The Last Ones

New York is a busy city with plenty of dark corners, and even darker secrets. Working the shadiest clubhouses, and running the most cunning mobs, or just simply trying to survive in the least civilized parts of the city's underground are the world's most intriguing beings. They are creatures of myths, lore, and legends, thought nonexistent or long ago extinct. But just as their survival is the greatest secret ever kept, so too is their fight to stay alive. A group of hunters seeks them out in hushed tones and shadowed movements, highly trained to track, capture, or kill the Last Ones.


A Private RP Between [The Black Cat in Your Path] and [shadowfire09].



TLO: Characters

TLO: Histories




When Locke came back into the room, Freya sat up groggily. "Did Mel leave? I never want to leave this bed. Come back." She smiled slyly and patted the spot next to her.

Locke shook his head, giving her a slight smile as he locked the bedroom door. He came back to the bed and slid back in under the blankets beside her, giving a small wince and a grunt of pain as he relaxed back and pulled her in against his side. He looked her in the eyes, using his other hand to pinch her chin gently between his thumb and forefinger, then tilted her head up so he could kiss her again.

Freya pulled back from him, a grin on her face. "How does it feel kissing a queen?" she joked, running her hands up his chest, tracing the outlines of his muscles with her fingertips. She stopped at the bandages. "How are you feeling?"

Locke shook his head, giving her a small smile. "I couldn't tell you.. all I'm focused on is what it's like kissing YOU. And it feels amazing." he whispered. He reached up and ran his hand through her deep red curls, but at her mention of his wounds, he shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll survive."

She shuddered at his touch, and pushed him flat on the bed, a little rougher than intended. She swung one of her legs over him and straddled his body. "You'll survive eh?" She leaned down next to his ear, nibbling it a bit before whispering in a breathy voice, "prove it."

Locke was honestly surprised at her movements. He blinked up at her, blushing lightly, and giving a gulp. He had never had the chance to date, or experiment with any kind of intimacy before. In fact, he was personally proud that he'd handled kissing her so well. But with her straddling him like this, his body instantly reacted. He felt his palms sweating, his cheeks reddening, and something in his pants stiffened. He swallowed hard and gave a breathy, nervous laugh. "Freya... are you fucking with me again?" he whispered, even as he rested his hands on her thighs.

She smiled a naughty smile. "Maybe a little bit..." she answered sheepishly. "I've never...I mean...Nobody's ever really gotten my interest before. I mean, well...you know" She climbed off of him, "I mostly just wanted to see how the wolf in you would react." She laughed.

"O-oh... well... he reacted." Locke said sheepishly, sitting up and running a hand over his blonde hair, breathing deeply. He looked at her and coughed a little. "You don't want the wolf in me to come out for that reason, Freya. It could be... dangerous." he said softly. "I might not hold back.

"Well, as long as we've got that settled I guess. Goodnight." She was bluffing, but Freya rolled over and faced away from him as if she was going to sleep. She'd never been good about talking about serious things, and preferred to joke.

Locke stuttered a moment, then sighed. He flopped back onto the bed and rolled towards her, his chest pressing against her back, though he kept his hips away for now considering the rigid contents inside. He nuzzled her hair and sighed against her neck before kissing her there and nipping at her skin lightly. "You're awful."

"And you're still clueless. I love that about you." She sighed, pressing into him, a little moan escaping when he kissed her neck.

Locke loved the sound of her moan. It caused the wolf inside him to squirm, and he gave a resounding growl in response, soft and heady. He suckled at her neck next, a hand sliding over the front of her stomach, up towards her ribs and just below her bra line, his thumb just barely gracing the underside of her breast. He scooted closer to her now, letting her feel his stiffened member, contained within his jeans, against her backside. "Freya..." he breathed hotly against her neck, "You do unimagineable things to me.

She wiggled against him and put a hand behind her and into his hair. "Mmm tell me....tell me more," she moaned. Nobody had ever electrified her like this. She was terrified and excited at the same time. She tugged his hair as his touch got rougher. Her breath quickened and she moaned again.

"You make my heart race, make me breathless... you light my skin on fire..." Locke whispered, giving a small groan of his own when she wiggled against him. His hands tightened on her, gripping her hip in one, and the other boldly cupping the underside of her breast, just feeling the natural, soft swell of her supple flesh. His hips, however, ground more firmly against her back. "I've wanted to touch you and kiss you like this for so long."

She gasped at his bold move, her skin trembling with delight. His hands were rough, worn from many years of training and battle, yet so gentle. At his last words she turned to face him, eyes wide. "You have?" Freya asked, disbelieving, "me? You're so much better than me. I'm spoiled, and helpless. My temper is just out of control. I don't listen to you, and I'm always in trouble. How could you want me?" Freya didn't often show her insecurities, preferring to mask them with over confidence and mischeif. Her green eyes were wide, and she stared into Locke's blue ones with more vulnerability than she had ever shown him before.

