Alina
I woke up in a dark and cold place. Somehow, I ended up loosing consciousness along the way. Now, I was in a completely unknown place, with my body dangling like a piece of meat at the butcher’s shop. My hands were tied with an iron chain, right above my head while my body was left to hang, causing my shoulders to ache.
I looked around and realized I was in some sort of dungeon. It was cold and dark and probably humid too. It almost hurt to even breathe in this place.
I closed my eyes as I thought back to Namjoon. When I saw him get bitten to protect me, I felt my heart stop. I hated seeing him in so much pain, it almost felt like I was the one hurting him. Yet, I had no other choice. I had to hurt him to heal him – to burn the venom out of his system before it could spread and kill him. I knew he would forgive me for that.
I wondered about the others too, hoping they found Namjoon. I knew they would not stop until they found me, but that still worried me. I wasn’t sure where I was but I knew I had to be in their territory, which meant a lot of vampires and with me being tied like this, I can’t be much help.
I heard the door open and I opened my eyes to see three vampires entering the room. I blinked as I looked at their clothing which looked… well, rather old or odd.
The three of them stopped and two more followed who stood at the back. They seemed to be “on guard” as if I could do much with my hand tied like this. One of the three stepped forward and smirked.
‘Hello Alina Solis. My name is Dimitri. These are Alexei and Piotr,’ Dimitri said, pointing to the other two. All three of them looked somewhat similar, as if they share the same genes or something. Maybe they were siblings.
‘You know who I am,’ I said, trying to hide away my fear. Dimitri smirked as he stepped even closer.
‘I like to know who I am surrounded with. A healer and bender like yourself is noteworthy,’ Dimitri said.
‘Brother, why won’t we just end her? She killed too many of our own already,’ Piotr said, rather angrily, causing me to gulp.
‘Patience brother,’ Alexei said, raising his hand in the air. ‘This witch deserves to suffer,’ he added.
‘You killed four of our own in town last time and another three today,’ Dimitri said.
‘I would not have had to kill them if they did not kill those innocent women or attack me and my mate,’ I said, unable to let go of the fire inside of me.
‘Touché Alina,’ Dimitri said. ‘It’s too bad really because you are quite the fight but I am afraid my brothers are right. You will be punished and then killed,’ he said.
‘You’re making a mistake coming after me,’ I said, deciding to take the plunge and leap.
‘Is that so Miss Solis?’ Alexei asked with a smirk of his own. ‘And why is that?’ he asked.
‘I have seven werewolf mates. What do you think is going to happen now that you’ve taken me hmm?’ I asked. ‘Do you think they will sit idly by? Because let me assure you, they won’t. They will come for me and they will rip you to shreds,’ I said.
‘Maybe they will come but this place is full of vampires willing to die for the three of us Alina,’ Dimitri said.
‘Besides, by the time they will come, you would have already tasted the fires of hell. Your body will ache and your voice will go sore with your screaming,’ Piotr said.
The door opened and a woman walked in. She was tall, with beautiful, long and curly red hair. Her skin was white like porcelain and her eyes were deadly.
‘This is Anya. She’s our eldest and most proficient torturer. You may want to know that you kill her two sisters when you killed those vampires in town,’ Alexei said.
‘Like I said, they were killing innocent people. They needed to be stopped,’ I said, sounding more confident than I felt. In truth, I was terrified. I did not know how I was going to be able to deal with the pain.
‘I don’t care about silly, pathetic, weak humans but I loved my sisters. We’ve experienced centuries together and you took it away from me. You took them away from me!’ Anya said, remaining composed even if she was running on heightened emotions.
‘Do as you please with her Anya, but do not kill her. I have other plans on what to do with her,’ Dimitri said with a wicked smile that made me feel even more scared.
Anya nodded as the others left the room, leaving me alone with Anya. Anya smiled as she went to the door and closed it. She walked towards the table and opened a wooden box. She turned back to me, still smirking.
‘I have been waiting for days to get my hands on you Alina,’ she said. I tilted my head and scoffed.
‘Why don’t you admit that you’re scared of me Anya,’ I said. Anya laughed before she slapped me hard. My face turned sideways with the impact but I still turned to look at her.
‘Me? Scared of you? Either you’re more stupid than I thought or you’re crazy,’ she said.
