I awoke to the gentle stroke of Mherr's fingers running through my hair.

I wonder if he'd mind if I called him that.

"Good morning sleepy head." He smiled.

I smiled reflexively in return.

"How did you sleep?"

"Like the dead." I replied "How about you?"

I sat up to stretch not realizing I was still naked from the night before, the comforter falling away to expose my breasts to the morning air.

"Great." He said his gaze descending from mine to my now bare nipples. He reached out to cup my breast and lower me slowly back to the pillow.

In response to his gentle touch I instinctively pulled him closer for a kiss. The tender collision of our lips brief but satisfying.

"You were amazing last night. I didn't expect you to be so.......so." He hesitated searching for the right words.

I cut him off before he could find the words, "I'm so sorry I don't know what came over me. I was in some kind of frenzy, I've never been so forward."

Flashes of last night cascaded into my mind. "I'm sorry I didn't help you out of that cage I just..."

"It's okay. Last night was wonderful Hazel." He interrupted.

Mherr leaned in again to kiss my neck as his fingers traced circles around my now erect nipples. Then he pulled away suddenly sitting up beside me.

"Tease." I protested.

He smiled again, "Your first field assignment is today and as much as I'd like to spend the day in bed with you we need to get ready."

"It's strange being up during the day again." I said sitting up, this time making sure the covers fell away, making a show of what he's missing out on.

"You get used to it. We operate in different time zones so you never really know when your assignment will be until the day before."

He slid out of bed and moved over to his clothes still in a crumpled pile on the floor. My gaze sliding down his body, committing every part of him to memory and noting for the first time the horrific scars carved into his skin. My eyes lingered for a moment on his sculpted ass, taking in the view of as he bent over to retrieve his garments.

Admiring the view, I wondered if I could convince him to play hooky?

Merrick quickly got dressed in the dark stopping to plant a kiss on my forehead as he made his way to the door.

"I'll meet you up in the observatory in an hour, it's attached to the great hall. Oh, Lorelei asked if you could stop by her place before you head down."

"Yeah, of course."

With a final peck he made his way into the hall.

What a fucking night!

I fell back onto the bed as memories of the night before erupted in my brain. I ran through the events again and again in the private theater of my mind. I couldn't help but think of Lorelei and how I lost control of my body. I've had orgasms before but nothing like that.

My cheeks burned a pale red, I've never begged like that before. While I'm not proud of it, I would have done anything for release in that moment and it was worth it.

Her voice whispered in my mind "Good girl."

I couldn't get those words out of my head.

My attention turned Mherr next. The night that we shared, the frenzy that took over me. I can't believe I just took control like that.

How could I be so obedient one minute and then desire that power for myself the next?

I was torn between both experiences, the raw pleasure Lorelei subjected me to, the eagerness to please, the surrender, then the warmth and connection with Mherr.

I yearned to have him inside me again.

Come to think of it though, I really didn't know much else about either of them though.

I reached up to run my fingers over the makeshift cloth restraints still dangling from the headboard. I don't know if I was more excited to employ them once more or find myself in them next.

I got up to take a shower.

After finishing up in the bathroom I quickly pulled on my combat gear and headed for the door.

I made my way to the upper floors, to Lorelei's room. The wall had been repaired and the marble was stain free, regaining its imitation of lighting across the night sky.

However, I could still pick up the faint scent of blood.

Ascending the final few steps I was once again plunged into that familiar darkness.

I knocked on Lorelei's door.

"Come in," came a muffled voice behind the door.

I slipped inside.

"Oh look at that you do have manners."

I stuck my tongue out between my fangs at the bone witch hustling before me. She was bouncing between cabinets around the room, half dressed in her combat uniform and still bare feet.

"I'll be with a you in a moment little bat."

I crossed the room, entranced by the many specimens lining the walls. Rows of herbs hung along the mantle drying in morning air. Half melted candles enclosed the altar on the center table with large deer skull sitting at its heart.

On the far wall hung the skull of a great canine that I hadn't noticed the last time I was here. As I wandered the room I soon found myself next to the ruby eyed Medusa from before. The surface was a smooth, polished onyx.