Locke's eyes peered deeply into hers, piercing through the dimness of the room as if they lit up from the inside. He smiled, bringing his hand from her hip up to stroke and cup her cheek. "You're too hard on yourself. Yes, you're an exhausting pain in my ass sometimes, but why do you think I always come after you? I wouldn't yell, or follow you... or take a silver bullet for you, if I didn't care about you. You're funny, and mischeivous, but I know you have a deeper side--one you don't like to let out too often. You're sweet, and forgiving, even if you don't like people to see it. You're smart--book smart, anyway, can't say the same for common sense." he teased, giving her a grin and lightly tickling her side. He relaxed again and watched her face. "I just like everything you do, Freya... like the way your nose wrinkles when you think something's gross, or the way you tap your chin when you're thinking deeply about something..." He blushed and shrugged. "I've just never been able to voice or act how I feel around you because we could never be anything before. You were a princess and I was your guard dog. But... now we could be something... right?"

Freya nodded, afraid to speak. Other than Nathaniel's one size fits all flirting, no one in all of her 212 years had dared shown interest in loving her. She was a royal, destined to marry another royal. Most of the unseelie court weren't the most passionate of people, they felt love, but showing it was considered weak and pathetic. The prince picked out for Freya by her family was truly awful. He kept a cage of human children, and took the most incredible pleasure from eating them, limb by limb, keeping them alive as long as he could. Freyas parents thought that, if he had Freya perhaps his part of the unseelie world would become less cruel. But the opposite had happened. Having a princess at his side made him powerful, and the dark prince abused it, and once, Freya. Treatment like that was a part of the deepest parts of the winter world, violence was the norm. She and Locke had been friends at the time, but he was still in training and wouldn't have been her guardian for another full year. She remembered the day he saw her bruises vividly, it being the first day she saw him as a wolf, his first time morphing to be exact. His anger exploded out of him, and he tore through the castle wreaking havok on the dark fae. Freya had chased him down, and convinced the wolf to calm down. Had he attacked the prince, it would have meant death and Freya didn't want to lose her only friend in the dark world. Instead, they fled the unseelie kingdom, and they had been living on the run ever since. Locke had protected her, fed her, sheltered her, and now he had feelings for her. Freyas first instinct was to shove him away after he completed her like that, but instead she kissed him with more passion and fire than she ever thought possible.

Locke was surprised at the sheer fire behind her kiss. But he returned it, his mouth moving with hers with a fumbling inexperience at first, but he eventually got the hang of it, and shared more passionate kisses with her. His tongue saught hers out between them, running along the inside of her mouth to fire up those nerves, sending miniature shockwaves from their tongues down their spines. His hands held her to him, turning her to face him and pinning her chest to his, their legs entertwined on the bed.


Freya scratched her nails down his chest playfully, ending at the top of his pants, into which she hooked her fingers. She licked and nibbled his neck, her breath hot on his skin. "I'm done talking," she mumbled against his flesh, fumbling with the button on his jeans.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and a very giggly Melody yelled through the wood "freeeeeyyyyaaa. Come out and seeee us!!! You have a friend here. He's totes cute!!! What's your name cute boy? He says his name is Nate and it's like, a mergency!" The rest of melodys words were lost in a fit of giggles.

Locke's ears twitched at the knock, and he listened to Melody's drunken words before he sighed heavily and released Freya from his kisses and hands. "To be continued." he sighed, planting a quick, more chaste kiss on her lips, then rolled to sit up on the bed. He looked down at his tented pants and blushed, then looked at Freya over his shoulder. "Uhm... maybe you should go out first. I'll be out in a few minutes."

Freya groaned loudly. "Just one night. One damn night." She mumbled as she redressed. " her hair still touseled she left the room. "Melody. What. What could possibly be so important that you had to interrupt me," she caught hersel saying, "from my sleep?"

Melody giggled and pointed at the doorway to the penthouse, in which Nate was leaning. "Well hello your grace. Looks like you've been a naughty girl." The drunken girls on the couch howled with laughter at this. Freya was in no mood and she shot them a glare that shut them up. "One. It's not any of your guys' buisness what I do. Two. Did you three drink my damn wine? Idiots. Three. What's the issue Nate?" She was frustrated with all of her friends right now, realizing she had no idea who the girl with the green hair was, "and four, who in the hell are you?"

"Name's Shea, your high-ighness." Shea slurred with a grin and a two-fingered salute. Emily giggled, putting another apple in her mouth and nibbling it as she watched the room spin around her. "I'was vrry good wine, highness. Thangs fer your hozpitallllity." She then stood on wobbly legs, giggling madly when she stumbled to the side and Emily and Melody had to catch her, and gave a sloppy bow. "We'll be going now! G'night, Em!" Emily smiled and waved at them, watching them lean on each other as they walked. As Shea and Melody passed Nate, Shea brushed his arm, and she looked at him. "Ssoo cold... we can heat you up, handsome..." she grinned.

