Beloved

Chapter 50

Alyona slowly opened her eyes and winced as her body screamed in pain at her.

One second Princess, Victor's voice suddenly popped into her head, the blood is almost done warming up then I will bring you a cup. Just stay there like a good girl, Princess.

Alyona whimpered then sighed softly as the scent of gun powder surrounded her. She barely opened her eyes but pouted when her eyelids felt like sandpaper. "Raven put one of his pull over hoodies over your pillow so you could still be with him," Owen explained as he came over and sat next to her.

She had to admit the scent of Irish Spring mixing with Raven's scent of gun powder was oddly comforting. She barely lifted her head but dropped it instantly. "Owww."

"Easy Darling," Owen murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Just—"

"Here you go, Princess," Victor whispered as he walked into the room. He knelt beside the bed and held the straw still in the cup so it wouldn't move as she drank. "Small sips now, okay?" She took a couple of small sips, making him smile. "Good girl."

"How are you feeling now?" Owen asked after she managed to drink about half the cup. She slowly started to sit up, so he moved behind her to help support her weight. She leaned back against him and sighed softly. "Still tired, Darling?"

"Da," she whispered while keeping her eyes closed.

"Then I think we should just have a family day," Owen whispered. "How does that sound to you?"

"Da," she murmured as she relaxed into his hold even more. Victor smiled as she drank from the cup he was holding. "Thank you."

"Of course, Princess," Victor smiled gently.

"It's our pleasure to take care of you, Darling," Owen murmured.

"We're just grateful you are letting us and that you accept us," Victor whispered.

"You used to be hunters," a shiver went through her.

"No," they both said at the same time.

"Nyet?" she asked confused.

"No," they repeated once more.

"We never hunted, Darling," Owen shook his head as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. "We were human at one time, and we did come from families of hunters, but we never hunted, ever, I swear it."

"Who?" she asked.

Owen cleared his throat and looked down at her as he gathered his thoughts. "It was raining, and our families had gotten together for a hunting trip. It was supposed to be Mr. Morgan and my first time. We had managed to prolong it as long as possible but there were no other viable excuses we could use."

"Our families were best friends, you see," Victor explained. "So, it was normal for them to go hunting together whenever they would find a lead. But our fathers had caught onto our plan. That night they forced us down to the basement and were going to force us to join the family."

"You don't have to," Owen shook his head.

"It's okay," Victor smirked. "Kota's younger sister had been captured; you see. We recognized her from the library where Kota would sometimes read to her. We knew Kota from the library and around town. We never suspected that he was a vampire until we saw his sister in my father's basement. He was nothing like what our parents taught us about vampires. He was the complete opposite, and his little sister Jessica was also different than we thought. If they could be different and blend in with humans, then maybe our parents were wrong. We had no reason to hurt or kill Jessica, so we weren't going to. We refused."

"Our fathers tried to force us, but we refused," Owen confirmed. "They tortured us for days; we never gave up though. We knew it was wrong, so it was worth what our fathers put us through. On the fifth night, while they were sleeping, we managed to escape. We grabbed Jessica and left. The group was hunting us down and found us. Mr. Taylor Jr, and Mr. Ravenstahl almost killed us, but Miss Lee told them that we had saved her. They grabbed her and Dr. Green made us drink from him to heal as a thank you. Our fathers were furious when they found us alone in the forest."

"You didn't tell," she claimed.

"No, we didn't, Princess," Victor confirmed. "From then on anytime we knew of a hunt we would leave a note in the library in code for Kota to rely back to the group so they would know not to come out. That happened until we were able to escape for good. That day was both terrifying and exciting."

"The group found us in the forest and brought us back to their house so we could heal. We both nearly died," Owen admitted. "We were near death when they found us."

"Were you—"

"Yes," both Victor and Owen admitted.

Owen cleared his throat, "Yes, Darling, we were tortured for helping our family and neither one of us regret it."

"Never," Victor shook his head. "Sip," he demanded gently as he held the cup back up. "Doc healed us, and we protected the family. Doc felt bad because he could never heal the burns from our chests, but we actually like them there to remind us of what we have endured to protect our true family."

"Who?" She whispered as she pressed herself into Owen's hold even more.

"Dr. Green changed me," Owen admitted.

"Axel made me," Victor admitted.

"And?"

"Everyone else are born vampires," Victor smiled. "Sip."

"Empty," she whispered.

"I'll be right back with more, Princess," he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Owen gently kissed the back of her head then asked, "Any more questions, Darling?"