The commotion outside was enough to wake the dead, and yet the woman tucked safely between her satin sheets didn’t seem to mind a bit. When a roar of an engine shook the very foundation of the house, however, she rolled onto her back and draped her arm over her eyes. It was still dark in the bedroom, and she could tell by the lack of weight against her stomach that she was alone. Her wife never went a single moment without touching her when she slept, and yet, she usually woke her before she left. Maybe it was an emergency. Pressing her hands to the mattress on either side of her body, she gasped as she tried to push herself upright in bed. The millisecond she moved, a large head popped up over the foot of the bed, and two large, brown eyes watched her intently as she squirmed to get comfortable.
“Give it a rest, Rodeo. I’m fine,” she chuckled, watching as the boxer lifted himself from the floor and padded around to her side, his tongue warm as it moved over her hand. Before she had a chance to react, he moved away, tail swishing back and forth as he sniffed at her medicine bottle. She knew what he was telling her to do, and slowly she threw the blankets back and slid her feet from the warm cocoon and onto the cold hardwood. “You don’t wait a single moment, do you? You’re worse than Felicity.” As if the very sentence insulted him, he gave an indignant huff and fell onto the floor, his tail thumping loudly as he glared at her. “I swear, Tigra is turning everybody against the poor woman. She’s just doing her job.”
Chuckling quietly, she grabbed the edge of her bedside table and lifted herself to stand, pain shooting up her spine. Her movements were stiff as she made her way carefully across the floor, her body beginning to tremble before she even made it to the vanity. With effort, she managed to uncap the bottle and shake a few horse pills out into her palm, her tired blue gaze searching for the bottle of water the doctor usually brought her. When she realized there wasn’t one, she sank her teeth into her lower lip. She could call her wife or Jacques, but she heard their laughter from down in the garage. She really didn’t want to bother them – nor did she want her wife to go for Felicity’s throat when she realized she hadn’t taken care of her.
Deciding it wasn’t worth the trouble, she curled her fingers over the pills and grabbed the wall with her free hand as she made her way for the stairs. Rodeo leaped up quicker than a dog of his size should, and followed behind her at a slow, confused pace. He knew she wasn’t supposed to take the stairs by herself, and he moved to stand in front of her as if to act as a road block. Narrowing her eyes, she grabbed the railing and patted him once on the side, and his head turned to offer her another glare as he stepped out of the way. He was her dog, after all. “Good boy. I’ll be fine, I promise.” Taking the first step down, she unsteadily began to make her way down, each movement causing sharp pains to shoot through her leg and up her back.
She had barely made it half-way before she felt her foot go numb. Quickly, she scrambled to grab onto the railing with both hands, but it was too late. Her leg shook before giving out on her, sending her body colliding to the steps with a cry. Above her, Rodeo gave a sharp bark as she tumbled down the stairs, the sound of his paws colliding with the wood following suit. Leaping over her, he gave her a quick nudge with his nose to her cheek before taking off in a flat out run, his massive body knocking over a chair before he crashed through the door. He slammed into a toolbox in his haste to get to Tigra, the metal swaying before falling to its side, causing a massive commotion throughout the garage.
When he reached the brunette, he leaped up onto her, two massive paws slamming into her chest before he turned and headed right back into the house, where he sat obediently beside his master’s twisted form. Reaching a shaking hand out, she pet her fingers through his fur as she tried to pull herself up, tears streaking her face as the pain took on new heights. She is going to kill her, was all she could think as she waited for her wife.
T I G R A ' S | | D A R A D A S I - R E I D | | J U D A S
Tigra laughed softly, her tall, thin frame settled easily against Lora’s soft body. Her son sat on the car with them as they watched Lucille leave. The redhead was a broken woman tonight, her pride shattered, just like her nose. That had been the joke, the words that had elicited the light laughter from the small brunette as she pulled her phone from her pocket, her tight jeans shifting with her grasp as it sank into her pocket and returned. Without a text, she could only assume that the shorter, curvier blonde upstairs was still sleeping. She was thankful for that.
Honor had been in so much pain these past few weeks, it was starting to frighten the woman. What if she got worse? What if she couldn’t walk anymore? Would she still love her the same? Would Honor still love her the same? It hurt her heart to think about it, to imagine the woman she loved for her kind, gentle heart becoming a bitter woman filled with hate for the world she loved so much right now. That fear was what kept Felicity around, both of the women shoveling money into her pockets to keep her there. She might hate Tigra, and Tigra might hate her, but she was Honor’s best shot at being normal again, or at least living as pain free as she could. Her features twisted into a frown just thinking about it.
Beside her, her son had been watching her closely as she had suddenly lost herself on that depressing line of thought, her mood slowly degenerating until she looked downright upset. He could almost see tears in her eyes as he reached over to squeeze her wrist. “It’s okay.” He said softly, the simple show of affection causing her to swallow a sob before it could escape her throat, the heel of her tan palm pushing against her eyes to banish those unshed tears. “I’m fine, something in my eye.” She muttered. She didn’t need him worrying over her. She smiled as the loud crash filled the garage, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin and leaping off of the chubby girl with her, spinning toward the source of the sound as her hand went to her hip, searching for her gun.
