Chapter 3
This time, when I’m thrown into a room by the vampire guard, it’s a bedroom the size of a studio apartment. The twelve-foot ceiling and wall of windows only make it feel that much bigger.
“Take a shower and get dressed in the clothes laid out on the bed. I’ll be back in half an hour, and you better be ready.”
“Ready for what?” I ask, but it’s too late. Both doors slam in my face, followed by the sound of them locking. Just in case, I try both knobs, but it’s useless.
Any hope of slipping out the windows is quickly stalled when I realize they aren’t the kind that open. Even if they were, the three story drop is enough to keep me from trying.
From up here, an escape plan looks pretty bleak.
Aside from the patrolling guards, lamp posts line the garden, making it hard not to be spotted.
There are a few areas that seem to be hidden from the warm glow of the lamp posts, but those wouldn’t be much help.
In order to make it to the treeline, I’d have to sprint across the area of grass separating the maze of bushes from the forest. No doubt the guards would be on me before I even get five yards.
As I play out all of the possibilities, my reflection in the window pulls my attention.
I haven’t seen myself since I caught my reflection in the security mirror back at the pharmacy, and just from the view in the window, I can see that I’m covered head to toe in dried mud.
The thought of a hot shower is too enticing to refuse, so I head for the bathroom.
To no surprise, it’s gigantic. Not only does it have two sinks and a stone shower, but it also has a marble clawfoot tub fit for a queen.
I waste no time undressing and climbing into the spacious shower. The last time I had the luxury of bathing in a shower was in the early days after the Last War, before the vampires and werewolves fully took over. Ever since then, it’s been lakes, rivers, or rain showers for me.
I feel like I’m going to melt into the stone floor as the waterfall of droplets pelts my skin, massaging my stiff shoulders and upper back.
As much as I want to just stand under the comfort of it, I know I better get a move on if I want to be ready by the time the guard gets back.
Everything I need is already waiting for me in the shower.
Even face wash and a razor. Conditioner isn’t something I’ve prioritized, but when I douse my hair with it, I’m able to run my fingers through my scalp without being halted by tangles.
Even shaving my legs is easier, and I’m pleasantly surprised when I only nick myself once.
Normally, I’d be covered in small bleeding cuts made from dull, rusted blades.
By the time I’m finished, my will power strains to turn off the hot water.
These small luxuries may not seem like much by themselves, but they add up.
Ice to chill water. A microwave to warm food.
A pillow to rest my head on. These are all things I lost when the new world began, and although I’ve grown used to it, my soul still quietly yearns for the comforts of what used to be.
Even the towel I wrap around myself is a reminder of all the simple pleasures that were taken. Not that I ever had it good growing up, but comparing it to the life I live now, it would’ve seemed like I had it all.
While the steam starts to evaporate off the mirror closest to the bathroom door, I find a brush in one of the drawers and begin combing it through my detangled hair.
When I’m done, my reflection starts to peek through the part of the mirror fighting off the steam.
Even though I keep a hand mirror stashed in one of my hiding places, it’s not often that I look at myself.
For a moment, my mismatched eyes, staring back at me, feel like they belong to a stranger.
Growing up in the system, you’d think having different colored eyes was a contagious disease.
“Freak. Abomination. Mutant.” I’ve heard it all.
It took years for me to finally love my eyes.
One icy blue and the other golden amber.
Something about the contradiction of them comforted me.
It reminded me that I don’t have to fit into one box.
I can be both wounded and resilient. Weak in the body, strong in the mind. A victim and a survivor.
A thundering bang on the bedroom doors sends my thoughts skittering away, and I re-wrap the plush white towel around my body as tightly as I can before the doors burst open. Using his vampire speed, the guard shoots across the room, stopping next to the king-sized bed.
“You’re supposed to be dressed already,” he lectures, tossing me the outfit that had been laid out on the cream-colored duvet. “Hurry up and put this on.”
I hold up the white gown and toss it on the ground.
“I’m not wearing—”
Before I even finish my sentence, the guard has the dress pressed to my chest. “Put it on, or I’ll do it for you.”
“Fine!” I spit, taking the dress from him and storming off to the bathroom. I slam the door behind me and instantly wonder if I’ll pay for it later.
My skin crawls when I slip the dress over my head.
The light fabric falls to the floor, and the sleeves ripple off my shoulders, leaving them bare.
I turn my back to the mirror and see ribbons laced down the center.
My attempt at a perfect bow fails when one side ends up being longer than the other, but I couldn’t care less.
No part of me enjoys being dressed up like some plaything for an Alpha werewolf to toy with, and seeing the collar latched around my neck only makes the fury inside me flare to life.
I’m not even a full step out of the bathroom when the guard starts to drag me along again.
