Fast and the Furious/BtVS fic: wolf woman wild, Letty/Oz/Faith
Title: wolf woman wild
Author: Carla
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Joss Whedon, Universal Pictures, etc.
Setting: After The Fast and the Furious, though it references something little in Fast & Furious. Post season seven of BtVS and season four of Angel.
Rating: 16+
Written for: crimson_keys requested Letty/Oz or Letty/Faith or Letty/Oz/Faith and Letty becoming a wolf. Thanks to thestalkycop for encouragement while writing it, and for being the first person to catch my little shout-out.
Summary: Letty used to be a damned good mechanic and one hell of a lover but now she's so much more.
It’s a stupid thing, the way it happens.
She’s back in L.A. and Mia’s giving her - not the cold shoulder, exactly, because she’s warm and welcoming, but the cold bed. She assumed they’d pick up right where they left off but that stupid saying about you and asses and me is truer than she likes.
Brian’d fucked them all over more than she lets herself remember but she’s the one being punished for it. Letty grinds her teeth when she thinks about him but it’s pointless. He’s long gone, she doesn’t know where and she doesn’t want to know as long as he stays away.
She’s back in L.A. and she’s not getting any from either Toretto for really fucking stupid reasons - it’s not safe and whyever Mia’s holding her grudge - so she goes out to the bar and she drinks a lot of beer and she eye fucks everyone in the room.
She lets this hot little redhead pick her up and take her to a hotel. She says her name’s Ginger and her hair’s definitely dyed. Letty can see the roots and the hair on her cunt is brown.
One night stands are hit or miss she’s found, but this girl is fantastic. She pushes her up against the wall and kisses her hard, bites her lower lip until it hurts, and tries to pin her hands against her sides.
Perfect! She loves this, fighting for dominance, back and forth, wild and rough. Letty shoves her away and Ginger stumbles backward until she hits the bed. She’s a quick little thing and when Letty pounces, she scrambles out of the way and lunges, pinning her face down.
They wrestle around, careful only to stay on the bed. A broken bone from falling wrong is not in the picture. Ginger’s nails are long and painted and she digs them into any bit of skin she can reach.
She’s a biter too and by the time they’re done, sweaty and sated, Letty’s got teeth marks all up and down her arms and legs, bruises curving over her shoulder, and there’s even a little blood where Ginger bit her breast hard enough to break skin.
Letty stretches her arms overhead to work out the kinks in her back and then grabs her shirt off the floor. She’s not one to stick around after with anyone but a Toretto.
#
Her bruises fade and the wound near her nipple heals. There’s one day shortly after when she feels shaky and weak and strange, her head spins and her vision goes blurry and she’s not really sure what’s wrong. She doesn’t run a fever, Mia checks, but she wobbles every time she gets up off the couch.
Then it passes and Letty’s never felt better in her life.
She spends lots of nights in the garage working on the Charger. She should sleep, she thinks, but then when the moon rises and the sun sets, there’s this weird rush of energy that flashes through her and leaves her a little shaky, her muscles tight with anticipation. She’s not sure why it happens or how long she can go on a couple hours sleep right around dawn, but she doesn’t care.
The moon goes dark, not that you can see much of the night sky in L.A. between the lights and the smog. She looks up the cycle of it online and she’s right, it’s a new moon and she would find it weird that she noticed, but she’s so busy. There’s a car to rebuild and Mia’s got a new boyfriend who comes around sometimes and the three of them drink beers and play video games and she’s trying to find a way to let Dom come home. There’s no time to worry about why she’s hyper-aware of the moon.
Not even the Charger can keep her attention one evening. She sits cross-legged in front of the door, rolling a wrench back and forth along her leg. The moon is coming, she thinks and shivers.
It’s coming, she can feel it just beyond the horizon, and she can’t sit still.
#
Letty wakes up on a cold concrete floor and every inch of her body feels bruised.
She’s naked, her skin covered in scratches, and her mind is fuzzy. She remembers sitting in the garage, considering the next step in Charger repair, and then nothing. Not a single thing. She doesn’t know where she is, how she got there, or why she’s naked. Or why the hell she’s in a cage. The door’s open, sure, but it’s still a fucking cage.
Whatever she did, it had better be worth it.
“You’re awake.” It’s a woman’s voice and Letty scrambles to her feet. Her nose hurts and she sniffs; it brings a wash of smells to her. She knows what they are without trying; sweat from exercise, not fear; leather clothes; overcooked hamburgers; and beneath it the smell of wood.
God, she’s hot. Dark hair, pouty lips colored deep red, muscled arms, lush breasts and hips. She grins and flips a piece of wood back and forth between her hands. It’s carved down to a point at one end.
There’s a guy sitting on a table in the center of the room. He’s got a guitar in his lap, but his arms are looped lazily around it. There’s a gun next to him. She doesn’t like the look of it one bit.
He catches her eye and his lips quirk a little. It might be a smile in an hour or two.
“Yeah, I’m awake,” she snaps at last. “Now where the hell am I and who the fuck are you?”