As I ran my fingers over its finish, I wondered about Lorelei's past, who was she? She appeared at my side clad in her full battle uniform.

"This Medusa." I paused, "Does it mean that you're a........survivor?"

She hesitated. "Yes and now I keep his favorite appendage in a jar. But that is not why I brought you here. I have something for you." Lorelei pointed to a leather bag on a small wooden table in the corner.

I hastily walked over to the table, strewn about it were strands of twine and leather. Unfastening the knot of the sack I pulled open the bag. Feeling my face turn a bright red I pulled out numerous restraining devices which were neatly packed inside, all in matte black, my favorite color.

I quickly recognized a set of handcuffs lying on top of the pile but most of the things in the bag were alien to me. I wasn't sure what the majority of them were for but I wanted to learn.

"That is for the next time we play together, little brat." She purred.

"Tha...Thank you Lorelei." I replied still flustered by the bag of bondage equipment before me.

"I have something else for you." She held out a small vial of pale grey liquid.

Taking the vial from her I held it up in the candle light, Flames dancing across the ornate patterns in the glass. I unscrewed the cap, giving it a cursory sniff it had a sweet smell like pomegranate.

"For the veins." She explained tapping her cheek.

Using the dropper I placed a small dot of the liquid on my wrist gently blending it in.

A perfect match.

"Concealer," I smiled. "How did you know?"

"Call it a woman's intuition."

Packing up my gifts we made a quick stop to deposit them in my room. I placed the concealer in the bathroom by the mirror and the leather bag in the drawer of my nightstand before heading up to the observatory.

Even though the sun was already in the sky Lorelei explained that in the early days of the agency there were many vampires in residence. As such, there were hidden tunnels built into the structure so that they could traverse the grounds even during midday.

The subterranean passages were made from limestone, lined with old paintings of castles and heroic knights. Upon closer inspection the paintings told of grim fates and histories lost to time. Some of the pantings had inscriptions underneath but they were written in symbols I couldn't understand.

Stone statues of armor clad vampires filled reliefs on either side of the tunnel. I stopped to read the etchings at the base of one of the figures, Dreven the Baleful.

Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Evidently no one had made use of these corridors in some time.

We followed the tunnels until they merged with the great stairway that led up to the observatory.

The observatory was connected to the great hall, high above the ground floor it was built to coincide with the star charts above.

This area was currently draped in shadow for my benefit. Two small groups of people stood in the center of the room while the perimeter was made up of twelve others in long robes.

I could tell Merrick and Lorelei were amongst those at the center. Mherr had his combat gear on with extra pouches to hold an assortment of his surgeon blades.

Lorelei stood out from the crowd with the crimson weaving through her hair and our squad insignia on the back of her combat vest.

The other squad began walking over as I noticed a large horned male turning to face me. The insignia on his back marking him as the other squad's leader. He had broad shoulders framed by great membranous wings. The color of his skin was a pale violet but his most striking feature was his eyes. Each pupil surrounded by a burning ring of lilac, those were the eyes of a killer.

"Hazel!" A familiar voice called out.

Ri sprinted towards me nearly tackling me in her embrace. "We get to tear some more bitches a new one."

Ri's squad leader wandered over behind her each movement calm and controlled, the exact opposite of Ri's erratic behavior.

"Our squads will be working together in a joint operation today. Pleasure to meet you, you may call me Kazimir." He stretched out his hand but when I took it for a handshake he bent forward to brush a kiss across my knuckles.

"No one does that shit any more Kaz." Ri waved him off. "You'll have to excuse him, and his weird gargoyle formalities."

Kazimir rumbled out a laugh dropping a kiss on my knuckles anyway.

"My name is Hazel, the pleasure is mine." I stammered flushing a pale pink. I had never seen a gargoyle before let alone been greeted like some kinda fucking queen.

"And this is..."

"Nia, shapeshifter, saboteur." A dark skinned woman stepped from behind Kazimir's shadow. Long black braids hung down to her vest which was covered in demolition equipment. "So exciting to meet a vampire in person."

"Why are our squads teaming up? Is this common in field operations?" I inquired.

