STEFAN (Completed)

Part 20

Chapter 20

At that moment, her father Miguel Banderas came into the room dressed in dark clothes. He glided towards the cage. The Renegades were not happy with the interruption but they left all the same.

"You look hideous," he told Stefan without mincing words. "I wonder what my fool of a daughter sees in you."

Stefan glared at him, his eyes dark with hatred. His body was covered with fresh cuts and burns. The skin of his back had been completely chewed off by some of Sergei's werewolves. The stakes visibly protruded behind him.

"You look like a Renegade whore," Miguel continued, taking in Stefan's abused body. "I wonder what your parents will think of you crawling in a cage and covered in blood and semen. The Prince of Devonne will never recover from the fact that his second son is now bisexual."

"Bastard!" Stefan cursed, but the words came out in a hoarse whisper.

"What did you say?" the younger vampire taunted leaning close but not close enough to be grabbed and bitten. He laughed. "The sight of you is priceless, Romanescu. And to think that this was all entirely my little girl's idea. She might be stupid enough to think she cares about you and that you could possibly feel the same, but after all said and done, she is a Renegade through and through. I had almost given up on her when you arrived but she has proved that she is her father's daughter."

"Do you know what she said to me?" he continued in a conversational tone. "She said 'why don't they rape him while they are at it. That should be the height of his humiliation."

Stefan could only glare at the other vampire.

"You thought she was painfully shy, didn't you? You also thought she couldn't hurt a fly until she wielded that monstrous syringe. I bet you thought she was the weak link because she covered your nudity, read to you and touched you. You disappoint me, Romanescu. For an ancient vampire, you are a fool. You were brought down by two little females who appeared to be unable to hurt a fly."

The vampire was wrong. He, Stefan had not trusted the Renegade. She was nothing to him and the other vampire was wrong in assuming that he, Stefan would be fooled by a Familiar. Her father had confirmed that she felt something for him in spite of all that she did to him but Stefan didn't give a damn about her.

"You brought it upon yourself, Romanescu. You scorned her despite her not so subtle show of affection. Haven't you heard the adage that 'hell hath known no fury like that of a woman scorned?' Don't bother entertaining thoughts of harming her because you won't get that opportunity."

Miguel rose to his feet, laughing at Stefan's bared fangs.

"What are you going to do, you rabid faggot? Bite me? You had better reserve your strength because you are going to need it when the men come back for you."

His laughter followed his departure. Stefan didn't bother trying to escape. It was of no use. He couldn't break free unless he had blood.

Stefan was filled with a murderous rage when he caught Lorena's scent. And that scent which was unique to her. She wasn't in the room but he could feel her coming close. What did she want from him? What was she up to? Did she intend to inject him with one of her syringes filled with the poisonous substance? Did she intend to read to him again and then complain about her poor sight as though he cared?

Well whatever her intention, she was his ticket out of this hell.

She came into the room, dressed in a maxi purple gown and she walked funny. The lights were on and so she didn't need the pen light. He sent a thought her way, wincing with the effort. She bowed over and screamed.

"Stop it," she told him. "I'm here to help you."

He gave a snort of relief.

"I swear I'm here to help you," she told him. "I don't have much time. Stop it or I'll let you rot down here. I am your true mate. And you have no right to hurt me."

His true mate? What a laugh! Was that intended to put her in his good books?

Wincing, she inched closer. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the state he was in. Any wider and her eyes would have popped out of their sockets.

"Madre de Dios! What have they done to you?

A single tear escaped her eyes and Stefan reminded herself that she was no innocent. He looked at her, really looked at her and found that she wasn't as young as she looked. She was in her thirties.

"I can't believe they fed on you. The animals!"

Lorena took out a key from the pocket of her dress and unlocked the cage. She had managed to escape her own prison and now intended to strike a deal with the vampire who was an enemy of her people.

Her scent wafted through Stefan's nostrils as he inhaled. She pulled open the cage door and embraced him, forgetting her pain and careful not to hurt his back. She ignored the stench coming from his abused body. His lips parted and she must have sensed it because she drew back before he could sink his fangs into her flesh.

"I want to help you escape but you must promise me that you will help me escape from this hell hole. Even if you don't take me back to your people, I wouldn't mind as long as I leave here."

Stefan had no intention of making any promises to a Familiar. He didn't need her sacrifice, he could help himself to her blood without her permission. Moving with a speed which surprised him because of his condition, he grabbed the unsuspecting Familiar.

She yelped as he pulled her roughly to his body. He ripped the bodice of her gown and she tried to push him off her telling herself that she should have been more careful. She had intended to give him a part of her blood but this vampire looked like he had every intention of satisfying the hunger that had been boiling in him for seven years.

He wasted no time in sinking his teeth in the creamy flesh just over the low cupped bra she wore. She cried out in pain as his fangs broke her skin and her blood began to flow. Actually, her blood gushed out because he didn't just sink his fangs into her flesh, he bit off her flesh creating a wide, deep gash.

Her blood flowed richly into his body and he almost purred as he drank from the fountain of life. It had been so long. Soon his vampire pheromones took over and pleasure replaced her pain. She found herself holding his head to her as he fed from the gaping wound.

As he fed, Stefan touched his twin brother's mind, giving him the necessary link with which to find him. Nik's response was almost immediate.

"Keep the line open and we'll find you, bro."

He lifted the mortal easily into his arms as he drank. Her blood was the sweetest nectar, better than any he had ever tasted although it didn't have the rejuvenating effect that an ancient blood. Soon her tiny hands began to beat at him.

"Enough! Enough!" she cried out, but he wasn't in the frame of mind to do as she asked. He held her in place as he fed voraciously oblivious to what he was doing to her. Her flailing hands got weak as her heart beat grew weaker as did her cries.

"Stop, Stefan, in the name of all that is holy," she cried weakly. "You're killing me."

He paid no heed to her, intent on satisfying his unnatural hunger. Soon she was no longer struggling. Her hands fell limply to her side and she would have fallen backwards if he wasn't holding her so tightly. He let go of her before he could take the last drop of her blood, but he had taken enough to put her at the doors of death.

He tossed her body aside and stepped out of the cage. Her blood hadn't been enough to satisfy him but it would do for now. As he moved he clothed his lower body in a pair of dark jeans and cranked his neck. His senses came alive after seven years.

He needed to feed a little more and he would be okay. He spared a glance in the direction of the lifeless body of the Familiar. She wasn't dead yet and he had no intention of letting her get away so easily. He gave her a little of his blood to keep her alive until help came.

He needed an ancient blood and the rejuvenating effect of the soil of his homeland before he would be ready for his revenge.