Children of the Goddesses (completed)

Captivity - Trigger Warning

TW: Chapter contains torture 

Laila’s POV

            My vision darkened as something sharp pricked my neck right after a pair of cold hands grabbed me, making a burning sensation course through my veins. It hurt, like a fire was burning from within and attacking all of my senses as the pain tried to consume me, except that it couldn’t succeed because there was another mind numbing pain that had already consumed me. With every breath, I felt like someone was punching me in the heart and they wouldn’t stop, not even after whatever was left of my heart was just a bloody mess. 

            The accusatory voice of my mate echoed in my head over and over, like a broken record that I couldn’t turn off. Just a day ago, his warm lips were still caressing mine gently but everything came crumbling down the moment the vampires showed up. I knew it was my fault for not telling him the truth but this was exactly what I had feared and perhaps, even if I had told him the truth, it wouldn’t change the ending. Being a vampire was a sin in and of itself, and if not now, Ethan would still have doubted me later because of something else. It was like what the she-wolves at his pack had said with so much disdain: if vampires attacked anyone, we were ungrateful and should be put away. If the attacks were initiated by the werewolves instead, I was sure there would be a proper investigation before anyone drew any conclusions but for vampires, the verdict was made at birth. We were damned from the very beginning.

            I was too naive to believe that I would be blessed with a fated mate and that it would have worked out between us. The Moon Goddess preserved my life for a mission, to save my own kind, not to indulge myself in romantic endeavors. Not to mention, damned supernatural beings could never be together with other supernatural beings, and even though I had never been in love or in a relationship before, I knew the kind of love that I wanted. I wanted a love built on trust and mutual respect, like what I had seen between my parents and between the fated couples during my time at the Tahoe Coven. Ethan was a beautiful interlude in my life and that was all that he would ever be. 

            “Good morning, sunshine,” chirped a mocking voice in the darkness before another sharp prick in my neck sent soothing, cooling waves through my body, forcing the burning sensation to subside. My senses gradually returned to me and my entire body began to ache from the stress position that I realized I was in. My wrists and ankles were hog-tied behind me and despite my struggles, I couldn’t break off the restraints. 

            “Save your strength, little one,” chuckled the voice, this time there was nothing but amusement in the voice. With much difficulty, I lifted my head from the cold hard ground to look in the direction of the voice only to see the face of the vampire who had made a deal with me. 

            “What do you want with me?” I managed to croak, my throat still burned from whatever they had injected me with previously. 

            “Don’t be so impatient, little one, you’ll find out soon enough,” the vampire said teasingly. “I kept up my end of the deal and let your friends go, or perhaps they weren’t your friends? Well, whatever it is, it’s time for you to keep up your end of the deal now. You’re mine now, little one.” The triumphant chuckle of the vampire sent a chill down my spine and I knew that I needed to try and save myself before I had the chance to find out what he had in store for me. I doubted that Ethan and his warriors would try to look for me and even if they did, who knew if they would be able to track me down. 

            A loud creaking noise caught my attention and I turned to see the metal door in front of us opening. I was in some kind of cell that had no windows and there was nothing in here except the bare stone floor. Footsteps tapped against the stone floor and two humans entered the cell. 

            “Is the new product ready to be tested, Mr. Ailsworth?” One of the men asked as his eyes shifted to look at me like he was looking at an animal. 

            “This one is special, gentlemen, and I have a feeling that she would become our most valuable product. I heard that she’s invulnerable to sunlight, so make sure to include that in your product test, and apparently she also heals supernaturally fast, so don’t forget to test that as well. Otherwise, I trust that you and your team will examine our product thoroughly before we put her up for auction.” 

            The words of the vampire pierced my heart like a thousand knives, sending waves after waves of debilitating pain through my body. Just when I thought my heart couldn’t hurt me more, the Goddess had to play a cruel joke on me to prove me wrong. A dry laugh escaped my throat as I thought of the irony of the situation. The very man who had claimed to be my mate and was devastated by my supposed betrayal was the same man who had sent me into the crutches of these monsters. No one knew that I was invulnerable to sunlight except Ethan and no one had seen how quickly my wound had healed except him. 

