C H A P T E R 5

Valentina Dove Blackclaw

She felt like death. The sorrow in her heart, mind and body overwhelmed her. She along with seven others in the Pack were in the wagon and for two hours they rode somewhere. In one of the corners she sat with her knees against her chest and tear stained face with both fresh and dry salty tears. The book she holds close to her chest and to her beating heart that keeps reminding her that through the heartache she is still alive.

She did not feel like she was alive. The pain, the sorrow and the heartbreak is too much for this single girl. No one had attempted to speak to her and she would neither speak nor respond to anyone who'd try. Her mind is empty and her body numb physically and emotionally. The pang in her chest hurt each time she takes a breath and her every breath is heavier than the last one, making it harder for her to breathe. Her eyes motionless and blankly stare at the ground with no interest or any life.

Valentina has tuned out the world around her, only staring at the ground at the exact same spot. Alone in her mind with no thoughts as they refuse to come to her. In her mind she's trapped and the sadness has chained her down. The people she grew up with attempt to break out of the wagon but are unable, it might be made out of wood but there is something else that prevents them from breaking free and it weakens them. The Alpha slowly gaining his strength back. He had tried to gain her attention but stopped after she never responded to anything.

No one could help the poor girl now. Not only has she lost both her parents but her home and her freedom and all in a short period of time. It is becoming too much for her to handle on her own. The wagon suddenly comes to a stop and the doors at the back are thrown open. The three Vampires along with Dimitri stand there with wicked grins on their faces. One by one they take the people out of the wagon and place chains on their hands until it is only Valentina and the Alpha left in the wagon.

Even when all that took place she neither moved a muscle nor looked up to see, just stared at the same spot as she has been doing these past two hours. It wasn't until the Alpha shakes her that her head snaps up to meet his gaze staring right at her. "Valentina, you have to know that I would do anything to protect you and I swore to your father that if anything were to happen that I would keep you safe. This is not the end. I will find you and I will protect you" He promises her with desperation before he is harshly taken too and out of her view.

The words he had spoken made no impact on her, her gaze return to the ground as she silently awaits for her time. Dimitri comes alone inside the wagon holding chains in his hands that he's quick to slab on her hands and forcefully make her stand up. She holds the book in one hand as tight as she can as she's roughly being dragged out. He started speaking but she heard none of his words nor his voice and neither did she want to.

Walking with him with her head down to the ground that is filthy with both blood and dirt. Her eyes lifeless yet she still breathes. He hardly drags her by the chains into a house and into the darkness. While he can see perfectly, her vision is limited of those of a human and the darkness swallows her. Yet Valentina doesn't care. Now she doesn't care about anything anymore. Dimitri throws her harshly down on the ground in front of a small dog cage. "Get in, Mutt" He spats at her with anger laced in his voice. Slowly her body crawls into the cage.

Without making a sound she goes into the cage, it is smaller than her and uncomfortable but she doesn't care. He closes the door and the locks it before he leaves. Leaving the grieving girl in total silence and with herself locked in a cage that is mean for dogs smaller than her. Every muscle in her body aches and complains at her but she doesn't move from the spot but rather she closes her eyes and just forces herself to calm down. Whatever will happen to her now is nothing compared to the agony in her heart and soul.

She doesn't know how long she stayed like that but when her eyes snapped open lights all around her blinded her. Once she was able to see normally she was still in the cage. However in front of her was a crowd of people. Vampires. Each one staring at her with hunger and lust. Her body begins to shake as a Vampire that she is rather familiar with walks besides the cage, he holds a microphone in his hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, here we have an excellent specimen, never been used and even a virgin, silent and obedient" He speaks to the crowd before he stops himself to walk around her.

His words humiliating her and she's in a cage being treated as if she were nothing but an animal and maybe she was and perhaps she deserved to be there. She hadn't fought for her life like everyone else did and she has lost the light in her eyes, perhaps this was her punishment for giving up. "We'll start at fifty thousand" He begins auctioning her as if she were nothing but an object when in reality she is a person. Tuning out the calls that the Vampire crowd made, she looks at the ground with salty tears staining her eyes.

She doesn't dare to look up to see those Vampires again, she already knows that someone is going to buy her and there is nothing she can do about it. Valentina's only hope is to become the one that Dimitri said she was, silent and obedient. "Sold to our very own King" He then declares loudly which forces her to snap back into reality and look up at him. He opens the cage and she gets out. Her every movement sends waves of pain throughout her whole body.

Her gaze still on the ground as her head is down, the crowd claps and cheers but she doesn't find any of this something to celebrate. Dimitri roughly pulls her chains and leads her down three steps and to the crowd where she can hear their hunger for her blood grow. She gulps when Dimitri forces her to stop and she's in front of a man. Her gaze that still watches the ground notices shoes that could cost more than anything she's ever own combined. The pale hand of the man goes under her chin and harshly forces her to look up as his thumb has taken a tight grip on her chin that surly would leave a bruise.

