Blood in Siberia

"Final--fucking--ly!" I yelled, as I ran from the plane.

"Duo!" Trowa called, climbing gracefully down the steps. "Don't go too far. We still have a ways to go."

"As long as it's not on a god damn plane!" I hollered back, laying down on the ground and stretching out. It was cold, but at that point, I didn't give a damn.

Shit! I'd thought we'd never get here! Seeing nothing but ocean for hours on end had me worrying to the point where I thought my hair was turning gray! I imagined plenty of vivid, detailed ways we could die by crashing, drowning, exploding, getting eaten by sharks...I could go on! But did I have a distraction? No! Heaven forbid Wufei invest in some in-flight entertainment! Oh sure, Otto offered his book for me to read...too bad the god damn thing was in Russian!

It also didn't help that Trowa and Otto bared their teeth at each other every time someone took a breath! Wufei, for some reason, was hella-busy the entire flight. Heero was with him the whole time too, helping him with whatever he was doing. So that left Trowa in charge of Otto. And of me. That wasn't a great combination.

I was being watched very closely by the two Alphagues, but for different reasons. Trowa kept his peepers peeled on me to make sure I didn't get snacked on (in a fun way) by Otto. Otto kept his peepers on me for reasons I wasn't totally sure of. There were times when he looked at me as if he was thinking of throwing me to the floor and having his wicked way with me. Then there were times when he looked at me like someone trying to find a word in a word search. There were others looks too, some I thought were harmless, some I knew to be calculating.

In a nutshell, Otto scared the hell outta me...and intrigued me. And trust me, when I say that the latter was the more dangerous of the two.

"Having fun?"

I looked up. Sally was standing over me, smirking. I probably looked like a little kid playing in the snow.

"I'm just happy to be on the ground." I stood, and started brushing off my clothes.

"That makes two of us," she said, sneering at the plane. "The flight here was hard enough, not counting the company we were keeping." This, she sneered in Otto's direction. He was disembarking the plane. Feeling eyes on him, he looked up at Sally and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Shit-eater," she murmured.

Otto raised an eyebrow.

Ohhhh boy. "Uh, Sally, do you think he heard you?"

"Of course he heard me," she said, smiling brightly. She started to wave at him. "And he knows he can go fuck himself six ways from Sunday."

He frowned at first, but then a smile crept across his face that radiated malicious intent. He turned that smile at me, and it widened. I swallowed. "Uh, Sally, please don't provoke him," I asked in a tiny voice.

"Duo?" Sally turned to me, concern all over her face. "What is it?"

"Just... just don't provoke him, okay? Ignore him if you must, but don't pick at him. Let him be."

At first, she looked at me as though my request was absolutely ridiculous. Hell, maybe it was. But I could still hear his whispered threats in my ears. Otto didn't hurt me when he had the chances to (and lord knows he had plenty), but I felt it, in my gut. He would hurt me if need be, or in retaliation.

"All right," she relented at last.

I released a breath. "Thank you."

She nodded, then dismissed me, finding the view of the mountains more interesting. I stood there lost in thought, until I felt eyes on me. Lifting my head, I saw Otto standing between Catherine and Trowa, being guarded. He was looking at me with an expression I couldn't decipher.

"What?" I asked softly, trusting he would hear me.

Otto was quiet a moment. "You intrigue me," he answered at last.

I snorted. Catherine and Trowa gave me disapproving glares. "I'm nothing special," I told him.

"And I'm a vampire," he said, face twisting from the sarcasm.

Embarrassed, I decided to watch my feet. Otto's compliment warmed me in a way I wasn't comfortable with. Not knowing how to answer that, I shrugged to myself and tried to count how many snowflakes were on the ground. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't completely ignore Otto's watchful eyes on my back.

***

The train ride lasted four hours, and they were a tense four hours. I didn't know what happened, but the animosity jumped through the roof. I had the feeling I was the cause of it. See, everyone seemed pissed and watchful. If their eyes weren't on Otto, they were on me. And it didn't help that every time I looked at Wufei, his eyes were accusing. Not wanting to add fuel to the fire, I made sure I didn't even breathe in Otto's direction. Instead, I focused all of my attention on the passing scenery. It wasn't too long before I got a headache.

