Ash's point of view
My heart breaks as I watch her fall asleep, exhausted from the brutal beating that she just received, still lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. The King looks at me with a sickening grin on his face; I hold his eye, vowing to get my revenge for this beautiful woman who lies broken on the floor. He leaves the room with a laugh, leaving her lying where she is. I watch her as she sleeps, unable to take my eyes off her as I try to figure out what is going on.
One thing that I do know.
She is not the cruel Queen that we are all led to believe she is, and all I can do for the time being is wait for her to wake up before I can get some answers from her. For the first time in my life, I find myself thankful for vampire healing powers as I watch the welts lesson on her delicate skin...A couple of hours later and I hear her let out a groan before she opens her eyes, I wish I could reach out to her, but she is too far away from me. She quickly covers herself up when she realizes that she is undressed, and I turn my head away to give her some privacy. When she is fully dressed, I turn back to look at her as I ask.
"Are you okay?"
She nods her head as she quietly whispers....."Yes."
I sigh, standing up before I walk to the edge of the cage, getting as close as I can to her as I say. "You have to let me help you get away from him." Tears form in her eyes as she replies. "I can't; he would kill us both."
I rub my chin; she is terrified of him; I can see it in her eyes; it's going to take some time to gain her trust and to get her to understand that I can help her, I can get her away from this monster. I nod my head in understanding as I ask. "So, you're a vampire that doesn't like to kill. Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
She lifts her face to look at me, her eyes wide as she checks to make sure the room is empty before she says. "I wasn't born as a vampire; I was a human. I have never wanted this life. The King turned me against my will before forcing me to marry him." I clench my fists as I look into her sad eyes before I say. "So, what about the young boy who turned up at my club three weeks ago? He told me that you drank his blood; if I hadn't found him when I did, he would have died; he's twelve years old."
Her face shows her regret as the tears run down her cheeks...."I did what I had to do to keep him alive."
She whispers; I sigh as I look into her sad eyes before I say. "Please explain because I just don't understand any of this."
She looks into my eyes before letting out a sigh. "The King brought him to me as a Pet; all the top vampires are taking young humans and claiming them as pets; they walk around with them attached to leads and parade them like trophies; when I told the King I didn't want a Pet he forced me to drink his blood, I had no choice because If I didn't do it, then Areon would have and he wouldn't have let him live, I drank what I needed to, to make the King think he was dead, before getting one of my staff to leave him at the Firepit where I knew you would find him." My eyes widen as I listen to her.
Well, I never a vampire with a heart, a woman forced to marry a vampire, no doubt because of her beauty and then being forced to turn against her will. No wonder she looks so haunted. I can only imagine the things she has been forced to endure, the things she has seen and, worst of all, the horrors she has been forced to do herself. My heart breaks for her; I will gain her trust enough for me to get her away from him before I return with my army and finish these vampires once and for all.
I spend the next hour talking to Queen Anna only to find out she was once just a normal person, just like me. King Areon and his army of bloodsuckers raided her town, looking for new blood slaves. When he saw Anna, he took her for himself, separating her from her parents. As her father tried to save her, he killed him in front of her before taking her away from her mother and her home; when he first turned her, she refused to drink human blood, and he had his slaves hunt for animals so she could drink the blood she desperately needed to keep her alive, but the longer she's with him, the crueller he becomes as he finds ways to blackmail her as he forces her to drink human blood. Dylan was meant to be her first killing. I listen to her story in horror, and I find myself reaching through the bars of the cage to take her hand. I somehow know she is not meant for this world. I saw it in her eyes when I first laid eyes on her, and I know in my heart it will only be a matter of time before the King disregards her when he finds a new innocent beauty to torment.
Only he will not let her go or leave her for someone else. He will end her life in the most brutal way possible; I will not let this happen, I might be a vampire slayer, but I know a pure heart when I see one and a broken soul that looks back at me through empty eyes. I have to get her away from him. I have to somehow gain her trust.
