The Succubus and her two Mates

9 | Running still

Ronnie was finishing up her act. That was her final one for the night. It had gone amazingly. She had so many notes of money sticking out of her panties and more strewn across the stage floor. She had riled the after-work Friday drink crowd to hang out all night - almost every customer that came in had stayed. She'd seen people go to the dingy ATM and withdraw extra cash.

She had nailed the right level of s****l energy in the place. All. Night. Long. Even the straight female customers were having a blast. She thought her feeding from only the other night may have had a very big contribution.

Man, imagine if I had fed from them directly. It was a gross thought, and she was ashamed immediately. She didn't even feed off the crowd, although it was tempting. They were all right there. But she wasn't a monster. She was fully powered up. If she only put up her glamor when she wasn't alone, she could get away with not feeding for weeks.

She was able to send out some pulses when the other girls were dancing, boosting their haul as well. She wanted to make sure that everybody got a cut from this well-to-do crowd.

She twirled up on the stage, lost in her dance - She Wants Revenge, Tear You Apart pumping over the speakers. She wore a strappy bodysuit, essentially an elaborate g-string with black straps that criss-crossed around her body. Pulling in at the right parts. She had lost the bra she wore over it, the garter and little leather skirt were lost as well. She twirled one final time, ending in a slide on her knees to the front of the stage. Her arms raised, ready for the applause she knew she would get. She really was an attention w***e… among other things.

A wave of exhilaration hit her as the bar swelled. She was soaking in it when her heart leaped into her throat. The low light made it hard to see people's faces further into the room, but she recognized the man standing at the bar. She blinked. She felt that weird void and knew Jon was standing there.

Ronnie blew kisses into the crowd and ran off the stage through the stage door into the back room. Stewart, the MC, ran on stage thanking her for her stunning performance while one of Bobby's helpers collected the money off the stage. She didn't let the girls pick up the money themselves.

There's no way. What was he doing here? Ronnie’s mind reeled as she paced the dressing room. Was he looking for her? It seemed too big a coincidence for him to just rock up to this strip club out of all of them in the city, and what? On the only break she saw him take in thirty hours she was at that hotel?

But there was no way they could find her. She hadn't told them anything. They knew her first name, that was all. Could they have guessed she was a stripper? I guess that would whittle down the search area.

She chewed her lip for a couple of agonizing moments then quickly got dressed. She pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans. Thankfully, some of the clothes she had left at the club were still here, and now she could wear something that actually covered her up a little bit. She threw on a new tank. This one black. The exact same style as the white one she had worn the day before. It all went over the bodysuit with no bra. She was still her.

Normally she would go back out on the floor. Finish up with a lap dance or two and then help close up. No way was she going out there now.

What if he wasn't there for Brock and Brand? And if he was? Were they going to abduct her? The thought felt ridiculous. Would they do that? She hadn't really spent that much time with them but did she think they would be like that?

She roughly counted the money she had already collected, as she stuffed it into her bag. It was lighter since she had unloaded a few things at her apartment. She could collect the rest of her money tomorrow - she would also get a commission on the alcohol sold. Her apartment was only a ten-minute walk away. She didn't think beyond today, not considering that if they knew she worked here that they could just come back another time. She scrawled a note and left it on a mirror, knowing one of the girls would see it and know she had headed home.

She left through the back door, which opened onto an alleyway that ran alongside the bar. It opened at one end of the street that ran perpendicular to the road where the club's front entry was located. It also snaked backwards, creating a maze of back alleyways for deliveries for the bars and clubs around it.

She headed to the street. She just needed to turn right to head towards her apartment - she'd avoid the front of the club completely. She thought back to the boys. They had kept coming to her mind throughout the night unbidden. She hadn't wanted to think about them. She couldn't stop thinking about what they were saying about being mates. It was ridiculous. If they were here… she felt a thrill despite herself, but it also built a little furnace of fear in her belly.