She hadn’t worn it.
A huge weight slammed into her chest, massive paws spanning her breasts as the massive beast shoved her once before falling to all fours to scurry off into the apartment. She knit her brows, watching him disappear inside. “That was…” she shook her head, and started to make her way inside. Rodeo only acted so strange when something was happening. Where he got excited, Lucy would lay flat on her side, her eyes lazily watching the goings on. She passed her Supra, leaning through the window until her hips rested against the sill as she reached for her gun under the seat. She pulled it around her hips and felt much better with its weight around her middle. She stepped inside the little hall that led to the stairs, her wife’s twisted form crumpled at the foot of the stairs.
“Oh, ****… Honor.” She said weakly, an icy stone sinking into the pit of her stomach as she fell next to the downed woman. She laid her hands over the battered figure as her eyes searched frantically for any kind of injury. “Baby, are you okay? What happened? You know you aren’t supposed to be on the stairs without me. I’ve told you a thousand times. I was just outside. You should have called.” She scolded the woman, her hands moving to gently touch her back, gauging her reaction as it moved tenderly across her back, side, hip, leg. “You aren’t in any shape for this…”
She bit into her lip as her eyes moved up her body, finally resting on her gaze. Even in this vulnerable, pained state, she was so extremely attractive that it physically hurt Tigra to look directly at her. To this day, when she woke next to her, she honestly believed she was living a dream, and it was scenes like this that made it feel more like the nightmare she could escape. She took the blonde’s hand in both of hers, and pushed her lips against the soft, silky skin of her palm. “Please tell me you’re alright baby. Do I need to call the doctor?”
Daradasi | Tigra Nikoletta LeChànce | Reid I N D E S T R U C T A B L E
She knew the moment her wife walked into the room, even with her eyes closed. It was as simple as her presence. It filled the entirety of the space, nearly choking the air from her lungs, and she had realized over the past few days it had only gotten stronger. She listened to her muttered curse and the rustle of her clothing as she dropped onto her knees at her side, her fingers soft and cold against her skin. For a moment, she didn’t speak. Frustration filled her at the compassion in her voice. Not because her wife was concerned, but because she shouldn’t have a reason to be. She wished she stand as tall on her own as she used to, to be the powerful woman she had been when they first met, before Lucille’s jealousy had ripped her life from her hands. As her wife continued to fuss over her, she lifted her hand and pressed it to her chest, doing something she had never done before. She pushed her away.
“I’m fine. Just stop, okay?” Her voice broke as the words tore from somewhere deep and dark inside of her. When she opened her eyes, they were void of the hopeful light they always held. She looked worn down, her cheek bruised and her lip busted. Flicking her tongue out, she brushed it over the soft skin, tasting the sweet copper of her blood as she tore her gaze from the brunette. At her side, Rodeo gave a low whine as he felt the shift in her mood, his paw pressing lightly to her hip. Even her own dog thought her some vulnerable creature! “Just go!” She screamed, the sound echoing off the walls. She watched as the dog jumped to his feet and scampered back, his whimpers loud as he jumped over the back of the couch and hid from her sight. Her heart ached at the sounds he made, and she dropped her head into her hands. She realized then how silent it was, as if everyone in the garage had heard her outburst and was unable to process how they should react.
Honor, you need to catch your breath. This isn’t you.
Shaking her head, she tried to pull her legs in, but they wouldn’t move. The pain was too much, it was literally blinding her. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be this woman anymore. God, I can’t even go down the stairs for a bottle of water without falling apart!” Her tears fell freely then as she moved into her wife’s arms, her face buried against her shoulder. Her entire body shook with her sobs, fingers clutching her shirt as she tried to process what was happening to her. She’d always been strong, always seen the light in all things dark, but could she be blamed for breaking down? She’d never given herself time to grieve for what she had lost, never let it show how much it bothered her. She knew her wife had been able to see it, but she never questioned her, just let her go on as she did. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry, I just…I can’t. I can’t always be strong. I understand if you can’t handle it anymore…”
T I G R A ' S | | D A R A D A S I - R E I D | | J U D A S
On her knees by the woman’s side, her hands continued to move over her body, checking her for anything further than the slight damage to her face. She didn’t focus on the split lip, holding her breath and refusing through her iron will to smell her blood. It terrified her what she might do if she caught the faintest scent of the blood of the woman she loved so deeply. When her arm lifted, a small, ghost of a smile crossed her lips, her hand lifting to catch hers. When it passed right through her grasp to place her palm between her breasts, confusion flicked across her features before the blonde shoved her. The simple, small gesture was so foreign, so… wrong, that the confusion on her face transformed into complete shock.
