Chapter 28 - A New Hunting Ground
Bella's POV
I followed the smell of her blood through the streets as James had taught me. When I found her, I waited for her to be alone before making my move. As the street began to clear the brunette woman was left mostly alone. The timing must be perfect so I waited, I followed her as she walked home, waiting for my moment. When the streets were almost clear I leapt from my hiding place and knocked her into an alley.
A surprised scream escaped her lips and I clamped my hand over her mouth. "Shh," I warned her. "He'll hear you. You don't want him to hear you." And with that said, I released her mouth and climbed off of her.
She scrambled to her feet, trying to be quiet as she did so, and brushed the dirt off of her brown jacket and light blue jeans which I could see easily, even though it was so dark.
"Who is he?" She whispered cautiously to me, still deciding whether or not to trust me.
"He is a hunter." I told her quietly.
The woman looked me up and down, trying to decide whether or not I was crazy. "What do you mean a hunter?" She asked me, noting the fact that I stood between her and the only way out of the alley.
"He hunts people." I explained as simply as I was able. "He hunted me, and took me from my home. I have not seen my mother or father in months." I looked sadly to the ground as I spoke, realising the reality of my words. But then I remembered I don't want to go back and I looked to the girl again. "He is nearby, and if he finds you, you will be lucky to just die." I told her, watching the fear grow in her eyes.
"How did you escape?" She asked me, still unsure as to whether or not to believe me.
"What makes you think she escaped?" The voice of my lover called out from the back of the alley, reminding me of his presence. As well as the usual mix of fear and devotion, this time I also felt relief, knowing that I was not alone.
The girls eyes widened as she looked behind her. I grabbed her arm and ordered, "Run!"
She did not need to be told twice. We ran from the alley and down the street. I led her in seemingly random directions and James's laughter kept her following me until I suggested we run into an old abandoned building to hide.
Once inside she crouched over panting and I tried to copy her, pretending to be exhausted so as not to seem less human. "Who. Are. You?" She demanded between pants.
I inhaled deeply, pretending to get my breath under control before trying to force my words to sound slightly laboured. "My name." I began, pausing briefly to emphasize my supposed exhaustion. "Is Bella Swan. James kidnapped me months ago, and every now and again, he lets me go, so that he can catch me all over again." I informed her. "I was running from him when I crashed into you." I told her, explaining my earlier behaviour. "I'm sorry to get you caught up in all this." I apologised.
"Well I think we lost him." She said, trying to comfort me and herself as well. "I can call my brother to come pick us up, and then we'll go straight to the police." She promised. "I'm Gabriel, by the way." The girl added, extending her hand.
I hesitantly took her hand. It was even harder to resist when I could feel the blood coursing beneath the skin.
"Where are we anyway?" She asked releasing my hand and walking through the warehouse. Gabriel noted the bed inside a large circle of mirrors and regarded it cautiously. "Whoever owns this place is one hell voyeuristic fetish." She said before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.
"There is no service in here." I told her on no uncertain terms.
After glancing at the screen of her blackberry Gabriel turned back to me suddenly feeling very cautious around me once more. "How did you know that?" She asked me sceptically, searching the room with her eyes for ways out.
I looked into her eyes unafraid. "This is where James and I live." I told her and she took a step back, bumping into James who was standing behind her.
He grabbed her instantly and she screamed. "Go ahead and scream if you want." He told her and I saw the clear fear in her eyes. "No one can hear you but us and..." He paused as a large smile grew across his face. "I love the sound of screaming." He told her and she tried to thrash about in his arms.
"Let me go!" She demanded desperately.
And with that James dropped her to the floor. "If you insist." He said casually. "After all, you are Bella's catch not mine."
"I am yours though." I assured him and he smiled back at me.
"Always my love." James promised and I smiled back.
Gabriel lay there stunned for a moment, listening to our exchange before trying to run. I stopped her before she reached the door and she thrashed about uselessly in my arms screaming for me to let her go.
I carried her, without difficulty, into the circle of mirrors and James sat on the end of the bed to watch as I dumped her on the ground at his feet.
"You were right Gabriel," my lover told her. "I do like to watch." And with that he handed me a knife.
I took the blade and crouched beside the terrified woman. "What are you going to do to me?" She asked me with tears in her eyes.
"I am going to make you scream." I told her simply and she once again searched the room with her eyes before breaking down in tears.
"Why are you doing this?" She sobbed uselessly.
I observed the crying woman for a moment until I finally spoke. "Because it's what he wants." I told her. "James wants to watch me make you scream, and James always gets what he wants."
Gabriel looked me in the eye, trying to seem determined and unafraid but the thumping of her heartbeat gave her away. "So everything you told me was a lie?" She demanded and I simply returned her glare with my own blank look.
It was interesting to watch her, for me, fear was natural, it was an everyday occurrence. I had grown to accept and eventually enjoy my fear, but for her it was something new. What she felt was pure, uncorrupted terror. "No, not everything." I told her. "James kidnapped me, and he made me his. He is terrifying in every way, I simply neglected to mention that I am in love with him." I explained, watching the tears fall from her eyes as she accepted her fate.
