Awakening (The Magic of the Black Forest Book 2) (17 page)

He skimmed his eyes across my body. Not just skimmed, he ravished and raped my body with one look. It left me feeling indecent and wanting to cover my clothed body. The corners of his mouth curled into smile while his snake-like tongue licked his lips perversely.

“Does this hurt?” he asked, applying a death grip on my mangled broken arm. His laughter, wicked and loud, filled the room. I’m sure the devil himself looked up from hell after hearing it. Clenching my jaw tightly, my pride refused to let me scream out loud from the agonizing pain, to give the sick twisted bastard the satisfaction.

“You are quite brave for a mere human. I promise you, Natalia, soon you will either cry out in pain or in pleasure, whatever your choice.”

“I choose pleasure. When will Bradley be here?” I asked sarcastically.

At first I thought he might let me go because he untied my restraints. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. Once I saw the fury, the red flames blazing in his soulless eyes, regret chilled me to the bone. I knew at that moment I was in deep, deep trouble. I should have kept my mouth shut.

The man became furiously enraged. Straightjacket, horn-mad, ripping my shirt off in one tug and my bra with another. Without force or effort, he stripped jeans off my body. Pieces of my tethered shirt and jeans were thrown into the air over his shoulder behind him, out of reach.

Terrified, I fought with everything in me, physically and magically, trying to get him off of me. The more I resisted and fought, the more the back of his hand whacked the sides my face. First the left, then the right and back to the left again. The harder his punches, the louder my pleas of mercy were for him to stop.

Slowly, not to avoid hurting me, he positioned his body on mine. Fearful of what he was going to do next I begged him to stop, made random fleeting promises I’d never keep. All the while I telepathically cried for Bradley, telling him I loved him and to forgive me for the choices I was about to make. With Andrew willing to rape me to get what he wanted, death would be my only escape. I would rather be dead then to allow Andrew to have his way me.

“Get off of me, you filthy vampire. You disgust me. That is why I have never chosen you and will never choose you. I’d rather die before ever being with you!”

Again he beat me brutally, treating me like a punching bag, punching me viciously in the face, head and stomach with a closed fist.

All of a sudden he stopped, jumped off my body and stared down at me yelling, “You better be careful what you wish for bitch! I have no problem with killing you. Or better yet, maybe I’ll make you like me. Your precious Bradley would never want you after I’ve bitten you. You’ll beg for me then,” he said over his shoulder before running through the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Unable to speak, random acts of murdering Andrew played out in my mind. When trying to move my jaw to speak, pain unlike anything I had ever felt radiated throughout my face with my jaw being the focal point. Pained, afraid and alone, I curled up into the fetal position, crying and trying to mind link with Bradley or Seager, begging them to find me.

“Natty…” Turning slowly, looking up, cautiously, through squinted eyes I saw Cheryl standing over me. Instinctively, to protect myself, I raised both arms into the air, shielding myself from the next blow. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I’m going to make this right.”

She bent over me and I begged her not to hurt me, “Ease, Eryl, we’re riends. Ave woves you nnd Radley always good to you.” My jaw, broken and useless, made my speech sound slurred.

“Shh…” Lifting my battered and bruised body from the mattress, “I’m going to take you out of here before he returns. Please forgive me.” Cheryl tried to be gentle, cradling my body to hers, but the pain, had me crying out loud. “I’m so sorry, Nat, but it will hurt until I get you to safety. I’ll be as quick and as gentle as I can under the circumstances. Please don’t scream out again. We don’t want him to hear us and come back…” She paused to listen to our surroundings, “if he didn’t already.”

I didn’t care where I went as long as it was far from here. “K. Ease urry, ease.” With that she took off running. The pain was too unbearable, causing me to pass out.

It was really weird. I heard her breathing and felt the wind on my body as she flitted through what I felt was the forest. “Not much further now, Nat. Just hold on a little longer,” I heard her say but she sounded far away.

