#j-crawley

Heat week hadn’t been Ransom’s proudest moment. He was still trying to process a lot of what happened and what that meant about him. It was one thing with Finn and Emerson, hell even Bolt, but James he saw day in and day out. The feeling in the office had been damn near oppressive with how both seemed to be walking on egg shells. He knew James wouldn’t push the subject though had tried to broach it a couple times in the past few weeks, but Ransom shut it down. 

He wouldn’t say he was okay with everything that happened, but he was getting better with it, feeling less humiliation and ready to just move on from it all, specially when some half crazed vampire came in demanding a god damn arsenal and was clearly half out of his mind. It wasn’t until he left Ransom finally put the name with the file. He hadn’t even been on Ransom’s radar because he seemed harmless. It was always the quiet ones you had to watch out for. James had tried to help that time around but shit had gone sideways fast and he called off pursuit. If he was heading to the castle it was the castle’s problem. 

They were just finishing up putting the station back together when Ransom called for James who turned to him. “Look...about what happened...during that heat wave...” Ransom realized he didn’t really know where he was going with this and what he wanted to say about it kind of hoping in his pauses and reluctance James would pick up the conversation as it was one Ransom didn’t actually want to have, but felt he had to as the chief.

It took a lot to get him to leave the castle, Lucien not caring much for the lesser things that roamed around the doomed village. It holding no value to him. But he couldn’t handle another round with any of his suitors and their ridiculous behaviors. The sun was still out, but setting in the distance, it didn’t do much for the outside air, but just being outside itself did help. Drinking from the kresnik meant the sun didn’t affect him in any negitive way other than its unbearable heat specially since, of course, Lucien was in a three piece suite. 

By the time he walked down to town, Lucien not owning a car as he had no idea how to drive, the sun was down and the street lights were coming on. He felt rejuvenated as the sun went down feeling his powers return and gaining more strength. He was walking by a park when he heard a rustling sound in a bush in the distance. He recalled Avery said he liked coming down to town at night and finding things to fuck and eat. He’d had a few rounds with the alpha since this heat began and as much as he enjoyed the other, even he needed a break from time to time. Lucien didn’t get any scent because of the way the wind was blowing so couldn’t be sure if it was or wasn’t, still he didn’t want to chance it as he quickened his pace by the unprotected area quickly moving down the next block. His eyes shifted behind him to make sure he wasn’t being followed just before he turned the corner meaning he didn’t catch there was someone in his way until he nearly ran into them. Because of his heightened state of fear and heat his vampire side was out in force, fangs, dark eyes with crimson irises, looking more like a monster than he ever did. Ruffled because of his own overreaction, more out of fear Avery had found him, than whoever this was he was dealing with. The other in a police uniform, which had Lucien calming his vampiric side, his fangs still out, but eyes returning to normal. 

“Is this what they pay your kind to do in this town? Scare those that venture into it.” Lucien’s tone sharp as his glare, blaming the other for his own mistake.

Ransom had been in the office on the other side of town since he got a new office on the squad, if James could be referred to as such. He wasn’t Ransom’s pick for sure, seeming to come down from the castle, making him wonder why he was chief in the first place if he couldn’t hire his own damn officers. Price he’d have to pay in the end he assumed. James had yet to impress him in anyway, but as it stood the shop owner needed more help than Ransom first assumed. He knew the other was a wolf and physically would be fine. Wood wasn’t a weakness of theirs, but the emotional side of it wasn’t as simple to deal with.

By no means was Ransom an emotional being. Emotions weren’t what made a good cop. Yes he had then and yes he felt things, but he knew how to be objective when the time called for it. How he felt or how he’d handle something wasn’t any kind of reflection on how another would. Calling on the radio he had James meet them in town and tended to the wolf before the other showed up. 

“Need you to take that one down to the station. Slave for sure, but has use of power I’d assume from this.” He gestured to the broken up shop. “Careful with him. Guessing he’s cambion, young one. You should be able to handle him.” Ransom commented referring to their first meeting when Ransom had to catch the villager that slipped the other officer. “That one can’t slip you, you understand me Crawley.” Because Ransom wasn’t having his numbers fucked because James couldn’t handle a cambion. 

It seemed every few weeks the town was being dragged into some chaos caused by the castle and he knew this had to be more of it.  Shaking the impure thoughts from his head and the unyielding desire of his dragon to mate and nest he pushed out of his seat and headed into the town avoiding those he could not wanting to tangle unnecessarily with anyone. Ransom was always in control, always, but today he could feel the irrational monster he truly was on the inside taking over. It wasn’t hard to find James, Ransom knew the dhampir’s smell well and easily tracked his progress through the town.  

Of course he found him with a villager pinned against the back of the cafe, his favorite one because it just had to be. He tore James from the other shoving him away and when he protested he wanted James to bite him Ransom was sure to let some of that true monster slip out to scare the other off leaving him with James pinned against he wall before him. His eyes turned more dragon than human, slits narrowed and black, irises a deep purple, his hands turning into black claws that gripped the lower ranked officer by the front of the shirt. 

“I don’t give a fuck what’s goin on, you don’t fuckin eat the people you are paid to protect. Do I make myself clear Crawley.” Ransom’s voice so low the back door to the cafe shock from the threatening rumble, he knowing full well James said the wrong thing he might literally tear into him.