I'm so amazed that you're all still reading and so happy! I'm sorry i was away for so long but life got in the way. I'm back now, though, and hopefully i won't be that long updating again. Anyway, thanks for all the amazing reviews for last chapter and here's the next one. Feel free to leave me more reviews!

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You woke up screaming aloud, a prayer from your secret God

To feed off our fears, and hold back your tears

I stared at him as he sat in the corner, a perfect, pale statue, made seemingly of white marble. He had lit candles in the room, no doubt to scare me, and they had succeeded. Every shadow, every flickered movement on the wall had me whimpering and trying to bury myself in the disgusting pillows and blankets that were on the old, steel framed bed he had me chained too. I couldn't move more than a few feet in any direction, not that I wanted to. He seemed to be keeping his distance, sitting perfectly still in a high backed chair across from me and I really didn't want to encourage him to come closer.

"Are you afraid, little one?" His voice was soft, almost tender as he turned to look at me with those horrific red eyes. They were something straight out of a horror movie and I shuddered again as he suddenly stood and moved towards me with quick, graceful steps.

"Should I be?" I managed to bite out before silently scolding myself. I had sworn I wouldn't antagonise him. That might remind him that he had a free and easy meal in front of him and encouraging him to eat me wasn't high on my to do list.

"Of course you should be. You're little boyfriend should be here soon and when he arrives I am going to kill you. Not eat you, although I shall collect your blood to enjoy later. No, I am going to slowly peel the layers of skin and muscle and sinew from your bones in front of him. I am going to rip out your eyeballs and break off every finger and every toe…"

His voice was mesmerising as he spoke, a sadistic smile on his face as he described the torture methods he had planned for me and I began to shake violently. His words were a double edged sword; the intent behind them had me cowering in fear while the soft, gentle tone he used was soothing my frayed nerves; tricking my subconscious into trusting him.

"Then when I'm done with you I will kill him of course." He was saying.

"Who are you?" I asked desperately. He turned to me and smiled; a coldly cruel smile that made me want to cry with horror.

"My name is Marcus. My bonded one's name was Mathilda. She was a beauty, even amongst our race. A gentle soul…"

"You're kidding right? You suck people's blood, how could she have possibly been a gently soul?" I couldn't help the question and as his angry eyes swung towards me I regretted it instantly and shrank back against the cold wall.

"It's a simple matter of Darwinism." He spat in reply. "Humans are further up the food chain than cows and pigs and so they slaughter them for food. What we do is no different."

I gulped as he stared at my neck, his head tilted in an interesting way as he watched the pulse point beat rapidly against the skin. I could feel it pulsing beneath the thin layer and I begged it silently to stop. Stop drawing his attention to the fact that my blood was warm and pumping through veins that were easily torn apart by his teeth.

"He won't come. He's mad at me." I found myself saying. My desire to be rescued by Paul earlier had been replaced by sheer desperation that he wouldn't come. Because I couldn't be held responsible if something happened to him because of me. Because I had been stupid enough to walk home alone at night.

"Don't be so naïve, little girl, of course he'll come. He is bonded to you in the same way Mathilda and I were bonded. It's why it will hurt him so much to see you in the pain I am going to cause you."

He laughed now and I felt the sobs creeping up my throat again. I curled myself into a ball and faced the wall, staring at the peeling floral wall paper. I had no idea where we were and no idea how long we had been here. Marcus was content to switch his gaze between me and the window and never seemed to be impatient.

"You know, when I met your friend Alex and he told me of his fascination with you, I imagined you to be a great beauty. Of course, he was drunk but still."

I ignored the mocking tone of his voice as continued to stare blindly at the wall. I didn't want to look at him again, to remind myself that I was stuck in a tiny room with a monster. A real life, man eating monster. If I got out of this alive, I was going to start going to mass. I was going to try to make amends with my dad and try to get along with my step-monster. I would even try to make amends with Alex. Well, if Paul didn't kill him first.

Paul's face swam in front of my eyes and I sighed softly, imagining him with me. I could practically hear him growling in my ear, telling my he loved me and he was coming. I could almost feel his arms around my waist; his warm hand against my stomach. I took another shuddering breath and cursed myself when the hot tears slipped past my eye lids and slid down my cheeks. I bit my lip to stop the sobs escaping but I heard the chuckle from behind me and knew he had heard.