Luckily, Wufei called it a night. He deemed it too late to go see the Prince, and Otto agreed. So we got off the train, and caught a ride to a fancy hotel. I was in a daze as I made my way to my room. Thankfully, Auda and Abdul were with me. They got me changed and tucked in for the night. And despite all of the travel, I had a hard time falling asleep.

***

I woke up when I heard my door being closed. I sat up in a panic, but relaxed when I saw it was Wufei. He took off his overcoat, placed it gently on the chair, and poured himself a glass of vodka. He kept his back to me the entire time.

My anger rose until it was about to erupt like a volcano. He hadn't said a word to me the entire trip here, and now he was pulling this shit?! We were going to talk about his right now! "What the fuck is your problem?" I said, then winced. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best way to start this conversation.

Wufei agreed. Slamming the glass down, he made it to my side in three long strides, and plopped down next to me. He grabbed my upper arms and jerked me to him, his face contorted from anger. My eyes widened at his aggression. He's never touched me like this before. He wasn't hurting me, but his hands shook with barely held control.

"What the hell is going on, Duo?" he growled in my face.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I growled back. "This shit is your fault, you know! While you were seeing a client," I spat, "I got my ass kicked by things I didn't even know existed! Then you come back, and tell me, not ask, but tell me how I'm coming to Siberia because my presence is 'requested!' "

"It was!"

"I could give a shit," I told him coldly. "You're always doing secret werewolf shit without any help from me. How am I involved all of a sudden?"

We were at a stalemate. Wufei glared at me, eyes so angry I was surprised they didn't shoot sparks. I glared right back at him, pissed to the point where I was waiting for fire to shoot out of mine. Damn, we were some stubborn folks.

My anger quickly vanished to surprise when Wufei broke our staring contest. Swearing quietly under his breath, he released me and stood. Stalking back to the mini-bar, he grabbed his glass and finished his drink in one gulp. Refilling it, he finished it again in a gulp. I decided to interrupt on his seventh drink. I didn't know the alcohol tolerance level for a Packmaster, but I wasn't in the mood (or strong enough) to deal with a drunk, pissed off werewolf.

"Well?" I drawled. "Are you going to tell me what's going on, or not?"

He slammed the glass back down and turned to face me. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he said, mimicking my earlier words.

My answer to that was, "Huh?"

He walked calmly to the bed and sat on the edge, keeping a careful distance between us. I flinched. Ever since I became his mate, Wufei and I were always all over each other when we were alone. That action alone screamed to me that something was wrong between us.

His eyes, when he looked into mine, held so much uncertainty. What did I do to cause this? "Wufei?"

"Do you want Otto?"

It took a moment for the words to sink in. Then it took another moment for me to process them. I still didn't get it. "Do I want Otto what?"

"Do you want him?" Wufei emphasized, looking at me like I was a moron.

Did I want Otto what? I still didn't get-- "Oh. Oh! No! I--what, Wufei, are you shitting me?!"

"He's attracted to you. He has said so, and I've smelled his lust."

"Oh yeah? He's also said he'd personally see me suffer," I pointed out. "Threatening to torture someone is not the best way to say 'I think you're hot.' "

"I've also smelled your lust."

Oh. Damn. "It's not what you think."

"Is it?" he asked harshly.

"Wufei, it's--how can I... shit!" I threw the covers off of me, and paced in front of Wufei. "It's like this. I think you all are... incredible!" I threw my hands in the air. "You all are amazing! Even Otto's crazy ass! You are beautiful, stunning, brilliant creatures! I can't even imagine the things you've seen or been through. You're magical." I stopped pacing and faced him. "That's why I can't get through my head why you want to be with me! I can't get over someone as incredible as you wanting me to be your mate! I can't believe something as otherworldly as Otto would spare me two seconds!" My shoulders slumped. "It's not that I want him, exactly. It's the aura about him. It's around all of you. If Trowa, Heero or Quatre whispered naughty things to me, I'd be hard pressed to turn them down."

"So would I," Wufei said, a faint smile on his face.

His amusement startled me. I didn't think I'd be able to calm him down this fast. "You're... you're not mad?"

"Yes, but not at you. I understand now." He sighed. "Let's go to bed."

"Ohhhh no buddy! We still have some things to talk about. Starting with what you and the Prince were arguing about the night you got back." I refused to think about everything else that happened that night...