She was only a few meters from the mouth of the alley when she distinctly felt them. They were just around the corner. She heard the crunch of their feet as they approached. She spun around, walking back to the club's back door, picking up speed.

Shit. She forgot she needed the key to get in, and she hadn't grabbed a new copy yet. Realising she would have to go the long way around, she started to turn, prepared to head to the dark winding alleyway when she heard the footsteps pick up speed as they saw her.

Brock called out to her while she still stood in front of the door, the overhead light illuminating her. Sighing, she turned to face them fully with a warm smile, trying to act like they hadn't just caught her trying to run away from them. Again.

"Good evening. Fancy seeing the two of you here."

She'd glamored her hair differently for her shift. It was black, and she'd really poofed it up. She noticed Brand checking it out and the rest of her with appreciation in his eyes. Her tank was riding up, the straps of her bodysuit visible in the gap between.

"Did you guys get to see the show?" She asked innocently, pointing at the club.

Brand opened his mouth to speak when Brock interrupted. "Why did you leave?"

Ronnie fidgeted. "It was, you know, fun and all, but a gal needs to know when to make a graceful exit. I had a big day ahead of me, you guys were leaving anyway…"

Brock shook his head in exasperation. "Ronnie, we told you you're our mate. We weren’t going to go anywhere without you.”

Ronnie shook her head. “And I told you, that's not possible. Look. I'm a silly little no one from the human world. I don’t know anything about anything, where you come from and your whole deal. I'm a stripper. I don't do anything. I don't mean anything. I can give you guys a great time. We could have a lot of fun together- I think we had a lot of fun together- but that's it.” She was rambling. She couldn't stand the looks they were giving her.

Brand reached out to her and she wanted nothing more than to touch him. She could feel the building and collapsing feedback, folding back into her. Waves of confusion, hurt and even elation at finding her, were coming off the two shifters. She didn't know what to do.

“I know this is a lot to take in, and I can't promise you that it will be easy,” Brand started. He dropped his hand when she didn’t come to him. He looked over at Brock. The look they gave each other spoke of something already discussed between the two of them. “But we can't deny it. And we can’t just forget about you. That's not how these things work. Without you-” He shook his head.

“It’s what I do, Brand. I draw people in. It’s not a matebond. It’s just old-fashioned Fae magic.” Not the whole truth but close enough.

“We know what it feels like to meet your mate, Ronnie,” Brand assured her. He motioned to the two of them. “We found each other five years ago.”

Brock was getting impatient. “Just-just come home with us and- and- we'll work something out.”

She cleared her throat. “Back to the hotel?”

Brock shook his head, taking a step towards her. “No. Back to our home.”

She gave a fearful look and stepped backwards until she pressed her back up against the door, raising her hands in a defensive gesture.

“No no no," she muttered. All those wolf stories of kidnapped mates ran through her head.

“Brock…” Brand said his name with a warning.

Brock looked back at him, swinging back to Ronnie as she started to panically address him,

“I don't even really understand how all this works. Archaic monarchy, Ren Faire Pocket dimension bullshit. I’d not fit in at all…” She tried to covertly knock on the back door behind her back. It was too soft. There was no way it would be heard inside but it was deafening in the alleyway.

His dragon was pushing him. It just wanted to grab her now and work it all out later. He took another step toward her to do just that, growling in frustration as he couldn’t work out how to make her come with them willingly. “Look. It’s okay. We just need to-”

At the sound of his growl, a mixture of heightened fear, and strangely, arousal, had her heart speed up. It was pounding, adrenaline coursing through her. She started to wrap her knuckles faster, though still not loud enough. “Just let me go.”

A sense of déjà vu washed over Ronnie, her panic increasing.

“Brock!” Brand yelled at him, sensing that Brock was going to just grab Ronnie. “Let's just calm-”

“Hey beautiful!” There was a yell from across the alley, slightly towards the back end- away from the street entry point. “You need some help, baby?”

