz, “Allura looks like she could fit into some of Krolia’s old things and you’re about the same size as my mate.”

“I happen to like the outfit I’m wearing now!” said Allura.

“Guys, I’m sorry,” said Lance, his voice growing softer, “but I have to do what I can to protect Keith.  It’s either this or kill you and I really don’t want to kill you.”

Shiro sighed.  As much as he didn’t like the situation, he also couldn’t blame Lance for being protective.

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll help you.  What about you, Allura?”

“Can’t say I’m a fan of your plan.  But if it means keeping your boyfriend safe…and, you know, not dying…then I’m willing to help.”

Soon, both Shiro and Allura were untied and having their blood drawn by Ulaz, who explained that he worked as a nurse at the local hospital.  Once all the blood they needed was collected, Shiro and Allura both stripped and changed into the clothes Lance and Ulaz gave them.

Shiro buttoned up his new shirt and tucked it into his pants.  Apparently, he was a little bit shorter than Ulaz’s mate, but other than that, they really were similar in size.

“Thank you for this,” said Lance, as Shiro adjusted his clothes.

“It’s no problem,” said Shiro, “It’s our job to protect people like you.  I’m just glad Plan A wasn’t to go ahead and kill us.  Thanks for that, Carlos.”

“Oh, I was never planning to—“ Lance looked up, surprised, “How did you know my name?”

“The PBI’s been keeping tabs on you for a long, long time.  You’ve lived a very full life, Carlos Montoya.”

Lance smiled and shook his head, “I never thought I’d hear that name again.  But if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to be called Lance.”

Shiro nodded, “I understand.  I’ve gotta admit, though, I was hoping you’d be partial to Isamu Kurogane.”

Lance chuckled, “God, I almost forgot about my Japan days.”

“When this is all over, we should get lunch together sometime.  You can tell me all about your life and we’ll see if your Japanese has gotten rusty.”

“My Japanese is just fine, thank you,” said Lance, smirking, “But it might sound a little archaic to your ears.”  His face fell a bit.  “Assuming there is a ‘when this is all over’.”

“There will be,” said Shiro, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder, “No matter what happens, I promise you, from here on out, we’re all on the same side.”