Collateral Damage

- FOURTEEN -

A huge thank you to RhiMH1 who suggested writing this part, I honestly hadnt thought about writing a part in Tilly's POV so thank you. I also want to thank her for being the first person to comment on this book, seriously thank you for that :)

MATILDA'S POV

The sun woke me from my short slumber as the light shone through the bars on the windows into the room. I am exhausted and I am coming down off a high. It was only hearsay at school that a strigoi's bite was like a drug and that's why feeders subject themselves to feeding, but none of us actually knew.

Footsteps could be hear outside the door before it was unlocked and swung open. The male strigoi from yesterday came in and took a seat on the chair opposite the bed that I was sitting on.

"Morning sweetheart," he smirked. He had sandy blonde hair that ended just above his shoulders. Kind of like Dimitri's.

"Screw you." I muttered, leaning back against the wall in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible.

"She has her mother's mouth." Said a woman's voice from the doorway.

"Excuse me?" I asked, the strigoi turned to face me and the red in her eyes shot terror through me.

She laughed, "You really have no idea who you are do you?" I stayed silent and she laughed. "For someone as important as you, I am surprised your mother... or father haven't come running." I clenched my jaw, "Or maybe they are on their way now? Who cares really? Obviously neither of them, because if they did you wouldn't have been abandoned." Be the time the last words left her lips she was inches away from my face.

Before I could register what was happening, a mouthful of spit was leaving my mouth. It splattered on her face and she didn't flinch. She wiped the saliva away with the back of her hand. Quicker than I could blink the hand she wiped the spit away with was colliding with the side of my face.

The strigoi sitting in the chair laughed at the sight before him. The woman, if that's what you would call her, grabbed my by the collar of my shirt and pulled me close so that I would be able to feel her breath, if she had any. "Don't ever do that again Precious." She whispered as she released my shirt and tucked a stray stand of hair behind my ear. "You don't want to upset me, because to be frank, it isn't you we want. It's your mum and until we get her you are bait."

I blinked. This bitch knew my mother. I didn't think it was possible that anyone knew who she was. I had exhausted all of my option when I tried to find her, but nothing turned up. The only thing that I could think of is if this chick personally knew my mother. But either way, no-one had enough guts to converse with a strigoi, not even my mother, whomever she was.

The woman walked away and I suddenly felt vulnerable with the guy sitting in here with me. He smirked at me as her stood from the chair, "What do you want with me?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Weren't you listening? We want mummy, not you."

"What do you want with her?" I questioned. He rolled his eyes, he was getting pissed.

"Don't concern yourself with that baby, mind your own."

"Then let me go!" I shouted.

"I like it when you beg, it makes it seem like you are an innocent child. But the thing is, you are an innocent child. And innocent ones are my favourite kind." The guy was by my side in a second with his razor sharp fangs piercing my skin.

It was blissful. It hurt a bit in the beginning but once you got through the initial pain, it was unlike anything you could imagine. Things started to go black as he removed his fangs from my neck, he chuckled as he exited the door and I fell into a slumber.

"TILLY!" shouted a voice. I opened my eyes to find myself in the training room at the academy.

I instantly knew that Adrian was about to appear and to be honest it was the biggest relieve of the century. I turned around to be faced with the closest thing I had to a relative.

He looked me over and his eyes stopped on my chin, I assumed the slap I endured minutes ago had already began to bruise. "Are you okay?" he whispered and he cupped my face with his big hands.

"I'm fine, really Adrian it's okay." I pulled his hands away from my face and wrapped me in his arms. I was slightly comforted by this gesture.

"I haven't spoken to you since last night, things have been so busy. We are trying our best to get to you." He rambled on and on.

"Adrian," I said cutting him off. "I know what they want."

"What?" he asked letting me go and looking into my eyes.

"They want my mother."