What had happened? What had she done? What did she do wrong?
Her hands trembled as she thought to touch the woman’s arm, her fingers shaking as tears tried to pool in her hazel eyes, hands closing into fists before opening again and she let them fall in loose fists to her thighs as she lashed out at both her and the dog. She banished the tears, and stared quietly at the woman’s hip. “Baby…” she said softly, meekly as the woman screamed and sent her beloved Boxer sprawling across the floor in his rush for safety, to be free of his master’s scornful sight. She was a new woman, a creature of immeasurable strength and power. She was practically invincible. In that moment, with the broken woman pushing her away so violently, she felt like she was a weak, powerless infant.
She was completely at a loss. Honor had never been like this, she had never hurt her like this. She lifted one hand and pulled a stray lock of her chocolate hair, tucking it behind the round shell of her ear as the woman appraised the damage to her face, watching her tongue slide across the busted lip that caused her stomach to gnaw at her with that empty hunger, even without being able to smell it.
Slowly, she lifted her hand to push the mess of dirty blonde strands from the woman’s face as she hissed, looking into her dark, pain-stricken eyes with a frown. “Baby… you can’t give up. Please, just don’t give up. I’m here for you.” She said weakly, her voice fighting through the tightness in her throat. She had wanted to flee like Rodeo, envious of the pup’s lack of responsibility, or the expectation of strength and resistance that was placed on her shoulders. She had to stand her ground, because she was sure that the woman before her would surely question her love if she couldn’t handle the lashing pain across her heart, if she had retreated for relief, even if for a second. She frowned, and let her hand rest coolly against her wife’s face as she all but broke down into tears.
“This isn’t your fault, amour. This isn’t your fault, and no one thinks you are weak.” She said softly, her voice a whisper as she still fought through that thick lump in her throat. “You are so strong. You make me look so weak with the burden you carry on your shoulders every day. All I can do is hope to help you with just a fraction of that weight baby. I couldn’t turn my back on someone that is twice the woman I will ever be, at almost half my age.” She spoke softly, lovingly as she pulled her into her arms, only moving to do so when the woman approached her. Her hands lifted, her fingers pushing tenderly through her silky hair as she wept into her shoulder, the woman’s tears soaking through her shirt, the pink fabric staining a dark color beneath the salty assault.
She wanted to kiss her so badly that she could feel the ache in her chest stronger than the pain of her violent outburst had been, but she didn’t think she was strong enough to handle the taste. She was still so new, and she had nearly killed the first thing she had come across. The poor girl had to be dropped off at the hospital. What if she did that to Honor? What if she killed her? She couldn’t live with that. As she held her, her arms tightly wound around her frame as her body was wracked with the heavy sobs, her hands passed down her back, her palm sliding over her contorted spine as she trembled with her own weakness. She felt useless. “Je t’aime, ma Belle. Ma belle, doux Honor.”
Daradasi | Tigra Nikoletta LeChànce | Reid I N D E S T R U C T A B L E
She had known the moment she crushed her wife’s spirit. Her face had crumbled, her eyes had turned a deep shade with the pain that she had caused, and yet she couldn’t seem to stop. She wanted to lash out, to tear into everything and everyone around her. When the door opened and their daughter came in, her laughter traveling through the house as she remained oblivious to the two in the foyer, she wanted to scream at her. She wanted to tell her to shut up, to leave, but she clamped down with a strength she didn’t realize she possessed and turned her face to her wife’s shoulder once more. She didn’t speak until she heard Cub’s voice grow distant, clearly chattering away on the phone with someone they would probably never meet. She kept her friends away, and she blamed herself for that, too. She knew her daughter didn’t want to add more stress to her, despite the many times she assured her it was fine. Releasing a shaking breath, she pushed her hand to the woman’s chest and lifted herself upright once again.
She loves you, just let her help you.
She had to steel herself as she wiped her fingers beneath her eyes. Her words hadn’t helped as much as she thought they should, and she couldn’t shake the void in the center of her chest. She couldn’t understand the feeling inside of her. She had never felt it, and yet since her medication had been changed, she had felt herself sinking deeper into the darkness. Narrowing her eyes on that thought, she glanced to her wife for a moment and offered her a small smile as her mind raced to connect the dots. She had always been down on herself, always feeling as if she were moving through the fog, but it wasn’t until Felicity prescribed the newest pain medication that she had given in to it. Pressing her hand to the brunette’s shoulder, she struggled to sit up on her own, her good leg pressing to the floor beneath her as she moved to her knees. She grit her teeth through the pain, and her breasts brushed against her wife’s face as she pushed herself unsteadily to her feet.
