7 comments/ 13406 views/ 16 favorites The Shadows in Her Wake Ch. 01 By: LittleIrishDolly Call it Subterfuge...or a rouse...or perhaps just an old fashioned escape...No matter what it was...it did not change the fact that He was likely close behind her. Tyler's eyes searched frantically for something, anything, or anywhere to help her disappear but it was quickly becoming apparent that it would not happen this way. Mikhail would win again...just like he always did...and most likely always would. Tyler hated him for this. She hated him all the time, but she hated him most now as she ran barefoot through the unforgiving snow and stumbled between the trees. Tyler had lived on this land her whole life, and thought she knew it like the back of her hand, but something about the male voices calling out in the distance, and the sound of horses hooves trampling the snow behind her...so close, and yet still unseen...made her forget it all. He was going to find her, and when he did, he would find Aaron as well...She would not go back..she could not...These thoughts drove her forward. The gates where so very close...almost close enough to see. Her chest burned from the effort to keep running, but she ignored it. Freedom was close at hand, and she would not have it stolen from her again...even if she was destined only to have a small taste of it. Tyler shot up in bed, sweat dripping down her forehead and her chest heaving. It had been three years...three whole years and still that nightmare that visited her every so often felt so real. Running her hand through her short black pixie cut hair, she blinked several times before looking at the alarm clock on her bedside table. 3:00am. As good a time as any to get up and go run of the remnants of anger and fear that nightmare always left clinging to her. "Happy Birthday to me." She began humming as she shoved herself out of bed. The moon was filtering in through the window and made her pale white skin look almost luminous as she made her way to the mirror above her dresser and stared into her own eyes for a moment. Cold, icy blue eyes...just like His. She let Mikhail's face float through her thoughts for seconds before shaking her head and shoving him away. It was all over now...he would never get to her again. She thought this meekly, but even as she pulled on a pair of short black running shorts and a tight red tank top, she new it wasn't true. That feeling had returned. The one that made her look about her, watching the shadows suspiciously as though he may at any time materialize from them. The last time she had seen him, she had just turned fifteen...and today she was eighteen, as was her twin brother Aaron. She had no idea where either of them was. "Whatever." Tyler huffed, slamming her dresser drawer closed. The early morning was chilly, the sky above her threatening of snow now and slowly starting to cover up the moon that had lit her way out of her small apartment. It was alright though, she was not there to be warm...she was not there to be comfortable. She was there to run...and run hard, farther and farther away from the image of the 6'2 nightmare that loomed constantly over her. Tyler took off down the pavement away from the apartment building, sprinting with everything she had. It was the only way to feel as though she was still safe...still escaping...and the only thing that kept her from noticing the sleek black limo that followed at a distance behind her. Her breathing began to labor, but she continued, attempting to keep her mind blank and failing miserably... "Hello Tyler..." His voice, that thick russian accent...It could make her heart stop the moment she heard it, every time. That familiar feeling of icy water sliding down her spine returned, but she continued facing the fire, hoping for some semblance of security that only the crackling the flames could provide. Shadows played across the floor, making it seem as though he was anywhere and everywhere at once. She knew though, he was behind her, just waiting for her to move without his permission. "I hear tell...that you woke up late this morning...is that true Tyler?" Mikhail's kept his voice gentle, but Tyler was not fooled. He prowled behind her like a wolf stalking a small fawn. Tyler's felt as though she would faint from fear when she felt the tip of his finger's trace the line of each of her shoulders. "Y...yes...I did...sir..." The tension in the air thickened...almost as though Mikhail had been holding his anger at bay, just waiting for the moment she would confirm it. It was quiet for a moment...until the silence was broken by the sound of leather being pulled through the belt loops of his pants. She heard the belt buckle, the sound of polished black shoes making their way around to face her... She did not dare look up at him. She did not want to see the icy, sadistic glint held in the blue eyes of her step-brother...and Mikhail must have known this as he set a finger under her chin and gently forced her chin upwards. Tyler came to a halt, bending at the waist and emptying what little contents her small stomach held onto the asphalt. "Stop thinking." She snapped at herself as she straightened, and made her way up the stairs of the large catholic church she had come to a stop in front of. As she entered, it was empty, as she knew it would be. It was always empty at this time in the morning, and it was her only refuge. Finding her favorite pew, right up front and kneeling down, she clasped her hands together. "PATER noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum.... " Tyler began, her voice shaky.. "Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris." She tried to ignore the desperate tears beginning to trail down her cheeks as she prayed. Why could she not shake him from her mind!? "Et ne nos inducas in tentationem..." She attempted to finish...but something was wrong. And then all of the sudden, there it was...that perfect russian accent, speaking the rest of her prayer as though he had spoken Latin all his life..."sed libera nos a malo. Amen. