Mortal-paralight's author's note: Alright, so I'm EXTREMELY sorry that it took five months for you guys to get this chapter, but it's been quite hectic for me. But I have to tell you guys that most of the credit for this chapter goes to DragonGirl because she was able to finish this chapter when I couldn't. So you can get this chapter in before Christmas and the next one will be up very soon. So please read and review.
DragonGirl323's author's note: Lookie here! Another update! Hooray! And just in time for Christmas, for those of you that celebrate it, of course. For the rest of you, I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season. Before we get to the chapter, a quick warning. This fic is rated M for a reason and that reason becomes obvious in this chapter. Stefan might sparkle like the rest of Meyers' vampires, but he doesn't have a very sparkly personality. I'll leave it at that, so I don't spoil anything. Enjoy the new chapter!
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Chapter 3
His Toy
Bella's Point of View
A few days had passed since the conclusion of the confrontation with the Volturi and I felt emptier than ever. My refusal to leave with the Cullens kept replaying through my mind nearly every single second of the day, which made me feel even worse about the situation. Somehow, Stefan had forced me to say those things…but how? He'd been able to get past my shield as if it didn't even exist.
And now, because of it, I had no one.
No family, no coven, nothing…
The minute we had returned to the castle—or the prison, as I sometimes like to call it—I had gone directly to my cell, slamming the door behind me and moving to the farthest corner of the room, bringing my knees to my chest and simply staring out the window with no purpose. There wasn't any reason to have one. I would never see the outdoors again or get a chance to hunt animals—much less anything else—anymore. He would never even let me see other people or return to the Cullens.
He'd keep me here for as long as he thought I was still useful to him.
Since sitting down on the floor after the battle, I hadn't moved from my spot for many days, even when my thirst began to get the better of me. The last time Stefan had given me anything to drink was the day before the battle, and with the plethora of different emotions running through me, it affected my thirst. At this point, my throat felt as if someone was shoving a white-hot branding iron within it repeatedly.
But it didn't matter to me anymore.
If I could starve myself without Stefan noticing, then it would put me out of my misery. Because of him, there was no one that would care if I were gone. Alice had probably already told Edward about all the things I'd done since staying here, so him taking me back was out of the question.
The Cullens would never take me back now, so death was the obvious solution.
But then again, death might not be as easy as I thought it would be. Knowing Stefan, he would stop me before my strength seeped completely out of me.
A gentle rap on the door made me snap out of my thoughts and the devil's voice could be heard from the other side, my name rolling off of his serpentine Romanian tongue before the door opened.
Speak of the devil, I thought without turning to look toward him.
"Get out of here and leave me alone," I snapped coldly and venomously, barely moving an inch to look at him.
Sadly, Stefan ignored me as usual and closed the door behind him with a snicker, his footsteps echoing through the room as he approached me. "Now now, let's not be hostile. You're needlessly isolating yourself," he remarked as he got closer to me. Just his scent was beginning to turn my stomach into knots in disgust.
But there was another scent that made its way to my nostrils, forcing my body to turn rigid instantaneously.
"I brought some blood for you." I didn't have to see for myself that he extended the blood toward me, I just knew. The scent alone was enough to send me reeling again as it came closer to me. And it only worsened when some of the blood sloshed over the side of the cup and dripped to the floor, each drop sounding like a drumstick hitting a cymbal harshly as they struck the rug.
Snapping my head to the side, away from the enticing scent of the blood, and squeezing my eyes shut, I held my breath to dissipate the stench of the human blood from my senses, but it was nearly impossible. The smell was already impregnated in my mind.
"I said…leave me alone…" I tried to say through gritted teeth, but it didn't seem to go through him.
As usual, he was simply enjoying my torment.
I could hear him place one of the cups on the edge of the desk, still extremely close to me, then the sound of his lips sucking something off of his skin, probably some of the leftover blood that fell there. I had to resist the urge to lick my own lips.
"I know you are thirsty. Why fight it?" he prompted, taking a seat in one of the plush high backed chairs close to me, taking a sip from his own drink. "It's fresh."
