“Yes, yes, and none of your damn business,” she snapped out, waiting to see who’d make the first move. The large one, the leader, flicked a finger at one of the others still in the shadows.
Her eyes flitted towards him, her arm moved with lightning speed, retrieving her katana. Brandishing the long blade in front of her as the smaller Vampire sped towards her. She tracked his movements, knowing a nanosecond in advance his intentions. She stood calmly, waiting until he was within reach, then weaved her sword in an impossibly fast arc towards him.
The razor sharp blade relieved the Vamp of his head, quickly, cleanly, and with ease. His body collapsed to the ground with a soft thud, his dark blood seeping into the hard-packed earth beneath him. She didn’t give his body a second glance as she took up a defensive stance, her knees bending and her sword now before her, held in both hands as she smirked at the leader.
“What the fuck?” he cursed, motioning again at the other Vampire to attack.
This one was faster but she was ready, her blade slashing through the air to slice across his thigh as she spun around to miss his grasping fingers. The sword passed all the way through, causing him to fall onto his other knee. Her blade glinted in the moonlight as she quickly slashed down fiercely, decapitating him in an instant. Pulling her blade free before she eyed the larger man, seeing his fury seething inside.
“What are you?” he ground out between clenched teeth.
“Again, none of your business.” She grinned at him, her eyes flashing with anger. “You’ve missed the most important question. Not what I am, but who I am.”
He didn’t respond other than to roar as he flashed towards her. She stepped forward, away from the two dead bodies and waited. As he drew nearer she dashed to the side impossibly fast, twirling her blade above her head as she went. A hiss of anger from the Vampire as she sliced downwards and into the back of his knee.
She gave him credit. He didn’t slow down, only cursing loudly as he whirled around to come after her again. Once more she danced out of his reach, her blade inflicting even more damage as he tried to get his hands on her. Not happening.
“I’ll fucking rip you apart and drink you dry!” His rage clear in the roar as he stumbled up onto his feet.
“Nope.” She shook her head.
This time she wove out of his grasp, bringing her blade backwards, the tip of her blade sinking in and piercing his lower back, severing the spine and causing his large body to collapse. Not a death blow. He was a Vampire and if left alone the wound would heal, but she wasn’t leaving him alive to hunt her down. Stepping over him she flicked her hair over her shoulder as he stared at her.
“Who are you?” he finally asked.
Staring down at him totally emotionless she answered. “If you’d asked that first then maybe, just maybe, you and your men might’ve survived this little dance. Me? I’m The Black Rose.” She winked at him before raising her blade to end him. Seeing the recognition in his eyes a second before she tore his head from his body. “Another one bites the dust,” she sang as she wiped her blade on his clothes before returning it to its sheath.
“Maybe I can get on my way now,” she said aloud, looking at the corpses as if they were nothing but a nuisance in her path. Calmly walking back to her bike she pulled her helmet back on, swinging a leg over and settling on her seat. “Hope there’s no more assholes around,” she mumbled as she started it up, weaving around the bodies, then revving hard and streaking off into the darkness.
As the miles fell away, her heart rate picked up at the thought of seeing Seth when she finally arrived home the next day. She knew she’d have to tell him about the guy she’d had sex with, and also knew he wouldn’t be happy. Again. Her skin tingled, heating up as she thought of the road the consequences of her actions would take.
Shaking her head, Rose focused on the deserted tarmac ahead. It wouldn’t be long until she came to the small town she’d scoped out and decided to stop at on her return. Rose wouldn’t go into the town to rest. Too dangerous. However, she’d seen a small farm just on the outskirts and the house appeared almost whole. That’s where she was planning on resting. If sleep came that was.
Trying to sleep in a world where Supernatural beings roamed free wasn’t easy. She needed some rest, even a little, before she could carry on. If she didn’t, she’d probably crash and burn very soon. The days of routinely flying in planes were long gone, a distant memory to her. Only the elite now had access to those. Or the military. Neither of which she was friendly with.