‘Tell me how you’re not a coward when you’re the one standing there while I am here, tied up. You know just as much as I do that if I am released from these bindings, it’s game over for you. I can end you with a snap of my finger,’ I said. I was not about to show this * any fear.
‘Maybe, but then again, I can’t let you have the advantage, can I?’ Anya said as she reached me. She grabbed my face, her fingers digging into my cheeks. She turned my face and traced my marks with her fingers. ‘Seems like two of your mates marked you already. I wonder if they can feel your pain from so far away,’ she said.
‘Leave them out of this Anya. I’m the one who killed those leeches, not them,’ I said, not wanting her to go after them. I saw her eyes flash red as her hand connected to my face once more. I felt my lip get busted as blood came out of it. I looked up and saw her going back to her box.
She had her back to me and I tried to struggle against the iron chain. ‘It’s useless to try and struggle against that,’ Anya said, turning back to me with a dagger in her hand.
I gulped slightly as she approached me. She smirked as she moved quickly and tore my shirt right from the middle. She removed my shirt completely, leaving me in my bra and pants.
‘I got to admit, you’re pretty hot. It’s a pity that I will have to carve up that body of yours,’ she said as she used her dagger to do a cut on my stomach.
‘Ahh!’ I cried out while I tried to muffle my screams. I did not want to give her that satisfaction but I was not sure if I was going to be able to hold it together.
‘You just… you just like torturing others. This isn’t about your sisters at all,’ I said. Anya laughed while she shrugged.
‘Don’t misunderstand Alina. I loved my sisters. I spent centuries with them, but you’re right, I do enjoy torturing others,’ she said as she made another cut, this time right below my collarbone.
‘Do you…do you think you’re the first one to torture me Alina?’ I asked as she looked at me curiously. ‘I’ve seen my family murdered. I’ve been raped, kidnapped, humiliated and beaten. You’re just another one who hides behind violence to mask their own insecurities,’ I said.
‘You’ve got a mouth on you, I’ll give you that. Maybe I should cut off your tongue,’ she said as she did another cut on my tummy.
‘Ahhh!!’ I screamed as she did another one on my arm, followed by another on my thigh. Anya giggled to herself as she went to the table once more. I heard her put the dagger down as she returned to me.
‘You are quite strong Alina. I have to admit that. Others would already be begging me to stop by now,’ she said.
‘I’d rather die than beg to you,’ I said. She laughed before I felt her fist connect to my face. I felt more blood dripping from my mouth.
‘I know which makes this more enjoyable dearest Alina,’ Anya said as she punched me again and again.
‘When I get out of these chains, I’m going to kill you,’ I said.
‘Good luck with that,’ she said.
She finally stopped, leaving me alone in the room while I still dangled. Every part of my body hurt – either a constant ache or a burning sensation. I knew I lost blood from the cuts.
I heaved, finding it hard to breathe. A tear rolled down my cheek as I finally let myself get emotional – as I finally let myself feel vulnerable. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go to my boys.
Suddenly, a blue light attracted my attention. I turned my head towards it and gasped. I saw it move quickly and as it closed in, i could hear the fluttering of tiny wings. I gasped as I recognized her.
‘Żafira,’ I whispered as she came in front of me. She looked worried as she looked at me.
‘Alina. You’re hurt,’ she mumbled as her tears were already falling. I tried to smile at her, to try and reassure her. Fairies always got emotional really, really quickly.
‘Żafira, I’ll be okay. What are you doing here?’ I asked, making sure I was not being loud. I could not afford to be heard right now.
‘I saw them taking you so I followed. I never forgot that time when you saved me when I got trapped,’ she said.
‘You shouldn’t be here Żafira. They could hurt you or kill you,’ I said but she pouted.
‘I may be small but I am not that easy to kill Alina. I want to help you,’ she said, still pouting. I sighed but then smiled.
‘Okay. I know a way you can help me,’ I said to which she looked at me. ‘Find my boys. Tell them where I am and how to prepare. Warn them that there are a lot of vampires here and they need to be careful,’ I said.
‘I can do that,’ Żafira said excitedly. ‘I will be as fast as I can Alina,’ she said. I nodded as she flew off out of the window, disappearing the same way she came in.
I smiled, feeling hopeful. My boys would never give up on me and this, this gave them exactly what they needed to find me.