A growl escaped my throat at his persistence as I pressed my body more firmly against the wall, attempting to put some distance between myself, the blood, and the Romanian devil in the plush chair. It aggravated me to no end that he would go to such lengths to punish me. "I don't care if you mixed it with other types of blood. I want you and that blood out of this room now," I demanded, my hands tightening around my knees as the irresistible yet monstrous blood continued to tempt me.
Human blood was always more delicious and strengthening than animal blood—especially when one was trying to starve themselves as I was—but I couldn't continue to be tempted this way. I couldn't divulge in human blood when I was trying so desperately to stick to my animal diet…
A breath of time seemed to pass between us as Stefan contemplated his next mischievous plan. "Either you can drink this blood on your own, or I will compel you. Which would you prefer?"
Another growl emanated from my burning throat at his ultimatum and the understanding that came with it. That was his answer to everything and it was the answer I needed to understand his motives. He must have compelled me to push the Cullens away from me at the end of the battle. Of what I remember from Carlisle's medical books, Stefan must have stimulated, and even controlled, the nerves in my brain to do his bidding. That must be how he got past my shield…
Turning my head to look at him with cold, relentless eyes, I exclaimed, "Was this your plan all along? Keep me as your slave for the rest of eternity and take away my free will, even to do simple things like feed?! Can't you simply leave me to my misery?!" which only made him roll his eyes at me and take another sip from his chalice.
"Oh, Bella, please. If you really want to continue tormenting yourself, by all means, do so." Stefan shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly before continuing, "Fine, I will continue to bring you blood until you decide to stop ignoring your thirst. As the old adage goes: 'You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.'"
I nearly scoffed at his quotation. It was the most absurd thing he had said since entering my room. Stefan would never let me choose to drink or not.
Looking away, my gaze turned back to the wall, desperately trying to ignore him as much as possible. "In your case, you'll force that horse to drink whether it likes it or not…" I said, voicing my thoughts aloud, hoping that there wouldn't be consequences for expressing myself—knowing Stefan, there was bound to be some.
As he chuckled lowly, I could see from the corner of my eye that he was turning his wrist in a lazy circle, enjoying watching the blood swirling around in his chalice. "I could, couldn't I?" he asked, making me wonder if he was talking to me or himself. Taking other swig of his blood, the scent hit me once more and made my body go rigid all over again. The scent was so tempting… How long would he make me suffer this way, just for his own amusement? "Depriving yourself isn't going to change your situation."
"Maybe so, but it still might make it better. I wouldn't have to stay another minute here with you."
Stefan laughed, causing shivers to run up my spine at the sound. "Is my hospitality really so bad?"
My fists clenched at his condescending tone. As if he was actually interested in being a veritable and charitable host… My voice became colder when I said, "After what you made me do, it really is. I'd rather starve than stay another second here alone." There is nothing better than the truth.
But I could see that my honesty may have been unwanted, or even harsh, because of the sudden outstretch of silence that followed between us. "And that is what you want? To leave? Where would you go? Back to your Cullens?" he asked, making my heart break once more and my eyes close in despair. The knife embedded in my chest was thrust deeper into my heart, twisting and moving to highlight the pain. He knew I could never return to the Cullens, not after what was said on the battlefield.
"Anything is better than staying here…" I said, my voice descending in volume as the pain in my heart continued to amplify. "Because of you, I won't be able to go back to them. But at least I'd be able to get away from here…"
"Well, there's just one problem with that." Oh no… I thought to myself as my body went rigid again at not only his tone, but also the fear of his next words. "I don't want you to leave." Stefan lifted his hand and beckoned me forward with his index finger, almost as if he had a hold on my body with that one finger. "Bella. Come here," he said, his voice becoming silky smooth as he drew out each syllable.
I tried not to let my eyes widen as the familiar compelling pull ran through my body. It wasn't as strong as if he would make contact with my skin, but it was still affecting me. He couldn't be doing this to me again… There had to be some way to defend myself against his orders.
Thankfully, defiance was one of my best qualities, especially concerning this selfish dictator—and that was putting it lightly.
Turning my body away from him, I brought my knees to my chest and exclaimed, "Haven't you thought that I've been your…toy long enough?!"