At least she had her bike. Most people were using horses, walking, or using the waterways to get around. There were still little pockets where nothing seemed to have changed. Other than the huge walls now built around them to keep everyone else out. Well, almost everyone. She’d managed to infiltrate a few when sent on a mission to kill someone.
The High Council paid her handsomely for her services, especially when they were needed in a place that others found impregnable. Seth had taught her well. Too well. Her services were in high demand but she was fussy when it came to assignments. Only taking on the ones where she felt justified in taking a life.
Unfortunately, in this war-torn world there were far too many of those. Hence she was kept busy. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if her mother would approve of how she put her talents to use. Probably not. Her vague memories were of a woman who worshiped the Goddess and used her powers only to help others. Sadness engulfed Rose as she powered down her bike, nearing her resting place. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she whispered as she stopped, letting her powers loose once again to check the farmhouse to make sure it was safe.
Her spell showed the building was empty so she approached slowly, her senses still on high alert just in case. Seeing, hearing, and feeling no threat, she parked as close to the back door as possible before heading inside. The place had been ransacked, as were most buildings, so she dismissed the mess and found an old, dirty, and worn throw and returned to place it over her bike.
Unclipping her holdall, she then tucked the worn blanket around her pride and joy as she uttered a spell to protect it while she rested. If anyone tried to take it, they were in for a nasty shock. She then returned to the house, tired and weary. An old, torn couch lay on its back so she set it upright before sitting down, grabbing a bottled water from her bag she drank it down then lay her aching body on the sofa. Her nose wrinkling at the dank smell oozing from the fabric. “Don’t think about it,” she told herself, pushing the thoughts of the origins of the smells far away.
Rose tossed and turned, sleep eluding her, so she sat back up. Placing her hands, palm up, on her knees she started one of Seth’s meditating lessons. One he told her he would use when on a mission for what he called special-ops and it was too dangerous to actually sleep. She could rest her mind and body without falling over into a slumber and he’d taught her well. It only took a few moments before her limbs relaxed, her muscles eased, her breathing slowed and her mind floated away.
She stayed in the same pose for two hours then slowly came to, shaking herself and sighing as she stood. It was around midnight and if she put her foot down, she’d reach home in less than four hours. Seth would still be in bed and she hated to wake him but knew she’d be compelled to do so. The urge to cleanse herself so great it burned deep inside her.
Seth was the only person who could help with that. Always had been and she guessed he always would. Nobody else knew her as he did, understood her actions, her thoughts, her body. She hated to disappoint him, hated herself for allowing her desires to take over, but each and every time her savior would forgive her. Forgive, cleanse and heal.
Rose’s movements were now rushed, her need to reach her sanctuary urging her on. “No other fucker better try and slow me down,” she hissed as she mounted her bike, starting it quickly and twisting the throttle back to speed off, dirt flying behind her as she charged towards the one person she knew she could depend on.
The only man she trusted, apart from her father, and
the only man she’d ever cared about. Seth’s face filled her mind, so hard and cold, dangerous and deadly, until they entered his bedroom. That is where he changed, looking on her with love as she submitted to him willingly.
Chapter Two
“Flower?” Seth’s sleepy voice broke the silence as she stood at his door. “I didn’t expect you home until tomorrow. Is everything okay?”
Rose’s heart sped up as he left his bed, a pair of pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips. “Yes. I just needed to get home.”
Seth stopped in front of her, her feet on the entrance but not inside the room. “Do you need to come in?” he asked in a knowing voice.
“Yes.” She nodded, as he held his hand out.
“I see.” He spoke softly as he led her to the middle of his large room, as he said one more word, “One.”
Rose dropped to her knees, her ass back on her heels, her head bowed and her hands loose on her thighs. “My beautiful flower, tell me, did your mission go as planned?”
“Yes,” Rose answered, her voice in this room nothing like it was elsewhere. Soft, low, obedient. “I met some Vamps on the way home but I dealt with them.”
