Master

She tossed and turned, her face showing the pain she was feeling. Sweat beaded across her forehead and she growled in her throat, seeing his face.

"Say it...admit it to me and to yourself sweet tigress." He ran his nail along the bottom of her chin, lifting her face to his. A sadistic grin plastered across his face.

She narrowed her eyes and spit in his face, speaking through clenched teeth. "No. You will NOT break me, leech."

The vampire bared his fangs and sank them into her neck, causing her to scream in her dream as well as her sleep. He pulled hard from her body and her eyes opened wider. She felt like he would rip her throat out.

"Do it. Do. It." She whispered. He pulled back to look at her with curiosity. She finished her request. "Kill me. But I'll never....ever call you master." He licked his lips and chuckled.

Leaning down close to her ear, he taunted her by four words. "I....killed....your.....mother." He chuckled again and pulled back, grinning triumphantly. She growled and a roar escaped her mouth as she pulled as hard as she could against the chains. Her body shifting into tiger form. As much as he tormented her just to get her to shift so he could put some kind of collar on her that prevented her from changing back to human, she finally did it and didn't care about repercussions. The cuffs fell from her once human hands and ankles and hit the ground. She lunged forward and snarled a growl again.

She screamed and snarled in her sleep, fighting someone.

Tolvin was pulling Rochelle's door shut quietly after checking on her when he heard the shouting from Miss Sevti's rooms. Strange...she normally slept with Mr. Quinn. He latched Rochelle's door and smiled before walking over to the other door, knocking lightly. When there was no answer, but more shouting, he looked down the hall to see if Mr. Quinn was coming. When he saw no movement, he pulled out his security key and opened the door. He pushed it away from him and saw Miss Sevti thrashing around on the bed in some sort of nightmare. He moved close and tapped her leg, trying to wake her. The next think he knew, she had kicked him in the chest and knocked him to the floor. He reached for his radio to find that the impact had smashed it. He looked up, seeing her moving and yelled out.

"Miss Sevti! Wake Up! Wake Up!"

She only saw him...she saw the grin on his face, the sneer that he had won. His vampire strength was a bit stronger than her own but she would not let him get away. She felt his hand on her leg and kicked hard, getting him away.

She gasped and sat up, her eyes open but she wasn't in this time. She was still in her dream and the man standing before her...was him. She curled her lip back and lunged for him, straddling him and reeling her balled fist back to slam against his jaw. NEVER! I'll never say it! I won't! You are.  NOT. My master!!"

She let all of her emotions out as she beat on the person beneath her. She scratched at his face and felt him struggling to move, restraining her wrists. She let out a primal growl and freed one of her hands to jab on the side of his chest. Hearing a crack and feeling satisfaction.

Tolvin felt his ribs break under her attacks and knew he could no longer hold back. He had no choice but to act. He used his legs to pin her arms at her sides, shifting to straddle her and screamed into her face. Holding his ribs with one arm, he slapped her across the face, wincing from the pain the movement caused.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP, YOU CRAZY BITCH!"

She felt the slap and gasped, her eyes opening wide as her vision cleared and her balled fists holding onto her attackers shirt released. She blinked rapidly and smelled blood, not her own. By the scent of the person on top of her it was human and male. She shoved him hard off of her and quickly got to her feet.

"Wha--what the hell are you doing in here? Were you..." She narrowed her eyes at him and by the rip of her own silk lingerie, she quickly assumed he had tried something. She pointed a finger at him, "you're lucky it wasn't worse. Where the fuck do you get off thinking I'd want you."

When she pushed him back, he rolled instinctively and winced at the pressure it put on his ribs. He stood, shakily, and leaned against the doorpost.

"Don't flatter yourself, Miss Sevti. My tastes go in a different direction."

As he heard the other team coming down the hall, he waved them off, pulling the door shut with a wince.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Miss Sevti. I tried to wake you and you attacked me. Who would you call 'Master'? That is who you screamed at. Now...if you will excuse me..."

He gave her an accusatory look as he felt the blood trickling from the cuts on his face.

"..I have to get to the infirmary to get my ribs tended to."

He shook his head as he turned to leave.

She scoffed and went to speak when he shut the door, telling her she had been dreaming. When he said the word 'master' she felt like she would hurl. Stumbling back a bit, she reached out to grab the bedpost for balance, feeling like her whole world was falling. Slowly, she sat at the edge of the bed and turned on the lamp. She looked back over at him and took on his appearance. His lip was busted and there were cuts around his eye. He held his ribs and she knew she had really messed up.