Rodeo, despite her treatment of him, moved instantly behind her legs to offer her balance, and she gave him a pained smile. The exertion had been too much, and it showed on her pale face as sweat dotted her skin. Slowly, she trailed her tongue over her lower lip and gave the silk of her short nightgown a tug. The blue fabric rustled against her skin, and she tilted her head down to study her wife’s features. Should she tell her the concern, or would she just write it off as another outburst? After all, she had been feeling off her game long before the medication, but something didn’t seem right. She didn’t want to get Felicity in trouble, but she knew the hatred her doctor and her wife shared for each other. She wouldn’t put it past her wife to believe that she had done it on purpose. Yet, she couldn’t lie to the brunette, either. “I need to check my medication. The newest prescription, the one we didn’t understand the name for? I… baby, it’s been since I started that dosage that I’ve…”
The words died on her tongue as she motioned to herself. She knew her wife would understand the direction her thoughts had gone. “Call Doc to have him come check it out. I don’t think Felicity would do anything on purpose, of course, but I just… I want a second opinion on that new medication.”
T I G R A ' S | | D A R A D A S I - R E I D | | J U D A S
“Thank you.” She whispered meekly, recognizing the titanic struggle she had exerted to keep herself quiet as Cub had passed through the apartment. She was really unsure that she could have kept quiet if she had turned on her daughter. She was a fierce, savagely protective mother first, and a loving and doting wife second. Honor had always understood that, though as of late, she doubted that she understood anything about her anymore. As she pushed against her chest, using her as support to lift herself upright, Tigra gave her the assistance she needed, supporting her weight without effort. Honor had always been so heavy, and with her newfound strength, Tigra almost didn’t feel her weight at all. Her body didn’t sway in the least as she pushed herself up. Her dark, hazel eyes lifted with her, watching her quietly.
She still loves you, Tigra. Keep your head on straight and be strong.
Stop being so sensitive. This is hard for her, and she needs your strength.
She shook her head and pushed her trembling hands through her long, chocolate strands. So much weight rested on her every day, so many people leaned against her for her strength, it was a miracle she hadn’t cracked. She couldn’t afford to, even now. She took a slow, shaky breath as she watched her wife’s features, her thoughtful expression and small smile telling her that the worst of the storm was over. She could begin to feel safe again. She sighed softly with relief, the breath silent as she finally allowed herself to relax, her body slowly sinking to rest on her heels.
She dipped her head back as the woman’s breasts skimmed her face. Normally, she would have taken something so subtle as an invitation, but lately, her advances in these moments only caused the woman more frustration. She really didn’t think she could handle being spurned for finding her attractive, even in her state. She understood the woman’s pain, and didn’t want to make her problem worse with her desire for her body. She settled for her imagination, her dark eyes only growing darker with her lust as they moved over her slight frame, scantily clothed with the silk nightgown she loved. She shook her head, clearing her mind as her next words earned a quick nod. She understood exactly what she was trying to say. She didn’t need to explain what the new medication had caused.
Before she could even request it of her, her hand was already pulling her phone to her face. Halfway through her question, Tigra lifted her hand, gently pushing a single finger to her wife’s plump, kissable lips. She tipped her head and smiled up at her as she mouthed the words, ‘calling him now.’
“Isaac. I need you inside, Honor has a question about her medication.” She paused as the man on the other end of the line responded before her expression went dark immediately, her entire demeanor changing like a switch had been flipped. Her brows drew together and her teeth grit together as she hissed her next words, venom dripping in each syllable. “Non, and you keep that… that… that ******* Putain away from my wife until I have my answer.” She snapped, her fingers squeezing her phone so tight that the screen cracked against her ear, slicing the flesh. Blood dripped across the glass as she nodded, her features slowly smoothing again. “Oui. Maintenant. Rapidement, sit vouz plait. Merci, Isaac. Je t’aime, bon monsieur.”
She turned her eyes back to the woman as she slowly lifted herself from her knees, brushing off her jeans before she wrapped the blonde in her slender arms, pushing a kiss to her jaw. He was inside before she could whisper her encouragement to her wife. Isaac’s tall frame swept through the apartment, moving up the stairs once he had exchanged a muttered word of greeting with the women. He returned with the newest prescription that Honor had been given, his brows drawn tight as he turned the label to them so that they might read it. “Dr. Black tried to follow me inside. I gave her your word of warning, Madame LeChànce. I am glad that I did, seeing this.” He turned to Honor, then, and knit his brows tighter. “Have you been having some kind of psychotic episodes that needed to be medicated more urgently than your pain needed to be managed?” he asked in his firm, gentle tone as his thumb moved over the label.
“This is an antipsychotic, not a pain killer. If it’s been given to you without the symptoms it’s meant to treat it will cause behavioral complications, Honor. Felicity should have known this.” Tigra’s face contorted into the very face of wrath. Gently, she placed Honor into Isaac’s arms. “Hold. Her.” She said through deep, desperate breaths before she clenched her fists and stepped through the front door of the apartment into the garage.
