Tawdry Little Affair {boyxboy}

Chapter Eight

"What about in here?" Fionn asked, entering a fairly empty room toward the back of the second floor. Dante followed, glancing around with disinterest.

"It'll do, it's supposed to be going through some construction anyway," he muttered, an almost permanent frown set on his face, "there are some chains in the basement," the two ventured back down the stairs but when Dante got to the bottom he couldn't tear his eyes from the spot next to the door.

"Hey, he's gone. You're gonna be fine in a few days and this will just be some night that you won't even bother to look back on," Fionn rested his hand lightly on Dante's shoulder. For a man whose other half was a ruthless beast, he was somehow very good at projecting comfort onto those near to him.

"My coven are waiting outside, I can hear them. They want to know what happened. I should explain, they will need to understand why you are here and why I need so much blood."

"OK," Fionn said with a smile that Dante didn't have the energy to return, "I'll be in the kitchen calling Ocie, I'll make up some story about a spontaneous vacation. Then I'll go get the chains," Fionn squeezed Dante's shoulder lightly before leaving him alone. Well, he wasn't alone. He had that awful little pack of demons in his mind that were insistent on tormenting him.

Straightening his posture and raking a finger through his dishevelled hair, Dante opened the front door. Sure enough, every member of his coven was stood there, awaiting news of what had happened. Everyone but Kastor. It hurt what little of Dante's heart remained, he would have liked to see his son's stupid anxious smile. Yet, he knew Kastor was better off far away from what he was about to endure.

"Are you OK, Sir?" Nya, one of the oldest members of Dante's coven, spoke carefully, unsure if the vampire's mental state matched his physical state. It didn't, it was so much worse.

"For the next few days, I will be unavailable to all of you. Fionn Harlow, the alpha of the Harlow pack, will be staying here and you will treat him with the same respect you treat me. Should I find out any of you have disobeyed me not only will you be leaving my coven but I may just slaughter you on the spot. It will depend on my mood," a few of the young progenies shifted on their feet slightly, glancing fearfully toward one another, "Nya, Sev, please come inside I need to speak with you privately. The rest of you are dismissed," Dante slumped inside, followed by the red-haired female and her husband. Fionn was leaning against the wall with a pile of chains at his feet.

"Fionn, this is Nya and Sev Provan. They are the two oldest members of my coven, other than Kastor, and will be staying here with you whilst I'm... detoxing," Sev's eyes widened at the final word.

"Dante, are you OK?" Dante managed a weak smile. Nya and Sev were to call Dante Sir around the young members but when alone they had every right to address him by his first name, he had known them long enough to view them as almost family.

"No," Dante admitted, "I'm addicted to another vampire's bite," Nya gasped, covering her mouth. Dante knew she was addicted to Sev's bite, she had been through the stages of withdrawal when they had had arguments over their hundreds of years of marriage.

"My God, does Kastor know?"

"Sadly. I don't think he will be back for a few days, he's probably gone to stay with Venice. I hope he has anyway, maybe I should get Elik to watch over him," Dante started back toward the front door but Sev stopped him.

"Leave it to us, Dante, we'll ensure he's safe. You need to focus on yourself right now," Dante sighed heftily, his shoulders sagging, he didn't like to feel so vulnerable, so raw. He was supposed to be an almighty leader to his coven, and yet he felt like an injured child.

"Here, we'll go get these set up, which room are you staying in?" Nya asked, picking up the chains at Fionn's feet.

"The one next to Kastor's study," Dante murmured, his arms crossed over his chest as more of an act to protect himself rather than seem more stable than he really was. Nya flashed a small smile to Fionn before she walked upstairs, hand in hand with her husband.

"I would like to get some books to read, it usually takes about a day for the withdrawal symptoms to really start to bring on my insanity," Dante turned and walked toward his library, hearing Fionn's footsteps not too far behind him.

"Woah, you have a lot of books," Fionn marvelled as the two entered. The walls were high, with books stacked right up to the ceiling on a multitude of shelves. Dante ran his finger across the spines of a few at eye level, picking out three consecutive ones. They were bound in red leather with dog-eared corners, Kastor's favourites.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Sign of the Four and The Valley of Fear? A fan of Sherlock Holmes, are you?" Fionn asked, reading over Dante's shoulder.

"Not really, Kastor adores them though, he always tells me to read them," Dante spun on his heel to find Fionn stood awfully close to him, "I believe Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is his favourite author," Fionn's lips were curled into a soft smile.

"Who's yours?"

"Shakespeare, if playwrights count," Dante said without needing a second of thought, "I enjoy the tragedies," Fionn chuckled lightly, walking in step with Dante as they left the library.

"Of course you would, how very vampyric of you. Which is your favourite?"

"King Lear," Fionn frowned softly.

"I've not read that one I don't think."

"It's seen as the darkest, wasn't performed for a long time," Fionn nodded as the two stopped outside the room Dante would be staying in. Nya and Sev had finished securing the chains to the walls and were waiting by them for Dante.

"I apologise for how I will act over the next few days. I can't really remember how I was at Arnov's, everything is still very blurry. It might be best for you to just ignore everything that comes out of my mouth," Dante said to Fionn as he sat at the back of the room and placed the books on his lap.

"I'm sure you won't be that bad," Dante frowned as Fionn sat at the opposite side of the room.

"You're not staying in here with me, are you?"

"Of course, I told you I'd be here with you," even Nya and Sev stopped chaining Dante's wrists and almost gawped at Fionn.

"Fionn, that might not be the best idea. You're living, your blood might further agitate Dante. There's a fair chance he will also get very violent and if he breaks free of the chains-" Nya begin but was cut off.
"I can take him. I'm a white wolf after all," Fionn crossed his legs, that soft, soothing smile still remaining on his lips. Nya and Sev looked toward Dante for guidance, not wanting to insult the wolf. He merely nodded and they finished chaining his wrists.

Dante tugged on the chains, satisfied that they remained secured to the walls. They were laced with plumeria, a plant that had dampening effects on a vampire's strength and speed. Had the chains been regular, Dante could have ripped them apart like paper.

"I'm going to get you some blood, Sev will stay outside the room, shout if you need anything," Nya hesitated then bent down and planted a soft kiss on Dante's matted hair, "get well soon, Dante, none of us likes to see you like this. We need our leader," Dante's expression remained blank and he nodded curtly. Nya smiled, leaving with Sev at her heel, who shut the door behind him.

"They really care for you, I didn't know vampire covens were so close."

"Vampires and wolves are more alike than you all believe," Dante said quietly, leaning his head back against the wall and stretching his legs out before him.

"Do you know why we hate each other? My parents never told me, they just always make up some vague excuse about us being too different," Dante was quiet for a moment, debating whether it was his right to tell Fionn the truth. Only a few vampires and wolves knew the reason for their little wars, the young were simply told that the two species were too different to live in harmony.

"No, it's always been this way. It must have been before my time," even in his state, Dante could still lie smoothly and Fionn easily believed him. Maybe he felt a little bad. Fionn would find out someday. But not that day.