            As the two human men grabbed my arms and legs to transport me to wherever, I felt my spirit breaking for the first time in my life. When Father had made me flee the base camp on my own, I was devastated and I felt alone as I made that arduous journey into the unknown by myself, knowing full well that I might never see Father alive again, but my spirit was strong and determined to fight for the safety of my family. When I realized that there was no other choice other than to sacrifice myself so that Brenna could kill Lady Lae once and for all, I was fearful but my spirit was strong and determined to protect the ones that I loved. Even when I was in the Mittelding, wondering if I was dead, my spirit was strong from knowing that my loved ones were safe in the world of the living. 

            For the first time in my life, I truly felt like a car running on empty. There were no more tears left to cry and it didn’t seem important anymore if I made it out of this alive or not. There was no more pain or despair or sadness, just a dull ache accompanied by a sense of resignation. The cavity where my heart was felt empty and strangely, when the image of those honey brown eyes flashed across my mind again, I didn’t feel anger or betrayal. Ethan was like a distant dream and now that dream was morphing into a nightmare and I felt like a spectator watching the nightmare unfold around my body. 

            “Shall we do the extra tests that Mr. Ailsworth ordered, or the standard tests first?” 

            “Let’s do the extra tests then send her to the team to do the standards. That way, our job would be done sooner than later.” 

            “Sounds good to me. Are the video cameras set up?” 

            Footsteps echoed in the room before one of the men spoke again. “Now they are, we’re recording and I’ve the voice recorder.” 

            “Perfect, let’s start with a small test. Break two of her fingers.” 

            Calloused hands grabbed my right index and middle finger tightly before swiftly folding them so far back that the back of my hand could feel the fingertips. A deafening scream filled the room, drowning out the sound of my bones snapping. 

            “Product’s right index and middle fingers were broken at 0500 hours on 23rd November. Product is able to feel pain.”

            Footsteps echoed in the room again followed by the clang of the door closing. I lifted my head to look at my right hand, which was strapped to the armrest of the chair that I was tied to. I knew that my fingers wouldn’t heal faster, not if I wasn’t able to get some sunlight. As long as dumb and dumber didn’t figure out the correct order to do their tests, then they would never be able to figure this out. I didn’t care anymore what would happen to me but I couldn’t allow the recent discoveries that I had made about myself to be used to make weapons against vampires or anyone else. 

            My broken fingers throbbed painfully as perspiration soaked my body. I didn’t know how much time had passed when the door opened again followed by the sound of the two familiar voices. I prayed silently to the Moon Goddess that she would protect my secret and not let dumb and dumber exposed me to sunlight any time soon. 

            “25th November, 1400 hours. Product’s fingers are still broken and show no signs of healing. We cannot exclude the possibility of the sun nectar and the primrose solution impacting her supposed fast healing abilities. Product also hasn’t had any blood intake in 34 hours.”

            “Do you think we should try something else? Maybe her supernatural healing only works under some circumstances? It was her gunshot wound that healed quickly, that’s why Mr. Ailsworth said. Do you think we should try that?”

            “Are you out of your mind? She’s up for auction in a few days. If we damage her permanently, Mr. Ailsworth will have our heads!”

            “Right, you make a good point there but if we can’t figure out what’s so special about her and increase the bidding price, do you think Mr. Ailsworth would be happy with us? After all the effort that he spent in procuring her?” 

            Footsteps tapped against the floor and each step became louder as my eyes caught sight of two pairs of black oxford shoes on either side of me. A sudden pain erupted in my head as fingers tangled themselves in my hair and pulled my head back painfully. My eyes met a pair of greedy dark brown eyes as a cold rubbery rod trailed down my cheek. 

            “Now, now, little one, we don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t tell us what’s so special about you, we would have no choice but to take more extreme measures.” The threat of the man rang hollow in my ears. I wasn’t afraid of pain; I was only afraid of them finding out the truth about me. I made no attempts to react to his threat, staring blankly ahead of me, resigned to whatever pain they were going to inflict upon me. 

            I didn’t have to wait long before a pillow covered one side of my head followed by a skull cracking pain. The sound of something hitting the pillow covering my head partially, combined with my blood curdling screams echoed in the room repeatedly until darkness consumed me again.