48

A few days passed that seemed endless to me. Days in which I was lucky enough to finally be able to leave the basement and get my own room. It had bars on the windows and there was always some vampire in front of the door, but at least I had my own bathroom and didn't have to wet a bucket anymore.

A little consolation in a shitty time...

I remembered Gloria telling me happily in the basement that Keno had left and didn't want me anymore...

Whoever believes it will be blessed, I thought to myself and continued to use every clear thought to perfect my escape plan, but now, sitting here on the wide bed, I unfortunately wasn't even aware of how I could get out of this room. So the escape would certainly take some time, but I just knew that Keno would certainly not have given up on me. That was my biggest motivation, of course next to the baby in my womb.

"We can do it," I said to myself and glanced at the old bookshelf in front of me, which seemed so dusty as if it had been there untouched for centuries... It might have been like that...

When I heard footsteps in front of the door, I knew it was time for my meal and I hurriedly got out of bed to stand at the back of the room by the small window that gave me at least a glimpse of the grey, dark sky gave about us.

"Aria?!" Sandrino's voice came through the door and I took a deep breath.

"I'm away from the door. Don't worry," I let him know and already the old lock clicked and he, smartly dressed as always, stepped into the small room that contained nothing but the bed and the bookshelf.

"Gloria would like to speak to you," he instructed me and I grinned overwhelmed and looked at him with a raised eyebrow exactly in this horrible red of his irises.

"Oh, does she want that?" I asked provocatively and immediately he came towards me with quick steps, so that my maternal instinct kicked in and I raised my arm protectively. "If you touch me, I'll rip your throat open!", I warned him with a growl and my wolf was immediately ready to help me, but Sandrino just stared at me and then showed coldly how he was to the door.

"Then go ahead."

I adjusted the brown, old-fashioned dress on my body, let out an annoyed breath and then walked past this dead bastard with my head held high, only to be greeted in the corridor by three other vampires, one of whom looked paler than the other.

"Sun would do you good," I hissed, letting Sandrino walk past me and then following him down the red-painted hallway, where we stopped at the end in front of a wide, gilded door.

"I'm really sorry," he whispered under his breath, looking me up and down with his ice-cold gaze until he jerked himself away and opened the door in front of me.

I was getting really uncomfortable. I would have preferred to be alone in the room again.

I took a deep breath, tried to calm myself and stepped into the hall, which seemed larger than anything else in this castle, with my eyes fixed on a large, set table.

"Aria," Gloria greeted me, she was just putting wilted flowers on the table and I hardly wanted to ask her what was going on here when I suddenly felt Sandrino's hands on my arms and how he fixed them firmly on my back.

"What are you doing!" I yelled at him and tried to free myself, but it seemed impossible.

"Put the collar on her!"

Horrified at her words, I looked at Gloria, who was smoothing down her black dress, and then felt something heavy, freezing cold around my neck, painful and burning against my soft skin.

"Was soll-"

I screamed with all my might, but I could hardly breathe through this metal around my neck and tried to free myself from Sandrino in a panic, but he just laughed behind me and grabbed him even harder, so that I started to whimper.

"Good puppy," he whispered in my ear and I immediately threw my head back with all my strength, so that my skull hit his forehead and he let go of me, groaning in pain.

"You disgusting creature!" I yelled, about to turn to face him when someone yanked the ribbon around my neck and I fell forward on all fours.

"You should behave yourself," Gloria scolded, and as my gaze swept from my hands up to her, I recognized the leash she was holding in her old, pale fingers.

"Do you seriously think that would stop me from transforming," I breathed, grinning, and at the same moment I was startled that she was pulling on the leash again.

"Yes, it will, because this metal is indestructible. If you transform, your neck will break, my little one."

My grin disappeared immediately, but I got up from the light marble floor anyway and faced her, while Sandrino regained his strength and stood right next to me.

"What do you want from me?! Keno's gone! So what's this?!"

"Well, not so snappy," she warned, smiling, wagging her long finger. "He's not gone. This miserable mutt has been circling our castle for days. But if you don't want to hear, you have to feel."

"What do you mean by that?"

She nodded to Sandrino, who immediately grabbed my waist and pushed me to the table in front of me to push me onto one of the chairs by my shoulders.

"If you die, he dies. I'm really sorry but it's his fault, not me. I gave him the opportunity to go and everyone would have been happy."

"Wait!" I blurted out in panic as I watched wide-eyed as several vampires gathered around the table. "Gloria wait!"

She turned her back on me and ran to the door while I thought my heart was about to burst into pieces.

"Do what you want with her, but do it quietly!" she instructed the pale men, one of whom immediately stepped to my side and put his hand on my thigh.

"Take that disgusting hand away or I'll break it for you!" I hissed at him courageously, but inside I died a thousand deaths before I remembered something I had suppressed for far too long.

"The line of the vampire!" I yelled at Gloria, breathing hard, hoping she would hear me, and she did.

With an irritated expression, she turned to me again and walked slowly back to the table, gesturing with her hand to get the men to distance themselves from me for the time being.

"How do you know that expression?" she asked me and I just looked at her imploringly.

"My parents died because of vampires. I had a lot of time to read as a kid. I know your customs, your laws, and I know that when someone is sentenced to die by a queen, they can choose their butcher," I told her back, glancing into the eyes of the other vampires, who all knew full well that I was right. "It doesn't even have to be a vampire. The person just has to be around," I added and Gloria immediately put on an impressed expression.

"It's really a shame that you fell for this alpha so much. Pretty and intelligent at that," she explained regretfully and then looked at me thoughtfully before nodding and agreeing. "You're right in what you say. So who's going to kill you?"

"Juniper...."