Marked (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1

Nighttime had always been Anastasia's favorite part of the day. She would make sure to sleep all day so she'd have enough energy to roam the quiet streets of her small birth town at night. The Dark Sky and glimmering stars had once brought happiness and calmness to Anastasia's life, but not today. It was not a day like any other; for today, December 6, was not only the day Anastasia was born 20 years ago, but also the day that had been marked as her death date. Her big hazel eyes gazed out into the horizon, her small feet dipped into the cold ocean water. A lone tear fell down her porcelain face and on to the skirt of her small black dress. Although consumed by sadness, Anastasia's optimism did not cave. She still continued to find the bright side of this especial day like she had been doing every day since she was merely a child.

"Don't worry papa, for I shall be joining you soon and then we will both be happy once again."

The brunette's angelic voice filled the air, her words being carried away by the soft wind. Pouty lips turned into a smile as a shooting star flashed through the night sky. Anastasia finally accepted that in mere hours, she would be dead. She raised a manicured hand and ran it through her wavy hair while letting out a small sigh.

From a distance, a man watched as the young girl laid back on the boardwalk. He had been watching her for a while; for he knew her date had come. His large, muscular body was leaned against a Black Nissan GTR. In one hand, a lit cigarette was gripped; in the other, a gun. The man dropped the cigarette before stepping on it with one of his brown Combat Boots. He extracted an iPhone from his pocket and dialed the first number on his phone history before bringing it up to his ear.

"Hello, Erik?"  The voice on the other line belonged to someonethat had unknowingly started to make their way in to Eric's heart. 

"L... I was just calling to inform you that I won't be returning to headquarters tonight, I have some... business to take care of" his voice was deep and raspy, a voice that had made many women melt. Before the person on the line could respond, Erik had hung up.

Anastasia softly hummed to the song If I Die Young by The Band Perry while staring at the stars. Not once did her eyes leave the brightest stars in the sky. Drowsiness started making its way into the woman's system. Her head softly rolled to the side, her lips parting as an almost silent snore left her.

Erik watched as two men approached the sleeping girl, both wore tattered clothes and held bottles of liquor in their dirty hands. He watched as they ran their eyes over the girl's body, one of them carelessly rubbing her thighs as he kneeled by her side. Erik felt a sense of Déjà Vu as he made his way towards the two men crowding around the sleeping girl. The events taking place reminded him of the day he met Iris Levine; the same day she had been destined to die on.

Shivers ran down Anastasia's spine as she felt an unknown presence at her side. Her big eyes snapped open, soon filling with unshed tears as she took in the sight around her. Anastasia had accepted her death, but she surely did not deserve to die in the hands of two strays. A scream almost made its way out of the girl's lips, had it not been for the rough, dirty hand placed against her mouth. Disgust filled her as she felt another hand glide up her dress' skirt, pulling the material along with it.

Erik grunted before letting out a teasing whistle. Both man sharply snapped their heads in his direction making them look like dogs. Without hesitating, Erik raised his gun and shot the man harassing the girl right in between his eyes.

Weird, today must have been his date as well.

The dead man's companion stood, his empty liquor bottle raised above his head ready to attack. Erik cocked the silver gun and aimed. He hoped it was this man's date as well. The sound of the gunshot cut through the silent air followed by a scream. The man fell to the ground in a daze, his hands gripping his thigh, liquor bottle long forgotten. Erik lowered the gun and clicked the safety on before moving closer. The young girl now stood, her body shaking both from the cold and from fear. Erik could see splashes of blood covering her skin. He took cautious steps towards her as he watched her eyes run over the bodies on the ground. Anastasia quickly dropped to the ground and grabbed one of the glass bottles before holding it high above her head, causing for Erik to raise his gun. In a flash, the young girl had smashed the bottle into the second man's head successfully knocking him out.

"You can lower the gun," she whispered almost inaudibly. Yet, Erik heard and did as told.

"Are you hurt," he asked.

"No, although I should be...Dead I mean," Anastasia let out a shaky breath before looking away from the unconscious body and towards Erik. Hazel met gray as their eyes connected, "I must thank you for saving me."

Erik smiled, "I had to do something humane in this cruel world, especially for a beautiful girl as yourself."

"And I'm grateful for it," a pink hue made itself visible on her tan cheeks.

"I think I deserve to know the name of the beauty in distress before me"

Anastasia didn't know if it was such a good idea to reveal her identity after keeping it hidden for majority of her life, but she went against her gut feeling anyways. She knew she at least owed that much to the man that had saved her life, "my name is Anastasia De Angeles"

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