Outside, she snapped her head left, deep into the garage and didn’t see her prey. She turned right, just in time to see a streak of blonde hair as she ran around the corner for the safety of her Lexus. Tigra was gone, her body moving with impressive speed as she fought her instinct to simply flash next to the woman and catch her. She approached the corner and jumped, her slender Puma running shoe planted into the front quarter panel of the old Nova she had bought for Cub, a deep dent pounded into the metal body as she leaped back to the sidewalk, using the movement to keep her momentum without having to slow down around the sharp turn. Felicity held her keys in her grasp, fighting with the door to her S.U.V. as the small brunette closed the gap between them.
The older blonde pulled her key between the fingers of her fist and swung at the tiny woman. She ducked, the swipe slow and lazy as Tigra threw a powerful fist into the tall doctor’s soft abdomen. Air expelled from the woman’s lungs as she nearly vomited over Tigra’s back with the force of the impact to her abdomen. As she doubled over, the brunette to a harsh fistful of blonde locks and used her downward momentum to smash her face into the hood of her car. Her nose snapped, the cartilage jutting off into an odd direction as blood sprayed from her face. The woman collapsed, her legs trembling and unable to hold her weight. “Wait, please, stop, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” The woman pleaded to deaf ears as Tigra fell upon her prey.
She dropped to her knees, the hard joints sinking into the woman’s soft abdomen with another gut-wrenching sound of air leaving her lungs. She could see it in her eyes as she fought another urge to vomit from the assault on her stomach as the brunette took another fistful of her messy locks, nearly ripping them from her scalp as she yanked her head up. “Wait!” she wailed as the first of many faces rounded the corner, Lora’s form the first to the scene, always in the center of drama. Tigra’s fists were unhindered by the tall woman’s cries for mercy. The first blow snapped her nose completely to the side, the slender appendage pressed against her cheek as blood sprayed from her face.
Tigra held her breath fast, unwilling to breathe lest she lost control, sinking her fangs into the woman’s throat and killing her on the spot. In the haze of her rage, her vision was rimmed with red, blood spraying from the woman’s face as she punched her again, and again, each blow splitting another part of the woman’s face. Blood coated her fist, sprayed over her clothes, flecked her face and still she pounded at Felicity’s features, her face an unrecognizable, bloody pulp when someone finally rushed forward and gripped her arm. She didn’t look to see who, and she fought them, her bloodlust thick. She wanted a death on her hands.
The bloody mass pinned between her thighs groaned, an inaudible gurgle begged for mercy, and in Tigra’s eyes, none was found. She snapped her teeth as she pulled forward, not unnaturally strong, as she pulled a womanly figure over her back until her fingers gripped the doctor’s throat. “I will ******* kill you, you piece of ****.” She snarled, her nails digging into the older woman’s windpipe as she thrashed weakly beneath her, fighting for air. “You hurt her again, and you will ******* wish I'd let you die.” Finally, she relinquished control to the grasp around her wrist, letting them snap her arm back and behind her back, twisting her shoulder painfully. She shook her head, and let them pull her back, away from the gasping body as she sobbed. She glanced down at her once, and spit into her bloody face before she let them pull her away. “*****.” she snapped, before she was finally pulled around the corner and out of sight of the bloody mess that had been Honor’s doctor.
Finally, out of sight of her downed prey, she could feel herself relax, and she allowed herself to breathe, taking deep gulps of the cool night air, calming herself as she all but collapsed under her own weight, her lithe frame all but dangling by the arm pinned at her back. "I should kill her. I really should, you know."
Daradasi | Tigra Nikoletta LeChànce | Reid I N D E S T R U C T A B L E
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, her gaze moving from her wife and back to Isaac. They swam in her vision, her body weakly leaning into the taller brunette as she closed her eyes. Why would Felicity want to hurt her? What possibly could she gain from her feeling so… wrong? Clearing her throat, she tried to fight past the pain in her throat as the woman behind her tensed, her entire form turning into stone. Before she understood what was happening, soft arms were replaced with strength. She turned just in time to catch sight of her wife’s brunette curls disappearing into the garage. As the man held her, she trembled against him and hid her face into his chest. His hand moved in a comforting manner over her back, and she tipped her head to press a gentle kiss to his jaw. He turned to smile at her, though she didn’t miss the concern in his eyes as his fingers swept over the smooth skin of her cheek.
“She wouldn’t try to hurt me on purpose, Isaac. She’s got her problems and her desires, but why would she want to do something like this to me?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around the woman affecting her as she had, and her hands shook as exhaustion began to sink in. Dropping her head back his shoulder, she waited for him to speak, and knew he was choosing his words carefully. “The drug that was prescribed to you is a dangerous one for someone in your condition. It will elicit various episodes, one of which can put you in a state in which you’re conscious, but you are not. You are awake, but your mind is somewhere else. You are, in layman’s terms, unable to protect yourself.” His arms tightened around her as he pulled her closer, as if he could protect her from everything. “I do not know exactly what Dr. Black had planned or what she has done, Belle. She knew as well as I what this drug can do to you and to your mind. I will work quickly to find a way to fix you, however, and I will also have a talk with the Medical Board. They need to know of this.”
