PLEASE READ:
This chapter and this story contains graphic content including rape, violence, strong language and other non-suitable aspects not appropriate for minors or those sensitive to such content.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The red satin clung seductively to Bella's petite frame. An intimidating color at an intimidating short length, had Bella's skin crawling with discomfort at the sight of herself in the mirror. Alice was there behind her, putting her hair into a side sweep with soft curls that left the nape of her neck fully exposed. Bella felt exposed, as if all of her were bare for all to see.
Gulping down a tremor that was coursing down her spine, she closed her eyes against the sound of that chiming voice.
"Relax, Bella. You look stunning. The sight of you alone will distract him from any thoughts he could possibly be having." Alice said with an encouraging smile, with that up-most perfection she always projected onto others.
"That's what I'm afraid of, Alice." Her brown oculars dared to focus back onto her reflection, an image she didn't even recognize as herself. She was shaking, thinking she looked like Jessica Rabbit or some seductive pin-up model. This wasn't her and it would entice the very thing Bella had been fighting off from Edward after all this time. She was an apple waiting to be bitten into, a fruit of temptation just waiting to be picked. Edward desperately wanted her in every which way and Bella had managed to hold onto her innocence. Barely.
Breaking Bella's troubled thoughts momentarily, Alice coached her on what to bring to the evening's events, as she had been doing all night. "Accept his invitation tomorrow if he decides to invite you back into the arena. Do not mention what happened last time, do not question anything. Let him talk. If he asks you if you are ready, you act like nothing phases you anymore. Give him assurance. Be obedient." Alice's cat-like eyes locked onto hers. "You do whatever you need to do to earn back his trust. He is going to test you, Bella."
Bella's painted red lips parted to allow more oxygen into her constricting lungs, feeling parts of her brain shutting down in order to deal with the understanding on what Alice was telling her. Tonight might be the night she loses her virginity and to a power-hungry psychopath.
A knock at the door had Alice floating in the direction of the sound, as Bella stood trying to compose her involuntary shaking. Turning from the mirror in order to forget her outer appearance, she shut down as she had learned to do since her first terrifying experience in Seattle. There had been the violating pawing of greedy and hurtful hands, the promise of every girl's fear lingering in their eyes. Bella gulped once more, burying that carefully blocked trauma along with the rest that came from Edward Cullen's touch. She opened her eyes to find the image of fear before her, roaming her figure with those eyes that now matched the color of her dress.
So, he had gone back to feeding on humans. It didn't really surprise her. Of course, it was probably due to his lusting for her that went without sating. There was no measuring the guilt Bella felt on this realization. She would now tell herself that she didn't force Edward to kill those people, that it was his fault on his inability to control himself. Still, she couldn't help the altered sight of crimson upon her flashy engagement ring and manicured hands.
"She looks fantastic, Alice." Edward kissed his sister's cheek in thanks for her help, which Alice gratefully accepted.
Bella fidgeted, as she often did when Edward approached her. His arm was held outward by her side, waiting for her to accept his escorting. "Shall we, Miss Swan?" His trained smile that was only meant for Bella was waiting along with his arm and there was an awkward moment or two where Bella struggled with the thought of even touching him. His skin felt cold even through his expensive Armani jacket, a sensation that she could never get used to. Alice took her leave and once again, Bella was on her own with the vampire.
The Monster took the raw steak into his dirtied hands and gnawed at it like a wild animal would, inhaling the bloodied meat with ravenous desire. They had been feeding him the delicious meat all week, which meant that a fight was on the near horizon. The Monster had learned the feeding methods of the cold ones, since it was all he had to look forward to anymore; his next meal.
What was his name? The Monster. What was he before this? Nothing. What is your purpose? Killing.
Whatever he was before he came to this place, was buried away deep in the darkness of the tortured creature's mind. He believed himself to be beast, not man. They treated him as if he were their property and that he was. Speech was scarce. Growls came naturally. There were a few faces that still managed to linger in his memory, one being the same species as he that was tormenting him from the other side of the invisible barrier earlier. The Monster still felt a need to destroy it though, mainly because of his frustration with placing the face.
Familiar faces were tied with more pain. The girl of his kind was one he had been forced to hurt, against his will. In turn, she had hurt him in the same way. The Doctor stuck him with painful needles and gave orders to have him restrained or beaten. The Doctor's offspring had been familiar to him as well, each one having their own particular way of injuring The Monster. He did not know why they hated him so, especially the one they called Edward. He had made many visits to The Monster at all hours of the night, burning his flesh with the Cullen's brand or lashing him with a steel whip. Those injuries healed quickly, as they always did, but The Monster would find little sleep during the night with the deep wounds that often left his ribs exposed.
Even now, the flesh barely hung onto his bleeding crouched form as he inhaled his steak. The Monster had grown so accustomed to the pain, that it held little resignation for him. Especially, when food came around.