Maybe she shouldn’t let on she can’t remember, but her mouth works without her really thinking about it. It happens sometimes, especially when she’s stressed. She doesn’t mind being naked, she doesn’t even really mind that she can’t remember what she did - it’s been awhile, but she’s done that before, drank so much she blanks out - but she absolutely hates not knowing where she wakes up.
There’s a reason she only spends the night in Dom’s bed or, once upon a time, in Mia’s.
“I’m Faith,” the woman says. “He’s Oz.” She stops playing with her toy and tucks it down the back of her pants. That’s weird. “We’ll show you where you are in a second but first there’s a couple things you need to know.”
“What’s that?” Letty puts her fists on her hips and glares. She’s good at dirty looks.
“You’re not going to believe this, but it’s all true. You’re a vampire slayer and a werewolf and we’re not sure those two things are going to go well together.”
She’s right. Letty doesn’t believe a word of it.
#
They’ve got clothes for her. She feels better dressed, not because she hates to be naked but because it’s a little weird being the only one nude. She’s in the basement of a hotel full of people who know Faith and Oz and there’s a really great diner nearby. Their bacon is perfect, crisp and rich, and the rest of the food just as good.
While she eats, Faith tells her a story about a witch and a bunch of vampire slayers and a recent potential apocalypse which devoured a city. Apparently that last part happens a lot and that’s part of what being a slayer means, averting them and saving the world. She talks about choice and how it went from one slayer to two to hundreds all around the world. She talks about some watchers rebuilding their council and how she’s one of the people trying to find new slayers and help them understand what they’ve become.
She talks about being an ex-con and an ex-fugitive and all the changes she’s had to make.
Letty thinks about that a lot and rubs the back of her neck and drains her soda. She’s dying of thirst and so very, very hungry.
“So that’s the slayer thing,” she says, and pushes the empty plate away. Soon as the waitress shows up, she’s going to order more food. Maybe she believes what’s been said, maybe she doesn’t. She grabs her chin with one hand and cracks her neck. “What’s the werewolf thing?”
“Well.” Faith fidgets a little.
Oz looks at her. “You’re new to it.”
She sighs and gestures for the waitress, who must be used to people needing extra food because she doesn’t bat an eye when Letty orders two more meals, lots of bacon, and a hot chocolate. The sugar will do her good.
After, she rests her chin on her fist, her elbow on the table, and stares at Oz. “I’m so new I didn’t even know I was.”
“Did you get bit recently?” Faith asks. “Wild dog running around the neighborhood maybe?”
“Or a person.” Oz stares at his hands. “Mine was my cousin Jordy. Just a nip of my finger and I was different.”
“No wild dog.” Letty grins and rattles the ice in her glass. “There was a girl. Really hot. The sex was fucking good but she bit me a lot. Guess it was her then.”
They’re not rattled by her coming out. She grins and eyes Faith again. Could be more fun to be had. Besides. She’s got a plan, a trick up her sleeve. Maybe she can make everything work.
“You won’t always forget,” Oz says. He catches her eye again. “You won’t always be a slave to the change. You can control it, if you’re willing to work at it. I can teach you.” He watches her closely and there’s something to him, something so calm and quiet it unnerves her.
She’s used to noise and obvious displays of power and how Dom does things.
Letty drops her gaze to her hands and twists her fingers together. She’s not sure she believes them, but it feels right. She wouldn’t be surprised at all if there was a wolf inside her skin, a monster fighting to get out.
The waitress brings her food but she’s not even sure if she’s hungry any more.
#
They don’t like it much when she says she’s going to tell Mia, but they don’t actually have any choice. Faith gives her a cell phone number, Oz tells her she’ll change again that night and offers the hotel as a safe space, and they take off. Letty calls Mia for a ride and though Mia frowns when she sees her - when she notices Letty isn’t wearing her own clothes - but doesn’t say anything bad, just takes her home.
Letty gets them each a beer and they sit on the steps. She stares out into the streets, momentarily empty, and wonders how many monsters lurk just out of sight when she sits there in the darkness.
There are many things she needs to tell Mia but she can’t decide how to start. They don’t talk, not for a long time, and then she finally says, “I’m a monster.”
Mia looks at her sharp and she shrugs in response.
“Talk to me, Letty,” she says. “You’re a good person.”
“Maybe.” She takes a long drink. “Doesn’t mean I’m not also a monster.”
And then she tells her the story, every last detail.
#
Mia’s very logical, and very intelligent, and very well educated. She’s also a believer; she believes in people, she believes in the strange things that lurk in the darkness of the city, she believes in good and evil. She’s seen people come into the hospital with inexplicable wounds.
She doesn’t call Letty crazy. She goes with her to the hotel just before sunset and instead of taking the car and going home, she gets out and sticks to her side.
“We’re in this together,” she says. Whatever this is. Letty lets her hold her hand, lets her twist their fingers together. It’s not the same thing they used to do when they were teens, this isn’t holding hands as prelude to a kiss, as prelude to fucking, but it’s good, too, this friendship between them.
Mia likes Faith. She doesn’t say as much, but Letty can tell. That’s why she doesn’t feel so bad leaving them alone when she goes downstairs with Oz. He’s got his guitar again and a book tucked under one arm. He flashes the cover at her like he can read her mind. Where the Wild Things Are. Cute.
