I open my eyes to a dark, smelly place. I look around to try and see if I recognize where I am, but I don't. I try to change my eyes to my werewolf eyes, but I can't. I try to contact Eva, but I can't either. Where the hell am I? I stand up from the cold ground and try to feel around the room to guess where I'm. I groan a little as my muscles hurt when I move them. I think I was on the floor for a while. I put my hands in the air and try to feel anything around me.
I move toward my right and my hands come in contact with the wall. I lean toward the wall and continue to walk around the place. I quickly remove my hand from the bars when I touch them. They're made out of silver. They burn me the moment I felt them. I must be in a vampire or human hunter's prison. I don't know which one to wish for. I'm turning back to where I think I woke up from when the lights suddenly come on in the room. I shield my eyes as I try to adjust to the light.
"Hello, beautiful, we finally meet," a voice behind me says; I turn around to see the owner of this voice.
A very handsome vampire stands before me. His hair is as black as night. His beautiful green eyes stare at me and take in my whole appearance. His brows are full and thick; even with the little lighting in the room, I can see how red and full his lips are. How can a vampire be so handsome? Aren't they all dead-looking? Why does he look human? If I couldn't smell the vampire on him, I would think he was human. He doesn't smell as bad as they do. His scent has a mixture of death which is how all vampires smell to me, and cinnamon, yes, cinnamon. How is it possible?
"Who are you?" I ask the vampire as he walks toward me. With every step he takes, I find it more difficult to not stare at him. What's going on?
"I can't believe you don't recognize me, my love. I know it's been ages, but I don't age like those dogs," he says as he stands in front of my cell.
"I don't know who you are?"
"You do; you just don't remember."
"I think I'd remember if I met someone like you."
"Let me help you refresh your memory then. My name is Nickolas Adams. Your mate, the vampire king."
"What?" I ask, wide-eyed. There's no way in hell I'm the vampire king's mate. I don't feel any pull toward him.
"You might not remember my love, but I'll help you recall."
"Is this some kind of trick?"
"I didn't want to have to do this, but it seems it's the only way you'll remember me," he says and rips open my cell door. He's in front of me faster than I can blink my eyes. He extends his fangs, and before I can run away from him, he dips them into my neck.
I scream in agony as his fangs pierce my skin. I'm trying to block the pain in my neck when suddenly I start seeing images of someone else's thoughts in my head. They're moving so fast it's hard to tell what they're showing. The speed of the images suddenly stops, and before my eyes stands the vampire king and a woman, not just any woman, a woman who looks exactly like me. But I know she isn't me. I watch how she smiles at the vampire king, and he for her. She walks toward him, and he kisses her once she is in front of him. I think this is his mate. The image of them in front of me suddenly starts getting blurry as I feel the pain in my neck disappear.
"You're not her; you're an imposter," the vampire king says, throwing me across the room.
I hit my body hard against the wall. I crouch down in pain and hold my side. I knew he'd realize that the minute he figured the memory he was showing me was known only to him. The only logical explanation to what I just saw would be that I look exactly like his mate. But I'm not her. I can look like her since I'm a descendant of vampires. I'm sure he thought she was reborn.
"I never claimed to be your mate," I say as I try to lift myself off the ground. I stand up but it's not because I could gather my strength and lift myself. Nickolas gripped my neck and lifted me off the ground. My feet dance in the air as I struggle to remove his hands from around my neck. He's choking the life out of me.
"I'm going to kill you for trying to deceive me. You're not her," he says, increasing the pressure on my neck. I try to release my claws, but they won't come out. It's like I'm a human right now. I wonder what spell was cast in this cell to make me human.
I can feel my airflow reducing with every passing second that he continues to choke me. This is how I die? I didn't even get to fight first. My vision gets blurry when I suddenly hear someone coming to my aid.
"Please, my king, don't kill her. I beg you, please don't kill her," Mason begs on his knees in front of the cell.
Mason? What is he doing here? He shouldn't be here. The vampire king won't spare his life if he sees him alive. I want to shout at Mason to run away, but I can hardly breathe let alone talk.
"Why should I not kill her? She isn't Jane, so I don't need her," Nickolas says.
"She might not be Jane, my king, but she's still a hybrid. She can help you revive the vampire kingdom. Please, spare her life," Mason says.
The vampire king presses his nails deeper into my neck before throwing me hard against the floor.
"You're lucky he was here to talk me out of killing you. I was so angry I forgot your blood is all I need to rebuild my family and not your womb," he says, walking out of the cell. He bangs the door shut once he's out.
I cough and massage my neck. I crawl toward Mason who's on his knees outside the cell, but before I can reach him, Nickolas 's words stop me.
"Thank you, Mason, for delivering her to me," Nickolas says, smirking.
I look at Mason, wide-eyed, hoping it's a lie and he didn't betray me. He can't meet my eyes, and that's enough to prove the vampire king isn't lying.