The Silent One: Cursed Daughter (Book 1)

Bad Blood

(Anna’s POV)

He just stood there staring at me, almost as if he was in a trance. It started to make me feel uncomfortable.

“Alex?” I asked.

“Yes?” Alex asked as he blinked his eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked. 

“Can I ask you something?” He asked.

I looked at him questioningly. He avoided my question.

“Why did you attack Rain earlier?” He asked. 

“I-I… She told me what the dinner was for, and why your brother wanted Alice,” I began to explain. “I became so angry that I threw a shoe at the mirror. A shard cut her, and I smelled her blood.”

“I see,” He simply says.

“I must have lost control and blacked out,” I said before looking away. “The next thing I knew, you were standing in front of me, and I was covered in blood. Her blood.

He places his hand under my chin, gently lifting my head up to meet his gaze.

“I didn’t mean to attack her, I swear,” I said as a single tear trickled down my cheek. “I never wanted to hurt anyone.”

I closed my eyes, and I could see flashes of the even happening. My stomach twisted into knots. I then felt his warm embrace. He was hugging me.

“It’s not your fault, all newborn vampires are like that, Anna,” He said as he ran his fingers through my hair. “It will take time.”

“I wish you never turned me into this,” I said while trying to push him away.

He was too strong; it was pointless to even try.

“Well, now that you’ve fed for the first time it’s permanent,” He said while gripping my wrists. “I only changed you to save your life.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that I could’ve been cured?” I asked angrily.

“Well, I planned to at some point. I didn’t expect you to have a feeding frenzy in my absence,” he said defensively.

“Why did you make me this way? This is all your fault,” I said while shaking my head.

“You lost a lot of blood, you would’ve died if I hadn’t changed you,” he said as if he was concerned.

“Maybe you should’ve let me die,” The words slipped from my mouth.

I could tell what I said had hurt him. He let go of my wrists and took a step away from me. His body language changed.

“Why would you take it that far?” I asked, as I looked deeply into his eyes.

“You’re my mate, but you were also human,” He began to explain, “When I taste your blood, I can’t get enough. I lost control, just like you did. I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Just then a bell rang. I could tell it wasn’t the one for feeding time though. It sounded different.

“That’s the dinner bell. We should head to the dining room,” he said. 

He held on to my hand, gently pulling me towards the door. I watched as he unlocked the door, then stuck the key in his back pocket.

“What if I don’t want to?” I asked.

Before he opened the door, he turned towards me. He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Don’t try to run away, there are a lot of guards” he warned me. “I don’t want you getting into any trouble.”

I narrowed my eyes back at him, but he brushed it off as he opened the door. His grip on my hand tightened. Did he really think I would run? Especially in a place full of vampires. I wouldn’t even know where to run.

As we left the room, I began to look around. I noticed many paintings of men. I can only assume they’re all paintings of vampire rulers. At the end of the hall is a giant door, with an elegant painting of a man and a woman. I’m guessing it’s Kane’s room, because he looks somewhat like Alex, with only a few differences.

All the doors had names carved into them, but I wasn’t sure if they were the names of slaves or other vampires. The one at the end of the hallway was too far away for me to read. I glanced back at the door of the room I was being held in. It didn’t have a name. Which was strange to me.

As we continued to walk down the hallway, more doors opened. Out came slaves and their vampire masters. Some were older and others younger. Some of the older slaves were barely dressed. The children wore maid suits or raggedy clothing. I held on tight to Alex as we walked, because they all kept staring at me. Alex looked down at me and chuckled, and I glared my eyes up at him. How could he find this funny?

As we neared the center of the hall, I tried to get a closer look at the door with the painting of Kane. The door didn’t open, but I still tried to stop and look at it. Alex shook his head and pulled me along. I rolled my eyes as we continued walking down the never-ending hall. Out of nowhere, to the left was a giant staircase. It was like an illusion. I never even saw it until we were close enough to it.

The glossy wood shined beneath my feet. What I could see of it anyway. There were so many people walking down the stairs, it was difficult to know where to step next. After reaching the bottom, we turned right. I could partially see through the dining room door.

Once we made our way into the dining room, I immediately began to look around. Next to the seats for the vampires, there were cushions for the slaves on the floor. I really didn’t like how they treated humans like slaves. These people had lives and families. Now they were mistreated and abused in ways no person should ever endure. 

I then looked at the long rectangle table covered in heaping amounts of food. That wasn’t what caught my attention. My eyes were focused on the wine glasses full of thick red liquid. The sweet aroma of blood filled the air. I covered my mouth and nose with my only free hand. That was the last thing I wanted to taste right now.

The vampires took their seats, and that’s when I noticed him. Kane was seated at the far end of the table. Standing beside him was Rain, along with another slave girl. Next to Rain on the left, sat a female vampire, with Damon sitting on the other side of her. To the right of Kane were two open seats. I suppose they were for Alex and I. 

I really didn’t want to sit with Kane, let alone next to him.

On the other hand, maybe it wouldn’t be such a terrible idea. If he pissed me off, I might just start stabbing him with a knife. As Alex walked me towards our seats, I became nervous and could feel my body tense up. His eyes watched my every move.

He greeted me with a toothy smile, showing his sharp fangs. If only he knew how badly I wanted to rip out every single tooth in his mouth. Alex squeezed my hand, as if he knew what I was thinking. As if he had never thought of doing so himself. I could tell him and his brother had bad blood.

Something had to have happened for them to feel that way. I’m almost determined to find out what that is. Maybe I could use it to my own advantage. At this point I didn’t care what I had to do to survive. Whether it be mentally, emotionally, or physically, I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.