ANASTASIA
I don't know how many days have gone by since I got here. It's always dark, so I can't tell when it's day or night. I hear footsteps approaching me. I'm sure it's Mason bringing food. He brings food twice every day like clockwork. I haven't forgiven him for what he did. I don't talk to him when he tries to make conversation. I just take my food from him and go back deeper into my cell to eat it.
I expect to see Mason walking toward my door; instead, I see women. They're three of them. The one in front opens my cell door, and they all walk inside. The two behind grab my hands and make me kneel. They spread my hands wide as the one who opened my cell walks toward me with a needle in her hand. I can't see clearly, but I'm sure it's silver inside the syringe. I struggle to free my hands from the two women holding me, but I'm unable to. The leader finds a vein in my left hand and wastes no time injecting me.
I scream in pain as the silver enters my bloodstream. The fastest way to weaken a werewolf is by putting silver into their bloodstream. It drains you instantly. If you're not lucky and it gets to your heart, you'll die. I can feel myself getting weaker as they drag me outside of the cell. It's bad enough the cell made me human. Now they decided to inject silver into my body. They should just kill me already.
As my legs sweep the floor, I wonder where they're taking me. They drag me through a dark corridor and stop after a few minutes. The leader opens the door, and we walk into a bathroom. They strip me of my clothes and place me into a bathtub. My body becomes limp as the silver gets closer to my heart. I want to fight them and run away, but right now I can barely move my body. The hand that got injected is so dead you'd think I was paralyzed on the left side. They fill the tub with warm water and begin to wash me.
"Why are you bathing me?" I ask but get no response. They continue to clean me without saying even one word to me.
An hour later, they're done bathing and clothing me. The dress they put me in hardly covered anything. I feel so exposed. They took me to a beautiful room and asked me to sit on the bed. I look around the room, trying to guess why I'm here and who owns it. I don't have to wonder for long because the owner of the room walks in.
"Hello, beautiful, we meet again," Nickolas says, walking into the room.
"Why am I here?" I ask, my tongue slurring slightly.
"Why do you think you're here?" he says, smirking as he unbuttons his shirt.
"Stay away from me," I say, dragging my weak body up the bed, as far away from him as possible.
"I'll do no such thing, honey," he says, removing his shirt.
"I'll kill you," I say as I feel my back hit the headboard. I quickly move my leg to the side of the bed and drop them. My whole body follows to the floor. The silver is making me too weak to run away.
"You see, honey, I knew you weren't going to agree easily, so I made sure you wouldn't run away while I enjoyed my time with you," he says, walking toward me on the ground. He lifts me up and throws me back on the bed.
"Why are you doing this?" I ask as tears start to fall down my face. I can't believe this is how I'm going to lose my virginity.
"Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?" he climbs the bed and places his legs beside mine, caging me between him. "I'll tell you why," he says, grabbing my face, forcing me to lock eyes with him. "I want to make you scream in pain the same way my beautiful Jane did when your ancestors killed her. I want you to be alive as I do unspeakable things to your body and watch as you can do nothing about it because you're as good as dead. I want to break you so bad you'll wish you were dead," he says, roughly releasing my face.
"What did I ever do to deserve those things?" I say, with tears flowing down my face.
"You did nothing. Your ancestors are the ones you should blame for what's coming to you."
"Please, I beg you not to do this. I'll do anything, just please don't rape me."
"Ahh, the sweet sound of begging," he says, smiling. "When I'm done with you, please will be the only word you know." He says as he prepares to rip my dress, but I stop him by placing my hands over his.
"Please. Don't do this. I can give you my blood so you can revive your brother. You don't have to do this."
"Oh, I'll be using your blood as well as your body."
"Plea-" I'm cut off when someone barges into the room.
"Who dares disturb me?" Nickolas growls at the intruder.
"Sorry, my king, but the werewolves are here. Our plan worked. It's time to go to war."
"They're here? At night? It seems the werewolf king wants to die faster than I thought," Nickolas says, releasing a dark chuckle.
"Theo is here? Why?" I ask, wiping away my tears.
"What do you mean why?" Nickolas asks as he starts dressing.
"There's no need to go to war with the werewolf kingdom. You already have me."
He stares at me for a little while before releasing that dark laughter of his. He sounds like the devil when he laughs. "Did you really think I was killing werewolves because I wanted to draw you out?"
"If that's not the reason, what is it?"