Her jeans have zippers on all the pockets. She fingers the pulls and watches him.
“You’re going to shift,” he says and sits on the table again. “It feels better if you take off your clothes first. We can cover the cage if you’d like your privacy.”
She raises her eyebrows. “I’m not shy.” Then she pulls off her shirt. To give him credit, he keeps his eyes on her face and doesn’t even blush. “Besides, I’m about to lock myself in a fucking cage. I’ll take any comfort I can get.”
“It sucks.” He’s agreeing with her so she doesn’t wiggle her ass at him when she takes off her jeans. She kicks her clothes into a pile and heads into the cage. She pulls the door shut behind her but keeps her fingers wrapped around the bars. “I was in high school. Used to cage up in a library. My girlfriend and her best friends had Oz-sitting duty. It definitely sucks.”
She’s a little surprised by his story, by the thought of him locked up, helpless and trapped. It’s not that she forgets he’s a werewolf. She can smell him constantly, this steady reminder, every time she breathes, that he’s like her. That they’re the same. Except not so much, ‘cause she doesn’t see him getting in the cage too.
He hops off the table and walks over to lock the door. He lingers and they watch each other through the bars. She can feel the heat of him this close, the warmth of his body. He smells good, more animal than before. They’re counting the seconds until the moon rises. She can feel it out there, a hum on her nerves.
“It’s going to hurt,” he says and she can practically feel his mouth on hers. His fingers brush her hand and then it hits her, hard enough she doubles over. It does hurt, her bones, her muscles, her very molecules are shifting and grating against each other.
She gags for air and stumbles to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Oz whispers. He bears witness while she breaks apart, until she’s not Letty anymore and only the monster is left.
#
Letty wakes to guitar music, something soft and rich.
She stretches and her body throbs. She doesn’t remember anything - except, maybe Oz’s voice? Quiet words filtering through her growls? That can’t be right. Surely she can’t remember - but it feels like she threw herself against the bars all night, that’s how battered and bruised she is.
“Welcome back.” Oz doesn’t miss a note even when he talks. “I’ve got painkillers and breakfast.”
Pain flashes from her ass up her spine to the back of her neck. It feels like she landed hard and sharp right on the bone.
Her clothes are waiting, neatly folded, just outside the door. Oz looks away while she dresses, giving her a moment to get back to herself. A thought flashes through her mind: she’d rather he watch. That’s something interesting. He’s not really her type. He’s an inch shorter than she is, which is like six inches shorter than Dom and three inches shorter than Mia.
Mia’s got someone new and Dom sent her away like a child. Maybe it’s time she stops comparing everyone to them.
Breakfast is scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and extra bacon. She’s touched that he remembers. She sits on the table next to him to eat and listens while he plays.
“You can teach me to control this?” she asks when the food’s gone.
“Yeah.” He looks at her and stops playing. She wishes he wouldn’t. She likes the sound of it. “It’s hard work.”
She’s got calluses on her hands and burn marks on her arms from teaching herself to work on cars. She’s dropped parts on her foot and wrecked cars while racing and broken bones jacking trucks. She’s watched her whole world come apart and she’s still fighting to put it back together again.
“Doesn’t scare me,” she says and stares at her fingers. If she doesn’t learn to control it, she’s either going to be locked in a cage every month or she’s going to have blood on her hands. Either way, she’s just a loaded weapon, far too dangerous to keep around.
If she can control it, she can find balance. Monster in the woman. Both have their time and place.
Oz puts his hand over hers. His skin is so pale and the hair on his knuckles reddish. He looks absolutely nothing like Dominic.
That’s why she kisses him. He’s still holding his guitar and it jabs her arm when she leans the wrong way, but he tastes so good, wolf beneath the sweet tea he’s drinking, and his lips are warm against hers.
When she pulls back he smiles at her a little.
“You don’t have to do that,” he says. “I’ll help you.”
“I know.” She kisses him again, just a little one, nice and quick. “I want to.”
He sets aside the guitar and scoots closer. He’s gentle when he cups her face in both hands and kisses her, his mouth soft. Then he nips at her lower lip and she can feel the growl rumble in her throat and echo in his.
It’s a delicious kiss, their wolves twisting up between them.
She could get to like this werewolf business.
#
“You’ve got to learn to control the wolf before you can be a slayer,” Faith tells her.
“But it’s only a problem three nights a month. The rest of the time I can help.” She’s not sure why it’s so important to her, except that she doesn’t like the idea of monsters lurking so close to Mia. Whatever she can do to help clear the city, well, that’s what she wants.
Faith stares at her, arms crossed over her chest. Letty puts her hands on her hips and glares right back. She’ll show her stubborn as hell.
“Fine,” Faith snaps at last, but she can hear the approval. “I’ll train you some. We’ll see if it becomes a problem. It’s probably for the best. If you’re not careful, you could hurt someone.”
Letty snorts. “I don’t need superpowers for that.”
Faith’s grin goes dark and dangerous. “Oz’s teaching you control,” she says. “So’m I. Come on. Let’s spar.”
