Chapter One

Annie ignored the deep burn that had long since settled into her eyes. Thankfully the slight twitches of her overly exhausted body had finally ceased after an almost hour-long battle. She knew it was only a matter of time before mistress sleep would claim her consciousness, but as always, Annie was not about to give up without a nasty, cheat-filled battle.

But as the seconds ticked, it seemed that the world surrounding her had joined forces to come against her.

The large black SUV blocked out every outside noise effectively; as the air conditioning circulated a chilled air, Annie snuggled deeper into the thick rose gold blanket that she had wrapped entirely around her body like a cocoon, leaving only from her nose to part of her forehead exposed.

She sat sideways across the first row of black leather seats just behind the front passenger seat. A wide range of music was playing at a soft tone, accompanied by the even snoring of Gautier as he lay sprawled out in the generous trunk space. His overly large frame takes up at least eighty percent of the area.

Annie could see tufts of Werner's shocking platinum blonde hair sticking above the headrest of the relaxed front passenger seat. She knew that he, too, was fast asleep, her sharp hearing filtering through his soft and even breaths.

The stinging intensified that even blinking seemed to be of no help as a chill truly began to settle in her bones. She just needed to drink more of her pure black coffee; the hot liquid always chased away the harsh grip of sleep.

"You drank it all, Anastasiya," Fujin stated from the driver's seat. He spoke to her in Japanese, his deep baritone voice startling her. Her heterochromia eyes shifted to meet his, and Annie was entranced; she could stare into his eyes forever. At his pupil, the iris started a deep emerald green that slowly faded into a light blue emerald when meeting his limbal ring.

Except for the random strands of platinum blonde highlights mixed into his long jet-black hair, these are the only features that remind Annie of his mother. And the only way a person can tell that he is of mixed culture, otherwise he takes after his father with his firm and masculine Japanese features.

Fujin chuckles, the joy in his eyes only for her to see. Annie's porcelain skin flushes red at having been caught in blatant transfixion, but she does not look away. Instead, she holds his gaze.

"You need to rest. You are of no use to anyone in your current state. I will wake you upon our arrival." Annie narrowed her eyes, knowing fully that he would do no such thing.

His eyes never wavered, and despite this, neither did his driving. After a few heartbeats, Annie could feel her eyelids drift closer together, and she let go of a silent sigh. Letting her head fall back against the cold widow with a slight thunk and allowing her eyes finally fall shut.

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The wind whispers around her with steady ease. She stands in one of the denser sections of the forested mountainside. Her mismatched eyes, one a single shade away from being the color of the freshly laden snow she currently stands calf-deep into and the other akin to the inner flesh of a wild watermelon, soak in the disappearing rays of a glorious sunset.

Footfall, crunching in the snow behind her, finally snaps Annie from the trance-like state. Blinking rapidly, she chases away the dryness, enduring the sting of her poor abused eyes. How long had she been out here?

When had they arrived at the facility tucked away in the unforgiving Carpathian mountain range? Many times had she watched the sunset between the twin mountains, and as breathtaking as the sight was, Annie could not account for how she came to stand in her spot.

Too lost in her musings once more, Annie jumped when a heavy jacket draped around her frozen shoulders. Annie grasped the edge of the jacket opening with both hands, drawing it closed. Looking down, she realized she only wore her favorite black Metallica t-shirt paired with a short pleated burgundy skirt, thin black thigh highs, and knee-high military-grade black boots.

Two solid and masculine arms wrapped around her shoulders, drawing her into a broad chest. Annie allowed herself the pleasure of sinking into the offered warmth as she turned her head to bury her face from her nose up into the strong jaw of Fujin.

She drew in a few deep breaths of his woodsy aftershave, almost giving into the temptation of drawing her tongue along his slightly bronzed skin. He hummed somewhat. "Later, Anastasiya," His voice laced with hints of a scolding tone as he once again spoke to her in Japanese, "You disappeared without a single notice and dressed so inappropriately for the given weather. I should punish you thoroughly for making me worry."

Annie nuzzled his jaw once more, tilting her head up further to place soft kisses on his cheek, trying her best to fix him with an innocent puppy dog look that she knew full well he could view from his sharp peripherals.

She despised the thought of having made him worry but the temptation to beg for this punishment he threatened her with had tempted and drawn out her lustful side. Fujin turned his face towards hers; bringing up his left hand, he cupped her cheek.

Annie enjoyed the rough callouses brushing against her cold and sensitive skin as she turned her head to press a firm kiss to his palm. Fujin's eyes softened from their normal stoniness while lust began to bridle, taking his thumb to swipe across her naturally crimson lips.

Annie's tongue automatically peaking out to swipe at the offered appendage. Fujin groaned deep and sinful, her only warning before he crashed his lips roughly to hers. Swiftly he invaded her mouth with practiced ease, fighting her tongue for dominance that they both knew she would eventually relinquish.

The hand on her shoulder slides into the jacket, stretching the neck opening of her t-shirt before roughly cupping her left breast. Fujin finds the peak of the voluptuous globe painfully erect, the thin material of her simple sports bra doing little to reduce his access.