He stood. I slipped under the covers and leaned back, waiting to hear the story. "It was all about you," he began, stripping. It took me a second to focus on what he was saying. A half-naked Wufei was a glorious sight, after all. "I had Otto brought back with us as a prisoner when we brought you home. He called the Prince to give his report. When the Prince learned of you, he became... intrigued." He frowned. "He wanted to meet you. I refused. Then we went in circles with threats. If he did this, I would do that, forcing him to do this, forcing me to do that. Finally, he pulled rank. If I disobeyed an order, that was just cause to have every werewolf Pack in existence come after my Pack. I couldn't allow that."

"But you're one of the strongest!"

"Yes, but we would inevitably lose," he told me softly. "There's more to a Pack than werewolves, depending on the Packmaster. There may be shape-shifters aligned." I thought of Quatre, and his alliance. Yep, that was true. "There may also be vampires, zombies, wizards, witches, ghouls, trolls, and other creatures under a Packmaster's control. Now, if it was only us against them, then our chances would be fifty-fifty. But us against all of the world's Packs... that would be too much."

"Damn!" I swore, eyes wide. "Well... why didn't he pull rank in the first place?"

"Because it's not a good idea." He tied his silk pants closed. "I do the same thing. It's best to ask, or negociate to get what you want. Constant threatening puts one into a position to retaliate, if given the opportunity. So does fear." He looked steadily at me.

Fear, huh? "Why are you scared of him?"

"I'm not!" he said harshly. I believed him. "But what has me concerned," he emphasized, "is why he wants to meet with you. I've told him you're human, that you're just a little plaything I have," I frowned, but understood that Wufei said that to protect me, "and yet, he ordered you brought." He snorted. "He knows me too well."

Shaking his head, he crawled into bed with me. I reached over and turned off the light. We arranged ourselves comfortably, but it wasn't anything too touchy-feely. Brothers may sleep the way we were sleeping.

"Duo," Wufei began, voice matching the quietness. "The night we spent together was incredible. But I knew something was wrong when you left without saying anything to me. You were... upset." I didn't snort, but barely. I thought 'royally pissed off' was a more accurate statement. "Why?"

I sighed. "Because I wanted to tell you something, and you totally bowled me over."

"Duo, I... I apologize," he said, in a voice that made me realize he would have rather eaten glass than say that out loud. "I didn't realize that it meant so much to you."

"It did," I admitted. "It still does."

He was silent a moment. "Tell me. Please," he added, when my head snapped around at his demanding tone. "I would like to hear it."

I thought it over. Did I really want to tell him? Yes. Now? No. I wanted to go to sleep. Would I have another chance to tell him? I didn't know. Things were going to get chaotic. Who knew what was going to happen.

No time like the present. "I lost my virginity on my eighteenth birthday," I began, staring up at the darkened ceiling. "Hilde and I decided to celebrate becoming legal on our own. She and her girlfriends decided to go out and whoop it up, buying as many cartons of Marlboro as they could." Wufei chuckled at this. So did I. "I decided to go to Austin. There was this club I heard about on the news. There was a shooting near it. Anyway, I heard rumors that the B.O. Club catered to people like me."

I could feel him raise an eyebrow. "Eighteen year-old's?" He sounded incredulous.

"No." I chuckled. "Homosexuals."

"Oh." I felt him frown. "The B.O. Club? It doesn't mean the Body Odor Club, does it?"

I chuckled again. "No. Stands for Boys Only."

"Ah," he sighed in understanding.

"Well, when I got there, I didn't go in at first. I was... intimidated." I could feel myself blushing. Thank god it was dark. "I'd never been anyplace like that before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. And what I did expect was no where near what I saw." I blushed harder. "The men going into that club were very experienced and sexy in a way I could never be. I turned to leave."

I was quiet. After a moment, Wufei asked, "What happened?"

"This guy got out of line and chased me down." I tried not to smile. "He was hot. Redhead, blue eyes, great teeth... yeah." I couldn't help it. I smiled at the memory. "He could tell I wasn't from around there, and thought I was the sweetest thing. So he and his friends invited me in with them, and I accepted. They all introduced themselves, but I only remember his name: Adam."

"I bet you were a big hit," Wufei commented, pulling me from my love-struck moment.