Having just finished, the buzzer rang from over the entrance to his cage. Obediently, The Monster rushed to the corner of the room, sitting against the wall as he had been trained. The Doctor must be coming to patch up his wounds from Edward.
Sure enough, Carlisle entered with four vampire guards.
"Alright, let's get you stitched up." He said with disappointment, something that The Monster couldn't quite place. The prized fighter went to the restraint chair and sat, as the guards closed the bindings around his arms and legs. "Get him another pair of pants, please. He's got blood all over them. Change the bed sheets too and get someone to mop up this floor."
As one of them did his bidding, Carlisle put on his gloves and started threading his needle, before starting to clean up his wounds to the best of his ability. "I apologize Edward did this to you. He went too far this time." He said with a hint of grief. The Monster's eyes narrowed up on the cold one's face. He barely recognized his words, just the name of the one who had hurt him last night. His son had come into the room and electrocuted him with one of the taser's, leaving him paralyzed as he repeatedly beat him with the whip. The Monster hadn't understood what he had done wrong, even now he wondered what had evoked such rage from the vampire.
They sat in silence as Carlisle patched him up, neither capable of speaking any words.
Up on the roof of the museum and hidden underworld, there was another pair sitting in silence.
It was the first time Bella had seen the sky since before the ordeal in the arena, not having been allowed to leave the confines due to Edward's inability to trust her. The moon was almost full, marking the eve of the infamous dog fights. She wished she could enjoy it, but instead she found herself staring down at her plate of well-done steak as she cut at it meticulously with her designer knife. Edward's eyes hadn't left her and she could feel them all over her. Mainly at the nape of her neck and her chest, which was heavily exposed thanks to Alice.
Naturally, Edward wasn't eating. He drank from his chalice, which Bella suspected to contain either red wine or blood. She dared not linger on her suspicions.
"You're quiet tonight."
Bella swallowed and stared at him wide-eyed. "Sorry, just a bit hungry." Her eyes wavered to the side.
He smiled. "I want to give you another chance, Bella. I want you to come with me tomorrow to the fight. It would mean a lot to me. I want to be able to trust my future wife. Have her by my side, always."
Her heart skipped a beat at his words from the crazy look in his eyes. He was delusional, obsessed and Bella was forever stuck with this creature. She coughed, feeling the lump in her throat that she blamed on a piece of meat.
"Are you alright?" His brow furrowed as he rose, attempting to approach her to help her.
"I'm fine!" She managed to let out between her coughing fit. Breathing at last, Edward took his seat back.
"You can't get away from me that easily." He laughed hauntingly, taking another sip from his quickly emptying cup.
She laughed in return, out of nervousness. "Yeah."
"So you will come?" He asked, sounding less like he needed permission and more like it was a demand.
Bella offered a fake smile as she returned her normal color. "Of course." With that, she went back to eating. Not out of hunger, but out of nervousness.
He had set all this up for them to be alone, in his attempts to romance and ease her, but all this attention and strategy had Bella more on edge. Maybe Alice was right. Maybe he was expecting something from her tonight, maybe Alice had seen something that she didn't bother to fully warn her about.
She finished and as she threw her linen napkin down, a small staff started to clear the table. Edward stood and it made her tense further. "Let's go, Bella." He held his hand out for her to take.
After he was stitched up and bandaged, The Monster had been left by the Doctor, only to be retrieved by Edward's personal staff minutes later. He let them restrain him in the chair and wheel him out, going down new corridors and down an elevator, to a floor he had never been on. The Monster's nose twitched against a foul odor that grew. He smelled burning flesh and decay, passing a room with the word INCINERATOR painted on the heavy door. He didn't know this word, but he knew he was being taken somewhere that his kind didn't tread alive. His already racing heart paced faster and he contemplated fighting his binds, but rationalized that he was no longer in control of his fate. He was outnumbered and defying the cold ones never worked in his favor in the past, so why would it now?
The far door opened with the swipe of an electronic key, revealing a large dark room with flickering fluorescent lighting. Chain restraints hung from the walls at far distances from one another. On one, the bones of someone were locked in and hung hauntingly.
The Monster's eyes went wide as he was shocked with a taser and familiarly paralyzed. He was physically removed from the chair and chained to the wall, hanging limply and unable to fight until feeling would come back into his muscles. The linoleum floor beneath him was stained with blood of the one who had died here before him, the smell of it's final moments still protruding against his heightened senses.
"Where are we going?" Bella asked, not liking the tone or tension in Edward's stance. He seemed calculating, like a tiger that was ready to pounce upon it's unsuspecting prey.
"Come on." He offered his crooked smile as she finally took his hand, her instincts sending her sirens of alarm.
Instantaneously, it seemed they were inside Edward's elaborate white bed chambers. Mirrors over his bed sent her head spinning, but she managed to keep a face of impassiveness as he soon offered her a glass of white wine. He lead her to sit at the foot of the king-sized mattress and she did so, crossing her legs protectively as he took a seat boldly too close to her.