Shaking her head, she sank her teeth into her lower lip as the sound of screams echoed into the house. She curled her fingers into his shirt, her tears falling again when she heard her wife above it all. “No. No, don’t go to them. This is a crew matter, Isaac. You know we handle it within ourselves. I want to believe she had no ill intentions towards me. Even if you believe she had less than admirable intentions, I have to believe there is good left in her. I just… have to.” He pulled back long enough to look at her, searching her eyes to make sure that this was, exactly, what she wanted. With a sigh, she watched as he finally caved and hooked his arm beneath her knees. With ease, she was lifted from the floor and carried up the stairs, where he deposited her easily into the bed. She smiled at the kiss to her forehead, before he was straightening up and pocketing the pills.
“I will send Tigra up to you, Belle. I am going to get you a new prescription and see what I can find out about lasting effects on this. I will see you soon.” He gave her a smile before disappearing down the stairs, leaving her to herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to forget the savage anger that had been written on her wife’s face, her fingers twisting into her hair as she thought over the things that Felicity had said. She didn’t want to believe, she couldn’t allow herself to. Why would the woman hurt her? The things she had felt had been so dark, so dangerous. She had contemplated taking her own life, all because the woman had prescribed her a pill that she should never have taken. Resting her head back against the pillow, she closed her eyes as her bones began to ache, the world around her fading as she drifted back into sleep.
T I G R A ' S | | D A R A D A S I - R E I D | | J U D A S
Outside, Tigra was finally calming down, the red in her vision slowly fading away as the figure behind her held her arm pinned tightly against her back. Finally, she let out a slow breath, thankful she was out of sight of the treacherous *****. She could smell her blood, it coated her, covered her face and chest, splattered across her stomach and hands, her arms a sheet of red all the way to her elbows. Her knuckles had split against the woman’s teeth, her own blood dripping from the open wounds as she finally flexed her hand, seeing the bone exposed. She grimaced, and finally glanced over her shoulder to see Cara, her sister-in-law holding her arm against her back in the painful hold. “*****, that hurts. Let me go.” The blonde woman, taller than her, knit her dark brows as she shook her head. “Not until you can maybe not kill somebody? ****, did you see what you did to her?”
Tigra spat on the ground and felt the bile of anger rise in her throat again. “Did you see what she did toHonor? She’s lucky I let her off so light. She’s lucky I didn’t kill her.” She shook her hand as she struggled against the curvier woman’s body and she tightened the hold. “I’m fine. Let me go. She isn’t worth my time anymore.” She breathed, calming herself as she glanced over her shoulder again. “Let me go, Cara. I need to go see Honor. Doc can take a look at the mess.” She muttered the last bit reluctantly before the woman finally let her go. She made a show of rolling her shoulder, her fingers gripping the joint to give the woman a small swell of ego. She, of course, hadn’t hurt her. She had barely felt the inkling of pain in her arm. “Thanks. I know you mean well, baby, but I can handle it.” She smiled, and tipped her head back to kiss the woman’s jaw. “Stay beautiful. I’ll see you soon. I need to get back upstairs.”
She turned then, and left the scene behind her. She stopped by the kitchen downstairs to wrap her hand in gauze. She needed to conceal the wounds before they healed. The white tape stretched firm across her knuckles, she was satisfied. She didn’t stop to clean herself, the blonde doctor’s blood still splashed across her arms and abdomen. Dark red spots flecked her face and her tongue slowly drug across her lips, tasting the good doctor’s blood. She was shocked that it was so… delicious. Her mouth watered, and a hollow pain in the pit of her stomach demanded she returned to drain the treacherous ***** dry. Her conscience hardly put up a fight. She was, however, obligated to keep this secret. If not for herself, then for the others. Her whole crew would likely be killed if they found out. It pained her to even think about, even as her stomach growled angrily as she stepped back into the room where she had left Doc with her wife.
She glanced up the stairs as Doc had headed down, the man pausing on the stairwell to appraise her. Her chocolate strands were wild and messy, the moonlight from the window made her look wild, feral. The blood that coated her body, dripped from her hands made her look like an axe murderer fresh from the kill. “Outside?” he asked, the single word calm and assuring. He would take care of her any way he could. He always had. Now, the best way was to make sure the choking, gagging form of the 46 year old woman lying in the street didn’t quickly become a corpse. He moved to the bottom of the stairs and placed a hand on Tigra’s shoulder, one of the few spots on her body free of the woman’s blood. “She’s in bed. Take care of her, Tigre. She’s in a really fragile state right now.”
