Her Heart, His Prey Ch. 03

"Donors?" I asked quietly. "What are donors?" I looked from Cassian to David as they both glanced awkwardly at each other. Cassian leaned back into the sofa, reaching for an unresponsive hand as David began.

"Donors are people who either purposefully or accidentally become involved in the vampire community. If they don't want to be changed or killed, then they are given the opportunity to be donors for certain vampire colonies. Most of the time it's humane, the people just go ever month or so to donate blood, nothing special."

I began to feel sick to my stomach. My parents had done this? They had risked all of our safety, had risked having children who would be exposed to this ridiculousness! "However," my head snapped up as David continued, "your parents were part of a particular group of donors who were chosen due to the rarity of their blood. Some of the stronger vampires in the colony near here wanted to be spoiled if they were to live forever, only searching for the best type of blood. The contract they had with your family decreed that you would eventually become part of their donor group." A low growl sounded from Cassian and he gripped my hand more tightly, causing me to wince and him to instantly release his grasp.

"What about Charlotte?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure why, but she wasn't a part of the contract," David replied, relief evident on his face as he spoke of his 'mate'.

"Anyway," David continued, "when they refused to give you to them when you turned nineteen, they killed your parents. Vampires are not easy creatures to ward off. They play mind games." My eyes widened at that and he nodded. "They tricked you about your friend, too. They were trying to lure you out. They needed a way to get to you that didn't draw too much attention."

"So Cathia's fine?" I asked, relieved. David nodded.

"We became involved a few years ago, once your parents agreed to add you into their contract." David's voice was strained, almost...guilty as he spoke. I peered at him for a moment.

And then I figured it all out. Everything. Every last bit made perfect sense in that moment. "So that's it then," I whispered.

David gave me a confused look while Cassian squeezed my hand in reassurance. I was positive he could feel something of what I felt, but then again I wasn't sure. The whole supposed "mate" thing was still confusing to me. "That's what, love?" Cassian asked softly. I ignored him, instead focusing my attention on David, who had realized I figured it out.

"That's why you gave me the time of day," I snapped, addressing David with eyes filled with betrayal. "That's why we even met in the first place, wasn't it?!"

"Marlow..." David tried to intervene, but I was on my feet now, one of my hands still gripped tightly by Cassian, whose worried gaze grew even more pronounced as he tried to hold me down.

"Don't even try to deny it, David!" I pressed forward. "That's why you even bothered going out with me, why you promised to marry me-!"

"What!" Cassian interrupted with a growl, but I pressed on.

"You were in charge of protecting them weren't you?! You went out with me because you figured it would be an easy way to keep an eye on us. I was simply a human. You could toy with me in whatever way you wanted and not give a damn later because you knew one day you'd find your soul mate!" I was seething, my voice echoing in the otherwise silent room as I continued my accusation. "I would be easy to give up afterwards, once your job was done, but then you found her! Tell me, did you even consider how I would feel once I found out? Were you just not going to show up at the wedding? Hope I wouldn't notice?!"

"Marlow, I never meant to hurt you," David tried to intervene softly, but one glare from me and he was silent.

"You tore my heart out and didn't care! You took the last of everything I had, the last of my family, the last piece of happiness I had managed to hold on to! My parents died, you found her, and I didn't matter anymore! I was merely a complication to your relationship, nothing else!" I accused. "And I hate you for that. I hate that you can care so little for someone you pretended to care so much about for almost a year and a half of your life!"

Cassian moved his hands so that he was gripping both of my shoulders. I didn't realize that he had been holding me back until I stopped talking and realized how much closer I had gotten to David. David's face was pained, his pale eyes sobering as I continued. "I hope you two are happy together, because I swear to god if you hurt her, I..." I trailed off, not sure exactly how to finish that statement. "Where is she?" I asked him suddenly.

David opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "And don't you dare lie to me!"

"She got sick," he half-whispered. "We had to change her sooner than we thought." My fury reached a peak in that moment. He had taken my sister from me a little less than two weeks ago and she was already like them, already a monster.

