CHAPTER 2
1509 Words
SOPHIA TYRIAN
I flinch when the bedroom door opens and I turn my head to see the vampire king entering.
He closes the door slowly, unhurried, like a predator who already knows its prey has nowhere to run. I am the prey here.
I straighten up, trying to keep some dignity, but his gaze strips it from me effortlessly.
He walks to the armchair before the fireplace and sits like a cruel king.
“Serve me wine, my pet.”
My hands tremble as I reach for the crystal bottle on the tray. I try to focus, to control my fingers. But they won’t obey me.
The decanter slips from my hands and shatters completely on the floor. My eyes widen as I realize what I’ve done.
“I’m sorry… sir… I’m sorry!” I kneel among the shards, my hands beginning to bleed. “I didn’t mean to! Please…”
Suddenly, he rises.
In the blink of an eye, he grabs me by the arms and yanks me up. He shoves me against the wall. The impact knocks the air out of my lungs. I tremble with fear.
“You’re incapable of even serving wine.” He growls. “Pathetic.”
Tears stream down my face, but I no longer have the strength to fight.
He tilts his face.
His eyes fix on my neck.
I close my eyes, hearing his laughter when he notices the mark on my skin. Ethan’s mark.
“I heard you were promised to a werewolf…” he says slowly, with disdain.
“But he must be dead now like all the weak werewolves. They’re not people, they’re beasts that must be killed, and your dear mate is one of them.”
He squeezes my neck with one hand, forcing me to look at him.
Then he kisses me.
I try to push him away, but it’s useless.
When he pulls back, I see his teeth ready to bite again.
“Please, no… please…” I whisper.
He opens his mouth, but then he is interrupted by loud knocking on the door.
He growls in anger.
“What is it?!”
“My lord,” says the voice of a guard. “There is something you must see immediately.”
He glares at me with fury. Releases my neck, but not before growling in my ear.
“If not for this, I would finish what I started.”
He leaves, slamming the door violently.
I slide down to the floor, my body collapsing.
I begin to cry. A loud sob escapes my mouth, as if something inside me is breaking.
I touch my neck, thinking of Ethan. He has to be safe.
The door opens again.
I cover my mouth, sobbing, and then I see the werewolf guard running toward me.
He kneels in front of me.
“Are you alright?”
I don’t answer. I just cry.
“Listen… the mansion is full of vampires, but there’s a tunnel in the dungeons. If you can get there without being seen, you’ll have a chance to escape. I’ll come for you at midnight.”
I lift my face, surprised.
“Why?” I whisper.
“Because you don’t deserve this. Because… I can’t watch you being made into his pet.”
“Thank you…” my voice breaks.
“What’s your name?”
He hesitates.
“Call me Aiden.” He touches my face gently, wiping away a tear with his thumb.
“I’ll try to get you out of here, Sophia. Just hold on a little longer.”
He leaves, once again leaving me alone.
I pace back and forth, biting my lip, my fingers trembling. Will he really come? Or will I stay here, waiting, until dawn… or until the King returns?
The hours crawl by, and then he keeps his word.
Aiden returns at midnight.
He rushes into the room wearing a black cloak with a hood covering his face.
“You came…” my voice is a weak whisper, full of relief and fear.
He closes the door and pulls another cloak from his clothes, tossing it to me.
“Put it on. Now.”
I obey without hesitation.
“Listen carefully,” he says, his voice firm, almost harsh. “I can only take you as far as the tunnels. After that, you’ll have to go on alone.”
My stomach twists. “Alone?”
“There’s no other way. If I go further, he’ll know I had a hand in it. I’m already risking everything just by being here.”
I swallow hard, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
“I understand.”
“This way,” he says, taking my hand.
We run through the castle’s silent corridors.
The whole time I’m terrified someone will see us together, but it doesn’t happen because he seems to know this place too well.
We descend a spiral staircase hidden behind a torn tapestry. At the bottom, there’s a narrow hole in the floor, covered by ancient grates.
Aiden crouches, pulls the grates as if they weigh nothing, and looks at me seriously.
“This is it. Run. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. The King will hunt you the moment he realizes you’re gone. And if he catches you…” He pauses, his eyes hardening. “He’ll destroy you.”
I take a deep breath and whisper: “Thank you. For everything.”
He only says: “Go.”
I throw myself into the hole.
I almost vomit when I smell the water against my body, but I have no other choice.
I turn my head, seeing Aiden watching me one last time, and something inside me shifts.
He nods, and I do the same.
I run as he told me.
When I see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, a sob of relief escapes me.
I climb the last steps and burst into the forest.
I run through the woods even though I can’t see anything in the dark.
And then I hear it.
“Sophia!”
I freeze.
“Sophia!”
I turn suddenly, my heart racing.
Through the trees, running with his chest heaving, I see Ethan — my best friend, my betrothed, the werewolf I thought I’d never see again.
“Ethan!” I scream, and I run to him.
I throw myself into his arms, and he holds me tightly, his warmth surrounding me. I breathe in the scent that always made me feel safe.
“You did it,” he whispers into my hair.
“Yes… yes, I escaped…” I say, my voice breaking. “But we have to go. Now.”
But then… shouts. Not far away.
They know.
“D*mn,” Ethan growls. “They’re coming. Let’s ru—”
A loud sound erupts, and seconds later I feel Ethan’s hand slip from mine. My eyes widen as I see him fall to the ground, his chest covered in blood.
“Ethan!” I scream, kneeling beside him. “No! No! Stay with me!”
My hands press against the wound, but hot blood pours through my fingers. He tries to say something, but only a faint groan comes out.
I sob, hearing footsteps, and then I turn my head to see the king standing there watching us, with several vampires at his side.
“I told you, if you tried to run, there would be punishment.”
“Please…” my voice barely comes out.
He tilts his head, studying me as if I were disposable.
“You still don’t understand your place. You are mine. My property. And now…” He steps closer. “You’ll learn what that means.”
I clutch Ethan’s body tightly, sobbing.
“You won’t touch him!” I scream, glaring at him with fury.
The king comes closer and smiles at me.
“He’s dying, your mate is dying.”
I look at Ethan, shaking my head, feeling him grow weaker in my arms.
“You can’t die, please.”
“Take the beast back to the mansion and bring the girl! I want her alive!”
I rise, looking around as the vampires close in on me.
“No! Let me go!” I scream, thrashing as they try to drag me.
The king comes close, gripping my face harshly.
“Look at you. So weak and fragile like all of them. Let’s see how much pain you can endure, my pet.”
I turn my face, glaring at him with rage.
“Don’t ever touch me again! You’re a monster!”
“I’ll do more than touch. Your father sold you to me.”
I scream, breaking free, and punch the king hard in the face.
He growls, and my eyes widen as I see his pupils burning redder.
In the distance near the tunnel, I see Aiden watching us.
The king seizes my arm, dragging me forcefully back toward the tunnel.
“Bring her beast! My pet needs a punishment she’ll never forget.”
- Writer