With my head turned away from him, it was difficult to see what Stefan was planning, but by the sound of his voice lowering and another wave of compulsion constricting around my heart and head, things were only going to get worse from here on out… "No. Now come here," Stefan ordered as his thick husky voice forced the compulsion to continue wrapping around my body like a veil.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to fight against his ability, but unfortunately, my body began to move toward him on its own. No… He couldn't win like this. Stefan could not continue to manipulate me this way. Catching myself before I could rise to my feet, I gripped my head with both hands and could not help my voice from rising when saying, "Just leave me alone!"
I could hear Stefan getting out of his chair and the soft clink of his chalice being placed against the mahogany desk before his black leather boots came into my peripheral. In an instant, he grasped my wrists and pulled them away from my head. "Calm down," he demanded, his compulsion once again tightening around me like a noose.
Regrettably, this time, his ability forced me to inescapably look in his eyes as my nerves calmed down upon the order.
He breathed in through his nose before nodding once, satisfied with his work. "That's better. Now…" Stefan stood, dragging me up with him, then peeled his hands off of my wrists, placing one on the small of my back and turned me to face the desk. "Sate your thirst. You may have mine as well," he commanded, forcing my eyes to lock onto the two chalices on the edge of the desk.
My body moved forward mechanically, unable to fight his compulsion. I tried desperately to fight it, but my hand reached out shakily toward the closest chalice and closed my fingers around the glass. As I began to drain the blood unwillingly, the unbelievable taste of the human blood pulsated through my veins, lighting up every nerve in my being like a livewire.
And Stefan was enjoying my silent demise.
He knew that, since the moment I arrived here, I hadn't been able—or even allowed—to go back to my 'vegetarian' diet and it was bringing him pleasure to force me to drink this wonderfully devilish substance.
Each time I drank a single drop of human blood, it pushed me even further away from my old life.
As I finished the first chalice, I brought it down hard onto the desk, causing the bottom of the chalice to break upon impact and the pieces to fall to the floor. As much as I tried to fight off his compulsion and beg to stop drinking, his pull around me was too thick and strong for me to break. My hand reached shakily toward the second chalice and wrapped my fingers slowly around it, all the while doing everything I could to try and break his hold on me.
"You will feel much better, Bella. You know this," he stated as I brought the second cup to my lips and drank, the liquid beginning to trickle down my throat.
White-hot anger surged within me at his words. This manipulating game had gone on long enough. He could not continue to tell me what was 'good' for me or what I needed. Finishing his half empty glass, my hand gripped the chalice tightly as my fury helped me gain control over my body once more.
Spinning around, I pulled my arm back and launched the chalice at his face in the blink of an eye, smirking as I watched it sail toward him. I knew that it wouldn't hurt him physically, but it made me feel much better emotionally. Stefan barely flinched as the glass shattered against his hard skin, merely turning his head slightly to the left as a reaction. His expression hardened as the remaining droplets of blood that were in the bottom of the glass slid down his alabaster skin.
"Now that was uncalled for," Stefan stated, turning his fierce gaze on me before beginning to advance on me, his crimson eyes shining with aggravation. "Do you delight in angering me?"
It didn't matter to me that he was angry. He'd pushed me too far and I wasn't going to stand for it anymore. "I find delight in trying to get my freedom back. Seeing as you won't give it back to me willingly and only want to keep me as your freakin' toy, I'll have to try and find some other way to get it back," I explained, standing my ground as he stopped inches from me, our chests nearly touching and his face tantalizingly close to mine.
"How noble of you. Your resistance is futile, my dear."
My hand tightened into a fist and a growl emanated from my chest at his overconfidence. It was almost like he was amused by my attempts. With the blood staining his cheek, it was like a red target that was inviting my fist to collide with his face, and my hand twitched, wanting very much to follow through with that urge.
"I am done being your play thing," I stated, my voice hard and venomous. "You've already destroyed me. Just let me go and find someone else to be your toy. I'm done."
There was absolutely no point for him to keep me here. I'd served his purpose. He'd needed me to bring an end to the Volturi wives and I'd done just that. Stefan didn't need me anymore. Now was as good a time as any to try and win my freedom back.
