C H A P T E R 3

Valentina Dove Blackclaw

travels her body like electricity running around in her veins. Hundreds of blood sucking Vampires surround the mansion. Her body frozen to the spot as she stares at them with her amber Wolf eyes. Not knowing what to do she just stands there staring at them. She sees hunger in their eyes, hunger for her blood and hunger for her death. When her mind comes back into reality she slowly goes down and picks her book and then bolts inside and slams the door shut then locks it in hopes they can't come in.

Breathing heavily she slams her back against the door and holds the book close against her chest where her racing heart beats. "This isn't happening" She murmurs over and over again as she pants. Not believing what her eyes have just seen. Her amber eyes returns back to her ice blue eyes. Slowly moving away from the door she turns around and her gaze goes to the window. The darkness is all she sees but hidden in the darkness are shadows of Vampires which confirms that she did see them and this really is happening.

Her mind is panicking and doesn't want to relax. The things that are out there are her worst enemies and they're so many even more than she herself can count. She runs out of the kitchen and to the empty hallways where she ignores her sorrow feelings that feel the need to rise within her as the fright keeps them down while runs faster than she has ever run before. Running in the hallways is easier than she had thought as there is no obstacle in her way.

Seeing no people in the mansion also freaks her out, but she has no time to worry about that since there are more things at stake here. She runs around corners until he makes it to the place where she wants to go. In front of her are double doors with two guards standing there. "No one is to enter, especially Omegas" One of them says but she can tell that neither of them want to lock her outside. She used to the Alpha's daughter and those were her father's guards which now belong to the new Alpha but they know her and she knows them.

"I need to see the Alpha. Vampires are attacking" Valentina hurries to tell them, her own heart still racing in her chest and she's sure that everyone can hear how loudly it's beating. The guards only laugh at her. "Werewolves and Vampires are at peace, they wouldn't be attacking" One of them says and she groans out of frustration. "Just let me in, they're out there and we need to do something" She orders them but neither of them move for her. Before she could do anything else it becomes too late, the Vampires have come inside the house.

Multiple crashes are heard throughout the mansion and into their ears. The faces of the guards fall when they hear. Valentina's own face pales as she's filled with fright once more. She failed at letting the Alpha know about them and now they're inside. The guards don't waste anytime but to open the door and go inside. They rudely shut the door in her face and she's left outside once again. Having a hard time breathing her mind swirls with ideas of what she should do now. The guards are letting the Alpha know of the situation while she's an Omega and has no place in there anymore. She's all alone and scared.

Her mind has a hard time thinking straight and her thoughts are all over the place like rain that spares no surfaces when it rains outside. Salty tears form in her ice blue eyes. Sitting down on the ground with her back against the wall she buries her head in her knees and just cries. This is too much for her and with the sorrow in her head she can't handle it all at once. Her heart can't take that pain and all that panicking. She doesn't know what to do.

Letting the tears fall silently is all she can do at this point. Valentina and her mother are Omegas and they aren't allowed to do anything and she can't help the Pack defend against the Vampires and she has no training herself. Even if she would be put out in the field she would not be able to defend herself let alone her Pack. "Look at that... poor Omega is crying... I always knew you were weak, just like dear old daddy" Someone says in front of her. Taking her head out of her knees and putting the book on the floor after having been holding it this whole time.

Valentina looks up to see the Alpha and the rest of the Pack behind him as they were in a Pack meeting. She gulps and wipes her tears away with the back of her hand, realizing that she's till wearing the same things she wore last night and she's freezing. Anger rises in her by the mention of her father and how horrible he's talking about him but she doesn't do anything and she doesn't say anything back knowing that her father would not have wanted that.

The Alpha looks down at her and let's out a dark chuckle and she frowns. On the floor she feels weak and the air around her so heavy she can barely breathe. Her golden hair covering her face a little to hide her from the shame that fills her up. "Don't have anything to say, huh? Silent... like father, like daughter" The Alpha says again and some laugh behind him as they all eagerly watch as he humiliates her. No one minding the fact that in just few minutes this place will be storming with Vampires.

It wasn't very long after that they all left and prepared a fight with the Vampires. All Valentina could do was sit on the ground and weep as she has no fighting skills and her broken heart is all she is left with. Reminding her of what she has lost broke her further down when the Alpha had spoken to her and insulting her father was the last step. Looking down at the book she had set down on the floor when he had been there she only cries harder. Biting her own inner cheek to keep the sobs silent and to not let a sound escape her throat.

She jumps when a loud crash echo startles her and she has figured the fight has begun. Vampires and Werewolves are fighting in the mansions and soon one side will take victory while the other will shame their kind. Valentina doesn't know what she should do. The animal inside her is begging to be released and fighting with everything her body has even when she has no fighting skills but the rational part in her brain refuses such impulses to break free. The sounds of battle make their way to her.