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti..." All was quiet for what seemed like hours...but it was simply a few torturous seconds before Tyler mustered the nerve up through the deep black waters of the terror she was already beginning to drown in to whisper, "You found me..." She could almost hear his sneer through the darkness beside her where he stood at the edge of the pew. "As you knew I would...hence why you do not sound at all surprised..." Mikhail whispered, his own voice masking the quiet rage with a calm gentleness...as always. Slowly...and very slowly, Tyler lifted her eyes to gaze at the shadow she felt had been following her for the past three years. He was so handsome, and she had always thought so. Paler then the moon itself, 6'2, a stern, strong jaw, and dark, short brown hair that seemed both messy and neat at the same time. His eyes held the same cruel glint she had always seen there though...he seemed much too young for it, being a man of 29. He wore an expensive black Armani suit, as he always did, with those polished black shoes. Mikhail looked like a King instead of her step-brother as he held a powerful hand out towards her and asked, "You will come with me now, Tyler. Time to go home." He whispered, even as she burst into tears and stood, holding her arm out to him to grab. "Good girl. Come now, before anyone else can see you dressed the way you are. You look like a little slut." He snapped, as his fingers wrapped painfully around her flesh and dragged her the rest of the way out of the pew. "Ya tebya nenavizhu ." Tyler growled. ((I hate you)) Mikhail only laughed, and snaked his hand into her short hair to take a hand full of it and rip her head back to look up at him as they walked. " And I you, mlatshaya seestra." He chuckled, and shoved her through the church doors. ((Yes, this is very short, but I more less put it up here to get a feel for what everyone thinks about it. Please tell me if you would like to hear more and I promise to make the next chapters much longer. Thanks!)) The Shadows in Her Wake Ch. 02 Fear is a curious creature...and when mixed with so many other emotions...emotions that should never be mixed in the same pot, it made everything that much more complicated. Tyler had been staring at Mikhail for almost two hours without saying a word. He would stare back every now and again, daring her to speak a word with dangerous eyes, before directing his attention to his cell phone. A twisted part of Tyler found it comical, even through all the fear, that someone as dangerous as Mikhail new how to text so well...it was even more comical when she thought about how it had looked when he was learning how to text. One could not point a gun or spew threats at phones as one could do with humans. She watched him as he spoke in heavily accented Russian to someone on the phone and visibly began to smile when she thought of him texting something like, "OMG" or "LMFAO." Was it possible for Mikhail Petrova to ever, "LMFAO"? "Would you like to share what is so funny with the rest of the class, Tyler." Mikhail's stern voice yanked her kicking and screaming from her thoughts, but she refused to answer him regardless. Tyler simply scowled at him, and imagined that somehow, her gaze could burn a hole through his head. Mikhail let that cocky sneer pass over his face, and the message it sent was received loud and clear. It read, "Just give me some time, and I will provoke you into making a mistake." He regarded her with curious, but unreadable eyes for a moment, before pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offering her one. She reached out and took one, but never broke the contact held by their eyes. Everything Mikhail did had always had a double meaning. Even the smallest of gestures...Tyler lit up her cigarette and took a long drag off of it. She had never been much of a smoker, but in her eyes, this situation warranted tobacco. "Ah...I know..." Mikhail broke the short silence finally, as he too lit up a cigarette. "And what do you know, brother dearest." Tyler sighed, feeling slightly braver on the other side of the Limo and out of arms reach. Mikhail ignored the sarcasm, and reached into his pocket to pull something else out. "Nadia asked that give this to you tonight." His voice had suddenly turned icy cold again as he let dangle a gold claddaugh ring from his fingers, the perfect and polished green emerald shimmering against the soft glow of light from one of the over head lights. "You do know what this is, do you not?" Mikhail asked, and as the realization dawned on Tyler's face, his expression became almost devilish. "M...m....My mother's ring..." Tyler whispered, dousing her cigarette in the crystal ash tray on one of the