They square off. The pain from this morning is gone. Letty shakes her arms, resettles her shoulders. She’s not afraid to take a hit and she knows how to throw a punch. She bares her teeth and Faith grins back. She’s gonna get her ass handed to her. It’s gonna be fun.
#
Between the training sessions with Faith and Oz’s meditations and lessons on stopping the change once it starts, she’s basically exhausted all the time, so it’s good that she gets a paycheck for training to be a slayer and helping Faith patrol. Means she can help Mia pay bills and she has a little time left to keep working on the Charger.
Once the weather breaks and it’s not so damn hot, Mia suggests a cookout. Oz joins her in the kitchen, helps her with the sides - potato salad, deviled eggs, corn on the cob - and Letty and Faith fire up the grill.
It’s nice, kicking back with friends old and new. Leon’s back in town and he brings Coronas. Mia’s new boyfriend brings dessert, a rich chocolate cake and red velvet cupcakes and fresh strawberries.
As the sun sets, Letty gets twitchy and tense. She’s got stakes in the pockets of her cargo pants but still her skin crawls and she’s got goose bumps. No matter how hard she looks around, she can’t see anything wrong, but she keeps looking.
Faith smiles at her and there’s something like sympathy in her eyes.
They head inside before too long and settle down in front of some monster movie on tv. It makes Faith laugh. She’s really fucking gorgeous when she smiles. Maybe next time they patrol, Letty should kiss her.
Oz’s fingers are callused and rough when he takes her hand; she lets him hold it and scoots a little closer. He smells good, like chicken and chocolate and Corona and under it all the wolf.
“Stay,” she mutters, so quiet only he can hear. He nods, squeezes her fingers, and then moves his hand to her leg so his fingers curl over the inside of her thigh. She arches her hips up a little; she’s already thinking about how it’s gonna feel when he puts his hand between her legs, when he touches her clit, when he pushes his dick inside and she controls the speed of their fucking.
But that’s later and this is now and his hand is warm even through her pants.
He chuckles a little, low in his throat, and rests his head against her shoulder.
Faith catches her eye and grins.
She tilts her head a little, jerks her chin toward the stairs. It’s an offer she’s not sure Faith can read, but her smile goes bigger and later, when Letty takes Oz’s hand again and heads up to her room, it’s only a couple seconds later that she hears Faith come up after them.
Faith crosses her arms just under her breasts, pushing them up a little, and winks. “Sure you’re ready for this?”
Letty’s not sure who she’s talking to exactly, but she’s not one to back down from a challenge. Neither’s Oz for that matter, nor Faith. She squirms a little at that. Fucking Oz is great. A threesome would be fun too. Getting herself off will do if neither of them is interested.
Oz squeezes her fingers and nods to Faith.
“Your bed big enough for the three of us?” Faith asks. “Cause if not, mine is.” But the hotel’s far away. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but she’s pretty sure they’ll make do.
“This is easy,” she says, and looks from one to the other. “You been planning this long?”
“Not planning,” Oz says and raises her hand so he can kiss it. “Think it sounds like fun.”
“Totally planning,” Faith disagrees. “And hoping you’d be into it. Some slayers are too uptight.”
It sounds like she’s speaking from personal experience, but story time can wait. There’s more fun things to be done.
“Whatever,” she snaps and jerks Oz toward her bedroom. “Planned or not, this is happening now.”
#
The sun streams in through her window, waking her at sunrise. It’s already too hot in the room to share a bed with two other people, but she’s so comfortable curled between them there’s no way in hell she’s going to move.
“Morning,” Oz whispers and buries his face against her arm. She twists until she can kiss him and then kicks the sheet off their legs. Too damn hot.
Faith has one arm dangling off the bed and looks softer in sleep. She’s pretty enough all relaxed and languid, but Letty prefers her badass and strong.
She shifts her weight around to get comfortable and closes her eyes. They’re not going anywhere. She doesn’t mind waking up with them. It’s nice.
Maybe they’ll use Faith’s bed next time. She thinks she’ll even stay the whole night.
#
Faith’s phone wakes them. Oz starts getting dressed, but Letty watches Faith talk. Her shoulders go tense and she pulls on her pants, the phone cradled between her head and her shoulder.
When she’s done, she snaps the phone shut, grabs Letty’s clothes off the floor where they landed, and flings them at her. “Pack of rogue demons tore through MacArthur Park last night,” she says. “We’ve got work to do.”
She scrambles to dress. Oz grabs food for them. Mia’s getting ready for work. “I’ll be late,” she tells Letty and doesn’t even bat an eye at Oz and Faith in the kitchen. “The hospital called. Bunch of people brought in last night. Think it might be gang related, but they weren’t shot.” She’s frowning and there are dark shadows under her eyes.
Faith nods. “We’ll take care of that,” she promises.
Mia touches the slender silver cross she wears around her throat. “I know. Good luck.” She rolls her shoulders. “Good hunting.”
That sounds right. That sounds nice.
They’ve got good teamwork here, hunting the monsters, patching up the people hurt by them. Between the four of them, they’re saving the world one day at a time. They’re making a difference. Letty likes that too.