Useless is how she feels. While the people she grew with are somewhere fighting for their lives she sits there and cries. Being broken down like the way that she has been forces her to hide the courage deep inside and lock the doors where there is no way to get it back unless by a miracle. The thoughts in her head swirl in an angry tornado and they keep mentally hurting her inside. Through the blurriness in her eyes she can see someone walking over to her. Her heart skips a beat as it startles her.

As the person draws nearer she uses her hands to wipe all the tears from her eyes so her vision would be normal. A unfamiliar man is walking towards her. A wicked grin on his face as he stalks over to her. Standing up from the floor she uses the wall to help her and back against it a bit. Her eyes scan the area and her mind begins to form a plan. Holding the book in her hand she takes a chance and goes around the corner and back the hallway that she came from running just minutes before.

The empty hallway is easier to run in for her but there are also no hiding places for her and most of the room in the mansion are locked for they are bedroom. She doesn't look behind her as she runs in some direction just desperately trying to get away from that Vampire that she believes is right on her heels. Her lungs burning makes her stop around a corner. Breathing heavily she catches her breath and calm her heartbeat down a little. She doesn't allow herself to make any sounds. The darkness in the hallways sends shivers down her spine.

The fear lingering in her body never going away. Backed against a wall she prepares for the worst. She's in a dead end and the only way back is going the same way. The footsteps of the Vampire in the distance frightens her more than anything has ever done. The world around her feels like it's closing on her. Her own heartbeat echoing in her head. Holding her empty hand over her mouth to make no sounds when she pants. Tears are streaming down her cheeks as her ears pick up the sound of the Vampire drawing closer to her.

Her ice blue eyes close and she holds her breath. The book in her hand. An idea then pops up into her frightened mind and it might be the only thing she can do at this point. She can nothing to defend herself with but she has something that the Vampire does not. Knowledge of the mansion. Opening her eyes she takes a deep breath, dropping the hand that was holding her she turns her head and slowly peeks over the corner of the wall to see if the Vampire has gotten that close to her and fortunately for her he hasn't.

"I can do this" She whispers to herself when she takes a step towards the hallways that is the dead end and if he were to walk past the corner he would see her. Walking the hallway in the direction of the Vampire that she knows is still following her. The echoing footsteps only growing closer to her and she knows that it's not or never. She takes a few steps closer to a window that is nearby her. Walking as quietly as she possible can she goes over to the window. Her eyes scan the surrounding area and see only blackness.

One of her hand touching the glass and shivering when her fingertips makes contact with the freezing glass like an icicle in winter. Doubt begins to squeeze itself into her brain and the only plan that she had formed become one that can only let her down. When the echoing footsteps come to and end her head snaps to the side to look at the end of the hallway. In the darkness she can see the Vampire. His eyes are focused on her and the smirk on his face tells her everything she needs to know.

Turning her head back to the window she realizes that she has a choice. Either she can fight him off with her bare hands and with the instincts in her body or she can continue with the plan she had in mind. The latter sounds much better in her mind and before she knew what she was doing she goes along with her plan even when the doubt had already deemed it not worthy but she went along with it. With one quick action of her empty hand she slams her bare fist into the glass as hard as the strength in her body is able to do.

The glass shatters into millions of shards and drop on the floor and on the grass outside below the window. Crimson red blood begins to leak down her hand from all the cuts that have formed on her hand. Fortunately for Valentina none of the glass shards got stuck in her flesh. The scent of her metallic blood makes its way to the Vampire. He opens his mouth to show his razor sharp fangs and in his eyes the hunger grows with each second. He begins running towards her. Wasting no time she turns to look at the dark world just outside and jumps out into the grass.

Her feet gracefully land on the soft grass but were not as lucky on what else they landed on. Sharp glass shards cut her feet. The pain runs through her as both her feet and one of her hand is throbbing with pain and bleeding. It might not be much but it is enough to attract Vampires to her. As she attempts to run to the forest to hide three Vampires stand in front of her, blocking her escape route. She gasps out in surprise and slightly backs away but let's out a yelp when she steps on glass with her already injured and bleeding feet.

She turns around but the Vampire that was chasing her in the mansion is blocking the window. One of them lets out a dark chuckle. "There's no where to go, little Mutt" The middle one says to her, his voice so dark and twisted that if she hadn't already met a demon then she would think Vampires are demons. Her breathing picks up fast as the fear fastens it grip in her veins. Her eyes scan her surroundings but no matter where she looks there is no where to go. She's cornered.

Feeling the life drain from her face as she realizes that this will be her end. Vampires are known for slaughtering their prey in merciless ways and the agonizing pain always courses through the veins of their victims nearly destroys them from the inside out and now she will become one of those victims. "A pretty Mutt. It would sell for a lot of money on the Blood Market" The one on the left suggest. She stands there in pain while they discuss her and talk about her as an it instead of her as if she were an object.

They continued to discuss it while Valentina's thoughts were racing with ideas and they all swirl in her head and never seem to stop but this time that is good. New and new ideas of where to go and how get out of this situation but no matter what she comes up with she always shots down the idea upon the realization that it won't work. In the corners of her eyes she can see the Vampire standing on the window slowly make his way down.

