Roses Wither: Into the Darkness
Eighteen

Rose

Three days and I still felt nothing from Aiden.

Training was just as tedious as always. Although Chase had let me take the first day after Marcus had left off, nothing anyone did could help me, especially now, and I just wished that they would let me go back to my life in North Carolina.

My inner selves were still at war and there seemed to be no winning for either. It was almost like it was the vampire versus the wolf, and I needed to get a grip, before I went crazy.

Both halves fought for dominence, moreso when Chase was around and I knew exactly what it was now. It wasn’t infatuation, which I had originally hoped. It was the fact that he was my bound. My vampire's version of a mate.

It proved everything I knew to be true. My wolf and vampire halves could never be in harmony. I was just so confused and torn, on every level of my being.

The two men were complete opposites. Aside from the obvious, vampire versus wolf, Chase was super tall, blonde and bulky, with deep brown eyes and Aiden was tall, but nothing near Chase's six foot seven. He was lean and definitely not as built.

I contemplated this as I followed Chase through the forest around the castle’s outskirts. My father’s home was an actual castle, which was different compared the smaller homes that I had grown up in.

Having my own apartment in the castle was amazing, since I was used to pack life. Thin walls, meant that voices were overheard and nothing was a secret. This was silent, private and so nice.

I was stepping over twigs and branches that had fallen to their dirt floor below. When he stopped abruptly in a small clearing, and turned to me with a smile, I glared at him.

“Okay, hotshot. Why are we on a nature jaunt today?” I glared at him, but couldn’t hold my smile back, “I know you’ve been annoyed with me lately, but I didn’t think it would come to this.”

“We are here, because HERE is safe.” He looked around the small clearing with his arms outstretched as he smiled breezily, “No one else is around for miles.”

“If you wanted to kill me, I’m sure no one would have stopped you.” I crossed my arms defiantly, teasing him, “All the other guards hate me, so they wouldn’t have cared.”

His smile faded quickly and his brow furrowed, “That had better be a joke.”

“It is.” I was shocked at seeing angry Chase. I had never seen him like that and I can honestly say, it was scary, “They don’t even speak to me. No one does.”

“That is good. It means that they still fear retribution.” He huffed, which was not needed by a vampire and an echo of the smile returned, “And killing you is the last thing on my mind, trust me.”

His eyes flashed with that silver that I saw brief flashes of every day, but was gone again before I could be certain.

“Are you ready to hear my theory, princess?” Now his lazy grin fully returned, “The way I see it, is that your wolf and your vampire are one. You are made of both, they both make up your matter and you cannot use one without the other. You just have to learn to value both for their strengths. Let the emotions of what you love about them guide you.”

“Okay, Casanova.” I scoffed.

“I am serious. You say your wolf doesn’t understand the power of your vampire and is trying to protect you, but YOU need to figure out a balance between the two, to allow your wolf to take a step back a bit and relax. You need to see the beauty in the moon’s pull and the Earth’s, all at once.”

“Then why are we here? It’s daytime.” I looked around the clearing before looking back to Chase and seeing his smug grin.

“This is your first real practice, Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me that.” I grimaced, “I hate that.”

“But that is what you are.” He cocked a brow at me and gave a confirming nod, his eyes going cold, “Look, I refuse to continue to beat the seven shades out of your ass every time we spar. It’s time you learn to open the Goddess freely.”

I felt my eyes widen as my jaw hung slack, “Are you forgetting something? Like, I could hurt you?”

“No. You can’t.” He said with finality.

“How do you know?”

“I’m stronger than you think.” He was too cocky for his own good. He would get killed one of these times.

“Chase, I can’t.” I shook my head.

“You will not harm me and no one else is around for miles to see or feel your power. You don’t need to be fearful or concerned, there is no one but us and you cannot hurt me.” He spoke reassuringly.

“How are you so sure that I won’t hurt you?!” I snapped.

“How are you so sure you will?” We stared each other down for a moment, then his blonde brow cocked again.

“Is this a new training technique? Because I’m guessing that my dad isn’t going to like this.” I cleared my throat. I had to bring his attention elsewhere. His gaze was too intense for me.

This caused Chase to shrug, “He doesn’t have to like my measures, just my outcome.”

“You aren’t afraid of my father?” I glared at him. Everyone feared my father.

He didn’t answer. Instead he asked his own question, “Your wolf feels more comfortable in nature, correct?”

“Well, yeah... Of course.” I glanced around the forest, “Wolves were created from the Earth Goddess. They pull their power from her."

"You trained with the wolves? Correct?” He began to pace like a soldier.

“With my Royal Guard.” I whispered, thinking of Aiden and him totally shutting me out.

It effected me more because he had always been there. Always been my friend, and now it didn't even seem like he was that anymore.

“You are a fighter?” He cocked his brow at me again.

“Why do none of you believe me? I’m a Goddess, not a deity.” I snorted, "People seem to forget that."

"Could that be because your mother holds the power and cannot use it to it's potential, so perhaps they believe you are like her?" He gave me a curious glance, but I truly thought about his words. They made sense.

My mother was given the powers to hold for safe keeping, until she could pass them to me. They made her stronger, but in a way, they drained her, and every time she used them they left her weaker.

“Both vampires and shifters are warriors by nature.” He gave me a pointed look, “They are both strong, powerful creatures. Both work with just cause, they just fight differently. God willing, I believe we just need to replace a common ground for both."