All of the sudden the wind and her breathing stopped. Everything went silent. My heart started to flutter, a tingling sensation ran through my body. I opened my eyes and it was too dark for me to see. I could hear movement in the forest.
“Please no more.”
I cried out silently.

“Cheryl, you are a fool to think you can take her from me.” Andrew threatened. Fear overwhelmed me; mentally I started screaming. I barely heard him demand, “Give her to me and I’ll spare your life.”

“Over my dead body. I’m taking her to Bradley,” she snarled.

“Your death can be arranged,” he promised.

Cheryl took off running again. I could hear Andrew right behind us. There was no way she could out run him, not carrying me in her arms. She ran with a purpose, unlike before when she was trying not to hurt me. With every step, a painful jolt moved throughout my entire body.

Once again I felt the tingly sensation run through my chest.
“Bradley. We’re close. Andrew is right behind us.”
I wasn’t sure if I was delirious or if I really felt his presence.

Cheryl stopped dead in her tracks. I heard snarling and growling coming from all around us. It sounded as if there was a fight going on behind us.

“Give her to me, NOW!” I heard Colleen growl. I felt myself being placed on what felt like a soft fur rug, except it moved and had a heartbeat. “Nat, grab hold of my fur and hang on.”

I tried to do what she said but my one arm didn’t do what I told it to do. I couldn’t get my hand to move.

I heard someone say,
“Her arm is broken she can’t hold on. You’ll need to change back to your human form and carry her.”
It was Seager. I started to cry.

“Seager
…”

“Please, I can carry her. It will be better if you stay a grizzly. We can make it back to the house safely if we do it together.”

“Fine, but so help me Cheryl, if you try anything I will kill you!” Hearing Colleen threaten Cheryl I almost felt safe. Cheryl took me back in her arms and started running. I could hear a heavier set and a softer set of footsteps next to us.

“Seager…”

“I’m here, Nat. We’re almost home.”

“Is Bradley okay?”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s fine. He’s with the guys going after Andrew
.”

Sobbing uncontrollably I mindfully cried,
“No!”
We didn’t talk again, my mind was too fried to keep a conversation. I couldn’t focus on anything.

My body went limp the second I felt the safety of my home. Again, I could hear my surroundings but the voices and sounds seemed far away, out of reach.

“Colleen, something’s wrong. Her body just went limp.”

“Give her to me so that I can lay her down in her room. You have some serious explaining to do, Cheryl. We know it was you that took her to that sadistic bastard.”

“I know. I’m so sorry.” Her voice sounded apologetic, full of regret.

“I’m not sure if you should be here when the guys return.”

“I’m not leaving until I know everyone is okay. I’ve made a mess of things, I know, but I’m going to make it right before I leave. Brad and Dave need to know what Andrew is planning and what he has already done.”

There was silence for the longest time with the exception to the sound of footsteps pacing back and forth. I could only assume that it was Colleen doing the pacing.

The front door opened with a thud against the adjoining wall to my room. My heart racing, rapidly beating against my chest, as Bradley neared. On the other side of my bedroom door he stood, talking about me to the others.

“Where is she?” my angel asked.

“Wait, Brad! It’s really bad. You need to calm yourself before you go in there.”

“Colleen… Please move out of my way. I’m not going to hurt her.” His voice shook but I wasn’t sure if it was anger or fear.

“No, you need to trust me now. First send Jesse and Dave in. She was badly beaten and is bleeding. You’d never forgive yourself if you hurt her unintentionally.”

“Fine, we’ll do it your way, but hurry. I need to see her,” he demanded.

“Okay first let me put some clothes on her…” There was a loud furious roar before everyone fell silent. Everyone except Bradley. He was still growling, but now it was low and menacing. I could actually hear his body tremble as he fought to keep control.

With a hard raspy voice he asked, “Why do you need to dress her?”