Ash's point of view. I've spent the whole afternoon talking to Queen Anna, and the more she tells me, the harder my heart breaks for her; she has no life living with the King; he took her away from her family, her home, from everyone she loved, she has a few friends in the palace staff that she can trust, but she's lonely and scared, and she wears her heart in her sleeve. She jumps when a bell sounds in the palace, and I look up as I ask. "What the hell is that?" She lowers her head and whispers. "The King is back." Before she runs to slip on her shoes as she says. "I have to go; he expects everyone to greet him when he comes home." And with that, she's gone to stand in line and greet her husband along with the rest of the palace staff; she's just as much a slave to him as I am. I clench my fists in anger; this whole situation is so fucked up that it makes my blood boil. I don't see her for the next few hours, and I find it strange that I feel worried for her, making me wonde
Ash's point of view.It's crazy how quickly your life can change one minute; I'm a champion fighter, and the next, I'm a pet, kept in a cage and walked on a lead. I shrug, the thought from my mind. The next few days are all about finding out the King's weakness, his army of bloodsuckers and my way around the Palace so that I can plan my next move. I don't need to worry about Stan and the rest of the fighters. My most loyal friends will know where to find me when I plan my escape.The Queen doesn't speak a word as she leads me into a waiting limo; I know from the look on her face she's not happy treating me this way. I go to sit on one of the seats; Anna yanks the lead shaking her head as her eyes look to the floor."Oh, right, I forgot I'm only her pet tonight."I sink to the floor of the limo as she lets out a sigh of relief before King Areon joins us. He smirks when he sees me sitting on the floor before he says."I do hope your Pet is going to behave tonight. I would hate to have t
Ash's point of view I look at Anna as she smiles; damn, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life; this is the first time that I have seen her smile, and it's beautiful. Her eyes light up with hope and freedom. I don't know, but her smile is just…. Wow! I take her hand in mine, knowing that we need to get to the safe house as soon as we possibly can. It is the only way I can guarantee her safety. Shit, we have a lot of ground to cover, and much of it is rough terrain. I look at her in her designer dress and ridiculously high heels. This is going to be hard on her. I look at her as I say. "Give me your shoes." She hands them over with a frown, and I break off the heels hoping that it will make the trek a little easier for her. There is not much I can do with the dress, though, handing the shoes back as I go to take off my jacket as I say. "Are you cold.?" Anna begins to giggle as she pushes that jacket back at me as she says, "You're going to need that more
Chapter 9Ash's point of view."I need blood", she whispers before she collapses in my arms."Anna," I shout as I desperately try to wake her up. Fuck, this is not good. I don't have time to hunt for a blood source; there's only one thing I can do to keep her alive. With my heart in my mouth, I race into the kitchen, taking a knife from the drawer before running back into the bedroom and bringing the blade down as I slash across my palm."Fuck."I let out a groan of pain as the blade pierces my skin before placing my hand over her mouth and forcing her lips open as I let the blood trickle inside, praying that it somehow gets into her body.It seems like an eternity before she finally flickers her eyes open as she sucks greedily on my blood; her eyes go wide when she realises where the blood is coming from. She lets out a groan before she leans over the side of the bed and throws up all over the floor."Are you okay?" I ask as I look at her, not knowing what the hell is going on."Yeah
Ash's point of view Why does she have to feel so good in my arms? We're cuddled up on the sofa; when the end of the film credits roll by, I whisper Anna's name when I realise that she hasn't moved. "Anna, baby?" I look down and chuckle when I see her fast asleep, her head resting on my shoulder; even when she sleeps, she's so fucking beautiful. I sit and hold her, just for a while…. I tell myself. Tomorrow I will put some distance between us. I have to for my own sanity; how the hell can I be attracted to a Vampire; it just isn't right... It does not make any sense at all. I let out a sigh before picking her up and carrying her to bed; she is so light in my arms. She seems too fragile to be a Vampire, too small. If she were human, I would be wanting to feed her up; she is nothing but skin and bones. I know that having a constant supply of fresh blood is going to help her, but I wish that there were more that I could do for her. She lets out a tired yawn as I place her in the bed
Ash's point of viewI spend the rest of the day talking to Bear and his team; Anna keeps away. I think she either feels a little intimidated by the size of these guys, or she doesn't want them to know that she's a Vampire.I make sure to keep an eye on the time, though, sneaking off to make sure she's feeding. Bear raises his eyebrows every time I excuse myself.He never misses a thing…..Later on in the evening, as we're all eating, he asks where Anna is and why she's not eating; I make an excuse before heading off into her room with a tray of food.I still do not know how these guys will act when they find out she's a vampire. It's probably best to play it safe.Later in the evening, Anna finally picks up the courage to join us in the main living area; she takes a seat on the sofa next to me as she looks around the room. I can understand why she's feeling nervous around them. These are big guys, but they are good guys. They don't prey on the innocent.The longer she's in the room wi
Ash's point of viewI can't believe I'm acting like a teenager, making out with a Vampire. I take her lips one last time before I leave the room, she's been through so much, and I don't want to push her before she's ready.Damn, though, I've never felt like this before; one kiss, and I'm a goner.I head straight into my own room, hoping that I don't run into anyone in the corridor, my very obvious erection causing a tent in my pants. Thankfully though, the corridors are bare, and I slip into my room unnoticed, throwing off my clothes before heading into the shower to take care of my aching dick.I've never felt this attracted to a woman before, now don't get me wrong, I like a bit of female company to warm my bed at night, but it never goes any further and never more than one night. But where Anna is concerned, I find myself longing for more. She provokes feelings in me that I've never felt before. Once I'm showered and cleaned up, I dive into bed, waiting for her to fill my dreams.
Ash's point of viewSo that is how I find myself packing up a kit to head into the Eden forest and hopefully find this high witch. Of course, Bear insists that he tags along with his team, not that I expected anything else from the big guy. He's always had my back, just as I will always have his.I've packed up everything I need, and I'm just waiting for the blood transfusion to finish aa Anna needs all the strength she can find if we're going to make this journey tonight.Once the drip is empty, I manage to find her some warm clothes to change into, and we're ready to head off as night falls. The only way to get to the heart of Eden forest is by foot, and it's rumoured to be guarded by a large pack of wolves. I must admit I'm thankful to Bear and his team to be tagging along with us, especially seeing as he knows this witch.I'm still not convinced that this witch isn't real all my life. I've been told stories of the myth of Eden forest, and all my life, that's all I've ever believed