The Blade (Closed)

Eden Wolf was the kind of girl people thought was strange, she always wore black when she was in school. Though no one labeled her a goth like people were labeled in school. Labels were just ways of making your life hell. But Eden didn't have to worry much about that, she graduated high school by the time she was sixteen years old. She was highly intelligent, perhaps that was what made her a magnet for evil people. Because a man found her.

It was the day she graduated when she found her parents they were both dead, It looked like something had fed on them before there heads were removed. Eden had been a major suspect because a sword she got from Japan three years ago had blood on it, but Eden worked with the police, giving them anything they wanted. Since she knew that she was innocent. It took a good two months before she was cleared, but it was easy to tell she loved her parents.

She felt very alone and that scared the shit out of her, she had no family and her parents did have life insurance. But it wasn't much, enough to keep her comfortable a good fifteen years if she was careful with the money. But every so often when she went for a walk, she could feel eyes on her. She had a natural gift to be able to feel she was a target. She had taken karate classes for five years starting very young, and was a black belt.

But she knew that if a man took her down that would be it, men were much stronger. But it wasn't just men she had to worry about, the older she became the more she trained. The more she could feel the supernatural around her, she was seventeen when she met the man in black. He was bulky as hell, built like a brick wall. They always seemed to bump into each other. He was a rather unique kind of man as well, very mysterious.

He wanted her for her talents to help him, from him she learned about vampires. And learned he had been watching over her since her parents were killed. Eden never knew his real name so she called him Blade. He was rather mysterious and his eyes always hidden behind sunglasses. And he never smiled once, most people thought he was unable to have feelings. But she knew better, she could read people true his face was covered.

And she could never read his eyes since they were behind glasses, but body language said it all to her. Eden was fluent in Spanish, French, Russian and even Japanese and Chinese. Her intelligence could be seen by the knowledge she knew and only being nineteen years old said something. It took him a good six months before he gave her his name, but what she didn't realize was as they got closer the more she cared for him and it felt nice.

Ivan Graves was his true name, and she called him by his first name when it was just the two of them. She lived with him most of the time, side by side as they fought the onslaught of vampires. But something was eating away at her, something about him seemed different. Though she never asked and figured if he wanted her to know then one day he would tell her. Now things were getting much more interesting, she would get to the bottom of him.

It was the winter months and it was very cold outside, she was making sure her guns and sword were perfect. She was humming a bit, she had a picture of her parents with a candle burning by it. The anniversary of there death, burning a candle was something rather Asian. But what she believed in was her business, she heard Ivan coming from the back and looked over. She smiled seeing him, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hey Ivan" She said smiling.

Ivan was laboring over his reloading table. A pinch of gunpowder here, a silver coated wooden core there, along with a weapons-grade miniature ultraviolet LED and you were ready to melt some bloodsuckers. Standard vamp loads for his modified .45 Caliber Pistol. He held up a round thoughtfully between his thumb and index finger and set it next to a neat row of finished rounds.

When Eden called for him in her musical voice, a voice that was youthful yet tragically seasoned, he heard so much more than just her words. He heard her pulse, her breathe, even the sound of her clothes moving across her soft skin were not lost to his keen supernatural senses.

He felt his cold blood warm for just a moment, then he replied in a voice that was perhaps more stern than he intended.

"I know what day it is."

He began to load another shell without even looking up at her.

"You should take the day off."

He could feel her eyes on him. She was a welcome disruption in his life that had been consumed by methodical killing up until that fateful day. She had grown on him, but not like a lost kitten. No, he thought, if anyone was lost it was him.

Eden heard his voice and heard what he said, she walked up to him slowly and stood a few feet away. Looking down for a moment she sighed some but she shook her head "I have dealt with it my friend, you worry way to much about me. Though I find it sweet, the day I take a break is the day vampires become human. Now that is a day I sure as hell wont be seeing" She smiled trying to lighten the mood now. Tilting her head she looked at him, curious as to what the man was thinking about now.

