Marina's Awakening (Seduced By Shadows Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Iwake up to the harsh glare of fluorescent lights overhead, their cold beams casting a sterile glow over the room. My head throbs as if a drumline”s been practicing inside it, and my vision swims for a moment before coming into focus. The space around me is cramped, filled with towering metal shelves stocked with crates and boxes, each one labeled in a scrawl I can barely make out. Dust covers everything, creating a gray haze that tickles my nose with its acrid scent.

It isn”t until I try to stand up that I realize I”m strapped to a chair—stretched-out leather bindings cinching my wrists and ankles firmly in place. My muscles scream as they strain against the constraints, but there”s no way I can break free. I lean back into my seat, trying to catch my breath. For a brief moment, I let my eyes close. My heart is racing so fast I feel like I might pass out again.

If this is Charles”s idea of hospitality, I”d hate to see his version of prison.

A sharp pain jabs through the back of my head as I twist my neck to look behind me, and the memory of how I ended up here comes rushing back. That woman who pretended to be injured, those two brutes who beat the hell out of me... it was all a trap set by the Shadow Extractors.

The memory triggers a new surge of panic, making my blood run cold. This is bad. Really bad.

”Look who decided to join the land of the living, hmm?”

I startle, flinching in my seat as Charles steps into view. He looms over me with that familiar smug expression on his face—that ever-present grin that seems permanently plastered there. The more I see it, the less I like it, and the more I wonder how on earth I ever found this man attractive. There”s something terrifying about him now, a hunger in his gaze as he watches me, a savageness that sends a chill running down my spine.

He leans over me, hands propped against the armrests of my chair, and studies me intently for a long moment. A cold sweat forms on the back of my neck, but I don”t break his gaze, refusing to show any weakness even though inside I feel so small and helpless. ”They did a number on that pretty face, didn”t they?”

His eyes trail from mine, down to my body, where they linger a bit longer than necessary. I wriggle in my seat, trying once more to pull free. But the leather bindings are too tight, making it impossible to move. My arms throb painfully as I strain against them, trying desperately to rip away from my restraints.

”Don”t bother trying to escape, my dear,” he taunts. ”You”ll only hurt yourself.”

I swallow hard, my throat dry and scratchy. ”What do you want from me?” I manage to croak out.

He leans in closer until his breath is hot against my ear. ”Oh, I think you already know the answer to that,” he murmurs.

Fear courses through me like a wildfire, consuming every inch of my being. I know I need to stay strong, to keep fighting, but in this moment, with Charles leering down at me, I can”t help but feel utterly powerless.

As he reaches out a hand to touch me, I flinch away from his advance. ”Please, just... let me go,” I whisper, swallowing hard as my voice breaks. My head throbs with pain, and I can barely keep my eyes open. I try to imagine myself anywhere other than here—anywhere that isn”t filled with the stench of sweat and fear, with a monster looming over me, threatening to steal everything from me. ”If you ever loved me Charles, let me go.” I muster the strength to meet his eyes, searching for any hint of the man I thought I knew, but all I see is darkness.

”What do you mean, ”if you ever loved me”?” he asks. ”It”s because I love you that I”ve kept track of you all these years.”

”What are you talking about?”

”Do you know how long it took me to figure out how to bring you back? How to reverse what that monster did to you? You”d still be a vampire if it wasn”t for me! It was so difficult,” he muses. ”I almost gave up many times along the way. The whole ordeal was very draining, you see. But in the end, I succeeded. I did you a favor.”

”A favor?” I scoff. I can”t believe what I”m hearing. ”You call this a favor? Kidnapping me, tying me up? Using me as bait?”

Charles leans back, a smirk playing on his lips. ”Oh, you misunderstand, Marina. I”ve returned you to your true self, your human self. No more living in the shadows, hiding who you are. And yes, using you as bait is simply a means to an end.”

”Bait?” I repeat, feeling lightheaded.

He grins at me again, and I feel my stomach twist into knots. ”It”s simple really,” he says, pacing back and forth like some crazed animal. ”Even though I told your new lover Gabriel to come alone, we both know that”s not going to happen. Drake will bring reinforcement, your entire clan, I suspect, and I believe Emily will join in.”

”You want them to come? To attack you?” My mind races, trying to process his twisted logic. ”So, what”s the endgame here? You lure Drake, Emily, and the others, and then what? Turn them human too?”

”Exactly,” he confirms, his eyes glinting with a manic excitement. ”I”ve found a way to free them from their cursed existence, to give them a second chance at a normal life.”

”You can”t just play god with people”s lives, Charles!” I exclaim, my voice rising with anger and disbelief. ”You think you”re helping, but you”re just taking away their choices, their identities.”

He chuckles, shaking his head as if amused by my naivety. ”You”ll understand soon enough, once you see the beauty of being human again. And once they do too, they”ll thank me.”

I glare at him, my fear giving way to defiance. ”You”re delusional if you think anyone will thank you for this. You”re not saving anyone; you”re destroying who they are.”

