SIX

"Happy birthday to you!"

"Happy birthday to you!" Rey snapped her eyes open at the sound of singing voices to see her parents standing by the side of her bed, their mouths stretched out in a wide grin that lit up their eyes, with a cake in her mother's hand, lit up by a bunch of colourful candles.

"Happy birthday, little bean," the middle-aged man murmured, reaching down to caress her cheek ever so softly as soft dark eyes held hers.

"Thank you daddy," Rey responded, her smile wide but it quickly turned down into a frown when she heard the sound of her own voice. She realized it sounded different from what she remembered, almost like she'd aged a decade backward.

She quickly sat up on the bed; the pink comforter that she'd been clutching slowly slid down to her waist. She pushed it off, climbing down from her bed only for her father to engulf her in a bear hug. She grinned, relishing in the warmth his familiar scent provided.

"Come, honey, you have to make a wish." The woman chuckled, her brown eyes identical to Rey's, twinkling with affection as she watched the father-daughter duo.

She pulled back, shuffling to stand in front of her mother before clasping both her hands together and shutting her eyes tightly to make a wish.

When she opened her eyes, she wasted no time blowing out the candles, grinning excitedly when her father clapped.

"Go freshen up and come on down," her mother said, backing out of her bedroom. "Also, you can have cake for breakfast," her mother winked while she nodded enthusiastically in response.

When Rey's mother disappeared down the hallway, her father was left standing in her bedroom. He gave her a secret smile, leaning down to whisper softly in her ear.

"Your mama and I have a surprise for you, but you have to freshen up and come downstairs first." She nodded, grinning, as she watched him slip out of her bedroom. She shook her head, smiling fondly after him. Knowing her father, he wasn't supposed to tell her about the surprise before she went downstairs, but keeping secrets wasn't one of his strong suits.

Rey stretched leisurely like a cat before making her way towards her ensuite bathroom. Stopping in front of the mirror, she froze at the sight of her reflection.

She was back in the body of a thirteen-year-old; the reality of it came crashing down on her like a tonne of bricks. Slowly she reached up to pinch her cheek, to verify if it was just one sick dream, but no, it wasn't a dream; it was very real.

Everything was just a bad dream, she realised. Now she was back home with her family, where it is safe.

She bounded down the stairs, walking past the dining table that consisted of three seats and a single high chair. Her smile was almost blinding as she approached the kitchen where her parents were waiting.

She walked into an empty kitchen and frowned, looking around to see if they had been hiding somewhere, but there was no one.

Slowly she walked back out, the eerie silence causing her ears to ring. The front door was open, the frosted stained glass in the centre refracting against the sun.

She approached the door, clutching the doorknob as she pulled it open wider, the hinges groaning under the pressure.

Her bare feet stepped on to the porch to find the lawn empty, almost like the world had gone still.

"Mama," she called, walking down the porch steps, but there was no answer.

"Dad!" she tried again as panic began to gnaw at her insides.

She gasped at the sound of a loud crash, her head whipping towards the source. Without thinking, her feet carried her back in the house and towards the kitchen, where she saw the back door open that led to the pool area.

She eyed the broken vase on the kitchen floor and sidestepped it, walking outside.

She froze at the sight of blood. It was everywhere, on the white lounge chairs that she and her family would lounge around most weekends, soaking up the sun, and on the floor, slowly leaking into the pool and tainting it red.

Slowly her feet carried her past the lounge chairs and past the pool towards the garden, following the trail of blood as she went.

"Mama!" she screamed as she spotted her mom on the soft grass choking on her own blood from the slit in her throat.

She fell to her knees by her mother's side, tears streaming down her face as she cradled her mother's head on her lap, her hands trying to slow down the bleeding but failing miserably.

"Mama," she choked back a sob as her mother's unfocused gaze fluttered open. She knew her time was near, and she hated that Rey had to witness her in that state.

"T—they came for your papa and me," she choked through the blood loss.

"They will come for you two," she wheezed, prompting more tears to pour out of Rey's eyes as she trembled.

"Take Beau and Run."