No words that they spoke made their way to her ears, her mind was too busy and too panicked to be able to let the information sink in. She doesn't know what they are talking about but she does know that they're talking about her and none of it good. "You smell good, Mutt" The Vampire behind her whispers in her ear. His deep voice shocks her and she jumps up and away from him. He captures her wrist with his hand and forces her to stay in her place. Afraid of her mind she holds the book in her other hand tightly trying to gather strength to get through this.

Her bleeding hand burns with pain as his grip tightens. Biting her inner cheek to keep herself from screaming. Bringing her hand towards his face, he begins sniffing her hand or the blood that is still slowly leaking from the wounds she has. "So fresh and wonderful. I might just buy you myself" He whispers. Struggling to free her wrist she doesn't say anything, knowing that her big mouth might make it worse. His strong hand tugs at her hand harshly and it pulls her body towards him.

His touch alone sends shivers running down her spine for all the wrong reasons. The cold night's air strikes her too but the cold is the least one of her mind. His other hand gently brushes her hair away from her neck traces her it until he finds the artery that is filled with blood, the beat of the heart under his fingers as he smirks at himself. Opening his mouth and his fangs catch the light and sparkle with the catch light. Her heart skips a beat knowing what is to come and hold her breath. "Dimitri, we can't sell used goods" The middle one says and she sighs with relief when he grunts and backs away from her.

Dimitri harshly throws her hand towards her that she nearly loses her balance yet manages to hold herself sanding up even when the pain in her feet are begging her to sit on the ground. Ignoring the pain in her body she turns around to see the Vampires that are all looking at her with lust and hunger in their eyes. The middle one that Valentina has figured out is the leader walks closer to her making her gulp in fear.

Her ice blue eyes make the mistake to look at his face and straight into his eyes. What she sees is pure death in his eyes. Frightened she back away but afraid of the Vampire behind her she takes tiny steps. "Calm yourself, Mutt. This won't hurt a bit... unfortunately" He tells her with a wicked grin forming on his face. His right hand reaches into his pocket and takes out a syringe. Taking the cover off the needle, he smirks at the girl in front of him. "Hold her" He commands Dimitri that does what he ordered and before she could react to it. Dimitri roughly takes her hands behind her back.

With a pure look of fright forms on her face and in her eyes there is nothing but fear. With a sinister grin on his face he brings the syringe closer to her. Closing her eyes she tries to fight it but he's too strong for her to fight off. The sharp needle digs itself into her flesh until he has buried it in a vein where he lets the liquid inside it go. Dizzyness feeling takes over her. Opening her eyes black spots dance on her vision and she has a hard time fighting the tiredness and closes her eyes once more. Her body goes limp in Dimitri's arms.

Valentina's eyes flutter open. Groaning she holds her head, feeling a headache forming that becomes worse with time like someone with a hammer is banging on the inside of her skull. Her vision blurry but she rubs her eyes to get rid of the tiredness that threatens to take her back into deep slumber. Looking around she sees she's in a wooden horse wagon, on the floor. However it does not seem like any horse has ever been there.

Using the wall of the wagon to stand up she looks around her surroundings in there. Chains scattered around the slightly wet wooden floor. Chains to hold Werewolves. She, herself is not in any chains but nor does she think those chains are meant for her but for a shifting Werewolf. Going to the back of the wagon where the door is located. A door that would be wound on a normal door, which is odd on a horse wagon. She looks out the window that is on the door and reality hits her in the head at that moment, the throbbing headache becomes more intense.

Outside the people she grew up with fight for their lives. But they're losing. The mansion has been lit on fire and now is standing in bright flames. Salty tears form in her eyes as she bangs her fists on the door trying to break out. The door is wooden but now matter how much she tries her hands are unable to break the door. The palm of her hand that she had injuries before are no filled with dry blood but no sign of any wounds ever being there. On the floor where she woke up the book she had in her hands lies.

Breathing heavily she rests her forehead on the door and lets a tear or two leak down her face from her ice blue eyes. Feeling all alone and useless takes over her and she knows that she was useless to them before and she's useless now. "I'm sorry" She whispers to herself, yet saying it to the people that have lost their lives fighting for the Pack. Letting out a sob she turns her back on the door and slides down until she's sitting on the floor with her head against the door.

Her ears hear the screams of pure agony outside that will haunt her until she draws her very last breath. Standing up after awhile she goes over to her book and holds it against her chest, trying to be strong and gather strength to survive this but finds herself unable to. Just as she was about to return to the door it opens harshly. The door opens out and a man is thrown into the wagon where he lands harshly on the ground and then the doors close once more and a sound of a lock being locked is heard. The man stands up but ends up falling down on the floor.

Valentina goes over to him and helps him sit down on the wooden floor. But once she sees his face and who it is she backs away from him and looks down at the floor, feeling nervous and unsure of what she's supposed to do. "Valentina, come here" He softly orders her. Hesitantly she walks back over to him and goes on her knees before she sits down. Holding the book in her hands still and doesn't want to let go. He lightly chuckles when he sees the book in her hands.