center consoles and reaching for it...an action that she immediately regretted when his long fingers wrapped around her wrist and forced her across to sit beside him. "Nadia is still there." Tyler said aloud, though only meaning to think it to herself as she gazed at her mother's ring. "Oh yes...but, she is, thanks to you and Aaron, far better behaved than the day she disobeyed me and helped you run away...I'm afraid that you will not be able to expect her help again..." Mikhail stared at the ring thoughtfully before moving to place it back into his pocket. "That isn't yours!" Tyler shrieked and reached to grab Mikhail's wrist. The whole world stopped for a moment. Tyler stared into his eyes once again, and saw the quiet storm that brewed in them. He had won...again. A rather quick victory she had given him and she knew it. The way he held her gaze caused her almost to feel dizzy...hypnotized...drunk on the power behind the calm exterior of this man. "Tyler...Did I give you permission...of any kind...to touch me?" His voice reminded her of the soft, barely audible growl of a predator making ready to capture it's pray. "No...no Mikhail...I'm sorry..." Tyler whimpered, the ring forgotten as she pulled herself away from him and attempted to escape across the limo once more, but before she had been able to make a move, he had acted. The cruel, merciless fingers that had given her so many nightmares to begin with wrapped quickly around her wrist and dragged her down onto the leather of the seat. In a flash, her arms were pinned above her head and Mikhail hovered over her. "Tyler... I think you have forgotten a few things well you have been away, so allow me to refresh your memory..." Tyler felt him busying with something below her and only began to struggle when she saw that Mikhail had undone his pants and was now busying himself with pulling her shorts down with one hand. "What the fuck..." She began to protest, but the back of his hand flew the air, stopping just before it struck her cheek. Once again, caught like a small trapped animal in the hypnotizing gaze of her brother, Tyler quieted. "Why am I about to do this Tyler?" Mikhail asked dangerously, his lips grazing ever so lightly against hers... "Why am about I about to do this to you Tyler?" Mikhail asked quietly, guiding her to her knees in front of him. Tyler was beyond shaking at this point. She was beyond being scared anymore. Deep down she was actually terrified of her step brother, but her body no longer responded to it as it once did. It was already in too much pain from the daily torment he derived from beating her for seemingly no reason in particular. "Because you can whatever you wish, Mikhail." Tyler repeated this for what must have been the thousandth time since her mother and step father died. Tyler squeezed her eyes shut when she felt the belt snap cruelly against her back. This torment would be quick...he had left her shirt over her back... "Count Tyler." He ordered, obviously irritated that she had made no sound. "One." She allowed a whimper to escape in his voice...hoping it would satisfy him into stopping...it did not.. "Two..." She whimpered again when he continued, the pain in her voice real this time...he was striking harder. "Please don't Mikhail...please not this....you can have any woman you wish, from anywhere in the world...please don't take this from me..." Tyler burst into tears, and began to struggle again. Not this...The pain he always delivered was on the outside. He could never get into her thoughts if she did not wish it. The pain he gave was the only way he had ever been allowed to possess her. Tyler felt terror coursing through her body as she realized he had finally figured out a way to possess her completely. His cruel laugh sang through her thoughts, and this time he let the back of his hand fly, allowing it to continue on it's path and violently strike her cheek. Tyler felt her underwear and shorts slide off...and then Mikhail's large hand was pressed firmly over her mouth as what seemed to be a mind altering pain shot through her. She could not tell how loud she screamed against his hand, or how hard she tried to lift her mouth up to bite him. Pain...pure unadulterated pain. He had pushed his large girth into her without any lubrication and somehow managed to continue to drive it into her over and over again. It was over faster than it began. Mikhail grabbed her jaw and dug his fingers in as he shuddered on top of her, stealing the only thing she had been able to call hers as he came and forced her to stare into his eyes as he did. "You...are...mine...." He growled, giving her a violent shake to accentuate each of his words before he pulled off of her. Tyler watched him, numb to everything except for the pain coursing through her as he readjusted his pants and suit with a grace she never thought possible for someone who had just raped another person so completely. 