11. Millie

11

MILLIE

I wake up with a raging, thumping headache. My stomach rumbles as red rays appear all over the room. I palm my stomach as my insides roll loudly and finally to silence. I groan, as I sit up. There are eye crusts in the corners of my lashes as I swipe slowly across them with the palms of my hands. I fell asleep crying until my throat practically bled from my screaming. No one is coming to help or save me. I don't have anything to defend myself with. I don't know where I am.

I have to save myself .

Despite my horrid situation, this is the best bed I've ever slept in. I peel the heavy, soft, luxurious black blankets off me and jog to the stained glass windows to see if I can see anything familiar. Or maybe I can break it.

With each heavy step, my feet meet cold wooden floors. Once the red light illuminates my body, I realize I'm in silky pajamas, contrary to my past clothing. I pinch the ultrasoft material, pull them from my thighs, and cringe.

I'm not in the clothes I wore when he broke into my house.

Did he undress me?

Someone did.

Asshole .

I make it to the stained glass windows in ten distressing seconds. I place my hands on either side of the thick, red-stained glass, and the temperature strikes back. It's freezing to the touch. Ice-cold pricks at my fingertips, but I don't pull away. I continue my investigation, trying to gather as much information as possible to plan my escape.

How am I going to outrun vampires?

I won't be able to, but I can conjure up a plan to try and outsmart them. They must have ages of intelligence on me, but I need to find a way to survive. Hayden made it very clear.

He's going to kill me .

‘Grant me mercy with a quick death.'

I squint and realize we're in high elevation. A river runs across from a valley. We're on top of a mountain, and a giant waterfall looks to run as big as a few miles. I watch the waterfall, mesmerized and taken aback by the beauty of the terrain and natural Earth.

I tilt forward and see tall trees with shades of orange, green, and yellow leaves everywhere. In South Texas, I've never seen the color of leaves change or that fresh wind everyone talks about when fall hits. I blink a few times, tearing my gaze away.

I look at the sky, and it's clear. No clouds. Just a blinding, bright sun in an abyss of blue.

He's never visited me during the day. I've only ever encountered Hayden during the night. There has to be a reason why, and the only thing I can think of is the sun. He might not be able to walk into the sun without getting hurt or dying.

If I'm going to have a chance at escaping, I have to use the sun to my advantage. I need to flee from them. I don't care where I am. Any place is better than being at the hornet's nest, where vampires live and sleep.

A knock at the door disrupts my thoughts, and I flinch. My soul practically leaves my body, and I jump up frantically as my heart sinks and my stomach flies to my throat. I tear my hand away from the glass windows and look around the room for something to defend myself with.

I grab a small gold Victorian lamp on a vanity across the room.

"Breakfast for Ms. Flores." The door opens, and a man pokes his head into the room.

He carries the tray to the bed, and I'm frozen. He looks like a butler. He wears white gloves, and his eyes beam bright when he steals a glance my way. He flashes out of the room in a blink of an eye.

He's a vampire. The butler is a vampire.

I run towards the door and turn my hands into fists, banging on the door with all the strength I've got. I get close to the door, the tip of my nose meeting the door first.

"Let me out! Please! Let me go, mister! Please! Let me go home! I'm here against my will!" I scream over and over again, repeating last night's events before I went to sleep on the floor. My voice squeaks out with each shriek, and the rasp follows.

"Help!" I mutter hoarsely. My screams transform into harsh sobs. My forehead rests against the door, shaking, as my hands fall to my sides in defeat.

No, I will not cry anymore. I'll get out of this.

I must get out of here.

I wonder if anyone is looking for me. Is there a search party? Is my dad okay? Is Cooper okay? I wonder if my brother flew back home to find me.

I wonder if my mother is worried.

Probably not.

Mom …

I miss her so much. Even though she's still alive, it feels like she's not with me with the way she's so absent from my life. All I want is her and my father's love. I'm twenty years old, and I still yearn for a relationship with them.

Does that make me pathetic?

I won't give up on her, no matter my age. She loves me. I know she does.

For some odd reason, Hayden left my silver cross necklace alone. It's the only piece left on me from that same night he took me. It still hangs loosely against my collarbones. I play with it as an attempt to self-soothe the anxiety that crashes into me every time I get desperate.

After about forty-five minutes of begging, screaming, and pleading, I give in to the natural need to eat.

I run towards the plate of breakfast: two strawberry pancakes and eggs with hashbrowns. I pick up the tray and sit down on a dining table on the other side of the room. This entire room is as big as my father's house.

