Page 134 of A Second Chance for the Beta

I nod tentatively, not convinced by their casual attitude, but I don’t want to argue either. They both look exhausted and probably need an hour or two of sleep. I doubt I will be able to sleep here, but Felix and Dario make sure to take me between them so that I am protected by their bodies.

I was so convinced I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but surrounded by Felix and Dario’s bodies and the comfort they give me, I feel how slumber is pulling me under. Soon my eyes turn heavy, and I’m dragged into a restless sleep. Nightmares are haunting me. My conscience is telling me I’m just dreaming but in this state it’s difficult to be rational.

“…up.”

My ears ring slightly by the noises around me before an icy cold spreads over me.

“Wake up!”

I startle, sitting up abruptly, my heart almost jumping out of my chest by being pulled out of my sleep so harshly. Something cold is dripping off my hair. It reeks of beer.

Felix and Dario have startled awake too, their gazes still disoriented. One of the guards is standing at the door, an empty bottle of beer in his hands. He tosses it aside with a grin.

“Let’s play a new game,” one of them sneers. “I’m bored.”

forty-three

Panic

*CHARLIE*

Oneofthementosses a beer bottle aside and opens the cell door. Within minutes they have gripped Felix and Dario and brought them under their control. My ears start ringing like they always do when my nose starts bleeding.

Can’t my fucking vampire powers just appear so that I can slice their throats open!?

I blink at my own violent thoughts. They are so foreign to me, yet also feel like part of myself. Fuck, I wish I were already sixteen!

More guards sweep into our cell, surrounding the three of us. I have nowhere to go or hide while the drunk men are sneering and tossing their disgusting comments at us.

“I bet you are a virgin, sweetheart.” One of them grins at me. “How about you put on a show for us.”

“What?” I ask, my mind completely blank.

“Don’t do it,” Dario mutters, just to get kicked in the stomach.

The man who started thegame,as he called it, takes out a knife, moving it over Dario’s face. “He has a beautiful face, doesn’t he?” he asks, drawing a thin line of blood from his cheek to his neck.

“No!” I beg. “Please don’t hurt him!”

“This is a silver knife. Wouldn’t it be sad if his face would forever be ruined?” he asks sweetly. So sweet it makes me feel sick.

I want to lunge at him and hurt him, but I have no powers. I feel so freaking useless and powerless. Felix and Dario are in this because of me. If I hadn’t bumped into them, they wouldn’t be here. They wouldn’t get hurt!

“So?” the guard sneers, squeezing Dario’s throat. Dario struggles against his grip, struggling for air.

“Stop it!” I yell.

When the man draws another thin line of blood before tightening his grip around Dario’s neck once more, I start to tug off my shirt. “I’m going to do it! I’m doing it.”

He releases the grip around Dario’s throat, making him gasp for air. The knife is still dangerously close to his neck. I’m not going to take the risk. So what? I’ll strip! It’s just skin and bones, completely natural.

Just that I’m standing there, surrounded by a bunch of creepy men who smirk at me now, their eyes glinting like they are about to hunt their prey. I feel tears of anger and desperation burning in my eyes. Why am I so helpless?

“Tell her to be faster,” one of the guards says, slurring his voice slightly. He opens another bottle of beer, spraying it towards me.

The others soon follow, laughing while I try to shield my body from them.

“Do it now,” the main guard huffs. “Before I forget myself and kill your two cute little bodyguards.”