Chapter 6

Rebeccas POV

The glow from the fireplace only reached about half the room. The part of the room that I was in was completely dark still, but I could make out a figure sitting by the fireplace. Someone was sitting in the shadows where the light from the fireplace did not reach. I wondered if that was Bryan. I knew the room felt warm this time. My ankle still hurt, and my arm still throbbed, and where I got impaled on the branch from the tree, it was still aching, but when I looked at it, it was starting to heal, but very, very, very slowly.

I wonder what's going on that I'm not healing as quickly as usual. My back didn't hurt as badly, but it still stung slightly to put pressure on it.

"Hello, is anybody there?"

Nobody answered me.

" Hello, is anybody there?"

" Please answer me."

" I'm here, my little mate."

" Bryan, is that you?"

" Yes, Rebecca, it is me."

" Where am I?"

" You're in my castle."

" You mean the castle up on the hill? "

"Yes "

That was very interesting because I've seen that castle a lot coming through here, but I did not know anyone lived in the castle. Who was this guy? What was he? Is he a vampire? I had so many questions and not enough answers. Bryan then got up from his chair and went around the room to light candles. The last candle was lit. I was able to get a nice view of his body and his face.

His face was oval-shaped. His chin was rounded, and he had a decent nose. It wasn't too big or too small. High cheekbones. His jawline was nicely shaped. His lips were full and very pink. His skin was very pale like mine. He had deep emerald eyes. You could tell through his shirt that he was very muscular. His biceps bulged out when he moved his arms. You could tell that he kept in shape. He is very tall as well.

He looked very sexy to me. Again, I could not take my eyes off him. He slowly walked to bed. I tried to scoot back on the bed, and then I grimaced in pain. He was at my bedside in a flash.

" Are you OK?"

" Please let me go."

His facial expression went from worried to sad. I wasn't sorry that I had made him miserable. I did not know what this man wanted from me. What is this mate thing about? He keeps calling me his mate. But I don't understand what that means. I wanted to know why I was here.

" I can not let you go. You are my mate."

" You have said that before."

" But what does it mean?"

"All in due time."

Again, everything was in due time. Just then, my stomach let out a growl. I was hungry. The last time I ate was a while ago—a day or two ago, in fact. He went to reach for me, and I flinched. Again, he looked sad. Why did he look so sad? I was mesmerized by him. He looked like a man in my dreams.

But why would I dream about a man I have never met? I had a strange mark on my right thigh. It was in the shape of a crown with a flower. I was told it was a birthmark, and I was told to keep it covered. But I never understood why. I was deeply thinking about how to get myself out of this situation when my stomach growled again.

Bryan then left the room. I was grateful that he left the room. I released the breath that I was holding. That I did not realize I was carrying. It was weird that this man had kidnapped me, and yet I feel safer with him than I have ever felt in my life. This dress I was wearing fit me very well. I did not like its color, but it did fit. I scooted to the edge of the bed. I was looking for a place to relieve myself.

I could not find a place to use the bathroom. I was crossing my legs when a young lady came into the room. She looked like me. I had to rub my eyes. She looked exactly like me. But how could that be?

" Hey girl, I'm Brooke."

" Hi, I'm Rebecca."

" Umm, where do I use the bathroom?"

She pointed to a curtain—a place inside to use the bathroom. That was different. I tried to stand up and almost fell. If Brooke had not caught me, I would have fallen. She was just as fast as Bryan. Now, I was starting to believe I was in the company of vampires. I had heard stories that they were lightning-fast. But I thought they were just a myth, a scary story to tell children if they did not behave.

" Let me help you."

" Thank you."

She let me lean on her as we slowly walked to the bathroom. When she pulled the curtain back, a wooden seat was over a hole in some bricks. I was shocked that I did not smell. She helped me lift the bottom of my dress to sit down and use it. I finished doing my business. She handed me a wet cloth sitting in a pot of water, and I wiped myself. She helped me stand up and adjust the bottom of my dress.

She then helped me back to bed. Again, my stomach growled. I was getting myself adjusted on the bed when the bedroom door opened. It was Bryan. He had a tray of food. The smell hit me hard. Everything smelled wonderful. I finished getting adjusted on the bed, and he sat the tray on my lap. This was entirely too much food for just me.

" I do not know what you like, so I got a little of everything."

I was grateful that he tried to accommodate me. All the food looked delicious: ham, fried potatoes, a steak, and some green beans. There was a wooden fork and a plate. I took a little of everything. He then took the tray away. I started eating it, taking giant bites. Bryan and Brooke were watching me eat. I was embarrassed that I was eating my food so fast. The way I was eating wasn't very lady-like.

If I were going to be honest, I wouldn't have eaten in days. I had made Maleni mad at me because one of my dresses did not fit anymore. It is too small now. So she got angry at me. Her solution was to starve me. They were always coming up with evil ways to punish me. It was that way for as long as I could remember. I did not think that they liked me very much. She even stabbed me in the leg one time.

I tripped her in an accident when I was a child. My punishment was that she stabbed me to teach me to keep my legs out of people's way. I learned the lesson because I avoided people from that day forward. I did not want to get stabbed again. I also have a scar on my arm from when I was a baby. They told me that someone had tried to take me from them, and they stabbed them, and my arm got in the way. But I don't think that is the truth. But I did not argue.