Eden sat down on a chair that was beside what he was sitting on, though not uncomfortably close. Placing her hands on her knee, one leg over the other her black jeans fit her very well. Tucking her free hand under her jaw. Thinking about everything they had been through, yet she knew nothing of him. "Besides if I take a break I would insist you take a break with me" Eden said simply and sighed a little bit. Her eyes looked outside the window, thinking of a million different things.

"Sometimes I wonder what life would be without all this, war is in everyone's blood I guess. Since everyone has the ability to take a life, its having the will to do it that not everyone has. My life had been shaken around when my parents died, yet you came to pick up the pieces and I like to think that I could hold my own. Though I enjoy our time together, which is nice. To feel like I belong some place you know?" She said with such a bright smile on her face, it was amazing how he effected her.

He let her words sink in. She was wise for her age; perhaps she was even more familiar with the cruelty of this world than he was. He stopped loading rounds and turned to face her. He gazed up and down her from behind the shield of his mirrored sunglasses. The glasses that protected his sensitive eyes from the light of the outside world and protected the outside world from his dark secret, his abominable inhumanity.

"You are useful to my purpose. Beyond that, you don't belong here. As soon as you become a liability you will awaken and I will be gone from your life."

His voice was robotic, rehearsed. He had tried to send her away a dozen times, but she had always returned. Often, just in time to save his life. She would recognize this as his shell, and predictably find the way through to his true feelings. He often cursed that his most trusted asset could so easily see through his cold exterior.

He softened, "But, for now I need you. I'm glad you're ready to work today because I have a lead on a nest of bloodsuckers who've been feeding in our turf for about a week. You ready to get that sword wet?"

Eden heard what he said to her, her stormy eyes looking at him and was curious about him. Even more so that he kept pushing her away, even if she advance he still had the stone wall up. That separated each other, she looked down at her lap and was thinking of what to say to that. No matter how many times he slaps her down, she goes right back and by his side. She doesn't allow anyone to treat her like shit. Ivan was one of the men she would never let walk all over her, but so far he hadn't.

Hearing his question she nodded, slowly standing up as she sighed. Rubbing the back of her neck, her heart beating quickly. Every time she was near him her heart raced, perhaps because she had something there for him. It was a friendship that seemed to blossom and she would do what she had to in order to keep it there. She was grabbing her guns and her sword, but turning to the side and looked at him. She smiled a little and brushed a strand of black hair from her eyes, shaking her head.

"You will never chase me away, you of all people should know that. No matter how far you push me away, you wont change my mind. Which is why I continue to be of use to you, because I don't want to be alone. We have watched each others back going on two years, helps me feel alive." She said simply. And walked off into her room for the moment, grabbing her black jacket and making sure the bullets were in her gun and in her pouch that she had. Thinking of Ivan the whole time.

He let his guard down for long enough to feel warmth surge through him, it was unfamiliar but it felt good. Perhaps he wasn't half-dead after all. He pondered this for a moment and let his eyes see her as a woman, an equal rather than a disciple, and he liked what he saw. His human side had often yearned to take her as a mate, but he had fought to suppress his human urges. His human "weaknesses". Lust is for vamps, he reassured himself constantly.

She was very capable, especially for such a young human and her unnatural persistence had slowly transformed from annoying to something he counted on.

Perhaps he was testing her loyalty by pushing her away. Perhaps it was his way of dealing with the fear of losing her. Either way, he didn't want to think about it.

He selected a cruel-looking katana from his weapon rack and readied himself for another night on the battlefield in this eternal war between the creatures of darkness and the relatively defenseless human race.

He was feeling a bit unusual tonight and decided to pay his young companion a heartfelt compliment. He appraised her carefully then said, "You are truly dressed to kill this night..." and then it slipped out. "My dear."

Eden had enjoyed the company he gave her, he could be a jerk but all the time he was someone you could count on. She felt something there in the way he looked at her, she didn't need to see his eyes to feel something there. She was happy about everything, and she had enjoyed so much. Life could be simple, but it was also a challenge. Every day to wake up and keep breathing, she never dressed to impress. She dressed to keep herself shielded from the elements outside, to be nothing more but a shadow.