"I apologize miss but you are just not my type," Nate replied, a smile thinly veiling his disgust. "Have a wonderful night." He closed the foot behind the girls. "I apologize your grace. I was not aware you were entertaining" he smirked, "or were you busy checking a certain mutt for fleas?"

Freya smirked back. Nates new look contradicted immensely with his speech,"Nate, you really need to familiarize yourself with the human slang. Anyway, I'm sorry for my friends Nate. They're idiots. Like I said before it's not of your buisness what I do with my guardian." She shrugged his questions off, and picked up the now empty bottle of wine. "They drank the whole thing? Jesus," she sighed and set it back down. "What can I do for you?"

"I live to see you your grace, but I'm actually here for your pet. That goon you had me dispose of, the corpse has...reanimated." Nate, for the first time in his immortal life, looked frightened. "Congrats Nate, you've made yourself a friend." Freya replied. "You misunderstand me. He is still very much dead, but he doesn't seem to know it." Nate explained.

Locke, who had finally emerged after his personal problem had subsided, came up beside Freya just in time to catch Nate's words. "Did you just say he reanimated?" he asked, his eyes wide. "How? There hasn't been a recorded case of any type of zombification in... centuries." he said, shaking his head.

Freya noticed Emily drunken in the corner, possibly passed out. "I'm gonna take care of her. You two promise not to kill each other?" When they both nodded obediently she coaxed Emily up and walked her to Locke's room.

Nate eyed the wolf, "Enjoying yourself tonight?" He smirked. "I never would have thought you had the gumption to go for it. But then again, I would be willing to bet our little queen is quite the lover. Just look at that body. I'd bet anything she has the best tasting blood..." 

Locke looked at Nate with hardened eyes and growled out, "Don't talk about her that way. It's none of your business. You came to tell me about the reanimated corpse. Where is it?" he demanded sternly. He really had no penchant for those who spoke crudely about Freya, or any woman for that matter.

"For someone with an immortal life span you really need to relax. Maybe you need something to relieve your tension," Nate prodded, his eyes darting downward towards Locke's jeans, "or maybe that's why it took you so long to join us." He laughed. "And the corpse has been detained, so relax."

Locke's cheeks reddened at Nate's comments, but it wasn't out of embarrassment. "Leech, you're really starting to piss me off," he snarled, his hands in fists at his sides. "This isn't a fucking joke! So unless you're going to tell me where the zombie is, or take me to it, then you're wasting my time and you can leave. I'll have no problems showing your ass to the door." he snarled.

Nate put his hands up in a sign of peace. "I apologize. Usually love making puts one into better moods. To each his own I guess." He shrugged. "I'll take you to him. But the queen needs to come as well."

Locke wanted to tell Nate that no love-making had actually occurred, thanks to his interruption, if only to shut him up. But Locke was never one to kiss and tell (partially because he'd never kissed anyone before), so he avoided it and merely crossed his arms, waiting for Freya to return from helping Emily.

Freya came back out, shaking her head. "Well at least they had a good time. Fae wine is hard to get on the run." She looked back and fourth between the boys, sensing the tension. "What did I just walk in on?"

Locke looked up at Freya and shook his head. Heading towards the door, he said, "Nate was just about to lead us to the body." He waved at her lightly. "You should go put on some clothes, Freya. You need to come too." He had forgotten up until that point that Freya had been in nothing but her panties.

"Well, I quite prefer her in that personally." Nate stared unabashedly.

Freya rolled her eyes and got dressed. "You're just jealous Nate because the only people you can get with are the ones you have to brainwash and eat."

Locke snorted audibly in Nate's direction, obviously a wordless hint for him to stop staring if he wanted to keep his eyes. He moved to Freya once she was finished dressing and put a possessive arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the door. "Let's just go. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get some much-needed sleep." he grumbled irritably. He'd just gotten shot with a silver bullet and had hardly been allowed twenty minutes of sleep.

"He is safely secured. You're more then welcome to come tomorrow. Your majesty, you might want to take me up on that offer. Your wolf is about to blow." He smirked, satisfied that Locke wouldn't hurt him with Freya there, "maybe you should follow suit." He laughed a good natured laugh, and Freya joined him, "you are the biggest asshole Nate. Don't ever change."

Locke felt a bit irritated at their gab, knowing they were talking about things that made him uncomfortable. He glared at Nate again, leading them out of the apartment and to the garage straight out of the elevator, to the black buick he loved to drive so much. "Just get in."

Freya looked at the car, disappointment on her face. "You know, I kinda wanted to stay." Nate was already in the back of the car, and couldn't hear their conversation.

Locke turned back to look at Freya, giving a confused frown. "You want to stay?" he asked, not sure he liked the idea of being alone with Nate. "Okay... I won't make you go, if you really don't want to. But I can't promise I won't kill Nate if he pushes me too far." he said with a small smile. "I'll be back as soon as I can be. You should get some sleep."

