Disclaimer: Yup. The usual. Don't own it.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I (CJ) was distracted by broiling myself on a beach. Sorry. Won't happen again. Maybe.

The Truth Beneath the Rose

Blinded to see the cruelty of the beast
It is the darker side of me
The veil of my dreams deceived all I have seen
Forgive me for what I have been
Forgive me my sins

Serena

I always thought death was planned. Never natural. I didn't know anything but execution. I believed when I was told that was how things were done.

I killed. I fought and took their lives. Never considering it was wrong. Until that young wolf.

He was just a child, really. With his whole life ahead of him. And I took it away. I started to wonder then... who made us judge and jury? Who decides they have to die?

When I ran, it was in fear of my life. I would leave nothing behind, they'd already taken everything from me.

We'd been holed up in the South for a while, so I headed North. As far north as I could get.

I arrived in the town I'd chosen after two weeks of traveling in a zigzag pattern to throw off anyone who might be trying to trail me. If I had learned anything in my life, it was how to get around undetected. I made sure the house I settled in was as far away from town as possible. The last thing I needed was some nosy neighbor who wouldn't mind their own business.

My place was on the edge of a farm, on the far side of a wide pasture. I could see the farmhouse from my back yard.

The place looked like it had endured many hard nights. A lot of wear and tear, and no signs of life. And, alone in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, I knew this was my new home.

It wasn't the best hiding place in the world, but with the winter rushing in on arctic wings, the town would quickly become isolated.

For the first few weeks, I largely kept to myself, only venturing out for supplies. And even when I did go out, I tried to keep any human interaction to a minimum. They were no doubt intrigued. I clearly wasn't someone from their neck of the woods.

Nights were the hardest. I was used to being out at night, hunting. I had trouble sleeping and found myself staring out the windows most nights, gazing out over the field. Occasionally, I'd see lights at the old farmhouse, making me realize that it was inhabited, by someone who seemed to value their privacy as much as me.

I should've been worried. If there was someone holed up in that place, there was an obvious reason. But, for all I knew, it could be some poor homeless person. And, who was I to investigate? This wasn't my land. This wasn't my territory. As long as they didn't bother me, I didn't see the problem. But then I started noticing a dark figure prowling the woods at night. At dusk.

That's when I decided that maybe I should head into town and see if I could find out anything about my mysterious neighbor.

I didn't want to be conspicuous. I had to play it cool.

I went to various places in the town, mentioning casually that I was new in town. It was my hope that someone would be smart enough to say 'oh yes dear, you and that other person...'. I just wanted a bit of information. Nothing major, just enough to know that whoever was hanging out in the farmhouse wasn't some sort of psychopath.

But, what if this so called neighbor was roaming around town, trying to do the exact same thing I was doing? Worse yet, what if I ran into said neighbor and didn't even know it?

After that realization dawned on me, I knew that I would have no choice but to be more friendly and more open with the townspeople. Conversations would have to become longer and my smiles would somehow have to become more genuine.

It was when I ventured into the local library that I hit the jackpot. The little old lady behind the desk was more than willing to offer up information and gossip as she signed me up for a library card. Regardless of where you're from. Be it a large city or a small town, one thing's for certain...give a little old lady a smile and she'll tell you everything she knows about everyone in return.

"It's a day for new faces," she said. "Your closest neighbor is here, too.

"Really?" My eyes raised slightly.

"What a small world huh?" she smiled slyly at me and said, "he's quite the looker isn't he?"

I shrugged. "I haven't actually seen him."

"oh, goodness," she laughed. "Let me tell you dear, he has both the looks and the charm. Quite the gentlemen," she sighed.

And then she whispered to me conspiratorially. "He's southern."

And then, she giggled. She had to be eighty if she was a day.

Clearly this new neighbor of mine had the ability to charm little old ladies.

Probably harmless then. But after I took my card from her, I casually asked which way he'd gone.

"Oh, right that way," she pointed. "You won't be able to miss him. He's the only young dreamboat in that section."

I laughed to myself. Dreamboat. But I headed off in the direction she'd pointed. She was right, I couldn't miss him. I peeked around one of the high shelves and saw a man that should have been completely out of place surrounded by musty old books. Tall and lean, with tousled blond hair, that looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. The rest of him looked fairly rumpled, too. His jeans were worn in all the right places, his dark shirt faded from washing, but wrinkled as if it had been rolled up.

I knew then that this was the guy. His eyes were scanning the shelves but from his stance, it looked like he was perhaps bored. I couldn't understand how that was possible. Surely a young guy like him couldn't have read every single one of these books. Right? Then again, that light was almost always on...maybe he was some sort of recluse who spent all his time reading books. Which was an odd thought. Because there was something in the way he moved, something in his bearing that told me this was not an inactive man.

He had to be doing something other than hanging out in the library. What that was exactly, I really wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer. I figured it'd be best if I just introduced myself and get it over with. No sense in waiting it out.

I rounded the corner and approached him slowly. His head came up sharply as I neared, his eyes narrowing.

I paused momentarily, thrown off by the intensity of this glare. But I recovered quickly and started my walk towards him once more. When I was a couple feet away, I stopped and offered a benign smile, trying not to stare. Something about him simply screamed 'dangerous'. But I was an expert when it came to dangerous. So, I was sure I would be able to handle him.

"Hi," I said quietly, because it was a library. "I'm Serena. We're neighbors."

And then I did what any friendly new neighbor would do, I stretched my hand towards him, waiting for him to shake it. But instead, he just looked down at it quickly and then returned his gaze back to me, giving me cold, hard look.

Charming, huh? Apparently, that was only with old ladies. "And you are?" I prompted, letting my hand fall.

