#(and did everything to piss lorel off clearly)

[goldnautilus]

NRC AU/VERSE THINGAMAJIG

Inspired by this post made by lulu & this post made by lin. 

What if Lorelei attended Night Raven College instead of Black Moon Academy?

     Making choices always came with certain difficulty to Lorelei. Thus, when Black Moon Academy announced that it will hold an exchange/transfer program along with other prestigious magic schools, she didn’t know what to think of it at first. While everyone else seemed to be excited at an opportunity to get away from their usual routine, Lorelei couldn’t help but worry instead. When she got accepted into the program she hesitated for a while. Would she be able to handle the environment and expectations laid out before her? She had great grades and teachers always praised her for her work, but would this trend continue? Or would she eventually crack under the pressure and give up? 

     Although million thoughts kept running through her mind, she eventually agreed and transferred to the famous Night Raven College that also participated in this exchange/transfer program. She wasn’t going to give up so easily. After all, this wasn’t who she was. She would prove to everyone that she deserved this opportunity. She’d prove to everyone that she can handle whatever was coming at her. She’d prove to herself that she can do it, even though sometimes it feels like she could break at any given moment. Besides, being at NRC would allow her to keep a closer eye on her brother Aurelius, who was a second-year student there. Ultimately, these were the factors that convinced her to go through with it. 

     Unsurprisingly, upon her arrival she was sorted into Octavinelle as a third-year student— well, to everyone but her. When she first heard the dorm name, she thought it was a sick joke. Surely, the Headmaster would soon say that it was all a prank for the newcomers, but that moment never happened. Then came the denial. She didn’t want to believe in this, nor did she actually do so. Dread followed shortly after as the realization began slowly sinking in. She was to be an Octavinelle student, alongside the likes of Azul, Jade and Floyd, the very people she disliked the most. Although the possibility of transferring to another dorm existed, she already accepted her dreadful fate. Instead of sulking about something as trivial as this, instead she’d focus on her initial goal  — proving to everyone and herself that she can do this. But will she? 

Class: 3-B

Club: board game club

Other: - she is suffering please let her out of here

[blog-sliverofjade]

7: Tête Dure Minous

Pairing: Remi Denier x OFC

Summary:  Lorel Maddox just wants to live as a human, run her bakery in peace, and forget. Unfortunately, the alpha of the local leopard pack has very different ideas.

Remi Denier doesn’t know what to make of the female Changeling who wants nothing to do with him or the RainFire pack. He does know that he has a driving need to protect her. Even if it’s from herself.

While they’re embroiled in a battle of wills, there’s a war brewing on the horizon. The outside threat could not only destroy everything they hold dear, but tear apart the fragile new bonds of the Trinity Accord, plunging the world into bloodshed to rival the Territorial Wars of centuries past.

Word count: 2018

Content warning: Racist cop

Hearth Fires Masterlist

Beta read by the wonderful pandabearer

         Lorel bared her teeth at him when a wave of power washed into the shop; it tasted wild, male, and lethal.  She tore her attention away from the cop in time to see Remi stalking through the open door. Her cat went from snarling and ready to pounce to wary watchfulness in the presence of a bigger predator.  She hated that some of her anxiety eased the moment she caught his scent, but at least her cat’s homicidal urges went from screaming to a dull roar.

         And damned if she wasn’t relieved to see Denier, like he was some sort of knight in shining armour.  Or, rather, a knight in jeans and a t-shirt. Said jeans hung low on his hips, emphasizing his narrow waist in contrast to the breadth of his chest.  The black t-shirt clung to the ridges and hollows of his densely muscled chest and wide shoulders.

         “Mr. Denier, she here one of your’n?”  Shank turned square to him and jerked his head in Lorelei’s direction.

         “All changelings in Swain County are mine.”

         She opened her mouth to protest the hard, possessive statement, but Remi cut her off with a look, the cat rising in his eyes.  Although they never changed colour, her own cat recognized his and urged her to back down. The animal usually urged the opposite; the sudden shift in temperament had her scrabbling to regain her equilibrium after she’d prepared to fight for control.

         Even though the sheriff was human, some latent instincts must have sensed something because he dropped his folded arms to hook his thumbs behind his belt.  Remi’s gaze didn’t stray from Shaw’s, but she had no doubt that he was keeping careful track of the cop’s hands in relation to his weapons.

