My curiosity makes me take a step in her direction. From the shrug of her shoulders, I presume she is a little shocked by my approach but that doesn't deter me. Taking a few steps forward, I reach her in time to see that she's looking for a way to leave.

"Hey."

We both are shocked by my voice. It sounds strange. Well, it sounds different, a good different perhaps because she relaxes at my greeting.

"Hi."

"What's your name?" I ask a simple question, not wanting to startle her with my burning curiosity.

"Who are you?" she asks in turn, making me frown at her. I thought she might know me, or perhaps at least have an idea about me. I am a prisoner here and she looks like the princess of this castle.

Her red eyes are a clear giveaway to her vampiric heritage. She appears to be some vampire royalty with the elegant stance of her body. Her blond hair falls in heavy curls around her breasts and down to her waist. Her robe is clutched around her body but is open at the collar, hinting at her pale skin.

"I am Nikita," I whisper, a little apprehensive about disclosing my name to her but then she appears harmless. She's clueless about my presence here. At least that is what I can make out.

Her mind is blank as if it is covered by something, covering her memories from herself and the outside world. She looks clueless because she is. She doesn't know why she is here but she does recognise this place.

She doesn't know me; I conclude from the blank look in her eyes. Perhaps I can use her cluelessness to know if I have any chance of getting out of this place.

"Do you know what is this place called?" I ask, tentatively digging deeper into her mind. She clutches her mind with one hand and uses the other to steady herself against the wall. I do not go near her, refraining from being in her personal space. It might give her leverage above me.

"It's my home. I lived here," she says as if trying to remember more details about this place. She lived here.

She doesn't live here anymore? Not wanting to point out her little slip-up, I brush past that thin veil in her mind, the one that has kept her memory concealed from herself and the world.

Immediately, a man's face appears in front of me. It's inside her mind, from the memory, and it appears that this man is of some importance to her. It's odd that the man looks so familiar. His red eyes and that dark hair. I have seen him somewhere or perhaps he resembles someone that I have met.

But who?

"Oh! Did you live here? May I know your name?" I ask her, wanting to keep her busy as I delve deeper into her mind. This might be the first time ever that I am making a conversation with someone but I need to put my fear aside to help myself.

Or I might end up being at Wulfric's mercy once again. It's a fate that I dread the most. More than being lonely.

"Anya. Why do you want to know my name? And who are you? What do you want? How did you come here?" she fires those questions at me, her gaze now alert as she takes in my cloak-covered appearance.

Perhaps me entering and unveiling her memories has made her alert to my presence in her mind. That's not so good for my escape plan.

"I was brought here. I don't know why. Could you perhaps help me with who might have brought me here?"

I know my question might confuse her. She looks clueless. Innocent even. It's impossible for her to be involved in whatever Wulfric has planned. But perhaps I could get her help in knowing where he is. I might catch him off-guard. That would be wonderful.

"Why would anyone bring you here? It's only my mum and uncle that live here."

"But you said that it's your home. Then you should be living here too," I make that a question, hoping to extract more answers from her.

"No, I don't," she says and clutches her head hard. I poke into her mind, finding that there's a well of memories inside her mind, waiting to be unleashed. But they are trapped.

And looks like they are bound by magic. My eyes widen in shock when I realize the extent of damage made to this female vampire's mind. Her memories are blocked and from the looks of it, she's kidnapped too.

She's kidnapped and brought to her own home? How illogical?

Or are her parents the kidnappers?

The thought freezes my blood. It's abhorrent and so cruel.

Having parents like mine who sacrificed their lives to protect their own children, I feel pity for this female whose own parents kidnapped her for their personal vendetta.

Maybe I am wrong?

Or maybe I am right!

Whatever it may be, however, from the looks of this female who is clutching her head tightly, trying to recall why she's here and where she has been living before arriving here; I feel nothing but pity for her.

"I am Anya Creighton," she speaks but then her eyes go wide as if she realizes something. Slowly she brings her hands in front of her face. While leaning against the wall behind her, she gazes at her fingers in numb realization.

She stares hard at her fingers and that's when my gaze falls on the ring on her finger. It's a red diamond, sparkling like her eyes. It's worn on her ring finger. Sierra wears her ring on that finger; even Catrina.

Perhaps it's symbolic?

Not aware of what's caught her attention, I watch in silent fascination as she lets out a huge sob and then entwines her fingers, bringing her joined hands into her chest. She then slides down the wall and onto her knees.

"I am a Creighton," she sobs. "I don't want to be a Callahan!" she screams, her sobs echoing in the hallway, making me panic. She might alert someone of our presence here. I might get caught.

Not wanting to risk getting caught, I think of teleporting from here. But that will alert my kidnappers, Wulfric even. And I don't want that.

Without thinking, I try to disappear from the place but then stop midway. Where will I go?

I cannot teleport back to Alpha Connor's house. It's out of my range. If I teleport within this place, I might get caught by someone. Landing right in front of the enemy is not such a good idea, is it?

Just as I think of using my legs to run, I hear footsteps echoing down the hall. I wait for half a minute before I get to see the newcomer's face.

My mind screams at me to run, but my body's frozen in place, my brain unable to command my limbs.

The unknown female runs into the garden but then backs off quickly when the sun rays fall on her naked arms. She stares at me with wide eyes and then glances back at Anya who's now positioned behind me.

"What have you done to my daughter?" she screams, her face red with rage as she stomps her foot. Her nostrils flare as she narrows her eyes at me, her claws ready to rip me apart. Only because the sun rays are too strong, is she standing across from me, otherwise, she would have already charged at me.

