Hi guys, time for a second chapter! I was so excited to watch the season 2 premier of Bitten. It looks like its going to be an amazing version of Stolen. Anyway usual disclaimer towards the owners/creators of the beautiful series (aka Ms. Kelley Armstrong) Enjoy :)
I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud, everything around me felt silky smooth and cool against my skin. Or maybe I was dead. I wouldn't have minded except for the fact I dint take my captor with me. There was barely any pain, except the sun in my eyes. That felt too bright, I hadn't seen the sun in forever. I struggled against the layer of sleep reaching for the sun, wanting to blink away its glaring light. My eyes still felt like concrete. I called out to him, accusing him of drugging me. My breath felt strained from that. I drifted in and out of sleep for a while until my eyes felt a little better. I could lift they just a fraction this time. There was a cream ceiling above me rather than the beam I was used to. I had to be dreaming. The throbbing in my head returned as I tried to focus my eyes and move to see more of my surroundings. Nothing inside of me was screaming panic or fear, so I mustn't have been in a dangerous place. I hope at least. I might as well take some advantage of the peace. I closed my eyes again when I felt movement near me.
"Do you feel like drinking some water?" a voice asked gently. It wasn't one I'd heard before. It sounded older, kinder and when he spoke my body felt calmer like he would protect me. I jerked my head hoping he would understand. My mouth felt like cotton balls were stuffed inside it. A hand slipped behind my neck and held me as cool fresh water slipped into my mouth and down my throat. I coughed suddenly, spilling it all over my chin and self, making everything wet. Thankfully my eyes felt better. I opened them to look the person caring for me. He had long black hair, his features a mixture of Caucasian and oriental decent. It was a nice combination I decided. His eyes were expressive, looking back at me with some humour. Of course I looked like I'd drooled everywhere.
"You gave Clayton quite a scare, finding you going through the Change. Do you remember who bit you?" I shook my head. He helped my sit up slightly a pillow to support my shoulders and neck instead of his hand.
"I Changed? I think I would have remembered that." I said. Its hard to miss the pain. He frowned and I whimpered waiting for the strike. It never came.
"You were brought here with a high fever, cuts to your back . I had to treat you in the cage until you stopped Changing. How long have you been a werewolf?"
"I don't know. A number of weeks maybe. I've been held inside a shed since I found out what I was. They made me do things." I trailed off looking away from his attentive eyes.
"You tried to escape?"
"No." he rose and sat next to my legs on the edge of the bed.
"Why don't you tell me your name?" he prompted gently. A calming feeling washed over me again making my eyes feel a little heavy. I pushed past it not wanting to sleep again.
"Eve. Where am I?" I answered sitting up further. This bed was so soft nothing like what I was sleeping on before.
"Stonehaven. The home of the Pack. I am their Alpha, Jeremy." My stomach dropped at the mentioning of the Pack. I'd been told exactly what they did to Mutts, even seen some of it.
"Are you going to kill me?" I tried not to sound weak. If he was going to kill me I needed to find a way to escape. Jeremy seemed to sense my nerves.
"No, you are here under our protection. There is nothing to fear Eve, you're safe." If only he knew what was out there.
"Will I have to…" my words were cut off by a sharp knock at the door. Jeremy turned his head towards it as it opened. In walked the blond haired model that sent my heart into panic mode. This had to have been a set up and I failed. Why else was I here. I didn't want to kill Jeremy. He had been so kind to me. I threw myself out of the bed. I needed to get away from this monster. My legs got caught up in the sheets, making me fall out of bed roughly onto my back. I screamed in pain as it felt like my back was being ripped open. I tore the sheets off and struggled to crawl under the bed. I was a lot smaller than him, he wouldn't be able to reach me. And I could easily kick him.
"Clayton!" Jeremy reprimanded. "I told you not to come up here!" I heard hurried footsteps coming close. I knew the weight behind them. Jeremy was being ignored. "Clayton!"
"Shh darling its okay." Clayton said dropping onto his belly to look under the bed. I kicked out reflexively. I kicked out at him in fear. He grabbed my ankle gently and looked at me, daring me to try and misbehave. I shut my eyes trying not to look at him. Clayton with the whip; the pain in my back. The blood, there was so much blood.
"No." I heard myself scream, "You hurt me! You kept me scared in the dark for weeks!" I'd started to scream at him. He couldn't get me under the bed it was too small.
"You scared me with that high fever." He ignored my screaming and tugged on my ankle. I screamed more, profanities, name calling and even noise. I screamed until my voice was hoarse again and Clayton had pulled me out and pinned me against the bed waiting it out. It didn't take long. I wore out faster than I wanted.
"Are you going to behave now?"
"Are you going to whip me now?" I shot back.
"Clayton, wait downstairs please." Jeremy ordered sternly. He obeyed without question but the scowl on his face said he wasn't happy. The door slammed shut. I could hear more rustling below us, clearly there were more werewolves here than the two of them. Jeremy came over to me and methodically checked me over, asking small questions making sure I wasn't in pain or had reopened my back. It was bleeding a little from falling out of bed and being dragged but the stitches had held.
"How long have I been here?" I asked as he nodded, satisfied with the examination.
"This is your third day. It took a while for your fever to break." My stomach rumbled at the mentioning of days with no food. I really wanted something to eat that wasn't take-away. "Would you like some food?"
"I don't want to bother you, I'll wait." I mumbled hating that I would have to wait until they decided to let me have food. And I knew from experience that could be days. Even with the delicious smells wafting up from downstairs. That was their food, not mine. I had to wait. Jeremy smiled sadly and guided me out of bed, wrapping a loose silk dressing gown over my clothes. I felt strangely clean. Checking my clothes hadn't been my first thought but now that I did I found I was in a black singlet, a little too small and some bright green cotton pants.
