"Hello love."

"Noooo! No more! Please!" This can not be happening to me again. The darkness swarms around me. There's only one place that holds darkness like this. I'm in the fucking chasm yet again!

"I'm tired of these games! Who are you? Come out and face!" I'm so damn tired of this shit! He can't keep continuing doing this to me. I'm fed up with it!

I raise my hand up, focusing on all of my pent up anger and energy, this asshole is about to pay for tormenting me!

I try to magically create a fireball in my palm but nothing appears on my hand. I try again. Still nothing. Ugh!

Fuck!

No! No!

Why isn't it working?

Trying a third time, concentrating harder, still nothing!

I hear an evil revolting laughter off to my right echoing all throughout the dark chasm. Jumping suddenly.

"Your abilities are useless here love I control everything in the dream realm." The tremble of his sardonic bolstering voice makes my body tremble uncontrollably.

"What do you want from me? Why me?" I scream out my frustrations as I drop to the floor on my knees of the cold darkened chasm floor.

"Someone wronged me years ago love. I'm seeking out my revenge. Only I get you as a delicious bonus."

I'm getting tormented for revenge?

"Who? I didn't harm you! Why take it out on me?" I desperately plead. Tears are rolling down my face at a rapid rate. My heartbeat feels like it's beating right out of my damn chest.

What have I done to deserve this?

Whyyy?

"You will know all soon enough love. For now I just want to play."  The way he says play instantly has me jumping up back on my feet.

"Play? What do you mean by play?" My voice starts to tremble with fear.

"Just a touch for now love." I feel a hand brush across my back side. I jump from the touch, startled.

I see a quick flash to my left, my heads whips around looking fast for the flash of light. Another flash whips by me so fast making it look like a obscure blur in my vision, whipping by me with so much speed that it whips my hair around my face with a cold malicious chill surrounding me.

"Stop! Stop playing fucking games!" I demand with little courage.

"Let me out of here!" I beg between my reverent sobbing. Please let me go!

Another quick flash of light runs past me, I whip my head from the left to the right frantically searching for the mysterious light.

What the hell was that? Where the hell did it go?

"Just a touch." He repeats to me hauntingly.

"Fuck you!" I can't take this shit anymore. Now I'm trembling in anger instead of fear. I'm sick of this!

"Face me!" I demand with my bolstering courage. "Face me you fucking coward!"

"Love." He breathlessly says. "All will be revealed in time." His chilling tone reverberates all throughout the darkness.

I turn my body in circles looking around for the culprit. All I see scattered around me is a complete gloaming void of darkness again.

Then a another quick flash whips by me I see a shape in the foreign flash of the light only this time instead of a dim light it's in the warped shape of a blurred eyeless figure.

I scream out in complete horror!

"Wake up Starla!" Still screaming, I suddenly spring awake. I jackknife up in my bed colliding with a strong solid force with my forehead.

"Fuck!" I hear someone off to my left grumble out in pain.

Damn that shit hurt!

I rub the center of my forehead, closing my eyes, I grumble out in pain.

"Damn Starla! That shit fucking hurt." I open my eyes to see Niko sitting beside me in bed, rubbing his head fiercely at the same exact spot on his forehead that I am.

"I'm so sorry Niko." I don't know what else to actually say.

"Was it him?" Niko ask me. It takes me second to understand exactly who the he is that he is referring to.

"Yes." It's always fucking him.

I can't get a moments peace away from that cowardly asshole.

Why revenge and why me?

"He said he's seeking out revenge." I mumble.

Nikos eyes flash with concern, staring at me curiously.

"For what?" Fuck if I know!

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. He just wants to play games." I sardonically tell him. Leaning back on the headboard, sighing.

"It's okay we will figure something out." Niko plumps his pillows, laying back down onto the bed, he looks sorrowfully over to me.

"Get some sleep or at least try to." I wish I could.

But every time I close my eyes I always end up back in the dark chasm of doom and with him unfortunately.

"Yea." I slide down back onto the bed, fluffing up my pillows, I cradle my head turning in Nikos direction watching him.

"Tell me something about yourself!" I raise my head up off of my pillow,  after I asked him my question, to look out of the window. Darkness is still swallowing up the land meaning it's a far cry until morning, I'm assuming anyway. You honestly can never tell in the Umbra Realm either way, it's like darkness always strives here.

"What? Do you want me to bore you to sleep?" He says it sardonically, I giggle.

"No I just want to know more about you." That surprises him. He raises his brows and looks at me questioningly.

"What? You are my mate why wouldn't I want to know more about you?" He scoffs at me first but then he grants me a little smirk, eventually complying.

"Let's see, I'm pretty sure you know the basics, I'm a lycanthrope, I'm the eldest of four at twenty six, and I definitely like my steak medium rare." He laughs.

What?

"You have other siblings?" I honestly didn't know this about him.

"Yes besides Navin, I have two beautiful sisters, Terista and Nelly. Terista is twenty one and Nelly is twenty." Interesting.

