It was a capital 'T' for Skylar, a Capital Trouble.
"Rose got to be kidding...I can't..." Skylar muttered softly, almost a whisper, as they walked away from the mausoleum. Then sigh heavily, thinking secretly to herself, "I can't get pregnant right now. We still haven't done with this issue. Well, technically almost done, but heck. There are things that keep showing when things started to calm."
Despite the wandering souls walking through the entire house and the way they gave Skylar a sidelong look when she passed them, she subconsciously touched her invincible baby bump with a silent sigh. Yes, she was expecting to get pregnant again, but not during her first task, which she was somehow getting used to doing.
"Wifey?" Vincencio's worried voice echoed when he noticed how slow Skylar was walking, before asking again, "Hey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, but I'm good." Skylar smiled assuringly, making him look intently, but didn't ask further and just nodded.
"Okay, if you say so. But if there's anything you want to tell me, I'm all ears. I'm here. I'll listen," he assured her, and Skylar melted but didn't say anything about what Rose had told her.
When they stepped out of the lawn, they were magically taken back to where they were before - out of the torturing cell where Skylar was once held captive. Vincencio gasped, confused and a little frightened by what had magically happened to them.
"WIFEY! DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Vincencio exclaimed like a child panicking and shaking Skylar's arm, even asking, "I'M NOT DREAMING, RIGHT?"
"You're not dreaming," Skylar responded amusingly while giggling.
"But that's..." He tried to justify his point, but Skylar laughed at his adorable reaction, making him frown and go defensive, saying, "Hey, don't laugh. I've never encountered such magic before. I mean, I've heard some stories about witches and their magical abilities, but I have not experienced it."
"And I do." She said, giggling slightly before adding, "My mother used to trick us through this whenever Fredric and I tried to hide or run away from our mother's teaching and teasing."
"You remember your childhood." He smiled, nodding as he entwined her hand with his.
"Completely, but of course, there were some memories that were long forgotten as time went by, but they'll come back when some situation or feeling starts reminding me of them." She responded calmly as they stepped out of the isolated hall of the Black Tower Prison.
"Nostalgia." He said, sounding like he agreed.
"Yeah, go get the car, I'll finish what Rose gathered earlier." She said, pulling away from him. Vincencio nodded and kissed her head before jogging to their car. "Now, let's leave a guardian here."
Skylar went back to her cell and left the bloody marble in the same area where they found Sophia's remains. She changed her mother's security measures around the area, ensuring it'll only answer to her until she says otherwise before heading out, feeling contented. Then she went to the prison's graveyard to leave another, a woody colored marble with security measures too, before leaving the airy one in the under construction Blue Rose Park, two blocks away from the prison.
"That will do right, Rose?" She asked, making Rose hum in agreement inside her mind before heading to the street, thinking, "Are you sure about it, Rose?"
'I felt it, but to make sure, since when was the last time you had made love with Vince and had your period?'
"The last time we did it, I think it happened before we fully dealt with Rudolf's issue. And about my period, I haven't checked it - you know how workaholic I am." She answered while waiting for Vincencio to pick her up.
'Right, even having periods, you forgot them. Anyway, have yourself checked just to be sure.'
"Seems like I have to." She sighed, finally seeing their car arrive.
'You do because your task won't be easy, and you need to take care of yourself because if what I sensed is right, then you have to double your guard.'
"You're right. I also don't want to go through that pregnancy again. I almost lost my first because of my work and nightlife." She sighed, but agreed with Rose before adding, "I also don't want Vince to get mad at me because of it."
'True. He became a protective alpha beast when it comes to his babies.'
"Though, that's kind of hot." She grinned teasingly, making Rose chuckle.
'Agree. Check it, Sky to ease your mind too.'
"I will." She agreed before getting inside the car when Vincencio opened it for her.
"Let's head home." He said, smiling lovingly.
"Yeah, I love that." She agreed, smiling back and pecking his lips before driving off like their lethal but magical night didn't happen at all.
***
The entire city was relieved for a month; the city's nightlife was the same with the same issues, but not too chaotic or bloody. It was a peaceful month; however, it suddenly shifted when the infamous slayer of the night began hunting again.
Being fully awakened, Rose Slayer moved the same but more smoothly and gracefully as she waltzed in that shadow without being seen or detected. However, it was different from before. She was not tiptoeing or hiding from the CCTV cameras; instead, she let herself be seen and just waltzed, making the cameras or flashing lights illuminate her as a haunted ghost. Creepy, but it was working, and she loves it.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" a quivering and frightened voice from a woman asked, trying to step away from being caught, but she cut her left ankle. "ARGH! WHAT THE! PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME...PLEASE..."
"I like the sound of your begging, but you know me when I showed up to collect debts." Rose Slayer whispered tauntingly, making the woman crawl back to the edge of her bed.
"I DON'T HAVE DEBTS WITH YOU!" She spat, trying to be tough, but fear was already there.
"Maybe not directly to me, but you owe the General a deal." She corrected, shrugging her shoulders, alarming the woman. Then she added, saying darkly, "I'm here on her behalf to collect them."
"A deal..." the woman muttered weakly, horrified like she remembered something before muttering something she had recalled, "The General...no...impossible...she's..."
"Dead?" She guessed, but the woman looked back at her, shaking her head, horrified.