"I was," I confessed, blushing again. "Every guy in there was all over me, and my innocence made them want me more." I sighed. Hell I was still innocent. "But my new 'friend' kept me close by, to make sure nothing happened that I didn't want to."

Then I went on and told him about how they bought me birthday drinks when I told them it was my birthday, the crazy dancing we did, the drugs they'd let me try, the way Adam licked the beer from my face when I spilt some....

"I told him I wanted him to be my first," I said, embarrassed. Even after all this time, I felt ashamed. "I told him... god, I can't believe I said what I said." I didn't repeat the words. I didn't want to. I talked to him like a whore. "So he took me upstairs. There was this room... it was called the Orgy Room, and that was exactly what it was. There were gauzy curtains strung here and there, silk pillows on the floor, red velvet couches... it looked like a room for harems." I remembered thinking that as Adam dragged me in there. "He threw me down on the first empty couch he saw and went at it."

I got quiet again. Wufei waited a long time before responding. "How is this a bad memory, Duo? Because of your behavior? Personally, I don't see anything you should be upset about. It sounds like you had a good night."

"It was good, until..." I started trembling, just a bit. "I... for some reason I looked to the side and saw... I saw someone I knew."

"Oh," Wufei said. I almost smiled. I could picture his face: eyebrows raised, eyes wide, mouth in the shape of an 'O.' "Well, how did you feel about that?"

"Horrified," I whispered. "This person Wufei--he's dangerous. Even then I knew he wasn't someone to mess around with. He has always been a vile, evil person. But I never suspected he was gay!" My throat tried to close up. I didn't know if I could continue.

Wufei, sensing how upset this was making me, sat up on his elbow and turned my face to look at him. I kept my eyes focused on the ceiling. "Duo? Stop. You don't need to finish it all tonight. It's too much for you right now--"

"That son of a bitch!" I hissed, tears in my voice. "He wouldn't stop! The guy--he told Adam he would pay him to do things to me, which Adam did!"

"Duo!"

"And god damnit, I enjoyed it!" I nearly screamed. "And then he, the other guy, asked me to do things to him while Adam watched." I sat up, shaking hard. Wufei began rubbing my back in soothing circles. "He said he'd pay me too! And I agreed! But when I touched him, his thoughts and desires swept through me... and I threw up." I covered my face with my hands. "That sobered me up faster than anything else could've. I puked in his face, grabbed my clothes and ran out of the club."

The next several minutes were quiet as Wufei comforted me, allowing me to get my act together. When I did, I let Wufei pull me against him and tuck us under the covers. This time, our embrace was nothing brotherly. It was possessive.

"What made you sick when you touched him?" he edged, afraid to ask.

"He's sick," was all I said. "He wanted to do things to us that were disgusting, and cruel. And the thought of doing those things to us turned him on." I snuggled closer. "My shields were a wreck because of the drugs and alcohol. I think that's why I agreed to it all. I couldn't block out everyone's lust, and I thought it was my own. But touch brings thoughts to me clearer, and with my shields the way they were... he was naked to me. I knew what he wanted, and it sickened me."

We didn't talk for a long time afterward. I laid in Wufei's arms, nearly purring as he massaged my scalp, my neck and my back. I could feel my muscles loosening and relaxing. He wasn't mad at me. He wasn't disgusted with me. He was taking this calmly, hopefully chalking it up as a dumb mistake young people made.

Juuuust when I was about to fall asleep, Wufei started kissing my face. I scrunched my nose up, annoyed that he would try this right when I was about to leave consciousness. I heard him chuckle, then his lips glossed my ear. Quietly, he asked, "Do you still see those guys?"

I scrunched my nose up again. "Not Adam. I haven't seen or heard from him since. But I see the other asshole often."

Wufei stiffened. "He still lives in Pike Creek?"

I was slightly irritated with the fact that my pillow insisted on talking. "Ye~es!"

Wufei practically curled himself around me. It was nice. "What's his name?"

I batted his hair away. It was tickling my face. "I tol' you. Adam," I mumbled.

"No, not Adam. The other one. The one you knew."

Anxious to shut him up so that I could sleep, I said, "Tsubarov."

I felt his smile against my ear. "Go to sleep, Duo."

I fell asleep, because my stupid ass didn't put two and two together.

Apparently, I hadn't learned my lesson from the hobo's death. If I had thought about him, I would've kept my mouth shut.

(tbc)