Chapter 9
Rhea pov
A small smile crossed his features, and I only frowned, why was he asking me all this? He had known who I was from the day I was born and yet, he was speaking to me as though we had only just met and he was making sure I was who he believed. I tilted my head slightly mimicking him.
What was his game? I wondered.
“Now I know the rhythm of your heart when you are truthful, we can move onto the real questions.” His smile suddenly chanced into a vicious look that caused my blood to run cold, his actions starting to make sense. He was testing me. “Will you obey my commands without question or defiance should I release you?”
I had already decided that if I was ever leaving the cell, that I must do exactly that, without thinking too deeply I nodded. My eyes on the icy stone slope as I shivered slightly. I wanted to talk, I even tried a few times, but when I attempted it my throat closed and no sound escaped.
“I will hold you to that, little wolf.” He chucked, my eyes widening as his fangs pressed into his bottom lip. Noticing my stare, he added; “I’m not going to bite you in the state you are currently in, I am cruel and unforgiving as you know. But my intention is not to kill you.”
A breath I didn’t realise I had been holding puffed from my chapped lips, the trembles of pain and fear seeming to ease, if only a little. At least I knew he wasn’t going to kill me today.
He rose to his feet and appeared before in in the next second, causing me to flinch and recoil from both shock and fear. “I suppose I can ask you more detailed questions once you can talk, for now I’m satisfied that you told me the truth.”
I watched with heavy eyes as he snapped the wolfsbane laced cuff from my right wrist and then my left, my body automatically collapsing back into the wall, unable to hold my own weight any longer. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I mutely examined my wrists, I knew they would be left in a state of disrepair once I was taken out of this hole, what I didn’t expect was to see the bone, the skin and dried blood blotchy on my burnt absent flesh.
I tried to contact Alora, but I couldn’t seem to reach her, perhaps the wolfsbane took her from me once more, it was more than likely due to starvation, half a bowl of plain porridge four of five days ago was not enough for a werewolves metabolism, we needed twice the calories as a mortal human. My eyes blurred from exhaustion and agony, the muscles in my legs and arms tightening and releasing as they cramped, small anguished whimpers escaping me as they did.
Gabriel watched me with a neutral expression for a moment longer before he bent down and scooped me into his arms bridal style, my head lolling to the side. “I will carry you seen as you are clearly unable to use your body at this moment.”
I didn’t realise I had fallen asleep until I was placed onto something soft, the icy arms of the vampire no longer on my blood stained body, peaking open my eyes, I caught site of him going into a room that was across from the large queen size bed he had placed me on, seconds later I heard a tap turn and the sound of water filled my senses.
My fingers twitched against the sheets, the soft material inviting and warm, I had almost forgotten what being comfortable felt like, let alone the warmth a bed brought. I was drifting off once more, my pained muscles releasing some tension as I closed my eyes, but Gabriel wasn’t about to let me sleep, not yet. Before I knew what was happening I was in his arms once more and he took me into the en-suite bathroom, my head was pressed against his arm, and my body was so weak that I could barley muster even a few words.
The King of the undead pulled the ripped dress from my dirt stained body and peeled off my underwear, my pulse skittering in panic and confusion. No one had ever seen my bare body before, not since I was a toddler and used to run around the pack house naked. But before I could protest he lowered me into the steaming water of the tub, the fresh smell of lavender and roses filling my nose the soft bubbles caressing my skin and the water easing some of the pain the wolfsbane had caused.
I watched Gabriel closely as his eyes roamed over my body, stopping in places that made me uncomfortable, my cheeks heating in embarrassment. I wanted to hide myself away from his gaze, but I knew that wouldn’t be possible in my current state, neither would I survive another week in that cell should I anger him.
He grabbed a wash cloth and began the task of scrubbing the dirt and blood off my skin, starting with my hands and working his way up my arms as I watched mutely, wondering if he would drown me should I protest. Yet, I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it myself should he stop and leave, it was a weird situation I had never been in before, though I had never been owned by the vampire king before.
Would this be my life now? A cross between a damp and cold cell and then the torture of having to be connected with the vampire king on the expectation that I bare his children? Not that I even had a choice, it was clear that he would control my every move and not accept anything other than complete obedience. Vampires were not known for giving second chances, or caring about anything other than their own kind. I knew that I was treading in new territory, that my life had changed into something I had never excepted.
I had thought about running, escaping the vampire and hiding in human territory, but I had no identification, no proof of who I was or how I would even go about getting something like that. So even if I did manage to run from the vampires I would starve and live on the streets, and while I was stronger than the average human, I doubt I could battle starvation.
Gabriel watched me with an unreadable expression as he continued to wash me, the water turning into a deep maroon colour, proof that I had been deprived of everything down in that cell. I flinched when he began rubbing my hair with soap, my entire body tending in fear, but still, I said nothing my throat burning and mouth dry.
“I’m not going to attack you, despite what you have been raised to believe I can be reasonable.” Gabriel growled, his movements more rushed and angered than before.
A vampire reasonable? I had heard of such a thing, but not from the vampire king, he was known to be ruthless and cruel, even to his own kind. I remember Gabriel coming to visit the pack each year though he was distant and only spoke with my father or the officials, he was never rude, but he was never pleasant either.