As soon as Ava stepped into her room, her stomach growled loudly, causing Sebastian to cackle. "Shut up!" I growled at him, annoyed. I moved toward the bathroom, closed the door behind me, and started to undress.
"I can steal some food for you, Ava," Sebastian suddenly said, his voice low as if he was eating something. "When you and Alex were protesting, I stole some plates of chicken. I knew you would be hungry."
"Well, aren't you the helpful one?" I chuckled, amused by his resourcefulness. I took a quick shower and then found a pair of shorts and a black shirt in the closet. It seemed like the people who lived here must have worn these.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I tied my hair into a ponytail. Sebastian opened his mouth to say something but then hesitated. "You're putting on shorts?" he finally spoke up. I nodded in response. "You can't dress that way. It's considered unfeminine."
"Why is that?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Sebastian shrugged, not knowing the exact reason. "I've just heard that it's seen as not very feminine."
"I am not a lady, Sebastian," I smiled, looking at myself in the mirror. I chose these clothes specifically for mobility, as I planned on breaking out of here today. Feeling suffocated in this place, with Sebastian's help, I knew it would be easier. "Being more like a man."
"A weak man," he muttered, and I turned around, scowling at him. "Forgive me, milady, but everyone knows humans are weak, and, well, you are weak." I snatched the plate of chicken from his hand, frowning.
"We are not weak," I tried to defend.
"You guys are," he insisted.
"We are not," I retorted, cutting a piece of chicken and dipping it into the soup before taking a bite. The taste was delightful. "Wow, the food is remarkable... I love it. To think I almost left this behind in anger."
"Thank God I was there to save it, right?" he quipped. I nodded at his question, still eating, just as the door opened. Alex stood there, and I felt frozen in place, the meat hanging mid-air, about to enter my mouth. Alex smiled when he noticed.
Curse Sebastian, making himself invisible to others. "You're eating?" Alex questioned, sounding surprised. I had nothing to say in response.
Clearing my throat, I dropped the meat back onto the plate. "I was, but not anymore."
Alex furrowed his brow. "Why?"
"Lost my appetite, I guess," I replied, dropping the plate and looking at him. "What do you want?"
"I will be heading out. Would you like to join me?" he asked.
"No," my answer was short and sharp. I could see that he wasn't pleased with it. "I have things to do, things better than having your company."
"Ava," he said, catching my attention.
"What!" I screeched.
"I love you," he declared, a smile forming on his face. "See you in the evening." With that, he stepped out and locked the door. The sound of the key turning made me frown. He was keeping me here against my will, abusing me, threatening to rape me, and then saying he loves me? Give me a break, Alex. What kind of man does that to the woman he claims to love?
Picking up the plate, I finished the food and then I looked at myself in the mirror, the blue shorts hugging my body like a second skin, and the shirt with two buttons at the front. Unfortunately, my breasts were too big for the buttons to meet, so I left them undone.
In short, these clothes seemed seductive.
"Are you going to keep staring at these clothes forever or tell me to break you out of here?" Sebastian growled tiredly at me, his gaze fixed on what I was wearing. "All women are the same."
"Excuse me!" I turned to face him properly and hissed, "Not all women are like me."
He glanced at my chest for a moment and then nodded. "Obviously. I mean... damn, Damon is a lucky bastard."
"Shut up and help me out of here," I snapped.
"Your wish is my command." Sebastian jumped to his feet and opened the door, seemingly effortlessly. If I didn't see the light emitting from his hands, I would have thought that Alex hadn't locked it. "Let's go." I nodded and followed behind him. As we moved towards the living room, it appeared to be empty. "Walk a bit faster, Ava." Following his directions, we quickly made our way to the exit.
"Wait." Sebastian passed through the door and came back. "Five men were outside, but I silenced them... Let's go."
"Wow, you're handy," I giggled as I walked behind him. He opened the door and exclaimed, "Run!" His voice startled me, and without looking around, I immediately started running. I could feel his presence behind me, and when I glanced back, I noticed up to ten men approaching. "Look ahead and keep running. Don't turn back, no matter what. When I'm done, I will come to find you."
"Thank you, Sebastian! I owe you one!!!" I yelled, my steps quickening as I entered the forest. I jumped over branches, trying to catch my breath. My legs were already giving in to fatigue, but I knew that humans weren't always weak. We could push past our limits and survive. That's what I needed to do. I didn't slow down or stop.
Looking back, I noticed three huge men chasing after me at an insanely fast speed. They must be vampires. "Stop right there!" they cried out, but I didn't heed their command. My legs hurt, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, but my determination to keep running outweighed the pain.
Suddenly, I missed a step and fell, rolling down and hitting my hand on a tree, causing it to dislocate. "Ahhh!!!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. The sound of their approaching footsteps only spurred me on. I remembered what I had been taught in my sword fighting lessons.
I stood back on my feet and forcefully hit my hand against the tree until it popped back into its normal position. I gritted my teeth and continued running, despite the pain surging through my hand, legs, and head, making it difficult to breathe. "Help!" I called out, my voice barely audible, knowing full well that no one could hear me. "Help me."
Before I could jump to the next branch, one of the men grabbed my hair, yanking me back to the ground with such force that my head hit the ground and blood gushed from my mouth. The impact had caused my back to hit one of the sharp branches lying on the ground. "Shit," one of the men mumbled. "Lord Alex won't be pleased."
"He will kill us."
"Then we should kill her, bury her, and no one will ever know," the third man suggested, and from the looks on their faces, they all agreed.
One of them grabbed me by my hair, lifting me. "Wait for me..." I barely had a chance to finish my sentence before I received a punch to my stomach, followed by another punch to my face. The pain was excruciating. Everything hurt, every blow that was being dealt to me.
Another punch landed in my stomach, causing my eyes to close. Was this death? Was I dying now?
Suddenly, I felt a presence near me. The men released their grip on my hair, and I collapsed to the ground. I could barely see, but I could make out a figure wearing black. They had black hair, towering over me. They looked intimidating, and I watched in a daze as they tore the men to pieces before everything went black, and I passed out.
Grant remained still, his eyes fixed on Damon as he cut those men into tiny pieces. Whenever Damon was in this form, there were no words that could be said. Grant could only watch in awe as Damon moved towards Ava. His body trembled with a mix of emotions as he slowly bent down.
Damon gathered Ava in his arms, and for the first time in Grant's life, he saw a tear fall from Damon's eyes as he cried out in anger.
This was not over. Whoever did this would pay. Damon wasn't someone to back down, and I wasn't someone who would stand idly by and not witness justice being served.
Grant's gaze didn't waver from Damon. "What an interesting world," he mumbled to himself, a small smile forming on his lips. Things were certainly heating up.