Page 89 of A Second Chance for the Beta

Playing Games

*ELLA*

Iwakeuptoa dim light surrounding me. It takes me a few minutes to regather my senses and recall what happened, but whatever that asshole vampire drugged me with wasn’t so much to take me out completely, making it easier for me to collect my thoughts.

I will my fears down, trying to go over the facts. That vampire lieutenant from Richie’s picture kidnapped me. I wonder if that idiot knew that he basically snatched me away a few miles from Silas’s new coven. As if Silas wouldn’t be able to tell where I am.

I’m not hurt… a lot. My head throbs a bit. Maybe I took a fall, or that lieutenant punched me unconscious.

I’m warm. I blink. Right, I’m not cold. I stretch out my arms, feeling a soft fabric beneath my fingers and a… mattress. A bed?

What is going on?

I sit up abruptly, ignoring the dull feeling in my head. The room spins around me, making me close my eyes to battle the feeling of nausea. Once I feel better, I open them again, surprised to find myself in a cozy guest room. The walls around me are brick, but it seems like that’s how the building was built. It’s clearly not a dungeon. There is even a window.

But dungeon or not, I’m clearly a prisoner here.

Yet, I’m covered by a blanket.

Nefeli.

Uhm…Her voice sounds tired.Still not fully there, sorry.

That’s okay; I’m just glad you don’t feel the effect of the drugs anymore. At least not much. Can you reach out to Dante?

I can try,she says.I can’t link him over the distance, but I can make sure he knows we are alright.

Thanks.

Weirdly, they didn’t give me a dose of wolfsbane. I could shift and fight my way out of here. That would probably be stupid of me to do, but it’s still an option. I get up from the bed, noticing how there are clothes on the chair next to me. My wristband is still attached to my arm, so they didn’t remove it. Again, it surprises me that they let me keep my belongings. Granted, I wasn’t carrying around a lot, since I shifted only a couple of minutes before I was kidnapped.

I switch into the clothes and then walk towards the door, rattling at it.

To my utmost shock, the door opens.

They didn’t lock it?

In front of my door is a man guarding it. He has black hair, wearing it rather short, and a handsome face. Must be a trait of the vampires for them to all be bordering towards pretty. Well, he is a guard, so they don’t leave me fully unattended here.

The vampire turns towards me and smiles politely. “You are awake. That’s good to see. Can I bring you something?”

I decide to test the waters. “You can take me out of here.”

“I can,” he says to my surprise.

“You are telling me I could just leave?” I ask with a humorless laugh.

“Precisely. You can leave whenever you want to.”

“Why the abduction then?” I ask.

“To keep our anonymity and not to attract too much attention,” he says, and for the first time here, I feel like that’s probably the truth.

“I still don’t believe that I can just leave.”

“You can,” he says. “But I would advise you not to leave.”

“Why? Because you would kill me?”