'Get dressed. I'm sure you would not like your precious brother to see you this way." Mikhail snapped, pulling out another cigarette, lighting it and turning his attention back to his cell phone. Tyler yanked up shorts, and climbed back onto the seat opposite Mikhail. She pulled her knees into her chest and dropped her head onto her knees. "Think of something else..." Her mind urged her. "Aaron." The thought entered her mine...and did not accomplish anything but to make her being to worry. She had not seen him since the night they both ran away...in opposite directions, deciding that it would be best if they split up...it had worked for a little while. The sound of a whip cracking split through her thoughts, followed shortly after by Aaron's pained screams when they had caught him that night. "Do not feel sorry for yourself." Tyler forced herself to think. Nadia, Mikhail's biological little sister who was a year older than Tyler, and Aaron had been with Mikhail the last three years paying for the fact that she ran away...Well now they would be safe...Now she was back...and she would do everything in her power, even it meant going through what just happened a thousand times over, to keep Mikhail's attention off of the two of them. She owed them that much. "This..." Mikhail's voice broke through her thoughts, and almost as though it were against her will, she looked up when he spoke. He was holding her mother's ring...the ring her mother had given her...the ring Mikhail's father Yuri had given to Tyler's mother for no reason at all. "This, you will get back when I feel that you deserve to get it back...and no earlier than that. Is this understood?" Mikhail asked as he dropped the ring back into his pocket. "Yes Sir." Tyler said after a moment, her eyes dropping to the pocket where Mikhail held the memory of her mother hostage. Mikhail's face was blank as he watched her. "You will make it through this Tyler. Just do as I say...and you may actually find yourself the happiest woman in the world one day." Tyler seriously doubted that. The Shadows in Her Wake Ch. 03 There are no erotic scenes in this chapter particularly. I am going to attempt to make up for the horribly, rushed disaster of a chapter that was chapter 2. Please let me know what you think! Thank you very much RomanticRealist for your never ending patience and for all of your helpful ideas! Numbness had been inevitable the moment Tyler had laid eyes on her step brother again. It was like a drug, personally made for her and triggered to enter her blood the moment their eyes had locked. It was this little drug that had saved Tyler from drowning in her own emotions so many times before and it was what would save her now. Everything had happened much too quickly for her to process in the moment and as she glared out the window, letting it settle on her only a few minutes away from the house and the land she had grown up on, she was not the least bit surprised at her step-brother. The fact that he had just raped her...seemed, in a twisted sort of way, what was to be expected from him. Tyler knew that Mikhail had somehow always known as well, that no matter the beating, or the cursing, or the nit picking or anything else he could throw at her, she could push him from her mind and somehow keep him separate from what she considered to be her world. But now...as his cum dripped down the inside of of her leg, she felt her eyes begin to burn.. Tyler refused to allow the scene to play back in her mind, as to do that, was to let Mikhail win. To dwell on it would weaken her, and one could not be weak around Mikhail. Tyler allowed herself to be angry though. Her stomach churned, and her vision swam, but swallowing hard, she kept her mouth shut and said nothing. There had always been a small part of her that somehow knew that Mikhail would one day take her Virginity...Hell, he had taken everything else. To an outsider looking in, her reasoning would seem...fucked up to say the least, but she did not care...Outsiders were not welcomed in this fucked up little world that Mikhail had created for his family, nor would they ever possibly understand it. The Shadows in Her Wake Ch. 03 "Nadia?" Tyler asked carefully, having not listened to the rest of whatever the girl was saying. Nadia nodded, smiling a small smile and holding her hand out to Tyler. "Yes...and your Tyler...very good! You are not as dumb as I thought you were!" Nadia joked, her smile now radiating for the cleverness of her little joke. Tyler pulled her hand away and massaged her temples. Walking away and sitting herself in the chair at the dressing table. "I just don't understand what is going on here." She whimpered, confused. Nadia, Mikhail's biological sister, had always been extremely quiet like Aaron. She was timid, and constantly self-conscious of her English and how she was unable to piece two words together without slipping back into Russian. This made it so she hardly ever spoke...never mind laugh...In fact, as Tyler thought about it, this was the first time she had ever actually seen Nadia smile. But how? The man who had just...raped her...the man who constantly stole everything from her in anyway he saw fit. The man she had been running from for the past three years... "Are you alright, Tyler?" Nadia stepped closer and set her hand on Tyler's shoulder. "I just...this is not the condition I expected to find you in." Tyler muttered in disbelief. Nadia grabbed Tyler's hand again, pulling her to her feet. "Come and take a bath now, I will sit beside you and explain as much as I possibly can before lunch, and then I will help you pick an outfit, and then we can go and have lunch, and then after lunch we will go and take a walk, and then..." Tyler allowed herself to be steered back towards the bathroom, listening to Nadia jabber happily away as she did so in extreme disbelief and confusion.