He was on his own, and that would have beenfine if it wasn’t for Melanie. He suspected she was as much aprisoner in this place as him, and he wouldn’t let her rot in thesecatacombs.
So he paced, slept, and ate the bags of foodthey dropped in on occasion. He waited, watched, and planned whathe would do if he got past this glass.
There were only two guards in the room. Onestood near the elevator, and another stood by a metal door heassumed led into a stairwell. There was another metal door on theother side of the room, but no one guarded it.
He didn’t know why; maybe they didn’t haveenough people, or perhaps the guy was simply on a piss break. Then,the other door opened, and another guard stepped inside. He didn’tgo far as he assumed a position by the door.
All of the guards held assault rifles that hesuspected were loaded with wooden bullets. If he got free, he hadto get to one of them before they could kill him.
And as he planned and exercised, he worriedabout Melanie and his family. He was incredibly glad he hadn’t toldher where his family lived in Maine.
He wasn’t sure she’d reveal the informationeven if she did know, but he was glad it wasn’t something he had tobe concerned about, especially since these people liked their drugsand clouding the minds of others. After seeing her, he had no doubtMelanie had endured some things in here too.
But his family would be safe from thesemonsters, and even with as well trained as these people were, theycouldn’t breach the security of his family’s compound. However, hewas sure they were going out of their minds by now. His motherwould be devastated, and Cassidy wouldn’t handle this well. She wasstrong, and she would get through it, but she would also beobsessed, lost, terrified, and furious just as he would be.
And then, one day, after Melanie’s visit, hewoke with the sudden knowledge he’d stopped aging.
While in this shithole, he’d become a fullymature, purebred vampire. He still couldn’t break the glass, but ifhe got the chance, he would tear this place down and kill anyonewho got in his way of getting Melanie and fleeing.
More power flowed through his veins; itdidn’t keep him from feeling the effects of the drugs, but it hadheightened his senses and sharpened his wrath.
Before he could handle that he hadn’tcompleted the bond with Melanie. The compulsion to bond with herwas always there, but now, it was a slithering monster creepingthrough his system and digging into his bones.
The demon part of him was fully awake, and itwas not happy about being separated from its mate. So, he paced andplotted and tried not to go insane, but he wasn’t so sure it was anoption.
CHAPTER 27
Melanie felt like shewas going a little insane as day after monotonous day passed. She’dalways hated this place, but before she left it on occasion, hadschool to attend, and could go outside and roam the fenced-inyard.
Behind the building was a stream and woodswhere she and Lucy often played. They would sometimes pretend theywere princesses being held captive by hideous trolls. They wouldfight those trolls as they battled their way free of theirprison.
They had always managed to rescue themselves,but she had no idea how to save them now.
Since their return to the facility, neitherof them were allowed to travel to the first floor. The one timethey’d tried to go above to at least get some sunshine and freshair, armed guards blocked their way.
At first, she was sure it was a mistake, butwhen she brought it up to her father, he told her that she wasn’tready to go outside yet.
She’d been too stunned to reply. Not only wasshe a prisoner in this place again, but she couldn’t even gooutside anymore.
She had no idea when he would deem her ready,which meant she might never see the sun again. The idea of becominga pale, mole person who was never allowed to breathe fresh airagain petrified her.
It was then she realized she was as much aprisoner in this place as the vampires below. She had a little morefreedom and room to roam, but not much.
Some days, she cursed the day Kyle walkedinto her life, and other days, she would spend hours agonizing overevery detail of their time together. She analyzed every piece of itas she searched for some sign a memory wasn’t real or what theyshared was only a sick game to him.
But the more she analyzed it, the moreconfused she became. The only thing she knew for certain was sheneeded to talk to him again.
Then, one day, she realized that while armedguards stopped her from going above, no one had stopped her fromgoing down. The idea of it had never occurred to her before. Afterall, she’d spent all her years in this place avoiding the fifthfloor.
But now, she’d been to the fifth floor andwas questioning if she could do it again.
She walked over to the elevators and hit thebutton. The cameras burned into her back, but she didn’t look atthem while she waited for the elevator to arrive. Fuck her fatherand Delilah. Fuck this whole place. If she had her way, she’d burnit to the ground.
The elevator doors dinged open, and shestepped inside. It took all she had not to give the camera thefinger as the doors slid closed. She bypassed the third floor,which consisted of storage, the kitchen, cafeteria, gym, andlounge.
Her father and Delilah also had rooms there.They were the only two who didn’t sleep on the second floor. Shedidn’t know why they’d chosen the third floor, and she didn’task.
She wondered if the two of them had moved intogether or if they still kept separate rooms. Knowing them, theyslept apart.
