Blood Thirsty Monster

Chapter 5 Blood Thirsty Monster

DIONY’S EMPIRE

ATARIAH’S POV

“Would you like to take a walk?” My maid, Damila, asked in her meek tone.

I remained seated like a statue, unblinking with my eyes glued to the window. I hear Damila’s footsteps come closer. “You have been maintaining this position for days. Your bones might start to cramp.”

I scoffed, “Wouldn’t that be better? It’s not as if my life has any good use here.”

“Don’t talk like that, my lady. There is always a reason to be grateful. Who would have thought I would be here serving you and not in the dark cell waiting to be snatched up as food?” She had a look in her eyes that I couldn’t quite decipher. Damila has had it since we got acquainted. She knows something I do not, but I do not intend to pry.

“Damila, don’t you get it? This entire empire is a trap hole for us humans. There is nothing to be joyful about. It is a nightmare. Not too long ago, I was thinking about how to get my life together. But here I am trapped in a soulless house that belongs to a monster who would snap me into two whenever he feels the urge.” I seethed at the reminder of that bastard who had me flying in the hall with my back hitting the wall.

Damila held up a small smile. “You are his long-awaited mate, my lady. The Alpha King will never hurt you. He is bound to protect you whether he likes it or not.”

I rolled my eyes at the mention of Alpha King. King of monsters is what he is to me. He is a mere bloodthirsty monster. “That is bullcrap. He wouldn’t have sent those monsters after me if he had not intended to hurt me. He doesn’t like my kind, so he should allow me to go freely. And stop calling me my lady. I am nobody’s lady. My name is Atariah.”

She blushed, tucking a loose hair strand behind her ear like I had said something romantic. “You will have to pardon me, my lady. I am not allowed to call you by your name. You are the Alpha King’s mate, which means you must be revered as he is.”

“Fuck all the damned rules,” I said, kissing my teeth.

Silence reigned between us; I could see the conflict in her eyes like she wanted to say something. Damila is one of the most intelligent teenagers I have ever met in my entire life. The way she speaks, one would almost doubt her age. I try not to act dismissive whenever she gives an opinion. After all, she has been here long before me. I was about to tell her to let whatever was on her mind, but she beat me to it; sitting on the plush rug, she took my feet in her palm, placed it on her thigh, and began massaging it. I tried to snatch my leg back, but surprisingly, she had a firm grip.

“What are you doing, Damila?” I questioned, slouching my shoulders.

She stared up at me with warmth in her eyes. She is so positive in a loophole like this one; we are both in, which stuns me. “The moon celebration is in the next three days. You will get to feel the affection of the Alpha king by then. The beauty of these people who are quite different from us is that the mate bond binds them. They have no choice but to love the one the gods chose for them.”

“I doubt that is ever going to happen between us. I will be damned to let a monster share anything with me. Also, what is it with this moon celebration anyway?”

“I heard that the lunar energy strengthens the bond between the Alpha king and his mate. Also, there is increased passion, which attracts you to him. I hear it is usually the best time to consummate your bond.”

At her words, I had goosebumps on my arms. I tried not to imagine being with the monster. I can’t say what I might do to myself if any intimacy happened between us.

“Well, I hope he keeps his distance from me forever.” I fumed.

Damila thinned her lips with a faded smile. “It’s understandable.” She mumbled, putting my leg back down. “I will go and prepare dinner now. Why don’t you walk around the house? Maybe you will find something to interest you.”

“Why don’t I just join you to make dinner? I doubt anything can draw me close in this house.”

“You never know.” She grinned. “Also, I will get punished if you are in the kitchen with me. I can’t risk getting caught with slacking off. I will leave you to tour the house.” She bowed slightly as she got up and hurried out.

I blinked, wondering if I said something I shouldn’t have. After staring intently at the window for another five minutes, I decided to take Damila’s advice and tour the house. I haven’t seen much of the house since I woke up. I stepped out of the room and heard Damila’s movements in the kitchen downstairs. My room is before the stairs, instead of taking the few steps down to see her regardless of her warning. I explored the rest of the hallway to avoid getting her in trouble.

The saying that when life throws you a lemon, you make lemonade should be refracted. With my current state of life, I have been handed hard rock lemons that refuse to be juiced. I thought I was on the verge of escaping to freedom. I already plotted my autobiography in my head. Letting my fellow humans know that we are at risk of extinction because of some monsters who think they have a right over our lives. After passing out in the woods in my attempt to run off, I didn’t know I would be alive. Embracing darkness in a place like the Diony Empire should mean death. I would have found peace in that, better than expecting someone to turn me into their dinner someday. I had woken up to find myself in a room larger than my living room and a room put together back at home. It wasn’t until I stepped out of it that the state I was in dawned on me.

It is a house completely different from the one I ran away from. A few guards lingered around, protecting the space. I have only read of mansions looking haunted, only to find myself living in one. There doesn’t seem to be any life in it. Nothing in it feels homely. Hearing that the king monster lives here isn’t so baffling. Only someone like him, whose soul is probably cursed, would comfortably settle in a lifeless house. The only streak of light in my doomed life is Damila—the malnourished girl who had spoken to me in the dungeon where all humans were locked up.

It appears the King Monster has a sense of reasoning after all. I woke up to find her next to me, saying she had been aside as my maid. I couldn’t be more grateful. I probably would have lost my mind if one of them had been sent to look after me. At least with Damila, I know I wouldn’t be eating a human or some raw blood, even though my appetite hasn’t been good lately. I would be shocked if I had any form of appetite living here.

