“Determined to protect me, my mother gave up all pretense of being human as she fought them. Some of them ran screaming into the night, but the others became more convinced that we were the cause of the sickness and why their children and loved ones were dying. They were more eager to destroy us.
“My mother struggled so hard; she killed at least a dozen of them, but there were so many men, and they had swords and arrows. I tried to help her, but she mostly kept me away from them, and even though I was far stronger than any normal child, I was no match for dozens of men and all their weapons.
“The arrows finally took my mother down. And when she was gone, the villagers turned their wrath on me. They’d already subdued me, but now, they wrapped chains around my wrists and ankles.”
When her fingers touched upon the darker scars on her wrists, Asher understood where they’d come from. At ten, she wouldn’t have been fully mature and couldn’t have healed all those scars; plus, he had a feeling things were going to get a lot worse.
“They saw me as the reason everyone was dying. They knew I was the one who received the visions, the one who could have saved them but didn’t. To them, I was a monster who must be destroyed. They attached the chains to a saddle and dragged me back to the village.
“I was so beaten and battered by the time we got there I was sure I would die. I was also completely disoriented. My head had taken a pounding, and if I hadn’t been a vampire, I would have already died.
“Once we got to the village, they removed the chains from the horse and carried me toward a burning pile of logs set up near the shore of the lake. They hauled me past the villagers who had gathered to watch my burning; they spat and threw things at me.
“I was really out of it but still coherent enough to watch as the little boy, mybestfriend, threw stones at me before spitting in my face. For some reason, that shredded my heart almost as much as my mother’s death. They were going to kill me, but his betrayal was worse.
“They kept calling me a witch and telling me they would burn me alive. They still believed me to be a witch, even after seeing my mother tear out their throats.
“Back then, vampires weren’t as well-known as witches. There were some myths about them, but they were nowhere near as popular as witches, and they probably assumed she was a demon witch or cast a spell over us to make us appear more ferocious or some otherstupidthing to justify their actions.
“So they carried me over to the fire, still bound in those chains that dug through my flesh and embedded inside me from being dragged. Then, they threw me in the fire.”
Brie stared at the river as the memories flashed like a movie before her; even after all this time, they were as sharp and vivid as before.
“I can still recall the searing heat, the crackle of the flames, and the screams…myscreams as the fire burned away my clothes. But they’d made one miscalculation; I wasn’t human. What would have incapacitated or killed a human pretty fast didn’t do the same to me.
“They expected me to die in the fire, but I managed to kick and wiggle my way through the flames and out the other side. Thankfully, they built the fire next to the lake, probably so they could put it out fast.
“My skin sizzled when I fell into the lake and as I sank deep into its cooling waters. And it was there I realized I wasn’t much better off as, unable to swim or break the surface, I drowned over and over and over again, but I had to keep going away from the villagers, and the fire, to survive.
“I’m assuming they either turned away, lost sight of me in the fire, or stopped watching when I stopped screaming, but thankfully, no one saw me enter the lake. Over time, I finally managed to wiggle my way across the bottom of the lake to the other side and out of the water.”
CHAPTERFIFTY-ONE
Asher was too horrifiedto speak at first. Every part of him screamed against what she’d revealed;everypart of him yearned to go back in time and tear those people apart. Not only would he do to them what they’d done to her, achild, but he’d cut them into little pieces before tossing them into a fire.
He didn’t care if it turned him into a Savage; he would gladly kill them all. And if he couldn’t torture them first, he would drainalltheir blood.
Not for the first time in his life, he pondered why they were fighting for the human race when they could be so incredibly awful. Granted, he couldn’t recall the last time he heard about a witch hunt, but humans still did hideous things every day. The cave was one example of that.
Asher closed his eyes as he worked to control his temper. Beating a tree wouldn’t do her any good right now, but he still couldn’t form words for fear he’d start spewing hate, and she didn’t need that from him either.
Considering what she’d gone through, and the hatred she’d endured, he couldn’t bring himself to reveal his thoughts. So instead, he didn’t move or speak as he stood there and tried to absorb the horror of what she’d endured.
How could they have been so cruel to a child who’d only tried to help them? How could they be so vicious toBrie?She was one of the strongest, kindest souls he’d ever encountered, and all she’d wanted was good for the people who destroyed her for trying to help.
Opening his eyes again, he focused on her as he sought to soothe the wrath building within him. Looking at her helped as only she could calm the beast clawing at his insides and begging to be set free on a group of people who died centuries ago. It made no sense, but love was irrational.
When her eyes lifted to his, the vulnerability in them nearly undid him. To him, her history was the brutal, heart-wrenching thing that forged her into the amazing woman she’d become. To her, it was a gruesome reality she could never escape, and it had devastated her world.
Breaking free of his paralysis, he stepped closer and pulled her against his chest. He lowered his head to her hair and closed his eyes while inhaling her enticing scent.
If those humans had succeeded in killing her, she wouldn’t be in his life. The fact he never would have known her unnerved him.
He hadn’t been looking for her, and hadn’t considered himself lonely before meeting her, but he was so unbelievably glad she was his. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.
She’d become such a huge part of his existence andhim.He’d cared deeply for her, couldn’t imagine waking up without her at his side, and looked forward to their life together even if the future was going to be a difficult battle they might not survive.
Children had never been something he’d considered before her. As a hunter, he’d always known he would marry, and hoped to one day have children, but they’d always been a possibility with a faceless woman. Now, he looked forward to the day he had children with Brie, and he would love them as much as his parents loved him.
