Somewhere In Between

Title: Somewhere In Between
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: NC-17
Category: Original Fantasy, "Fate" storyline
Pairing: Victor/Blaine, Victor/Caspian, North/Victor, Victor/Tamara, Sorrel/Tamara, Telen/Caspian
Warnings: Slash, Het, and Yuri, M/M, M/F, F/F, Violence, Language, Vampire Sex, Werewolf Sex, Daemon Sex, Anal, Rimming, Who knows what else... I haven't decided yet *LOL*
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my YahooGroup to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Status: Complete
Story Notes: This story contains characters that were first introduced in "Fate". However, it is not really necessary to have read "Fate" to understand this story. In fact, you may like Victor better if you haven't read "Fate". As for those of you who have read "Fate"? No, Shayne and Lexi will not be showing up in this fic. Maybe in later stories (Victor has a long back story), but not this one. Also, I have a general outline for this story, but everything isn't set in stone yet. Just like with "Perceived Perceptions", I'm sure that some things will not go as planned. So, the warning lable above is just a general guide, I really don't know for sure where this fic will go. Just a warning, if you're squicky about some stuff (don't worry, there won't be beastiality or scat or anything too extreme) then read the warnings at the start of each chapter. However, I know from experiance, that most of my regular readers can handle anything that I throw at them, so I'm not too worried about any of you. Either way, I hope you enjoy the fic...

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait inbetween chapters. I'll try to get the next one out on time, but I'm not making any promises. The end is nearing, and I seem to be having more problems with the chapters as it does, so please be patient with me. And, remember, please review. I need to know how I'm doing.

Somewhere In Between

Chapter Fourteen: Everything and Nothing

Victor found himself whistling a jaunty tune as he pulled the door shut behind himself. He had just spent the last few hours with Sorrel and the topic of the Kokkonor hadn't come up even once. He'd found that things went much more smoothly when he didn't even bother trying to get information out of Sorrel, and in turn it made their interactions calmer and more enjoyable than they had been in weeks. It did wonders for his mood. He had been afraid that the calm that he'd experienced after his night with Tamara would disappear once he saw Sorrel again, but at the suggestion of the sorceress-in-training he had given up on getting information out of Sorrel, and it had made all the difference. It left Victor with yet another thing to thank Tamara for.

"Well, someone seems to be in a good mood." Even the taunting voice of his sometimes-rival couldn't ruin Victor's good mood. He knew that Talfryn had been up to something over the past few weeks, something involving himself and possibly Caspian, but Victor had yet to figure out what it was. So, ignoring the occasional shadow as well as the other vampire's attitude seemed to be the best way to not only keep his own good mood intact, but to ruin any possibility of Talfryn having his own chance at a pleasant day. There was little else that angered Talfryn more than being ignored. "Did Mother pet you behind the ears or something? Maybe she gave you a special lotion to get rid of your fleas?"

"I suppose so." Victor said with a shrug, his smile never slipping. He chose to ignore the later part of Talfryn's statement all together. "Any reason that I shouldn't be in a fine mood today, my friend?"

Talfryn visibly tensed when Victor called him a friend, both of them knowing that the name did not fit him, and Victor's smile widened into a grin as he watched Talfryn fight within himself not to say what he was thinking out loud. Victor just wished that he could get an eye-tick out of the older man the way that he often did with his mother. In the end, the best that Victor received for his efforts was a tensing around Talfryn's turbulent storm-cloud eyes as he silently pushed past Victor and entered his mother's study. The door being slammed in his face told Victor that he'd accomplished his goal.

"Prick." Talfryn breathed out as he ran his hands down his body, smoothing his ruffled feathers. The sight of himself in the full length mirror in the corner of the room instantly made him feel better, and he smiled to himself as he looked his reflection over. His jacket clung to his body like a second skin, the gleaming black leather forming a high collar that accented his pale skin, the front was lined with heavy sliver buttons that ended where the jacket ended, high on his abdomen and well above his navel. It was longer in the back, coming down to trail well past the low slung waist of the matching leather pants, and the pants were tucked into boots that came up to cover his knees. A blood red jewel shone from it's silver ring in his navel, matching the ones on both of his ears as well a the ring on his right hand. His silvery grey curls were pulled high up onto his head, and he reached a manicured hand up to touch the softness before a voice made him abandon his self inspection and turn towards his mother at her desk.

"You're lovely, perfect even, as always." Sorrel teased. "Now, are you quite done preening?"

