Searching for Always and Forever

Chapter 42

Hope had lost count of the days and nights. Every waking moment came with torturous thoughts and every time she tried to close her eyes, the horrible nightmares haunted her. She laid in her bed, as the witch came with her usual breakfast. The witch immobilized Hope every time she entered... she did it since the incident. The witch didn't even look at Hope as she took away the previous night's untouched food and replaced it with the fresh one. Hope could smell the coffee, the bacon and the eggs. She felt disgusted from the unpleasant smell of food and turned to her side facing away from the cart, she couldn't even look at it. Hope didn't remember the last time she ate. She couldn't stomach the food anymore, but the constant hunger was killing her.

Lucien and the witch knew what Hope needed, but they didn't give it to her. Perhaps they tried to starve her to death. Death... It was something that wasn't truly possible for her.

Her first death was the scariest. She knew it was coming, she knew it was a matter of time until Lucien would figure it out. Hope just started to accept who she really was, a tribrid. She wasn't ready to embrace her third nature. Turning into a vampire terrified her. These nightmares haunted her even before Lucien took her. That one day she'd become a true tribrid, a monster. She could almost see the fear in her little siblings' eyes. They would be so scared of her, Grace might not even let Hope near the kids, she was their true sister anyway, Hope was only their half sister... and Landon, he might change his mind about Hope, that this wasn't what he signed up for, a relationship with a monster. Everything about becoming a vampire scared her... but it happened, and it happened faster than she thought.

Only a couple days passed after Lucien's failed attempt of his serum, when he came to see Hope with his witch and with the nurse. Hope knew from the look in his eyes why he was there. She knew from the evil smirk that it was her last day, her last minutes as a living human.

"Are you here to take my blood again?" Hope asked in a shaky voice, with fear in her eyes, as the witch tied her to the bed and immobilized her. Lucien just smiled at her. It wasn't fair, he didn't even give her a fighting chance. "Please untie me." Hope begged, this wasn't how she was going to die. Lucien let out a frustrated sigh, then gestured to the witch.

"Loosen it. Will ya?" He said and the ties were loose and Hope could move again. Hope sat up on her bed, but the ties still held her in her place. Lucien sat down facing her and smiled at her like a creep. He stroked Hope's hair, but she quickly pulled her head away. "Don't worry sweetheart, you won't feel a thing." He said and tried to stroke her again but Hope pulled away again, so he stopped. "I'm just trying to calm you, the tears are really not necessary. No need to be afraid." Lucien said and Hope didn't even notice she was crying. She was terrified and he saw right through her.

"You gonna kill me now?" Hope asked and tried to get out of the tie unsuccessfully.

"We are going to create something incredible. And yes, your death is necessary to achieve it, but we all know you won't be dead for long." Lucien chuckled. Hope hated how helpless and scared she was. She wanted to fight back, she needed to fight for her family, but before she could reply, Lucien reached for her head again, this time didn't let Hope to pull away, he held her tight and the last thing Hope remembered was the crack in her neck and the awful sharp pain, then the darkness.

Hope woke up with a loud gasp. She was disoriented, for a moment she didn't know where she was and what happened. But when she saw Lucien facing her, everything came back rushing. Was that it? Was she dead? To her surprise she wasn't tied down. Lucien grabbed the nurse and tossed her in front of Hope on the bed.

"Feed" He said and Hope was utterly confused at first, but when she looked at the nurse in front of her, the only thing she saw was the throbbing vein on her neck. Hope looked at Lucien. "Feed!" He instructed her again, and her ears could only focus on the nurse's rapid heartbeat. She needed it, she felt it. The hunger was stronger than any thought she had and without any more hesitation she grabbed the nurse and dug her fangs into her neck. The thick coppery liquid was heavenly and as she kept drinking it, she just needed more and more. When the blood was gone and the body fell to the ground, lifeless Hope was disappointed... she wanted more. "Now we need another nurse" Lucien complained as she eyed the dead woman on the floor and Hope just started to realize what she had done. "Anyway, do the honours for now." He spoke to the witch and in that instant Hope was immobilized again, tied to the bed as the witch dug needles into her vein, taking her blood.