Her Forever

Rosalie

The light was blinding, and I felt nauseous as the morning started to depart. There were several Vampires as well as the few Witches that had transported with us. At first, I didn’t realize we were transported, but the dark and dank area we were standing in told me otherwise. No longer was I standing at the front of the packhouse, with the fall leaves drifting around and the young children running and playing in laughter. I was in a nightmare, yet again.

My heart seized. If it could stop independently without the probability of a heart attack, I think mine would have. Straight-up fear could have stopped my heart. I was standing in my worst nightmare. I visited the same hell every night for many years and only stopped when Jack came into my life.

Jack. Gosh, I missed him. Would he ever find me?

Who knew how long I would be stuck here now in this familiar basement. I could even see the old teddy bear I’d carried around before I left the wretched place. Too scared to grab the one thing left of my childhood when I was finally able to be free from him. That was a day I never wanted to remember either.

“Welcome home Rosie, I kept your room the same.” Derek waved his hand around like he was the ring leader at a circus. The chains were still attached to the wall where he would slowly cut me with a rusty knife. How I never got tetanus, I would never know. The small rug on the floor where I slept when I healed through the night was still tattered and stained with my b***d. He would lick my wounds, and it would somehow heal up within 12 hours, just in time for school the next day.

That tongue, I didn’t even want to think what he would do with it now. I was “of age,” I’m sure. I was considered an adult, and I’m mature. He hadn’t seen me since I was 14, no longer a child, and he could do what he wanted with me. “I’m not a pedophile,” he would say. Like that was any better than what he was. As if he wasn’t grooming me. Even then, the branding didn’t keep me staying with him though. I learned how to break free, not even being aware he had some sort of branding bond with me. One day, I felt strong enough or fed up enough, one of the two. I decided I wasn’t going to listen, and I was done with it and ran. Ran for something better to be a better person even if I knew no one would ever love me.

I would at least be free.

Everyone left the basement except for Derek and the head Witch. These misfits were chatting like they’d just got out of the movies, cutting up and joking with one another as if they didn’t just fight and try to kill innocent bystanders. The door slammed, and I winced. The last bit of light that left the floor above me trickled away, and I was trapped. I’m stuck in this horrible basement, never to get out again. He would be more careful this time.

“Let’s get this over with,” the Witch said, heading over to the corner of the room. The small area looked dedicated to her. It was the only new part of the room. Derek grabbed my upper arm, pulled me to the chair in the middle of the room, and sat me down harshly.

“You’ve been a bad girl, Rosie,” Derek said in a sing-song voice. “Do you know what happens when my girl has been bad?” He tied my legs to the chair and kept my upper body free, ripping the shirt from my body, just left in my bra. I gasped, feeling the cold air hitting my body.

Rosalie

The light was blinding, and I felt nauseous as the morning started to depart. There were several Vampires as well as the few Witches that had transported with us. At first, I didn’t realize we were transported, but the dark and dank area we were standing in told me otherwise. No longer was I standing at the front of the packhouse, with the fall leaves drifting around and the young children running and playing in laughter. I was in a nightmare, yet again.

“No,” I croaked. “Please don’t!” My voice started rising as I continued my pleas. “I’ll do anything; please don’t touch me!” Tears were already beginning to flood my eyes, my heart rate rising from the panic. Breathing quickened, my eyes dilated, I could feel it. I could feel the knife, and I hadn’t even seen it yet.

Derek started chuckling darkly, and the Witch came forward with an iron. A branding iron. I recognized it from the first time he had used it all those years ago. The intricate detail of Latin letters and pictures of evil being with fangs. Now that I know what world I was shielded from all these years, I know what it was. The branding bond that will singe my skin, making me his.

Confusion set in my eyes. He couldn’t do this again. Mine just disappeared; it won’t stay. I won’t let it stay. I started to fight, trying to untie my rope bonds, and he started growling. “Since when did you fight back? Seems you need to learn your place again,” he scoffed. As soon as I screamed no, I felt a swift SMACK across my face. Spots clouded my vision, and I tried to shake them away. I didn’t want to pass out; I didn’t know what he would do to me.

I heard some shuffling, grunts, and growls; once my head shook away the dark spots in my vision, I saw another Vampire. “Alex, you i***t, not the face! I have to look at her while I mate her!”

“Easy there, Vanderveen; it will heal after you mate. It’s not like it is gonna scar,” Alex taunted.