Brock snarled over his shoulder at the new entrant, “Leave us be!”

“I believe I was speaking with the lady,” the man drawled.

Brock swung around, taking steps towards the stranger.

Brand purposefully stood between Ronnie and Brock, ensuring he blocked the sight of her from the stranger.

Ronnie's voice caught in her throat. Part of her wanted to try to run for the stranger but the other side of her was terrified he’d get hurt because of her, or he would hurt the other men. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her.

Brand spoke up trying to deescalate the situation, “Everything’s okay.” Though it really wasn't, the last thing they needed was a fight here in the human realm.

“I don't think so mate. She seems to not want to go with you.”

The man pushed off the wall heading towards the two shifter's. They stiffened as his scent hit them. As he came towards the light, Ronnie could make out his face. She didn't know him, but she felt what he was. A feeling of dread hit her stomach.

“This is none of your business," Brock stated. He seemed more guarded.

"I don't think the lady here appreciates your advances."

"It's okay," she squeaked. "Just a misunderstanding. Why don't we all go back into the club? A round on me."

The stranger ignored her. "I think it would be a good idea for the two of you to leave."

Brock huffed out, "You need to leave."

There was a pregnant pause where no one moved or said anything. Ronnie pressed herself further back against the door.

Brand was sizing up the situation. Everything was escalating way out of control. This man wasn't human, that was for sure.

Brand turned to look back at Ronnie. "When I say so-" He felt the heat of flames as the stranger threw a fireball at him. Brock raised his flame shield, blocking it expertly.

That had been a deep purple flame. This man was a demon.

"Stay behind me." Brand reached to make sure Ronnie stayed out of the demon's line of sight, using himself as a shield as Brock advanced on the stranger. Thankfully, she did just that.

She twisted to face the door and started to beat frantically. "Please…" she cried.

"Do you know who you're dealing with?" Brock warned.

The demon sized him up. "You seem to be somebody who is somewhere you shouldn't be, with someone you shouldn't even breathe the same air with," the demon hissed.

Brand heard Ronnie take a shuddering breath in.

He needed to get her out of here. This was unusual, even demons normally wouldn't use their power so brazenly out in the open.

Brock and the demon clashed. Their blows were backed by flames, Brocks a brilliant red.

Brock's shield protected him from the brunt of the impact - the demon didn't do as well. Brand felt relief start to swell as Brock beat the demon back step by step.

Brand didn't have elemental magic. Shifting into his stronger form needed to be as a last resort, here in the human realm.

The demon hit the ground, struggling to come up on one knee. It made eye contact with Brand. Brand saw the glint in its eyes just as the demon flicked a fireball towards him. He spun around tensing, trying to make sure he protected Ronnie.

Brock shot his flame shield as a dome over Brand and Ronnie, screaming in pain as the demon took that moment of distraction to rush forward and stab him.

"Brock!" Brand cried out. Brock was still standing tall but he looked hurt. The small dagger was embedded in his side. He hoped it had a short blade…

Brock tried to grab the demon, his inner fire molten with his rage at being caught off guard like that.

The demon, though clearly hurt, started towards Brand and Ronnie. Brand was about to shift when he noticed Ronnie had come out from behind him and was staring at the wounded Brock.

She let out an uncontrollable sob. Her breath hitched on inhale, as she turned towards the demon.

Brand felt the pulse. He'd felt it a few times now. Her magic. Brand watched as the demon's eyes widened in surprise. A look of terror came over its face. Brand was almost brought to his knees by the feeling, and he wasn't even the target - it felt like his heart was being wrenched from his chest, for just a moment.

The demon turned, trying to run up the alleyway towards the street, fleeing the only thing in its mind now. Brock's dragon was incensed. It needed this demon to cease existing. With a growl, Brock grabbed him and let his fire consume the de­mon.

~*~