Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
“Let go of me, Theo.” I try to shake my arm from his harsh grip. I’m not going to play with these two anymore and be their doll they ooh'ed and ahh'ed over when I was being their good girl. No fucking more.
“Why do you do that? As soon as you don’t like the topic of conversation, you want to run off. You have every right to be mad at Tobias, but this would have eventually happened. No matter what you think, you were always meant to be ours.”
“So you expect me to be okay with turning into a blood-sucking monster or a furry dog who howls at the moon?” I snap. I hope Theo gets as pissed over my reduction of his species as Tobias would be. Tobias huffs behind me, clearly annoyed. Good. “Let go of me, Theo.”
“Not until you listen. If you don’t choose willingly, I will choose for you, Imogen. I won’t risk your life. We won’t let you go.”
“So, what, I either become like one of you, or I never leave the property? Newsflash, asshole, I have been stuck here already for weeks.”
“Watch your mouth, Imogen. I won’t have you disrespect Theo.”
“Or what Tobias? Seriously, things can’t get any more fucked up than they already are. What exactly are you going to do about it?” He snarls but doesn’t say anything.
“Like I thought, now, fucking move out of my way.” Theo crosses his arms over his chest. Refusing to move.
“You are testing my patience, just hear us out, bloody listen for once.”
“I have done nothing but listen to your mate bond bullshit. I feel exactly the same as when I first got here. Nothing is going to change that, not even some stupid imaginary bond. Besides, how do you even know it works on humans?"
“Really, do you feel exactly the same?” Theo demands, an eyebrow raised and he dares to scoff at me.
Fucking asshole. He moves so fast I don’t have time to react, and I find myself shoved up against the door.
His lips are at my neck, his fangs brushing the skin of my throat.
I shiver and my stomach tightens. I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry.
All I can focus on is his body pressed against mine, his legs parting mine.
He sucks on the mark he'd given me, and sparks moved across my skin.
A moan escapes my lips as they part. He sucks and nibbles on my skin, and arousal floods through me.
Then the fog settles over me, I try to shake it off.
I know I feel more for them, feel oddly connected to them, but knowing he is doing his mind control mumbo jumbo pisses me off, overriding the sensation that makes me want to give in to anything he wants.
He pulls back, his lips leaving my skin, his voice below my ear. “You can’t tell me that feels the same. I can smell your arousal, I know how much you want us.”
I shake my head, trying to clear the fog that tries to creep in, getting stronger. Managing to clear my thoughts, I push him and break the hold he has over me. “That’s because of your mind control thing, not the bond.”
“It’s not that, and you know it. Why do you keep denying it?” asks Tobias, who is casually standing and watching us.
“I want to go to bed. Just let me leave, please, it’s still dark outside.
” Theo moves to the side, letting me pass, only to wrap his arms around my waist. The familiar fog moves over me again.
I turn around and face him, before slapping him, annoyed he is using his vampire tricks on me.
My slap echoes through the house, the sound of flesh on flesh, and not the fun kind this time.
I’m actually surprised at the amount of force I use. I can tell I didn’t hurt him even the slightest, but the pure rage on his face shows just how angry he is. I'd even dared to do that.
“Imogen, apologize to him,” Tobias demands. I do feel guilty. I can’t believe I actually hit him, but I’m sick of him using the fog to get what he wants out of me. I don't want a decision as huge as this to be one pulled out of me rather than one I actually choose.
“Tell him to stop doing his vampire voodoo, then.” I spit back at Tobias.
Theo grabs me, and I gasp at how strong his grip is. This is the Theo of my nightmares. The one who enjoyed hurting Tom. He yanks me toward him and I collide into his hard icy chest. From the corner of my eye, I watches Tobias creeping closer, worry clearly visible on his face.
Theo's lips are so close I forget how to breathe, fear consuming me as his eyes turn red. He leans in closer, his voice held the anger he feels toward me.
“The fog works both ways, Imogen. You’re going to learn that the hard way.
” Tobias reaches to grab him, but Theo is faster.
I’m spun around so my back is to him and he leans down, fangs plunging into my neck.
There is nothing gentle this time. I scream at first from the shock, and as it rolls over me, I scream from the pain, tears rolling down my cheeks.