Rey jolted awake, her breath laboured as she came to and her body trembling against the concrete wall of her prison as sweat coated her skin.

She realised it was another nightmare–no, not a nightmare, but a memory so warped that sometimes she'd find her mother with a hole in her chest and blood pouring out, and other times her limbs dismembered–but the only thing constant were her words.

She moaned; the pain her frightful sleep had temporarily alleviated came crashing down on her with full force.

"You're awake." She jumped at the sound of his voice, biting down hard on her tongue as her broken wrist flared up in pain from the sudden movement.

It was dark in there, the only source of light being the moon that shone from a tiny barred window up against the grimy walls.

She could hardly make out the silhouette of his imposing figure standing a few feet away from her as he stood in the dark, away from the silver ray of the moon.

She backed up against the wall as her heart thudded in apprehension. She wished she could squeeze into the wall behind her, just to put more distance between them.

How long had he been standing there, watching her sleep, no less like a fucking creep? she thought.

"It seems you had a pleasant sleep," he rumbled, his tone slightly mocking, almost as though he knew her sleep was anything but pleasant.

He took a step closer, causing her to inch backwards as her eyes remained glued to the shiny tip of his shoes, which was the only visible aspect of him.

She chose to keep her mouth shut, fearing that she would say the wrong thing and it would set him off. He had Beau. She couldn't risk angering him when he could hurt her little brother, but she still had to be sure he wasn't lying.

"Tell me, little human, what plagues your dreams?" he asked in a dangerously low tone that caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.

When she gave no response, he chuckled, but there was no trace of mirth in that sound.

"Where is my brother? I want to see him," she demanded, and he arched a brow at her audacious words, but although she couldn't see him, he could see her.

"The human speaks," he mocked, taking another step closer until he had fully stepped into the light.

She gasped as he crouched before her, his sculpted jawline taut as the moon cast a shadow over his face. His dark hair swept back with not a strand out of place.

She clenched her fist, trying to bring the chaos that was her heartbeat to rhythmic thumps but failing miserably when he flashed those fangs that scared the shit out of her.

Slowly he reached for her wrist that she was cradling to her chest and she gasped in horror when his large palm encircled the swollen skin.

Her breathing came out in laboured pants as his thumb caressed the skin slowly. It was as though she was waiting for him to unleash pain because she was convinced that was the only thing he was capable of, but his touch was gentle, unnerving.

"You are not in a position to make demands, little human," he murmured in a husky tone, his steely gaze hard and empty as they held hers.

"But if you insist on seeing him, so be it; I'll have him brought to you in a body bag, and after that you will finally join him." She felt her body go cold at his words.

"Please–

She gasped in pain when he added pressure to her wrist. Tears brimmed her eyes instantly as she tried to rip her wrist out of his hold but failed.

"Stop, it hurts," she cried, but seeing her tears only seemed to steer the deranged parts of him on. He wanted to see more of it.

"You will be my slave, doing all my biddings without question in exchange for your brother's pathetic life," he sneered, adding more pressure that had her screaming until she could no longer scream.

When he finally let go, she slumped against the wall, shaking from the aftermath of the pain.

"Tell me your name," he said, and slowly she lifted her tear-stained lashes to face him.

She gritted her teeth in anger, defiance at the tip of her tongue, but she thought about Beau and decided against it. She could endure the torture, but her little brother couldn't.

"I will be your slave willingly if you promise that he will be safe and no one would hurt him, not even you." She said in a hoarse voice, ignoring his question, and he narrowed his eyes at her, his gaze dark and unwavering for the longest moment before he smirked.

"You have my word."

She breathed a sigh of relief at his words.

Slowly he rose to his feet but paused as he regarded her with a hard gaze. She didn't know if he was satisfied... or deciding whether to kill her anyway.

"Your name, slave," he growled, and she shuddered at the pure animalistic sound.

Shutting her eyes tightly, she let the words tumble out of her lips.

"Reylin",

He stood there moments after she whispered her name, testing the sound on his lips.

"Reylin," he echoed, and then he was gone.