Even the plates are luxurious.

I scarf down the meal in minutes as I continue to admire the incredibly detailed and well-designed room—a Gothic paradise.

"Hayden must be a millionaire," I whisper to myself as I take my last bite.

"Billionaire, actually."

Hayden's deep, hypnotizing voice corrects me and makes me storm upward. My knee hits the dining table as I stand. I hiss momentarily from the pain as I turn around to see him by the door in a leather jacket and dark jeans, leaning against the door. Handsome and dashing as ever.

He's quiet. I'm slowly dreading his next words. We stand in silence as I look around for any weapon. Finally, he looks at me after running his hand through his long, dark, wavy hair.

"Can you let a vampire sleep, little Bambi? If my cock is buried deep inside you, will you keep that pretty mouth shut for me?" He asks with a dire smirk that will forever be engraved into my mind. He appears in front of me again, his lips by my ear as my heart thunders in my throat. Blood rushes to both my ears and cheeks. "Because that's the only time I want to hear you scream."

"Are you going to fucking rape me?" I seethe.

"Oh, Bambi, I've never and will never do that. You want to know why?"

I don't answer. His thumb brushes against my lips, and I turn my head, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing me scared.

"Because…" He begins just as he kisses my cheek, sending my heart to skip a beat. I push him with both my palms, pouring everything I've got to get him away from touching me, but it's useless; in fact, I think I made my situation worse. He's stronger than I've ever imagined. Instead of letting me go, he grips me by the back of my head, pulling my hair so painfully tight. I whimper as he gets a handful of it. Shivers dance down my entire body. Goosebumps form everywhere as he drags his nose across my cheek down to my neck as I continue to fight him.

Oh, no.

Is he going to bite me?

He pauses for a short, tense moment. "I make women's pussy weep for my cock. By the time I'm done with you, you'll beg for it, like I promised. Fight me. I love it when you do. I love the fight in you. It's admirable how you try to persevere in the unimaginable. Even when odds are stacked up against you."

I stop struggling, holding back the storm of hatred behind my eyes. I stare straight into his beautiful, crazed, dilated eyes, refusing to back down.

"Just fucking kill me already, Hayden. I refuse to be a slave here."

He laughs, letting go of my hair, and takes a step back from me. His hand brushes over his mouth and chin as he laughs.

"You're not a slave, baby. We're granting you mercy. The Davenports would have sucked you dry by now, probably have their fun with you before you succumb to your death, while you scream and they laugh. Consider this your safe haven."

"A safe haven with the devil," I spit out.

"I'm no devil, little Bambi." He enters my face, his mouth skimming through my hair, taking in a deep whiff of my scent. I shudder with our proximity. Something peril awaits with the way his tone deepens and his lips graze my neck. "I'm something far scarier than Satan. Even the devil runs and hides from me."

He walks to the door, getting ready to leave.

"Now, I'm going back to sleep in my chambers. I have to get some rest for my travels after all the mess I've done to keep you alive. I'm leaving for a while and don't know when I'll be back. Try not to miss me too much," he says with sarcasm painting his tone, before walkings away without another word.

Fuck him.

He's going to leave me here while vampires of all kinds are trying to hunt me down? No communication with the outside world? No way to know if my parents are okay? I want my old life back.

I start to break out in an angry sweat. I see red, and I'm blinded with rage mixed with panic at the thought of being here in this room for weeks, months…fucking years, maybe?!

I grab the butter knife that came with the tray of breakfast and throw it at him as his back is turned.

He catches the knife mid-air, a couple of inches away from the back of his neck.

How?

He faces the door again and keeps walking like I haven't just tried to kill him again. He drops the utensil, and it hits the floor with a loud, sharp noise; the metal chimes. He opens the door and takes a step out.

"I will not play your guys' games. I will find a way out of here. I will move to fucking Alaska if I have to!"

Alaska is almost always sunny. The sun has to be their weakness.

"Millie." He growls like an enraged animal. He turns to me. His eyes are bright red, and fangs make their appearance known again over his lips. He's turned into his creature-like self again like he's pissed off that I've threatened to escape him. "There's not a place, not a city, not a planet, not a fucking realm you could run to, and I wouldn't find you. You don't belong to anyone. You don't even belong to yourself anymore. You. Belong To. Me," he snarls and I back away from him further.

"Get used to being in Drago's Cathedral, little Bambi. I own you. Every single scream, tear, smile, until I kill you."

He shuts the door as I fall apart alone.