Hey people! I'm sooooooo sorry for the super long wait… I think some of you may have forgotten that I still operate the same way as before… 5 or more reviews make for the faster update. I had a pit of a writer's block for a little bit and I also couldn't seem to find the time to write when I got over it xP it literally took me like three weeks to write this chapter. Those of you that reviewed... I thank you! :) Well without any further ado… chapter 2! (lol that rhymed xD)

Disclaimer: I own nothing except any OC and the plot

The Battle Rages On: Chapter 2

-Chloe P.O.V.-

Ok… she lied. This house was way bigger on the inside than the outside. Walking through the front doors of this place made me feel like royalty. There were many antique statues and paintings. I could see sculptures of famous people that I knew and some I didn't. There was one particular painting that caught my eye. It was old but the colors were so bright that it looked fresh. Judith came up next to me.

"I see you've taken an interest in an old Mai painting. This one happens to be my favorite." I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, it's really cool. What is it?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the painting.

"It tells the story of the Uniters' creation. Some say that it's also a way for the Uniter to save our race. Like it's a riddle of sorts. Sara and I have tried to figure it out but, no such luck. The bright colors are a symbol of happiness and prosperity. The two golden colored spots are supposed to be Basset and the Uniter. One's bigger than the other so you can see that they are, in theory, the same, except Basset is the higher power." Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. Then she looked at me and nodded for me to follow her. The others were moving on. It took me a minute to tear my eyes away from the painting, but when I did, I had to jog to catch up with them. The last thing I wanted to do was get lost in this house.

As I was running, I ran into someone. We both fell to the ground with a thud. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." I hurried out an apology because I didn't want to make any enemies.

"Obviously not. You think just because you're the Uniter you can go around wherever you want and people will move out of the way for you? Well I'm not like that." The girl glared at me and I was stunned. I didn't think that at all.

"What? No. I don't think that. I just didn't see you. I never meant to run into you." The girl rolled her eyes, got up, huffed and stalked away. But not without shooting me a dirty look. I watched her black and red hair disappear around the corner before I got up. I heard the sound of footsteps coming toward me. I braced myself even though there was nothing here for me to be afraid of. I smelt Alek before I saw him.

"Chloe, there you are. We've been looking all over for you. Are you alright? You look… troubled." Alek grasped my hand and led me back to the group.

"I'm sorry. I just had a run in with a girl. I don't know her name. She had black hair, with red highlights." Alek shrugged. I was still slightly surprised how rude she was to me. You shouldn't be like that to a person you just met. So much for not having any enemies. Alek and I walked into a room which I presumed to be the kitchen.

"Oh, Chloe, there you are. I was just about to show you guys to your rooms. I was just letting everyone know that breakfast is served from six to eleven. It's late so let's get to bed." Sara said with a yawn at the end. We all chuckled and agreed. We walked out of the kitchen and started to ascend the swirly staircase that I somehow didn't notice before. "As usual, Cat will be staying in her room with Aryss and Jasmine you are going to join them this time. Jason, you are going to your usual room and Alek, that is, if he doesn't stay with Chloe." I felt a blush creep onto my face as she shot me a knowing look. "And Chloe, we have a special room for you. As the Uniter, we have prepared one of our finest guest rooms." She smiled at me and started to lead the way. Jasmine and the others had gone to their rooms. Alek stayed with me. We all knew that was going to happen from the start.

"I really hope you didn't do too much. After all, I am just another guest. I don't really want any special treatment. I'm just like you guys." I started to say. Sara just laughed.

"You won't be saying that when you actually see the room. Besides, we want to do this. All the rooms are amazing, just yours has been ramped up just a little. Just do us a favor, well; the housekeepers really… don't destroy it. And try to clean up after yourselves." The blush was back. She smiled at us and was gone before I could say anything. I heard Alek chuckle from behind me. I turned around and hit him, my face still warm.