She brushed her hair behind her ear on the one side where it hung over her shoulders, but Edward was there to quickly brush her hair completely to her back. He then took her heels off, offering her some comfort while in his chambers. Puzzled by his actions, Bella's brow furrowed. "Edward, what-"
"Shush." He said as he closed his eyes tightly and pressed his forehead against hers. He breathed, even though he had no need for the air. "You will never understand how deeply I love you." He pulled back to stare into her eyes, they had her mesmerized but not from love, but from the need to predict his following actions. "Do you love me?"
She looked down. "Yes."
He took her face into his hands, carefully, as he urged her to look at him. "I need to feel you, Bella. In every way. To know that what you say, is the truth."
Bella shuddered and continued to shake, spilling some of the wine in her hand. Neither seemed to notice. "If you loved me, you'd respect my decision to wait until we are married." Her terror had seemed to freeze her, as she braced herself for the possible wrath of Edward.
He smiled that crooked smile again, which meant her dismissal was being taken lightly.
Like a bolt of lightening, Edward had changed. The wine glass was slapped out of her hand, hitting the door on the far side of the room and shattering into thousands of nearly invisible pieces. The vampire grabbed her from behind, lifting her from the bed by holding her by the neck with one crushing hand. She struggled to breathe and felt her throat would collapse under his super strength. Feeling his rage through the contact, she knew that any second could be her last as she was dragged out of the room and down the hall and into the elevator.
His staff passed, staring but not involving themselves in the situation. Here, Edward was God. Nothing was questioned, not even the dying girl in his crushing grip. As they entered the elevator he released his grip on her throat, where she crumpled to the floor and gasped for air.
She could barely see due to the lack of oxygen and she was dizzy as she struggled to find her feet. She didn't need to though, since Edward had now laced his fingers roughly into her now tangled tresses and was dragging her on the floor out of the elevator.
Strands of her hair were pulled from her scalp as he hurriedly moved her down the empty cold hall. "Edward! Please!" She shrieked against the pain, feeling blood pouring down her face from the pulled parts of hair.
He scooped her up into his uncaring arms, as if he were frustrated that her hair dared to break against his grip. Edward didn't even bother to use his electronic key on the door at the end of the hall as he kicked it down in one fluid motion, taking several paces inside of the darkened room before pushing her down onto the dirtied linoleum floor.
Bella thought she would pass out at any second from the amount of terror she felt and the assault taken upon her body so far. She knew what she was coming, after all, she had been through this before. Now, there was no one here to save her before it was too late.
"Look over there, Bella." Edward forced her face towards the direction he was motioning with his chin, where her brown orbs struggled to focus on the large figure chained to the dimly lit wall. "Is that the one you love? Jacob?"
A staggered breath escaped from between her paling lips, life entering her for a brief moment at the name. It was then she saw him finally, staring back at them with eyes she couldn't recognize.
"What have you done with him?" She asked as hot tears finally spilled down her reddened cheeks, which Edward hungrily licked at along with the streams of blood.
He kept her facing Jacob as he whispered menacingly into her ear, "Exactly what I'm going to do with you. I'm going to break you, Bella and make you mine. I'll treat you like the dogs you love so much."
The Monster's eyes didn't waver from the painstakingly familiar brown eyes that were filled with such sorrow and loss. The one they called Edward was now hurting the tiny beautiful creature, who wasn't one of the cold ones. She was warmer, but not as warm as himself or the other familiar faces. The Monster could feel her from where he was chained, but he could not register a need to destroy her as he did with the others. In fact, he felt something entirely different.
This was a face he had dreamed of, a face that he had imagined on the other girl when the medicine the Doctor gave him had forced him to do horrible things. Things, he had never wanted to do. Before him now was the face that had gotten him through most of his horrors and as he watched Edward rip the dress from her body and inflict more wounds upon her perfect skin with his invasive hands, a growl escaped from his throat. One that was so feral, it made his whole body tremble. The Monster fought against the rusted chains in one downward swipe. Then, he did another forceful swipe. With each pull against the chain, more dust flew from behind him as he pulled harder against them.
Bella had closed her eyes as she lay in nothing but her grief beneath the overpowering Edward, unable to fight against someone much stronger than herself. She used her shut down method, piece by piece as she felt him abruptly enter the part of her that had been untouched. A scream escaped her lips from the pain, then several uncontrollable sobs as he started to take what he wanted from her. Something, she had hoped to give to someone else someday. Someone deserving.
Then, in a fraction of a second, the pain had ceased.
She dared open her blurry eyes, to find there was no face of the demon above her anymore. Struggling to sit up, she vomited next to where she sat in her own embarrassing pool of blood. The sounds of growls kept her from collapsing, as she looked upon the wolf-form of her best friend. Beneath him, was the decapitated body of Edward Cullen. With that, Bella finally passed out.