Betrothed (Book #6 in the Vampire Journals)

Amber's POV

A story about a she-wolf who would stop at nothing to get what she desired, an alpha who would love her and her imperfections, one that would want no one but her. Very cheesy, I thought to myself. The stories always seemed to start and end the same.

I closed the book I was reading and dropped it on my bed. It bounced and fell off the side but I didn't care enough to even try to pick it up. I stared at the book for a while before sighing and placing my head on my pillow. I really need to try out new genres, I thought to myself.

Maybe it's because I read too many books with the same themes or maybe it's because I've always wished to be the character in the book, but somehow, someway, the more I read the book, the sadder I feel.

I sighed for the umpteenth time as I turned to my side. It was already some minutes past ten and I knew for sure that Rose would be walking into my room very soon to tell me to come down for breakfast.

"Good morning, Amber," I heard the familiar voice say after two small knocks sounded on my door.

Without moving an inch on my bed, I said in a small voice, "Come in, Rose." The door creaked open slowly and the sound of light footsteps filled the room. "What is it, Rose?" I asked, pretending to be oblivious to the reason as to why Rose was in my room.

"Your father wants to see you," Rose answered. I held my breath and quickly stood up from my bed.

Without thinking, I said quickly, "step-father, Rose... He's not my father."

"He's asking that you come meet him downstairs," Rose said, ignoring her mistress' reply to her first statement. "I believe he has something very important to tell you."

"Tell him I don't want to see him," I said with a grunt as I laid back on my bed, covering myself with my duvet. "And tell him that I would prefer he doesn't come to my room because I know that is the next thing he has in mind to do."

"Do you want your breakfast in bed or do you want to have it at the dining table?" Rose asked as she slowly turned to walk out of the group.

"I'm not hungry, Rose," I answered as I curled myself into a ball. As Rose's footsteps receded away from me and towards the door, I began having second thoughts about what she had said. "Rose," I called out just when the housekeeper was about to close the door.

"Yes, Amber," Rose answered and I turned to see Rose's head sticking out of the doorway. "You called."

"Please... please, ask that they bring me some bacon and coffee," I replied as I turned my back against Rose. "And please ask that they bring it fast."

"I will," Rose answered before closing the door and walking away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

On a normal day, Rose would come to my room to ask me what food I would love to eat that morning and my step-father would come in later to rant about how much he hated my guts. Why was today different? Why was my stepfather calling me? What did he want to say to me that he couldn't come up to my room to tell by himself? Not that I wanted him to though. Just that everything was way too strange for me.

"The old man is going to come barrelling into my room any second now," I said to myself with a small sigh as I quickly jumped down from my bed. I needed to find a way out of there without my stepfather noticing.

"Amber?" I heard my stepfather shout from outside my room. I could hear his footsteps coming up the stairs and I knew sooner or later he would reach my room. I looked at my door and saw that it was half-opened. That bastard Rose had left the door open on purpose.

With a small growl, I ran towards the door and closed it with a small click before locking it. The moment the lock clicked, my step-father reached the door and began pounding hard on it. Taken aback by the sudden noise, I flinched and took a few steps back as I held my beating chest, fear written all over my face.

I had never seen my father this way. Of course, there were days where he would get some screw loose and would want to beat me up but they were never like this. This was... scary.

I rushed to my wardrobe and began flinging my clothes out of it. I needed to run away and it was about time I did so. I didn't know where I would run to or whom I would go to but I knew for sure that I had to get out of this place I was brought up to believe was home.

Suddenly, I heard something crack and I turned to the door. The hinges were already coming loose from the walls and the door frame itself was already cracking away. It wouldn't hold long.

"Fuck," I cussed under my breath as I resumes with my packing. I heard another crack and that was when I decided it was best I left everything behind.

Just as I was about to turn to head for my window where I would jump down to safety, my door suddenly came crashing down and from the hallway and into the room walked the short creature I knew to be her step-father.

"Amber!!!" Vermont called out, his eyes red with anger. "I asked for Rose to call you down and you despised her?"

Amber, body shaking with me, shifted my eyes to the left from my dad and found Rose standing by the doorway, hands behind her back and her face as stoic as ever. She didn't have my breakfast with her.

"Fuck you, Rose," I said as I grunted and spit on the floor.

I turned to my father and was about to say something to him when he rushed at me, yelling in anger. He lifted the cane in his hand to hit me with it but then stopped when it was just a few meters away from my face.

"What is it, old man?" I asked as I clenched my fist.

"You can't hit me anymore?"

Vermont gritted his teeth, staring daggers at me before bringing his stick down to the floor.

"As much as I would love to do so," he said in a voice that was surprisingly calm for his always demeaning demeanor, "I wouldn't want your mate to receive you with bruises and four missing teeth."

"My new mate?" I asked with a frown as my stepfather smiled widely. Shaking my head, I took some steps back and plopped down on my bed as I muttered, "You didn't... you didn't... you didn't do what I think you did."

"You are to be married before the next moon to one of the strongest Alphas, Amber," Vermont said as his smile grew wider. "You should wipe that frown off your face and be happy for what I have done for you."

"What... what in the hell are you fucking talking about?" I said as my frown deepened. "I am not married to anyone. I don't know what you're talking about..."

"You have begun packing your clothes I see," Vermont said as he looked around him at the scattered clothes laying all around him. "Get some with it fast and come downstairs so that you can be on your way early." He turned to walk away but then stopped, turned his head slightly towards me and said, "And don't worry about brushing your fangs or taking your bath or eating. You wouldn't need any of that."

Vermont continued with his walk towards the open doorway when I all of a sudden mumbled, "No." This caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

Without turning to face me, Vermont asked, "What did you say, Amber?"

"I said, I am not going anywhere, Vermont," I said, my shaky voice now becoming bold. "You have dictated my life for a long time now. I am not going to let you keep doing that anymore."

"Amber," Vermont muttered softly as he slowly turned to face me. "Get your dress ready so that we can get going now."

"Fucking make me." I sat back down on my bed and folded my arms across my chest. I wasn't going to go anywhere.

"Oh, Amber, Amber, Amber," Vermont said with a sigh as he turned and kept on with his walk towards the door. He paused by the entrance and shook his head. "You always have to make things difficult for me and you, don't you?"

"I don't fucking--"

"Take her away." Before I knew it, about five guards rushed into the room, grabbed me and began pulling me away, ignoring my cries and pleas.

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