All she has to do is figure a way to bring Dom home and everything will be fine.
End
Author: Carla
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Joss Whedon, Universal Pictures, etc.
Setting: After The Fast and the Furious, though it references something little in Fast & Furious. Post season seven of BtVS and season four of Angel.
Rating: 16+
Written for: crimson_keys requested Letty/Oz or Letty/Faith or Letty/Oz/Faith and Letty becoming a wolf. Thanks to thestalkycop for encouragement while writing it, and for being the first person to catch my little shout-out.
Summary: Letty used to be a damned good mechanic and one hell of a lover but now she's so much more.
It’s a stupid thing, the way it happens.
She’s back in L.A. and Mia’s giving her - not the cold shoulder, exactly, because she’s warm and welcoming, but the cold bed. She assumed they’d pick up right where they left off but that stupid saying about you and asses and me is truer than she likes.
Brian’d fucked them all over more than she lets herself remember but she’s the one being punished for it. Letty grinds her teeth when she thinks about him but it’s pointless. He’s long gone, she doesn’t know where and she doesn’t want to know as long as he stays away.
She’s back in L.A. and she’s not getting any from either Toretto for really fucking stupid reasons - it’s not safe and whyever Mia’s holding her grudge - so she goes out to the bar and she drinks a lot of beer and she eye fucks everyone in the room.
She lets this hot little redhead pick her up and take her to a hotel. She says her name’s Ginger and her hair’s definitely dyed. Letty can see the roots and the hair on her cunt is brown.
One night stands are hit or miss she’s found, but this girl is fantastic. She pushes her up against the wall and kisses her hard, bites her lower lip until it hurts, and tries to pin her hands against her sides.
Perfect! She loves this, fighting for dominance, back and forth, wild and rough. Letty shoves her away and Ginger stumbles backward until she hits the bed. She’s a quick little thing and when Letty pounces, she scrambles out of the way and lunges, pinning her face down.
They wrestle around, careful only to stay on the bed. A broken bone from falling wrong is not in the picture. Ginger’s nails are long and painted and she digs them into any bit of skin she can reach.
She’s a biter too and by the time they’re done, sweaty and sated, Letty’s got teeth marks all up and down her arms and legs, bruises curving over her shoulder, and there’s even a little blood where Ginger bit her breast hard enough to break skin.
Letty stretches her arms overhead to work out the kinks in her back and then grabs her shirt off the floor. She’s not one to stick around after with anyone but a Toretto.
#
Her bruises fade and the wound near her nipple heals. There’s one day shortly after when she feels shaky and weak and strange, her head spins and her vision goes blurry and she’s not really sure what’s wrong. She doesn’t run a fever, Mia checks, but she wobbles every time she gets up off the couch.
Then it passes and Letty’s never felt better in her life.
She spends lots of nights in the garage working on the Charger. She should sleep, she thinks, but then when the moon rises and the sun sets, there’s this weird rush of energy that flashes through her and leaves her a little shaky, her muscles tight with anticipation. She’s not sure why it happens or how long she can go on a couple hours sleep right around dawn, but she doesn’t care.
The moon goes dark, not that you can see much of the night sky in L.A. between the lights and the smog. She looks up the cycle of it online and she’s right, it’s a new moon and she would find it weird that she noticed, but she’s so busy. There’s a car to rebuild and Mia’s got a new boyfriend who comes around sometimes and the three of them drink beers and play video games and she’s trying to find a way to let Dom come home. There’s no time to worry about why she’s hyper-aware of the moon.
Not even the Charger can keep her attention one evening. She sits cross-legged in front of the door, rolling a wrench back and forth along her leg. The moon is coming, she thinks and shivers.
It’s coming, she can feel it just beyond the horizon, and she can’t sit still.
#
Letty wakes up on a cold concrete floor and every inch of her body feels bruised.
She’s naked, her skin covered in scratches, and her mind is fuzzy. She remembers sitting in the garage, considering the next step in Charger repair, and then nothing. Not a single thing. She doesn’t know where she is, how she got there, or why she’s naked. Or why the hell she’s in a cage. The door’s open, sure, but it’s still a fucking cage.
Whatever she did, it had better be worth it.
“You’re awake.” It’s a woman’s voice and Letty scrambles to her feet. Her nose hurts and she sniffs; it brings a wash of smells to her. She knows what they are without trying; sweat from exercise, not fear; leather clothes; overcooked hamburgers; and beneath it the smell of wood.
God, she’s hot. Dark hair, pouty lips colored deep red, muscled arms, lush breasts and hips. She grins and flips a piece of wood back and forth between her hands. It’s carved down to a point at one end.
There’s a guy sitting on a table in the center of the room. He’s got a guitar in his lap, but his arms are looped lazily around it. There’s a gun next to him. She doesn’t like the look of it one bit.
He catches her eye and his lips quirk a little. It might be a smile in an hour or two.
“Yeah, I’m awake,” she snaps at last. “Now where the hell am I and who the fuck are you?”