”You may not see it now, Marina, but in time, you”ll realize I”m doing this out of love. For you, for them, for all of us.”

”Love?” I scoff again, unable to hide my contempt. ”You don”t get to use that word, not after everything you”ve done. Love isn”t about control or manipulation.” He”s willing to manipulate and hurt people, just to achieve this twisted version of a utopia? ”You”re insane,” I spit out, my voice filled with contempt. ”You can”t control people”s lives like that.”

”But I can, and I will,” he retorts, his voice dripping with arrogance. ”And you, my dear, will play your part in this grand plan of mine.”

”You may have turned me human, Charles, but you can”t take away who I am. You don”t own me.”

He laughs at me, and the sound is like a knife twisting in my heart. He grabs hold of my face, squeezing my cheeks between his fingers, leaning in until I can feel his breath on my lips. ”Well, we”ll just have to agree to disagree on that, won”t we?”

As he turns and walks away, leaving me alone in this cold, dusty room once more, I”m left with a mix of dread and determination. Charles may have turned me human, but he hasn”t taken away my spirit. And no matter what twisted plans he has in store, I”ll fight with everything I have to protect the people I love and stop him from tearing apart their lives.

Charles pauses at the door, his hand resting on the handle. He looks back at me, his eyes burning with a fervor that sends a shiver down my spine. ”You should rest, Marina. You”ll need your strength for what”s to come.”

I watch him leave, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the distance until all I”m left with is the oppressive silence of the room. My mind races, trying to come up with a plan, a way out of this nightmare. His twisted plan to turn everyone human is madness, and I can”t let it happen. I need to get out of here and warn Gabriel, Drake, Emily—everyone who”s at risk.

My eyes dart around the room, scanning for any possible means of escape. That”s when I notice it—a small, rusted nail protruding from the wooden floor near one of the metal shelves. My heart pounds in my chest as a desperate plan forms in my mind.

I start by slowly shifting my weight, trying to inch the chair closer to the nail without drawing attention from anyone who may be within earshot. The leather bindings around my wrists and ankles limit my movement, but with careful maneuvering, I manage to get close enough and tip the chair over, slamming into the ground. I wince, but I don”t take any time to feel sorry for myself.

The nail is within reach, so I begin to rub the leather bindings against the rough surface of the nail, applying as much pressure as I can. It”s a slow and painful process; the leather cuts into my skin, but I grit my teeth and continue, refusing to let up even for a second. Minutes feel like hours as I work to weaken the bindings. Finally, with a creak of strained leather, one of the bindings around my wrist gives way. My heart soars with a flicker of hope. Encouraged, I continue to work on the remaining bindings, each one yielding to my persistence, until at last, my hands are free.

With my hands now free, I quickly untie the bindings around my ankles, wincing as the blood rushes back into my limbs, sending sharp stabs of pain through my muscles. I take a moment to steady myself, flexing my fingers and toes to restore circulation and alleviate the numbness.

Now unbound but still trapped in this forsaken place, I realize I need to move quickly. I rise from the chair, wincing at the ache in my muscles, and cautiously make my way to the door, pressing my ear against it to listen for any sign of Charles or his minions.

Hearing nothing, I slowly open the door and peek outside. The corridor is empty, lit with fluorescent lights that hum above my head. I pull the door closed again before moving deeper into the facility. There are rows of storage units lining the halls, but most of them are secured closed. There are so many twists and turns inside this place I don”t know how I”m going to find the exit. All I can do is pray for some sort of miracle as I move forward.

As I turn a corner, I hear voices up ahead. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I press myself against the wall, holding my breath as the voices draw nearer. Peeking around the corner, I see two shadowy figures approaching, but they”re too engrossed in their conversation to even look up in my direction, so I wait until they pass. As soon as they”re out of sight, I dart across the corridor and slip into a nearby doorway, finding temporary refuge in a darkened storage room that”s been left open.

I catch my breath, my chest heaving from the rush of adrenaline. My heart feels like it might burst right through my chest as I listen to make sure no one heard me. Everything sounds quiet, though, so I let myself relax for just a moment. But before I can get moving again, a blaring alarm sounds throughout the building. Red lights flash overhead, filling the air with an ear-splitting wail. I cover my ears as best I can, trying not to cry out in pain as the shrill noise pierces my eardrums.

There”s a sudden thud from somewhere behind me, followed by another. Voices shout, frantic and angry, as they call out over the siren. My head aches with a fresh wave of pain as I turn around, leaning against the doorframe for support. All at once, it feels like the world has started to spin and the walls are closing in on me. I struggle to keep my feet under me, my vision blurring with tears that refuse to stop pouring down my face. My head is still pounding from my concussion, and I”ve never been in more agony in my life.

The sound of pounding footsteps rushes past my hiding spot, growing more distant by the second, and it takes me a moment to piece it together. They didn”t even look inside. They aren”t after me. Someone or something has breached their defenses.