"I think they know us a bit too well…" he trailed off and wrapped his arm around my waist and opened the door. Both of us stopped dead at the sight. It was so beautiful. Just like the rest of the house. A lot of it was wood. The floors looked like mahogany and so did the three book cases. There were lots of dark reds, blues, and black. There was a TV in the corner of the room and in front of it was a loveseat. Did I mention that it was a flat screen? On the other side was a stone fireplace that was still dimly lit with the embers glowing softly. I saw a door next to it and assumed that was the bathroom. There were two average sized dressers, and they were slightly lighter than the other kinds of wood. Those aren't mahogany. I chuckled. There was a rug covering some of the floor with a red and black design. That brought my attention to the final piece of furniture. The bed. I almost drooled at the sight of it. It was the same color as the dressers. Oak. I realized quickly. It was covered with a dark navy blue bedspread with black sheets. The thing was huge. Just as big as Aleks… If not bigger. King sized. Oh dear lord… I'm screwed. Not like that you pervs! Well, come to think of it… maybe.

I heard Alek laugh from beside me. Shit, he heard that. "Well Chloe, if you really want that, all you have to do is ask." I turned toward him and pushed him when he wiggled his eyebrows at me. He didn't budge too much. I rolled my eyes as heat rose to my face for the fourth time that night. I saw our bags at the end of the bed and picked mine up. After searching for something to sleep in, I walked to the bathroom. I turned the light on and just about moaned at the sight of the Jacuzzi bathtub. I changed into my blue flannels and one of Aleks shirts that I now use to sleep in. It helps me sleep if I can at least smell him. It shouldn't be a problem if we're sharing the same bed, but still. I quickly brushed my teeth and used the bathroom before walking out. Alek had already climbed into bed. He didn't have a shirt on. I don't think I would ever be used to that sight. He had his arm behind his head and was doing something on his phone. I crawled in next to him just as he was turning his phone off.

"What were you doing on your phone? Texting some girl I don't know about?" I asked jokingly. But I guess I was only really half joking because I will always worry about that. Alek chuckled and pulled me to him. He kissed me on the forehead.

"No, I was just looking at a text Jasmine sent me about how she was in awe of this house and her room. It was also about being 'safe.'" He shot me one of his half smiles that made me melt. I laughed and relaxed into the silk sheets. I shut my eyes and heard Alek flip off the light. He pulled me against his body and wrapped his arms around me. He was warmer than the sheets kept me so I snuggled into him. I quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

(Some time later at around eight)

I woke up, but wasn't really awake. I was in the weird middle state of half-awake and half asleep. I couldn't feel Alek behind me but I could hear the water running in the bathroom. I shifted and cracked open my eyes. There was some light filtering through the shades but not enough to make you go blind. As I stared at the celling, that was when I noticed the glass chandelier hanging above the room. I sat up and stretched much like a cat would. I think I'm turning more cat-like every day. I looked around and ran a hand through my hair. That was when I saw the dozen red and white roses on the nightstand. I smiled and picked them up. I smelt them and giggled. I read the note Alek had left with them.

Chloe,
Good morning, love. I'm not sure where I'll be when you wake up, so I left these here to let you know I didn't leave.
I may be downstairs getting you breakfast so don't you dare move. If I'm in the shower… Well, pretend to be asleep so I can do this for you.
I got these this morning to remind you that we will be getting married sometime soon.
I Love you.
~Alek

I laughed and decided to make it hard on him. I got up and put on some of my more… racy attire. It was a black lace and silk PJ dress that I got from Victoria's Secret a while ago. I didn't know how long Alek has been in the shower for, but that's ok. I can wait.

Turns out, I didn't have to wait that long at all. After about five minutes I heard the water shut off. I had popped a mint in my mouth a while ago so I wouldn't have too terrible morning breath. Not that he would care much anyway. I moved one of the black leather chairs and sat down in it the wrong way. I threw my legs over the arm and leaned my back against the other one. I wasn't completely exposed, but there was enough to make him wonder. (Not that he really had to anyway.) He walked out of the bathroom with damp hair falling over his eyes, no shirt and navy blue jeans on. He didn't notice me until he looked toward the bed to see if I was still there.