“You believe in God?” I mused.

“Even your beloved grandfather believes in God.” He glared at me, “We’ve gotten off topic. My thought is that maybe your wolf will feel more relaxed out here and be more willing to give your vampire a little bit of control.”

I gave it some thought. He did have a point, but if he was wrong, I could really hurt him.

“So, what do you suppose I do to open my inner Vampire?” I sighed reluctantly.

“Close your eyes.” At his order, my eyes did the opposite.

“I’ve been in enough spars with you in the past two days to know that you’ll attack me! Not a fucking chance, Dude!”

He sighed again. It was something he did a lot lately, proving he had to be getting tired of my shit. Just like my father.

“I swear on all that is holy, that I, Chase of the Lost, will not attack you, Rosamund Tepes, daughter of Nicolae Tepes.” He held his hands up in innocence.

Chase of the Lost? That wasn't a name. It was almost like a title, but what kind of title was Lost?

“Can you do that?” I teased, “I mean, you are a vampire. Aren’t they against crosses and all that? Don’t you catch on fire if you walk into a church?”

“Fucking Hell...” He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I was a holy man, back in my time. We all were once. As vampires, we are allowed on hallowed ground, and some of us do wear crosses."

“Sorry.” I sighed and reluctantly closed my eyes.

“Now, what do you feel?” He drew his words out... Obviously wanting me to concentrate.

“Pissed,” I could have stopped there, but I didn’t, “Annoyed, like I’m wasting my-”

“Rosa, please...” He sighed again, “Concentrate on what I told you. Concentrate on what you love.”

“Chase, I can’t do this!” I complained, but he just paced the clearing as he thought.

“I can feel the air around me, the give of the Earth under my feet feels light, because of the air. It’s why a vampire’s footsteps can’t be heard or sensed. We are of the moon and her breeze, not the Earth and her weight. I can hear the creatures around me as though they are in my ears. My senses are heightened to the highest degree.”

“My wolf is that way too though." I sighed again, "She can hear and feel the same way, but she gravitates to the Earth.” He wasn’t a wolf. He couldn’t understand my struggle of being pulled in both directions.

“The prophecy states that you are the only Moon Goddess in existence. I’m assuming that her senses are higher than your wolf’s.” He paused giving me an incredulous look.

“True.” I gruffed.

“Focus on what you love about those powers.” He snapped his fingers as if getting an idea, “All you see is the darkness that you’ve known of the vampires. Considering your lineage I understand, but you need to look at what is in you as a Divine Goddess, not the descendant of Vlad Dracule, the darkest vampire of all time.”

I rolled my eyes, “And how do I do that?”

“Close your eyes again.” He ordered and I sighed yet again, doing as directed while he paced behind me.

“Now,” His voice was low and deep, near my ear, “This time I want you to feel that cool breeze I was talking about earlier, focus on the beauty of it blowing through the Earth’s trees.”

He was so close now that I felt him leaning down, his face only an inch from my own as he spoke in my ear.

We had sparred, and there had been contact between us, but it was never tender. This sent a shiver through me. It was something I had craved since that first night. I clung to it as though it were a lifeline.

That was when a clean, crisp, masculine scent assaulted me. I knew he wasn’t wearing cologne, but it was an enticing scent of patchouli, with a hint of lavender soap. How had I never noticed this about him?

He placed his hands on my shoulders and I instantly felt a protected, calming sensation wash over me.

“Focus.” The whisper of his voice in my ear sent more shivers through me. Good Goddess, I wanted this man.

“Rosa.” He said my name in warning, so I decided I needed to concentrate.

My vampire. What did I love about her? I did love how it felt running through the woods at high speeds on two legs, the wind running through my hair. I also loved how crisp and sharp the Earth appeared, under her gaze, how vivid the colors were. How every touch every movement felt so light and free.

Then the clarity hit me. She helped me see the Earth from another perspective. She opened me to it in so many more ways than I had ever dreamed of.

Suddenly, her power caressed me. It wasn’t her coming out of a box anymore though. It was the goddess in me opening her arms, welcoming me to join her.

The sounds of the forest clearly came into perspective, so pronounced that I even heard a tree fall, four miles to the Southeast, and I knew it was four miles, because that was where I felt the flutter in my breeze. The mild disruption.

“That’s-” My eyes darted open and my head swiveled toward Chase, who indeed was now less than an inch away, staring at my neck, his fangs erected.

Our eyes locked, both were fully silvered, and I felt an instant rush as the blood in my veins heated to a near boil.

He dropped his hands and cleared his throat, looking away instantly.

I can still feel the imprint of your hands on my shoulders... Your body that is still brushing against mine... The shivers going down my body to my-

“Okay,” He cleared his throat again, “I think we’ve crossed enough boundaries today. Good work.”

His enticingly musky scent hit my nose even harder this time. It was as if that patchouli got stronger as he backed away, looking anywhere but at me.

“Chase?” I turned to face him, “What was that?”

“It was nothing.” He didn’t turn to me and began to leave the clearing toward the house.

“That was most definitely something.” I followed, but he wouldn’t turn to me.

“That was you opening your Moon Goddess and welcoming her.” He left me standing there in shock, trying to figure out what had just passed between us.

Did he? ...