Unfortunately, Stefan didn't agree with me on that aspect.
He answered my growl with one of his own and bared his pearly white teeth at me before his hand snapped up and grabbed hold of my bottom jaw, holding me in place as his free arm coiled around my waist. It was probably an attempt to get me to comply or keep me from escaping. Either way, with his arm holding me dangerously tight, it was impossible for me to break out of his hold.
But that didn't stop me from struggling against him.
"You will be done when I say you are, understand?" Stefan barked, his gaze unwavering from mine.
Gritting my teeth and struggling against his inescapably tight hold, I looked in his eyes and said, "Screw you…"
Sadly, my struggling didn't seem to bother him at all. He simply continued to hold onto me with an unrelenting grip. "You've already done that, remember?"
An enraged growl reverberated through my chest and throat as those words sent me over the top. It was bad enough that Stefan was compelling me to do his bidding, but to recount and mock my mistakes on top of that? He had gone too far. In the blink of an eye, my hand shot out and latched onto the side of his neck, the sound of metallic tearing ringing in my ears as I dug my nails into his skin as deep as I could.
Stefan snarled viciously as I embedded my fingers in his neck, but I was remorseless. I had enough of being manipulated by this man—if Stefan even qualified as a person. "Let me go, now," I ordered, never removing my fingers from his neck.
Unfortunately, Stefan didn't like my threat…or my fingers in his neck. He locked his blazing crimson gaze with mine and continued to grip me indefatigably as his compulsion seized me once more. No… This couldn't happen again! "Stop. Now," he commanded, his voice resonating roughly throughout the entire room.
As his voice escalated, the compulsion wrapping around me tightened inescapably, forcing me to remove my nails from his neck unwillingly, and stopping all of my movements the moment my fingers were dislodged from his throat. As Stefan's skin began healing automatically, another growl rose in my chest along with my anger. Every time I tried to fight him, he'd cheat and get his way.
It was infuriating…for me at least.
"We have a few things to talk about, you and I, so behave yourself," he ordered, beginning to walk backward toward the bed, simultaneously dragging me forward with him. Having broken the other bed, Stefan had to replace it for his needs. But now, if he were bringing me toward it…it could only mean that…
Oh no. No, please, not that. Anything but that.
I desperately tried to fight against him and force myself to keep my feet planted on the floor, hoping not to follow him, but his compulsion was wrapped too tightly around me, holding onto me with a relentless grip. There was no way to escape what was about to come.
As the back of his legs hit the mattress, his hold tightened and his eyes locked onto mine. "Stop resisting," he ordered, forcing my struggles to stop nearly instantaneously. A slow but devilish smirk splattered itself across his alabaster face as he watched his compulsion continue to overtake my free will and admired his work. "I really do admire that fighting spirit of yours, but this will go much smoother with your compliance."
Gritting my teeth, I turned my head to the side as my struggling stopped completely, shame and a sense of weakness wrapping around me just as tightly as his compulsion. "Excellent. Now…" Stefan whirled around, turning me so my back was facing the bed, and jumped onto the mattress, landing on top of me with that smirk still on his face. "I really am in an uncommonly good mood and I've been wanting to express my gratitude for your help," he said, making my skin crawl at the double meaning in his words.
Squeezing my eyes shut, my turmoil continued to expand within me at the feeling of his weight pressing me into the mattress. At that moment, there wasn't anything I'd wanted more than to throw him off of me. "Just leave me alone… Please," I pleaded, succumbing to begging in hopes that he would leave me alone.
Of course, once again, my hopes were quickly dashed. "Apologies, my dear. I can't do that. At least, I don't want to." My skin continued to crawl as he began to toy with a lock of my hair, twirling it around his disgusting finger. Stefan paused for a few moments before speaking once more. "I have a proposal for you," he stated, keeping his tone just as neutral as before.
Jerking my head to the side, the lock of hair he was holding in his hand was pulled from his grasp and I opened my eyes, gritting my teeth in anger. "I don't want to hear any more propositions from you. Everything you say is a lie, nothing more," I replied, every word spat out with venom, irritation and hate.