“Were you injured? Do I need to check you out?” Seth asked as he placed a hand on top of her head.
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m fine. I just needed to . . .” her voice trailing off as a soft sob broke from her.
“It’s alright, Rose, I’m here.” Seth’s finger lifted her chin. “Look at me. Did you use another man? Is that what’s wrong?”
Rose closed her eyes, not bearing to see the disappointment she knew would be in his. “I said, look at me.” Seth’s voice firm and full of power.
“Yes,” she sighed as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”
“We’ve spoken of this, many times, Rose.” Seth walked all around her, his fingers trailing over her as he went. “Did you try? Did you try and fight it?”
She thought of the man she’d sought out. Any man would’ve done, well, not any man, but a strong, powerful and deadly man. One she’d fuck but still be in total control of him and the sex they had. Her on top while she took advantage of him, using his body for the release she craved intensely.
“No,” she admitted as Seth stopped before her.
“Have you bathed?” he queried, his eyes locking with hers.
“No,” she again admitted, knowing how it upset him when she returned stinking of another man.
“What am I going to do with you, my fragile flower?” Seth sighed as she looked down at the floor.
The way he made her feel just like that, a fragile flower and not a hard as nails assassin, always made her knees weak. They trained every single day she was home, fighting, exercising hard and out there, outside of this room, she was tough as sin. But, here, within the confines of his room she let everything else fall away, becoming vulnerable with the only person she could.
“I’m sorry, Seth,” she mumbled an apology. One which she meant. She was sorry but she knew she would probably do the same thing again. Rose felt a tear run down the side of her face as she tried, again, to figure out why she behaved as she did.
“I know you are.” Seth’s voice was full of feeling. “But we’ve done this way too many times for you to not know there’ll be consequences, Rose. You know that, Flower, yet still you do it. What are you seeking, I wonder?”
“I don’t know,” Rose confessed as she felt his eyes boring into her.
“I think I do, but,” he paused as her eyes flew to his in question. “I think you need to find that out for yourself. In the meantime, strip and assume the position for your punishment.”
She stood, peeling off her leathers and letting them fall to the floor. Seth’s demeanor changing the moment he’d ordered her to undress. His dominant nature taking over as he watched her intently, flicking on a solar powered lamp to give him more light to see her. “You’ve a bruise or two. I thought you said you weren’t injured?”
“It’s nothing,” she replied as she padded across to one of the tools they used in the room. A slim wooden t-bar at waist height, screwed to logs that were bolted to the floor. Rose stopped before it, bending over the wood, her head almost touching her knees as her arms gripped behind her thighs to hold her firmly in place.
When she’d first been punished, so many years ago, Seth had tied her wrists to her legs to stop her from moving, but now she held herself still, refusing to move even an inch. She felt him as he closed the distance between them, so close she could feel his groin press up against her ass.
“I can smell him, Flower, and he doesn’t smell as if he’s bathed in years.” Seth’s voice sounded disgusted, to say he was OCD was putting it mildly. “How could you lie with someone who smelt like this?”
“I blocked it out,” she muttered, knowing he was speaking truthfully. The man she’d had sex with smelled like a cesspit.
“Not something I could do.” Seth stepped back, away from her naked skin and she took a deep breath in, waiting.
As she let out her pent up breath he struck, a stinging snap against her skin, using one of their many accessories, probably a crop, to punish her. Gritting her teeth she ground out. “One.”
“Good,” he said as he moved his aim slightly, the crop stinging her ass higher up as she blurted, “Two.”
Seth paused, his hand caressing her skin. “Do you know what I yearn for? What I dream will happen when you return home?”
Rose kept the sob inside, nodding. “Tell me,” he ordered as he continued to touch her skin.
Rose spoke, her unshed tears clear in her voice. “For me to come home clean and not to have fucked someone so we can go to bed.”
“Yes,” Seth said quietly. “It’s not a lot to ask for, Flower. Is it?”