"Each squad, while required to perform any task, is also trained in specific areas of expertise. Kazimir's squad specializes in reconnaissance while we are experts in field research and specimen retrieval." Mherr explained.

"Besides this your first field assignment, so we also have extra agents on hand when blooding the new recruits. Just in case. Think of this as the completion of your contract, proving you can stomach the academy." Kazimir explained.

Kazimir and Merrick clasped forearms, their muscles bulging.

"It's always a pleasure to share the field again with the Red Surgeon."

"It's great to see you too Kaz."

"The Red Surgeon?" I questioned.

"During the Draconic Rebellion this guy saved many lives performing battlefield surgeries as a combat medic. You could see him on the front lines carrying others back to safety covered in blood. Of course, back then, no one knew who he was. Only that a surgeon in red had saved them."

"I thought you said you were a licensed PA?"

"I am a licensed PA, my advanced medical degrees are not from schools, let's say accredited, by the mortal world."

Kazimir turned his attention to me again, "It will be nice to have another squad with air support."

Lorelei stepped into the conversation. "Our little bat has yet to find her wings."

Embarrassed he bowed, "Pardon me for making assumptions, I didn't know."

"No worries, to be honest I didn't even know that I could fly." I admitted.

Let's put a pin in that for later.

"Alright, listen up." Commanded Lorelei. "We've received reports of missing persons in the country side, a number of which have been children. Mr. Klein has sent us to investigate. Kazimir squad you'll be on recon duty, your drop zone is closer to the surrounding towns. See what you can dig up and radio us with what you find."

"Understood." Kazimir's deep tone reverberated.

I wonder if Lorelei always rises to seize overall command of an operation.

"Lorelei squad we'll take the lead. We're dropping down near where the latest victim was last seen. Hazel, you'll take point, time to put your blood tracking skills to the test."

Take point? Me?

"Do you think that's wise Lorelei?" Asked Merrick.

"She'll manage." Replied Lorelei.

"Yes Ma'am" I quickly replied regaining my focus.

Lorelei smiled.

Hazel? She never calls me by my name.

The room began to darken, all other light extinguished save for the celestial bodies above. In the low light comets could be seen streaking over head amidst a sea of stars.

The witches lining the room rose to their feet, clutching talismans or whispering prayers I could not understand.

The star charts above began to move, celestial bodies and cloud formations passed over head as if the globe beneath us was spinning.

Each of the twelve witches standing about the chamber was chosen to maintain and operate the observatory. Each practitioner of Astrological magic can only weave and interact with their own star signs thus each priestess was not just selected because of her mastery of the craft but also the date of her birth.

One of the witches began to trace lines in the air creating a culmination of dots made of pure light. The patterns she wove began to coalesce into the outline of a constellation.

At the other end of the observatory another witch was weaving lines of her own. The two constellations forming a section of starlight looking down upon the earth. In this light the natural ley lines of the planet were suspended in miniature before us.

This would be our compass.

The energies of the observers would allow us to teleport to the coordinates of those ley lines closest to where we needed to go, tapping into natural places of power.

We centered over a point in England. A large ancient circle of stone slabs, Stonehenge.

At least I had some idea of where the hell we were going.

"Mherr?"

He smiled. "Yes Hazel?"

"Who lived in the room I am staying in before me?

"What do you mean?"

"I was thinking about it and my room had already been furnished before I died on the doorstep. But there's no way it could have been set up for me, there's lavish bedspreads and a library full of books older than my grandmother. It must have belonged to a vampire long before I became one. The light blocking curtains and the unique crystal that actually shows my reflection, That all couldn't have been for me there's no way you knew I was coming."

"She was a very dear friend of ours." Lorelei cut in. "And what happened to her was a tragedy. I will not speak of it now, I won't reopen those old wounds here."

Mherr looked away.

Lightning arced above flying between the constellations overlooking the English countryside. Electricity licked the walls of the chamber, the brightness growing ever more intense until everything was white.

Then we were gone.

A thunderclap rang out as we arrived. Lighting arced off the ground in great horizontal discharges indicating the ley lines used to pinpoint this location.

