Hi there :)

I'm really sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter. I'm currently studying in France and need to cut back a little on my writing-time.

Thanks for your lovely reviews, I love reading them!

And thanks a lot to Too Much Chocolate for editing this chapter :)

Chapter 8

I was his captive.

"No, you are not," Mr Cullen said sharply.

I flinched and looked at him disbelievingly. He returned my gaze with the same disbelief.

Not a second later, I found myself pressed against the wall and his eyes only inches from mine, suddenly looking very threatening.

My whole body was shaking, and I drew a short breath. He had read my mind. That couldn't be true! He might possess a stack of supernatural skills, but reading my thoughts was just too much. It simply wasn't possible!

"How exactly did you do that?" Mr Cullen hissed, his red eyes narrowed into slits. His intense and marvelous scent forced me to hold my breath. He wouldn't wrap me around his little finger again. But the longer he stood before me, glowering and growling at me, the more scared I became.

"I didn't . . . I didn't do anything," I tried to defend myself with a nearly non-existent voice. From one moment to another, I started swaying alarmingly and was suddenly very glad I had the wall at my back to support me.

"Continue to breathe, Isabella," Mr Cullen murmured and shook me hard enough that his fingers would leave bruises on my upper arms. Obediently, I gasped for breath. Holding my breath hadn't been the best of ideas.

Mr Cullen stared at me for a long while, during which I struggled to draw in air without breathing in his smell.

"Now I can't anymore . . . why are you able to hide your thoughts from me, Isabella?" he growled.

His fingers still lay on my arms and his firm grip began to hurt me.

"I don't know what you mean," I croaked, and whimpered because the pressure of his fingers became almost unbearable. Only then did he loosen his grip a little.

"I can't read your thoughts," he repeated and his voice sounded challenging. His red eyes flashed with anger.

"But just a moment ago . . . you knew what I thought," I responded carefully.

By now, I was a little more than confused. Mr Cullen was intimidating, that was as clear as day. And either I had gone mad, or he was actually telling the truth. I was indecisive about which of the two possibilities shocked me more.

"That was an exception. I tried everything in my power during the last two days to read your mind, but I somehow couldn't get through. Something inside of you keeps me out," he snarled and judging by the expression in his eyes, a new wave of anger washed over him. I winced.

He could truly read minds? Well, at least that explained why he had watched me in such an intense way all the time. He had attempted to get through, putting it how he'd phrased it.

"Sir, I assure you that I don't know why . . ."

My voice broke because I couldn't bear his smoldering gaze anymore. I closed my eyes, and a lonely tear rolled down my cheek. A second later, he swiped it off with his thumb. His touch made me shiver.

I stayed in this position, leaning against the wall, my eyes closed, for several minutes.

When I dared to reopen my eyes, I was alone. Mr Cullen was gone. Nonetheless, I gazed in all directions until I was absolutely sure he didn't linger anywhere nearby.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped toward the front door. I knew it would be futile to start a new escape attempt. He wouldn't fail to notice, and I fervently wanted to avoid another encounter with him.

My hand was still shaking as I turned the doorknob and entered. The entrance hall lay silent and peaceful before me. As fast and quiet as possible, I went up the staircase and disappeared into my room.

Lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling, I tried to arrange my thoughts.

Even though I had known it before, it was now absolutely indisputable that Mr Cullen wasn't human. He could read minds, and that was just . . . I couldn't even come up with an appropriate term, that's how horrified I was.

His intimidating demeanor and those rapid movements scared me as well. Shortly, my thoughts drifted back to when he had suddenly pressed me against the wall. I hadn't even been able to see him move.

Alright . . . I was under the same roof as two . . . vampires and a dreadful man. Ms Cullen was the only one out of the three I didn't fear. Probably because she was a woman.

By now, it was clear as day to me that my aggressors as well as the two Cullens were vampires. Those men had tasted my blood and Mr Cullen had dropped these eerie hints. Only Ms Cullen hadn't revealed her true nature yet, but judging by her eye color, she had to be a vampire. And I also remembered her catching the apple that had fallen off my bed, fast as lightning.