"Death." The woman corrected her, making her smirk sinisterly.
"Good, you remember." She chuckled darkly before whispering to the woman's ear her usual signature, "Welcome to your deathbed."
Then she slith her throat, watching the woman lose her life before gathering her soul. She sighed, shaking her head before leaving a single tainted rose and dark evidence of her deeds. After ensuring her tracks were clear and undetected, she slipped into the dark and blended into the busy street until it started raining.
"Fuck." She hissed, trying to hide from the sudden pour, but something twitched on her stomach.
Rose Slayer was back in her night game, but there was something else different about her. She was more dangerous because she was not only doing her usual hunt, but also collecting souls that had been on the death list of Rose itself, and about the wandering souls that had been possessing the living to do their dark deeds. She didn't argue because it was her pleasure. Blood.
However, something had shifted in her. She went to the alley and vomited for a few minutes.
"Don't tell me..." She muttered under her breath after vomiting water, then hailed a cab - a fake cab.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked as soon as she got inside and drove the cab.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got dizzy." She replied weakly and drowsily.
"Okay, do you want me to notify Vince about this or..." He suggested carefully, but Rose Slayer cut him off.
"No, but drop me off at the pharma, I have to buy something." She said firmly but weakly.
Joey studied her from the rear mirror quietly. He knew something was off, but didn't argue or dare to ask more. He doesn't want to be grilled alive without saying goodbye to his wife.
"Rest. I'll wake you up when we get there." He assured, focusing on the road, and just like that, she was asleep.
As soon as Rose Slayer got what she needed and arrived home, her eldest, Irina, suddenly called her from the living area where her youngest was with her team, crammed around watching breaking news.
"Mom, listen to this," Irina called as soon as she saw her enter the door.
Breaking News: Freda McKingsley was found dead at her penthouse, her ankle was chopped off, and a cut on her throat instantly killed her. The investigators concluded that somebody was copying the works of the infamous Rose Slayer.
"Did you do it?" she asked curiously. Skylar frowned.
"Don't ask your mother. That's her work." Prince answered teasingly.
"How come it's not brutal?" She wondered curiously, making everyone in the area laugh.
"Irina. Your sister is on your lap." Rose Slayer warned, removing her coat, returning to being just Skylar. Irina covered her little sister's ears.
"What? Most of your killings were filled with torture, but this one was just an ankle." Irina reasoned, making them laugh again but Skylar glare at them.
"Shut up." She warned them before turning to Irina and answered her gently, "Honey, to prevent being caught, you shouldn't just erase your tracks or evidence, but you have to ensure your pattern changes too after taking a vacation. Did that answer your question?"
"Yes," She nodded, smiling at her before she ruffled her hair gently and headed upstairs to rest.
***
Back in their peaceful and protective pack, Night Rose, Skylar was pacing back and forth in their master bedroom instead of doing her usual routine - burning the kitchen with her beginner chef's skills at exactly five in the morning. She was restless, anxious, as three pregnancy test kits showed two red positive lines, but Skylar was still in denial and checked for the fourth time, still had the same result. She groaned as she leaned on the sink.
"Argh, fine, Pack's Doctor. The great one." Still in denial, Skylar muttered, disposing of evidence and leaving no tracks before heading out, looking fresh but restless inside. Then intentionally said, waking up someone in the bed, "I'd better burn the kitchen a little."
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING MY KITCHEN AGAIN, WIFEY!" Vincencio warned sleepily under the sheets.
"Then get up and cook something." Skylar grinned, combing her hair. She won by waking him up.
"Not gonna happen. I'm tired of the workloads that just welcomed me when I checked the MG." He refuted sleepily, waving his hand lazily, "I just got lucky that the inner circle was clear after Rudolf's passing."
But Skylar won't let him go back to sleep.
"Have you seen the news?" She asked quickly, preparing what she would wear to work later.
"What news?" he asked, peeking his head from the sheets.
"Your wife is still the infamous Rose Slayer in the entire city." She grinned proudly, winking when she faced him.
"Record-breaking?" He asked, watching his wife move around their bedroom, looking radiant and hot under the silk see-through robe. He loved to watch it, and that's why he didn't want to get up yet.
"Yeah, record-breaking. I made the new investigator handling my case hard time solving the way I kill my prey." She said, putting on shorts and an oversized tee.
"You add something new?" he guessed as his eyes carefully scanned, memorizing his wife's body despite the visible and permanent battle scars on her smooth skin.
"Pretty much. That's why they thought there was another killer on the loose around the city." She chuckled amusingly and went to his side.
"You sly, huntress." He grinned before receiving a peck from his wife.
"Hey, I'm not hunting to kill. I'm hunting to collect souls." She corrected before kissing him again.
"If you say so, just don't get caught." He reminded.
"Supportive, I love it." She chuckled and let their kiss deepen until they needed air.
"You'd better do." He whispered hoarsely before changing the subject, asking, "What time will you be heading to the company?"
"After I ruin your precious grand kitchen." She winked teasingly as she walked toward the door.
"No. You won't dare." He warned, glaring.
"Always do." She winked playfully before running out of their bedroom.
"WIFEY! NOT MY KITCHEN!" Vincencio shouted as he ran after his wife. Skylar fully won by waking up her husband in the morning.