Talfryn's lips turned down in a pout, but he turned away from the mirror none the less. His mother sat behind a massive desk made of a dark wood that was polished to the point where he could have seen his reflection in it. She had a book in her hand, a quill and paper sitting at her elbow, half of the page filled with her neat script. Sorrel wore a simple red velvet gown that fit her voluptuous body like a glove, the color making her skin look paler and her eyes brighter than ever they were. Her lips and nails matched the fabric of her dress, and her son knew that her shoes were most likely high, sharp, and red. The color made her look somehow more dangerous and deadly than any other that she could have chosen, something that Talfryn knew his mother was fully aware of. Nothing was accidental where Sorrel was concerned.

"You called?" Talfryn gave a little bow, a smile on his full lips, his mother's annoyance at his mocking tone nearly palpable. "I am at your service."

"Very funny." Sorrel replied with a shake of her head, her curls momentarily hiding her face so that her son couldn't see the smirk on her crimson lips. "Now get over here and sit down. We need to talk."

Talfryn made quite a show of settling himself into one of the overstuffed chairs that sat near the fireplace next to his mother's desk, smoothing down the heavy leather of his jacket behind him and crossing his booted feet at the ankles, his fingers steepled in front of him as he looked to his mother. He knew why he was there, what his mother wanted from him, but he'd wait for her to speak first. If he was correct then he really didn't need to push Sorrel any more than was absolutely necessary. His playfulness moments before may already have been too much.

"Are you going to tell me where you were?"

He knew what Sorrel was talking about. The night that three intruders had tried to assault his mother he should have been trailing Victor, and thus he would have been at her side to deal with the two mortals and the werelion that accompanied them, but he had been nowhere near them and hadn't even heard about the attack until late the next day. Not that his mother had needed his help, or anyone else's for that matter, but all the same he had known from the moment that he had heard about the attack that Sorrel would be less than pleased with him for not being there. That was why he had made a habit of being anywhere that she wasn't in the days following the incident.

"I was having a drink." Talfryn said in a quiet voice, completely unable to meet his mother's eyes as he spoke, looking every bit the guilty child as his mother leveled her dark gaze upon him. He'd considered lying, of making up a good story about trailing Caspian at the time or something of the like, but his mother had an unnatural ability to ferret out lies so he knew that it was pointless to try. He only hoped that she appreciated his honesty because, loath as he was to admit to any sort of weakness, he was terrified of his mother when she was angry. And rightfully so. Only a fool wouldn't fear the Lady Sorrel.

"A drink?" Sorrel repeated. "And what was so exciting about this drink that it drew you away from what you were supposed to be doing that night? From what I had ordered you to do?"

"The drink was with Allisan." Then, in a softer voice, almost as an afterthought. "And her twin sister Katrina."

The silence that followed was soon broken by a hearty laugh from Sorrel, her entire body shaking with the strength of her mirth. "Twins?!" Seeing her son cringe at her outburst made her laugh even harder. "Well, I can't exactly blame you for slacking off on your duties when faced with a pair of lovely twins. Especially ones that you've had your eye on for so long."

"You're not angry, then?" Talfryn asked with rising hope. "I was only gone for a little while. I swear it."

"I doubt that," Sorrel chuckled, "but I won't hold it against you. This time, anyway." She knew the two girls well, they were both exceedingly beautiful and were from a very old and prestigious pure-breed vampire clan, and she had been hoping that her only son would eventually get around to seducing one or both of the girls. With any luck at least one of them would provide her with the grandchildren that she had long sought. It was the only excuse that Talfryn could have given that would have satisfied her.

"Thank you, Mother."

"Now," Sorrel said, becoming serious once again, "as for what I called you here for. Has Victor gotten any closer to discovering the truth about the Kokkonor?"

"I don't think so." Talfryn shook his head, trying to force himself to relax now that he knew his mother wasn't angry with him. He hated that anyone could rattle him the way that she did, the way that she always had, but he only gave it a moment's thought before pressing on. "It's not him that I'm worried about, really. Caspian comes from an old family and I think that he's taking advantage of that fact to use his father's connections to find things out for Victor."

"What makes you say that?" Her son might seem flippant or empty-headed at times, but she knew better than most the cunning that lay behind his deceptively pretty eyes.

"Just a feeling." He answered with an elegant shrug. "I think that if you really want to keep this quiet then we need to take care of Victor's little bitch before he finds out anything concrete to report back to his master."

