19. VANYA

When I woke up again, I was lying in the middle of a bed twice as big as my own, with sheets as soft as rose petals rubbing against my skin. Okay, so maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but it certainly was a big bed and the sheets rubbing my skin were definitely silk.

I blinked up at the unfamiliar ceiling for a few seconds before pushing myself up onto my elbows to look around.

It was dim—so dim that I could only make out certain shapes; the place was pretty bare.

I sat up, making the sheet slide over my breasts and down my stomach to pool in my lap.

The fact that I was naked should’ve been alarming. I was in a strange room, on a strange bed, and completely naked, but I felt safe.

I could clearly remember what had happened in the woods; Obsidian had fucked me against a tree where he had also choked me and made me pass out.

Shaking my head, I carefully moved to the edge of the bed and swung my legs over the edge to stand. A grimace worked its way onto my face when I took the first step. I was tender between my legs, which wasn’t really a surprise considering his size.

I slowly made my way over to what looked like a curtain that was used as a door. The harsh light that greeted me on the other side made my eyes tear up. I was almost tempted to turn back around and disappear into the darkness again, but curiosity kept me moving forward.

I tried to block out the pounding in my skull and the tenderness between my legs. There was also a slight burning on my hips and left shoulder.

Rolling my shoulders, I looked around. It looked like a living room of sorts. There was only an old couch facing a small box TV on a plastic crate. My eyes darted to the wall behind the couch.

It was covered in different sized photos, newspaper clippings and a few other things.

I took small, cautious steps in that direction and stopped a few feet in front of the wall. At first, I just took it all in and then focused on what it said. One particular newspaper clipping caught my attention.

“ANIMALS” HELD “CAPTIVE” IN SCIENCE FACILITY.

Beneath the capitalized heading was a grainy black-and-white photo. I leaned closer to get a better look.

The photo was taken a few feet away from a large building with people—mostly police and medical staff—spread out everywhere. The front doors of the building were open and a group of people were being escorted out.

My eyes narrowed as I leaned closer. I wasn’t imagining things; leading the group out was none other than Devrim, but he looked a lot different from the way he looked now.

I straightened and moved to the left to study the other clippings. Some were already faded which made it hard to read. There were even a few that were written in different languages.

Letting out a breath, I shook my head and turned away from the wall.

When I stepped around the other side of the couch, I spotted the small laundry basket against the side of it.

Clothes!

I grabbed the first piece of clothing and held it to my nose to sniff it and make sure that it was clean, but I still hesitated before I pushed my arms into the sleeves and pulled it over my head and down my body. The material was softer than my own shirts, and something I wasn’t planning on returning to whoever it belonged to. It was comfortable and smelled great.

Gripping the ends of the sleeves between my fingers, I spun on my heels and walked over to the actual door. I was expecting to walk out of wherever I was and locate one of the men, but when I turned the handle, nothing happened.

“Hello?” I called out as I slammed on the door with a fist. Only silence greeted me.

Where the hell am I?

***

Something was slowly trailing up my leg.

Down my leg.

And then back up again, but on the inside of my thigh.

I moaned and tugged the sheets higher up my body. My brows dipped into a frown. The sheets felt different—they definitely weren’t silk.

Opening my eyes, I blinked at the pillow to clear the sleep from my eyes. I still had a headache that had only intensified while I slept.

The last thing I remembered was sitting on the couch and staring at the blank screen of the small TV. When did I fall asleep?

I pushed myself up onto my elbows with a groan and glanced around the room. It wasn’t the same room I stayed in when I first came to this place.

During my inspection of the room, I had completely forgotten about what had woken me… until it moved again.

My breath got caught in my throat.

Was it my imagination or had something just flicked out against my skin? Something that was oddly shaped. I carefully grabbed the sheet and threw it off. What I saw made me scream and struggle out of the bed.

I tumbled from the bed, but quickly got to my feet and hurried towards the door. It burst open before I could reach it which didn’t stop me. I threw myself at the person who entered.

“Is she under attack?”

“No.” Lips brushed my cheek. “Did you have a bad dream?”

I shook my head and pulled back to look at Devrim. “S-snake.”

The smile instantly slipped from his face. “Where?”

He turned slightly when I pointed towards the bed. The snake was slowly making its way up towards the pillows.

“It’s a tree snake,” Ezra said as he walked over to the bed.

My mouth dropped open when he leaned down and picked it up. He studied it for a few seconds before he walked over to the window and dropped it. Ezra closed the window and turned to smile at me.

“They are harmless.”

“It’s a s-snake,” I pointed out.

Ezra chuckled. “Harmless.”

I glared at him for a few seconds before turning my head to look at Devrim. It took me all but a few seconds to realize in what position we were in. Colour flooded my cheeks.

Without uttering a word, Devrim lowered me to my feet and took a step away from me.

“How about something to eat now that you’re awake?”

I licked my lips and glanced around. “H-how did I get here?”

Devrim growled, spun on his heels and stormed out of the room. I turned towards Ezra in question.

“Obsidian brought you up from his basement.”

“Why is Devrim so angry?”

“Come with me,” he said as he took hold of my hand.

Ezra led me out of the room and into the one directly opposite. I caught a glimpse of dark blue bedding before I was pulled in another direction. We entered what appeared to be a bathroom, but it was a lot bigger and also decorated in dark blues.

Ezra’s hand slipped from mine as he moved to stand in front of me. He gripped my shoulders and turned me to face a floor-length mirror.

I swallowed when his hands slid down my arms, all the way down to the hem of the shirt I wore. Our eyes locked in the mirror. I realized with surprise that he was waiting for my permission to remove the shirt.

I hesitated, but slowly raised my arms.

Instead of dropping his eyes to look at my naked body he exposed, Ezra kept his eyes locked with mine up until he pulled the shirt over my head and dropped it to the floor at our feet.

A deep purr rumbled from his chest as his eyes trailed over me. He stepped closer until his shirt brushed my naked back.

“He marked your soft skin.”

I frowned at him because, for a moment, I had completely forgotten what we had been talking about.

Forcing my eyes away from his, I studied my body like he had done only seconds ago. It became clear what he meant by ‘marked’.

My eyes lingered on my hips.

I was actually surprised that there weren’t any marks from Obsidian’s claws. There were, however, bruises on both sides of my hips that were already starting to turn purple.

My gaze moved up over the curve of my stomach to my breasts. Small red scrapes covered my right breast just beneath my nipple. But what was the most shocking out of all the bruises was the one covering my throat. It was in the shape of a handprint and still an ugly red.

I blew out a shaky breath when Ezra’s fingers brushed over it and then down to the scrapes on my breasts. His thumb brushed over my nipple, making it harden.

“Your skin is too soft, too beautiful to be marked,” he whispered against my ear. “He got you with his teeth, too.”

A shudder raced down my spine when his lips brushed along the side of my neck and down over my shoulder, and then lingered for a few seconds before he pulled away.

His lips parted like he wanted to say more, but a loud crash from downstairs had him moving.