As he placed his forearms on both sides of my head, he immobilized my body even further beneath him. "Well, since you're 'tied down' at the moment, you don't have much of a choice, hmm?" Stefan paused and turned my head so that our gazes locked once more, keeping my head secured against his arms. As he bored into my eyes, he said, "Since you've found yourself without a coven, or "family" as you put it, I would like to extend a formal invitation to join my coven and not just as a slave," which nearly made me scoff at such an outrageous request. He seemed to have sensed my immediate refusal and tried to make me see his side of reason. "Think what you will, but I was being sincere about that."
A loud growl escaped my lips at his absurdity. Locking my eyes harshly on his, I exclaimed, "You've forced me out of the Cullens for your own selfish reasons! I wasn't even allowed to go with them because you compelled me to stay here! I still don't know how you are doing it! And you dare ask me to join a coven where, say what you will, I will still be considered a slave or a conquest or whatever you want to call it! I'll still be nothing!"
Stefan returned my stare with equal intensity and made my anger surge through me like heated blood at his next words. "You have nothing left to lose then, don't you?"
Another growl pushed itself past my lips and I struggled furiously against him once more, but was quickly extinguished as he kept me restrained beneath him effortlessly. "I will not be a slave, and especially yours, for the rest of my miserable existence," I spat out, our crimson eyes never looking away from one another.
He may have me restrained like an animal in a human cage, but nothing was stopping me from giving him an icy stare.
Unfortunately, Stefan wasn't bothered at all by my arguing. In fact, it simply seemed to motivate him. "As much as I love our banter, I did come in here for a specific reason and you keep distracting me," he explained as a familiar sensation began to wash over me, forcing my body to feel something only one man had been able to make me feel.
Suddenly, realization hit me and absolute disgust invaded my entire being. He couldn't possibly… No… No, he couldn't. He can't do this to me again! This monster couldn't possibly want to toy with my emotions again… He had already done it once and my mind was still reeling because of it.
The waves of compelled lust continued to settle and build within me, steadily increased with every second that ticked by. As I squeezed my eyes shut, a small whimper bubbled in the back of my throat as I weakly shifted beneath him.
"Please, don't… Please… Don't make me do this…" Understanding began to dawn on me as the lust continued to fill my body. This was the real reason why he came here… Stefan simply wanted his needs fulfilled for the day and play with his toy for a little while longer.
I began dreading what would come next when Stefan began to soften his voice to a seductive purr, lowering his mouth to my neck in the process. "Don't fight it," he whispered against my skin as the lust increased exponentially the moment he began to lightly drag his lips down my neck to the curve of my shoulder.
His hand drifted down to my left hand and began sliding my wedding ring off my finger. The lust may have been working through my body, even my mind, but I was still conscious enough of what he was doing. Stefan was trying to remove every piece of my old life and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.
Without meaning to, a soft moan pushed past my parted lips as his mouth trailed a scintillating path across my neck and shoulder, and I could feel the smile that crawled onto his face as he placed my wedding ring on the bedside table.
"That's better. Just relax, Bella," he breathed against my neck, turning to remove my engagement ring next, followed closely by the leather band containing my Cullen crest.
My eyes followed the pieces of metal and leather as he transferred them to the table and if it hadn't been for the influence his gift had over me, I wouldn't have even noticed when he began sensually caressing my body, staring longingly as those three insignificant items. My last shred of focus irrevocably shattered when he planted several teasing kisses on my lips, and my body began to respond to him like it did the first time.
My head turned automatically toward him, searching for his mouth, and eagerly returned his kisses, causing a sinking sense of confusion to mix with the lust that I was becoming lost in.
Our mouths molded together as he unbuttoned his shirt, my hands flying up to help push the fabric off his shoulders, and suddenly my will to keep resisting him was gone, forgotten just like the pieces of my former life that he stole from me. I wanted him and I no longer cared about why I shouldn't, or who else I should have been in bed with but him. I clutched at him desperately, yearning to feel his skin against mine.
Articles of clothing were hastily discarded one by one off the edge of the bed: his shirt, my pants, my underwear, and his pants, all the while I was becoming strangely irritated that he wasn't moving faster. I was sure he could tell how badly I wanted him and it was maddening to be held in such a heightened sense of anticipation.