Freya rolled her eyes. "I meant with you silly. Finish what we started. Nate said he's got the thing secure. What's a few more hours?"

Locke blushed, but smiled. He stepped closer to her, keeping his back to Nate's window, and he ran a hand through Freya's red curls. "I would love nothing more, Freya. But this really should be dealt with. Zombies may not be the smartest things, but they can be a threat in large numbers. All it would take is for this one to get out, and shit would really hit the fan." he said softly. "Don't worry. I'll go with Nate, take care of this guy, and be back before you know it. We'll watch the sunrise together, I promise."

"I'll be here. I promise" Freya answered, and headed back upstairs. When Locke entered the car, Nate started speaking quickly, "there's something else you need to know. Something I didn't wan to say in front of our new queen." He leaned into the front seat. "She's in more danger than we ever thought."

Locke started up the car, watching the garage door swing upwards to reveal the street. He pulled out onto the road, grateful that it was late enough for them to avoid any traffic. "What do you mean, Nate?" he asked seriously, keeping his eyes on the road. "What other danger is there?"

"Freya is the last royal not only of the Fae courts, but of the all the magic kingdoms. The civilizations are in crumbles. The civilians want freedom from their tyranny, and are warring her courts as we speak to get to her. The hunters are spreading propaganda and false promises of wealth if the magic beings help to destroy her. The Seelie courts are bound by blood to help defend her, but nobody is fighting too hard. She's been gone too long. They think she's forgotten the Unseelie ways, and the Seelie court is only fighting due to their honor." Nate spoke seriously.

Locke's hands tightened around his steering wheel and the gear stick, until his knuckles turned white. He clenched his jaw, the muscle twitching, and he glared ahead out of the window. He thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Then we'll have no choice but to get her back to the Seelie courts. They need to see she's alive and well and ready to lead. Just as well, we'll have to try to recruit numbers of our own... magic users who will be willing to fight against the hunters and defend their queen against any other threats--including their own kind." he said seriously.

"Ah. But there in lies the problem. She has broken one their most important laws, and left her betrothed to do it. If the king and Queen were alive they would be bound to kill her for abandoning her position, and sleeping with her guardian. You'll be killed the minute you step foot into the country, and with you gone, she don't last long either. I care about Freya. She is my oldest friend and I don't want to see her harmed any more than you. But because you decided sex was more important, you've signed her death certificate." Nate explained. He was oddly somber, and the mood in the car got colder with every word he spoke.

Locke clenched his jaw, then shook his head seriously, but kept his eyes forward. "We didn't have sex, Nate. Nothing happened." he said softly, but seriously. "We kissed, that's it. She's still pure, and we can fix this. She left her betrothed because he was abusive and cruel. He ate human children, Nate. He beat Freya mercilessly. I had enough, so we left. He's lucky I didn't kill him... though maybe I should have."

It was the first time Locke had ever spoken his name before, Nate was shocked, but continued, "Everyone knows who he was, that doesn't change that she left. They're saying she can't handle life when it becomes too hard. That she'll run away at the first sign of conflict. Turn here, then take a left at that blue bench. You'd have to give her up, or risk killing her. Are you able to break her heart to save her? It's the only way." Nate leaned back, for once, hating to be the bearer of bad news.

Locke didn't answer. His face was stoic as thoughts raced through his head, coupled with memories of Freya both happy and sad. He followed Nate's directions silently, then pulled off where he told him to, turning the car off. "Let's just do this." he grumbled, getting out and waiting for Nate to lead him.

The building was crumbling, and there was a trail of stale blood leading to one door. "Excuse the mess, this is where I feed." Nate apologized, "sometimes I let my meals keep a little of their fight. Makes it interesting." He gave a sheepish smirk towards the werewolf, and opened the door. The hinges were heavily rusted, and it took Nate some effort to get it open. A normal human wouldn't have been able to open the door, and it was easy to assume that was exactly why Nate picked this building. "Now, I had completely drained this bastard of blood, and he was dead. I was getting ready to dispose of the body, so again, excuse my mess. I took an axe to his leg, and the thing woke back up. Luckily, it seems that he isn't the brightest of these creatures, and it took nothing for me to detain him. If he is a natural, then we have nothing to worry about and we can rid the world of this beast...but I fear he is a weapon of the hunters. I wonder if all of the hunters have taken some sort of chemical to reanimate them when they pass, but I have no way of knowing which." Nate explained. "Unless we use that drunk girl's eyes."

"That's a possibility, but I'm not sure Emily would be ready for the horrific realization that zombies are real." Locke said, side stepping a dried puddle of blood. He wrinkled his nose at the heady stench of stale blood in the air, feeling his inner wolf stir. It had been a while since the last time he went hunting, and he was dying for his own taste of raw animal blood. Human blood wasn't too far off from it, but he found human blood to be too rich and fatty, both in smell and taste. His expert hearing was already picking up the forlorn moans of the confused zombie somewhere in the building.

