𝙴𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜𝚎𝚍

Chapter Eleven

The sound of chains scraping against the stone floors resonated throughout the dungeon as he reached one of his slender, pale hands through the bars of his cell and waved.

My hands shook as flashes of that night, from many years ago, came back to me. A pale face, a twisted smile, long blood-stained fingers wrapping around Luci's neck. My heart pounded in my ears as I hollowly stared back at the vampire's glowing red eyes, remembering just how close father had come to dying after fighting only one of them.

"I am not the first of my kind that you have met, am I, little wolf?" He licked his chapped lips, then smiled. "I can smell your fear from here."

"I have nothing to say to a monster such as you." I growled, though now my entire body shook.

"Why does your kind lack basic manners? I have been nothing but polite my entire stay, yet all of you talk down to me as if I am nothing more than filth." He mimicked a frown, then chuckled, "Tell me, little wolf, why did the Alpha's pup call you a Mutt?"

"Because that is what I am." I muttered, then sat down against the wall at the back of my cell. "A werewolf forsaken by our Goddess and stripped of a wolf."

"But you reek more of your Goddess than any of the rest." He cocked his head to the side.

"What?" I raised a brow at him.

"Master Bane would be interested in such things. . ." He mumbled to himself, then looked back at me, "White. . . silver. . . Perhaps?" Half of his ravings were inaudible.

"Who is this Master Bane? I thought vampires only answered to their Emperor?" I had started to wonder if the creature had been insane.

"That is correct for the full bloods, but I am a halfling. If I were an ancient, this cell and your weak little pack would have been obliterated by now." He pointed to the tattoo on his neck, "Master bane is my creator, and I do as he says."

"Ancient? Halflings?" I shook my head in disbelief, "You mean there's different kinds of vampires?"

"Come, take a look." He grinned ear to ear, "It is awfully clear that you are curious about me."

I hesitated, wondering if it was some sort of trick. Father said they were sly and always plotting something. But surely, there was nothing he could do to harm me from that far away.

Despite knowing better, I humored him because he was right, I was curious. He had already explained to me more than I had ever been told about his kind, and I had nothing better to do than learn from the creature while I awaited my punishment.

I stood up, then made my way towards the bars, peering through the darkness that separated us. When I felt all the hair on my neck stand. His pale red eyes burned deeply, resonating a kind of itchy heat that made me unbearably uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" I tried to look away, but the heat held me in place.

"Turn and use your strength to break the door, little wolf. Then come release me from my shackles." His voice invaded my mind, sending a searing pain throughout my temples. "NOW!" He boomed.

"No. . ." I shook my head, doing everything I could to peel myself away from his paralyzing glare. "I-I couldn't even if I wanted to. . . these bars are too thick."

"She refuses. . . how?" He muttered, then the light in his eyes dimmed. The heat that had once enveloped my body dissipated, leaving me shivering once again.

"What was that? What were you doing to me?" I winced as my ears rang and head throbbed.

"No wolf. . . blood. . .smells of. . . Moon-kissed. . ." He had started muttering again, most of his words not even reaching my ears. He looked back up at me once more, then, without another word, stalked his way back into the shadows of his cell.