Maybe she shouldn’t let on she can’t remember, but her mouth works without her really thinking about it. It happens sometimes, especially when she’s stressed. She doesn’t mind being naked, she doesn’t even really mind that she can’t remember what she did - it’s been awhile, but she’s done that before, drank so much she blanks out - but she absolutely hates not knowing where she wakes up.
There’s a reason she only spends the night in Dom’s bed or, once upon a time, in Mia’s.
“I’m Faith,” the woman says. “He’s Oz.” She stops playing with her toy and tucks it down the back of her pants. That’s weird. “We’ll show you where you are in a second but first there’s a couple things you need to know.”
“What’s that?” Letty puts her fists on her hips and glares. She’s good at dirty looks.
“You’re not going to believe this, but it’s all true. You’re a vampire slayer and a werewolf and we’re not sure those two things are going to go well together.”
She’s right. Letty doesn’t believe a word of it.
#
They’ve got clothes for her. She feels better dressed, not because she hates to be naked but because it’s a little weird being the only one nude. She’s in the basement of a hotel full of people who know Faith and Oz and there’s a really great diner nearby. Their bacon is perfect, crisp and rich, and the rest of the food just as good.
While she eats, Faith tells her a story about a witch and a bunch of vampire slayers and a recent potential apocalypse which devoured a city. Apparently that last part happens a lot and that’s part of what being a slayer means, averting them and saving the world. She talks about choice and how it went from one slayer to two to hundreds all around the world. She talks about some watchers rebuilding their council and how she’s one of the people trying to find new slayers and help them understand what they’ve become.
She talks about being an ex-con and an ex-fugitive and all the changes she’s had to make.
Letty thinks about that a lot and rubs the back of her neck and drains her soda. She’s dying of thirst and so very, very hungry.
“So that’s the slayer thing,” she says, and pushes the empty plate away. Soon as the waitress shows up, she’s going to order more food. Maybe she believes what’s been said, maybe she doesn’t. She grabs her chin with one hand and cracks her neck. “What’s the werewolf thing?”
“Well.” Faith fidgets a little.
Oz looks at her. “You’re new to it.”
She sighs and gestures for the waitress, who must be used to people needing extra food because she doesn’t bat an eye when Letty orders two more meals, lots of bacon, and a hot chocolate. The sugar will do her good.
After, she rests her chin on her fist, her elbow on the table, and stares at Oz. “I’m so new I didn’t even know I was.”
“Did you get bit recently?” Faith asks. “Wild dog running around the neighborhood maybe?”
“Or a person.” Oz stares at his hands. “Mine was my cousin Jordy. Just a nip of my finger and I was different.”
“No wild dog.” Letty grins and rattles the ice in her glass. “There was a girl. Really hot. The sex was fucking good but she bit me a lot. Guess it was her then.”
They’re not rattled by her coming out. She grins and eyes Faith again. Could be more fun to be had. Besides. She’s got a plan, a trick up her sleeve. Maybe she can make everything work.
“You won’t always forget,” Oz says. He catches her eye again. “You won’t always be a slave to the change. You can control it, if you’re willing to work at it. I can teach you.” He watches her closely and there’s something to him, something so calm and quiet it unnerves her.
She’s used to noise and obvious displays of power and how Dom does things.
Letty drops her gaze to her hands and twists her fingers together. She’s not sure she believes them, but it feels right. She wouldn’t be surprised at all if there was a wolf inside her skin, a monster fighting to get out.
The waitress brings her food but she’s not even sure if she’s hungry any more.
#
They don’t like it much when she says she’s going to tell Mia, but they don’t actually have any choice. Faith gives her a cell phone number, Oz tells her she’ll change again that night and offers the hotel as a safe space, and they take off. Letty calls Mia for a ride and though Mia frowns when she sees her - when she notices Letty isn’t wearing her own clothes - but doesn’t say anything bad, just takes her home.
Letty gets them each a beer and they sit on the steps. She stares out into the streets, momentarily empty, and wonders how many monsters lurk just out of sight when she sits there in the darkness.
There are many things she needs to tell Mia but she can’t decide how to start. They don’t talk, not for a long time, and then she finally says, “I’m a monster.”
Mia looks at her sharp and she shrugs in response.
“Talk to me, Letty,” she says. “You’re a good person.”
“Maybe.” She takes a long drink. “Doesn’t mean I’m not also a monster.”
And then she tells her the story, every last detail.
#
Mia’s very logical, and very intelligent, and very well educated. She’s also a believer; she believes in people, she believes in the strange things that lurk in the darkness of the city, she believes in good and evil. She’s seen people come into the hospital with inexplicable wounds.
She doesn’t call Letty crazy. She goes with her to the hotel just before sunset and instead of taking the car and going home, she gets out and sticks to her side.
“We’re in this together,” she says. Whatever this is. Letty lets her hold her hand, lets her twist their fingers together. It’s not the same thing they used to do when they were teens, this isn’t holding hands as prelude to a kiss, as prelude to fucking, but it’s good, too, this friendship between them.
Mia likes Faith. She doesn’t say as much, but Letty can tell. That’s why she doesn’t feel so bad leaving them alone when she goes downstairs with Oz. He’s got his guitar again and a book tucked under one arm. He flashes the cover at her like he can read her mind. Where the Wild Things Are. Cute.