Hold. The. Phone.

The Vanderveen name, Derek’s last name was Vanderveen? That name sounded so familiar; where can I place that last name? I never knew what Derek’s last name really was; he always told social services Smith, such a stupid generic name.

And, oh my gosh. Mate. He was going to try and literally mate with me?

Alex whipped his head towards me to get a better look. “She is a pretty little thing, huh? Who knew the pre-pubescent runt would turn into a beautiful rose?” He had pulled my chin up to look me in the eyes. “She will make an excellent chosen beloved for you. I would have done the same if I had known of this face.” Derek came over and smacked his hand away from me. My l*p was cut, and b***d started to trickle down my chin; the warmth of the b***d cooled off as it dripped into my lap.

Derek gave a small smile and dipped his finger to wipe up the b***d from my face. “Hmmm,” he hummed knowingly. “It really is time, Rosie. Soon you will be mine, and you can’t leave ever again after that. You will actually have feelings for only me.” I choked back the tears.

“No,” I whispered.

His face, Alex. I knew that face. Not just the times I saw him in this same house when I was younger, but another place. Now that I see his red eyes and the evil smirk he was giving me, I knew I saw him somewhere else, but where?

The Witch brought over a searing hot branding iron that was bright red. “Can we hurry up with this? I’ve got places to be.” Derek smirked and took the iron while Alex held me back to the chair. “Now, read this, and you can repeat this process 3 times if it doesn’t work.”

“Doesn’t work? What do you mean?” Derek spat as he walked closer to the Witch. She rolled her eyes like it was the most straightforward answer in the world. “She met her mate already, i***t. If the bond is strong, she could fight it. You can try several times to get it to stick. If it doesn’t, you could try and force the bond with the bite, but I cannot guarantee she would survive that if her body rejects it. The branding bond helps weaken her so you can bite her and not kill her.” The Witch grabbed a piece of paper and slapped Derek’s chest. “I’ll be back in a few days to get my branding bond iron back.”

Alex scoffed as she left. “This is quite a lot for your girl, don’t you think? Yeah, she’s pretty, but damn.” Derek read the paper and stuffed it in his pocket, and threw a scowl on his face toward Alex. My mind was rushing with different scenarios that could get me out of this situation, but from the looks of things, I was going to get burned.

I had no physical strength to go against two Vampires, heck I was even tied to a chair, and I couldn’t break out of the ropes. The only thing I had was my will. My will was to stay as strong as I could until Jack or any of the pack warriors arrived. The only problem was how long would my will last. If I had to be stuck here and be bonded to this Vampire, I think I might die. I would not submit to him; I couldn’t. My heart belonged somewhere else, and I was in pain already.

Derek stepped forward with the iron and began to speak, “Ego te mihi in sempiternum copulation, electi mei homine dilecto Filio suo. In hanc notam nos submittere, ut se fortiter. Maledicite habitatoribus fata.” As soon as he spoke the last word, he seared the brand to the upper part of my chest.

Screaming in agony, I tried to escape, to move my body to get away from Alex. The band came off of my body; it was black, just like the first time I was branded. There was no b***d or blisters. It was dark and singed. He repeated the process on my back, and I didn’t even scream. I concentrated on rejecting it. I had no idea how to do it, but I kept thinking of Jack, the one person who could take this pain from me.

What would Jack be feeling now? Would he feel this pain I was in? We hadn’t mated; he told me we would feel each other once we were one. Right now, the pain was so much I could only hope he didn’t feel what I felt. The pain was unbearable. I didn’t feel it in just my chest but all over my body like it was trying to tie down my spirit to an invisible force.

Alex laughed as he let go of my body. I slumped in the chair; burning tears were melting my eyes. Everything was blurry. I was still holding on to the picture I had of Jack I had in my mind, his warm smile, his gentle touches when he would move my hair out of my face. The way he made me feel just by touching me with his hands and the euphoria I felt. How he would just look at me from across the room and instantly feel the warmth from his love for me. I wanted it back; I wanted him. I wouldn’t give up, I couldn’t.

Before I felt the light go out from me, I remembered the name Vanderveen and Alex’s face. Vanderveen, the man’s computer trying to infiltrate Storm’s network for information, and Alex’s face were on the other side of the webcam that I had taken a picture of. They were both after Storm long before me, and I somehow got caught in the middle.

Funny how small the world really is.