Chapter 18 #2
The traces of red water left behind appeared slimy. I lifted my hand to my nose and cringed. Its acidic and rusty scent made me gag. The water wasn’t water, but blood.
Was this the blood that Torin had spilled? The blood he’d drunk from all the people he’d killed over the years?
The thought of swimming in blood—or worse, submerging my head and face—made my stomach churn.
I walked around each side of the shore, but there were no boats. Nothing that I could even use as a floating device.
My heart pounded so hard against my chest now that I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down. I summoned all my courage and put one foot into the bloody river.
A loud scream coming from the castle pierced the silence. It sounded like Torin.
“Noooooooo,” he yelled, and I was now sure it was him.
I rushed into the red water and swam as fast as I could. My body had to acclimate to the coldness by moving. I kept my eyes on the other shore.
But the closer I drew to the other side, my heart rate sped, and my breathing became uncontrollable.
Was hypothermia going to take over me soon?
My shivering body was desperately trying to warm up. The world around me spun and moved in a way it shouldn’t have. Sudden nausea made me dizzier.
I didn’t have more than a few minutes before I lost control over my body.
The water rose like a tsunami at my side, and my eyes grew wide as the wave started crashing down on me. The force of it hit my body so hard that I sank deep. The side of my chest hit a rock on the bottom, and a piercing pain shot through my rib cage.
Despite the pain, the urge to take my next breath propelled me up to the surface. I barely dragged myself onto the dry grass and dirt on the shore of the castle. As I lay on the ground, I couldn’t move. I let my body shake until the shivering subsided.
I stood on all fours, my pajama shorts and shirt stuck to my body, keeping the coldness trapped on my skin.
“So that’s how it’s going to be.” My voice came out as low as a whisper, although I wanted to scream.
Another scream boomed from one of the cathedral-style windows, and I straightened up and hurried inside the castle’s massive wooden doors. Large gray tiles made up the floor. The candle chandeliers hung low and flickered.
Another agonizing scream, and my heart clenched for Torin.
“I’m coming, Torin.”
I wanted to confront anyone who made Torin suffer, but the logical part of my brain reminded me that no one else should be here. Only his mate.
The screams became more frequent now, and I followed the painful sounds into a bedchamber. As soon as I opened the door, the atmosphere reminded me of that fake vampire club with the bright-red velvet furniture. Lots of red colors surrounded me.
And then my gaze landed on Torin. He was completely naked and bloody in the corner, chained with silver by his hands. He was on his knees, head bowed, shoulders drooped, and the pain in my heart threatened to make the organ explode.
I moved toward the unsuspecting Torin and passed by a large bed that sat on a raised platform. Blood stains covered the white quilt, which looked messy as if someone had just got out of bed.
No one else could be here. Did Torin do this to himself?
I was close to him, but before I could touch him, a wound formed on his shoulder where his scar was, as if an invisible hand made it. The tattooed flesh opened quite deep, and more blood seeped out. Torin screamed in pain.
“No more, no more.” His voice sounded tortured and strained.
I’d never seen him so broken.
The cut started healing almost immediately, leaving the scar as a reminder. Torin kept on groaning and whimpering.
“Torin,” I whispered, and he immediately lifted his head.
He squinted, blood covering his eyes.
“My… Anna?” he said, and his words touched my heart.
Not the time.
“I need to get you out of here,” I said, crouching beside him.
If Torin went through this torture most nights, his body experienced the pain in the physical realm as if it had happened there. For how long had he been suffering?
No one knew of his pain because in the morning he was healed, and the tall wall around his heart was rebuilt.
“Anna?” he called again as if he didn’t believe it was me.
It was as if Torin tortured himself, reliving the trauma, unable to let go of his past.
When the surprise passed, Torin winced and looked away from me, seeming embarrassed. But that lasted only a moment because the next time he turned to face me, his eyes turned red, his brows furrowed in a frown and his nostrils flared.
“Tell me how to help you,” I said, looking around the room for anything that could be a tool.
Torin wasn’t trapped in a dungeon but in a sensual bedchamber with lacy red pillows and a big bed. Whose bedroom was it? Torin was sure not going to tell me that.
“Leave now,” he shouted, and I gasped.
Here I was, risking my life for this moody jerk who dared to yell at me.
“I can’t go back. I won’t survive the bloody river and the vamp-ish animal who chased me.”
Torin finally dragged his gaze over my body and assessed my injuries. I imagined I didn’t look well, covered in bloody PJs and injuries, trembling. A fire ignited behind his crimson eyes, and in an instant, Torin had entirely shifted into his vampire.
“You’re hurt,” he said with his inhuman voice, but this time, it sounded steadier.