"Hey there, Alek. Good morning." I said in a voice I hoped was seductive. His brown eyes snapped toward me and widened slightly. He took in my appearance and I heard a slight grumble rise from his throat. I giggled and stood up. I sauntered over to him. His eyes raked me up and down and I felt a blush coming on.

"Chloe… You… You look…" his voice was husky and I smiled at him. I didn't let him finish his sentence either. I set my hands on his stomach and ran them up his abs, over his chest and then around his neck. I kissed him lightly and that seemed to snap him out of his trance. As I pulled back, his hinds settled themselves on my waist. He rested is forehead on mine and whispered, "Are trying to kill me?" I giggled and kissed him again, but this time with more force. A moan rumbled out of his mouth and he crushed me to him.

His hands trailed down over my hips to the back of my legs. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him. I don't know how he managed to find his way to the bed but I felt him lay me down but never breaking the kiss. Evidently though, we do need to breath. Alek pulled back but only slightly. I opened my eyes to find him gazing at me with slit eyes. I'm just going to assume that mine were the same way. He kissed my jaw once and then trailed his mouth down my neck. I sighed and arched into him. He began to suck at my pulse point and nip me occasionally. I wasn't complaining. I felt his hands start to push up the dress I wore and I whimpered. I ran my hands through his hair and I felt the rumble in his chest. I pulled his mouth back up to mine for a searing kiss that left me burning everywhere. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and started to massage mine. It was clear we weren't fighting for dominance today. Alek dominated it without question. Alek's hands were just below my breasts and I begged him to touch me by arching into him again.

Then there was a knock at the door. Alek and I separated. He muttered a curse and tried to calm himself down. He was never one to be very happy when we were interrupted.

"Hold on for a minute please!" I called. My voice was still a bit husky by it was probably safer for me to talk rather than Alek at the moment.

"Ok, well it's just me making sure you two are up. Make sure to clean up a little bit. Even if it is a big house, there is still Mai hearing in this place." Judith called from the other side of the door. My face turned red. We heard her walk away and we stayed still for another moment.

"Alek?" I said hesitantly. I touched his face lightly and he seemed to relax as he hovered over me. He opened his eyes and they were back to their normal chocolate brown. He kissed my forehead.

"Every damn time…" he muttered as he rolled off of me. I giggled and kissed his cheek lightly. He turned toward me and smiled. "One day, we are going to have our own home where no one can interrupt us." I laughed and sat up to fix my dress/lingerie.

"I'm still hoping for that breakfast you know." I smirked at him as he rolled his eyes and got up.

"You are a piece of work Chloe King. Or is it Petrov now?" I saw his eyes light up as he said this. I grinned up at him.

"Technically it's still 'King' but 'Petrov' has a nice ring to it." I stood up and gave him a chaste kiss. He kissed back momentarily but pulled away before we got carried away again. He pulled a black long sleeved t-shirt over his head. It did nothing to hide his muscles though.

"Stay right here. Of course, I don't think you'll want to go out in that. Hell, I don't want you going out in that because then everyone's eyes are going to be ogling my mate." He smirked at me and walked out the door, shutting it behind him. It seems there is no end to the ways that boy makes me fall for him.

Ok, honestly… I was listening to old Disney artists like Ally & AJ and Hilary Duff almost the entire time I was writing this XD Also, I also listened to a song called "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus… It fits so perfectly for this couple and it's a great song on top of that! Anyway… I am truly sorry again for disappearing for three months but I have a lot of personal issues that I'm still working through. I do promise that I will not discontinue this story or series. I have a strong opinion about authors that do that and it's not all that great. I don't mean to offend anyone by saying that because I'm sure that if someone does that, then they have a good reason. My final announcement is for you guys to LOOK AT THE POLE THAT I PUT ON MY PROFILE FOR THIS STORY! DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU VOTE, THE STORY WILL BE DIFFERENT! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LOOK AT IT!

And the last thing…. REVIEEEEWWWWW :) Remember… 5 reviews and up = fastest update I can manage. Those are the things that motivate me. Much love and yours truly Sam