**This is the last part! I hope you all have loved this story! Read A/N at end for more on what I have to say. I'll let you read for now!
The world became my training ground. People became subjects to test my disguises on. I never stopped running, never stopped chasing. I lived for the night. I lived in the night. I rose with the fall of the sun. I travelled all over the world, gaining experience everywhere I could. My body changed. It grew in strength, resilience, grace. Before I had to focus on finding my center, now I had to focus to leave it.
He followed me all the while. The selfish part of me would keep him close. Each time I erased my trail, I would leave him a trace when I moved again. He never gave up, never stopped following. I thought he would give up after one year. When he didn't, I thought two years would be the end. Tomorrow would be three years. I would find him tomorrow. Tonight though, he was better off following.
I stood in shadow, watching him on a bench. The sun was setting, but like me he was just getting started. Somewhere along our travels he had started living on my time schedule. Soon. Soon I would be able to return to him.
I turned and headed away from him. I traveled through back streets until I found the building that I needed. After surveying the building I decided on my point of entrance. I worked my way up to the second floor window and swung in. I laughed as I traveled through the room, the couple too busy in the bedroom to realize that a stranger had just walked through their hotel room.
I casually rode as high as I could in the elevator then broke into the locked stairwell. How could he not have anyone around here? Was he that stupid, or was I? I pushed the door open to the top floor and slipped out. His door was right in front of me. Waiting.
There was only one guard, and I took him out without a problem. I stole his access card and entered the room.
"Three years. I never found you after you left the school. Where have you been hiding?" His voice was cold, emotionless.
I matched me tone with his. "Biding my time I suppose."
"Well, enough talk. Let's see if you have learned anything new while... biding your time."
I easily caught his movement and stopped him. "Better. Let's try something a little harder."
He attacked again. This time instead of simply blocking him I immediately moved into my own attack. In ten seconds I had him pinned on the ground. "No game playing tonight. I'm done with you and your games."
"Even if you kill me now, I have set up something that will keep going. You think you're done with my games? You've just left start."
I moved my hand and took out a knife, holding it to his throat. "Well, you'll no longer be a player." I pressed the blade in harder, ready to slit his throat.
"Then you'll never see your mother again."
I paused for only a second before drawing the blade across his throat. I pulled the knife away, wiping the blood off onto his clothes. "Better that than let you walk away," I whispered, my voice choked with tears. I may have just killed my only chance at finding my mother. If she was really alive.
"Fuck!" I screamed as I threw the knife into the wall across the room. Even in death he could still screw with me. He's built up his own organization. I would have to bring it down. I walked back over to my knife and pulled it out. That bastard would be making my life hell from the grave. Of course he set up something to continue his legacy. He would never let the world simply forget him, never let me simply kill him and walk away. I had to get out of here. I had to get away from him.
I climbed out his back window, unwilling to risk traveling through the hotel again. As soon as my feet hit the ground I started running. Apparently Blade would have to wait. Would he continue after three years? The selfish part of me wanted him to. The rest of me wanted him to get on with his life.
I made my way back to my own hotel room. I made my way up the back of the building, unwilling to face the stares of everyone who passed by me. As soon as I was in my room I stripped off my clothes and jumped in the shower. I wanted to wash it all away. The fact that I killed the man who had been my father in cold blood. The direction my life had taken. Night's organization that I would have to bring down. The possibility that my mother could be alive. Three years since Blade. Three years since I had seen anyone else who had actually cared about me. The desire to be normal.
I walked out of the shower, drying off and pulling a big t-shirt on. I climbed into my bed and curled the blankets tightly around me, trying to feel some semblance of comfort and safety.
The next time I opened my eyes, the sun was once again starting to set. I sat up in bed, decided on one thing. Tonight, I would be normal. Tonight, I would go out like a normal 21 year old. Tomorrow, I would go back to my life. Tonight, I would be someone completely different.
I walked to the closet and pulled out my little black dress. I bought it in France when I trained there. I pulled it on and smiled before the mirror. The deep v-neck and tight fabric showed off my curves perfectly. I wrapped my hair up on my head and pulled the blonde wig out. I pulled it on my head, the soft curls falling down to mid-back. I pulled out blue colored contacts and put them in. I strapped on my heels and headed out the door. It was only a simple appearance change, but I didn't care to do anymore. Night was dead. No one was left to hide from. No one except the one person I wanted to catch me.
I went straight to the club where I would be spending my night, trying to forget it was three years. I walked straight to the front of the line and sent a flirtatious smile towards the bouncer. He quickly let me in without even asking for an ID. The pounding bass and flashing lights quickly lulled me into their trance. For tonight, I could pretend. Pretend to forget.
**BLADE POV**
Three years. Three years I had been following Shea around the world. Every time I got close she would slip through my fingers, only to leave me a trace to follow to her again. She knew I was following. She kept me following. For three years. How much of my life was I going to waste following her around? Tonight I needed to forget. I needed to forget the love and pain that she caused every fucking day.
