Chapter 2: Pain and Hope

Alice POV

My life was pure agony. I wanted it over. All the tears, the lies, the broken promises. I pondered ways to end my life as I sat rocking myself in the corner of my cell. I have been in this mental institution for... I couldn't remember. Time seemed forgotten here. My days were filled with a claustrophobic darkness that I could never escape. Every time I closed my eyes it's like a dark paradise. Ever since I was a little girl, I could predict events in the future – well, I had feelings about certain things. And most of the time, they came true. An attempt save my mother from being killed by a stranger locked me up in here. My father paid the stranger to kill her, I know it's true! No one believed me. Not one single person. They all thought I was insane, a witch, a changeling. My father hated me, my stepmother even more so. My hands crept up to touch the thin layer of hair that was just starting to grow back after being shaved off due to a typhoid outbreak. My memories were fading as I received electroshock therapy, but this one memory always stuck out. I'll never forget the betrayal I felt when my family paid a marshal to send me here. I had left my loving sister, Cynthia, behind all because I was misunderstood. I now had a heart of stone that was slowly crumpling to dust.

A dim light peeked in through the open door, stopping just before my toes. I looked up with squinting eyes to peer at the visitor – oh who am I kidding, I never get any visitors. Just workers who take me for my electroshock therapy or hand me a tray full of food that I hardly touch.

"How are you doing Mary?" this was a typical question, and of course I gave him the typical answer – silence. The worker sighed and gripped the tops of my arms to drag me out, only this time I didn't put up a fight. I was hoping this would be the last time I saw my cell, the last time I saw daylight, the last time I was to be held like a prisoner. He noticed this change but made no comment.

Sometime later I awoke on a stony floor. I sat up and expected to feel... what? Loss? Abandonment? But no, I felt a glimmer of happiness... weightlessness... as if all my problems had disappeared. I couldn't remember how I got here. Only that I was cold, tired, and quite hungry. I spied a tray of food by my feet and immediately crawled over to devour it before I picked up on a feeling of danger in the pit of my stomach. I saw a stranger killing a man – a man who saw me periodically and tried to save me from my therapy sessions whenever he could. I dropped the piece of bread I had been eating, my eyes wide with terror. I sat like this until I couldn't fight my hunger any longer. The food tasted metallic.

Days, weeks, months passed. I continued getting treatments, though less intense than the last until they stopped completely. I was usual left to my own devices, my only visitation being from someone bringing me food. I found myself singing into the darkness at night now – something I hadn't done in years. Was it years? Hmmm...

One dreary day someone came in to check I was still alive, as they did often. I recognized it as the groundskeeper who saw me once in a while. He was also the one I saw in my vision so long ago. He was the one who that stranger killed, and suddenly the terror came creeping back. I sat at his feet sputtering what I had seen at him while he looked on in confusion, but... what was that in his eyes? I couldn't decipher what I saw.

"Hey hey hey slow down... We'll talk this through and figure it out." he gingerly reached out to stroke the side of my face, and I flinched back. It's been awhile since I've felt a calming touch.

For the next while we stayed in our respective spots in my tiny room and talked about everything and anything. Soon I started to drift off to sleep, but was soon brought out of my daze by a piercing pain followed by a burning sensation. A scream escaped my lips but I felt a hand cover my mouth. My eyes shot open to see my only friend looking down at me and then down at my squirming body. All I remember was hearing a whispered "I'm so sorry" before being lifted and carried to somewhere unknown.

The intense pain seemed to go on endlessly before it finally faded and I awoke to my new life. I was alone, with no guidance. I wandered for years, learning only by mistakes. I met some people here and there, but never settled with anyone. Constantly did I check my future – this was my gift. I could see into the future based on concrete decisions. I searched and searched but found nothing of importance. I lived as a nomad – feasting on human and the occasional animal. Yes, even though I didn't know it yet, I was to be with a family who only drank the blood of animals. This wasn't the preferred style, but it kept them from being a threat.

Then one day it hit me – Jasper Whitlock. A man of pure hatred towards himself, who lives a life of havoc and ruin, was to become my mate. This piqued my interest. I focused on the background of this vision. I saw streaks of blood, a newborn being pinned by Jasper's hand, Jasper in bed with a gorgeous woman, the scars on his body, the pained and steely gaze he looked on with... All this stirred odd feelings that I couldn't quite figure out.

I knew he wouldn't take me right away, so I would wait... and wait...

Another vision – this time with several other people. One was a blond male in a doctors jacket, who seemed to be the father figure. The mother figure had wavy chestnut hair, and a kind motherly demeanor. The other three were a sight to see – one was a bulky, tall male with a cute childish face; the other male had messy bronze hair and a lost expression on his chiseled face; the last was a supermodel-looking blond who seemed to have an egotistical attitude. So, this was to be our family. I spent the rest of the night mulling over my new life.

Then the day came to meet my mate. To say I was excited was hitting only the tip of the iceberg! I wandered and eventually found myself outside a Philadelphia diner. Strange. I ducked inside and found myself a bar stool to sit at, ignore the hungry gazes of the men beside me. I ordered a Coke, playing with the clinking ice for a while until I heard the rain pitter-pattering on the roof. It was almost time.

Any minute now... There! I saw my man walk in, looking around with eyes black as night. He looked cautious, as if testing how much control he had. He looked like he was about to duck back out before I called to him.

"Excuse me, sir?" with these three words he gazed in my general direction, and I beckoned him forth. He sized me up, must've seen that I was no threat, and walked my way with measured steps. I gave him a welcoming smile once he reached me. "Hello, I'm Alice" I held out my hand for him to shake, which he took and brought it to his lips to kiss as he bowed.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ooooo he had a Texan accent! Even better! Sexy and polite all at once. I could really choose them!

"Oh, I already know who you are Jazz" with this he tensed and asked me how. This is how we spent the rest of our night – talking about how I came to where I am now and how I knew so much. He turned out to be better than I had hoped. I could see a real life, a hopeful future with this man by my side. "So you see. You kept me waiting long enough." I teased him lightly with a gentle nudge to his shoulder. At this point in the evening he had relaxed enough to be playful. At this he chuckled.

"My apologies, ma'am." his smile was breathtaking. After a while longer we left the diner hand-in-hand and set out on the journey that would change our lives forever.