Her jeans have zippers on all the pockets. She fingers the pulls and watches him.
“You’re going to shift,” he says and sits on the table again. “It feels better if you take off your clothes first. We can cover the cage if you’d like your privacy.”
She raises her eyebrows. “I’m not shy.” Then she pulls off her shirt. To give him credit, he keeps his eyes on her face and doesn’t even blush. “Besides, I’m about to lock myself in a fucking cage. I’ll take any comfort I can get.”
“It sucks.” He’s agreeing with her so she doesn’t wiggle her ass at him when she takes off her jeans. She kicks her clothes into a pile and heads into the cage. She pulls the door shut behind her but keeps her fingers wrapped around the bars. “I was in high school. Used to cage up in a library. My girlfriend and her best friends had Oz-sitting duty. It definitely sucks.”
She’s a little surprised by his story, by the thought of him locked up, helpless and trapped. It’s not that she forgets he’s a werewolf. She can smell him constantly, this steady reminder, every time she breathes, that he’s like her. That they’re the same. Except not so much, ‘cause she doesn’t see him getting in the cage too.
He hops off the table and walks over to lock the door. He lingers and they watch each other through the bars. She can feel the heat of him this close, the warmth of his body. He smells good, more animal than before. They’re counting the seconds until the moon rises. She can feel it out there, a hum on her nerves.
“It’s going to hurt,” he says and she can practically feel his mouth on hers. His fingers brush her hand and then it hits her, hard enough she doubles over. It does hurt, her bones, her muscles, her very molecules are shifting and grating against each other.
She gags for air and stumbles to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Oz whispers. He bears witness while she breaks apart, until she’s not Letty anymore and only the monster is left.
#
Letty wakes to guitar music, something soft and rich.
She stretches and her body throbs. She doesn’t remember anything - except, maybe Oz’s voice? Quiet words filtering through her growls? That can’t be right. Surely she can’t remember - but it feels like she threw herself against the bars all night, that’s how battered and bruised she is.
“Welcome back.” Oz doesn’t miss a note even when he talks. “I’ve got painkillers and breakfast.”
Pain flashes from her ass up her spine to the back of her neck. It feels like she landed hard and sharp right on the bone.
Her clothes are waiting, neatly folded, just outside the door. Oz looks away while she dresses, giving her a moment to get back to herself. A thought flashes through her mind: she’d rather he watch. That’s something interesting. He’s not really her type. He’s an inch shorter than she is, which is like six inches shorter than Dom and three inches shorter than Mia.
Mia’s got someone new and Dom sent her away like a child. Maybe it’s time she stops comparing everyone to them.
Breakfast is scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and extra bacon. She’s touched that he remembers. She sits on the table next to him to eat and listens while he plays.
“You can teach me to control this?” she asks when the food’s gone.
“Yeah.” He looks at her and stops playing. She wishes he wouldn’t. She likes the sound of it. “It’s hard work.”
She’s got calluses on her hands and burn marks on her arms from teaching herself to work on cars. She’s dropped parts on her foot and wrecked cars while racing and broken bones jacking trucks. She’s watched her whole world come apart and she’s still fighting to put it back together again.
“Doesn’t scare me,” she says and stares at her fingers. If she doesn’t learn to control it, she’s either going to be locked in a cage every month or she’s going to have blood on her hands. Either way, she’s just a loaded weapon, far too dangerous to keep around.
If she can control it, she can find balance. Monster in the woman. Both have their time and place.
Oz puts his hand over hers. His skin is so pale and the hair on his knuckles reddish. He looks absolutely nothing like Dominic.
That’s why she kisses him. He’s still holding his guitar and it jabs her arm when she leans the wrong way, but he tastes so good, wolf beneath the sweet tea he’s drinking, and his lips are warm against hers.
When she pulls back he smiles at her a little.
“You don’t have to do that,” he says. “I’ll help you.”
“I know.” She kisses him again, just a little one, nice and quick. “I want to.”
He sets aside the guitar and scoots closer. He’s gentle when he cups her face in both hands and kisses her, his mouth soft. Then he nips at her lower lip and she can feel the growl rumble in her throat and echo in his.
It’s a delicious kiss, their wolves twisting up between them.
She could get to like this werewolf business.
#
“You’ve got to learn to control the wolf before you can be a slayer,” Faith tells her.
“But it’s only a problem three nights a month. The rest of the time I can help.” She’s not sure why it’s so important to her, except that she doesn’t like the idea of monsters lurking so close to Mia. Whatever she can do to help clear the city, well, that’s what she wants.
Faith stares at her, arms crossed over her chest. Letty puts her hands on her hips and glares right back. She’ll show her stubborn as hell.
“Fine,” Faith snaps at last, but she can hear the approval. “I’ll train you some. We’ll see if it becomes a problem. It’s probably for the best. If you’re not careful, you could hurt someone.”
Letty snorts. “I don’t need superpowers for that.”
Faith’s grin goes dark and dangerous. “Oz’s teaching you control,” she says. “So’m I. Come on. Let’s spar.”