"Your daughter? What did you do to my mate? What did you do to me?"

The questions are shouted from behind me, making me whirl back for a quick second before I turn around to face the newcomer. Never turn your back on the enemy. And this woman sure looks like my enemy. The hostility pouring off of her is suffocating.

"What? You remember?" asks the newcomer, now shocked as she stares at Anya and then glances at me. She narrows her eyes at me and then a very cunning glint appears in her gaze as if she knows my future—a very bad one.

"What did this witch tell you? Are you so gullible to fall for a witch's trap?" snaps the woman, while I debate on defending myself. A few seconds pass by as I watch the newcomer's smug face, realizing that she wants me to defend myself.

She wants to make me nervous.

That's when I decide to keep quiet.

"She didn't tell me anything. I remembered everything. How you planted seeds of doubt in my mind! How you made me believe the nonsense about my mate! You fooled me!" Anya screeches, her panic evident in her tone as fear starts pumping her veins.

Oh, Lord! Poor woman. The guilt she must be feeling!

And it's true because Anya's aura radiates guilt and fear for her mate's safety or for her mated relationship, I am not sure.

"What?" Anya's mother, I realize after connecting the dots, screams in shock; her face is now paler than her natural vampiric glow. She looks haunted. She's guilty of causing Anya trouble.

"I didn't do anything. It was you who were blinded by Dimitry and then you came to know the truth about him," mutters Anya's mother, slowly as if unsure of her own words.

All the time, I am silently watching this conversation happening in front of me.

"No!" Anya screams, her tears making her voice wobbly. "He loved me. He did everything for me. And you made me poison my own mate," Anya continues shouting, her voice hammering on my earbuds.

Hearing Anya talk about her own mother's actions makes me shake my head in disgust. All that Anya said is true. Her truth pours out of her and it makes my heart ache for this woman. She's suffered so much, that too at the hands of the one person who's supposed to keep her safe.

Her own mother throttled her mated life.

"Yes," screams Anya's mother. Her patience is finally ruined as she blows a huge breath and then fists her hands against her hips. "Yes, I misled you to believe that Dmitry is a bad guy. I wanted the throne and I was ecstatic when we came to know that you are Dmitry Creighton's mate. But then their father died and Dmitry did the worst thing ever. He's so foolish. He gave away the throne to his younger fucking brother, that pathetic mateless Dominic."

All the blood rushes to my brain and suddenly I feel lightheaded.

Was she speaking about Dominic? My Dominic? Fenris's friend Dominic?

"It's because Dmitry never wanted to be the King and he had asked me for advice. I was the one who told him to give away the throne to Dominic. I never wanted to be a queen!" Anya screams, confirming my thoughts a little but it still doesn't make me less shocked.

"Rubbish!" Anya's mother's fuming, her heart racing erratically while her fists clench and then unclench in suppressed anger. "When Dominic became the King, we had prayed so much for his mate to die before he meets her. Your uncle, Oman even went to such lengths to make sure that he found Dominic's mate before him."

"What? What has she got to do with this?" asks Anya, her tears subsiding a bit while I stand there more confused than ever but helpless to stand there and listen. This is too much information in a very short time.

"A mateless King cannot be the King. It's always the female that keeps the male level-headed and capable to lead his people. Without his mate, he becomes a drifter. That's what Dominic has become. Try as he might, he can never focus on being a King when he's busy finding his mate's murderer."

My eyes resemble twin saucers as I digest the information, thrown at me. Vivid images flash past my mind. All dark yet covered in a haze as if a memory from the past, from some other life.

Whose memories are these?

"No!"

I feel as if I am in a dream when a loud scream erupts from Anya's throat, startling me out of the daze. Blinking my eyes, I focus in time to see a blurred image move in front of me. Taking a startled step back, I nearly let out a scream when claws settle on my throat, cutting off my air supply.

The touch feels like needles prickling into my skin, causing my body to tighten in fear, giving him added advantage over my defenceless position.

Anya's screams echo in the background but I force myself to ignore her presence and that of her mother.

All I need to focus on is Wulfric; who's looking ready to murder me right here.

"You cunning witch!" He roars in my face, his hot breath bringing back those torturous memories. "How did you escape those chains," he snaps at me, his fangs looking too ready to puncture into my skin while squeezing my throat a little more.

Looking into those red eyes that are responsible for so much pain in my life, I refuse to buckle under his force. Instead, I let him see the rage that's building inside me. The rage that has been spurred because of his abuse of my body and mind. I am sure he senses my rage because his own eyes widen a bit and the light in them dims a little.

That's what I had been waiting for!

Using the opportunity, I summon my fire and push at his hands, watching in sadistic delight as his face twists in agony. I might as well be smiling at him in smug satisfaction.

I have waited for years for this moment.

His fingers loosen around my throat and I let out a laugh. My voice sounds haunted, even to me. As he's close to me, Wulfric shudders in fear at the haunted note in my laughter, making me let out a louder shriek.

"You bastard!"

I roar in his face and slap him hard, the fire in my hands leaving a burnt handprint on his cheek. I feel childishly delighted at his sad state.

He's at my mercy!

It's vengeance time!

With renowned strength, I call onto my fire and aim at his crotch. Immediately he screams in agony. He screams like a girl.

Laughing at his antics as he tries to put off the fire, I stand there and enjoy the sight in front of me. Anya's mother makes a way to Wulfric, trying to help him awkwardly while fear floods her mind.

"Brother!"

What?

~~~~~

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