Her ice blue eyes meet his scarlet red eyes that glare into hers but an eye contact has taken place. For a moment there was nothing in his eyes, they were empty and filled with death until she started seeing something. Something that she's never seen before but she has heard tales about it. She gasps out loud when she realizes it and she chants within herself that it is impossible. That the odds are unbelievable. That this man is her Mate.

Another cage has Valentina been forced into, this time with chains around her hands as well as her feet. The book she doesn't let go off in her hands. Her whole body ready to give up from hunger, pain and exhaustion. She doesn't know how long it has been since she's been in this cage. They had been on the move for quite some time while she stared at the ground but then they stopped and nothing has happened since. Her mind that was once empty is now a tornado with thoughts that hang over like a dark cloud.

Valentina had found her Mate. A Vampire but he is still her Mate. However now she doubts that he is. Thinking that there is a possibility that she had got it wrong, that he wasn't her Mate at all. Vampires are knows for their manipulation of the mind and maybe that is what is happening to her. Softly sighing with sadness she stares at the iron bars of the cage. This cage is bigger than the last one but still it hurts to move and her whole body is aching with pain. The irons bars look old, she would guess about a century old by the looks of it but still in good condition.

It surprised her how the iron has not rusted even after such a long time, but in life many things come to a surprise, whether it are Mates or iron bars that don't rust or even as simple as the weather. Life screws people over with its many surprises, and for Valentina it is no different. Everything has been taken away from her. Her family, her home, her freedom. She's been sold to a Vampire that she believes is her Mate and soon she shall die in the hands of her own Mate. Life screwed her over big time.

Counting the seconds in her mind to keep her head occupied and to not wander to him or the hunger that is slowly taking over her body. For the past days she has not eaten more than a single meal each day and now that has come haunting her as everything else has. She is in another sort of wagon but she cannot be sure what kind, the darkness around her is too much for her eyes to handle and her vision is limited. There are no sounds around her, nothing comes to her ears.

Her body feels like death, she has no fill to live no longer, yet her body clings to life like it craves it. The memories will forever haunt her mind and the sorrow that has taken over her makes her want to welcome death to herself but a voice, just barely a whisper tells her to keep going and that is what she does. Keeps going. With her eyes closed she forces her body to move into another position no matter the agony and that only reminds her that the pain means she's still alive and still fighting.

She opens the book on the first page and takes a look at words that she knows by heart now. When darkness sinks its claw in you, all you have to do is fight back ~ Love dad. She has to fight, she has to listen to that small voice that whispers to her. Not just for herself but for her father, the man that sacrificed his life to safe hers, and her mother that sacrificed everything for her. She has to live so their sacrifices were not in vain, she has to live for herself.

The doors of the wagon open and a person walks in front of the cage. She doesn't look up, doesn't do anything. Makes no sounds nor does she move. However inside she's cowering in fear. Fear was the first thing that had come rushing back to her when her mind, body and soul had made the decision to fight and now it is becoming all he feels. The pain in her body numb as the fright is dominating her whole body. The cage is opened and she's dragged out. Letting out a quiet whimper when she falls down. Her legs don't have the strength anymore to keep her standing.

Holding the book like her life depends on it as she's harshly and roughly picked up from the ground and dragged. Her eyes staring at the dirt ground by her feet. The Vampire's grip so tight she bites her own lip to keep herself from crying out of pain. Anxiety goes through her like sparks of electricity that jumps around inside of her. When her head finally lifts itself up her ice blue eyes are met with a gloomy and dark castle that stands proudly in front of her.

The castle looked old, yet held its head high and stood tall. Her jaw dropped open, though she found it quite terrifying she could not help but admire the beauty of the stone carvings and the way it was structured. "Move it, Mutt" The Vampire speaks, his voice deep and rough to her ears and he pulls her even harsher than before. A quiet, almost not audible yelp escapes past her lips as she's dragged through the large wooden doors that have been opened for them, they make small cracking noise which does worry her a bit but figured it must be for they are old and heavy.

Valentina did not want to but she began seeing the stunning insides of the castle in awe and it was not like anything she had imagined for Vampires to live in. Still, she has yet to see any Vampires. They're walking in a large hallway, yet none in sight and she wonders where everyone is and if the legends of Vampires are indeed true, whether they sleep during the day and hunt while the night blazes on. In truth Werewolves are not taught about Vampires, all they know are the legends and myths.

The golden haired girl stares at paintings on the walls with an unsure mind. The paintings were all dark and gloomy, people with sad faces, none smiling and to her it looked miserable and lost, yet the artists talented and she does admire that. The Vampire suddenly stops in front of double doors which are painted in the deepest red she's ever seen and hand painted pictures of things that she can't figure out what are but her mind has come to agree to the fact that it does look beautiful. The castle and everything she's seen so far is all neat and clean.

Bringing the realization that there are Vampires around or were just a couple of hours ago. The door slowly began to open inwards and inside is nothing but darkness and the sun does not shine there that much. Having a hard time seeing the fear begins to sink further into her body and as the Vampire drags her inside she begins to shake violently with terror all through her body. The darkness swallowing them whole. Behind her the doors close binding even more blackness to her. Having a hard time breathing she looks down to the ground yet sees nothing, not even her own feet.

