Freedom by Ferrari | ✔

Chapter Four

Christian blocked her attempt.

"Wow there, darling! I'm not the enemy."

"Please don't touch my butt," she said, shaking with adrenaline, her fists tight by her side. Why did she try to hit him? In the past, she normally laid curled in a ball on the floor when Manny took his anger out on her. Not once did she strike back.

"We're fighters," he said, answering her question for her. "We're earth's number one killing machine. Faster and stronger than anything else." There he went, reading her mind again. She really needed to learn how to do that.

They made their way down the path towards the forest, where she had been attempting to go the night before. The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon, leaving pink and purple hues spanning the sky. Lillian took a deep breath, relishing in the woodsy smell coming from the pine cones to the cedar trees. She could even smell the blood of a small bunny munching away on the grass not too far away from them. Her stomach growled.

"You'll need to feed soon."

"Not the bunny."

He smiled, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "No. We won't hurt the cute little bunny."

They were too adorable to hurt. She used to have a Dutch bunny when she was growing up. It was so cute, especially when she was able to train it to come to her or to go up the stairs by just patting the ground or step. Sadly, a coyote got to him one night. She'd never been so glad to move back to the city and away from the deadly countryside.

It wasn't long before they reached the other end of the forest. Lillian stopped and stared at the blue and white paneled two-story house, her eyes narrowing. She and Manny purchased it shortly after they were married—three long years ago. The worst decision she'd ever made.

The path to the front door was lined with flowers. One side was crumpled because her husband refused to step over them when heading to the driveway. He didn't care that they were her pride and joy. Nothing she liked mattered. Rage gathered in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She didn't deserve the life he had given her, nor did she deserve the names she'd been called. All because he didn't think she could do anything right.

If she served a meal that had cooled down in any way before he had a chance to eat it, he'd dump it on the floor and tell her to make him another plate, ordering her to clean up his mess. Lillian rolled her fingers into a tight fist, her nails digging into her palm, her lips tightly drawn together. The house was no longer a safe haven. It had become a prison. A dungeon. She'd become his captive.

"You have the power to take control now."

She jumped at the sound of Christian's voice. She'd completely forgotten about him. His voice was like a trumpet sounding in her ear. The heightened senses were going to drive her nuts.

"Don't worry. You'll be able to control them eventually."

"Just like you control reading my mind," she snapped. Taking a deep breath, she tried to reign in her emotions that were trying to run away from her. "Sorry."

"You're right, I shouldn't be prying. My apologies."

"How long did it take you to get used to things? Have you been a vamp for very long?"

He stared off into the distance as he shoved his hands into his pockets, his forehead wrinkling as he frowned. "Longer than I care to remember. Safe to say a hundred years or more."

She studied his features. "You don't look a day over 30."

She knew that she was delaying the inevitable by caring on a meaningless conversation. Despite having new powers, it was still nerve-wracking to have to face Manny. Maybe she could just disappear, change her appearance and never see him again.

Lillian turned to Christian, grabbing his arm. "Let's run away."

He patted her hand and pulled her into a side hug. "You'll feel free doing this. If you run, you'll always be looking back."

"But if I hurt him, I'll always be waiting to be caught, too."

"You'll be fine.

Lillian took a deep breath, her body shivering. A snake-like chill spun like a tornado down her spine. All the various vampire movies she'd watched over the years fluttered through her mind. There were good vamps, bad vamps, and Dracula. She didn't have an opinion on him yet.

The fact that they were actually real was something she still couldn't wrap her head around. She couldn't quite reconcile the fact that she'd become a live version of some of her worst nightmares. She usually dreamed of zombies or vampires. And she spent entire nights fighting them in her sleep. Maybe that was a foreshadow of today's events.

Had she actually dreamed that this was going to happen? Did she subconsciously know what her future held? Lillian shook her head. The whole thing was so ludicrous. Maybe she hit her head and was imagining all of this.

"No, darling, this is real," Christian said, breaking her out of her reverie.

She slugged him in the shoulder, hard. "Stop reading my mind."

He just grinned. "You definitely don't fight like a girl. I like it."

"Shut up!" Lillian drew back her shoulders and held her head high. It was time to do this, time to face her nightmare one last time.

"Want me to come?" he asked

"No." This was something she needed to do herself, to know that she was strong enough to break free of him and survive.

"Call me if you need me."