Astrea

Monster they called me...

Cold, cruel, frightening...incapable of love, of pity...of mercy...

I was a child when I first discovered my full power, it was far too much for someone so young...but I received it anyway. Everyone, from other children, to adults...thought I was a monster, an abomination...obviously cursed by the goddesses themselves for defying nature as a hybrid. My mother's powerful magic and my father's deadly venom creating a terrifying monstrosity that shouldn't ever have existed in the first place...

Everyone calls me the Siren of the Snow.

With no home, no family left, or any dreams of a normal life...I turned to the one thing that was left, my powers...and what exactly I could use them for. I went to the one place that would welcome me with open arms, that would want my abilities...

I.C.E., the Interspecies Criminal Enforcement agency.

With no where left to go, I followed in my father's footsteps and became an enforcer...someone who handles the worst of the worst in regards to supernatural criminals, who ensures that they are punished for their crimes. Starting as a new cadet at ten years old, I quickly worked my way up the ranks...until I became leader of the elite teams at just sixteen, and have remained in this position for the past seven years...my skills making me the best at taking down the most powerful criminals.

I guess in a way, I really am a monster...for how can you destroy monsters without becoming one yourself?

Sighing, I halt in my steps, my breath barely warmer than the frigid air around me as it forms the lightest of puffs in front of me. Pressing a finger to the earpiece in my left ear, I check in.

"Astrea to base, checking in." I say, keeping it simple.

"Loud and clear Astrea, you're within three miles of the target." A man's voice answers, and I immediately recognize the Director of I.C.E. on the other end.

"Remember your orders Astrea...the target is to be immediately taken out upon their location. He's extremely dangerous, and is not to be taken alive..."

Director Xavier's orders echo loudly in my ear as I continue my way through the shadow of the trees, the cold wind whipping the air around me and through my clothes. Most would be bothered immensely by the cold, biting wind...but I personally love it, thrive in it...I'm a winter mage after all, and my vampire half isn't bothered by the frigid temperature.

"He's killed three of our best enforcers, after killing over a dozen humans for sport."

Narrowing my eyes, I continue on my path, quickly hopping from one tree branch to the next, the evergreens blanketed with snow and ice crystals.

"Understood sir." I answer, ending it at that.

The man I'm after is another monster, who's death is even more desired by the Agency because of what he's done. I'm officially the fourth enforcer to be sent after him, he's brutally killed the three that came before me...so it's plainly obvious that my orders are to show no mercy.

In the end, he'll be yet another victim of mine...his last breath will be a dying scream of terror that will echo in my mind for the rest of my existence.

Take no prisoners is my specialty...my curse.

I come to a stop as I reach the edge of the forest, looking out over the snowy expanse of land to see a small log cabin, its chimney expelling smoke into the darkening sky. According to the report, this is one of his many hiding places out in Alaska...and from how it looks, he's definitely home.

"I'm moving in." I murmur into my comm before dropping down into the knee deep snow, my mage abilities allowing me to move silently through it. The second I reach the cabin, I duck behind the wall with no windows, automatically spotting my way inside the house.

The outdoor circuit breaker.

Quietly, I open it up and make quick work of shutting off everything, making the lights go out through the whole cabin. It isn't long before I hear a man's voice cursing in surprise, so jump up onto the roof just as the back door opens...once he starts moving to the back of the house, I drop back down and dart inside, jumping up to hide in the rafters until he returns...carefully balancing on a wooden beam just as the dim lights come back on.

As his footsteps enter the house I draw out one of my guns, the beretta loaded with silver bullets potent enough to take down the largest of bear shifters...which is exactly what this man is. As the door shuts behind him he pauses, a soft growl rumbling from his chest as he raises his nose in the air and inhales deeply...

He knows I'm here.

I drop down to the floor just as he turns to face me, and I waste no time in knocking him onto his back hard enough to make him grunt, my vampire speed giving me the advantage. As he tries to get up I press my boot clad foot against his chest, aiming my gun right between his eyes...and he immediately stills, his shock giving me time to look him over.

Thane Auberon, he looks exactly like his file photo with his black hair and hazel eyes. He doesn't look as old as his file says he is, seeming closer to twenty three instead of twenty nine...then again, looks can be deceiving.

He's handsome, I have to admit that...but his looks doesn't change my orders in the slightest.

I use my empty hand to remove the adhesive eyepatch over my right eye, opening it to allow the milky iris to gaze into his hazel depths...the birth defect of mine allowing a different kind of sight.

