AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Amon likes to work. If we’re honest here, we would live quite comfortably even without his work.”
She looked up at Rayen stunned at his confession. He winked at her and laughed.
“You and him are both workaholics, you’ll get along just fine.”
“I think you stunned her with the money confession.” Silas set his empty glass on the table. “Gwen, when we say money isn’t an issue, we mean it.”
She turned and looked at Amon. “You could buy that house without even leaving a dent in your pocket, couldn’t you?”
“Say the word and it’s yours, Gwendoline.”
“I don’t want it. I just needed something real to compare it to.”
“Not a dent,” Amon confirmed so casually as if she’d asked him to borrow a dollar.
“What house?” Rayen seemed far too interested.
“The house we took her to in L.A. I offered to buy it for her, but she refused.”
Silas laughed. “If we ever did something as remotely as buying a car for you, you’d refuse wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, but you all make it seem as if that’s a bad thing. Shouldn’t you be happy that I don’t want your money?”
“We are, little bird, but we also enjoy spoiling you.”
“Fine, how about you spoil me with cuddle time later?”
“I believe we can all agree with that,” Rayen said as he pulled her into a hug.
***
Nineteen
After dinner, Gwen cuddled up on the couch with her head in Silas’s lap. “So, will you tell me your story now?”
He seemed hesitant and looked down on her with reluctant eyes. “It’s not pretty, and I’m not sure if you want to hear about that part of me.”
She reached her hand up and gently caressed his neck. “I want to know everything about you. The ugly, the bad, the brave, and the beautiful.”
“You can tell me to stop at any moment.”
She nodded just as Rayen lifted her feet up and laid them on his lap.
“I wasn’t turned because I wanted it or because I was dying. Rather, I was chosen for what I looked like. Katoren was an old, bored vampire, so he created his own entertainment by letting his new creations fight to death.”
Silas stared down at her, but he wasn’t really looking at her, rather he was seeing into his past. Rayen had started to massage her feet while Amon was sitting close in one of the armchairs. She took Silas’s hand in hers and gently let her thumb run over his knuckles.
“He turned us, kept us in dark cells, our bodies burning with his venom. He didn’t care for us, nor did he tell us what was happening. The ones who survived weren’t fed. After I’d fully turned, I was thrown into an arena with an older vampire who knew what was happening. The arena was built out of pure silver and burned me when I tried to escape.”
His eyes were dark red, anger, fear, and pain reflecting in them. Gwen kept caressing him, trying to show him that she was there for him.
“The other vampire had just fed and had spilled some of that blood. I assume it was intentional because blood given by Katoren was precious. Maybe he hoped it would distract my mind and help him win the fight. At that time, I didn’t know what I was. I only felt my throat burning, as if I’d spent days in the Sahara without water. I didn’t know about my strength, speed, or hearing.
“The vampire had already survived more than one fight like this and knew what he could do. The scent of the blood maddened me, and I acted out of pure instinct as I tried to get to the blood. I wanted him, needed the blood. My instincts took over as I fought him. I was able to bite him, but the taste of his blood didn’t satisfy me as I’d hoped. Angered by it, I killed him and unknowingly unlocked my hell on earth.”
His eyes locked with hers, finally seeing her. She took his hand and pressed her lips to his knuckles. Seeing his need to talk all of this off his chest, she wanted him to know that it was okay to open up to her.
“After that I fought everyone Katoren put in the cage with me. Though I won, I was starved just like the others that survived. When he wanted something new to entertain him, he locked us all up into the silver cage and one by one added human slaves. We fought each other trying to be the first to feed. It was a bloodbath, but never enough for Katoren. Close to a hundred years after I came to him, other vampires decided he was being dangerous, no longer able to keep our existence a secret. Katoren was killed and with him most of his creations. I saw what was happening, they were killed for trying to survive the hell Katoren had created for us. I managed to escape the massacre and ran.”
