A Violent Love - Werewolf/Vampire

Chapter 31 - Partners

Benjamin's POV

I never knew it was possible to feel this much pain. I didn't know long I had been down here. 

The last thing I remembered was hearing a sharp scream,  Arabella's scream - before it all went dark. I struggled against the chains, it was rinsed with vervain, burning my skin as I gritted through the pain. 

Nathaniel Devin had his fine way of breaking people with torture, I just never imagined that fine day I would be at the end of his mighty whip. My bones had been broken and re-broken once healed. My skin torn with whips, and before they were allowed to heal, torn again. 

I was dizzy from the blood loss, they had drained me of the one thing my vampire body needed to survive. I felt weak, barely alive.

I heard footsteps approaching, the guards outside my cell immediately rose to attention.

It was Xavier. He stared down at me, not a hint of pity in his eyes. They were always cold and hard, exactly like Nathaniel's. 

"Again," He said softly. And right on cue, the guards grabbed their whips and entered the cell.

I stared up at him, at the man I once thought to be a friend. I knew he was just following orders, but I could see it in his eyes, he found pleasure in torture. He loved seeing others in pain.

One of the guards raised his right hand with the whip, then brought it down swift and hard against my back. I could hear the sound of my skin tear as pain rocked my body. I staggered forward, with only the chains to hold me up. I tried to stand, to stop the burning on my arms supported by the vervain chains. But the other guard dealt another whip, and then another, another, another.....

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"Benjamin? Benjamin..." A soft voice called out.

"Ara?" I said groggily. My heart swelled at the thought of her.

I forced my eyes open, blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness.

"No, not Ara." A familiar figure stood in front of me, her slender hands placed on each side of her hip. Vanessa. The disappointment stung more than my wounds.

"What do you want?" I asked bitterly. 

"Look at you, look at how pathetic you've become." She muttered, shaking her head with a "tsk". She handed me a glass of liquid with a straw, blood. "Drink," she motioned, and I gratefully leaned my head forward to drink it whole.

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be here." I said.

"I'm here to help you," She replied, a sly smirk on her pretty face.

"Help me?" I laughed bitterly, "You can't."

"You really think he's going to kill you?" She smiled, pushing her golden locks away from her face.

"Of course he's going to kill me. I'm a dead man."

"He won't." She said simply. "I know him."

"And I don't? I've known him all my life, Princess."

She batted her eyelashes at me. "That whore won't let him kill you anyway," 

"Don't call her that." I snarled. 

Vanessa rolled her eyes and held out her hand, picking at her nails. "Look, I'm here to help. You give me what I want. I give you what you want. It's mutually beneficial. A partnership."

"What the hell do you mean?" 

"I want Nathaniel. You want that slu-...., Arabella. I'll help you get what you want."

I laughed. "Don't you understand? I won't be alive that much longer."

"You'll see." She smirked, turning her heel to walk out. She stopped right at the gate of the cell. "Was she worth it?" she asked.

"Every bit of it." I replied without hesitation.

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Arabella's POV

I felt a rough hand stroking my cheek, I purred slightly, enjoying the feeling. The feeling of the soft sheets against my sore body made me never want to open my eyes. I drifted in and out of sleep, as the same hand combed through my hair and made small circles on my back. 

Benjamin. The name came to me out of the blue and my eyes shot awake. I darted up in shock. The events of yesterday came rushing back to me. Benjamin, I needed to find Benjamin.

"What's wrong?" I gasped slightly when I saw Nathaniel, he looked worried and genuinely concerned.

"Where is Benjamin?" I demanded.

He said nothing, looking away angrily.

"Where is he? What have you done to him?"

He grabbed my shoulders, pinning me down onto the bed roughly. "You. Are. Mine." He growled.

I struggled against his hold, punching his chest to shrug him off. He grabbed both of my hands and pinned them above me, his grey eyes burning with rage. 

"You will never talk to him again." And with that, he let go of my arms and got out of the bed, storming off.

"Wait!!!" I screamed out, "Are you going to kill him?"

There was no answer, he kept walking.

I chased after him as he stormed down corridors, "Wait!!!" I caught up to him, grabbing his hand.

"Don't harm him, please!" He shrugged me off with a tug of his hand.

I grabbed him again, tears starting to well up in my eyes as I imagined Benjamin hurt. "Please! I'll do anything, don't hurt him." I begged.

"I will kill him, and you will watch." He said ruthlessly, his grey eyes darkening. 

I ran after him, crying for him to stop. 

He strode towards the dungeons, every step faster, more determined than the last. He really was going to kill him.

"Please, Nathaniel! Stop!" My head was spinning, I felt out of breath just from the chasing. I didn't know what was happening to me. Suddenly there was a shot of pain to my neck, I gasped in pain, moving my hand to where the pain was coming from - the mark Nathaniel had left. My vision blurred and I crumbled to my knees. 

I felt strong arms hold me and heard Nathaniel's shouts vaguely. I struggled to open my eyes, catching glimpses of Nathaniel's face, contorted with worry. My hands instinctively reached to his cheek to soothe him, before the darkness came.