"Marlow, love-"

"Stop!" I jerked out of Cassian's grip, throwing my hands into the air. "Just stop! Stop calling me that! Stop talking to me! And stop ruining my life!" I didn't even care that I sounded like a petty teenager. I hated how he made me feel so strange, how he made me feel like I had when I had been with David only... different. Both of them stared at my face with shock and sympathy. When I couldn't take it anymore, I turned and stormed towards the door, yanking it open with my good arm. "Gods I'm so fucking confused!" I hollered as I slammed it behind me, making my way through the halls while the other weres avoided me. I made it all the way outside before I didn't know where to go.

I didn't see anyone else around, and I was sure that Cassian or someone else had "telepathically" told them all to leave me alone. I stood alone on a darkly colored deck taking up the length of the back of the house, scowling to myself.

The outside of the immense house was even more beautiful than the inside. There was a large expanse of open field, contrasting greatly with the vibrant sunset dominating the sky. It would have been beautiful if I had not been so furious, so confused. I was hurting, and I wanted to be alone.

Beyond the vast area, there was a darkened forest. I shuddered, thinking of all the eyes that were probably watching me as I stormed around like a contemptible mortal. They were probably amused at my human feelings.

I wrapped my arms around myself, staring out at the forest. It was beautiful and mysterious. 'Sort of like someone else you just met, huh?' the voice inside my head teased. I groaned, making my way down the stairs and into the field. When I had wandered far enough, I flopped onto the grass, staring up at the kaleidoscope colored sky as the sun began to set. I closed my eyes, trying to get my bearings.

"Marlow," my sister's voice caused me to sit up and whirl around. It was strange, because she was exactly the person I wanted to talk to, werewolf or not. She stood alone there, her clothes torn and tattered, her face smeared with something dark. My stomach churned uneasily.

"Hey Charlotte," I said tentatively. "How are you feeling?" I got to my feet slowly. They had said she was in transition, and to be honest, I had no idea what that meant. That was something neither my parent's nor David had ever discussed with me. Her eyes blazed with an inhuman fire. I could see nothing of my sister in them. What had they done to her? I took a step towards her, my arms out to show I wouldn't hurt her. "Char, it's me, Marlow."

"You need to go." She swayed on her feet as she spoke. Her eyes moved around wildly, occasionally resting on me. Her hair blew back in the slight breeze. "You have to go. NOW!" she took a jerky step forward, grabbing my upper arm with a clammy hand. It didn't hurt at first, but when she started squeezing I cried out. She released me instantly.

"Char, I think we should find David and see what's up." I took another step closer to her and I could now see her face in the remaining light of the sun. The dark smear was blood, apparently fresh. My stomach contracted sickeningly. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to run away.

"Run," she whispered. Suddenly an ear-splitting howl emanated from her lips. She collapsed to the ground and I watched in horror as her bones began to move and shift, making gruesome, popping noises as they did.

Without another thought I turned and ran, sprinting across the vast field towards the front of the darkened house. I heard growling and the sound of something following me, and I was so fearful that I didn't even think why no one was stopping me as I hopped into my car, grabbed the keys and started the car.

I had to get out of here. There was nothing left for me now. Not even my sister. She was something else entirely now, and I was so, so afraid...

The only thoughts that permeated my brain as I drove for mile after mile were those of my parents—well, my parents and a certain kidnapping werewolf. I shook my head. I had to forget Cassian. He was a werewolf and he was arrogant, basically everything I hated rolled up into one, sexy package.

I increased my pressure on the gas pedal, surging forward towards the sign that let me know I was leaving the state. Something was coiled tightly within me, waiting to burst. I figured it was the anticipation of getting the hell out of here. The rain continued to pelt down on the roof of the car, almost like a drumbeat, foreshadowing some momentous occasion.

'Almost there,' I thought. 'You're almost free.'

The coil wound tighter, almost uncomfortably so. The sign grew nearer still.

'Marlow!'

The voice in my head made me jump, swerving the car slightly. I didn't even have time to narrow my eyes in annoyance at Cassian when a searing pain exploded in my chest. I had passed the sign. "Ah!" I cried out, slamming my foot on the brakes while veering off to the side of the road. I clutched my one hand to my chest, the pain increasing as I sat there in my car.