“She didn’t have any clothes on her when we caught up with Cheryl. Maybe Cheryl should fill you and Dave in while Jess and I tend to Natty.”

Cheryl started to explain everything that happened including what she had done. There was some growling from Bradley and a lot of ‘whys’ from Dave.

“I pretended to be knocked out so that he would stop beating me. That didn’t work he just kept pounding on me. It was Natalia that got him to stop, she asked him to stop and he did. He chained me up and went over to her. At first he was kind to her…” She went on and explained how and why Andrew changed both Anthony and Dave, but Bradley interrupted her.

“WHY IS SHE NOT DRESSED?” he hollered so loud it made me gasp for air.

I couldn’t hear over Jesse and Colleen, especially after I gasped for air. They thought they hurt me. If I could speak I would have told them I was okay, and to be quiet because I wanted to hear. Finally, they stopped talking and just tended to my wounds and I could hear Cheryl.

“…he laid her on the bed and locked her in his gaze. He was sniffing her, telling her how wonderful she smelled, then he kissed her cheek and she spit in his face.”

I heard Jesse and Colleen laugh quietly. “Nice!” Jesse cheered with a whisper.

“She also said something about if he wanted her to scream with pleasure that he’d better call you.”

“That’s when he untied her. Furious now, he aggressively grabbed her chin and kissed her so violently she started choking. Then he ripped and tore her clothes off…”

Bradley stopped growling and roared, “NO!” The growling started steadily again. I wanted to try to comfort him but I couldn’t reach him.

“…she tried really hard to fight him off. She kept telling him she’d rather be dead then to allow him to touch her in any kind of way. He beat her worse than I did. Then his rage ended and he took off.

“He said he’d be back to finish what he started, so I broke free, picked up Nat and started running as fast as I could to bring her back here.” There was a long pause. “I am truly sorry to all three of you. There is no excuse for my behavior. I hope that one day you can forgive me.”

I can only assume that she turned to leave because I heard Bradley tell her to stay. She agreed. I’m not sure why he made such a request, I would rather she leave and never return.

There was a knock at the bedroom door, “Can I come in now?” Before anyone replied I heard the sound of the door opening followed by Bradley yelling, “NO!” A combination of horror and anger were evident in his voice.

“I told you to wait until we got her dressed,” Colleen frantically hollered back.

I felt an ice-cold hand on my forehead. It wasn’t the temperature I was used to but I still knew it was him. He had no more blood running through his veins. I wanted to see him. His voice and touch had changed, what else had?

“Natalia, my love, please be okay.” It sounded like he was crying, his voice low, shaky. I tried to open my mouth to say something, anything, to comfort him but couldn’t. My jaw hurt when I tried to open my mouth. Opening my eyes, relief swept through me when I saw his body remained the same, beautiful and handsome.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes pained and full of anguish. I tried to speak again but the only thing I could manage was a teardrop.

“Bradley…”
Unsure he’d hear me, I waited for him to respond before continuing.

It was evident in his eyes he’d heard me. He looked adoringly into my eyes and replied simply, “Yes?”

The tears started to fall from the corners of my eyes. My body was shaking from my sobbing, causing me even more pain.

“I was so scared. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. I love you. I didn’t think it could be possible, but it is. You are even more beautiful than you were before.”
Lifting my hand to touch his face, it felt cold, smooth and hard, but his still the same. Taking hold of his shirt I pulled it with all my might, which was next to nothing, to draw his lips closer to mine.

Following my lead, he leaned in closer to me, consumed with worry.

“
Kiss me, Bradley. Please
.”

He shook his head, disapproving.

“Please
.” My sobbing made my inaudible voice crack.

“Natalia…” he said with painstaking affection before he leaned down and pressed his cold lips on mine. Electricity surged through my body, allowing me to ignore the intense pain I felt in my jaw. He pulled away too soon, but with a smile. “Mmm, I missed that.”