"Oh, my dear, you have a lot to learn. The werewolf war has nothing to do with you. I've planned to wipe out the werewolf kingdom for years and just decided to execute my plans when you rescued your mother. It has nothing to do with you."
"Really?" I ask, shocked. I can't believe I almost got myself killed for nothing. All that guilt I felt over so many werewolves dying was misplaced.
"Yes, and as much as I'd love for us to continue, I have a king to kill and a clan to wipe out. Ben, take her to Ava and tell her the time has come," Nickolas says before he walks out of his room.
"Okay, my King," Ben says, walking toward me.
I try to increase the space between us, but my body is too weak to move fast. He grabs my hand and makes me stand. He keeps his hold on my hand and walks us out of Nickolas' room.
"Who is Ava? What does he mean it's time? Time for what" I ask Ben but he doesn't answer me. I continue to try and break from his hold.
I'm not sure what the king meant, but I have an idea. I was willing to die for the werewolf kingdom, but now my death will only bring it more suffering if I allow them to revive Nickolas' brother.
We're about to turn into a dark corridor when Mason blocks our path.
"Why are you blocking my path Mason?" Ben asks.
"The king asked me to take her to Ava myself. I'm here to do that," Mason says and tries to grab me, but Ben pulls me closer to him before.
"I don't think the king would give such an order."
"Who are you to know what the king will order. Hand her over now," Mason says, his voice a louder.
"Did you just raise your voice to me, Mason?" Ben asks as he walks closer to Mason, trying to intimidate him, obviously angry with the tone Mason used to speak to him.
"Yes, and what are you going to do about it?"
"Once I'm done snapping your neck, you'll wish you never spoke to me like that, kitchen boy," Ben says, releasing his hold on me so he can attack Mason. I fall to the ground the second Ben's hand releases me. My body falls to the rough ground.
"Ouch," I say, rubbing my butt with my right hand.
I hear the snapping of someone's neck and feel liquid dropping on my face. "You killed him," I scream as Ben's blood splashes on my face. Mason used a knife to slit his throat.
"Yes, I did. We have to hurry before someone realizes what I've done and tells the king," Mason says, lifting me off the ground and into his arms.
"Why are you helping me?" I ask Mason as we run down the opposite direction Ben was taking me.
"Because it's what friends do. They help each other not betray one another. I'm sorry I betrayed you, Ana."
"I forgive you."
"Really, you forgive me?"
"Yes, I do." I do forgive Mason. After all, he didn't betray me because he wanted to. He had to do it to save his daughter. If I had a kid and I was in his shoes, I'd have betrayed him, too. I was hurt by what he did, that's why I shunned him.
"Thank you, Ana. I'm relieved you found it in your heart to forgive me. I'll live the rest of my life making it up to you."
"You don't have to do that. Helping me escape right now is enough."
"I'm glad you feel that way."
Mason walks us down the stairs. He's about to open a door when it comes flying off his hinges and I tumble out of Mason's arms. Nickolas stands on the other side, fuming with anger. I'm sure if he was a werewolf, he'd release a growl to be heard miles away.
I blink my eyes, and I see Mason hanging in the air as Nickolas chokes the life out of him. I don't care right now that I was thrown across the room. I crawl over to Nickolas to beg him to spare Mason's life
"I should've killed you the first time you betrayed your kind."
"Please, don't kill him. Please, I'm begging you," I beg as I continue to force my body to crawl and get closer to where Mason and Nickolas are standing.
"Remember me forever, Ana," Mason says, smiling gently at me.
"No!" I scream louder than I have in my life when Nickolas rips Mason's head off his body. "You can't die, no you can't die. You have a daughter. She needs you."
Deliriously, I try to fix Mason's head back to his body. He's gone. I hold Mason's head in my hand as tears stream down my face. He's dead because he helped me. How will I live with myself now? No, I shouldn't think like this. It's not my fault. It's all Nickolas' fault. If he wasn't so hell-bent on ruining everyone's life, Mason would be alive right now. I'm going to kill him for killing Mason.
"I'll kill you," I say, glaring at Nickolas, who has a smirk on his face.
"I would love to see you try," he says, grabbing my hair.
"Release me," I say, struggling to remove his hold on my hair as he drags me down the corridor.
"Don't worry, I will once we arrive where you were supposed to go in the first place," he says and continues to use my hair to drag me.