Wolf's Claim (The Royal Heir #3) - Jen L. Grey Page 0,66

feet stumbled until I forced my legs to walk with them.

I'm going to find you. Mason's words were strong like a vow.

You'll need the witches to help. I had a feeling that was the only way they'd be able to find me.

As I was forced into the woods, I could feel my mind fill with dread over what was to come.

Chapter Nineteen

I wasn't sure how long I'd been stuck down in this basement. It could have been minutes or days at this point.

When the vampires carried me off, one struck me hard in the head, causing me to stumble and they put a shit-smelling bag over my head. To think that the last minutes of my life would be like this was what I'd been afraid of for so long.

The thick chains that caged me were connected to the walls. They had locked both my wrists and even ankles into the cuffs. I could only move around three feet. A little straw had been strewn out on the ground for whenever I needed to do my personal business. There were no windows, so it was literally like time stood still. It was crazy; at times, I could have sworn I heard another heartbeat near me. I was so alone that I must have been hearing things.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs as a door creaked open. The light from the hall spilled in, causing me to wince for a moment before my eyes adjusted.

Rose entered the room with a superior grin on her face. "Well, well, well. . . How the mighty have fallen."

If she expected a reaction, I wasn't going to amuse her. I stayed put and glared at her.

"How are you doing?" She pulled out a dagger from her bag that she tossed on the ground. Her black hair was pulled back, and her amber eyes were light. She pursed her red lips and took a deep breath. "Mmm, royal wolf blood. The smell is heavenly. Unfortunately, your blood can't give me the same high as a vampire because of my witch part."

"Well, you're mostly witch, so that would make sense." That little tidbit of information filled me with relief, but at the same time, there was no need to keep me alive.

"However, it still makes me more powerful." She winked at me. "So don't worry. I won't kill you ... yet." She walked over as she examined me from my head to my toes. "This is going to be so much fun. Let’s see, I could drink from your neck, but hurting you would be so much more satisfying."

"I haven't done anything to you." All these people hated me for things that weren't my own doing.

"But your blood has." She stepped up to me, her eyes locked onto my wrist.

I refused to back down. The more I acted like scared prey, the more she would enjoy herself. Luckily, I’d blocked Mason's bond to me when I got here. I didn’t want him to worry.

She grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward her, sinking her dagger into my skin. She pulled the dagger from my arm and licked the blood off of it. "Oooh … So good."

A whimper wanted to leave me, but I held it back, standing strong.

"You see, blood is one of the most important things in life. I'm kind of an expert on it." She flicked her finger up, forcing my body to slam into the wall.

Pain coursed down my spine, but I couldn’t move. I was plastered there.

"After all, I'm an abomination. Hell, I'm not even supposed to exist." She licked off the other side of the dagger and cut her eyes to me. "You see, Agnes believes that I was turned during the birth process, but she's wrong."

I couldn't help it. I was intrigued. "You don't have to lie to me." If I didn't believe her, she might let more slip. That's what all the bad guys do at the end. They liked to spill all their dirty little secrets and frustrations.

"No, I thought the same thing until the day the great priestess handed over my real mother's diary. You see, she was never able to open it because it takes the blood of the witch or their descendants’. So of course, I was able to open it and read a lot of things that made everything clearer."

"So you didn't tell anyone what it said?" What type of person hid herself from those she loved?

"Don't act all superior … bitch." She blurred as she