Just outside of the bedroom is a staircase made of dark cherry wood that wraps around to the second floor.
As we descend it at a quick pace, I peek back, trying to get a glimpse at what lies down the hall from the bedroom we just came from.
I’m able to make out three more doors, but they’re all shut.
As we make our way to the staircase that leads to the first floor, I begin to run through the things that I’ve learned since coming here.
The werewolf who has taken me prisoner is somehow Alpha over both the vampires and werewolves.
In terms of worst case scenario, I would say this is it.
Whoever this guy is, he clearly has the respect of both species, which isn’t a good sign, considering that, as far as I knew, they wanted nothing to do with one another.
On top of that, this mansion is fortified with guards who would easily catch me if I attempted to escape.
And if all that wasn’t bad enough, I’m being dressed up to play pet to the werewolf who could end my life with one swipe of his paw.
I’ve been in sticky situations before, but this one takes the cake.
“Thane will be joining you shortly,” the vampire announces, pushing me through the double doors that lead to the dining room I was in earlier.
“You should try letting me walk into a room sometime!” I yell, just as the doors slam in my face. I release a frustrated grunt and turn back around.
Candlesticks line the middle of the rectangular table, and my eyes dart to the place settings.
Unfortunately, silverware is nowhere to be found.
Either they don’t use any, because why would they, or he already knows where my mind would go.
A quick sweep of the room tells me it’s probably the latter.
Anything I might possibly use as a weapon is gone.
Not even a fire poker next to the fireplace.
“Looking for something?”
His gravelly voice comes from behind me, and I turn on my heel to find him already standing a foot away from me.
He’s still wearing the same black button-up and slacks from earlier, but now it smells like he’s wearing cologne.
I hate that the scent is intoxicating. An animal like him should smell of musk and nature.
“What am I doing here?” I demand, crossing my arms as an added measure to show I’m not interested in playing his games.
“You’re joining me for dinner.” He walks over to the chair stationed at the head of the table and pulls it out. “Sit.”
Seeing as how I don’t have much of a choice and my stomach feels like it’s about to eat itself, I do as he says. Once I’m seated, Thane pushes the chair into the table to the point I’m almost too close.
“Good girl.”
I jump slightly, feeling him against my ear, and he releases a dark laugh as his stubble grazes the side of my face before he steps away, walking to the opposite end. Thane takes his seat, and the two of us glare at one another across the ridiculously long table.
A man dressed in a tux sets a covered dish in front of me. When he pulls the lid off, I expect to see a steak or soup, but it’s neither.
“What is this?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“It’s your dinner,” Thane says, taking a bite out of whatever meat he just cut into.
“It’s dog food!” I snap, slamming my palm down on the table.
“It is,” he agrees in a condescending tone that makes my hand ball into a fist. “And you’re going to eat it.”
“I’d rather starve!” I swipe my arm across the table, and the bowl of dog food goes flying off, scattering across the maroon rug.
I push away from the table to stand, but Thane is already looming over me with both hands fixed firmly on each arm of the chair.
It took him less than a breath to get to me.
Werewolves are fast, but not that fast. Especially when they’re in their human forms. “How did you—”
“What’s the matter, Grey? Never met a hybrid before?”
“A what?” He lowers his head, stopping in front of my face. Two fangs snap out, and my hands fly to my mouth in an attempt to muffle the scream. He leans back against the table, crossing his legs as he takes in my reaction with sick pleasure. “It’s impossible.”
“It should be,” he says, resting his palms on the table next to him. “Now how about we try this again?”
He snaps his fingers, and the man dressed in the tux walks out with another covered dish.
When he approaches, Thane steps behind my chair and pushes it in with a bit more force than last time.
Instead of heading back to his seat, he props his leg up so that he’s sitting halfway on the table.
He removes the lid and slides the bowl of dog food closer to me.
I could eat it. Lord knows I’ve eaten worse.
But doing so would be playing his game. It would mean accepting my fate as his pet, and I refuse to do that.
I spent my whole life craving freedom, and when the Last War ended, and I survived, I earned that freedom.
It’s going to take more than a little starvation for me to just give it up now.
I take the bowl in my hands, lifting it to my lips, and his eyes monitor every move, waiting to bask in the glory of breaking me. I pause, making sure to lock eyes with him right before tossing it over my head. The sound of the bowl shattering almost masks the snarl Thane releases as he stands up.
“You should know that pets aren’t always obedient,” I taunt, matching his anger with my own.
He grabs my arm hard enough to leave a mark and drags me out of the mansion so fast that my feet scrape the ground, struggling to keep up. Before I know it, he’s tossing me back into the cage next to the wolves.
“If you want to act like a wild animal, then you’ll live like one.”