Okay, there are no excuses for how long it took me to write this chapter. First I was rewriting my other story which is still, admittedly, utter rubbish. Then I started writing a crime thriller on some other website... and I just sort of forgot about it.

It's a terrible excuse. I'm a terrible person.

I hope you can forgive me. Or... even remember what happened...

please enjoy, and thank you for continuing with the story IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME! xoxo

UNTIL NOW...

For the first time in what felt like forever, I woke up alone. Without Jett. My heart lurched with some unfamiliar feeling, and I found myself clutching at my chest in confusion - like I had some lump in the back of my throat that wouldn't go away.

I felt hollow.

"Did you have a nice sleep?" And that was when I remembered. Everything.

xxx

Jade is being targeted by vampires; the vampires that destroyed her prison... her home... killing not only her enemies, but everyone she ever really loved.

Rescued by Jett, an alluring, affluent young man with a tendency to leave her to her own devices - she began to settle in to a new home with new faces. That was... until they both stumbled upon each others darkest secrets:

He's a werewolf.

The beta of his brother's pack.

And she was starting to fall for him.

Desperate not to involve her new friends in her mess, she ran away. Except, by evading one problem she found herself stumbling straight into the clutches of the one monster she never wanted to see again.

The monster that she used to call her best friend.

xxx

You wouldn't think I was being held against my will. You wouldn't think my very existence was being threatened. Not even I really believed it.

It had been six months.

Six long months.

I pushed through the crowds in the street, when they didn't part like the Red Sea. They all thought I was insane; mistaking the desperate looks I used to give them for some crazed insanity. Sometimes they gave me food, coins and general random crap. Other times they pelted cusses, mud and faeces at me, trying to send me away. No one would help me. No one had a clue what was going on.

It's not like I could explain it to them, when none of them spoke a word of English. If they would even give me a chance to speak in the first place.

The dusty streets were bursting with life; and paranoia. Every corner, archway, bridge, and abandoned house was patrolled by armed guards - trying to find the culprit behind the mass murders. Hundreds of decaying corpses floated downstream - some recognisable... others, not so much. The city here lived in fear of this omen, without understanding what it was... but they just... waited for their impending doom.

And they thought I was crazy.

I'd been detained enough times on suspicions of murder, staring at the scruffy grit lined walls of my cell for days... maybe even weeks - before all the evidence built up against me was dubbed inconclusive. Then, and only then, would I be set free.

It was all part of his game.

I would walk on the streets - try to save myself, have the opportunity to escape... and the moment the dark would arrive, it would be taken away.

In the beginning, though, I didn't just sit and take it. I took advantage of ever single opportunity thrown in my direction - deluding myself into thinking that I was strong enough to break away from them. Naturally, I tried to run. Three times.

They caught me and broke a different limb each time, locking me away in a room until I was fully recovered... and then the cycle repeated itself.

He wanted me to taste freedom, to think I could grasp at it, and then he would rip it away from me in the worst way possible.

That was why I stopped allowing him the satisfaction. If I couldn't have my freedom, then he couldn't have my despair.

Everything was meticulously planned - I just hadn't figured out what the plan was. Yet. They would feed me, make sure I wasn't dying. Sometimes they force fed me when I refused to cooperate, and then - by day - I would return to scavenging the streets... just to appease him, really.

I knew he wanted to kill me. He'd told me he wanted to kill me. The only thing was... how and when.

It made me shudder, wrapping the shawl tighter around myself as I marched forwards - towards a gargantuan building that towered over the city. The citadel. And our new home.

Isaac was waiting for me under the arch, in the shadows. The sun had already disappeared behind the buildings, but the sky was still the pale pink of dusk.

We said nothing to each other.

I had always been weary of him; and the fact that he was Heath's accomplice only made me hate him more. You could never tell what he was thinking - pretending to be the Domina's lap-dog almost a year ago... and he slaughtered her without a second thought.

Back-stabbers, no matter who they stabbed in the back, were the sort of people that I couldn't associate myself with.

"He wants you to go to his room today, Jade." Geraldine was in a full length evening gown, speckled red. Her face was flushed - sated, but her words still had a sinister lilt to them. "He's been pestering for ages. Seeing as you aren't trying to run away anymore, why don't you just stay here like a good girl?"