I stood up off my bed, forcing my body to move. I quickly showered, trying to rinse away some of the emotion choking me. I pulled on a black button down shirt and dark jeans. Tonight was a dark kind of night. I tied the laces on my black dress shoes and headed out the door. I would figure out my next plan of action tomorrow. Tonight, I would try to forget.
I made my way to the only decent club around here. I walked straight up to the bouncer and nodded as he let me in. I had been here a couple of times before. It seemed to help me forget, for a time. As soon as I stepped back out I would be bombarded with all the forgotten emotions. The music pounded in my ears, the flashing lights engulfed me. For now, I could forget.
I headed straight for the bar. I needed a couple shots to start to numb me. I walked straight up to the bar. "Double shot, I don't care what of." I glanced to my sides. "And a Tequila Rose for the blonde." Maybe she could be my flirt for the night. We would dance, pass comments. I never let anything more happen though. I could never pick a girl who had the same color hair as Shea. Blondes had become my thing because of that. However, every time the girl seemed to faintly resemble Shea. I couldn't get away from her. I didn't want to.
I turned to get a better look at the blonde. She was facing the bar, head turned away from me. Her body was toned, the black dress hugging her curves perfectly. On her arm I spotted a tattoo. I moved closer, wanting to see what it was. It was a black rose. The bartender came with the shot at the perfect time. I quickly swallowed the liquor, barely tasting it. Who in their right mind would get a tattoo of a black fucking rose? The bitch. The bartender put the drink down in front of her. She smiled and took the drink, not even bothering to look who got it for her. As her arm moved I caught white and red on the rose. I looked closer, making out a white ribbon tied to the rose. The red was blood dripping off of it.
My heart stopped. No one else. No one else could possibly have that tattoo. I quickly focused on the woman's face, though I could only see half of it. She smiled and turned back away from me. It was her. I only saw her face for a second, but it was enough. I looked away shutting my eyes. I couldn't let my mind play tricks on me. I couldn't get my hopes so high to be crushed. She would never be this careless. I opened them and turned back towards her. She was gone. I saw a flash of blonde moving quickly through the crowd away from me.
If it was her, I couldn't take any chances. Where would Shea go? How would she get out? She had been heading for the front door but that was too obvious. It would be too easy for me to catch her. She would go out the back. It was an old simply trick, but there was a reason people often did it. It worked. I turned and ran out the front door, not wanting to directly follow her. She would lose me easily. I turned the corner and headed down the side alley. A flash of blonde crossed in front of me, disappearing behind the next building. I sprinted three buildings forward and down the side alley. I turned and faced the direction she would be coming from.
I saw the blonde hair first. She came to a halt, 10 feet away. Close enough to see her silhouette, far enough away to mask her. She stood, not making a move, not making a sound. I took a step forward. She took one back. I took another forward. She moved her foot back but didn't shift her weight back. She was off balance. She was never off balance. I took another step forward. She didn't move. Another step. I felt her watching me, calculating. If only I knew what was going through her head.
Before I could process what was happening, she turned and started sprinting away. She grabbed onto a fire escape and started climbing up. I chased after her, reaching the bottom of the fire escape as she reached the top. She disappeared onto the roof as soon as I started climbing up. I swung up to the top of the roof to find her looking for somewhere to jump. She was finally caught off guard. This was my only chance.
She took two steps back, pausing. She didn't know what to do. Her hands came up to her eyes and fell back down as she tossed something on the ground. Colored contacts.
I paused, less than an inch behind her. I placed my hand over her tattoo, feeling the scars that it covered. "Three years Serpent Belle."
She turned and faced me, pulling the wig off. Her black hair came cascading down. Her green eyes found my mine immediately. "Three years Bat Boy."
THE END
**Wow, I actually finished this book. Crazy... I know I didn't give a lot of detail on those three years that Shea was gone around the world, but that's because that would be in the second book if I ever write it. Really this book ends where a sequel would pick up and answer a lot of the questions. Honestly, I don't know if I'll write the sequel right now...
This ending is totally not what I imagined when I first started writing at all... At one point Ayden was going to die... I debated for a long time about killing Night... But when I actually got to the end and wrote, this is what came out.
SO, I would like to say thank you to all of my fans, new and old! Those of you who have stuck with me from the start, if any of you are left, thank you so much! To all those who have read, commented, voted... you kept me going! You have been amazing in your support of my writing! Honestly, I don't know if I'll keep on posting on Wattpad. Do I have new story ideas? Always... But we'll see if I write/post them. I was thinking of writing something for the watty awards... check for another post for ideas that I have going right now...
And finally,
One last time, what did you guys think?? All I want is your opinion, on this part, on any part, on the story as a whole, on a character, on whatever! As always, thanks so much! I hope you guys have loved getting to know all these characters and this story as much as I have loved creating them and writing it!!! :))