It’s been almost a week since someone brought me here, and I still haven’t seen the King Monster. Damila said he hadn’t been in the house. I can’t tell if he is avoiding me or hates my existence so much that he wouldn’t mind forfeiting his home to keep his distance from me. I couldn’t understand why there was so much hatred towards my being.

Damila eventually told me that he hates humans because our ancestors had killed his family. The dude is centuries old and still holding a grudge. Heck! I don’t even know who birthed me, and I am not angry that they abandoned me in the arms of strangers to look after me. He is such a sulker. Or maybe I am being unreasonable. No one should be told how to manage their emotions towards something as a painful memory. All the same, why take your anger out on generations? The humans aren’t granted immortality, something he has, and yet he won’t stop enslaving them. From what Damila told me, the humans are barely fed. It’s no wonder she is grateful to be out of the dungeon.

I think it is better if he admits that he and his fellow bloodsuckers need a permanent food bank. I detest him and every one of his folks who believe humans are toys.

My legs halted in front of a strange-looking door with ancient carvings. It’s the only thing that has pulled my attention since I started walking through the hallway that seemed unending. The hallway appears to harbor secrets that can only be heard by the one living there. I couldn't figure out which room the king monster stayed in. Probably this is the one. I know stepping back and leaving the door to itself is advisable. But I have never been the type to back away easily. Curiosity continuously gnaws at my heart.

Pushing the door open, I gasped loudly at the books on different shelves. Surprisingly, it is an in-house library. What caught my attention the most was the large book with a strange cover and unreadable writings, sitting pretty on a book stand. It made me wonder why it was a standalone and not on the shelf like the others. Glancing back at the door, I felt the urge to back away, but I stayed back.

Gulping hard, I reached for the book; it almost dropped off my hand due to its heaviness. I sat on one of the chairs and opened it. The first page had me reeling in shock. It was a history book of the generations that existed centuries before. From the first page, I was glued to the introduction of all the varying beings and their respective strengths. My eyes rounded like saucers when I saw the page about angels. I thought they were a myth, but I am reading about their existence on Earth. Each creature has a birthmark, and I was shocked to see the same mark as the one on my lower belly behind me. Wings.

I had to take a moment to reflect. Is there a possibility that I am an angel? The question caused me to laugh like a maniac. There is no way that is the case. It’s no doubt a tattoo that my birth mother must have found intriguing. I stared at the page again, and even though I wanted to turn away from it badly, I found it irresistible to back away from.

“My lady?” I hear Damila call from outside.

I slammed the book shut at her voice, blinking in confusion about putting it back where I met it or hiding it under my oversized shirt. On another thought, there is a chance I might not be able to come back here as freely as I am now. What if the king monster returns and bans me to my room? I should also be scared about what he might do if he finds out I took his book.

“My lady.” She called out again.

My heart thumped fearfully. How bad can it be? It’s a library, after all, and I am just borrowing a book. Making up my mind, I quickly hid the book in my shirt and hurried out before she could get to me.

“I am coming,” I yelled, feeling heavy from the book weight.

************

My body jerked violently at the sound in the room. I squinted my eyes to get a view of what was moving in the darkness. My nose scrunched at the familiar odd smell from these empire folks that I still struggle to adjust to. I lay stiffly when I heard the intruder whisper to him or herself. My hand moved shakily toward the bed lamp to put on the light, but the intruder caught my movement and unquestioningly jumped at me. I gasped as I felt the cold edge of the knife the intruder was holding miss me slightly. I turned quickly and was able to put on the bed lamp. My legs tangled in the sheets while I struggled to get to the floor.

I can see his face now; he had an unfriendly sneer on his face, and there was a monstrous growl coming from him as he flashed the knife in the air. My lashes fluttered rapidly as I pushed backward, breathing hard. I tried to scream for help, but oddly, my voice refused. It’s as if I had become voiceless. He moved closer to me, enjoying the sight before him. I must look like an ensnared creature, which is obviously who I am now. My eyes darted around as my survival instincts kicked in. Sighting a flower vase next to the couch opposite the bed. As soon as he got closer, I put my leg forward to trip him, which distracted him a bit. Then, I took a split second to grab and toss the vase at him.

It hit him right in the face, cutting through his skin. Yet that didn’t faze him as he appeared angrier than ever. Making a quicker move towards me. He slapped me hard across the face, cutting my cheek with the ring he wore, before grabbing me by the hair and slamming me against the wall. I winced in pain as I felt blood trickle down the back of my head.

“You bitch!” He bellowed, trying to reach me while I crawled on the floor. Just as he was about to strike me with the knife. I grabbed a piece of the shattered vase on the floor and sank it into his thigh. He let out a painful laugh.

These fucking monsters! Do they even feel any pain? I hurried away from him again, heading towards the door. This time, when I opened my mouth, the ear-piercing screams came out. I tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. As he came closer, I punched hard at the door and kept screaming. Running footsteps were soon heard in the hallway. The intruder cursed under his breath before heading to the window and jumping out of it. I didn’t even think that was possible.

I could hear Damila screaming for me as the supposed guards meant to protect the house pushed the door open. They asked where the intruder went, and I pointed at the window. Damila knelt next to me, holding me in her arms.

“My lady, are you alright?” She asked, teary-eyed. “You are bleeding.” She touched my cheek.  

I held up a weak smile, cupping her face in my palm. “I am fine.” I managed to whisper before going limp in her arms.