But what I see leaves me in shock, my mind reeling even before his scent of warm apple pie and whip cream hits my nose...my hearts cry of mate is just as loud as the other one..

Innocent...

Thane

I've never been more conflicted than I am right now.

On the one hand, I'm staring up at my mate...her alluring scent filling the air around me with a crisp, floral aroma that stirs my blood...making a low rumbling purr vibrate through my chest. Her sweet undertone tells me she's a vampire...but I honestly don't care about that at all.

She is truly beautiful, with pale skin almost as white as snow, short platinum blonde hair that hangs over one of her ice blue eyes...and black lipstick that draws my attention to her full lips.

The only thing that I'm conflicted about is why she's pointing a gun right between my eyes, which I know for certain is loaded with silver bullets.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I should be terrified or aroused.

~Are you just going to sit there and stare at her? Or are you going to try and talk her out of shooting you?~ My bear, Kion, interrupts urgently...pulling my attention back to the fact that she's one twitch away from putting a bullet in my head. Trying to distract myself from how good she looks dressed in all black, her leather pants hugging her long legs and showing off her fit form...

Looking up at her face, my eyes widen a little as she moves her ice blonde locks out of her face...revealing that her covered eye isn't blue like I thought, but a milky silver...with no real pupil.

She's partially blind...

Her expression is filled with disbelief, the gun wavering a bit in her grasp as she stares deeply into my eyes.

~Now would be good time to start talking boy...~ Kion reminds me, and I swallow hard before clearing my throat.

"Now beautiful...I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but if you put the gun down maybe we can talk about it?" I say with my most charming smile, making my normally gruff voice as polite as possible. Her eyes narrow in response, the hesitation in her face mixing with confusion...

"Please Snowdrop? You're making me a little nervous..." I plead, and just as she opens her mouth to say something, another voice echoes into the air.

"Agent, what's your status?" An authoritative voice calls out, and her hand lingers over the piece in her ear. The action raises up her coat to show her belt, exposing another gun in its holster...and a gold badge clipped to her belt. I recognize the acronym engraved on it...

I.C.E.....my mate is an enforcer, that part is obvious, just what exactly I did to bring an enforcer to my house is not. I admit I'm no saint, I've gotten into some trouble as a teenager, but I certainly haven't done anything warranting a gun in my face.

"Agent, I repeat, what's your status?" The man's voice repeats, and her eyes flicker back and forth from me to the earpiece in conflicting debate.

"I promise Snowdrop, whatever I've been accused of...I didn't do it..." I say vehemently, and after a second she composes her expression and nods, lowering her gun. I sigh in relief...thank Goddess she believes me...

"Agent! Sit-rep! Now!" He orders, and she pulls the piece out of her ear and throws it to the floor, taking the foot she's been pressing against my chest and smashing the device into tiny pieces. Her face fills with a slew of emotions before turning to me, placing the patch back over her blind eye.

"Get what you need, we need to move." She says at last, her soft smoky voice giving me chills...in a good way. I nod and get up, her slim figure looking fragile next to me...her eyes just reaching my chest. Despite her appearance, I know deep down she's far more dangerous than she looks...and not just because of her guns.

I quickly grab my bag and stuff my things inside, a fairly quick process since I haven't really unpacked yet...I just got here a few hours ago, this being one of the favorite rental houses of mine. I return to the front door to see my mate standing at the window, peeking out the curtain silently, her weapon back in it's appropriate holster.

"Let's go, backup is coming soon." She murmurs, and I follow her out the back door, her fast pace nearly makes me jog in an effort to keep up.

We hop inside my rental truck, and the second I crank it up I take off...not even bothering to buckle up. Not even a minute afterwards I see something coming up behind us fast, and the sound of a low hiss is the only thing I hear before my mate disappears out of the cab and reappears in the bed of the truck...the long tails of her black coat whipping wildly in the wind.

"What is she-?" I start, only to watch in amazement as large spikes of solid ice appears at the flick of her outstretched hands, the large vehicle behind us doesn't have time to react before crashing into the barrier, the sharp ice piercing through the vehicle like a hot fork through butter...and my jaw slacks as she reappears in the cab like a ghost, not able to come up with anything to say until long after we watch the vehicle explode, the passengers barely able to get out in time.

I have so many questions swirling in my head as we race through the night, but as I stare out at the road I decide to start with the most important one.

"What...what is your name?"

She stays quiet for a while, and just as I think she isn't going to answer, I watch her blue eye flicker in my direction.

"Astrea...Astrea Zima."