C H A P T E R 17

Valentina Dove Blackclaw

ice blue eyes softly open by the sunlight, groaning she lifts her head up to see that she's laying under the sunlight and that she is laying on something rather comfortable. In deep confusion Valentina tries to sit up but her body is still too weak and she ends up just laying again. Looking around herself to see that everything is as it was before yet all the blood that used to be there because of when he killed that Vampire and her own blood, that has all vanished as if it weren't there at all.

She doesn't hear a sound then again her mind is rather hazy and her vision is a bit blurry from both looking into the sunlight and waking up. Her whole body feels so light yet so heavy at the same time and the weakness is hard to have in her body. Turning her head she notices on her right is a bowl of strawberries. Smiling to herself she forces her hand up to pick a strawberry up and bring it to her mouth to eat it.

Even the smallest thing as a strawberry feels heavy in her hand but the taste of it and the hunger makes all of that wash away from her as she slowly eats one at a time. It doesn't go past her that she is out there in the sun with strawberries, it does make her confused but she knows that she should not question it. She almost died and now she's being rewarded for it. Perhaps she now realizes what an actually Blood Slave is supposed to do and what her purpose from now on will be and how her life means nothing at all, only the blood running through her veins.

Not wishing to bring her further down she continues to eat the strawberries under the heating sun that warms her body yet even with the blazing sun on top of her she still feels the shivers run up and down her whole body and it makes her feel cold and freezing. Once the strawberries have all been eaten by Valentina she turns her head to look into the sun with closed eyes and let's out a soft sigh, not knowing when she will ever feel the sun on her skin again and feeling the hot rays kiss her cheeks.

"Why did you do this?" She asks as she could feel him watching her through the tent, somehow through all of this the Mate bond is growing stronger and maybe... just maybe he will be able to feel it too. But she can feel when he's close to her and she doesn't know if that is a bad thing or a good one or perhaps both. "Just because I do not show the same kindness as your kind would does not mean I am not capable" He speaks to her and it was as if those words hurt to speak.

Smiling she turns her head and opens her eyes to look at his shadow in the tent. Knowing that he nor anyone can hurt her out there. "That is true, perhaps I was wrong" She says as her ice blue eyes look at the shadow. It does not move yet she can almost feel his scarlet red eyes staring deep into her soul yet she cannot be sure if he is looking at her or not. "Some say it takes courage for a woman to admit she is wrong" He tells her with a chuckle which only makes Valentina roll her eyes.

"And others say that it takes a true man to admit that a woman is always right" She says with a smirk knowing that he can't see it and does praise to that. Yet at the same time wanting to see how his face is, also because she likes to look at him. He might be a Vampire yet she does find him attractive and she should for he is her Mate after all and there should be nothing wrong with her admiring his looks.

Chuckling at her words he moves around, most likely to get into a better position. "Do you ever sleep?" She blurts out before she could even stop herself from asking, earning yet another chuckle coming out of him. She has seen him asleep yet she is positive that he has been awake all night and has not slept all day (as it is around mid-afternoon) which means he is close to not have slept in twenty-four hours. "Every now and then, only when I wish to sleep" He answers but she gets the feeling that there is something more to it than that, something that he's not telling her about.

"Do you ever get tired?" She asks, finding herself wanting to get to know him. It is the only thing that will keep her entertained as she can barely move her body and it doesn't look like she will be going anywhere any time soon. "Yes" He answers. Perhaps it was his one word answer or the dark tone that he used but she decided to not question it further. "I used to run free in the forest when I was younger..." She starts. Realizing that she has not spoken much about her.

"My father and I used to wake up early in the morning, just as the sun was coming up and watch the sunrise before we would run and be free and alive" She says as tears prick her eyes speaking about her father whom she loved so much. "I remember that I used to run through the trees and letting the Wolf be free and wild" She tells him. "A child Werewolf, never seen one before" He speaks his thoughts she would assume and she chuckles. "There is little Vampires know about your kind" He then adds.

"We are born as Werewolves, it is in our blood. The Wolf is apart of us and we call it half-shift when the Wolf takes control yet not fully. The Wolf is inside of us, and we can use it and we can control it like to see in the dark we can use the Wolf vision and when we want our hearing can become heightened along with all the other senses. But it is not until we are thirteen that the first shift takes place where the Wolf form comes out and the human one stays dormant like the Wolf does most of the time" She tells him.

Not even knowing why she is telling him about her kind, yet she owes it to him as he is her Mate that he knows exactly what she is. It is true, Werewolves do not know much about Vampires except that they are blood thirsty and merciless and Vampires know little or nothing at all about Werewolves except their blood gives them great power and that is why they are enslaving her kind, that she has not forgotten. "Turning into a Wolf on the thirteenth birthday is an honor for us and is celebrated" She continues.