"Now, now, my dear. There's no need for tears. It'll all be over soon. No doubt the mutts will have realised that you're not in Forks or Port Angeles. Right now they'll be thinking of spreading the search party further. You're dog will be on his way to us right now. If you prefer, I can kill you before I begin to dissect you."

Suddenly I couldn't help myself and I hung over the side of the bed, retching loudly. My dinner was long digested and my stomach empty so by the time I had managed to pull myself back into the foetal position, my throat ached from the strain and my stomach clenched and unclenched in protest. Marcus watched me, a faintly disgusted look on his normally stoic face that I ignored as I breathed deeply.

"You're so weak." He murmured. I glanced at him before looking away, not wanting to catch those eyes. "So delicate, you humans. I don't know why the dogs would want any of you. What if they broke you?" His lips curved up in a sadistic grin when I cast a glance at him and I shivered again. "Of course, I suppose the Alpha almost broke his human pet."

"Guess his human pet was more durable that your undead one, huh?" I wanted to slap myself as soon as the words were out of my mouth and I cringed, waiting on the sting of his palm against my face. To my surprise he chuckled, a low sound in the back of his throat that made me shiver again.

"You have spirit. I'll give you that." He told me. "Now, I'm hungry. I'm going to find myself something to eat… before I'm forced to give up my plans and eat you before the mutts get here."

He stood quickly and gracefully, striding out the door before I could say another word. Suddenly alone, I looked around the room, hoping to find some sort of weakness in his plan; some flaw he had missed that I could use to my advantage. Nothing stood out as being helpful in my breakout plan. I sighed and leant back against the wall, banging my head lightly as tears began to slide down my face once more.

A sudden wave of despair rushed over me and I bit my lip to stop the screams from escaping. The longer I was here, the more I began realising that I began believing that I wasn't making it out of this one alive. Despite his constant threats and intricate detailing of my torture and then death, I had been mainly tuning Marcus out when he threatened me. Part of my brain clung to the belief that Paul would be coming for me, that he could get me out of this but as the sun set over the horizon for the second time since I've been here, that plan seemed farfetched and optimistic to the point of foolishness. Paul probably didn't even know I was missing. He probably thought I was still annoyed at him about the moving thing. I cursed myself for my stubborn, huffy nature. If I had agreed to move in with Paul, or even extend my stay for a few days, I wouldn't be in this mess right now.

A loud, hoarse scream broke the silence and I looked around in surprise for a few seconds before realising I had made the broken sound. The sheer horror of the past few days seemed to drop on me at once and I could barely breath with the crushing weight on my chest. Dry sobs wracked my body until I was forced to curl up into a ball and rock myself until I could breath easily once more. I didn't notice the time passing as I stared at the wall through tear filled eyes. How the hell had I gotten into this mess? And how the hell could I get myself out of it?

I pulled at the chains again, tugging until my hands were raw but they didn't give an inch. I tugged my wrist and gasped slightly as the handcuffs slid painful across the skin. Why hadn't I tried this before? I tugged again and again, ignoring the shooting pains that struck with every pull.

It took twenty minutes. I counted each agonising second and by the time I was done, my hands were swollen and bruised. But I was free. I shot up from the bed, stumbling on legs that had been out of use for almost two days. Supporting myself with the wall, I debated how long I would have before Marcus was back and realised I was gone. No more than a half hour I would say. With a determined sigh, I pushed open the door of the abandoned warehouse we were in and breathed in the fresh air. It was raining, a light misty drizzle that made me smile with happiness as I stepped quickly and carefully out. My legs protested at the sudden use as I stumbled over the ground, catching myself on the side of the building. I had to hurry, had to be far away from the building and the area as possible before Marcus got back.

Every step was agony as I walked down the empty road. The clouds were thick and heavy in the sky, blocking the bright moonlight and making the dusk darker than it should have been. A howl in the distance made me raise my head in hope but after a few seconds I realised it was only a coyote.

"Going somewhere?"

The scream was stifled by the cold white hand across my mouth as the vampire picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, turning in a circle and carrying me back the way we came.

He threw me onto the bed and chuckled at my tear stained face.

"I must say, I'm impressed little girl." He commented. "I didn't think you would get out of those chains. And to make it as far as you did? Well done. You didn't do yourself any good, of course, although your scent on the road might encourage your mutt to hurry up and then your death will come much quicker."

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The song is Building a Mystery by Sarah McLaughlan