“No.” The sob she’d been holding back broke free as the tears fell. “I’m so sorry.”
“So am I,” Seth said as he continued with her punishment.
The strokes hurt, burned, but were soon over. He never beat her just for the sake of it. He wasn’t a sadist who liked to hurt her. In fact, she was certain it hurt him more than her when he carried out her sentence for her actions. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t aware of what she’d come home to. After all, any and all chastisements had been discussed and agreed upon by both of them. Rarely did Seth have to enforce one, apart from her return from a lone assignment.
As he led her towards his bathroom she wondered again why she did what she did. Was it the sex? Or was it a sick sense of wanting Seth to treat her like this? She had no fucking clue and it wasn’t as if she could just book an appointment to go see a shrink. There probably weren’t any left in this godforsaken world.
“It pains me to do this every time you return home, Flower,” Seth said as he turned on the taps for the large bath. “I truly hope you can find what it is you seek and be happy.”
Rose’s voice barely a whisper as she stood waiting on the bath to fill up. “I only want you. You’re the only man I feel safe with, who I can allow to control me in bed. Seth, I don’t know why I do it. I really don’t. I don’t want to hurt you, to hurt us.”
As steam started to rise he turned to her, a sad look in his eyes. “I think you believe that, Rose, but I don’t think it’s the truth. You care for me. I know that. But I’m not the man you’re destined to be with . . .”
Shaking her head she broke a cardinal rule, she interrupted him, “No, don’t say that. I do love you.”
Seth raised an eyebrow and a hand shot up to cover her mouth. “As I was saying.” Seth poured a small amount of bubble bath into the water. “I know you love me and I love you. But, and I’m sure of this, you are not in love with me. I wish you were, Rose, I do, but you’re not. I think you seek the one you are supposed to be with each time you leave here.”
“Seth, you know what it’s like out there.” Rose shuddered. “We have a home, with electricity for goodness’ sake, your foresight in setting this place up was amazing. Hell, I wouldn’t b
e having a hot bubble bath anywhere else but here and you are the most amazing, patient, capable man I’ve ever known. I do love you. I do.”
She watched as he sighed, his shoulders drooping. “Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”
Rose sagged, his words causing her pain as she realized she wasn’t sure. Before she could muster a reply, he turned off the taps, pushed his pajama bottoms down, stepping out of them and into the tub. “Come here,” he said as he slid down into the water.
She stepped in, gasping at the heat and sat between his legs, her back to his front as he started to cleanse her. Laying her head back onto his shoulder she shuddered, his hands soaping her thoroughly, cleaning her body at the same time as her soul. Rose’s eyes slid closed as he murmured, “So beautiful, my lovely Rose.”
Her body relaxed as he carried on, whispering soft endearments in her ear as he continued. “Let’s get you to bed.” Seth’s voice jolting her from the nap she’d managed to slip into. His strong thighs pushing him up as he pulled her with him. “You need rest,” he stated as he wrapped a large towel around her before leading her back to his room.
“Can I sleep here tonight?” she asked, knowing he rarely allowed it.
“Yes.” He smiled, pulling the cover back so she could slide inside.
“Thank you,” she replied, waiting on him joining her.
Seth rubbed himself dry, folded the towel and returned it to the bathroom, and then got in, pulling her into his arms and cradling her like a child. “Sleep.”
She could feel his growing erection, her lips kissing his chest. “I’m okay.” She almost purred at the thought of him taking control of her pleasure.
“I said, sleep.” He turned her around, her back to his front, holding her firmly. “No nonsense tonight.”
“Okay.” Her voice tinged with disappointment, a mere moment later she was sound asleep.
*****
Her panic rose as she heard shouting, her mom and dad rushing into her room and pulling her from her bed. A bed she’d only just got used to after being forced to leave the Pack a week before. She’d pleaded with her dad to stay. She liked the Pack, even if she was half witch, but he’d told her the Alpha had ordered it. Why? She had no idea, her eight year old mind not understanding why the Alpha had forced them to leave.
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