He moved towards the door and she stood, her voice low but pleading which was unlike her. "Don't....please don't mention this to anyone. Please?"

He turned back to face her, tasting his blood on his lips.

"And just what am I supposed to tell the medic when he asks what happened? I am not going to walk around here with broken ribs to play nice with the one who gave them to me. Tell me, Miss Sevti..."

He looked her in the eyes.

"...do you happen to know anyone with the skills to wrap broken ribs that is NOT our medic?"

She looked away from him, angry at how stubborn he was being. She turned back after he asked who she knew and she stood quickly.

"Rochelle. She--she is trained in first aide and has many medic certifications. I made her get them since she was some caregiver to my son when I was away. Tell her it was a vampire attack, bar brawl, something. But I am asking you nicely, please...do not mention this to anyone. Please."

She knew she was asking for a lot and she felt bad for hurting him. Her nightmares had never been so intense before. She looked into his eyes and pleaded, desperate for him to not say anything.

He looked down for a minute and smiled. He looked up and into her eyes again.

"We all have our demons to deal with, Miss Sevti. I know that better than most. Call her in, and tell her what you wish. Remember this agreement, Miss Sevti, as I may call on you to repay the favor sometime."

He moved to a chair in the room and nodded to her, wincing as he sat down.

She nodded and sighed. "I do not like to owe anyone, but I have hurt you and I must make amends. I'll...have Rochelle meet you in your quarters. I'm sure she knows the location." She added with a grin, knowing something was going on.

Pointing to the shower, she cleared her throat and moved to the desk for her phone. She sent a quick text to Rochelle and headed for the shower, glancing at the clock to see it was 4 am. She closed the door behind her and closed her eyes as she leaned against it.

Tolvin smiled when she mentioned Rochelle knowing where his rooms were. He had to admit she was right. If she only knew that Rochelle slept in his rooms half the time. He winced as he stood and left the room. The other team was still outside and he ignored them as he went to his quarters and closed the door. He peeled off his shirt, looking at the bruises in the mirror as he waited for Rochelle.

The constant buzzing of her phone make her open one eye to check. She read the text and jumped up, both eyes sleepily opening. She re read the text and jumped out of bed, grabbing the large first aid kit from the closet that she kept with her at all times and rushed to the west wing.

She opened the door quietly, still half asleep as she peered in. He was standing in front the full length mirror, turned to his side as he winced. She could see there was a break by how his side looked. When he turned to face her, she gasped at all the cuts and bleeding lip. Covering her mouth, she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"H--how did you...I mean you're such a good shot. I-I- why did you let them hurt you!" She was slightly angry at him because she was so afraid of losing him too to vampires. "She told me. Vampires." Shaking her head, she moved forward. "You should stop trying to be a hero." She placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

Tolvin laughed softly, wincing as his hand went to his ribs. He stood, moving to a better spot for her to work on his wounds.

"Nobody's perfect."

He pasted a smile on his face, trying to hide at least some of the pain.

She helped him to sit on the bed and grabbed her medical bag, kneeling before him. She pulled the things she would need out and set them around her
Pouring saline into a small container, she dipped the gauze into the solution and lifted herself on her knees.

She looked at him and smiled softly. "This may...sting a little." She slowly applied the gauze to his cuts, cleaning them out. Wincing when he groaned.

He hissed a bit when he felt the sting, but smiled as her touch. He tried to lean in and steal a kiss, but he winced and clutched his ribs.

"Such wonderful bedside manner..."

He forced a smile.

She winced when he hissed and knew it must have stung. She dipped the gauze in the saline again and repeated it, cleaning the other cuts. She smiled when he complimented her bedside manner and looked down as she worked.

"You're saying that now...but I'll have to wrap your ribs next." She looked up at him and leaned forward as she wiped the blood from his lip. Softly she pressed a kiss to his lips and moved back, shaking her head. "You scared me tonight." She admitted. She was still fearful of losing him to vampires just like Nik.

Grabbing the ace bandage, she looked back up and smiled softly. "So...ready for the worst?" She bit her bottom lip, not looking forward to causing him pain.

He winced as he pulled the t-shirt over his head, dropping his arms quickly. He grumbled under his breath.

"Your Mistress is going to owe me for tonight..."