"She's not a child, and there will be worse things coming than a dead man who doesn't know he's dead. Wolf, you've always been a noble man, protecting everyone you meet. But Freya runs from you because you protect too much. Do not make the same mistake with the human girl. If she can believe vampires and werewolves are real, why can she not then believe that zombies are real?" He led Locke to a back room, where the moans were located. He opened the door, and the zombie started to yell. "I've chained him like this to make it easier for us to dispose of the pest." His arms were chained far above his head, and his remaining foot was dangling a few inches off the of floor. His weight was too much for his arms to bear and the flesh was starting to tear in his armpits. His body, while heavy, had a hollow look to it. Nate sauntered over to the corpse and shoved it cruelly.

Locke approached the undead man calmly, watching him a moment. He was still screaming, especially when Nate shoved him, making the skin in his armpits tear a bit more. Otherwise he was a fairly clean and fresh specimen, aside from his dismembered leg and the bite mark in his neck, a little blood patch on his forehead... He didn't look anything like the typical Hollywood zombie. Locke sighed and reached up, slapping the man across the face gently. "Why are you screaming?"

The zombie man blinked after his face snapped to the side from the slap, his screaming abruptly cut off, and then he looked at Locke and Nate with big eyes. "You would be screaming too if your leg was laying on the other side of the room!" he suddenly yelped, looking between them. "Or the fact that I'm not bleeding, or that my armpits are tearing like tissue paper and I can't feel any of it! And that's not even the worst part--I woke up to this guy kissing my neck! At least buy me dinner first, but nooo, he decided to take an ax to my thigh!" He wiggled a little in his chains. "Where am I?! What's going on?! I'm seriously tripping balls, I told Mac no more fucking shrooms..." he whined, hanging his head a little.

Locke's eyebrows raised. He had never met such a vocal zombie before. Usually they just whined and became brooding bodies of depression. "You do realize you're dead, right?"

"Oh sure, I figured that out while he left me alone to bleed out... Only I didn't bleed out!" the zombie said, shooting Nate an incredulous look, like he'd been betrayed or short-handed.

Nate laughed at his mention of dinner. "I did take you out to dinner." He picked up the axe and got ready to swing. "Dog, if you could step back I think I'll take care of this pest."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" the zombie cried out, squirming in his chains and feeling a bone suddenly pop. One of his wrists came loose when the bones in his hand broke, leaving him swinging on the single arm until his shoulder dislocated, then separated from the socket altogether. He let out a yelp as he suddenly dropped to the ground, then looked up at his arm hanging above him. "Oh, that's just great! Look at that! Look!" he yelled at no one in particular.

Locke tilted his head, then reached out and grabbed the ax from Nate, shaking his head. "I have a better idea." he said and set the ax aside. He moved to the zombie and knelt in front of him, watching him closely. "What's the last thing you remember?"

The guy looked at Locke and sighed. "I already told you, I woke up to that guy, right there--the one wearing makeup. That's it."

"You don't remember anything else? Like your name?"

"Well sure, my name is-" He stopped, his mouth hanging open, and a small croak escaped his throat, like he wanted to say it, but nothing came out. He frowned, closing his mouth and then tapping his chin with the one working finger on his broken hand. "Well it's... um.... Uuuuuuuhhhh.... I think it started with an R..." he mumbled, looking around the floor like he might find it scribbled somewhere. When Locked cocked an eyebrow at him, he sighed and shrugged in defeat. "Okay, so I don't remember my fucking name. But what's in a name, really? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!" he said.

Locke gave a low laugh, shaking his head, and reaching to pat the man on his armless shoulder. "Sorry to break it to you, my friend... but you do not smell like a patch of roses right now." He then looked to Nate. "At least he remembers something cultured," he said, referring to the man's recital of Shakespearean lines. He looked back at the zombie and helped him stand up, letting him lean on him so he could stand on his one leg. "Nate, get his arm and his leg. He's coming back with us."

"Oh goody. Leftovers." Nate mumbled, picking up the detached limbs. "Oh, an arm and a leg. You paid dearly to have a second life." Nate chuckled at his own joke, and reopened the door to let the other two out.

"Oh, ha ha, you're a real comedian!" the zombie said to Nate, glowering at him from Locke's shoulder. He looked between them then, and suddenly asked, "What are you guys anyway? I mean... I'm apparently a zombie, and aren't zombies supposed to crave human flesh or something? I don't really have a hankering to take a bite out of you."

"That's because I'm a werewolf, and Nate is a vampire." The man on his shoulder gave an "aaahhh," of realization. Locke helped the zombie to the car, opening the trunk and easing him to sit on the tailgate.

Realizing he was about to be shoved into the trunk, he looked up at Locke and said, "Hey, why does the undead he-she get to sit in the front seat, ubut I have to ride like a mob kill?"