Torin pulled on his chains, and without making a sound, he broke free. This man couldn’t free himself, but when he saw me hurt, his anger drove him free.
Naked Torin stood, and his hard muscles flexed and twitched with each movement, but when my gaze fell on his face, I didn’t like what I saw. His lips pressed into a line, his vampire eyes on my ankle.
With one swift movement, Torin scooped me up and held me in his arms like he was carrying a feather. His wounds, now healed into scars, didn’t reopen, and I breathed a little easier.
Wait…I was here to help him, not the other way around. But I didn’t protest while nestled against Torin’s hard chest. I was glad that Torin could end his suffering as soon as he recognized me.
His silence only made me hyper-focused on him and his dark dream realm.
As he stomped out the castle doors, the bridge lowered itself.
“Geez, it would be easier if it had done that when I came in here,” I said, trying to break the silence.
“I’m the only one welcome here,” Torin said, his gaze on the forest ahead of us.
He carried me through the dark forest; no wild animal or bird attacked us. The scorching flames retreated as we entered the burning cottage, giving us a clear path to the front door.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” were his only words.
The coldness of Torin’s body rubbed on me, and a frigid chill ran down my spine. We exited the cottage and stepped into my enchanted forest. My dream realm felt like it came from a fairy tale compared to Torin’s.
He put me down on my feet and started walking away from me, almost disappearing behind the trees.
“What are you doing?” I yelled after him.
“I’ll wake you up.” His voice came out snappy as if scolding a child.
After a moment, my body shook, something pressed against my shoulders, and I opened my eyes to find Torin sitting on my bed. I still didn’t know how to control my dream realm, so Torin must have awoken first and come to my room.
Although he was in his human form, his eyes flashed.
“Don’t ever enter my dream realm.” His voice sounded as harsh as he likely intended.
I ground my teeth. “Who made those wounds on your shoulders, Torin?”
My heart clenched, and pain spread in my chest while my body shook. I winced as my ankle, my shoulder, and my rib cage throbbed with injuries.
Torin pulled the quilt over my shoulders, letting out a heavy sigh, stood, and walked away. Torin’s actions were all too familiar.
His cold behavior and cryptic words reminded me of the game I used to play as a child with daisy flowers. Today, he loved me. Tomorrow, he loved me not. Until all petals were plucked and discarded and there was nothing left of the daisy.
I was so done chasing after him. As he walked away without a word, I didn’t even bother asking where he was going.
Deep down, I knew I could never be the person he truly needed. No matter how much I loved him, I could never mend his wounded soul. Equally so, Torin would never be the man I yearned for—someone who could be vulnerable in intimacy and share himself fully with me.
But our chemistry electrified me. Despite his having to keep his vampire in check, I’d never felt more alive when I was with him. His mere presence not only aroused passion in me but also strength. Around him, my senses awakened with desire only he could ignite.
Yet, it was not enough.
I tossed the blanket to the side and limped to the bathroom.
After picking up the brush, I yanked it through my tangled locks, groaning.
Aching tendrils of pain coiled and snaked through me.
I had been so stupid to think I could change another person.
After a hot shower, I dressed and prepared to head out for the pack doctor or Alexander.
I was already heading to the front door when the loud knocks started. I opened the door to face the woman I didn’t want to deal with today.
“What do you want, Veronica?”
She put her hands up defensively and said, “I’m only doing my job. I have orders from my Alpha to take you to him.”
“Take me where?”
Veronica frowned. “He’s in trouble and needs you.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Torin is a big boy and can take care of himself.”
Veronica let out an annoyed groan. “You don’t understand. Torin is fighting your bodyguard, and it doesn’t look good for one of them. You’re the only one who can stop them.”
I took a sharp breath. Had Hayden trespassed again? Torin was already in a sour mood after our encounter in his dream realm. I didn’t want him taking it out on Hayden, too.
I shut the door behind me and followed Veronica.
“Where are they?” I asked as we rushed downstairs and to the manor's back door.
“In the backyard,” she said as she led the way.
Once outside, a black car waited in front of us. I scanned the open space and the first line of trees, but there were no traces of a fight or the men in sight.
“Where are—”
A sharp pain exploded on the side of my neck. Veronica stood next to me with a syringe in her hand. My head spun, the world tilting at a weird angle. My vision blurred.
I detected heavy footsteps around me and muffled voices, but I couldn’t react or make my body move. Someone’s hands supported me, and before I was pushed into the car's back seat, I saw Hayden running out of the forest toward me, shouting words I couldn’t make out.
The car door shut, cutting off my view of my bodyguard, and darkness engulfed me.