Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters in the story.
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Chapter Thirty Two
When Bella had finally awoken after being knocked unconscious it was not a gentle affair. She did not slowly regain consciousness, gaining back her memories like a radio station slowly becoming clearer. Instantly, as soon as her eyes snapped open, she was aware of everything that had transpired and within seconds she had categorized everything surrounding her.
She was laying on her stomach on a freezing cold, bumpy surface. The lighting was dark, but not pitch black and she could see a curved stone wall in front of her face. Her head throbbed viciously, she could feel the pinch of ropes that had been wrapped tightly around her ankles and wrists and in her mouth was a piece of cloth, tied tightly behind her head. The beating of her heart echoed in her ears as panic and fear filled her like boiling lava. Edward Cullen had finally come for her, and she was going to die.
"She's awake," came a sultry voice. It echoed around Bella and made her jump and try to move her head around, although the dim lighting provided little to go on. Suddenly she felt two hands wrench her body up off the ground and shoved into a sitting position with her bound legs in front of her and her shoulders pulled back painfully.
In front of her, with her rapidly adjusting eyes she could make out the pale figure of Edward Cullen in front of her. Her heart felt as thought it would rip out of her chest with how hard it was beating. And the smile that came over Edward's face was something so sinister that Bella whimpered in terror.
"Poor thing is afraid of us," spoke the other male that stood next to Edward. The one with the ponytail.
"With good reason," the sultry voice hissed, it belonged to the redhead who stared at her with bloody red eyes that glowed like rubies as they looked her over.
"Please, let us not play with our food," said a new voice and Bella's eyes flickered over to see a tall black vampire who had dreadlocks hanging down around his bare torso. He sounded almost bored, but he looked at the three other vampires with something akin to nervousness.
"Shut up, Laurent. This is Edward's party," snapped the female as she reached up to stroke Edward's unruly hair, "isn't it?"
Bella looked back to the feral black eyes of Edward Cullen, who stared back at her with a sick kind of curiosity.
"Yes," Edward finally spoke and Bella tried to hold back another moan of terror, "She is my singer… La Tua Cantante… That's what the Volturi calls it. It's a bond that a vampire comes across only once in their existence. It's something so rare that it's become a legend for our kind. And I am extremely fortunate to have found mine… Such a gift should be coveted and treasured for as long as possible, not wasted in one instance. Don't you think?"
The question went unspoken as it hung in the air. His coal black eyes never left Bella's face as she began to tremble. Her mind split into a thousand different directions as his words washed over her.
In front of her was a fate worse than death. He was going to keep her. He was going to prolong her life so that he could bleed her at his convenience for the rest of her life.
"You said we would share the girl, Cullen. Make good on your word," the fair haired male spoke aggressively, and Bella could only watch as Edward moved his head slowly to look at the male that had spoken.
"I agreed, James, if you'll remember, that you would receive your share of blood. And of course that is what you shall get," he responded, his malicious hiss sending a chill of new fear rolling through her body.
"Then we should start now? My throat is burning… Her scent is so strong," the female growled, her eyes boring into Bella's face.
"No, Victoria. First we must hunt. I do not want any accidents. Everyone will be in control of how much they take. She is not to be killed," Edward growled sternly. The glint in his eye was possessive as he looked Bella's entire body over. The sour bile rose in Bella's mouth as she gagged, choking on her own fear roiling in her body.
She was unsure of whose laughter rang out, but she squeezed her eyes closed as salty tears leaked onto her cheeks and into her parted lips. When she had opened her eyes again she found that the vampires were gone. Even the one named Laurent. Through her blurry eyes she saw that the entrance to the tunnel was at least forty feet away from where she was leaning against the wall and her chest began to ache with the weight of her fate resting on her like stone bricks.
Her death would not be short. It would be torturously drawn out over years of suffering. She would be bled out, only to be revived and nursed back to appropriate health when she could be bled from again. Edward Cullen would keep her in a state of being that would be worse than death.
The thought made Bella seize in terror again as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. Never again would she see Jacob. Her mate. The other half of her soul. The one man she truly loved with every fiber of her being. She would not look into his dark eyes and see every ounce of love he held for her. She would not hear his whispered words of apology for being away from her for so long after he came home from his patrol and woke her up in the middle of the night. She would never be able to feel his skin sliding against her own, covering her with his heat and completing her in a way she'd never thought to be possible.
She was damned to a life of cold hands and spine chilling fear. She was damned to being nothing more than a blood bag for a psychotic vampire.