There was now only three of us amidst the settling dust.

Lorelei and Merrick put in a small earbud attached to their vest. I followed suit only slightly fumbling.

"Lorelei squad in position over." She radioed.

A burst of static came through as I finally secured the bud into my ear.

"Copy that. Kazimir squad.....drop successful. Ri Ri and Nia heading into the village now, over."

"Copy." Replied Lorelei. "Most of the disappearances have been reported in the marshes to the east. Take point little bat."

Green grass could be seen growing in all directions, climbing up the rolling hills and down along the streams and marshes.

As we made our way up into the hills rain began to fall.

In the darkness we could make out fog crawling across the countryside, it hung close, the visibility deteriorating.

Static was constantly interfering with communication. Kazimir squad had been in touch but only when they could get through. Eventually I picked up the scent of blood, fading footprints in the mud reaffirming we were on the right trail.

In the thick fog even my eye sight was limited but for Mherr and Lorelei it was blinding. They both touted high end LED flashlights but the most they could see was a few feet in front of them.

I thought on numerous occasions I heard the sounds of children playing in the puddles around us but it was so faint over the sound of rain I couldn't be sure. Every time I looked behind no one was there.

".....in Lorelei squad.....Kazimir over."

"Say again Kazimir."

A new voice could be heard screaming in the background. "......find my son please..."

The scent of blood grew stronger as we approached the marshes.

This place smelled of death. It reeked of blood, old blood, human blood. The scent of the vital fluid however did not arouse me, this was tainted.

The fog clung tighter near the marshes. Dark pools of water, ominously still, reflected the flashlights shone across them.

The silence was eerie, where was the native fauna?

The static was almost impenetrable now. "..........Greenteeth.......locals call.......Greeteeth."

"What did he say Mherr? Try and get a better signal. I want the damn coms back up!" Lorelei ordered.

I heard a rustle in the reeds. Hesitantly I crept over to investigate becoming one with the darkness. As I peered into the black water I could hear the faint sounds of children singing nursery rhymes and playing in puddles again.

In an instant a rotting face split the water's surface, long scaly arms stretched out as sharp claws sank deep into my skin. I let out a scream as I stood face to face with a sodden hag trying to drag me into the depths.

The algae and water vegetation growing on her back vibrated with the piercing cackle that echoed from her thin lips. My eyes fixated on her needle like fangs dripping with murky water.

I felt my self giving ground, despite my enhanced strength, the mud was causing me to slide over the edge.

Then in flash, almost too fast for the eye to see wide gashes split the creatures arms. A shower of black blood rippled into the water. The connective tissue of the muscle was rent from the bone. The aquatic demon flailed as its useless arms fell slack.

That's when I felt Mherr's arm around my waist as he simultaneously held me in place and lanced out with his scalpel piercing several vital points. Scooping me up he leapt backward clearing us from the path of the collapsing beast, tousled ebony locks hanging over his forehead from the sudden burst of speed.

Still in shock I looked again at the creature, viscera dripping from its claws. Years of gorging itself on human blood had rendered it into a demon.

Is this what I could become?

As I snapped back to reality, overcome with emotion I hugged Mherr. "Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome babe. Now let me have a Quick look at your shoulder."

I winced as he unbuttoned the top of my combat vest pulling my sleeve and bra strap off of my shoulder. Lorelei was already by my side, flashlight transfixed on my wound.

Which to my surprise was already healing, the pain melting away.

"One of the many perks of being a vampire." He jested. "Now would you please stop going near monster infested waters."

"You came this close to fucking it up." Gestured Lorelei.

"Leave her by Lorelei, everyone is safe and that's what matters."

Merrick stood over the eviscerated creature. "Why don't you and the others go back Lorelei, I still have some work to do here."

He pulled a small piece of paper from his pouch covered in symbols that were unknown to me. Running it quickly along the blade of his scalpel it began to ignite, the blade turning a molten orange. Though it popped and sizzled in the down pour the heat didn't relent.

"I'll be back in an hour or two." He said as he knelt down to cut into the corpse, the meat instantly cauterizing in the blistering heat.