         “Ya need to get your girl in line.  Had a call she was intimidatin’ folk.”  Shank levelled him with a hard look below thick, dark brows.

         The thought that either of them believed she was under his protection soothed something within that she hadn’t even known had been stretched taut.  The relief was like setting down a burden she’d been carrying for so long she only recognized the strain once it was gone. And that set her teeth on edge.

         “The CCTV footage doesn’t corroborate the allegation.”  There was a drawl to his voice, but it lacked the thickness of the bayou it’d had when they first met.

         “Yer a big guy, what a young girl’d find intimidatin’ you’d hardly sneeze at,” he shrugged.

         “Are charges being pressed?”  Remi merely tilted his head and, somehow, she knew that his leopard was close to the surface even though his eyes continued to remain completely human.

         Some long-buried instinct in Shaw must have recognized it, too, because the hand closest to his stunner twitched.  Claws burst from Lorel’s fingertips. For once, she didn’t try to force them back in. Remi, however, kept his hands in his pockets.  Only a fool would miss the lethal threat hidden beneath the lazy demeanour. How on earth he managed to hold the alpha’s stare, full of barely restrained savagery, she had no idea.

         “Naw, I think we’ll let this’un go with a warnin’.”  Shaw shrugged and resettled his hat. “But you best show your girl how things are ‘round here.”

         Shocked speechless by the blatant paternalism, she could only gape at him.

         “Oh?  And just how are ‘things ‘round here’?”  Remi’s tone was deceptively calm, but whatever the other man saw on his face had drained the blood from his own.

         “Well, that… you see…”  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped.  “You can’t just go ‘round intimidating people you don’t like!”

         “I think you should take your own advice, officer.”  The predator was present in his voice. “Cher, why don’t you make a copy of that video for Sheriff Shaw here?”  He never looked away from the cop so the silent snarl she threw his way went unnoticed.

         “Testosterone’s getting thick in here anyway,” she muttered in a volume pitched for his ears alone.

         Once Lorelei was out of the room, the red haze fogging his mind cleared a little and he could think clearly again.  Shaw, on the other hand, realized he was alone in a room with a leopard in human skin, which meant he was less likely to do something stupid to prove his masculinity in front of a third, feminine party.  Men could usually be counted on to pull supremely senseless stunts when it came to pretty women. Such as issuing premature ultimatums instead of merely taking the measure of a prospective packmate.

         “Now look here…” the sheriff licked his lips.

         “I assume the human will be charged with filing a false report?”  He leaned against the cash counter, bracing his hands against the edge, palms down.  The relaxed stance fooled Shaw into downgrading his threat level and puffed up accordingly, crowding the alpha’s space.  Remi barely avoided rolling his eyes. His leopard didn’t take it as a challenge, merely huffed and sat down to scratch behind an ear. 

         “We have to dispatch a car ‘cause if something happens, we could be held liable if we don’t.  We don’t want people to avoid callin’ if they see something suspicious.” Remi wondered if the sheriff realized just how much of a stereotype of the rural hick cop he was, despite his law degree.  When he’d decided to found RainFire, he’d compiled dossiers on the local Enforcement brass and he knew that Shaw was well-educated. Was it a deliberate good ole’ boy ruse to put the humans at ease?

         Lorelei returned with the data chip and his leopard snapped to attention, snarling a warning at the male in the room.  Neither half of him wanted the cop anywhere near the curvy redhead. Remi caught the eye of Sugiyama through the door, which was still propped open, and waved him over.  The lieutenant accepted the chip and promised it would be entered into the incident report, ignoring his superior who clearly smelled displeased. Scenting no lie from the officer, his leopard settled somewhat.

         “Now I assume that Ms. Maddox is free to resume business unless ya’ll have any further questions.”  It wasn’t so much a question as it was a threat.

         Though Shaw was pissed at the brusque dismissal, he strode out of the bakery.  Sugiyama lingered to thank Lorelei for her hospitality and cooperation. Remi crushed the urge to throw the officer bodily out of the shop.  He could probably hit Shaw like a bowling pin with the lieutenant as the ball.