"Tell me about them." I ask curiosity, nuzzling down on pillow further.

"Terista is with her mate Johnny, they have been together for two years now and have one child named little Johnny," he laughs remembering, "that boy is a true hellion. Nelly hasn't found her mate yet but she dates this guy named Harris, it's only been about six months or less that they have been together. Nelly is the youngest and man is she spoilt. You will get along with Terista and Johnny, because they both have sweet natures. But I warn you that Nelly is a piece of work." Though he warns me of his sister I can still see the fondest he has for her. Every time he mentions her name he smiles lovingly. I don't think she is as bad as he's making her out to be.

"What about your parents?" I keep the conversation going.

"What about them? They're just parents, nothing more. I mean they are great and all. They love us as we love them they are just....boring." He states it so matter of factly that I can't help but giggle at him.

"All parents are boring aren't they?" Even though I love them all immensely my parents can be rather boring also.

"True. My parents are set in their ways. When they ruled the Venari Realm themselves they were strict rulers. They didn't want to give over the Realm to Navin and I at first, they are far to set in their ways but eventually they seen that it was for the best. Only...?" He stops talking suddenly. Looking into my eyes with trepidation.

"Only?" I press.

He sighs, "Only they meet up with the counsel and made up stipulations for when Navin and I took over the reigning the Realm." I can sense the resentment through his somber-some tone.

"Stipulations?" I press him again for information.

"It's nothing," he dodges my question, "we eventually agreed to their terms. They wanted both my brother and I rule together over the kingdom, this...stipulation that was put into place was the only way Navin and I could rule together so we had to agree to it, unfortunately." I'm curious as to why they had to agree to a certain stipulation just to rule over their own Realm but I'll let it go, for now. Sensing that Niko doesn't want to divulge anything further to me.

"What's their names?" I change the subject desperately wanting to keep the conversation going. I know I'm only doing it to avoid sleeping but who can blame me? Plus getting to know him better can only move us in the right direction in our relationship, hopefully.

"Earnest and Darcy." He simply states.

Oh fuck! I know of them. My eyes widen with the sudden realization. Why didn't I put two and two together? Tracia may be good at math but I certainly am not! I semi-laugh under my breath at yet another dubious realization.

His parents, Earnest and Darcy, came into my life at around the age of sixteen. They called a meeting with my parents wanting to discuss a prearranged contract between me and their sons Navin and Niko to become the Venari Realms Queen.

My parents, of course, denied them both. Stating that I was for one, far too young at the time and second, they wanted me to find my destined mate and not be someone's chosen mate.

I completely forgot all about it until Niko mentioned their names to me. I wonder how Niko would react if he knew about it? I'm pretty sure that he has no clue as to what his parents were trying so desperately to do or else he would have mentioned it to me already.

Right?

"I might of heard of them." I tell him breaking the silence between us.

"I'm not surprised. They are well known throughout the Realms. I'm surprised you haven't heard about Navin and I. Well with the exception of the one time we have met before." His eyes dart away from me quickly, embarrassed.

My face begins to heat up remembering Nikos and Harems indiscretion.

"That was...interesting." I fumble for the right word.

He breathlessly laughs at my own trepidation this time. It was truly embarrassing.

"Sorry about that." I raise my eyebrows on surprise. Hearing Niko apologize for anything is a rarity.

"No problem. It's not like I didn't know about that type of thing." I try to reassure him.

He returns his attention back to me. "How old we're you?" I scowl at him confused by his question.

"How old was i when I caught you and...?"

"No. How old were you when you lost your virginity?" He clarifies interrupting me.

"Uhm." Well this conversation just took a strange and bizarre turn fast.

Why does he want to know about that anyway?

"I was seventeen." He raises his eyebrows, shock showing on his face at my admission.

"It was with someone that I had a crush on for years. Every since I was fifteen. Him and his brothers were always around me and my best friend Kayla. If you saw him and his brothers you saw us. We didn't go anywhere without each other. It's like we were our own little pack." I admit.

This conversation is a bit embarrassing for me. I don't mind telling him about my first time but I don't want his judgment either. I wonder what he would think of me if I revealed to him that it just wasn't only one but all three of them that I was with. Not at first, but eventually. Along with Kayla, his brothers and my ex, we all experimented sexually with each other.

"What was his name?" Niko ask, I hesitate.

Revealing his name isn't something I'm comfortable with. Not yet anyway.

"Doesn't matter. Let's just say that he is my ex for a reason." I try my best to avoid Nikos questioning.

"I'll tell you mine of you tell me yours." Niko persists.

I look at him dubiously, rolling my eyes at him. Why should I reveal this to him? I mean I do want him to open up to me. I do want to get closer to him but it's such an intimate item to discuss.

Should I? Maybe if I confess to him about my past we can reach a new level in our relationship?

What the hell!