They square off. The pain from this morning is gone. Letty shakes her arms, resettles her shoulders. She’s not afraid to take a hit and she knows how to throw a punch. She bares her teeth and Faith grins back. She’s gonna get her ass handed to her. It’s gonna be fun.
#
Between the training sessions with Faith and Oz’s meditations and lessons on stopping the change once it starts, she’s basically exhausted all the time, so it’s good that she gets a paycheck for training to be a slayer and helping Faith patrol. Means she can help Mia pay bills and she has a little time left to keep working on the Charger.
Once the weather breaks and it’s not so damn hot, Mia suggests a cookout. Oz joins her in the kitchen, helps her with the sides - potato salad, deviled eggs, corn on the cob - and Letty and Faith fire up the grill.
It’s nice, kicking back with friends old and new. Leon’s back in town and he brings Coronas. Mia’s new boyfriend brings dessert, a rich chocolate cake and red velvet cupcakes and fresh strawberries.
As the sun sets, Letty gets twitchy and tense. She’s got stakes in the pockets of her cargo pants but still her skin crawls and she’s got goose bumps. No matter how hard she looks around, she can’t see anything wrong, but she keeps looking.
Faith smiles at her and there’s something like sympathy in her eyes.
They head inside before too long and settle down in front of some monster movie on tv. It makes Faith laugh. She’s really fucking gorgeous when she smiles. Maybe next time they patrol, Letty should kiss her.
Oz’s fingers are callused and rough when he takes her hand; she lets him hold it and scoots a little closer. He smells good, like chicken and chocolate and Corona and under it all the wolf.
“Stay,” she mutters, so quiet only he can hear. He nods, squeezes her fingers, and then moves his hand to her leg so his fingers curl over the inside of her thigh. She arches her hips up a little; she’s already thinking about how it’s gonna feel when he puts his hand between her legs, when he touches her clit, when he pushes his dick inside and she controls the speed of their fucking.
But that’s later and this is now and his hand is warm even through her pants.
He chuckles a little, low in his throat, and rests his head against her shoulder.
Faith catches her eye and grins.
She tilts her head a little, jerks her chin toward the stairs. It’s an offer she’s not sure Faith can read, but her smile goes bigger and later, when Letty takes Oz’s hand again and heads up to her room, it’s only a couple seconds later that she hears Faith come up after them.
Faith crosses her arms just under her breasts, pushing them up a little, and winks. “Sure you’re ready for this?”
Letty’s not sure who she’s talking to exactly, but she’s not one to back down from a challenge. Neither’s Oz for that matter, nor Faith. She squirms a little at that. Fucking Oz is great. A threesome would be fun too. Getting herself off will do if neither of them is interested.
Oz squeezes her fingers and nods to Faith.
“Your bed big enough for the three of us?” Faith asks. “Cause if not, mine is.” But the hotel’s far away. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but she’s pretty sure they’ll make do.
“This is easy,” she says, and looks from one to the other. “You been planning this long?”
“Not planning,” Oz says and raises her hand so he can kiss it. “Think it sounds like fun.”
“Totally planning,” Faith disagrees. “And hoping you’d be into it. Some slayers are too uptight.”
It sounds like she’s speaking from personal experience, but story time can wait. There’s more fun things to be done.
“Whatever,” she snaps and jerks Oz toward her bedroom. “Planned or not, this is happening now.”
#
The sun streams in through her window, waking her at sunrise. It’s already too hot in the room to share a bed with two other people, but she’s so comfortable curled between them there’s no way in hell she’s going to move.
“Morning,” Oz whispers and buries his face against her arm. She twists until she can kiss him and then kicks the sheet off their legs. Too damn hot.
Faith has one arm dangling off the bed and looks softer in sleep. She’s pretty enough all relaxed and languid, but Letty prefers her badass and strong.
She shifts her weight around to get comfortable and closes her eyes. They’re not going anywhere. She doesn’t mind waking up with them. It’s nice.
Maybe they’ll use Faith’s bed next time. She thinks she’ll even stay the whole night.
#
Faith’s phone wakes them. Oz starts getting dressed, but Letty watches Faith talk. Her shoulders go tense and she pulls on her pants, the phone cradled between her head and her shoulder.
When she’s done, she snaps the phone shut, grabs Letty’s clothes off the floor where they landed, and flings them at her. “Pack of rogue demons tore through MacArthur Park last night,” she says. “We’ve got work to do.”
She scrambles to dress. Oz grabs food for them. Mia’s getting ready for work. “I’ll be late,” she tells Letty and doesn’t even bat an eye at Oz and Faith in the kitchen. “The hospital called. Bunch of people brought in last night. Think it might be gang related, but they weren’t shot.” She’s frowning and there are dark shadows under her eyes.
Faith nods. “We’ll take care of that,” she promises.
Mia touches the slender silver cross she wears around her throat. “I know. Good luck.” She rolls her shoulders. “Good hunting.”
That sounds right. That sounds nice.
They’ve got good teamwork here, hunting the monsters, patching up the people hurt by them. Between the four of them, they’re saving the world one day at a time. They’re making a difference. Letty likes that too.
All she has to do is figure a way to bring Dom home and everything will be fine.
End