He shook his head, and turned his back to leave. He had work to do in the street to make sure that this assault didn’t turn into a murder. The brunette turned, pushing a split knuckle against her chin. The gauze tape scraped along her flawless skin as she moved up the stairs. Her footfalls were silent. She was an extremely light woman, her steps had never been heavy. Now, with this new body, her speed and dexterity were infinitely greater, her small feet were absolutely silent against the hardwood floor as she crept to the bedroom. Silently, she stood in the doorway as she watched her wife sleep.
She could feel that ache in her heart as she looked at her, could feel that pain that radiated through her each time she looked upon her beauty. She didn’t deserve her, so why did she fight so hard to keep her? Her life would be so much better far away from her and the crew. She could do so much better for herself than a washed up woman, far out of her prime before she was even a teen. She had been a mother before most had even lost their virginity, had been burdened with responsibility her entire life, and somehow, for some reason, this beautiful angel had stolen to her side and never left. Her love was so great, it hurt. Her hand lifted to her breast, her fingers pushing against the sore flesh as she leaned against the doorway, content with watching the woman sleep. She was so at peace in her slumber. It was the only time that pain didn’t plague her, when she could truly relax.
“I love you.” She whispered, even if she couldn’t hear.
Daradasi | Tigra Nikoletta LeChànce | Reid I N D E S T R U C T A B L E
Even in sleep, the darkness surrounded her. How could she have been so blind to the truth? For months, she had been blaming herself for every episode, every twisted thought and every ounce of pain she had caused those she loved. Finding out that none of it had been her fault should have filled her with relief, but the sweet, calming emotion never formed. Instead, there was a heaviness about her, a dark cloud that she couldn’t seem to shake. The bed creaked when she shifted, her face twisting to show her discomfort as her hand reached out to curl the satin sheet around her fingers, her discomfort evident in every move she made. Felicity’s face bounced through her mind, her features contorting into a creature so sinister, that icy fear gripped her tight.
“No, no. Felicity, no.”
Her voice was burdened with the nightmare, and as the demonic doctor cackled and reached out for her with long, venomous claws, she jolted awake. The sheets slipped from her fingers as she stared blankly up at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling with her rapid breaths while she waited for the panic to subside. She had never once viewed her as anything but friendly, even in her darkest moments, but now the woman had become a monster, one that hunted her in the day - and in her dreams. She always wanted you. She would never hurt you... would she? Shaking her head, she slipped her fingers through her damp hair in frustration as the questions cursed her. Curling her fingers, she gripped the sweaty strands in a fist as a scream burned her throat - but quickly swallowed it when a figure shifted in the dark. The shadows embraced the intruder, but even in her exhausted state with her eyesight at it’s lamest, she knew who it was. There was no mistaking the burn in her blood, or the crack of electricity in the air that came with her presence. That, paired with the fact that every soft curve, the swell of her breasts, and the dark tangles of hair were memorized for eternity, made it impossible to misidentify her. “Tigra,” she whispered, her name easing off her parched tongue in reverence.
“Why are you hiding in the dark, baby? Come to bed.”
She didn’t wait for her to move as she reached up and curled her fingers around the rails at the top of the headrest, the cold metal sending a chill through her. Using what little strength she had left, she slid across the sheets until she was upright, her face betraying her as it revealed her pain for the brunette's viewing. With effort, she dropped her arms back to her side and reached out, her fingers gently tapping her wife’s side of the bed with a tender, devoted smile. Despite the honesty of her expression, though, her eyes sparked with her uncertainty. Her pain and her hurt at being betrayed on such an astronomical scale caused the vibrant blues to become clouded. Did she tell you why she did this? Did she give you an answer? Was it a mistake? How could she do this to me? The words were on the tip of her tongue, the questions primed as she prepared herself to assault her wife, but the moment she stepped forward into the moonlight, they died completely.
The sight of her took her breath, and it wasn’t just because of her beauty. The blood splattered across her face, the swell of her lip - it was all too difficult to process and she found herself stumbling for words. She had known that she had a protective streak, one that had landed her into trouble one too many times - but this one was different.She was different. There was a wildness to her appearance now, as if the tiger that they had always claimed her to be was finally clawing its way from her soul. Her pain, momentarily forgotten, flared back to life as she shifted on the bed, and she gave a soft cry before sinking her teeth into her lower lip, her eyes never once wavering from the woman.
“What have you done, my love?”
It was the only thing she could think to ask, the only words that dared rise from her tongue and fill the silence between them. Her heart pounding in her chest, she waited for her answer as she swept her gaze over her, the blue of her eyes darkening with each inch of skin that was revealed to her. She knew the answer, though. It was written plainly across her face - but she had to know the depth to her rage. Was Felicity lying dead beneath their window? Would she wake in the morning to find the police at their door? Not knowing was driving her mad, and she quickly slammed her hand against the bed, the mattress sinking pitifully beneath her strength. It was all far too much, and the grip she had managed to secure on her broken pride cracked beneath the strain. She couldn't handle it, she couldn't accept it. The words she had once wanted to say slipped away, and in their place was a hoarse, shattered plea that tore from her throat with the weight of her depression behind it.
