Chapter 8
Rhea pov
I could feel my wolf agreement, though she said nothing on the subject, she knew as well as I did that our future seemed bleak, we could either obey and spend our nights servicing the vampire king and giving him plenty of children, or fight him until our last breath and never see the light of day again. I had no idea what to do, which path to choose, I could never be happy with such a creature, I could never love or be loved by something that had no heart. No soul.
My wolf remained silent as the minutes, hours and days creeped on, time would wait for no one and in this underground cell I had no way of even knowing whether it was night or day. I wished aimlessly that vampires were burned in the sun as mortals believed, but no such luck. They had no weakness that we knew of, no way of destroying them as easily as they did us.
Ever muscle and bone in my body screamed at me to submit to the vampire king when he returned, the pain more than I could handle. I was hungry, close to hypothermia and extremely exhausted. I didn’t know how much longer my body could survive these conditions and I understood why wolves would beg and scream for mercy, ever few hours my muscles would cramp and I would be unable to sooth them. Yet, I didn’t scream, I couldn’t even if I wanted to, my throat dry and my lips chapped, only tiny whimpers escaped me now. I was broken. A shell of who I was.
I had no comfort down hear, no hot food, no comfortable warm bed, only pain. That is all I knew in my pit of darkness. They never even came so I could use the toilet and to my embarrassment holding it for days was not something and living creature could do. I wanted desperately to take a shower, relax my muscles a drink a hot cup of hot chocolate. I wished that I was at home with my family, my mind wondering if my father even regretted his decision, if he knew what was happening to me.
I had no tears left to cry when I faintly heard the pounding of boots and the lock of the metal door clicking, I had planned so many things that I would say, that I would promise Gabriel when he returned, but as I met his crimson eyes, all of them fell away at once. He watched me in the doorway for minutes maybe more before he stepped inside and crouched a few feet away from me. He was examining me for series injuries and judging how much longer I would be able to hold out, which we both new wouldn’t be long.
“My my little wolf, you have certainly seen better days.” He tsked, clicking his tongue as he watched me for a moment longer, my eyes heavy and weak. “You know….” He began, dragging out the words. “You have been down here for seven days, can you believe it? A small female such as yourself has been in this cell and has endured this strange torture longer than any alpha I have ever known.” He laughed and when he looked at me again, I could have sworn I saw something similar to pride in his eyes. “If you were a mortal woman you would be dead already.”
I watched him with burry eyes, I had prayed for death to take me many times, but it never came. I knew he was taunting me whilst also believing that I was brave, that I had proven my worth in a way that should have never been tested. I lowered my head, I had no words and even if I did, I would be unable to express them, I had opened my mouth to speak multiple times but no sound came out, my mouth and throat sore from the sobs and cries.
He watched me as I hung my head in defeat, his words softer than anything he had said to me before. “How about I ask you some questions and you nod or shake your head? If I believe your answers, I’ll take you out of here and unchain you. Agreed?”
I thought for a moment, attempting to ask Alora what she thought and nodding when I got no response from her. I had to do something to get out of this place, I realised with a heavy heart that he would take me to the point of death and allow me to recover just enough so that he could do it all over again. The stories were right, vampires were cruel and the furthest thing from merciful. Compassion and understanding were not something that they used for my kind.
A small smile crept its way across his face, reminding me of his unnatural beauty, he was a vampire and I had no intention of mating with him, but that didn’t mean I don’t appreciate his looks. I was still a girl after all. I waited patiently for him to speak, wondering what he wanted to know, if it was anything about my pack, my family, I couldn’t answer. I may be a vampire’s bride, but I knew where I came from and I would not betray my parents as they have betrayed me.
He moved to sit on his knees in the blink of an eye, too fast for me to follow, his eyes locked onto my face; ensuring that I kept to my word and only answered truthfully. “You are sixteen, correct?”
I nodded once, wincing when my body protested at the sudden movement, I just hoped that I could answer his questions quickly and be released from the wolfsbane before I had no strength left. My eyes focused on the vampires face, his expression holding no emotion as he watched me, yet I somehow knew he could tell I was being honest. I understood by the way he watched me that he would know as soon as a lie crossed my lips.
“You are Rhea, daughter to the alpha and Luna of the White Moon pack, correct?” He asked me in the same soft tone, my confusion only increasing, why was he suddenly so calm?
I didn’t trust the way he had taken a complete attitude change since the first time I met him up to now, he was careful with his words and his tone, leading me to believe he was attempting to trap me in a false sense of security. I nodded my head again, refusing to show how much pain the movement caused me.