"Elena's in Toronto but she left some clothes. I hope you don't mind."
"It's fine. Better than what I was trying to salvage anyway." I tied the gown up it felt snugly and warm for something so flimsy.
"Now, time to get some food into you. A hungry werewolf is a dangerous one." Jeremy led me out of the room, from the looks of the number of doors up on the second floor, there were a few people living here and this place was massive. Jeremy was kind, pointing out what was in each room and where the bathrooms were. He led me down a beautiful staircase, towards the delicious smells. There were also other smells, the same underneath but different at the same time. I picked out Clayton's easily, having spent weeks with it and from the differences in the other smells, there were a few other werewolves. Jeremy led me into the massive kitchen and dining room, a massive table opposite the kitchen bench filled with all sorts of food. The five men in there already were arguing over food shoving and laughing and all looking at me suddenly. I hid behind Jeremy who scooped me back around into view.
"This is Eve. Let her eat before you bombard her with questions." He said simply taking me over to the table. I was seated across from Clayton next to a young brown haired man who looked about the same age as him. Jeremy went and sat at the head of the table quickly pulled into conversation by a man who was very similar to the one next to me. Brothers probably.
"It's okay I don't bite." The one next to me said smiling brightly, all charm and flattery. "I'm Nicholas Sorrentino. Nick if you'd like." He looked very nice, like a well-groomed model that didn't rely on brute strength like Clayton. He felt friendly too, not trying to scare me off. His eyes were a lovely chocolate brown and his hair was a shade darker, kept at a neat length unlike his blond companions unruly length.
"Hi." I mumbled looking at my lap. Everyone's plates were laden with food and they ate heavily as they spoke. I'd wait for them to finish before I started. I didn't want to upset them.
"You look a little skinny." Nick said pinching my arm lightly. "If you plan to kick Clay's ass then you need to eat. Tell me what you want and you can have the whole plate." The corners of my mouth rose slightly. He wasn't going to hurt me, I told myself.
"Nick get her some pancakes." Clay growled pushing over a tower of them soaked in syrup. It wasn't really a tower that would imply it was a neat stack. This was a mountain with heaps of pancakes just places wherever on the plate until it was piled high.
"No!" I shouted a little too loud. Jeremy and the others looked over at the noise, watching me closely. "Sorry." I cowed in my seat trying not to cry. They wouldn't understand why. I'd eaten them with every meal I could remember and I didn't want to feel trapped within the dark walls, the smell of blood and decay. Nick didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, he just pulled over another plate piled as high as the pancake plate but this one was topped with golden rectangles that looked like they were made up of tiny squares of something.
"Nothing like hash browns to cheer a lovely lady up." He swapped my plate out, the smell of them was mouth watering. They looked so pretty too the golden colour darker at the edges and light in the centre. "You have to put them in your mouth to truly appreciate the flavour." He nudged. I looked up at Clayton, but he just pushed the plate closer to me, expressionless.
"Eat, you need it to feel better." I tore part of one off and popped it in my mouth. It was greasy and tasted like deep fried potato, and was delicious. Nick squirted some tomato sauce on them, which made them even more amazing. I tried so hard to eat like a lady but in the end I forgot my knife and for and shoved them into my mouth. I continued to eat past my stomach saying it was full until it was painfully so and the pile was reduced to nothing. Nick was right, I did feel so much better and also ready for another sleep. Eating good food was exhausting.
"Did you have enough to eat?" Jeremy asked with a faint smile. A boom of a laugh came from Nick's brother, or I think it was at least.
"Give her a few days and she'll be pushing you aside Nicky for your food." He called down the table.
"Father, if she pushes me aside for food she deserves it." Nick called back with a smile. Clayton growled softly as he pulled pancakes off the pile.
"Nick has a point Antonio." Jeremy said. "Hash browns are my favourite too." I paled, fear growing in the pit of my stomach. I rose suddenly, causing the others to look in shock.
"I'm sorry!" I cried out fear starting to pull out memories. Of blood and crying and apologising as screams echoed around. "I didn't mean to." I started to babble an apology before I saw Clayton's hard expression and the twitch in his hand. I'd been beaten when I cried for hurting someone. I swallowed hard and backed against the wall trying to make my eyes blank, showing no fear. That had been my first lesson.
"Hey, hey," Nick whispered standing up and coming over. "It's okay you're safe." He rubbed my shoulder gently blocking the others from my view. "besides it wouldn't hurt Jer to lay off them for a while." He tried to jest, still rubbing my arm. My insides were still rumbling, nausea threatening from the panic. My body began to calm from Nick's touch but I felt on edge, ready to flee if Clayton moved.
"Nick, please set Eve up on the couch, she needs to sleep and I'd like her in my view while I work today." Jeremy said calmly standing up. He made no move to me, letting Nick usher me to the living room where a bunch of couches and arm chairs crowded around a TV unit. He left me sitting on one and returned with a thick quilt and pillow.
"Here, try to relax. If you can't sleep Jeremy can give you something." He gently pushed me down; tucking the quilt around me, even lift my feet to tuck it under. I just lay there numbly, letting him move me around. "Do you want me to stay?" What a silly question. I was used to being alone for long periods of time. Why would he take time out of his life to look after me? I'd stitched myself up plenty of times even. I shook my head and buried it partly under the quilt. He nodded and moved away giving me some space. No one approached me, the living area almost became out of bounds as they went about their day. The sounds of soft speaking and the clatter of cutlery and plates being collected lulled to sleep.