"Whitlock. Jasper Whitlock. And I prefer to keep to myself."

And just like that, I was dismissed. He turned and walked away, leaving me standing there.

I stood there for a few seconds, replaying in my mind what had just happened. I had been nothing but polite to this guy and he didn't even have to decency to say 'nice to meet you' or anything. He might not be a psychopath, but there was something a little...off about him. Maybe he had alter ego issues.

Well, if he kept to himself as he'd said, we wouldn't have any problems. All I had was a name. And a name was good enough for me. I would stay out of his way and I was pretty sure he wanted nothing to do with me.

'Jasper Whitlock.' It was quite a peculiar name. Not one you heard often. Well, in this day and age.

I went about my business, picking up some more supplies, and arranging for a load of firewood. But all day, I couldn't get that odd man with his perfect face and angry eyes out of my head. He had left me with this uncomfortable feeling and I didn't like it. Because for a moment, it felt like he'd looked at me like I was prey.

Jasper

I wasn't stripping away the entire civilized veneer that Alice had carefully molded for me, just most of it.

It felt good. To not have to keep pretending; to keep denying what I was. I wasn't some soft, biddable Southern gentleman. Not the perfectly groomed arm-piece she'd made me.

Like a trophy. As if she'd tamed the beast, domesticated the wild animal.

A feral grin spread across my face at the thought. I damn sure wasn't tame. I may have played the part for a few decades, but it never stuck.

When I left them, I left behind two things. First, every single piece of designer clothing that Alice had ever bought me. And second, the last name I had been using for the past fifty years. The moment I walked out the door, I was no longer Jasper Hale, the man who had been his wife's charity case for all these years. But rather, I would go back to my roots. Slowly but surely, Jasper Whitlock would begin to emerge once more. Living life the way he wanted to.

I went East. To a place even Alice didn't know about. Property I'd bought decades earlier, in case I needed a bolt hole. Decrepit and empty for years, the farmhouse was barely livable. But then, I was barely living.

I was alone for months, and then I noticed movement in the cottage at the edge of the field. I owned it as well, but had left it up to a local realtor to lease out. Whoever was living there now, seemed to be in seclusion much like myself.

I only ventured into town occasionally to hit the library. It wasn't a particularly well stocked library, but sufficient. The books were nothing new. I had practically read every single one they had available. But it gave me something do with my time.

It also was the perfect activity I could partake in without actually having to converse with anybody else. Of course I would get the occasional stares from the young women in the library. They were intrigued, they were attracted to me, but they had no idea. Behind the looks, there wasn't much. Just a man trying to remember who he was before he was taken captive and forced into a life he never asked for.

People often wished for more time on earth, for eternal life, but it ain't what it's cracked up to be. I'd left the possibility of eternity as a warrior, for the silk lined trap of an eternity that never fit. Now I faced an uncertain future. Uncertain for the first time in a lifetime.

As much as I knew that I needed to get away, to finally fulfill my desire to abandon the charade I had come to know as life, something seemed a bit...off. Yes, I was free. Yes, I had gotten what I wanted. But I had no idea what I was going to do with all this new found freedom. I began to wonder if there was any actual purpose for me.

I could only imagine that I had a dark purpose in this existence. I was created to kill, the ultimate predator. Hunter and prey. Was that all there was?

In the beginning, that was all I knew. I killed when I was asked, destroying life without a second thought. I was the strong one who eventually turned into the weak one. But, now that I was on my own, there was nothing stopping me from becoming that once strong hunter I had once been. Deep down, I don't think I ever gave up the old Jasper. He was always there, lurking. Waiting for the day he could come out and play again.

I couldn't go back to preying on humans, I realized that. But that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the hunt. Everyone had their favorites. A favorite type of prey to hunt. I guess my ideal prey would have to be graceful and quick. Fragile yet strong. And better yet, beautiful yet tortured.

I could hunt a human without killing.

Because what was so different from hunting and the dance of seduction?

So, I ventured out, looking for a target, for the perfect creature to focus my energy. The library might have seemed like a strange choice of hunting ground, but I wanted quarry with some intellect.

It would be so simple. Humans were instantly drawn to me. My first candidate was the elderly woman at the information desk. But, within a few seconds, I ruled her out. What fun would she be? Maybe fifty years ago but not now.

I wandered away, biding my time. And then she appeared. Coming around the corner, looking as innocent as a lamb, with secrets in her eyes. The friendly greeting she offered me was at odds with the emotions coming from her.

There was bitterness there. Anger. But beneath it all, there was intrigue. And I knew then that I had found my prey. But then, she said those four words.

"I'm Serena. We're neighbors."

The last person I needed to get tangled with was my neighbor. Oh, but she was so perfect. My mind debated with itself for a few moments, almost forgetting completely about the girl in front of me. Only when she spoke again did I remember she was there.

"And you are?"

There was no hesitation in my answer. "Whitlock. Jasper Whitlock. And I prefer to keep to myself." I turned and walked away, knowing that with my response, I'd sealed her fate. I'd practically dared her to pursue me.

As I continued walking, I could feel the intense amount of confusion and anger coming off of her. Truthfully, I deserved it. But humans could be so trivial sometimes. You brush them off like a fly and yet, they would keep coming back. Over and over. And that is exactly what I wanted her to do.

A tiny voice told me I was deluding myself. That it wasn't the hunt that had spurred me, but the desire to know the secrets she hid. I, after all, knew what it was like to carry secrets around. And, if I was correct and this girl had some sort of secret, I sure as hell was going to figure it out. Besides, hunting someone with a secret made the game even more exciting. She would be harder to reach, not so easy like the others. I loved a good challenge and, the moment I laid eyes on Serena, I knew she'd be the most challenging game yet.

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