I racked my mind for possibilities as to what was happening. I knew nothing had physically injured me, so what was it? Was I having a heart attack? Could nineteen year old girls have heart attacks?? I whimpered, fumbling for the seatbelt. The agonizing pain was fading in and out, giving me a moment of relief before flaring up again. I could feel a bead of sweat run down my forehead as I struggled with the invisible injury.

It was right where my heart was. I tried to move, tried to reach my phone, but everything hurt. Vaguely I could hear a voice in my mind. The voice was trying to talk to me, to soothe me, but I didn't hear it. I couldn't do anything except feel what was happening to me. Gods it hurt...

And then it stopped. I gasped in a breath of air, reaching for the handle to the door. Before I could open it, however, it was jerked open by someone outside. They grabbed my arm and yanked me out as well, crushing me to their chest. "What the hell were you thinking, love?!" his voice was rough, irritated, but with a note of tenderness in it.

Strange noises reached my ears, and it took me a moment, but I realized that they were coming from me. I tried to breathe normally, to forget about the pain I had felt. Looking back on it, I realize that it wasn't just a physical ache, it was loneliness. It was a deep-seated loneliness that made me feel terrified. My own sister was now even a stranger to me, and I had longed for something...

"I-I'm sorry," I gasped out, my arms pinned against his chest.

"Shh, love, it's alright," he crooned. I was so wound up I didn't even have it in me to tell him off for calling me 'love' again. He held me there, not saying anything for the longest time. "Did you feel it?"

I nodded slowly against his chest. "Wh-why?"

"The mating bond," he explained. "It doesn't let us separate ourselves too much from each other." He moved so that his mouth was right by my ear, his warm breath making me shiver. "It wants us to stay together."

I began to push away then. I was feeling overwhelmed, like my emotions were running on overdrive. He let me go this time, watching me with a bemused expression. "What made you run, love?" I narrowed my eyes at him and his grin broadened for a moment before vanishing completely. "Was it me again?"

I laughed once, humorlessly. Running a hand through my hair, I leaned against the car. "Believe it or not it actually wasn't you."

This picked his interest. "Really?" he asked without a hint of sarcasm. He seemed genuinely curious.

"Charlotte, she..." I trailed off, shutting my eyes as I tried to get the picture of her turning into a furry beast out of my head. "She attacked me," I finished, resting my head against the glass of the window.

"What?!" Cassian's voice sounded appalled.

"Is that like your favorite phrase or something, or am I just not speaking loud enough for your wolfy hearing to pick up?" I retorted.

He shook his head, ignoring my question. "Ocella, your sister hasn't even woken up yet, she hasn't moved since David changed her."

I raised my head to look at him. I noticed for the first time what he was wearing. The jeans hung low on his hips, fitting tightly in all the right places, and the black t-shirt he wore was stretched across his chest, his impeccable physique put on display.

'Goddammit Marlow, focus!' The rational voice in my mind was close to throttling me.

"Then how the hell did she...?" I trailed off and the look that emerged on Cassian's face had me panicking yet again.

"Get in the car," he ordered suddenly.

"I'm not crazy-" I began.

"Jesus, love, just get in the fucking car!" he didn't wait for me to say anything this time, opening the door to the backseat and physically placing me there while he slid gracefully into the driver's seat. I had barely gotten the door shut when he took off.

My back slammed against the seat as the tires squealed on the wet pavement. Eyes wide, I fumbled blindly for the seatbelt, clicking it in place just in time for his Tom Cruise style turn onto the main road. I braced myself with my good hand, chest heaving as I fought to find words. "Are you going to explain what the hell that was?!"

For a few moments he ignored me, instead choosing to run his hand through his already messy, dark hair. "Your sister didn't attack you, Marlow."

"I'm not crazy," I said again, this time desperately. I gripped the back of his seat tightly, partially with my desperation but also in fear. The speed limit had been broken and then some and I didn't want to wind up as road kill.

He rested his hand on top of mine. "I know, but you know how we were telling you earlier about how vampires can get into your head? Make you see things?"