I said nothing.

It was just harmless teasing.

SLAP.

Her hand connected with my face; nails tearing into the soft flesh on my face. I winced, but I could bear it. It was far-cry from a broken bone - maybe it would bruise and scar... but anything to put Heath off me for the rest of his unnatural life.

With that, she was gone, bored because I refused to retaliate.

I continued the way she came, towards the mesh doors, pushing them open.

He was perched on his satin throne, surrounded by his sadistic collection of skulls. Some with fangs, some without. The shrivelled heads that dangled lifelessly from the walls seemed to be in a permanent state of terror. How incredibly typical of him.

"Come here." He beckoned towards me with pale, outstretched fingers.

"What do you want?"

That made him chuckle, heaven forbid; eyes glittering in the light from the candelabra. "You really don't waste any time do you?" It was a rhetorical question, designed to rile me up and provoke a reaction. It would have worked a year ago. Now I just ignored him, hiding my feelings behind a perfected poker face. "Everyone here fears death... this natural state. Maybe it's because it's inevitable..."

He picked a skull of the pile and it plummeted to the floor, shattering.

"But that look in your eyes." He muttered. "So resigned... that look is truly terrifying."

"What do you want?" I asked again.

Resting his head in his hands, his eyes swept over me and held mine. Everything about him screamed danger... like a lethargic killer - just waiting for the right moment to strike. A snake. "Do you even have to ask?" He sounded tired when he spoke, not that I cared. "Come to me, Jade."

Suddenly, a familiarly sickening rush ran through me, compelling me forwards.

Every day, Heath got more powerful... and every day, I dreaded the moment he would finally use that power to crush me. But, I fought it; like I always did, struggling under its pressure - unrelenting. His aggravated sigh was hinting enough that he'd tired of our little game; so he rose to his feet and strode towards me.

Fuck.

"I'm not playing around anymore. When I tell you to do something-" he fisted my hair, exposing my neck - his eyes flashing crimson. "I expect you to do it."

A strangled scream escaped my throat as his fangs tore into my flesh, and he drew blood. It fucking hurt. It always hurt, but trust him to get a kick out of my pain - the sadist.

When he let go I punched him in the jaw, aiming to dislocate it. Unfortunately, it didn't work. He just rubbed his chin, bemused, then turned and walked away.

In the process of molesting me, he'd managed to rip away the top five buttons of my shirt. I don't really remember that part - but then I was too busy trying to drown out the pain with my anger. I didn't remember him clawing at my breasts either.

"Didn't you say you were going to kill me?" I yelled in frustration, trying not to cry. Trying not to snivel like an idiot. My situation had been pretty much predetermined - but every day he kept me alive, it only taunted me with false hope for a brighter future. For another chance at life. "Or are you too much of a coward."

He stopped, hesitated, and turned to face me - mouth still smeared a startling red. It was horrific, and I hated him for it. I hated him for everything. Because every time I saw him like that, it was a bitter reminder that he'd taken away what little I had left. Every fucking time.

"Or were you just bluffing all this time."

He stilled.

"That's it, isn't it?" I hissed. "You never had any intentions of killing me - because you're so fucking sick in the head you just wanted to watch me suffer. Well you know what? Go fucking shrivel up in some coffin and stay that way."

Maybe I said too much.

Maybe he really was going to kill me.

God, I hoped he would.

But he just stared at me, then disappeared.

The sun was scorching today - mirages danced in the distance, making roads look like water.

Most people took shelter in this weather, sleeping off the heat. If anything, I was just thankful for the vitamin D. My complexion had been improving... and, surprisingly, so had my general health. I was eating regularly now... enough to keep me going. Enough to stop me from looking gaunt. I guess Heath wouldn't be content with taking blood any less than perfect.

Made sense.

But thinking about myself like livestock had detrimental effects on my mental health.

I'd sort of, resorted to hugging my arms around myself, pretending that this was all a dream - and that I had nothing to do with vampires. That I was just a batshit civilian who occasionally got done in for being a danger to society. And it was made easier because everyone else believed the lie, too...

Not having to worry about others; no obligations to protect anyone - and not endangering the lives of innocent people.

