| |
WHEN I WOKE UP I WAS no longer chained down and on the bed were white cotton scrubs. They weren’t fashionable, but they would cover me up. My other clothes were gone and the room was as I had thought, devoid of any comforts other than the bed and a single chair. The walls were padded and there were two doors. The one by which Keegan had brought me and one leading to a bathroom with a standing shower with no door or curtains and a toilet. There wasn’t even a mirror! I rubbed my face. “What is this place? An asylum?” I groaned, turning on the water and climbing into the shower. I was angry and exhausted and my whole body ached. I hoped that the warm water would at least help with the muscle pains.
I stood there letting it wash over me, finding a pack of bar soap and cleaned myself up. No towels. I guess they expected me to air dry. Whatever. I paced the floor naked as a baby for God knows how long, then finally slumped into the pants and top. That was when I heard what I thought was the lock on the door disengage.
My head snapped toward the sound, my senses were on hyper alert. My stomach was growling something fierce. I was starving. For food, for blood. I needed both at this point. “Keegan? You son of a bitch...” I started, then saw that the door didn’t, open only a small space in the base of the door where a hand appeared pushing a plate of steak, eggs, toast and a syringe into the room before the panel slid closed once more.
I stared at the plate on shaky legs, I had thought at first this was to be one of Keegan’s little games, albeit an extreme one, but this was over the top even for him.
Tucked just under the plate was a folded piece of paper. I snatched it up.
Ryane,
You will find the quarters restrictive until you have come to control yourself and your urges. Your feral Hunter nature has made you rather dangerous to my son. I cannot have that. You and he are to be separated at least for the next few days. You need a breather. Please understand this is for your own good and safety.
Your Father-in- Law.
I tore the paper to shreds. “Fuck you!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Do you hear me, you Mother Fucking Son of a Bitch! Who the fuck, do you think you are?” I threw my hands up in the air and the plate went soaring with it. My force push taking the thing and sending it flying. The door slammed open and I was grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air, my body rammed onto the bed.
I choked as Herlihy stared down at me, his violet eyes flooding black. “Time to can it little one.” He snapped his teeth at me like a Rottweiler.
“I don’t think so.” I pushed at his massive chest and he sailed backward, hitting the doorframe. I rolled over catching my breath, my stomach did flip flops and I could barely stand but I pushed myself up. I was getting out of this room. I was going to find Keegan. I had no doubt in my mind that he was probably in a similar situation.
Herlihy laughed from the floor. “You pack a mean punch for a newborn. But that’s to be expected for a Legacy Pureblood such as yourself.” He stood up with a hop that showed his flexibility over his immense size. “Keegan couldn’t have chosen a better mate than you to be sure, but you complicate our lives.” He brushed himself off as if my fighting stance did not threaten him. “You can rush me, and get hurt, or you can feed.” He motioned to the syringe at my feet. “The choice is yours. I will hurt you if it will subdue you.”
His voice was so calm it pissed me off. I didn’t give a fuck about the synthetic. I rushed him, giving my push all I had, latching onto him, my teeth breaking into his throat. His blood rushed into me and I could feel myself raging. Then pain shot through my back as he grabbed me, slamming me into the wall as if I were nothing more than a rag doll.
“I warned you, little one.” His demon black eyes connected with mine as he spoke, putting my arms behind my back with his other hand as my feet dangled inches above the floor. I tried to kick, but it did me no amount of good. His reach was so wide that I was kicking at nothing but empty space. I felt like a little kid in a bad cartoon. The one where the little guy tries to hit the bully and he just holds him there with his hand out. That was me at that moment.
“You are going to stop this nonsense, right now. Do you hear me?” He ground his teeth as the blood trickled down from his throat. I was mesmerized by the sight. “Pay attention to me, child.” He let go of my throat, putting me to the floor and slapping my face. I growled at him fiercely and he laughed. “You can throw all the fits you like, but you will take the synthetic, and you will no longer use my family line as your personal blood vault. It’s too dangerous. Now sit down!”
His timber put me straight down to the floor. I couldn’t help it, I was on my knees immediately, as though I was serving his son.
“I’m sorry.” I felt the need to apologize. “I don’t know why...”
“It’s the mingling of the bloodlines in you, child. Legacies are not meant to become Bonded Vampires.”
“I didn’t know.”
“That is my fault, I suggested this to Keegan, not realizing how deep your bond had become. You have a soul connection.”
“A what?”
“You are truly life mates. Er... Soul mates, one half of the other. The Vampire bloods that run through your family lines were dominantly Teague, which makes your Pureblood strong and dangerous. You can compel, you can command and you can fight. Am I correct?”
I nodded with a hard swallow.
“I thought as much. “You have power over the Dragon, Siegfried, I assume, as well?”
“We think so.”
“Then this must happen, Keegan’s blood in you gives you too much advantage. If one were to get their hands upon you, before you can learn to control your powers and protect yourself, it could be a problem. Right now is a perfect example.”
I looked at him curiously. I didn’t understand.
“I’ve compelled you to obey, to sit and listen and understand. I’m older and more experienced than you, so I can do this. However, if you had better control over your abilities, I would have a harder time.”
“How do I get a handle on it?” I didn’t want to be a sitting duck for some asshat to come and snatch for their own fucked up wants and needs.
“Practice, due diligence, hard work and determination. They are like any other skills; you have to work on them to get better. They will take time.” Herlihy sat next to me on the floor, taking the syringe. “Now you need to take this and learn to use it properly. The best place is to mainline it into the jugular, you can always find it, and it pumps best. Then another place is the wrist, but it can sometimes slip. This hurts less.”
I took the needle and swallowed deeply, lifting my neck to the side as I felt for the hard pulsing vein. “Here?”
“That’s it. Slide the needle in and push the plunger down slowly.”
I did as he told me and in moments the euphoric sense of relief washed over me. My agitation was under the surface, but it was being buried by Herlihy’s words.
“Where’s Keegan?” I asked as he lifted me up and laid me on the bed.
“My son is being tended to. Like you, he needs to have you washed from his system. Although his cleansing is a little more unorthodox.” He bent down, kissing my forehead. “I’ll have some more food brought in. You will eat and you will not be any more problems. Understood?”
“Yes, Father.” I receded, my eyes rolling back as he pulled the blankets up to my chin.