But she had on a pair of black pants that she changed into, hugging the curves of her behind and legs. The pants would help her if she needed to run, she could run silently and faster. She also had on a pair of black boots that were ankle cut. The heels were tall but very thick, and she could easily run with them on. She was a predator after all, one who wanted to destroy every last damn vampire. Everything she did had purpose, her black shirt was a short sleeved shirt with nothing written on the shirt.

Hearing the compliment that he gave her she smiled, she held her head up high. Thinking of a million and one things, it was nice really. Right now things were just nice, and she chuckled. Though what she said next she meant. "Your dressed to kill to" She said simply. Eden was ready for anything, and she followed his lead like she always had done. A cross laid against her on a gold chain, it belonged to her mother and hadn't taken it off since her death. Her stormy eyes taking in everything.

While she was waiting for him she sat at the piano bench, since she spent a lot of time there. She had been able to get a small piano there, since he had more then enough room. Thinking for a moment as she began to play something, something that just came to her. Eden had a gift that much was for sure, her gentle fingers began to think for her. And just like that she was able to create a song out of thin air, not knowing Ivan was behind her.

" 2am, where do I begin
Crying off my face again
The silent sound of loneliness
Wants to follow me to bed

I'm the ghost of a girl
That I want to be most
I'm the shell of a girl
That I used to know well

Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Then you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again

Too afraid, to go inside
For the pain of one more loveless night
For the loneliness will stay with me
And hold me till I fall asleep

I'm the ghost of a girl
That I want to be most
I'm the shell of a girl
That I used to know well

Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Then you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again

Broken pieces of
A barely breathing story
Where there once was love
Now there's only me
And the lonely...

Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Then you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again..."

The Lonely

Ivan approached silently. The sound of Eden's voice reverberated in him. The haunting melody reminded him that he had a soul and it could be touched. The clarity and beauty of the notes mixed with the poignant lyrics made his heart ache for a life where he could throw down his sword and guns and live more peacefully. With her.

"That's beautiful", he said evenly. "It reminds me of... Never mind."

Then, a bitter cold settled over him. A cold sense of duty that simultaneously gave him a purpose and shattered any chance of a normal life. He chastised himself. His eyes were not made to see beauty. He could not be distracted by emotions or dreams. There was the mission. Revenge. And nothing else.

But, then again...

Something about today was different.

Ivan placed a hand on Eden's shoulder. The girl he cared more for than he could say sat gracefully in front of the keys.

"I'm taking the day off..." He made a kind of sneer with his mouth, it was the closest thing to a smile that he could form. "To train, of course. I can follow up on this lead tomorrow."

Eden was startled when he said what he did, she blushed a bit and wondered what it reminded him of. She felt his hand on her shoulder and the sneer on his face, she couldn't help but smile at it. Since it was how he smiled and it was something she hadn't seen to much, she wondered what secrets laid behind the sun glasses. She looked down when he said he was going a day off, and thinking for a moment. She shook her head a little bit and slowly stood up, facing him inches apart and smiled.

"Ivan you are always training your body is a weapon for god sakes, there is more to life then just hunting. I know you have been hiding something from me and the world. But your not alone anymore, I maybe to young I may not know anything. But you are the only thing I have in my damn life, I stay with you because I care about you" She sighed a bit and was angry at herself for caving in like that. She walked towards her room in his place, tears in her eyes that wanted to fall as she sat on her bed.

She hated the loneliness that she felt, she loved him and it scared the shit out of her. Covering her face with her hand as she sighed a bit, looking out her window and seeing life below on the streets.

Ivan took a deep breath, "Eden, I know you want more from me. More, feelings. But, I am what I am. Fate and hell itself shaped me into the hunter you see before you."

He sighed and sat beside her.

"But unlike a vamp, I won't live forever. And you're right... There's more to life than the path I've chosen. But I'm scared."

He took off his sunglasses, but kept his eyelids closed.

"I'm scared that the abyss you see in my glasses, is exactly the abyss that hides behind them. I'm scared that when you look at my eyes, you'll see just how empty this hardened shell really is. But I don't want to be scared anymore. See me for what I truly am."