"Alright, alright, how about a girls night? I could use some retail therapy and you could probably use some new clothes. You can even invite your little raven friend to go shopping as well, the two of you are always stalking about in all black like some moody teenagers."

I obliged. Maybe spending some together would do us some good, I needed an opportunity to try out my new concealer anyway.

Lorelei generously took the three of us out to dinner claiming that money was of no issue to the head of the Alderwood family. I thanked her repeatedly for the meal anyway.

With our first PDLA paycheck in hand we set out for town with money to burn.

Even outside the agency Lorelei had her shit together. Dressed up for a night out she was gorgeous with her hair up, sporting dark round sunglasses and candy red lips. At her side was a black purse the sides of which resembled the laces of a corset. Black pumps added to her already impressive stature.

She, however, always wore her bone bracelets.

From the restaurant we headed to the outlets in a nearby town using the cover of night to blend in with the mortal population. The store we settled on was in near complete darkness anyway with loud music drowning out the possibility of anyone eavesdropping our conversation.

Everything I picked was black, of course. Ri and Lorelei helped by suggesting new outfits, the latter embarrassing me with a gift, a choker necklace that bordered on being a collar.

By the end of it Ri had just added to her "moody teenager" wardrobe. "I wore whatever they wanted for 20 damn years in that shithole. I'll wear whatever I want from now on." She said.

I don't blame her.

Upon returning to Stienbach and Klein I said my goodbyes and dragged myself up to my room. It had been a long day and I was really looking forward to my day off.

I unlocked the door and dumped my bags on the table. Digging through my haul I folded the new clothes to put them away. I felt embarrassment come over me again as I folded the last pair of jeans revealing the choker underneath.

As I picked it up Lorelei's voice entered my mind, "Good Girl."

I had to know what it felt like.

Did I want this? Was I really a submissive?

I slipped out of my dress and headed for the bathroom. This was still the only mirror that showed my reflection.

I stood there naked, the bottom of my feet cold from the tile floor as I fastened the choker around my neck. I couldn't deny I liked the way the thin black leather looked and the little gold bat hanging in the center reflecting in the light.

I exited the bathroom to take the new necklace off and my eyes went to the drawer of my nightstand.

I knew I should let them be but I had to know how it felt. I had to know before I was in that situation again.

I opened the drawer and began to slip the cuffs on. I would just lay back on the bed and imagine myself in them, surrendering again to Lorelei's advances.

With jolt I swung the connecting chain between the cuffs over the head board, they caught behind the carving of the black rose.

I laid back, eyes closed and legs spread.

Was this the position I so desperately wanted to find myself in?

Those words once again ran through my mind only this time I heard Mherr's voice instead.

"Good Girl."

I was already wet fantasizing about it.

I guess I had my answer.

I remained prone thinking of Mherr, his gentle touch, the muscles of his back, and the throbbing erection between his legs

My cheeks were on fire.

Down girl, I thought.

As I closed my eyes a second time I couldn't help but think of Lorelei, her nails tracing lines down my cheek, the softness of her breasts, the taste of her lip gloss.

I heard a knock at my door.

I froze.

I went to swing the chain free from the headboard. It was stuck, caught underneath the petals of the wooden rose. I tried again to wrench it free, being careful not to break the headboard. After all this room wasn't mine and I could tell whose ever it was meant something to Mherr and Lorelei.

Who could possibly be here? I'll just wait a moment, they will think I'm not here and go away.

"Hazel are you in there?" It was Ri, "I've got something to tell you girl." She sounded to be in a good mood.

Once she realizes I'm not here she'll just go away and I can follow up with her later.

The doorknob jiggled causing me stave off a panic attack even though I know I locked it when I came home from the outlets.

I cautiously increased the tension of the chain connecting the cuffs but it wouldn't budge. With my strength I could bend iron but the restraint held fast.

The knob turned and the door creaked open.

I swear to god my heart pounded beneath my ribs again.

I yanked the cuffs again nearly tearing the rose off the headboard, the wood cracked with the strain.

I looked down between my knees to see Ri staring back at me.

"Oh my Hazel." She giggled. "And I thought I was a bad girl."