He leaned away from me, his eyes blackened, and promptly yanked my shirt over my head, adding it to the items already strewn across the floor. "I may be selfish, but I know what I want and that's you, Bella. I want you here with me. I want you to be mine," he whispered as he removed the last of my clothing and lowered himself onto me.
An all-encompassing sense of relief settled within me once Stefan's needs were sated and he released me from his control. I stared up at the ceiling, clutching the sheets to my chest, as he redressed beside the bed and cursed my perfect vampire memory. I would have given anything to have what I'd done obliterated from my mind completely. How I'd cried out his name and writhed beneath him like a puppet on a string and he the puppeteer was something I wanted nothing more than to forget. Nauseating disgust quickly replaced my relief, followed by the oh so familiar confusion that was becoming a companion of sorts since our first encounter.
Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Stefan pluck my rings and crest off of the bedside table and hold them in the palm of his hand as though he was presenting them to me. It took every shred of my willpower to resist from turning my head and looking at them longingly.
"Will you consider the possibility of re-evaluating your decision?" he inquired.
My hands tightened around the sheets, overcome with sadness. "I don't want to stay here… This place has brought me nothing but misery. You said that I could leave after I helped you with the battle," I replied, finally turning my head to look at him. I noticed he had yet to button his shirt, leaving the flawless skin of his chest and abdomen exposed to me. I found it peculiar that a vampire of his age had managed to remain completely unmarked, especially since he had been mated before.
Brushing those thoughts away, I asked, "Why can't I leave…?"
He remained silent for a short stretch of time, averting his gaze to his hand and switching my rings to his left while keeping my leather band in his right. "Well, I changed my mind."
I pressed my lips together to prevent myself from scowling at him. I had already come to that conclusion, but I wanted to hear him say it. "So you enjoy holding me here as a prisoner against my own will," I retorted, trying, and failing, to keep the malice out of my tone. "I just want to go back where I belong. Is that so hard to ask?"
"No, but like I said before," he began, then suddenly snapped his hand shut, crushing my rings in his fist. "I want you to belong here."
I gasped, my eyes widening in shock, the echo of my rings crunching in his grip reverberating through my mind. Had I been human, I was certain my heart would have sputtered to a stop. Before I could lose myself to my sorrow, I clenched the sheet in my hands so roughly that the threads ripped apart and growled savagely at him. "I will never belong here. This is a prison, nothing more."
He said nothing as he deposited the shards of my rings on the bedspread, then shredded my leather band as though it was made out of tissue paper. I was numb as I watched him drop the torn pieces of leather onto the bed, but a spark of rage flickered to life in my chest when I saw the hollow, almost detached look in his eyes. Stefan may have looked like a man, but that was a façade. Whatever humanity had been left over from his transformation into a vampire all those centuries ago was long gone, only a soulless monster remained.
"Then a prison this castle will be," he hissed, then turned away from me and strode out of my room.
I glared at his back, practically seething, but as soon as he closed the door behind him, sadness overwhelmed me and my expression twisted with anguish as I reached out for the pieces of my rings and crest, my hands shaking uncharacteristically. Scooping them up off the bedspread, I held them in front of me, a familiar pricking behind my eyes prompting me to look up and over at the small mirror stationed on the wall above my desk. Vermilion eyes stared back at me, pulsing with the fresh blood that was coursing through my dead veins, a thin film of venom tears pooling in the corners. Since my own transformation, not once had I wished I could cry as much as I was in that exact moment, but I knew no matter what I did, no tears would ever fall from my eyes again.
Unable to continue looking at myself, I simply bowed my head and cradled the destroyed pieces against my chest, my shoulders quivering, then began to sob uncontrollably. When I finally heard Stefan's footsteps retreating down the corridor, relief once again mixed in with my despair, but it was a short lived reprieve.
I was a prisoner, and I was without hope.
So what did you guys think of this chapter? I know that we might have lost a few readers because of the excessively long wait, but those who still want to read this story, please leave us your thoughts and comments about this chapter (and story, basically) in some reviews please.
Mortal-paralight & DragonGirl323
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