He turned to her, then slowly opened his eyes. They were like the yellow eyes of a wolf. Predatory, lonely but beautiful at the same time. He stared into her lovely eyes, letting her see into him for the first time. He searched her face for a reaction.

Eden looked up seeing him coming in, but then as he sat down and said what he did. More questions and no answers came, but then when he took the glasses off. She didn't know what to say or even do, but hearing what he said to her. It almost broke her heart, she didn't know why he would say that. She tilted her head to the side a little bit and crew lost in the silence, but then he did something she never thought he would do. He looked into her eyes, and she saw them for the first time.

It was like staring into the enemies face, but looking into his eyes flashes of memories that they shared. She looked down for a moment, closing her eyes as she saw everything she needed to. The laughs the cries. She shook her head a little she knew the man he was and a soft smile came to her lips and her eyes locked with his own again. He was wrong about his fears, she didn't see a monster or anything like that. With one hand she brought it up to his cheek, and stroked it very gently.

"I see much more then what you fear I see, I see the hate for vampires meaning your mother had to be human. Hating what part of you is, but you find compassion. Your lonely afraid to let anyone in. I have seen how you treat me, with respect yet at the same time loving in your own way. Nothing you could do, could make me afraid of you. What I said moments ago still stands, I care about you why do you think I have put up with you?" She smiled a bit love in her eyes for him.

"But your not alone any more Ivan, you will always have me by your side, that wont ever change" She leaned in kissing his cheek. "But now I know why I never see you smile, but now that I know it will remain between us and you don't have to hide what you are from me. Since your more human then vampire"

He was overcome with emotion. Almost a painful happiness. Showing Eden his eyes had taken all his courage, and she stunned him with her reaction. He'd had nightmares of what she would do; He imagined her throwing things at him and calling him a monster, but her true reaction was one of love and companionship. His whole body heated up inexplicably, down to his fingertips and toes.

His sneering smile returned for a moment, then he leaned in and kissed her for the first time. He knew that they would one day be lost to a violent end, but why not live a little in the mean time? Let this fantasy of love and passion be the reality instead of the dream. Even if only for one night.

He squeezed her hands in his, then released them to gather her young body into an embrace. Kissing her almost hungrily after denying the feelings for so long. Her warmth flowed into him and illuminated him from within, his face flushed with the color of life

Eden acted with her heart not her head that was the kind of girl she was, but right now things were just different. And if he meant to hurt her she knew she would be dead, she trusted him very much. Even more now that he showed her what he did. She could tell it took a lot to tell her, since she could have done many number of things. But she would never do that, not to him he meant the world to her. He had a way with her and it was remarkable how she loved him, how he made her feel incredible.

But then she watched him seeing that smile of his, and before she knew it he leaned against her and when his warm lips went on her own. Her eyes showed shock that he was actually kissing her, she felt his hands on hers for a moment. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss, she would never be afraid of him. Once he let her hands go she wrapped her arms around him, and felt how he gathered her in his arms. She felt the hunger in his kiss, but also in his body as well. For once she knew what she wanted.

He broke only momentarily from her arms to take off his leather jacket. He tossed it to a corner of the room. It clanked with the sound of the weaponry concealed within. He faced away, conflicted between modesty and the need to feel her body pressed against his.

He stripped off his black tank top in a smooth motion to reveal his muscular back. He needed to feel her skin on his. Let this night be real, don't let me wake up sweating in the dark alone.

There was not an ounce of fat on his body. If he looked dangerous when fully clothed, he looked deadly without a shirt. There was an animal quality to the way he was built. Purpose built. A killing machine. Tonight, he would find a new purpose for his body.

He turned back to her, his yellow eyes taking in her lovely face. But his eyes wandered to her neck. The hunger. He felt it like a knife to the stomach. He began to salivate.

"You can control it. You must control it." He said inwardly.

He moved to embrace her again, she was his only comfort, after all. But lust is like fuel for a vampire's hunger. It was all he could do to suppress the urge to bite into her, to feast on her.

