Chapter 5 Back in a dungeon
AMELIA MOORE
I sighed as I looked around my new cell. It was cleaner than the last one, but that didn’t make it any less of a prison.
At least it didn’t reek of human blood. Small mercy.
Still, it felt like I’d only jumped from bad to worse.
I scoffed under my breath. No, felt wasn’t even the right word. I can't even begin to imagine what these werewolves planned to do with me. The vervain they’d used kept me weak, too weak to fight back even if I wanted to.
My teeth pressed into my bottom lip, my body trembling as I slid down the wall until I hit the cold floor. I was feeling weak since I hadn’t fed since.
Gaining freedom was the least I expected, so there was no means of feeding, and of course, these werewolves won't feed me.
And not having blood to drink was already a death sentence on its own for a vampire. What I read about it was horrifying.
When a vampire is starved long enough, the body starts to dry from the inside out. The veins turn dark, the blood drains away, and eventually… you just stop. A slow death and the worst for my kind.
Was that how I was going to die?
The sound of the bars slamming open jolted me. Before I could react, a hand fisted my collar and slammed me into the wall, making me yelp in pain as pain shot through my back.
"What did you do to me?!” the man roared, eyes blazing. He slammed me again. “Answer me! What did you do to me?!”
I tried to push him off, but my strength was gone. “Let me go…” My voice came out thin, weak.
Then someone took him off me and I crumpled to the floor, gasping for air as my knees buckled.
"What do you think you’re doing, Grayson?!” I heard a familiar voice. It was the alpha.
My chest was heaving since I was finding it hard to breathe calmly and I looked up, and saw him standing between us, facing the guy who attacked me.
"She did something to me, Alpha!” the man shouted. “I can’t heal! My wounds, they’re not closing!”
The alpha looked at me in confusion then back at my attacker. "Have you checked with the infirmary?”
The man froze, shaking his head. “No.”
"Then go do that and see why you're not healing." His tone was cold, and final.
Grayson hesitated, then obeyed, walking out of the cell.
When the Alpha’s gaze shifted back to me, I instinctively pushed myself backward until my back hit the wall again.
My voice trembled. “I didn’t do anything to him. I swear.”
He crouched down in front of me, his gaze locking onto mine. For a moment, I forgot to breathe. The closeness felt awkward, too intimate, but it also made me realize how truly handsome he was.
Why do I feel so drawn to him?
"I see you’re thirsty,” he said, voice calm but edged. “Or maybe I should say hungry. You look like someone about to die.”
I lowered my head, unsure if he actually cared or if he was just mocking me. Maybe they’d never seen a vampire starve before.
He turned toward the bars. “Throw it,” he ordered.
The guard obeyed, tossing a small blood bag his way. He caught it effortlessly, then shoved it toward me. “Drink.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Do you want to starve?” His tone sharpened.
“Why do you care?” I shot back. “I’m a vampire, remember?”
A low deep chuckle escaped him. “You should be thankful I’m even being generous with you, vampire. You want to live, then drink.”
I wrinkled my nose and pushed the bag out of his hand since I had enough of the smell. "Thanks for your generosity, but I don’t drink human blood. And my name is Amelia.”
His gaze softened for a heartbeat before narrowing again in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”
"I said I don’t drink human blood. I never have.”
His brows knitted tighter. “But you’re a vampire. A blood-sucking demon.” The last words dripped with disgust.
“Well,” I said, my voice dry but steady, “I don’t suck blood. I live on animal blood.”
The confusion in his eyes was unmistakable. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before muttering, “Oh.”
"I have a lot of questions for you,” he said, his tone steady but curious. “But first, why did you enter my territory?”
I sighed at the question. I have no idea myself. One minute I was locked up, and the next, I was in his territory, but I couldn't give him such an answer because it would feel like I was lying.
“I… I was running away from my clan. That’s why.”
His brows drew together. “And why is that?”
“It’s a long story,” I admitted softly, my teeth clenched as I remembered. “I’d been locked up there for so long, and I finally escaped. I honestly don't know how the world works so I didn’t realize I was crossing into your land. Please… have mercy. Let me go.”
His expression shifted slightly, a flicker of something unreadable passing through it.
“You were locked up?” he asked, like that was the only part that truly caught his attention.
I nodded. “Yes. My whole life, after I refused to take human blood. My father called me a disgrace and locked me away. I only feed on animal blood, please, you have to believe me.”
He blinked, as if processing the absurdity of my words, then straightened to his full height.
