Enemy of my Enemy

𝕿𝖜𝖔

Bianca Blackburn would have been called enchanting, would have been called radiant, would have been called the personification of beauty itself... Were it not for the jagged scar that ran down her face, from the edge of her left eyebrow, all the way down to her jaw. Her appearance still held charm, of course, but with a monstrous side made visible for all to see.

The scar hadn't been made by accident, but had been forced onto her skin deliberately.

By her own father, no less.

But that was a story for another time.

Her insides burned as she drifted back into consciousness, undoubtedly the effects of the aconite that was coursing through her system. Aconite, more commonly known as wolfsbane. Almost always lethal to humans, and to creatures like her...

The blood in her veins was boiling up.

"Welcome back," called a voice. Bianca tried to sit up, and instantly regretted it. Her head began to swirl and the world was melting down around her. But she still held the upper hand, because Grayson Briare had no idea Bianca had been ingesting small amounts of aconite on a daily basis for nearly three years now. Right now, she wasn't as affected by the poison as she should have been.

"Insanely ambitious?" Bianca repeated the last words she'd heard before she'd sunk into a world of blackness. "Then I guess it's true what they say. Ambition gets people killed. Carved up, more like," she added.

"I'm not afraid of Lorenzo Blackburn," Grayson answered.

"Do you think it makes you brave, refusing to acknowledge fear?" Bianca quoted him, then cracked a smile. "Everyone is afraid of him. Even your father was."

"I'm not afraid of him, because I have you."

Bianca raised an eyebrow. "So I'm supposed to be the thing you use as blackmail? Sorry to disappoint you, but it won't work."

"Why? Because your father hates you?"

"No, because I mean nothing to him."

Grayson laughed a little at this. "You're wrong about that, Blackburn. Your father and mine were similar in many ways, but in that particular regard?" He paused for a moment. "You don't know what it's really like to have a father who doesn't care. Lorenzo will meet my demands, because he won't wish to see you dead."

"You're planning on killing me?" Bianca snorted.

"Hopefully not."

"What demands are you planning on making?"

Grayson shook his head. "Have a good stay, Bianca. I'll see you in a few days."

He moved towards the exit of the wine cellar, and Bianca didn't try to stop him. She waited until his footsteps had completely faded away before turning her attention to her wrists, which were chained to the wall. As she tucked her knees to her chest and prepared to give the chains a good kick, she wondered whether Grayson was being naive or just plain stupid. He wasn't serious about taking on her father, was he? No one could be that suicidal.

It took her four kicks to get the manacles off of herself. She'd half expected guards to come barging in at the noise, but no one came. Bianca still had no idea where she was, but she desperately hoped she was in a populated area. Taking a bus or a taxi back home seemed much more appealing than having to walk all the way back.

Bianca took up a position right next to the door, away from the hinges and near the handle. She then deeply inhaled, and let out the loudest scream she could manage.

Two guards came bursting into the room, one after the other. Bianca elbowed the second guard in the face, and used his staggering body to shield herself against the first guard's gunshots. She ran out of the room, hoping the first guard had horrible aim.

She made her way through the winding hallways and found herself in a large entrance hall. Surrounding her were windows that ran the length of the walls, but there wasn't a door in sight. Her instincts told her to duck, and just as she did, a blow dart whizzed past the place her head had been a split second before.

Cursing under her breath, Bianca rushed straight for the nearest window and braced for impact- Glass came shattering down around her, but despite her new wounds, she hit the ground running. Trees surrounded her, but she could tell she wasn't in the woods. It was more like she was in someone's very big backyard. A manor.

Steel gates circled the entire estate. When she was a few feet away from crashing straight into those gates, Bianca leaped- And transitioned in midair. A white wolf landed on the other side and bounded away effortlessly.

Hours later, Bianca was back home. The sun was just beginning to rise, and as she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway, she stepped into the bathroom, washed off all the blood and dirt on her skin, then got dressed in her school uniform.

"Good morning," Bianca said to her father at the breakfast table. "Did you sleep well?

He ignored her.

Bianca grabbed a carton of milk from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. "Do you want some?" she asked, only to be ignored again.

"I was kidnapped a few hours ago."

This got his attention. Her father looked up from his laptop computer and glanced at her. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Briare."

The effect was miraculous. He actually shut his laptop to focus on what she had to say.

"Keep talking."

"I went cliff diving last night. Grayson Briare found me soaked through, he had me dosed with aconite, took me to some manor a couple hours away from here, and told me all about his plans for world domination." Bianca dumped two packs of coffee into her milk. "He wanted to use me against you to make you 'meet his demands'," she elaborated.

"Go to school."

"Sure." Bianca drained the contents of her glass, then grabbed her bag as she headed out the door.

You don't know what it's really like to have a father who doesn't care.

Grayson was most likely wrong about this, but who knew? Maybe her father would surprise her by doing something about what had happened last night.