Chapter 1
Rebeccas POV
" Hurry up and get the tent set up."
Melani was screaming at me again. She is my mother, but she never treated me like I belonged. I have purple eyes, pale skin, and midnight-black hair. We are Romani, commonly known as gypsies, traveling from fair to fair, performing dances and songs for people. We would also tell stories and prophecies. There was one that Melani told all the time. It was about the half-human, half-vampire princess that was kidnapped shortly after she was born. This girl had a birthmark of a crown on her right shoulder. Every week, there is a different place, and more work needs to be done.
" I'm moving as fast as I can."
Truthfully, I was moving as slowly as possible. I was tired and did not want to do anything. Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday, and I will leave this life. I have wanted to run ever since I was a child. My so-called brother and sister constantly bullied me. Also, I was beaten all the time and, one time, almost raped by my so-called brother. But Cassie stopped him. I remember the day that he tried.
I was out hanging laundry, and he came up behind me.
" I have been looking for you."
" What do you want, Roger?"
" You have grown into a beautiful woman."
" Leave me alone."
I then pushed him away and turned around to walk away. But he grabbed me by my hair and threw me on the ground. I was kicking and screaming for him to get off me. He punched me so hard I was about to black out. He had my skirt pushed up to my waist and had torn my undergarments off. He was struggling to get his pants off when Cassie came around the corner and saw what was happening.
" Roger, what are you doing?"
" Get off her now."
She ran over to me and helped me up. She took me to my tent and helped me get cleaned up. I went to the river and bathed in the icy water for what felt like hours. I then went and put on clean clothes. Ever since that day, I have felt dirty. I would bathe in the river every day, and occasionally, when we could stay in a motel room, I would get the water so hot that it would burn my skin. But I have always healed quickly. That annoyed my parents.
I finished sitting up the tents and then went down to the river. Dinner would be ready quickly, and I always stayed away from everybody.
" There she is."
" What do you want, Vince?"
It was Vince, and he was the worst one. He would throw stones at me and taunt me.
" I want to see your eyes."
" Go away and leave me alone."
He then picked up a stone and threw it at me. There were several people with him, and they did the same thing. I tried to dodge them the best I could. I finally had enough, and I don't know how I did it, but I had my hand around his throat in less than two seconds and was squeezing it. I could feel the blood in his veins. I quickly let go and ran in the opposite direction. I was sitting by a tree crying when I heard Melani's voice.
" You witch, you better come out right now."
" What you did to Vince was not right."
I stepped out from behind the tree. Maleni knocked me down. She kicked me in the stomach and would not stop until Cassie came up behind her.
" Stop that. You will kill her."
At that point, I did not care if she killed me or not. It was a way out of this nightmare. She finally stopped kicking me. I lay there for a while. I was in pain and could barely move. The pain was going away when the most fantastic smell hit me. What is that smell? Where is it coming from? The moon was out, so there was light, but I have always been able to see better in the dark. We always traveled in the dark, and my tent was black.
I followed the scent to a grove, and there, in the moonlight, was a man. He was holding a woman close. I could make out some features. He had black hair and was as pale as I was. He had well-defined muscles. From where I was standing, I could not see his facial features. But he was sucking on the woman's neck. The woman was struggling. I did not know what to do. But I could not take my eyes off him. Strangely, I felt drawn to him.
I felt as if I was supposed to go to him. I stopped myself from going towards him. I heard Mickey, who is my father, yelling for me. I looked in the direction that his voice came from. When I turned to look in the grove again, the man was gone and the woman was lying on the ground. I walked over to where she was, and I could see blood on her neck. I then turned around and started to run towards the camp.
When I got back to camp, Mickey was waiting. He had a belt in his hand. He reached out and grabbed me by my hair as I was trying to run away from him. I screamed in pain. He was dragging me to what he called the whipping post. He tied me to it and started to whip me. I could feel the belt cutting my skin and blood running down my back.
"Whatever evil is inside you, I will beat it out of you."
Right after he said that, I started to hear screams. There was a growling of sorts. There were flashes of different colors all around me. I hear the screams getting louder. Something was in the camp and attacking everyone. I hope Cassie is OK. I hope she gets away. She is the only person I don't wish ill on. She has been my friend for as long as I can remember. The smell of blood is getting stronger. I'm starting to go crazy. I could feel my mouth watering.
I was also getting weaker as the blood from my wounds was dripping down my back. For some reason, I was not healing as fast as usual. I was afraid that I was going to die. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks. It would be a blessing to die after the years of abuse that I have suffered. My legs gave out, and I fell hard to the ground. I was still tied to the whipping post, except now I'm on my knees. I lean my head against the post and wait for death to overcome me.
Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard this deep voice from behind me.
" You will be OK now."
" I got you now, my little mate."
" Please don't hurt me."
" I would never dream of hurting you."
I then feel my arms fall to my sides, and I can feel that I'm being carried. Then, everything went black.