         “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Denier,” she said stiffly and smoothed her apron.  Today, it was patterned with autumn leaves and edged in yellow worn over a russet dress.  He wondered what he would find if he tugged on the satin tie and parted that modest Peter Pan collar to lick at the freckles that peppered her neck.  Were there more scattered across her creamy breasts? Did they trail across her soft stomach to…

         “Mr. Denier, was there something I can help you with?”  By the sharp arch of her brow, she was repeating the question.  Unlike Shaw, she wasn’t afraid of being alone with him although she was at the other end of the hierarchy.  Even with all the training in the world, a submissive could never hope to win against an alpha leopard in a physical battle.  And yet still she defied him while maintaining all outward propriety that could never be mistaken for an actual challenge.

         “There’s no need to be so formal, please, call me Remi.”  It was an obvious ploy to keep him at arm’s length. If she thought that would work, well, she had another thing coming.  He intended to solve the mystery of this woman who played at being human, needed to figure out why his cat wanted to hunt her in the most sensual way.

         “Was there anything you require?”  Icy haughtiness that would have done those few who still clung to Silence proud.  Coaxing her out of her shell was going to be fun.

         “A ‘thank you’ would be nice.”  A slow, feline smile curved his lips.

         “For what?  Barging in here and claiming responsibility for me like I’m a child?”  That was interesting. Most submissives liked feeling safe and protected, that she found it upsetting was another facet to the puzzle of Lorelei Caine/Maddox.

         “Keeping you from assaulting a law Enforcement officer.”  It had been obvious that she wanted to go for Shaw’s throat the second he walked in.

         “Thank you, Mr. Denier, for sweeping in here uninvited and undermining my authority in my own business.  I am ever so grateful you patted me on the head and shooed me away while you menfolk postured at each other.”  Her tone was sweet enough to drizzle over one of her confections and the drama was so over the top it would have done Scarlett O’Hara proud.  Any minute now he expected her to start soliloquizing about root vegetables. “Since you’re marking your territory and all, I think the sheriff peed on that tree over there in case you feel the need to over-mark.”

         “Il y a pas de quoi.  Next time Shaw wants to cause a fuss, he’ll have to notify RainFire.”  She blinked, considering the ramifications of having a pack of predatory changelings on her side when it came to dealing with the bigoted sheriff.  “One of the benefits of pack is protection.” It was not just a case of safety in numbers. Dominants lived to defend their pack, the need to protect ingrained into the core of who they were.

         “It was one person.  Besides, you can’t be there 24/7,” she said dismissively.

         The cat didn’t like the insinuation that he couldn’t protect this stubborn woman who regarded him with eyes of cool slate ringed with Prussian blue.

         “No one messes with RainFire.”  Any and all challenges were met with swift and brutal force.  Yet the challenge of Lorelei was one that couldn’t be resolved with violence.  Not as the initial offensive, anyway.

         “You make it sound like you’re running a protection racket.  Should I pay protection money in cookies? Are you going to shake down the grocery store for milk, too?”  Cocking a hip, she braced a fist on it and gestured in the direction of the grocer with her other hand.

         “What if next time it’s someone with a gun?”  The blood drained away from her face and he bristled at the spike of doubt in her luscious sugar and spice scent.  At their first meeting, he’d thought that the smell was from her array of goods; now he knew that it was part of her.  When he’d walked in, the sweetness had been tainted with a hint of something foul that nearly left an aftertaste. That note quickly faded while he dealt with Shaw and he wasn’t yet certain whence it came.

         “Then it’s a good thing I keep a hot pot of tea going.”  She glanced at the faintly steaming kettle within arm’s reach.  As a makeshift defensive strategy, he had to admit it wasn’t half bad.  A faceful of scalding liquid would give even him pause.

         “A clever answer,” he mused.  “Do you have one for me?”

         A faint vertical line formed on her brow.  Normally she took care to avoid meeting his gaze in case his leopard took it as a provocation, she did so now with remote appraisal.

         “Are you going to kill me if I decline your offer?”  

         “Only if it’s necessary.  Why? Do you plan on hurting my people, t-minou?  You’ll find we’re not easy prey.” He knew his eyes flashed cat bright as he stalked closer to her.  Wide-eyed, she mirrored his movements until she bumped up against the counter. Bones pushed up against her skin from the grip she had on the white ashwood.  The pulse of her heart was a fluttering butterfly under the thin skin of her throat, the sound of it like the hoofbeats of a racehorse.

         “If you’re calling my bluff, cher, this is a game you won’t win.”

Tête Dure - Hardheaded

Minou(s) - Cat(s)

T - Small, shortened form of petite