Darkness holds her tightly in a hug that never seems to come to an end. Valentina feels as if her whole existence has shrunk in size and that she's lost and all alone in the world. Yet, the Vampire holding her and the pain that has almost because numb is a reminder that she's not alone, not completely but he is one that would much more see her dead than alive. Stopping in his tracks, the Vampire removes his grip and she can hear his footsteps walk away from her.

She felt the fear closing on her, controlling how she moved and lived, she felt as if she were all alone in the world and death was soon to take over. Yet somehow she knows she was not alone wherever she was. She can feel someone stare at her, making her heart beat faster than it has done before, her heart has been a beating mess these past couple of hours, never seem to get rest. Afraid to use her other eyes to see, she just stands there in the darkness, looking down afraid to face whatever or whoever it is she feels stare at her.

The ice blue-eyed girl has figured out that she's not alone in there because there is a faint sound coming to her ears yet she's unsure of what it is, it could very well be her own breath as she pants. As the fear continues to creep through her whole body, mind and soul, her breath had become short pantings, as if her lungs aren't strong enough to hold any air inside of them, almost as if they are closing in on themselves. This feeling doesn't feel good to her and the fear, the sorrow and pain never leaving her alone has become quite exhaustive and overwhelming.

"What is your name, Mutt?!" I loud, proud male voice speaks all around her, she can feel the radiating power and her instantly skips a beat, the voice of her own Mate. She looks up from the ground and stares into the darkness in front of her, never knowing if it she's in front of him or not as his voice had echoes throughout the room they're in. By the echo she had come to realize that it's a large room. With her whole body shaking she takes a deep breath, not minding the pain at all.

"V-Valentina" She hesitantly answers but is proud to have spoken. Her voice has been so lost this whole time and with fright terrorizing her body she did not know she would be able to speak at all. The insides of her body feel like they've been tied together in a knot with anxiety. A low sound comes from the man's throat. "Valentina" He speaks, testing her name and it rolls perfectly off his tongue as if it was made for him alone to say it.

Her body longing to hear him say it again as it feels right when it comes from his lips. "Now, Valentina, from this day on you are nothing, your life means nothing and your whole existence is nothing" He says before stopping. She can already feel her heart shatter within her chest as she's forced to hear those words, wanting nothing more for them to be lies that he would soon take back. Valentina cannot deny how much power goes through her when she hears him speak and with so much authority that is makes her cower in fear of him.

The familiar salty fears stinging her eyes and almost like her body has suffered through the physical pain of being stabbed by dozen knives is what her body is feeling. It's unbearable and for her to be standing like that, taking it and bearing it without flinching or moving shows how brave she is. Footsteps walking over to her come to her ears as she shivers in fear, her whole body shaking and her head goes down, looking at the darkness on the ground instead. She feels him drawing closer to her and her body aches to be with him but her mind shoots it down like she had shot a bird from a gun and it has now fallen prey to death.

An ice-cold hand grabs her hair and forces her to look up and still the darkness does not allow her to see. "Make no mistake, you are a Slave now, my Slave and I will do whatever I please with you. Kill you? You might think..." He trails off, his voice sending chills down her body as one salty tear escapes from her eye and silently rolls down her face. He scoffs. "No, I won't kill you. Not yet. I have other uses for you now" He speaks then cruelly laughing.

His evil laugh makes her wince out as if she were in pain. His hands still holding her hair yet the pain does not seem to hurt her for the agony inside is much more present and painful than that of the physical one. With one quick move he throws her backwards and she lands harshly and loudly on her back. Her head smashing against the stone ground. A yelp escapes past her lips as the agonizing pain sparks through her like electricity. Her head pounding with pure pain and agony.

Footsteps draw closer to her and she hears him bend down at her level as she still lays unmoving on the ground with tears streaming down her cheeks and blood rushing out from the back of her head. A drop of her blood lands on his hand when he holds it out. The man brings it to his lips and she can hear him lightly moan. "Delicious" He whispers into her ear as he stands up and walks away, hearing his echoing footsteps then come to a stop she sits up.

Valentina's body in is aching with screaming pain and she has a hard time moving without feeling a wave of pain hit her. "Now, get it out of my sight!" He coldly says. She feels strong and rough arms take her hand and force her to stand. Biting her own inner cheek to keep herself from crying out in pure pain. The Vampire she would assume drags her backwards and she has a hard time walking as the pain in her back makes her legs feel numb. It isn't until doors open and the light from the sun welcomes her with open arms that she can see.

Her eyes however, have been in the darkness for some time and the light only blinds her and she forces them to be half open to get used to the sun's rays that are going higher with every minute of the new day. She's dragged the same hallways back and her eyes are on the ground as he heard feels as heavy as a gigantic rock has replaced it. Her ice blue eyes get adjust to the light yet black spots have taken over her vision and are multiplying with every second and dance a mocking dance on her vision.