"Take care of him?" Sorrel was surprised to hear her son say something so impossibly stupid. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"Why not?" Talfryn had hated Caspian from the first time that they had met, and the animosity had only grown as the years progressed. He was actually pleased to finally have an excuse to get the youthful looking vampire out of his way. "We can hire someone from one of the outer clans so that no one knows why he was killed and then Victor won't have access to his sources anymore. Hells, he might even be so distraught over the loss that he'll stop looking for answers all together. It's the perfect plan."

"The perfect plan, Talfryn?" Sorrel repeated with a pained expression. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Caspian is much loved by his family. A family that happens to be directly related to the royal family. If anything happens to him then they will stop at nothing to find out who is responsible and to make them pay." She couldn't believe that her son had been so blind that he had looked no further than his own dislike of the boy. "Do you really think that it's wise to risk such dangers just on a hunch?"

"Oh." Was all that Talfryn could say.

"Oh." Sorrel muttered, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb to stave off the headache that she felt coming on, breathing deeply in hopes of diffusing the anger that was building within her. "Oh, he says."

"Mother-"

"Just go back to following Victor." Sorrel didn't dare look at Talfryn, lest she begin yelling. This was not going as she had planned. Nothing had been lately. "And don't touch Caspian."

Talfryn opened his mouth to argue, or maybe to apologize, he wasn't sure, but the frustration radiating off of Sorrel made him shut his mouth with an audible click before he had said a word. When no further instructions were forthcoming he decided that he had been dismissed, and Talfryn got up out of the chair and made his way over to the door, closing it as quietly as possible behind himself. He would do as his mother had instructed and go back to following Victor right away. And he wouldn't touch Caspian. He wasn't, after all, that big of a fool.

***

North was practicing his swordsmanship at the castle's central training grounds when he felt eyes watching him from the edge of the practice floor. He felt no malice from his silent observer, so he let them watch as he went through the motions with his sword. He swung his blade in a wide arch, his body following through with the motion, fighting an invisible opponent with the easy grace that he was known for. The werewolf loved the weight of his sword in his hand, the feel of his body in constant motion, and the freedom that he felt at the practiced yet unplanned movements brought a wide smile to his lips. He was never happier than in those moments when he could release the tightly coiled strength that his body held in check most of the time. Only when he was exerting himself did he feel that he was truly free. A good fight. A good fuck. A race or training. It didn't really matter, so long as he wasn't standing still.

Wanting to give his unexpected audience a show North leapt into the air, imagining that he was leaping over his unprepared opponent, and spinning around in midair with ease he touched down on his feet while thrusting his blade through his invisible adversary. It would be a killing blow that the other would never see coming in a real battle. Instead of blood and a defeated opponent, however, the warrior received a round of applause for his efforts. North thought it was a fair trade.

Turning to at last look at his audience, brushing a loose strand of sandy brown hair away from his damp forehead, North was pleased to see Victor watching him from the sidelines with barely concealed amusement playing across his face. His dark eyes glittered as he watched the werewolf coming towards him, the corners of his lips twitching with the threat of a smile, his gaze locked firmly on the other man. North felt his own smile widen as he watched the younger man fight with himself. If Victor didn't want to give away his reaction then North would just have to do it for the both of them.

"Having fun?" Victor tried to sound disinterested, mildly annoyed at North's display even, but with little success.

"Yes, actually."

Losing his battle at last, Victor laughed out loud as North reached his side. "You look like a child with that stupid grin on your face. I think maybe you enjoy fighting just a little too much."

"Maybe. Maybe not." North shrugged. "A good workout's always enjoyable." Then, his golden eyes sparking with a new sort of joy, North bent to retrieve his cigarettes from under his discarded shirt at Victor's feet. He took his time putting a single cigarette between his lips, lighting it and leaning back against the short wooden barricade that caged in the practice floor as he breathed in the first stream of smoke. "Although some workouts are more fun than others. Care to learn the difference, sweetheart?"

Victor shivered as the older man looked him over, desire suddenly heavy in his obsidian flecked eyes, and memories of that skin slick with sweat for completely different reasons flashed through the vampire's mind. He had to physically shake himself to escape from the internal images, reminding himself that he wasn't here for that. Although, later, who knew? "No. I can't right now. No time."

"Your loss." North quipped, more than a little disappointed that he wouldn't be getting another chance at the handsome young vampire right now. Then, taking note of the heat and desire in the other's eyes, he told himself that there would be other nights for the two of them. Victor couldn't deny his needs forever, and North promised himself that he would have the still inexperienced man in his bed before the next full moons filled the sky. It was a promise that he was confident that he could keep. "So, since you're not here for my company am I to assume that this is a business call?"