Eden felt him break the kiss and she watched him, she had never seen him naked or even topless so this was actually a very rare treat for her. Watching him his skin was perfect and his body ripped much like a weapon. Eden never had the chance to date so she had never done anything like this before, but she was tough so she didn't worry about a thing. She was happy they were doing this, he needed a night of peace. To show him that she saw him as a man and not a monster, she loved him that much.

But she watched him and felt his eyes on her neck. She knew even though he was only half, she knew the hunger was still there. She looked at him and smiled a bit, brushing her hand against his cheek as her eyes captured his own and smiled a bit. Seeing him the real him as she knew all to well about what he was and how it would work. But stroking his cheek she smiled, she went for her black t-shirt and removed it exposing her black silk bra under the fabric and knew her neck would be in full view.

"You can't always keep yourself in check Ivan, you take what you need from me. I wouldn't let you take to much, and I know exactly how to hurt you to get you to stop. I trust you more then anything, but I have seen the nature that you have such tight control over." She smiled at him, her eyes showing how understanding she truly was. But she wasn't daring him either, just telling him if he needed to feed she would allow it. "The only way to fully control the primal nature you have, its to accept what you are"

He embraced his young apprentice, holding her to his firm body. His vampire half was lunging against the barrier he'd placed in his mind, trying to grasp control from him. She was so close, so vulnerable and appetizing. A lesser man would have let the darker side envelope him and take advantage of her invitation, but his training and his love for this young woman prevailed.

He suppressed the Vampire's hunger, for now, and as soon as he could trust himself, he stole a kiss on her neck, where just below the surface of her skin, her essence flowed strong, both rhythmically and seductively.

He held her tightly, letting her warmth fill him with mortal passion. Any day could be their last, and perhaps it was selfish of him to indulge these carnal desires while the mission waited just outside this room. But he could not resist her. The power of his attraction to her was supernatural and inescapable.

Eden wouldn't force him or anything, but she felt it important to tell him what she did. She was rather happy to have this moment with him, she was enjoying the feel of him against her. And when she felt his lips on her neck, she smiled feeling the warmth of his lips. She made sure not to moan she didn't want to kick his instinct in high gear since she respected his want to keep himself in cheek. It was rather nice to be able to see so many things, she enjoyed the embrace he gave her right then and there.

She ran her fingers against his cheek and then went over to his neck, then his bare back. Soft yet rough at the same time, she wasn't use to this kind of thing. She hadn't touched a man let alone be kissed. Closing her eyes as everything just seemed so damn perfect, and when it came down to things it was different. And right now it was the time to feel so perfect, to be with the man she cared for. He had been there through everything ever since her parents died, and she would be with him.

Vampiric urges kept surging up in his as she shared her kisses. He was truly at least half cold-blooded killer in his mind. Only discipline kept his fangs in check.

"You really are-" He didn't finish, he just kissed her deeply on the mouth. He wasn't even sure what he was going to say, he just let his love for her take over his body.

He reached around her and unclasped her bra and took it off completely. He wanted to feel her full warmth against him. He was aroused at the sight of her exposed breasts. He'd seen her nude in glimpses before, but those times she was just a comrade in the eternal war. He hadn't allowed himself to view her as a mate or anything sexual. Tonight was a new night. His human side needed her in a different way than his vampire half, but the urges were just as strong.

Tonight was their night, he was seeing her as a woman, a beautiful woman to be treasured and touched. He would treat her like a lady, he promised himself, but passions stirred in him that made him want to see her writhe in pleasure in a very unladylike way.

The way he moved was as graceful as water falling over a waterfall, his yellow eyes seemed to be checking her out. And it made her get chills up her spine, but they were good chills. Because she loved him. And feeling him unclasp her bra and feeling her breasts free, she knew this was going to be different for her, very new. But it would also be dangerous because of his nature, but she felt safe with him. She had offered him her neck so that should pretty much prove she trusted him.

The way he touched her was just beyond wonderful, her heart was pounding so loudly it was almost hard to think straight. Closing her eyes as she felt so safe and secure it made her feel really special. And now feeling his skin against her own, her hands running down his chest. Looking into those eyes of his as she moaned a little bit. She could tell he was fighting his nature, which in a way was very sweet. It honored her, but then on the other hand it kinda worried her.