I turned my eyes to the blade James had given me. "Why a knife?" I asked him, since we both knew I did not need it.
"Never underestimate the usefulness of a blade Bella." My mate cautioned me. "The hot sting of cold metal can inspire fear far better than a fist if it is used right." Taking his words into account I lifted the face of the sacred girl, noting how her breath hitched as I did so, and brought it cleanly across her jaw, leaving a small cut in its wake.
Gabriel cried out from the shock and the pain of the simple wound which bled quickly due to her ever-increasing heartbeat.
James continued to instruct me as I opened wounds on the girl and licked the blood, carefully not touching her open wounds with me tongue.
It was a long and slow process and she screamed until her throat was sore. Once she was dead I turned to my lover and he took my hand, pulling me on top of him. He told me over and over how special I was, and how I was all his, and how sexy I looked, making that girl scream and bleed, how delectable I looked with her blood on my tongue.
It was the same as always, I basked in his compliments while we worshipped each others bodies. We made love for hours and when we finally stopped I wanted nothing more than to stay right where I belonged, in the arms of my mate. His touch made me feel so small, so insignificant, and yet so safe, as though I didn't need to be big, because James was here to do that for me.
I lay in my lover's arms and placed gentle kisses down his chest, hearing his contented moan in response. It was about to move my head upwards and kiss his lips when I noticed something I had never noticed before. There were very faint lines covering the skin over his ribs. I traced the many lines for a few moments, some were fainter than others and they were all difficult to see, even with my now inhuman sight. "James?" I asked him.
"Yes my love?" He responded, not moving from where he lay besides tightening his arms about my shoulders.
"What are these scars from?" I asked, curiously tracing each one.
That made him move. James released me and sat up very quickly, pulling the blanket over his shoulders and hiding the scars from me. "It doesn't matter." He insisted, refusing to meet my eye.
"James," He didn't respond as I moved closer. "It clearly matters to you, and I am yours, so if it matters to you, it matters to me too.' I told him and he scrunched his eyes shut before opening them to turn and look at me.
I waited but he didn't speak so I spoke instead. "Did someone hurt you?" I asked, already plotting what I could do to whoever it was.
"It was a long time ago." His voice was quiet and he looked away again. "Scars take centuries to fade from vampire skin. But these ones are barely noticeable, not because I've been around that long, but because they are older than that. They were faded to the point of almost being gone when I was turned. Some of them are older than others, and a few actually can't be seen any more." I waited silently, hanging of every word he said. "He was the only man I was ever afraid of." James went on. "And when I was through with him, he died fearing me." Then James just stopped talking and became very quiet.
After a long moment I moved closer and climbed onto his lap, only the blanket separated us and I lifted his face to look into my eyes. "Who hurt you James?" I asked in my soft gentle tone.
"My father." The words were so quiet even with my inhuman hearing I had difficulty understanding the words. "He used to beat me with a belt since I was little. He didn't need a reason, it wasn't because I would misbehave, he just liked to hit people. He would his me so hard that the belt would break my skin and laugh at me when I cried. He used to tell me it was my fault mother died, and one day I found out that he had killed her and I just snapped. I beat him, he begged and screamed and I liked it, it was a nice change. For once it was me in charge, and he was the one who was weak. A vampire passing through town smelt the blood and found me, said he liked my handiwork and asked me to join him in his travels, so I did. After that I was strong, and everyone feared me, I would never be small again, because I hit back. Now people are afraid of me." And with that he went silent again.
I hated the thought that anyone had hurt the man I loved, and it was so strange to see him looking vulnerable. I cupped his cheek with my hand and kissed him deeply, as soon as James began to kiss me back I surrendered to his movements, allowing him complete dominance.
When we parted he looked at me, almost as though he were afraid of how I would react to this knowledge. I pulled the sheet aside and it dropped onto my lap. I looked down and saw all the faint scars, now that I knew they were there I could see them, all over his ribs and his arms. "These scars," I stated, knowing that James was holding his breath and hanging of my words. "These are the scars you gained as you became strong." I told him. "You had to go through all that to become what you are and now that you are strong and terrifying, you are left with the evidence of your journey. You are strong and terrifying, and I love you James. You are my mate and I am yours in every way. I am you lover, your mate, your possession, and I will always be afraid of you, because you are perfect, and you are terrifying." As I finished speaking I felt his strong arms about my body, drawing me close as he kissed me, his tongue instantly dominating mine.
James attacked my mouth with his and while I was laying on my back with him on top of me he finally released me. "I love you my Bella." James told me and I smiled. "You are beautiful, and you are all mine." He went on. "And you are perfect. You are not beneath me any more, and you are not so weak any more. You are prefect, and you are mine." He kissed me again. "And these scars." He said, tracing the marks he had left on my body. "These scars show how you became mine." He kissed me again and I held him tight against me.
"We should go." He said finally. "We have been in town for a while and we should move on." I nodded my agreement but I knew he also wanted to leave the place he had very briefly been vulnerable, but it would be nice to have a new hunting ground.
Authors Note: A bit long but it should hopefully give some insight into why James is the way he is.
~SophieAngel69