It was better... in some respects.

But I was lonely.

And I hated being alone, no matter how much of a front I put on.

I didn't even realise I was crying until my tears were spattering against the sandstone, staining it darker.

Footfall rose in a crescendo towards my cubby-hole, along with the sound of voices. Everyone was asleep, so that meant that if I didn't move quickly, I was going to have another run in with the guards and end up in prison.

And, at some point, my luck was going to run out - and they would convict me of murder... and I would be sentenced to death.

Not waiting to stick around to see if I was wrong, I got to my feet and made a mad dash for it - pulling my shawl up over my head to hide my hair as I ran. The wind lapped at my heels, tugging on my dress, pulling me backwards. Grains of sand and dust temporarily blinded me, clogging my throat and making me splutter and stumble.

But I kept running.

I kept fighting the strain in my leg muscles, surging forwards; it didn't matter that I was out of breath, or that I wasn't exactly being discreet - I just needed to keep going... keep creating distance.

My thighs seared as I heaved up steep stone slabs, higher, higher, higher.

I hadn't come this way before.

Shit.

I mean... I guess there are bigger things to make a fuss about in the great scheme of things. However, when you're staring over a ledge at a dirt field covered in jagged rocks and rubble that's about... sixty feet below you, you start to panic.

Do I jump? I thought, hesitating. The wind petitioned for yes, pushing me forwards - but my brain was screaming at me to find an alternative.

But there was no alternative. The steep facades of surrounding buildings were smooth - windows starting about thirty feet up. I tried to calm my nerves, tried to think of a way around it... but I could already hear the sound of feet marching towards me... the sound of frenzied voices.

I'd been stupid.

I'd run.

And now I'd given them enough ammunition to decapitate me and put my head on a stick.

Weighing out the lesser of the evils, I climbed onto the ledge staring down at my impending doom.

I leaned forward, slipping... and time seemed to go so slowly. I felt the wind rush past me as I turned; turned to face to shocked faces that I never thought I'd see again. Two faces that I was so sure I'd left behind.

"NO!"

I screamed, realising what I'd done.

In that moment, The regret burned... and I reached for them, seconds before their faces disappeared and I was facing the cliff-face.

I'd subjected myself to death.

I killed myself.

And yet, the hand that grabbed my arm seemed to pull me back.

I can't remember if I ever stopped screaming. I just remember his lips on mine, frenzied, hands holding me to him. "Shut up." He'd said; and I collapsed into him, using him to steady myself while he breathed life back into me.

Holy crap.

What the hell just happened?

"Fuck." He growled, arms tightening around me. "I thought I'd lost you. I really thought I'd lost you."

"Sorry to disappoint you." I teased, completely out of breath. I was shaking, laughing, crying from the shock.

Then we were both silent... until Parker not-so-subtly cleared his throat.

And the moment was officially ruined. "Why the fuck did you jump?" And then Jett's temper settled in. "Was it because of us?"

"No!" The word slipped out of its own accord, mostly through sheer astonishment. "No. Of course not - I guess... it's kind of a long story. Can't we just be happy that everything is alright now, and leave it at that?"

Of course, neither of them were having any of my bullshit. "You just tried to kill yourself. That's not nothing."

"I'm fine! Seriously!" I lied.

The look on Jett's face was highly unsympathetic. "You're not fine. You smell like blood..." and then, suddenly, his hand was on the scarf around my head, pulling it away. The wound was still messy... because I hadn't had time to clean it up. But... but... if looks could kill.

"What the fuck, Jade?"

"Can you stop swearing, please?" I clamped my hand over the injury on instinct. "It's nothing."

"That's not nothing." Parker looked sad, for lack of a better word. "I knew the moment you disappeared that fast that something was wrong. I just... I didn't... if I had known this would've happened... I would have never let you go."

I didn't know what to say.

All I could do was collapse to my knees, like some idiot.

This was the first time in a long time that people had gone to these extremes for me - if at all.

The other two let me be silent, while Jett hoisted me up into his arms - his pretty face marred with a frightening grimace.

"I made you a promise, Jade." He said, "and I intend to keep it."

And yes, I still suck at proof reading.