Keep something caged and it will come out and do some damage, which is something she was terrified about. That he would lose control, and then he would have something to regret in his vampire life. Eden just hoped that in time he would accept what he was, and feed when he had to. And feeding as in blood, now would come the tricky part. Her mind thinking of how to say it. She would let him feed off her, or even go to the blood bank and get him some blood, but now nothing mattered.

"mmm Ivan" she murmured.

He held his bare-breasted apprentice against his muscular form. The feeling of her soft breasts pressed to him aroused him in new ways. He wanted to be gentle for her, but his desire made his caress very deliberate.

He had not had a woman in a long time, for good reason. The girl had turned out to be bait for an assassination attempt by a group of local vamps trying to make a name for their coven. It was a tragedy, he'd ended up slaughtering them all, including the human girl. He would have spared her, but when she had come at him with a stake, she had become another combatant and utterly expendable.

This night would not be a blood bath in that sense. Perhaps Eden was a virgin, that had not occurred to him until just now. Would the blood of her hymen send him over the edge? Even the sturdiest chain can only hold a junkyard dog for so long.

He paused his gliding caress and looked into her eyes with his, "Eden, have y- Have you taken a lover before?"

Eden found herself being lost, enjoying his embrace it was nice to feel such things. As it was now everything just seemed so damn nice. But she knew at any moment things could go very bad, which wasn't something she wanted to see because it scared her. But right now it was just a lovely moment. Her heart was beating and everything just seemed so lovely, moaning as her breasts meshed against his chest. Feeling the warmth of him, made her want to do crazy things.

But right now it was just the two of them, enjoying each others company and warmth. Things in this world were dark enough, she did not want this moment to end. It was really hard to think. Her heart was beating a bit quickly because she was nervous, not because of what he was. But being her first time she was nervous about that fact, right but she felt him hesitate and wondered what was wrong. But then she heard what he said and looked up into those yellow eyes of his.

"No I have never taken a lover, I never had the time"

Ivan was pleased to be her first. He needed to feel her warmth from the inside and to be the first man to trespass her, would add to the experience. His face was warm with the anticipation. She had an unexplained effect on him. Unexplained and unexpected. Her young breasts rubbed on him, arousing him in a playful way.

He wanted to explore her more. To feel her clench around him in the most intimate way. To feel her juices running down his thighs. His imagination was running wild as he pictured her nude body in a hundred different positions with his. Most of all, he wanted her sounds. He could already hear her elevated heart rate, beautiful, nearly musical in nature, but he wanted more than that, to hear her moan, maybe scream with pleasure.

His hands slid automatically to her butt. He squeezed her there as he inhaled her scent from her neck. "You're beautiful." He smiled at her.

She looked at him and he was rather curious, she knew that blood would come once he pierced her and wondered how he was going to deal with it, she said nothing because she honestly trusted him and loved him. Stroking his cheek she could not help but really love him, his eyes may look like a monster to most. But to her? his eyes were beautiful, tonight they would be one and knew what would happen here. Hearing what he said she moaned feeling his hands on her, it felt incredible to her.

"Mmm Ivan I love you so much"

He kissed her again, wet and soft. Then he stood back to admire her, and to finish taking off his clothes. As he did this, he glanced up with his yellow, wolf-like eyes. "Take off the rest of your clothes." His voice was a little harsh, his animal instinct and hunger had pushed all politeness aside.

"Once you're fully nude, I want you to sit on the edge of the bed for me." He indicated the spot with a wave of his hand. His head was pulsing with hunger. Her heart beat was deafening in his ears, but he knew he could control it.

The kiss was deep and amazing and right now? it was what she needed, hearing what he said to her and the harshness in her made her realize he was letting some of his true nature come out. Getting up she began to remove the rest of her clothing, unsure how this was going to go but she sat on the bed the way he wanted her and looking up at him she was happy and not worried about a thing. Though something told her she should worry but did not care, the way he looked at her like a wolf after his pray.