Emma looked up in fear at the tall and imposing vampire king whose eyes had gone dark with anger. Tara picked up the gown he had discarded and handed it to him. He grabbed it, put it on and turned back the defiant woman before him. Emma’s body had started to shake slightly as she faced the intimidating man. His scowled and looked like he was struggling to contain his fury. His jaw clenched and he grabbed her hair, holding it at the back of her head. He pushed her away with a lot of strength and she staggered back, hitting the wall before falling to the floor.
“Guard,” he called out and a guard came in immediately. “Take this woman away and teach her some lessons. Bring her back when she’s ready.”
The man nodded and grabbed Emma’s hand. He pulled her up and dragged her out of the king’s bedroom. Emma glanced at Tara who had a “do you want to get killed” look on her face.
Emma smiled as they exited the vampire king’s unit. At least something good had come out of her outburst. She had bought herself sometime. She cringed thinking of what the king had been about to make her do.
“Idiot,” she said.
The man stopped. “Are you calling me an idiot?”
“No, I was thinking about someone else.” She told him.
“What did you do to make the king so mad?” he asked.
“I bit him.”
“What? Count yourself lucky that he didn’t kill you. Now I know what you did, I’ll give you an appropriate punishment.”
Emma shrugged. She didn’t know what kind of punishment they were going to give her but she thought it wouldn’t be worse than being the king’s whore. She thought of Tara and wondered how someone could be happy with a job that was very degrading.
Emma stumbled though the dark corridors of the vampire castle, occasionally getting pushed forward by the two guards that had been standing outside the vampire king’s bedroom. As they descended to the underground floor of the castle, the air grew colder and stuffier. One of the men shined a torchlight so they could see where they were going. Emma shivered from the chill that the vampires seemed not to be feeling. The dungeon in that castle was nothing compared to the dungeon at Venom pack.
When they reached a heavy iron door, one of the guards opened it. It creaked loudly as it opened to reveal a dimly lit room. The room had extremely high windows that barely brought in any light. There were a few candles scattered all over the floor.
Emma tried to resist but she was no match for the men who dragged her inside. They pushed her and she fell onto the damp stone floor. Emma looked around and saw a number of women in it. Most of them were extremely skinny and emaciated, some looking like they were minutes away from death. The room stank horribly and Emma shuddered as she wondered if they’d leave her there until she died. Her heart was pounding as she noticed that among the six women, none looked normal. It was like they had been starved for weeks.
The guard who had dragged her from the king’s bedroom leaned over her and whispered in her ear. “Within a few days, you’re going to wish you could up there with the vampire king. You’re going to ask for it. You were so lucky and if you had obeyed orders, you wouldn’t be here. Enjoy your new home, stupid bitch.”
Emma spat at him.
He grabbed her neck and started twisting.
“Hey, calm down. She’s a werewolf. He needs alive.”
The man gritted his teeth before slapping Emma across the face. “You won’t be so lucky next time,” he warned.
As the door closed Emma closed her eyes, hoping the place would vanish before she opened them. She had no such luck. The worst thing about the place was not the darkness, but the smell. Sometimes she was thankful for her supernatural sense of smell. This was not one of those times. In that moment, it was the biggest inconvenience.
Some of the women in the dungeon were silent. When she was brought in, they had just looked on. Two of them were lying on the ground while the other four were seated in different corners, leaning against the walls. They all looked extremely worn out and tired.
“Hello,” Emma said to the woman nearest to her. The woman’s body was frail and thin. Her skin was stretched tight over her bones, emphasizing every angle of her skeleton. She looked so light that Emma wondered how she was able to sit upright. Her face had a sad and had a gaunt look, while her eyes were sunken. In the dim light, Emma couldn’t tell what color they were.
The woman glanced at her before looking away, her limp and lifeless hair, falling over her face. She raised a bony hand and swiped the strands away from her face.
Emma could feel the waterworks turning on and within a few seconds, scalding tears were streaming down her face. She was pretty sure that all the women there did not deserve the treatment they were getting. She did not deserve it either.
She stood up and starting walking around the room aimlessly. Some of the women gave her weak glances while others barely looked at her. Emma didn’t know what she was looking for but she didn’t want to just sit down and wait for her end. Unfortunately for her, the only exit seemed to be the strong iron door. She couldn’t see any possible means of escape.
The door opened again and a young woman was pushed in. she stumbled forward but did not lose her footing. Unlike Emma and the others, this woman’s hands were bound behind her. The guard who brought her in untied her before turning to leave. The woman yelled profanities at the guards as they closed the door.
Emma was just glad to get someone to talk to.