My neck has been attacked by a rusty can opener, and he isn't done.
He bites straight onto the side of my neck and shoulder, tearing through my flesh, my blood forming a river pouring down my shoulder.
Tobias wrenches Theo off me. I stand there trembling, before falling backward on the ground, landing on my butt. I clutch my neck. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts! I pull my hand back from the ragged flesh, and it was coated in blood. It look like I'd decided to fingerpaint with it.
Theo snarls at Tobias, shoving him away, before his eyes fall on me.
His eyes return to their normal hypnotic green, but they are filled with a new emotion, terror.
I stare at my hand, then back to Theo. The blood isn't stopping.
Am I going to die here? Like this? Theo moves toward me, arms outstretched. But there is no way I can handle that.
I get to my feet, my knees knocking against each other.
I hobble away from them, back to the stairs.
I clutch the banister, pulling myself forward.
I sway with every step but I don't care.
I have to get away. I wobbled on the top step, falling backward.
I clench my eyes shut, preparing for more pain.
Warm hands steady me, holding me. Tobias is there. He glances down at Theo, the vampire pale, paler than usual, watching us with horrified eyes. "Let her cool off, you should do the same," Tobias snarls at him. A deep growl in his voice.
Tobias leads me to the bedroom. I want to struggle free from his gentle grip, but I can't get over the shock. Theo has bitten me! I glance in the mirror and pale. Blood has stained my clothes, my hair, my everything. My neck burns, a constant agony I can't shake.
Tobias gets a wet cloth and gently cleans my face and dabs lightly at my neck, inspecting it. "He bit deep, but he didn't tear any skin."
I blink at him. "That's not what it feels like. I thought he was trying to tear my flesh apart. He wanted to hurt me."
Tobias winces but didn't reply. There is no point in arguing that. "You're not bleeding any more. Let's get you washed up."
Again I want to argue with him. All of this is his fucking fault in the first place.
But words are lead on my tongue. Every sound too heavy to make.
Fuck it. I'd fight again later. I nod letting Tobias run the water and strip my clothes before gently pushing me under the streams of water.
I let out a choked sob when the water hits my war wound.
But wasn't this my fault? He'd never have lost control if I hadn't slapped him.
He might not have done it if I'd bothered to apologize to him like Tobias had wanted.
It didn't give him the right to maul me, but he wasn't exactly human.
His father had pissed him off, and there I was just pouring an entire bag of salt into the wound.
Tobias massages the shampoo into my hair, his eyes searching mine. “You okay?”
“I didn’t mean to piss him off, he just got under my skin,” I murmur. If it was anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have heard me, but he answers, so I know he heard.
“I think sometimes you forget we aren’t human; you have no idea how hard it is for him to deny his true nature around you.
He shouldn’t have done what he did, but I know he wouldn’t have done it if he had control of his instincts.
” I nod against his chest. “Just remember next time, Imogen, there is a reason vampires and werewolves are portrayed as evil in books and movies. We are technically what you would call monsters and run off strong emotions and natural instincts. We feel things differently, everything is heightened, anger is the hardest to try and control.”
I wrap my arms around his waist, loving the feel of his warm skin. I find it comforting, being in their arms, it feels like home, where I belong, but it doesn’t make me feel any less scared of the choices that need to be made.
“How would Theo or you change me?” I ask. It’s one question that bothers me, exactly how they became the way they were.
“Werewolves are born, we can transform a human into a werewolf, though the same as a vampire, well like most supernatural creatures.”
“So, there are more supernatural beings than vampires and werewolves?” I don't know if I like the idea or if it horrifies me.
“Yes, most myths and legends hold the truth.”
“Like what?”
“Fae, witches, mermaids, demons, they are a few, but there are more. We live in the shadows, though. This world is too dangerous for our kind. If people found out, they would want to experiment and find ways to recreate it. Humans are good at one thing, and that’s making species extinct, and that is why we have rules. ”
I peer up at him. He is right, humans are bigger monsters than they are. I'd been witness to that over and over again.
He kisses my nose.
“You didn't answer how you would change me.”
“We would give you our blood.”
I was confused. I had already drank Theo’s blood and was still human, so if that was it, how come I haven’t changed already? “I’ve drank Theo’s blood and I am still the same.”