Chapter 25

Sleeping in the same bed as Shane McMahon made Tahlia's skin crawl. The fact he'd woken her up in the middle of the night – early morning hours – sickened her even further. For the next couple weeks, that's how it went and she had no say so in the matter. Vince wasn't happy they were screwing, but as long as Tahlia kept the pipsqueak under her thumb, she had power and leverage. Shane had vouched for her on several occasions, even going so far as calling Sable a slut right to her face in front of Daddy. That was hysterical and it took every ounce of willpower inside of Tahlia not to laugh her ass off.

Before she knew it, the pay-per-view had arrived – St. Valentine's Day Massacre – on Valentine's Day. Shane had gotten her a box of chocolates with some red roses. Very generic, but she thanked him with a kiss anyway and showed affection while gearing up for her match that night against Sable. Being called a slut didn't bode well with the blonde and she'd demanded a match against Tahlia for the Women's championship. Tonight, she took back what was rightfully stolen from her all those months ago.

These last few weeks had been like something out of a novel or movie for Shane. He had gotten the girl of his dreams. He was totally oblivious to the fact that she was actually a nightmare in disguise. Shane thought he was doing everything right, buying her flowers and chocolates. She had seemed happy with them, but he had gotten the impression that was not something she was a fan of. Made sense. Tahlia was not an average woman; she wouldn't like average things. So he would do better. He had also stopped letting people treat her like dirt. She had shown she was a team player; he was making others show her respect and he wasn't letting Sable walk on her either, not without giving it back to the whiny blonde bitch.

It was now his nightly mantra. Don't kill Shane. Taker knew it was nearing time to recall Tahlia and, honestly, he was dreading it as much as he wanted it. He didn't want to have to look at her and know she had slept with that puny little worm. Taker didn't want to be near her and desire her, knowing she had given herself to Shane, that that bastard had her… He had ruined himself. All his plans… he had to get it under control.

Bouncing from foot to foot, Tahlia closed her eyes and envisioned having Sable's blonde tresses wrapped tightly around her hands. All she had to do was give one good quick yank and it would be gone. She wanted to scalp the whore, especially after being humiliated on Raw a few weeks ago. Taker had gotten a lot of information from her, thanks to Paul Bearer, who the only one he trusted after the fiasco that happened with Mideon. Speaking of that jerk…Tahlia turned her gaze to the monitor and watched him saunter down to the ring, knowing he had a match on the pay-per-view that night.

Taker would expect him to win, but something told her he wouldn't. It was against the Big Boss Man…someone who had been a thorn in the Ministry's side of late. Sure enough, Mideon lost and the Ministry swarmed the ring, taking the man down by beating him within an inch of his life. It was all at Taker's command. What would her place be once this deal with the Corporation finished? Once they suffered, did she really belong beside Taker again and supposed to act like nothing happened? Like he didn't force her into this predicament to begin with? Sighing, Tahlia turned away from the monitor to focus on preparing for her match just as a stage technician knocked on the door, signaling she had 5 minutes.

Her match was next.

Taker had known Mideon would get his backside handed to him by the Big Boss Man. Mideon seemed to be losing whatever it was he had day by day. Perhaps because his only friend, Tahlia, was no longer his friend. Or perhaps Paul had been right and Mideon had been obsessed with him in a very unhealthy way. Now Taker's not so blatant mental issues were influencing the other. Either way, they had to save that meathead and Taker had never looked forward to punishing someone so much.

"Apparently Tallie dearest realized that she needed to get a McMahon of her own if she ever wanted another shot at anything besides being the Ministry whore." Sable snorted as she lounged right outside Tahlia's door, making sure her voice was loud as she spoke with Chyna. "I wonder if she learned her skills by being the receiving end of a Ministry train-"

"Enough, slut." Shane ordered as he passed by, adjusting his cuffs, eyes narrowed. "Tahlia hasn't done anything except earn her way, the way people are supposed to. Through hard work." He reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. "Not everyone is a whore, Sable. Just you."

"What has gotten into you?! How dare you call me that AGAIN! I'm going to tear YOUR whore apart in that ring tonight, Shane-O." Sable threatened, her eyes promising a world of pain for Tahlia and stepped up to him. "And then, maybe we can have our own little celebration afterwards."

Chyna bit back a snort, knowing Sable didn't have a chance in hell to defend her title against Tahlia. She wouldn't be helping again due to the no outside interference clause Shane stipulated for the match. Still, if Vince sent her down to the ring, she would do it because it was the boss's orders.

"And why would he want to do that when he'll have the brand-new Women's champion to celebrate with?" Tahlia asked, stepping out of the dressing room Shane procured for her and smiled widely, accepting a kiss on the cheek from him. "See you out there…slut." She mouthed the last word, infuriating Sable further and smirked, rubbing her hands together. The wait was over.

Shane stood there and watched the women disappear down the hallway, minus Chyna. She stood there with him and he spared her a glance. She looked amused and also the reason he had demanded this match be clean, no outside interference. Of course, if it struck Vince's fancy, he'd ignore that stipulation and send the 9th Wonder out anyway, which she'd do it for kicks. When Chyna turned to head back to the Corporation's room, Shane waited a moment before following her.

Would Vince stick to the agreement and let Tahlia actually beat down his whore? Probably not. Chyna was not expecting the chair upside her head, at all. She stumbled right into the wall on her left, pain nearly blinding her.

Shane opened the closet door and shoved her wobbling form in, watching as she toppled in with the brooms and mops. "Someone will come get you after the match." He informed her flatly, then shut the door. For good measure, he took the chair and bashed it against the handle, breaking it and jamming the door. His woman would have her chance.

Tahlia had actually done better than he had thought. Shane was actively taking out his own team members for her. Interesting. Maybe it was time.