"Yeah?" my voice was hoarse and I figured it out quickly. "Y-you think they made me see my sister attacking me? To lure me out?"

I looked into the rearview mirror and saw him smirk at me. "Exactly."

"Why the hell are they doing this to me?" I asked him.

His expression darkened, his eyes glowing for a brief moment. "I'm not going to let them get to you, Marlow," he replied poignantly. I knew it was serious because he was using my full name instead of one of his pet names for me.

I slowly drew my hand back from his, wrapping them both around my legs as I brought them up so that I was curled into a ball. I watched Cassian as he watched the road. His eyes were intense hues of blue with silver streaks in them I had never noticed before. He had a strong face that was framed by medium length jet black locks that were in between straight and curly. It was the first time I had truly looked at his face and I had to admit, he was beautiful.

His eyes glanced up at the mirror and he met my stare with a grin. I blushed and looked away.

The rest of the drive was made in silence, or as close to silence as was possible with all the tire squealing madness he was driving with. When we pulled back into the den I got my very first good look at the front of the house. It was mostly brick, old fashioned in style but with modern elements. Columns held up the overhang that led into a porch area that took up most of the front of the house. It was massive, quite possibly the largest house I had ever seen in my life. I felt dizzy just looking up at it.

Cassian opened the door and I quickly stepped out, stopping for a moment to take in the incredible piece of architecture with a grimace. His hand on my shoulder caused me to start forward, making my way back into my prison. I could feel my spirits drop as I entered the overly luxurious doorway. A few werewolves were hanging around and some looked at me with curiosity. Others considered me with distaste.

I crossed my arms defensively, about to make my way to the stairs when Cassian grabbed my arm. He pulled me into his side, bringing his lips to my ear. "You are not going anywhere without me."

"Can I just go to my room, please?" I whined.

"You can stay in my room," he suggested smugly.

I threw my hands into the air, completely done with his arrogant ass. "Fine, whatever!" The exhaustion of the day had finally caught up with me, and I was too tired to argue with him over anything.

He grinned victoriously, taking my hand and practically dragging me up the stairs to his room. My head spun as we stopped outside his door. I had never been to this part of the house, and my mouth dropped as I took in his room. It was the perfect combination of old-fashioned and modern. The bed was a dark, mahogany four poster bed that appeared to be able to fit almost five or six people. There was a small sitting area in one fourth of the room right next to a set of french doors that led out onto a balcony overseeing the fields behind the house. There were two large bookcases filled almost to overflowing with all sorts of genres. I itched to get my hands on one of them, but held myself immobile.

I noticed two other doors in the room, probably leading to some overly extravagant walk-in closet or bathroom that I wouldn't be able to afford in my whole one hundred years of living.

"All this is yours?" I asked, shocked.

He shot me a sideways grin and I elbowed him. "The bathroom's over there," he said, gesturing to one of the other doors in the room, "and I had Lydia buy some clothes for you, so they're hanging in there." He gestured to the other door.

I nodded quickly, deciding not to ask who Lydia was, and began to make my way to the bathroom when he caught my arm. He spun me around so that I was facing him. He brushed a hand across my cheek, moving a few loose strands of hair behind my ear. "Try not to endanger yourself, okay? You seem to find trouble more often than not," he teased. I rolled my eyes.

When he released me I almost sprinted into the bathroom, leaning against the door after I closed it. I looked into the mirror and grimaced. The room was exactly as I had thought it would be: absolutely, one hundred percent overboard. It had an enormous bathtub and shower that made me want to roll my eyes again, and everything was marble.

Not only that, but I looked atrocious. Cassian must have been insane to come after me while I looked like this. I certainly wouldn't have. I turned away from the large mirror and directed my attention towards the even larger shower.

Shaking my head to myself, I stripped out of my clothes and carefully undid my splint and stepped into the shower. I wondered how many people could fit in here, but I quickly annihilated that thought as my mind began to think of Cassian showering in here with me.

It took me a little while, but I managed to figure out how to turn it on. Cold water blasted me from everywhere and I squealed. Vaguely I could hear laughter from the other room and I scowled while turning bright red in the face.