Chapter 246

Joseph’s POV

Many years ago.

The basement of the Vamp House was never used. I was aware there was a dungeon, but it was typically only used for the worst of vampire rogues who invade our territory intending to cause harm. We hadn’t had many of those in the past several years so there was no need to use the dungeon.

Elder Benji had never brought me into the basement, so for him to ask to speak to me downstairs brought me a bit of worry.

Benjamine Rowan had been here from the very beginning. After I lost my wife and children to the plague, my life had been saved by Bernard who was a part of Benji’s tribe for many decades prior. Bernard had always been a good neighbor to me, so I had no idea he was a vampire until I was one as well.

He took me to Benji’s tribe and Benji took me in with no questions asked. He taught me everything I needed to know about being a vampire. The vampire academy was still in the works at the time, so I didn’t really have proper training. I had to learn to deal with my bloodlust on my own. It was a difficult adjustment, but thanks to the tribe, I had a home, and I had a family despite my own family not making it through the plague.

I trusted Benji and over time, he began to trust me as well.

I had been with him for over 100 years, and I had no reason to ever doubt him. I had no reason not to trust him. I was a faithful follower of his and I always did what was asked of me without any issues.

Maybe that was why he trusted me with his secret. Maybe that was why he thought I would have gone along with such a horrific plan. But as soon as he brought me into the basement and walked me to the cage, he was keeping her in, I knew from that moment on that Benji could not be trusted.

This woman he was keeping in the basement, locked in a cage like an animal, was covered in dirt; she had cuts and bruises all along her pale flesh that weren’t healing because of the chains that bound her wrists and ankles. Her powers were being completely locked away and she looked weak as fuck.

I knew right away that she was a witch from her scent alone, but I also knew the chains on her body kept her powerless, which was exactly how Benji wanted her.

Despite the fact that she was clearly very pregnant, she also looked skinny, like she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in weeks, maybe even months.

I’m not sure how long she’s been locked in the basement, and I didn’t care to ask him. But telling from the terror in her eyes, I could tell he’s had her here for a while. I was amazed that nobody had noticed her; I was amazed that I hadn’t noticed her.

“You are going to do what exactly?” I asked, finding it difficult to breathe.

Benji’s lips turned upward into a sly smile as he kept his eyes locked on this woman.

“There’s been a prophecy about this woman’s child,” Benji explained, tilting his head as he studied the woman’s face. “The child will be born with the Heavenly Heart making it the most powerful and lethal being in existence. Imagine all we could do with a weapon and tool such as that.”

“You want to use this woman’s child as a weapon?” I asked and my voice sounded a million miles away.

Benji finally pulled his eyes away from her to look at me, a snarl tracing his upper lip as it curled.

“This woman’s child could be the destruction of this world if it isn’t tamed properly,” Benji hissed, spitting out the word ‘child’ like a bad taste on his tongue. “I’m simply doing the world a favor by taking it and creating the ultimate weapon with it.”

I swallowed the hard lump that formed in my throat as my eyes shifted to the woman on the cold cement ground, beaten and tortured. Her eyes were bloodshot from the tears she had cried, and her body trembled violently as she stared between the two of us, probably wondering what we were going to do to her.

“What exactly do you need from me?” I asked, turning my attention back to Benji who was now studying me like he was trying to figure me out. “Why did you tell me about this?”

“Because she’s close to giving birth and I have to go out of town for a few days for business. We are expanding the tribe's territory and I need the approval of the council before anything is finalized. Which means I won’t be here,” Benji said, glancing down at the woman. “I need someone I can trust to watch her and keep her alive for the next few days.”

My eyes shifted back to the woman, and she looked at me like she was trying desperately to plead with her eyes.

When I looked back at Benji, he was still glaring at me.

“I can trust you, can’t I?” Benji asked in a low and threatening tone.

I nodded without hesitation.

“Of course,” I said, way more confidently than I felt. “I was just taken by surprise. You can trust me, Elder. You know you can.”

He stared at me for a moment longer and with each passing second, it felt like an eternity. He studied my face, tilting his head to one side like he was trying to figure out if I was lying or not. But then he stepped back and a wide smile spread across his face.

“So, you won’t mind keeping watch over her for the next few days while I’m out of town?”

I shook my head, forcing a smile and hoping he would buy it.

“Of course not,” I replied. “I’m happy to help. You can count on me.”

He nodded and patted me firmly on the back, keeping his hand on my shoulder, he squeezed it.

“I knew I could,” he said in return. “If she causes you any issues, feel free to punish her however you see fit as long as you don’t kill her or the child. You can give her scraps of food. I usually feed her once a day. That’s enough to keep her alive. You can fill a bowl of water for her as well. And under no circumstances should anybody be allowed down here. I can’t risk anyone seeing her.”

He was speaking about her like she was an animal and the whole conversation made me sick to my stomach. But I swallowed the bile that threatened my throat and I nodded.

“Yes, sir,” was all I managed to say.

He motioned for me to follow him out of the basement and as he turned to walk away, I found myself looking down at the woman who kept her eyes on me like she was seeing through the bullshit I fed him. I wanted to tell her that I was going to help her and that she was safe now, but the truth be told, I wasn’t really sure if I would be able to help her, and I didn’t want to get her hopes up.

So, I offered her a small smile, not that it meant much, and I turned to follow Benji up the stairs and out of the basement.

After we talked for a few more minutes, I went about my day, trying to push all thoughts of that woman out of my head, but to no prevail. By morning, I couldn’t find it in me to sleep. I was restless and tossed and turned for most of the day. I thought a lot about that woman and the fear in her eyes, the bruises on her face, and the cuts along her pale features. I thought about the child she was carrying and trying desperately to bring into this world. I also thought about the kind of future this child was going to have.

It wouldn’t have a good future with Benji raising it that’s for sure.

Once upon a time, I would have thought Benji was more than capable of raising a child and being a dad. I thought he was a decent guy… but I was slowly learning the truth. Benji wasn’t someone to be trusted. The woman kept in the basement of the vamp house was proof of that.

I didn’t even know what her name was. Benji never told me; maybe he didn’t know either.

I slid out of bed and went to my laptop that sat on my desk across the room. Switching it on, I decided to google some news reports from the last couple of months. If someone went missing, there were bound to be articles about it.

This woman had to have family and friends who were looking for her. Maybe even the baby’s father.

As I looked through some articles about reported missing persons, I paused when I came across an image. The woman in the image looked just like the woman in the basement, except a lot cleaner and way more vibrant.

Alison Campbell. Age 28.

I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat as I printed the articles. There was limited information about this girl; only that she was last seen on her farm and if any information was found to reach out to either her husband or her grandmother with both their names and phone numbers listed.

There was no doubt that this was the same girl.

Benji was gone by early evening and as soon as he wasn’t in sight, I went down to the basement of the vamp house to speak with this woman, Alison.

She was now seated against the back corner of the cage, her legs pressed against her chest and her head down as she sobbed lightly in her lap. She hadn’t noticed me entering and once she did, her entire body went rigid, and I could hear the rapid beating of her heart.

“Please…” she whispered her voice hoarse as if she hadn’t used it in a long time. “Don’t hurt me….”

“Are you Alison Campbell?” I asked her, trying to keep my voice under control.

She didn’t look as if she wanted to answer me at first, but then she thought about it again and nodded once as tears spilled from her eyes.

“I’m Joseph,” I told her. “I’m not going to hurt you. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

She looked surprised by this. She didn’t look as if she was going to answer me, but after studying the seriousness on my face, she finally nodded her head once.

“I…I trust you, Joseph…”