ONE – TWO – THREE

"And the NEW WWF Women's Champion…TAHLIA!" Howard Finkel announced, making the crowd erupt in both cheers and boos since she was with the Corporation.

They still remembered her from the Ministry, however, and she'd gained somewhat of a fan following even before the abduction. Tahlia snatched the WWF Women's championship from the referee and held her arms up in victory, her body covered from head to toe in sweat. Sable had come out not pulling any punches, trying to cheat countless times. The woman was also distracted and Tahlia was honestly shocked Chyna hadn't come out to save her ass like the last time. Tahlia dropped to her knees in the middle of the ring while Sable rolled out, touching the title to her forehead and let the tears flow down her cheeks. She'd finally done it. It took a while to climb the mountain again, but she was a 2-time WWF Women's champion and nobody could take that away from her. Flipping over the top rope, Tahlia landed on her feet and shouldered her new hardware, the biggest smile cemented on her face.

The minute Tahlia was backstage, Shane was there waiting for her. The grin on his face spread from ear to ear, obviously so proud of her. He knew she could do it and known from the beginning she was true championship material. Sweeping her up in his arms, Shane rained kisses all over her face, laughing as she clung to that belt of hers. She was grinning as well and he knew she must've been elated, finally getting a shot to win her title back fairly. He wouldn't bother mentioning his own involvement in that, the fair part. Shane hadn't been about to let Vince muck it up out of spite. Chyna was out of the closet now and she'd live.

"I'm so proud of you." He whispered in her ear after letting her down. Wanting nothing more than to go celebrate with her, Shane still had to stick around for the main event unfortunately.

The man she really wanted to be with tonight was unavailable. She had gotten what she wanted ultimately out of this deal and now she could walk away if she truly wanted to. There would be consequences, but at least she was the Women's champion again. Still, Tahlia could feel the symbol burning in her hip, which was something Shane still hadn't noticed. They had sex in the dark, she made sure of it, not wanting him to see Taker had branded her in more ways than one.

"Thanks." She murmured softly, stepping away from him since she was full of sweat and beamed brightly. "I'm gonna go shower. I want to watch the main event and watch Austin decimate your old man." Brushing her lips against his cheek, Tahlia hurried off to the dressing room that had a private bathroom and shower in it.

Shane didn't want to see his old man get his backside handed to him by Stone Cold Steve Austin, but he couldn't fault Tahlia for it either. Not after the way Vince had treated her. So he let it slide. Humming, Shane headed back to meet up with his father, who was probably pretty livid right now about Sable losing. He began whistling cheerfully.

Tahlia had gotten what she wanted. Fair and square, which to be honest, was a shock because Taker had expected someone to come mess it up for her. She would no doubt be celebrating her victory with Shane tonight and that just pissed him off even more. Mideon had disappointed him, Tahlia was… He needed a drink.

"I'm leaving. You run things." He informed Paul, already on his way out the door.

Was it a shock to receive a phone call a little while later from Shane telling her he was stuck at the hospital with Vince due to a broken coccyx? Not in the slightest. Tahlia barely contained her laughter, trying to sound sympathetic with Shane and knew she failed. Fate was on her side that evening because she could celebrate her title victory however she wanted now.

Instead of going to the hotel suite Shane had gotten for them, Tahlia packed her things and moved to a different room. She would make up some kind of bogus lie she knew Shane would buy when he asked why she moved to a different room and that'd be the end of it. Tahlia had him wrapped around her finger and it was only a matter of time before she could completely destroy him in every way. Laughing wickedly at the thought, she tossed the WWF Women's championship on the bed and contemplated how best to celebrate.

Shane was off with daddy, who was a bit on the broken side and Tahlia had moved out of the suite they were meant to share. He was still, obviously, keeping tabs on her at all times. In theory, even though they hadn't spoken in weeks, she was still Ministry. Just very deep undercover. Taker didn't know why he did it, but he was now at her door. Showered, shaved and in street clothes. She had done what she had set off to accomplish, regain her title and that was a win that should have been celebrated as a boon for the Ministry, not the Corporation. It should be celebrated for her; he knew she had been through hell over that damn title. He was knocking on the door before he could even think about it.

Opening the door, amber eyes widened at who was standing on the other side and instinctively, she yanked Taker inside by the hand, not wanting anyone to see him. If anyone from the company spotted them together, the plan was ruined! Didn't he understand how risky this was? She thought it was room service since she ordered one of everything off the menu, making sure to put it on Shane's tab. He would've preferred her to do it anyway.

"What are you doing here?" Tahlia demanded softly, after closing the door, wearing just a black silk robe that was tied tightly. "Is everything okay?"

Everything was fine. Mostly. Mideon was a disappointment who was being flogged by the Ministry, not that his Acolytes had any issue in beating Dennis down like the bitch he was. Taker pushed her back into the room, taking her in. She looked fairly well, obviously still exhilarated over her win because she had that look in those amber eyes.

"Congratulations." He said finally, emerald eyes straying to the bed where her belt lay.

Walking past him, Tahlia sat on the bed on her knees and clutched the belt to her again, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you."

She meant that about everything he'd done for her, even though some of it had been lethal to get through. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop smiling and nothing would bring her down – not tonight. Taker joined her on the bed, sitting beside her and the scent of sandalwood, leather and gasoline filtered through the room.

"I know I…pushed you away the last time we talked…and I'm sorry. I was in a bad way…and I didn't think I'd ever get another opportunity at this title." Looking up into his acidic eyes, Tahlia stroked the black beard he'd grown out with her fingers. "I want to come home, Taker. I can help you make the McMahons' lives miserable, especially now that I'm holding one of their titles. You're the only one I want to follow and serve. Please let me come back home to the Ministry…to you."