Chapter 3

Rebeccas POV

I was on the ledge of the window. I was ready to reach for the tree when I heard the door of the bedroom open. I quickly forgot about being cautious and just jumped into the tree. I landed against it hard, and then I climbed down the branches. I missed a few branches, fell to the ground, and landed on my arm. I hear the bones snap. I also broke my ankle because my foot was at an odd angle. But I did not care about the pain.

I got up and started running as well as I could. My right foot was dragging, making running difficult, but I kept going. I was determined to get away. I did not hear anyone coming after me, but I did listen to wings flapping above me. It might be bats or birds, but I was not going to look up and see what it was. I kept running as fast as I could. I was starting to get tired.

I turned to look behind me and fell on a tree branch sticking out. My leg got injured when I fell. I pulled my leg back, and it started squirting blood. I was bleeding profusely. I started crying. Now, my ankle was broken, as well as my arm, and I was not healing like usual. I probably lost a lot of blood between being whipped and impaling my leg.

I sat down and started bawling. Again, I heard the flapping of wings above my head. This time, I could make out that it was a bat. It is pitch black outside. But I could always see in the dark as if it were daytime. I struggled to see correctly during the day after I turned ten. They refused to take me to a conventional doctor. Instead, they would take me to a drabarni, which is a female healer.

I hated it when they took me to her. She would always make the problems worse. Also, she was not gentle. I then got up and started running again. If I did not do something about it soon, I would bleed to death. So I stopped, tore a piece of cloth from my shirt, and tied it around my leg the best I could with a broken arm. The bleeding did slow way down, but I was still bleeding. I knew if I got to a safe place, I could rest my leg and let the bleeding stop.

I did not know how long I had been running, but the sun had started to come up. I needed to find someplace fast. I looked around my location and noticed a cave, which was beneficial because I could retreat as far back as I needed to, allowing me to rest. I quickly found two rocks. Hopefully, they are the right rocks with which to make a fire. I then gather as much wood as I can. I was still hurt. My ankle hurt like hell, and my leg was leaking blood everywhere. I knew I needed to get to that cave and rest for the day.

I could continue to run after the sun went down. Getting blisters on my skin would not be a good idea. After gathering the wood, I slowly climbed the rocks to the cave. The climb up to the cave was challenging because in my good arm was the wood, and my broken arm was hanging there. I searched for any evidence that an animal had lived in this cave. But there was none. I also looked for signs of bats, but did not see any. I then built a tent-looking thing to start the fire. My father, Micky, showed me how to do that. I then struck the rocks together over some dry grass I had found. Striking the rocks together created a spark.

It landed on the grass, but it did not start a fire. I did this a few times, and on the last try, the grass caught fire, making me squeal in glee. Then, I quickly covered my mouth to muffle it. I had almost forgotten that I was running from a vampire. That is what I believe him to be. I then listened for voices, and there were a few shouts. However, I couldn't make out what they were saying. They were too far away, which was a good thing.

I then inspected my ankle. It was like I feared it was broken. I tried to set it the best I could with a broken arm. I then checked the wound on my leg. The bleeding slowed way down, which was also a good thing. I finished stacking the wood around the grass to make the fire big enough for warmth, but not so big that it could be seen. I ensured it didn't get too big because I did not want to be found. I lay my head against the cave wall, and then I could have sworn that I heard someone or something say.

" Rest, little mate, you're going to need it."

I'm not sure if it was my imagination or not. I could've sworn someone was carrying me. I was too weak to open my eyes at that point. It felt as if I was being laid on a bed.

When I finally had the strength to open my eyes, I was lying on the bed I had been in the first time there. I tried to jump up, but I couldn't because of my ankle, and then I heard a voice.

" My sweet mate, you need to rest and not continue to hurt yourself anymore."

What did he mean by mate? I am nobody's mate.

After trying to adjust my eyes, I attempted to locate the source of the voice. I tried to look in the corners of the room as best I could, but the room was so dark that I could not even see. I did not know what was happening, but usually, I could see almost perfectly in the darkness, and then I heard the voice again.

"Relax, little mate, you are safe. My name is Bryan."

"You're safe, and you are protected. "

"You have nothing to worry about."

"For now, rest again."

Again, I tried looking in the corners, and everywhere I could see from the bed. I stared at the corners, hoping I could get my eyes to adjust to what was happening around me. I needed to find out where this person was because I couldn't see him. I know it's a man, and he's the one who carried me from the cave to here, but exactly where was he? I can tell it's a small castle or an older house because it is made of brick.

The fireplace was also made of brick, but this brick had designs etched into it. I thought it was beautiful. The last time I woke up, a fire was burning in the fireplace.

" What do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything from you. I want to get to know you a little, mate."

" I do have a name."

"My name is Rebecca."

"I don't understand what you were talking about."

" All in time, my beautiful mate."

Again, I know all sorts of animals have mates. But I am no animal. I am no animal whatsoever. I was trying to figure out where I was. How did I get into this room in the first place? I then pulled the blanket up to my chin. I was thinking about trying to escape again. But my ankle needed time to heal so that I would play along with this mate nonsense for a little while. My eyes were closing on their own. I'm more tired from the excursion. I didn't think it would take that much out of me. I fell asleep sometime later. I woke up, and there was warmth in this room. I looked toward the fireplace and saw that someone had built a fire.