"Because if we get pulled over, it might set off some alarms for a cop to see a man with a missing leg and a missing arm, still talking like nothing happened." Locke said, raising his brows. "Plus I don't want you getting body fluids on my leather seats. It's a short ride, you'll be fine." With that, he pushed the guy into the trunk and closed the lid after Nate tossed in his detached body parts, and he turned to Nate with a sigh, still hearing the guy talking loudly inside the trunk. "Well, this was an interesting turn of events... but this guy could come in handy."

"I don't tend to enjoy my food surviving. It's disturbing." Nate replied. He studied Locke for a few moments and asked "What are you going to do about Freya?"

Locke very clearly didn't appreciate the sudden change of subject, and he gave Nate a sour scowl. "I don't know yet. I'll figure it out." he said shortly, then waved Nate to get in the car before sliding into the driver's seat. "What we should be figuring out is how we're going to keep this guy from decomposing all over the apartment and alerting suspicions."

"Well as long as we have our priorities straight." Nate was quiet the rest of the short trip, and when they arrived back at the penthouse, he was the last out of the car, not helping Locke with the zombie at all. He climbed up the stairs when the others took the elevator, but still managed to reach the penthouse first. He waited outside however, dreading the scene they might walk in on. Now that the call to kill her was out, Freya could be attacked at any moment.

Locke carried the zombie man up to the penthouse rather easily with him slung over his shoulder, but the hardest part was not holding his mouth shut. This guy talked a lot. A bit too much for Locke's liking. Much like Melody. He imagined they would get along famously together. He eyed Nate as he came off the elevator and approached him at the door. "Stop acting tense. You'll give us away." he said and unlocked the door, pushing it open with his foot. "Freya?" he called once the door was closed and locked again.

"In here!" She yelled back from the bedroom, "Come join me."

Nate laughed at this, "She's not going to make this choice easy for you is she? YOur majesty, you should join us out here. As well as your drunk girl." He called back.

Freya popped her head out the door, "What is going on?" She came out, pulling a robe on to cover her lingerie, "Didn't you kill that zombie?" Her eyes then fell upon Locke, and the dismembered man he was holding up. "Oh are you kidding me?"

"I know, I know, but hear me out," Locke said as he lowered the undead man onto the floor of the kitchen. The flooring in the kitchen was tile and would be easier to clean up if any bodily fluids decided to come leaking out. "He doesn't remember anything after he died, which is pretty traditional for a true undead. I think he's a natural zombie, and not a self-made one." he explained. "And he can come in handy if we can get access to his old memories. He could give us an insight and maybe a real advantage over the hunters."

The zombie man looked around the apartment in awe before his sunken eyes fell on Freya. He gave a grin. "Well hello! I swear, if my heart wasn't dead, I'd think it'd explode!" he said, then gave a wolfish whistle at the queen. Locke's hand connected with the back of his head and he grunted, then frowned up at him. "What? I can appreciate a true beauty, can't I?"

"Is Emily still passed out?" Locke asked Freya as he stood, moving towards her. He stopped, his ear giving a twitch, and he sighed. "No, she's not. I hear her throwing up. The Fae wine must have been too strong for her."

With a sigh, Freya headed towards the bathroom, "It's too strong for anyone. She's lucky she didn't turn into a rat or something. Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

After Freya left the room, Nate pulled Locke aside. "I think it's best if you didn't tell Freya about what we discussed. SHe'll give up everything to be with you. If that happens, the magic kingdoms will fall, and the hunters will have won. Do not let her forsake her destiny."

Locke looked at Nate and frowned heavily, looking truly forlorn about this topic now. "So I'm not allowed to talk to her about it? I'm not allowed to let her make a decision for herself? You expect me to just... break her heart and walk away, for the good of all magic creatures?" he whispered back stonily. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just give me time to think about it, Nate. I can't make a decision that big so soon. I need to process it." he grumbled. He turned back to the zombie man, frowning when he saw he was watching them with curious interest, and he sighed again. "We'll need to reattach your limbs if you're going to be of any help to us... and you'll need some blood to help your muscles work better and slow your decomposition. Nate, is there any way you can snag a bag of blood from the bank?"

"He'll need fresh blood to reattach those limbs. Get me a bowl." Nate replied, not looking happy with the wolf. "I stole your blood, I suppose you can have mine."

The man blinked up at Locke and Nate, then gave Nate a big grin. "Damn right! That sounds fair to me!" he said as Locke handed Nate a bowl and a knife. "But uh... can you go over there? Blood makes me squimish." he said with a crooked smile.

A few minutes later, Emily emerged from the bathroom with Freya, her arm around her middle and her cheeks a greenish flush. She groaned and leaned on her friend a little, wincing at the bright kitchen lights. "What's going on?" she mumbled both tiredly and just miserably.