"Did you find out anything new since last we spoke?" Victor was glad to be off of the topic of desires. Despite his confidence as to his own level of self-control, he knew that if North wanted to push the issue he wouldn't be able to say no for very long, and the night would end with the two of them tangled in the werewolf's sheets instead of with something more productive. "I have been forced to give up on any hopes of getting information out of Sorrel, and I'm relatively certain that she has Talfryn following me as well, so I have not been able to find much of anything on my own."

"Want me to take care of him for you?" The look on North's face told Victor that he was only half kidding, and for a moment the vampire was very tempted to take him up on his offer. It was only his bond with Sorrel that kept him from answering.

"So, were you able to gather any information from your contacts in the village?"

Shrugging at Victor's refusal to answer his question, and suspecting why, North proceeded to tell him what little he had been able to find out. Victor had to know that there was no love lost between himself and the sorceress' son, and since North was certain that Victor knew where to find him if he ever wanted his problem taken care of, he supposed that they didn't really need to talk about it anymore if Victor didn't want to. Although he wondered if that would change after Victor heard what he had to say. Some people liked to have someone to take out their aggressions on after hearing bad news. "As near as I can tell the Kokkonor is a term used solely by the humans. And, as I'm very obviously not human, most of them won't talk to me about it. Even the few regular contacts that I have down in the village aren't willing to discuss it with me."

"They can't tell you anything?"

"Well," North didn't want to get Victor's hopes up, but he suspected that something was better than nothing, so he pressed on, "since you told me that Lorcan called it the Unifier, I figured that it couldn't hurt to ask about that too. A wererat that I know in Kalinsta said that he'd heard some strange rumors in town lately, and he thought that he heard the term unifier, but he wasn't sure."

"Wasn't sure?" Victor repeated. This was not turning out as he'd expected. North had contacts all over the place, had traveled to the far corners of the kingdom and back, how could he have gathered no more than a handful of possible rumors? Victor sighed and leaned back against a wall not far from the fence that North was resting on with an audible thump, barely noticing that his head had impacted with the thick stone. "Couldn't he tell you anything more than maybe and not sure?"

"Well..." The teasing way that North let his voice trail off made Victor open his eyes, hardly having been aware that he had closed them in the first place, and turn his head to look at the werewolf. The all too familiar twinkle was back in the larger man's eyes, the obsidian specks all but glowing on their backdrop of metallic gold. It made Victor wonder if he was going to like what he was about to hear.

"Well, what?" Victor pressed, unable to resist the promise of mischief in North's expression. "Did he say something else?"

"He might have."

"He might have?" Victor's dark brows shot up, a mixture of anger, frustration, and uneasy amusement heavy in his voice. "What in the Seven Hells does that mean?"

Taking pity on the younger immortal North only waited a few agonizing heartbeats before answering, enjoying the way that Victor hung on his every word, but not really wanting to play with the already agitated vampire too much. "He'll be in town tomorrow, probably by early afternoon, and I'm supposed to meet with him for lunch."

"And you think that he will have something new to tell you?" Victor hoped. "Surely Kalinsta has more to offer up than our little village?"

"I guess that'll all depend."

"Depend on what?" Victor was growing more and more annoyed with North by the minute. He knew that the werewolf was teasing, drawing out his answers, and Victor wasn't going to be able to stand for it much longer. He told himself that if North gave him one more playful answer he was going to throttle the older man and make him tell everything that he knew.

The sight of Victor's slowly flexing fingers, balling into fists and then stiffly releasing, over and over again, as well as the tightness that had developed between Victor's eyes told North that he had played enough. North just shrugged, knowing there would be other times for teasing the handsome vampire. Victor would deny it, but he was surprisingly easy to rile up if you knew the right buttons to push. "Well, it all depends on whether he's willing to submit or not."

"Excuse me?" Victor was sure he'd heard wrong. Submit?

"Well, he's always had an eye on my ass. Just like some people I know." He loved the way that Victor cringed, a denial ready on his lips, but unable to tell the blatant lie. "I should be able to sweet talk him into opening his mouth, don't you think?"

Victor didn't answer, and had he been human he might have been blushing. He had never been more pleased to be of the near dead than he was at that moment.

"I just hope he knows I'm on top."

TBC ...