"But for some that doesn't happen... for me..." She ends as the water in her eyes rolls down the sides of her face and mix in with her golden blonde hair. "I do not understand" He says after a couple of minutes have passed as she silently cried though she did get the feeling that he knew that she was crying. "I have never fully turned into my Wolf" She admits the words that she has never spoken out loud before without one of her parents being there to support her through it.

"Not turning or shifting as we call it is often frowned upon for some believe we are not Wolves but shadows of a Wolf. If it were not for my status I would have been made Rouge a long time ago" She tells him. Valentina knows deep down that she can trust him, he is her Mate and she is supposed to be able to trust him with all yet he is still a Vampire that only wants her blood and as much as it saddens her to think about the fact that the blood she has in her veins in the only reason he has kept her alive yet there is a part of her that wishes there were other reasons.

Vladimir does not speak for a moment and neither does she and she finds herself enjoying the silence but she also likes to talk to him. They may challenge each other like their species always have done yet at the end of the day the two only grow closer to each other the more they learn about each other and she truly wants him to know who she is without even knowing what the reason for it might be, why she suddenly has the urge to speak about her life and the things that are too hard to speak about.

"An Alpha's daughter?" He then asks her and she makes a soft humming sound to let him know that he did guess correctly. "It was only recently that the title was taken away from me and my mother and I were made Omegas which are the lowest ranks and barely even considered part of the Pack. I believe we were about to get thrown out and made Rouges until I was taken. I do not know what life I would have liked better, this one or the one of a Rouge for both are equally as miserable" She tells him.

The tears are softly falling down her face and getting mixed into her hair and also on a soft pillow that her head lies on. She knew very well that he did not know what a Rouge was yet she did not feel like explaining it or anything else for it was too emotional. She did not realize that speaking about this would make Valentina remember the painful memories of all that has happened to her in only a short period of time.

Her father's death and her title and status stripped away and thrown into nothing and then the attack on the Pack and her mother's death and then there is the pain in those days that she spent in the dungeon which still haunts her to this day (even when it has not been that long since it happened) and now the pain of feeding Vampires left and right. The pain is unbearable for her and her heart is in agony because of the memories that she wishes she could forget but she can't, ever.

Memories like that will forever haunt her until she draws her very last breath. "A Vampire being born is not like one might think" He suddenly speaks and her head turns towards the tent to see his shadow and it seems that he has gone closer to the tent walls, to be closer to her? She doesn't know. "At first the child is human, in the womb until the mother is fed Vampire Blood from two Vampires both male and female and that child will turn into their child and be born a Vampire" he tells her and she furrows her eyebrows at the tent shadow.

She did not know this yet then again she knows rather little about Vampires as they are not one for sharing, mainly killing and slaughtering. "Once the child is born the human mother dies and the child drinks its blood and only then can they grow in their canines or as fangs as some might call them. And once the child is born the Vampire parents leave the child alone and never see it again. It must survive on its own" Vladimir says and she light gasps when the information sinks into her.

Valentina had no idea that Vampires had it so tough, that he had it so tough. Perhaps this does explain his cruel behavior as he has never held the loving hand of a mother and the protective hand of a father and never felt the love of family. She understands now how he has suffered when he did not even know himself that he has suffered. Not knowing if this was the Mate bond or her actual genuine feelings but tears rolled down the sides of her face, she cried for him and his life and how he has never been loved.

Not like she has been for she had her loving parents and their family stood by one another through all until that tragedy when her father fell in battle and while he should've been honored, his memory and his family was shunned and disowned. She didn't know what to say and neither did she feel like she had to say anything to him for the silence was better and she understand that it may be painful for him and she respects that. Like he had stayed silent after she had shared the painful experience in her life so that is what she did, stayed silent. For him and for herself.

The dusk came rather quickly and it was not before the sun had set that he finally walked out of his tent after having sitting there this entire time. Valentina did not know if he did it for her or not but deep down inside she believed that he did stay on the ground for her to keep her company and make her comfortable, even when he could not be near her as the sun was still out to play yet now that the sun has lowered herself and no longer shines he comes out to play instead.

His scarlet red eyes stare down at her as he bends down to pick up the empty bowl and brings it inside the tent and only a minute or so passes before he walks out with the bowl filled with strawberries. He sets it down beside her. She watches him as he does this and when neither of them spoke she felt that he knew she was grateful and she truly was. Of course she is grateful even when she doesn't know why he does this for her.

Just as her hand was about to reach for the bowl his hands go under her lower back and her neck and pull her into a sitting position. The action shocks her and she lets out a small yelp. He keeps her like that when she feels like she will not be able to support her own weight, then again she did lose almost every drop of blood in her body and it will take some time to regain her blood and strength. She looks up to meet his eyes. Scarlet red to ice blue. And then she smiles at him.

