The unsettling feeling in my stomach continues to grow as he drags me along. Once we round the hedge, separating the cages from the rest of the grounds, I’m able to get a better look at where I’ve been taken. I’m not exactly sure what I had in mind, but it certainly wasn’t the enchanting view I’m now faced with.
A maze of perfectly trimmed bushes blends together with a garden of cream-white and blush-pink roses. Three extravagant fountains line the center of the maze, illuminated by the warm glow of lights just beneath the water. The image of it looks as though it was pulled right out of a fairytale. For a moment, I’m almost able to convince myself that the place I’ve been brought to isn’t that of nightmares. However, that delusion is quickly swept away when I notice the half dozen guards patrolling the outskirts of the grounds.
The one pulling me tightens his grip around my arm, drawing my attention away from them. Beyond the garden lies a mansion dressed in ivy and rose bushes. Multiple balconies protrude from the top two levels while a wide stone staircase ascends to the lower level. Multiple of my foster homes could fit in this one house. Hell, even the balconies are nearly the size of the bedrooms I used to share.
The guard’s nails, or perhaps claws, dig into me when I trip on one of the stairs. Every muscle of mine is screaming at me to make a run for it, but I know it’s a lost cause. I don’t stand a chance of outrunning the vampire currently ensnaring me inhis firm clutch, let alone against the guards roaming all around. All I can do is accept my fate as I make my way to whatever horrors await me just inside this deceivingly beautiful manor.
Just as I’m taking in the dark Victorian-style interior, I’m shoved through a set of large double doors. Pain immediately radiates from the impact while I try to steady myself. I try both doorknobs, but they don’t budge.
“Hey! Let me out of here!” I yell, as my fists pound against the dark wood. Again, I try the knobs, but it’s useless. I release a defeated sigh and turn back to the dining room I’m now trapped in.
A long rectangular table sits in the center of the room, and there’s a fireplace lit along the wall. I sprint over, my knees hitting the floor a little too hard as I stretch my arms out closer to the dancing flames. Warmth spreads through my body, thawing my bones that had grown icy over the past few hours. I’m so entranced with the feeling of heat that I fail to notice I’m no longer alone.
“Stand.”
The rough voice coming from behind breaks me out of my daze, and I shoot to my feet before I even realize I was following orders.
“Name.”
The control I usually have over my heartbeat fails when I see the man standing over me, dressed in all black as if he’s the Grim Reaper. His light eyes grow dark as they pin me in place, waiting for an answer.
“I’m not going to ask again,” he warns, clasping his hands behind his back in a way that accentuates his broad shoulders and chest.
“Fallon,” I quietly reply, taking a small step back.
His chiseled face hardens, and I notice his jaw tick like he’s fighting the instinct to rip me apart.
“Fallon, what?” he asks with a deep growl that sends a chill sprinting through my body.
I attempt to swallow the fear threatening to consume me, and I roll my shoulders back slightly.
“Grey,” I answer in my own dominating tone this time. If I’m going to die, I might as well go out with my head held high.
His eyes slowly sweep over me as he runs his hand through his tousled black hair. A deep scar runs down his forehead and left eye until it stops in the middle of his cheek. It’s the exact same mark as the wolf that attacked me in the woods.
“Why didn’t you kill me before?”
He attempts to hide his surprise, but I catch a flash of it before he masks it with a scowl. While I wait for his answer, he begins to circle me like a predator toying with its food. His fingers run through my hair, and I flinch at the unexpected touch. When he comes back around, he’s wearing a satisfied smirk that makes my skin crawl.
“Normally, I would’ve.” He takes a step forward, and I instinctively retreat with one of my own. By now, I can feel the intense heat of the fire through my clothes. What once felt like a gift from the chill of the outdoors, now feels like a snare, daring me to get too close.
“So, what changed?” I challenge, shifting slightly away from the fire without making my discomfort noticeable.
“I came up with a better idea,” he continues with that same sinister grin spreading wider across his face. “You see, your kind never saw animals as their equals. They kept them chained up and caged. Forced them to do tricks for their own entertainment, all while branding them with names that disgraced the very essence of their power. Brilliant, superior beasts wereturned into slaves under the guise of being “pets.” Controlled by a species that should’ve been extinct a long time ago.” Without warning, he snatches my chin in the palm of his hand. I whip my head to the side, trying to pull away, but his grip tightens as he twists my face back with his sharp claws digging into my cheeks. “I think it’s only fair we get the chance to do the same.”
In a moment of chaos, I’m spun around and held still by a pair of arms. Something heavy closes around my neck, and the arms caging me fall away. By the time I turn around, all I see is a blur of movement headed out the set of doors opposite the ones I came through. When I turn back to my captor, his arms are folded, and he’s leaning up against the side of the fireplace, half hidden within the shadows.
My attention snaps back to the weight bearing down around my neck. Though I can’t see it, I know exactly what the metal is my fingertips trail along.
“A fucking collar?” I spit, as a rage I’ve never known comes rushing to the surface.
He pushes himself off the fireplace with his shoulder, prowling forward with his eyes locked on me. I turn my head away when he leans down, stopping so close to my ear that I can feel his hot breath tickle my skin.
“You belong to me now.”
Thane
She’s got fight in her, but she won’t for long. Dominating is what I do. It’s who I am to my very core. And although she seems to have a bit of fire in her, breaking people is my specialty. It won’t take much to get her to submit to me. I can already envision her kneeling before me, begging for mercy.