“Tell me she is alive, Tigra. Tell me you didn’t ruin everything because I’m a worthless, broken husk of a woman!”
T I G R A ' S | | D A R A D A S I - R E I D | | J U D A S
Sometimes, the urges were so hard to fight… too hard to fight.
Her entire body ached to taste the blood on her skin, to gently drag her tongue across her flesh and taste her victory. She resisted, but only barely as Honor began to stir in the bed. She let her lips twist into a pleased smirk at her reaction to her presence, her beckoning her closer. She was a monster, now. A devil. A demon. But this woman would never turn her away. Maybe… maybe it was safe to let her know. There had to be someone she could trust with this, and if it was anyone, it was likely to be her wife.
For now, however, there was another battle she needed to face. As the curvaceous woman shifted, Tigra stepped into the pale light that splashed through the apartment above her garage, shedding light on what she had done. She watched Honor’s beautiful, kind face twist in confusion, and finally into frustration and anger, with pain a constant companion in her eyes, etched into the lines of her form. She listened in silence as the woman asked for her explanation. She could see in her eyes that she wasn’t finished. It was the second wave that unleashed the real frustration, the real emotion of her reaction that Tigra had braced herself for. She felt the desperation wash over her, slamming into her like a tsunami. She held her ground, but only barely, and felt about four inches tall.
She lifted a clenched fist, and pushed the rough bandaged knuckles against the corner of her lips, wiping away the blood that tempted her so sorely. Already, the split flesh of her damaged fingers was beginning to mend; she could feel it beneath that rough gauze. She shook her head and let her hand drop to her side as she stood there in front of the woman that claimed her heart, and she felt like a petulant child, like she was the weakest, most twisted and wicked thing on this earth. She tried to lift her eyes to Honor, and could only manage to stare at the woman’s feet. The brown of the hazel in her eyes dominated her gaze in her fear and weakness as she shrugged a bare, slender shoulder.
She had, at least, thrown on a fresh tank top before the woman had awakened, and had spared her the sight of the majority of the blood. She hooked her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans and twisted her lips as she tried to think of what she could say; of what she shouldsay. First, and foremost, was the brunt of what had struck her about the short, but powerful lash. “You aren’t anything like that, amour.” She said meekly, and lifted her hand again to push her chocolate curls out of her face. “You are a strong and beautiful creature, a thing of dreams… no one would ever put such an awful name to you, Honor. Worthless and broken,” she made a sound of disgust and kicked at the floorboards. “You’re anything but, and we all know it. Especially me, ma petite.”
She tucked the lock of hair behind her ear and kept her gaze low on the woman’s body, still unable to meet her eyes. She could almost feel the disapproval radiating from the woman, and wanted nothing more than to retreat as quickly as she could. Instead, she took a deep breath and bolstered her courage. She had no idea what it was about Honor that made her feel so small, so unworthy, but the woman was a goddess of kindness. She couldn’t help but fall at her feet and do anything to see her smile. She shook her head, then, and lifted her eyes to her wife’s face.
“She’s alive. She doesn’t deserve it, but she is. You can thank your sister for that, though. If she hadn’t pulled me off, I probably would have killed her. I’d say she was dead already, if Isaac wasn’t here. But what was I supposed to do, baby? She was killing you, just to get in your pants. Trying to prove what everyone else already knows, baby; that I’m not good enough for you. And I’m not. You deserve someone that wouldn’t do something crazy; something stupid like this.”
She lifted her hands and showed her the bloody bandages, let the moonlight accent the darkness of the blood on her arms as she clenched her fists and just shook her head. “I would say that I would do better, but I know that I won’t. If anything, I’m going to get worse. A lot worse. I just… I have a lot going on, and I don’t know what to do.” She shook her head and put her hands on her temples, fingers rubbing at the soft space in her skull. “I will figure it out, amour. But for now, you don’t need to worry. Isaac will make sure the little piece of **** doesn’t die on my doorstep. If she does, well, we’ll just have to take care of it. I won’t let anything happen to you. Not for the whole world, Honor. You’re safe from all of this.”
She moved closer at last, and stood at the side of the bed, taking her wife’s hand in both of her own. She squeezed, and ran her thumbs over the back of the extremity, her eyes following the slender curve of her neck as she felt her stomach roll with hunger. “All I need to know is that I have you, and everything will be alright. I’m sorry; I lost my head. But Felicity is not going to be seeing to your care anymore. Not if I can do anything about it.” She leaned down, and pushed a kiss to her soft, inviting lips. “I mean it. I’m not ever going to let anything happen to you.” She lifted a hand and touched her cheek, the rough scrape of the gauze passing along her soft, silky smooth face as Tigra held it in her palm. “Je t’aime, ma amour.”
Daradasi | Tigra Nikoletta LeChànce | Reid I N D E S T R U C T A B L E