"Don't be alarmed but..." Freya started, at the same time as Nate answered, "This guy is a zombie. We're fixing him up. Get aquainted." Freya rolled her eyes at Nate's bluntness, but appreciated it at the same time. Nate disregarded the knife, and bit into his forearm hard. Blood poured from the bite and he carefully held his arm over the bowl, careful not to spill a drop.

"It's too bad you're squeamish," Nate told the zombie, who somehow looked even more pale at the sight of the vampire's blood, "You're going to have to drink it to get any effects. My blood is immortal, and therefore will keep you from decaying any further. Now, my debt for taking your life is repaid." He handed the bowl to the dead man, "Drink up." Nate turned to the girls and nodded his head, "I should be going, I feel you are all in each other's capable hand, and I have blood to replace." He got close to Locke and whispered "Do not be selfish with your choice. The world come before your heart. Make the wrong choice and I'll kill you myself."

"I'd like to see you try." Locke grumbled back as he watched him leave. Once Nate was gone, he looked at Freya and his expression was saddened. He couldn't look at her right now, so he turned his head away and watched as the zombie swirled the bowl of strong-smelling vampire blood. "Better hurry before it gets cold. Cold blood isn't as good as warm blood."

The zombie wrinkled his nose, examining the blood in the bowl closely. He felt like his gut should have been wrenching at the sight of this, and if he was alive, he would have fainted. But he shrugged and sighed, tipping his head back and using his broken hand to pour the blood down his throat. He swallowed it carefully, and Emily gave a groan of disgust, her own stomach in knots again. When he finished, he let the bowl drop, and started to watch as Locke held his leg and arm in place, the muscles slowly starting to mend back together and the bones in his broken hand cracking back into place.

Freya groaned. "Jesus, just because you're dead doesn't mean you get to be a slob. Pick that bowl up." She waved her hands in the air and shot Locke a look, which he avoided. "O...Kay? Anyway, I'm going back to bed. Zombie, you do whatever you do, Emily, that wine won't wear off for another few hours, and Locke? I'll see you soon?" She said the last part quietly. Before he left, Locke couldn't take his eyes off of her, but then he made her stay home and now he couldn't even look at her. Maybe he changed his mind about me She walked back to the bedroom, tightening the silk robe around her waist.

Locke watched her go with a deep frown, feeling guilty. His heart ached. He waited until the zombie man's limbs were mended enough that they wouldn't fall off again, but the skin wasn't healing in the right way. He stood up and looked at Emily. "Are you any good at sewing?" he asked.

"Uh... yeah, I guess I am." Emily frowned.

"Good. Freya has some embroidery items in a box in the hall closet. You should stitch his skin together. And he needs a new name."

"You're talking about me like I'm some kind of pet." The zombie said and then smiled. "I kinda like it."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "You want me to stitch his skin? I dunno if I can do that, I've never sewn skin before." she muttered, hugging herself. "And he's a zombie. Won't he try to like... eat me?"

Locke shook his head. "No. He's already had a fill of Nate's blood, he won't need to eat again for days, and when he does, he can get by on rats and the like." But just to be safe, he turned to the zombie and pointed at him firmly. "No biting." He watched him lift his hands in surrender, and then sighed. "When she's done with you, you can sleep on the couch." With that, he moved away from them, putting the bowl in the sink as he passed it, and headed to Freya's room. He knocked lightly a few times before he entered, closing the door gently and locking it, keeping his back to her at first.

"Knocking now? Aren't we past that?" Freya asked, sitting facing away from Locke on the bed looking out the window. 

Locke almost flinched at her voice. He gripped the knob, then slowly let it go, turning to look at her. "I just wasn't sure if you were dressed or not." he said, though after she emerged in only her underwear before, he knew she'd dismiss that excuse. He gulped hard, then made his way towards her. His hands twitched at his sides, wanting to touch her and hold her, but he wasn't sure he should. Oh fuck it. I'm not allowed to sleep with her, but I can touch her. he thought angrily. He lifted his hand, sliding it onto her shoulder, then under her hair against the back of her neck, stroking her soft skin gently. "Freya..."

Freya shook him off, and eyed him suspiciously. "Are you breaking up with me? You can't. I mean, we're not even together." She stood. "and don't deny it because you're knocking worrying if I'm dressed, and the way you just said Freya is the way people say names when they're telling them somebody died. Save your breath."

Locke's hand snapped back when she shrugged him off, his eyes big. He frowned guiltily, but shook his head. "No, Freya, I wasn't going to say anything like that." he said gently. At least, not yet. He decided he wanted to have one night with her. Just one. He had never gotten that, and he wanted it before he wouldn't be allowed to anymore. "I was just going to say that maybe we should hold off on getting too physical for now. I mean... you're so irresistible, I just don't want to hurt you." he said sincerely. "I just need some more self control."

"So you get to make that decision for both of us? So an hour ago you were about to tear my clothes off and now...now you apparently want me in a chastity belt?" She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck seductivly. "If you're worried about not being...good or whatever...you don't have to be. I'm nervous too..." she undid her robe and let it drop to the floor.