Inside of her body she could feel a tightness, pulling at her, like a string had attached itself to her sternum. And as she focused on this feeling, she recognized the same ache that had appeared in her chest just after Jake had imprinted on her and he'd been apart from her. However instead of crushing her spirits at the thought of the distance between her and her mate, Bella felt a stirring of the smallest amount of courage that filled her.
If she had learned anything about her mate in the time she had gotten to know him, it was that he would never give up on her. Even if she was left for dead, or he was too late. He would find her, and he would do anything it took. In that moment Bella knew that her fate was gruesome and was a long, painful road towards death, but she also knew without a doubt in her mind that she would never stop fighting. She would never stop trying to escape, or find a way back to Jake.
She was the alpha's mate, and if there ever was a time to prove that, it was now.
-8-
Bella was unsure of how much time had passed from when the vampires had left her sitting in the cave. The mouth of the cave had grown dark and she could no longer see anything. Closing her eyes, she focused on the noises around her, listening for any indication that the vampires had returned. And then finally there were sharp footsteps against the stone floor of the cave, bouncing off of the walls and making Bella flinch.
"Such a good girl, you didn't even move an inch," Edward's hiss reached her ears and she breathed deeply through her nose, trying not to let the tremor of fear rip down her body. Screwing her eyes even tighter together she heard the sinister laugh of her captor, "Are you trying to pretend this isn't happening, Isabella? That this is all just a bad dream? Are you still thinking that your mutt will be able to save you?"
At his words Bella gasped sharply only to be met with a chilling laugh.
"Did you think I didn't know? Please… You smell repulsive. Like a wet dog. I will have to bathe you before I drink your sweet blood. I want nothing to tamper with that scent."
"Is it time yet? I'm getting so tired of waiting," came the female's voice, Victoria. She'd heard no footsteps from her and she flinched at the sudden closeness of the sound. A giggle came from her, but she said nothing else.
"You may both have a drink. But only take from her elbows, and make sure that there is no venom inserted into her veins. She will not be changed," Edward declared and despite all of Bella's best efforts, the fear rolled uncontrollably through her like a tidal wave. What would have been a scream was muffled against the cloth in her mouth as she started to squirm with her binds on her legs and arms.
Losing her balance she slumped to her side, still trying to get away from the vampires in a futile attempt. She then felt a hold hand grip her hair at the back of her scalp, pulling her body back up into a sitting position. Another wail left Bella's body as she struggled against the hold. Shockingly, Bella felt a tug on the binds that held her arms behind her back, but as soon as she reached up to grab the hand that tugged sharply on her hair, her left wrist was grabbed, holding her arm out straight.
The hand holding her hair suddenly let go as she continued to struggle, pulling her arm against the unwavering strength of the hold on her wrist. It felt like a shackle of ice had frozen around her wrist, and no matter how much she pulled against it, she would not be freed. Her right wrist was then grabbed and held out at the same straight angle. She was now positioned so that she could do nothing to escape.
Bella screamed and begged incomprehensibly through her gag, hoping that a miracle would happen and Jake would storm into the cave and save her. But as she heard a hiss that sounded more like an animal than anything human, the worst pain she had ever experienced in her life seared through her body as the two vampires bit into the flesh of her elbow.
Her screams escalated and her skin became clammy. The pain was blinding and she choked on the bile in her throat. She became so consumed with the unbearable pain that her entire body felt paralyzed. She could not struggle, she could not fight. The only thing she was capable of was screaming in pain as the torture continued.
What seemed like ages later, the vampires disengaged themselves from her elbows. Bella's head felt heavy and although she could not see anything in the dark of the cave, she felt as though the world was spinning, unconsciousness taking over her mind. The pain did not stop as her whimpers escaped through her parted lips, hot tears streaking down her cheeks.
"Victoria and James, you may take your leave now. Your services are no longer needed. Laurent, I need you for a while longer. Your gift will ensure that my trail will not be picked up on by those nasty dogs," Edward's voice sounded far away to Bella, almost as if it she was underwater.
"And if we refuse? I don't think the debt has been paid entirely," the male named James responded. There was an angry hiss and a gigantic crash that sounded like thunder. As the thunder continued, Bella's mind began to drift further away, feeling like a leaf floating on a river. Unable to direct herself, or barely keep herself afloat.
As she descended into the realm of unconsciousness once again, she could remember with startling clarity what it felt like to be kissed by Jacob. The feel of his hand caressing the back of her neck and cheek while his warm slid against her own, showing her with every movement that she belonged to him. Only him.
And then seamlessly she slipped into the darkness, letting the memory of Jake's warm lips pressed against her own sink to the bottom of the river as she floated on.
Well, well, well! Leave a comment if you'd like too and thanks for reading! :)