Tolvin realized what she might read into that, trying to think fast. His mind went blank as he tried to think of a way to explain that statement without...

Her face pained as she watched him remove his shirt and wince. She saw the bruises setting in and knew she had to assess his injuries.

Hearing him mumble something about a mistress, she wasn't sure she heard right. "I'll need to...check to see how many are broken. Are you ready?" He gave a reluctant nod and she reached up to feel around the area, locating the breaks. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Before he could speak, she pressed her fingers down and added pressure to feel the break.

Pulling away quickly after his agonizing groan, she winced. "Only two. Not fully severed. Bad thing is they just have to heal on their own. Which means...YOU need to learn how to take it easy and allow them to heal. Which means no more vampire fighting." She realized the time again and added, questioning him. "And why were you out so late? Did one of them come onto the property." She hadn't heard fully what he murmured earlier but if she heard right and he said mistress, then was Tij attacked?

"I was doing my patrols and heard something..."

He bit back his words, trying to simply stop. He knew he could not lie to her, but Miss Sevti asked him not to tell anyone. He thought carefully before continuing...

"I heard something and went to check it out. To keep the story short, I ended up getting tossed around a bit before the problem was resolved..."

He looked down, unable to look in her eyes while he held back part of the story.

"It...wasn't a...vampire. It was....never mind. Just don't worry about it it won't happen again. It was nothing."

She listened to his story, noting how he couldn't look at her. She knit her brows together in concern and moved to sit next to him on the bed. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she shook her head. "Nothing surely did a number on you. I...I do worry about it because I do...care about you. You worry about those you care about. Don't think you have to be that strong invincible man in front of me, Tolvin. I can handle it. But I won't push you."

She stood and stooped down to pick up the bloody gauze and tossed them away in the trash. Silently, she grabbed the bandage and moved to kneel behind him on the bed. Unraveling it slightly, she reached under his arms and placed the bandage against him, her mouth close to his ear. She had to distract him from the pain he was about to feel. "Close your eyes. Focus on my voice." She whispered. He was tensed up, she could see it by how his shoulders were raised. She pulled the bandage against him and began to wrap tightly. Her small hands working around him as she whispered.

"Think about the first time you kissed me. How the whole world seemed to stop, just for a moment. How nervously clumsy I was and spilled tea everywhere." She smiled at the memory and continued to wrap, almost done. "Think about how I feel in your arms. Skin against skin." She just had to secure it and she'd be done.

As she spoke, he closed his eyes, letting her words guide his thoughts. He could still feel what she was doing, but buried the feelings under her voice and the memories she spoke of. He felt his body relax to a point and whispered to himself.

"Nightmares can be a dangerous thing in this house."

He laughed softly at his own joke, smiling and imagining holding and kissing her.

She heard his whisper and finished securing the bandage. Moving off the bed, she walked around to face him and knelt before him and placed her hands on his knees, looking up at him.

"I know. I've heard you murmur things in your sleep. Dangerous, no. Tijgerian has them a lot. Hers...they're inten-" she stopped speaking and shook her head slowly.

"She...she did this didn't she? Tolvin...what happened?" Her voice rose a few octaves and she stood, nervously waiting for his answer. Had she hurt him in her sleep like she did once before to her? Trying to wake her when she was deep into the nightmare was nearly impossible.

"She was in deep, Rochelle. It was not her intent to harm me. She was still seeing her demon."

He rubbed his bandaged ribs and laughed softly, wincing.

"Perhaps I went about waking her the wrong way. I was surprised...she has been sleeping...um.."

He blushed.

"I'm rambling...I should probably shut up now."

She shook her head slowly, disappointed that she lost control again. She refused to take any medication for her obvious problem and now more people were getting hurt. She reached up to touch his face and smiled softly.

"You're not...rambling. It's fine. She has been sleeping in John's room...but she didn't tonight." She sighed. "I swear I think their relationship is toxic. She's a very stubborn woman and she can be...mean sometimes. I'm just sorry you got hurt in the process." She looked away from him and moved to put the rest of the supplies in her bag, zipping it up.

"You don't have to defend her. She lied to me..." The text had said there was a vampire attack and Tolvin needed medical help. It had made her heart drop in her stomach and her whole body shake with fear. She felt the tear ready to fall and wiped it away quickly. She stood and lifted the bag, her back to him as she set down the bag on the table. "I was so scared I'd lose you..." She said in a soft whisper he'd probably never hear her.