What had I been drawn into? And what was Mr Cullen's purpose in keeping me here? I couldn't imagine that he only did it to help me.

But mainly, I had to think of his last words. How did this mind reading work? He had claimed that he hadn't been able to read my thoughts until now. So why had he managed to do it today?

A dull pain pounded in my head and I downed the glass of water sitting on my nightstand.

Suddenly very exhausted, I laid back into the pillow and at once felt a severe fatigue taking possession of my body. My eyes fell shut as if out of my control, and I fell asleep.

My head was aching even more when I woke up the next morning.

It took a moment for me to remember yesterday's events. Or had it only been a really confusing dream in the end? And why wasn't I wearing the green dress anymore? I couldn't remember changing into the silky white dress I was wearing now. I had just . . . dozed off, in the middle of the day. And I distantly recalled the sudden fatigue that had seized me after I had drunk from the glass.

I turned around, my head feeling as if it would burst any second. I moaned.

"I told you it was too much," I heard Ms Cullen's soft voice.

Shocked, I turned back around and saw her standing next to my bed, together with Mr Cullen and Mr Thurgood. As fast as I could, I pulled the blanket up to my chin and couldn't stop myself from staring at Mr Cullen. I probably looked like a rabbit, paralyzed by the presence of a snake.

Why were they all standing around my bed? Had Mr Cullen told them about my futile attempt of escape? What did Ms Cullen mean? What had been too much?

"My brother mixed a sedative into the glass of water on your nightstand," Ms Cullen told me with a small smile. Was she capable of reading minds as well? I lowered my gaze and hoped they would leave quickly. I hated feeling their eyes on me.

"I didn't want her to worry all day," Mr Cullen explained in his velvet voice, which sounded a bit strained.

"Well, she has slept a whole day, you were successful," Ms Cullen responded dryly, reprimanding him a bit.

"It appears that you overdid the dosage," Mr Thurgood said. "The girl seems to be in pain."

I pulled myself together and refrained from giving him a hateful glance. Upon hearing his raspy voice, which sounded so crude in comparison to Mr Cullen's, my headache worsened.

"I am sorry," Mr Cullen said and definitely made a rueful expression. He turned to my nightstand and then extended a glass in my direction, filled with crystal clear water.

"It's clean, no sedative whatsoever," he promised and held my gaze, waiting for me to take the glass.

My throat actually felt very dry, that was why I carefully sat up. However, I didn't dare to take the glass from him. He had been so infuriated.

"I want to apologize for my behavior, Isabella," he said gently, still holding the glass before me.

His eyes shone with true regret and I gazed at Ms Cullen. I wondered whether she had made him apologize to me. But she couldn't have done that, could she? Mr Cullen didn't appear like a man that took advice from his sister.

Very, very slowly, I took the glass with shaking fingers. A little water went over the rim and dropped onto the blanket. Mr Cullen's lips formed a thin line.

"It was wrong to blame you for my incapacity. I must have frightened you immensely and I hope you can forgive me," he expressed and watched me raise the glass to my lips and swallow the cool liquid.

I didn't return his gaze and stared at the wall opposite me.

"She should consider herself lucky that you let her live here, my friend," Mr Thurgood said and gave me an appraising look. A shiver ran down my spine. Let her live here? I was his captive. Nothing more and nothing less. And I still didn't understand Mr Cullen's motives.

He shushed Mr Thurgood. The latter put on a mildly annoyed expression, but lowered his head obediently. The question of what had brought Mr Cullen to share his house with this terrible man rose anew in my head.

Ms Cullen cleared her throat.

"I need to break off my stay here, Isabella. I will return home in about an hour," she declared and sat down on the bed next to me, a merry smile on her face.

When she gripped my hand and enclosed it with both of hers, I recoiled a little, but let her hold it. Her skin was just as cold, silken and marble-like as her brother's.

"I miss my husband," she explained and winked at me.

I tried hard to smile at her, but failed as the full meaning of her words hit me. She would go and leave me alone with these men. I could feel my eyes watering and blinked a few times.