In her small panic attack she did not realize that he was trying to make it better for her to eat and to make her comfortable. She softly nods at him to thank him and even when no words are exchanged between the two she knows that she understands him and he understands her. Perhaps it was the bond that was forming for perhaps it was something else, she did not know and neither did she care what it was. The golden haired girl reaches for the bowl and takes a strawberry and lifts it to her mouth to eat.

Her fingers and hands are shaking from weakness but she tries to steady them as much as she can yet finds herself failing to do that. His hands hold her in this position and not once does she feel uncomfortable or even awkward at all. In the back of her mind she wonders how his fingers would feel on her bare skin, at least when he's not slicing her and hurting her but more gentle. Those thoughts are nothing but fiction which she can only dream of becoming reality as he does not even see her in the way that she is starting to see him.

"Why?" She suddenly asks without meaning too. Valentina has finished half of the strawberries and then she had looked at him and asked that simple question. When looking into his scarlet red eyes she can't see what he is feeling or she doesn't know how to read into it but she can see that there is something there. "I cannot have my Blood Slave die on me when I have paid great money for it" He speaks and just like that she feels her heart fall down and she returns to square one.

The golden haired girl doesn't let him know that his words hurt her as she looked away and picked up another strawberry to eat in silence once again. His word did sting her yet she chose not to believe them for she can't possibly believe that the only reason that he is doing this so that he could have her blood later on, he does care for her. Even if he doesn't know it yet but he shared something deep and personal and that step can't be taken back and while she doesn't know what it means she has all the intention of fighting to find out.

Once she has finished all the strawberries in the bowl she finally turns to face him to see him deep in thoughts yet his eyes are on her and it seems that they have not left and have been there for some time. "Can I lie down again?" She quietly asks and it appears to break him out of his thoughts as he sharply nods and then lays her gently down to the mattress she found it was, the same mattress that was on the bed in his tent. Once she has her head laid down she looks up at the night sky.

A soft smile on her face as she looks up to see the cloud free sky and how the pitch black of the night has taken over yet through that the beauty of the stars and the beauty of that moon that stands proudly in the sky. The sparkles make her feel like she is in a dream and the magic makes her feel like she is in a fairy tale where all ends in a happy ending while her life does not, the things that she has been through and knows she will be going through all point to the opposite of a happy ending.

"I love to watch the starlit sky, it is so magical and so freeing" She whispers as he lies down next to her on the grass and stares up at the same sky as she does. The smile only brightens on her face as he does this. "One might think the full moon would be your worst enemy" He says and she lightly giggles. Rolling her eyes at the silly myths of her kind that Vampires as well as other species have created that will only make her laugh at how ridiculous they are.

"Werewolves don't shift turning a full moon or they can but that can also happen every night or day. For those who can shift they can choose to do whenever they want. It has nothing to do with the moon at all, despite the stories, myths and legends the moon has nothing to do with our shifting. The moon however is connected to our religion yet that is another matter" She speaks quietly to him. Not once does she look at him as her eyes are focused on the starry sky yet she could feel his gaze on her.

"Tell me" He speaks, his voice was an ordering one and yet she found it gentle and almost soft. Smiling she turns her head to look at him. "Why would you wish to know about Werewolf religion?" She asks him, knowing that a Vampire would believe it to be stupid and would most likely make fun out of it and dismiss it. "Does one need a reason for curiosity?" He asks back with a smirk. Valentina rolls her ice blue eyes as she looks once more at the night sky, sighing.

"We have a God and a Goddess in our religion, our ancestors called them the Fates while we call them Lycan and The Moon Goddess. Lycan is the God that we gave us the ability to transform from a human to a Wolf and some say that he once was a Werewolf. He is believed to be the first Alpha and all Alphas are his direct descendant and would be considered royalty. Lycan is the one we are raised to respect while The Moon Goddess is the one that we have learned to love and look up to" She begins explain in the way that he would understand, not going deep into the subject.

"The Moon Goddess gave us the ability to have separate thoughts and urges as one of a Wolf is only kill the human is more gentler. She is also the one that saw how Werewolves were sad and created the Soulmates or Mates as we call them to her we owe all for without the Soulmate we are nothing more than a hollow shell. The Moon Goddess is the one that lives as spirit inside the moon and some believe that one day she will come to us in the hour of need" She finishes.

Fearing that he would laugh and say it was stupid and ridiculous she doesn't dare face him and Valentina knows that he will most likely bury her beliefs deep into the ground where she will have hard time digging them up if she will be able to that is. "Vampires have no such Gods" He slowly whispers to her, his soft voice was low and it was barely a whisper but she did hear him and once again her heart went out for him, for once again he has suffered. All need something to believe in something to pray.

Without hesitation she begins to move her hand closer to him and when she finds his hands she takes it and squeezes (not hard as she is too weak). Valentina's attempts to make him feel better or at least feel something at all. Realizing that she isn't the only one that has suffered a lot as he has been suffering for a long time and will maybe be suffering for a long time after this moment yet while this might be something temporary she can only hope it will become something more.