Locke's eyes closed over at her kiss on his neck, a pleasurable shudder running down his spine and provoking a shaky breath from his lips. When her robe dropped, however, he was breathless. Her beautifully perfect figure was clad in a deep chocolate lace, cupping her breasts delicately in a thin bra and matching panties that hugged her hips perfectly. He was able to see things through that lace that should have been illegal. And for him they technically were. "Oh, Freya..." he moaned, his cheeks red.

"For once, stop using your head." She pulled him onto the bed, and kissed him deeply while pulling his shirt off over his head. She scratched her nails down his back, and bit his lower lip. "Let's finish what we started."

Locke moaned softly into her mouth, letting her take off his shirt and kissing her back passionately. She tasted so sweet. He didn't want to think about never kissing her again. He pulled her warm body against his, feeling her soft breasts against his chest, his arms enveloping her. She would no doubt feel his suddenly-present erection against her thigh. He loved the way she felt, the way she smelled and sounded... everything about her.

Freya pulled herself up, and smiling slyly at him, moved to take off the bra she was wearing. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. I'm glad it's with you. I love how you look at me, I love how you work so hard to keep me safe. I love everything about you, I love..." She struggled to make herself say the last word.

Locke's heart both swelled and broke with every word she said. He couldn't let her finish though. Just before the last word escaped her mouth, he captured her lips with his in another passionate kiss, his hands exploring her body slowly. He finally rested a hand on her hip, the other stroking her cheek where it cupped her face, and he broke the kiss to look down at her. "I love you too." he whispered, but it was almost painful to say. He sighed sadly and lowered his head, resting it between her breasts. "Please, Freya... don't make me hurt you." he mumbled.

"What? What did you say?" There were butterflies in her stomach from his words. "How could you possibly hurt me? You've spent your whole life protecting me." She was confused at his sadness, he should be ecstatic.

Locke sighed a warm breath against her chest, warming her breasts and planting a kiss between them before looking at her. "Losing your virginity hurts, Freya. It's painful and you'll bleed." he explained. "And I can't tell you what that will do to me, how my wolf will react. I don't want to hurt you." He reached up and cupped her face in both hands, shifting to kiss her lips gently. "I want to be with you so badly... you have no idea..."

"So be with me. I'm certain I can handle it. I want you." She fumbled with the buttons on his jeans. "Don't you want me?" She nipped his neck.

Locke breathed deeply, a gasp at her nip to his neck. His heart raced, she was undoing his jeans. He wanted to let her, but his hands grabbed her wrists and stopped her. "I-I do! I do, but.. please, Freya, I'm not ready." he said shakily.

She was confused, and a little angry. "Might I remind you that you started this. You cornered me. I was more than wiling to pretend I never admitted anything to you. I'm an idiot." She pushed him off of her and got off of the bed, pulling the robe back on her body.

"N-no, Freya!" Locke said quickly, getting up after her. He felt sick with guilt and hurt. "I am not lying when I say I want you, Freya!" He grabbed her hand suddenly and put it to his stiffened groin, letting her feel his arousal. "See?" He then suddenly dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her middle, burying his face in her stomach. "Please, Freya... I just... I'm so scared..." he admitted softly.

She blushed and pulled her hand back shocked at his forwardness. When she grabbed his head and petted it, in an act of consolation. "Of me? How could you possibly be scared of me? There's something you're not telling me Locke. I've known you for far too long to not notice."

Locke couldn't look up at her now. He hugged her tightly and kept his face buried against her stomach. "I'm not scared of you, Freya... but I'm fucking terrified of losing you." He swallowed hard, still not willing to let her go. "I love you. I know that without a doubt now, and I want you to know it without a doubt too, but... but I can't have you. Not yet."

Freya wormed her way out of his grip, confused by her guardian. "How on Earth could you possibly lose me? You're the most important person in the world to me." She sat down on the bed her head in her hands. "I threw myself at you and you turned me down. Wow, that's humiliating." She ran a hand through her red locks. "Maybe... maybe we should just get to bed."

Locke stayed on his knees on the floor, his head hanging. It was safe to say his arousal was depleted in the worst way. His shoulders slumped in defeat as a sigh deflated him, then he stood slowly. Without turning to face her, he said, "I'm... not tired. I'm gonna get some air." he said sadly, moving to the balcony doors and stepping outside into the night air. It was almost three in the morning now, but even still the city of New York was alive with lights and sounds. The air smelled like rain again. It started to drizzle as Locke leaned against the railing, looking over the streets below.

The fae queen tucked herself into the bed, and grabbed onto her pillow tight. She didn't understand what was going on, and it hurt. His rejection felt like a knife in her heart. She didn't mean to, but for the first time since she left her home, tears started to flow. I'm not good enough for him. I'll never be good enough for him. That's what he didn't want to tell me. God. I'm such an idiot.



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