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“But there’s nothing there,” I said, staring at the uneven patches of dried mud. Then he grabbed a blanket from his bed and set it on the floor. I felt queasy and strangely aroused that I would be sleeping in something he used. He grabbed a rope from the corner of the hut and bent down at my feet, tying one end around my ankle. His long hair brushed against my thighs as he worked, muttering to himself like a crazy person. His nearness and touch put my nerves on high alert, turning me on at the same time. I was confused about my body’s reaction to him.

“There,” he said, tugging on the rope, tightening it around my ankle. “I’ll show you where the shower is and where you will use the bathroom.”

James grabbed my hand again with his cold one, guiding me outside of his hut as I analyzed my surroundings to escape. Grandma was expecting me home, and I hated the fact that she was probably worried about me right now. The shower in the back was a bucket on the roof that he pulled with a chain to release water. There was a small ground stove outside for cooking. There wasn’t a sink, just barrels of ocean water outside the home.

“Please just let me go,” I said to him as he led me inside again.

“That’s impossible,” he said, laying two blankets on the ground for me. “You will tell your people about us. We’ve lived here peacefully for many years. I don’t have a choice.”

“I won’t, I promise,” I said ardently, kneeling on the blanket. I had never begged for my life before, but this warranted that I had to. I was going to die out here and needed to do anything possible to get back home. I was dizzy from lack of sleep, and it had to be well late into the night.

He sat on a wooden chair, observing me with hooded eyes. He was tall and slender, wearing only a loincloth around his thighs. The vampires here didn’t have much, and I could see that. His chest muscles bulged every time he moved, and I tried not to stare at him even though I was scared for my life.

“Your people have persecuted ours for years,” he said. “There’s no chance I will allow you to return.”

He got up to leave.

“Why did you save me then?!” I shouted when he was about to step out of the hut. “The night I was attacked.”

Chapter 5

Alana

Hestoppedandturnedaround slowly to gaze at me. He was quiet for a moment with a thoughtful look in his red eyes. The paleness of his skin made the red in his eyes and the darkness of his hair more vivid.

“I’ll be back,” he said gruffly- ignoring my question.Which meant he remembered who I was…

I watched as he left the hut, and I was more confused than ever. Why was I here if he was willing to save me that night? I suddenly remembered the phone I was clutching in my hand with the flashlight still on. They must not have seen my phone, and if they did, they probably didn’t know what it was.

I gingerly sat on the blanket cross-legged, wishing I didn’t wear such skimpy denim shorts. My thighs had goosebumps from the chill in the air. A nice pair of jeans or even leggings would have been better. There was no sun in this area of the island, and their chosen place was so isolated. Even if I screamed bloody murder, no one would hear me. My screams would be covered up by the sounds of the ocean, and there there was a long way back through the cave system.

I noticed the battery on my phone was almost dying. I dialed for help. When the phone started ringing, my heart was in my throat the entire time. Hoping against hope he didn’t come back at this moment.

Please pick up. Hurry up.

When they finally picked up, it felt like an eternity.

“Howl’s Edge Protection Services,” greeted the operator. “May I get your name and location, please?”

“I’m Alana, and I’ve been kidnapped by vampires,” I whispered harshly into the phone, hoping they could hear me above the whispering. When the words left my mouth, it sounded ludicrous even to me.

“Haha, we don’t do prank calls,” said the operator loudly, and I could hear her comrades laughing in the background as she whispered‘vampires’ to them.

“No! This is real,” I shouted.

Just then, the vampire walked into the hut, and upon seeing me talking on my phone, his eyes widened. He rushed over to me, snatching the phone from my hand.

“Hey!” I yelled, running after him as he walked outside with my phone. He hurled it against a boulder, and the phone smashed into a million pieces before me. My heart sank, and my hopes dashed.That was it. My last line of escape. The other vampires lingering around stared at us as I screamed at him. “You didn’t need to do that! You’re such a fucking monster.”

I dashed back inside, away from the other vampires’ prying eyes, my eyes burning with impending tears as James came inside after me.

“You should never have done that,” he said, his eyes hard as he sat on the edge of his straw bed. “I will hand you over right now to Volgriff if you keep acting like this.”

“You wouldn’t,” I said, out of breath and sitting on the blanket again. The hard floor was hurting my bottom, and I wished I was at home on my soft, cozy bed at my grandparents’. A wave of homesickness washed over me.

“What makes you so sure?” he asked.

“You saved me that night from my attackers,” I said. “That’s why I’m so sure.”