"His name is Liam. He is one out of a set of triplets. His brothers are Luke and Lake. All three of them are Dark Angels." I finally admit.

Nikos eyes widen.

"Wait. Was it just him or all three of them?" Damn he caught on real quick!

I hesitate again. I'm scared of his judgment actually. I don't want him to see me as something that I'm actually not.

"It was just Liam, at first, then it was his brothers. We were all so young and dumb and we were with each other all of the time. It was bound to happen one way or the other. I loved Liam, or at least I thought that I did at the time. I guess you could've called it puppy love or whatever but I cared for him deeply. I still do care for him but now he's like a close friend instead of a lover." I lay it all out on the line to him.

I lie back and wait on baited breath for his reaction or to sense any judgment toward me and over my actions.

Niko laughs. The asshole actually laughs.

"What?" I ask curiosity filling me.

"It's just that I never pictured you being so...open. On first impression I thought of you as like a weak little kitten. You sure fooled me little warrior." I look at him inquisitively.

Weak? I've never ever thought of myself as being weak!

"Well I'm not weak." I tell him in a defensive tone.

"No you are definitely not weak." He concludes, looking at me with wonderment casting in his eyes.

Then it hits me.

I astonish him!

I'm a complete surprise to him! Knowing that he thinks that makes me feel a sense of pride well up inside of me.

"Thanks. So who was your first?" I quickly switch the subject back to him.

"I don't think you know him." Him? Interesting.

"Try me." I challenge him. I actually wondered if his first time was with a girl or a boy?

"He was just a bit older than me. I meet him at a damn bar of all places. He is was on break away from his job at running some type of Academy." He simply states.

No way. Could it be? If it's who I think it is then this is a very strange coincidence.

"Was his name Griffen?" Nikos eyes widen.

"How....how the hell did you know that?" Nikos words start to stumble.

I laugh at his shocked state.

"Because he is my Headmaster at my Academy." I laugh.

"How do....what?" The questioning tone in his voice makes me laugh even harder.

"Relax. You're secrets safe with me." I continue to laugh at his flustered state.

"What?" He ask again. The look he is bestowing me with is make me fluster now. I raise up from the bed, sitting cross legged beside him. Staring down at him.

"You go to an Academy?" He asks. That's what he is so worked up about? Why?

"Yesss." So what if I do? Why does he looked so panic stricken over this bit of information?

"I didn't realize that you did. Which one?" He somberly ask me.

"The Alkine Academy." I state.

"Well I was going. I had to take a break from it for awhile because of...well, you know." I hate to talk about my damn stalker. It's bad enough that I have to deal with him in my sleeping hours but I refuse to let him take over my waking hours.

"But I plan to return soon. Very soon actually." In three weeks time to be exact. I've been gone for far too long because of that demented demon tormenting me! I have to get back to my normal life regardless of his tormenting.

"You can't Starla. You have a guy taunting you for whatever reason. We don't know who he is. We can't take a chance of him finding you until we find all the pieces to this sword to kill him!" His reasoning is sound but I'm tired of putting my life on hold because of this damn stupid ass demon!

"Well I am. I am returning to the Academy in three weeks regardless
if we find him or not." I will not let my stalker win! I can't! He has already taken enough from me!

Niko suddenly slides off of the bed, pacing back and forth in the center of my room desperately.

"Starla you have to realize that if you return back to the Academy that this guy will find you!" Nikos voice keeps rising. He stops his pacing, halting at the end of the bed, staring down at me with his appealing eyes cast upon me.

"No. I don't. What I do realize is that I can't keep living my life this way Niko. When he comes into my dreams it is full of darkness and shadows. But even when I'm awake I'm still stuck in the damn shadows. All I'm doing is hiding! I feel like I'm in a damn prison! I will not allow this asshole to control every aspect of my fucking life!" I screamed.

"Then you're stupid!" I gasp. What the hell!?

"You're stupid because you're allowing him to drag you out in the open! You're only making it easier for him to get to you if you return!" Niko is now screaming. Furiously taking his anger out on me.

"I'm not stupid, you dick! I'm fed up! Fed up with all of it! Why can't you understand that?" I jump up from the bed quickly. Stomping my way over to him, when I reach him I get directly up in his face.

"I will return to the Academy in three weeks! I will continue on with my life and I will find a way to destroy him!" I point my index finger at his chest, poking him with each angry word that I dispel toward him.

"And you can't fucking stop me!" I add.

"Want to fucking bet?" He threatens me.

"Why do you care anyway? You don't even like me!" I yell, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Because you're being totally stupid! You're not fucking thinking Starla! You don't know who to look for, you don't even know what this guy looks like! How are you going to able to defend yourself against an unknown predator?" Niko screams at me even louder.

"What the hell is going on here?" Navin ask, suddenly appearing in the room, interrupting our argument.

I was so lost in my heated moment that I didn't even notice him enter the room.

"Nothing!" Niko and I scream out in unison at Navin.

Well fuck!