Annie's hands dropped away from holding the coat closed, threading her left fingers into the surprisingly soft hair at the base of his skull. She smirked into the kiss, knowing she ruined his perfect low ponytail, he would scowl at her for it, but there would be no proper heat behind the scathing look.

Locking her already reddened right fingertips into the soft fabric of the steel gray sweater encompassing his massive forearm, Annie felt her knees waver when he began to twist her nipple between two finger pads just shy of painful.

Saliva dribbled down her chin as her lust burned between her trembling, clenched thighs. The hand roughly cradling her cheek dropped away only to find purchase upon the small patch of bare skin between the edge of her skirt and the top of her thigh highs.

Annie felt jolts of electric excitement budding beneath his rough fingers as they traveled upwards with a clear and decisive path. As he grazed the edge of her rapidly soaking black underwear, both her knees crumpled.

Fujin grasped the bulk of her breast to keep Annie from falling before breaking their kiss, using his sharp teeth to nip at her jaw. He nuzzles the magenta-red stubble of the shaved left portion of Annie's otherwise thigh-length hair with the tip of his nose, a groan leaving his lips as he moves his fingers to the center of her underwear's outside.

Her liquid arousal squeezes out of the mesh material at the slightest pressure, and even through the fabric, he can feel how engorged her little bundle has become. Annie's mouth falls open as her pants form white clouds in the cold evening air.

Annie squeezed her eyes shut when Fujin began to apply pressure to her most sensitive place, dragging his fangs along the pale skin of her slender throat, creating welts that dibbled minor amounts of blood that closed almost instantly due to his saliva.

The sensation of her lover targeting more than one of her sweet spots is overwhelming. She can feel her end approaching at an embarrassing rate and then a flash of cold as Fujin pulls away.

Her eyes fly open, temper flaring, ready to turn on her heels only to be stopped by his strong hands holding each shoulder, his breath tickling her ear as he whispers, "Endure your punishment until we reach our room, and I shall reward you with the bliss you crave until dawn."

Annie snaps her jaw shut, her hand pulling the open jacket closed; shrugging off his hands, she takes a moment to draw in a deep but shaky breath and turns on her heels armed with her most effective glare, but instead, she is met with an empty space.

Her eyes go wide with surprise, the wild beat of her heart filling her ears as she is encompassed in a roaring silence. A chill travels down her spine sharply but not because of the cold. Examining the ground only deepens the dread beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach because there was only one set of footprints, hers.

But that was impossible; the jacket she clutched closed and the dripping arousal swiftly becoming cold and sticky between her thighs was proof that she had not been alone. Had she been hallucinating?

No, something was wrong. The whole situation felt dangerously fabricated.

The screams of someone tortured rang out in the night air. Annie swallowed her heart that had suddenly lodged in her throat, her legs moving on their own accord, racing towards the all too familiar voice crying out.

The jacket fell from her shoulders, boots crunching and slipping in the thick snow, causing Annie to stumble here and there, but she clawed her way back to her feet each time, praying that she would make it in time.

In her hammering heart, she knew the fate that awaited could never be corrected, yet as the tree branches weighed heavy with snow scraped her numb skin Annie still prayed.

An orange light brightened the sky the closer she came, a familiar heat prickling her nerves, thick smoke burning her lungs as it wafted through the thick tree line. Annie pushed herself through the thicket bordering the tree line, no longer able to feel as it ripped away her skin or thinner clothing.

She hit her hands and knees, tripping over a raised tree root due to being blinded by the sudden rush of light of the blazing inferno that was once her home. Annie trembled as she lifted her gaze from the soggy ground, smoke, and copper teasing her taste buds.

Tears blur her vision, her ears forever imprinting the guttural screaming emanating from her eldest sister's throat while her pale lavender angel wings are torn from her back by two unknown soldiers. The wet squelching of the bone, tendon, and flesh is indescribable.

Annie's mouth opens and closes, her voice too horrified to leave her throat. She watches as her sister falls to her knees, and their eyes meet, Annie's mind is screaming at her to move, to do something, anything, but she can't.

Her limbs refuse to budge, the sound of a sword being unsheathed coinciding with the constant crackle of the fire coming from a seperate soldier that had just watched the proceedings from the sideline. He approaches Annie's sister from behind, and Annie shakes violently when she reaches her hand out.

Her sister smiles despite the anguished expression on her face, and through the tears, Annie watchers her mouth, 'Look away.'

The sword fly's through the air with such dexterity it only takes one swing the cleave her head clean from their shoulders. Annie watched as her sister's head sailed forward before hitting the ground and rolling close by.

Annie shoved herself back onto her behind, her limbs scrambling to escape the horror rolling in her direction when her hair close to the base of her skull was seized from behind and yanked with such force most of the fistful tore from their roots.

The tip of a cold steel dagger searing the back of her neck before being forced through her flesh is all she can remember as the world spins and grows black.