"I want you to know that I love you."
Rylan kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep in his cell... He hadn't slept properly in months. The cuts in his wrists were infected and oozy. The cold floor sent shivers up his body, aching on his dying body.
In the cell opposite him, two lovers... Mates... Saying goodbye to each other. He listened to their heart wrenching cries.
"It's going to be okay, nothing will happen." He assured her, his voice wobbling.
The woman had snuck in a few hours ago, they just layed together on the cold floor, whispering comforting things to each other tears falling.
Rylan had overheard that the women were planning an escape, but none of the men could move. The tight cuffs round their hands and ankles, laced with wolfsbane and silver poisoned their skin...
"You need to leave, I'll be fine. We'll get out too..." The man told his mate.
They shared their last goodbye, and she crept back off to the other side of the warehouse.
Rylan opened his eyes, staring into the darkness, his bloodshot eyes burning, his fangs sending shooting pains through his jaws, and the chemicals burning his insides.
He watched the light creep in through the cracks on the wall opposite him, he heard the women making their escape... And to his horror, their screams, bloodcurdling screams...
They never escaped.
The man opposite Rylan cried, knowing his mate was dead... He felt it in his chest, as his body collapsed.
He cried for hours, screaming out her name.... Until suddenly he went silent for a moment... Looking at Rylan.
"When you find your mate. Never let her go... It's more painful losing her, you'll regret everything you've ever done when you do lose her." The man said quietly to Rylan.
He was about to speak, when the guards barged into the room, with their weapons. Opening the cages and starting their torture for the day.
Rylan couldn't even scream as a guard poured a pail of boiling water over him. He had given up screaming.
He watched the man in front of him going through the same thing, his screams echoing through the halls.
The man in front of him died. Quietly, wanting his mate, in agony...and Rylan cried for him.... feeling his pain.
~
His eyes finally opened. He took a deep breath and smiled to himself when he smelt Adeline... He didn't want to accept the fact he had a mate now, but she smelt irresistible. He was still in the forest.
Adeline sat in his living room, she had only been here a few hours earlier, before he woke. They had to tell her about him, it was important she knew what he'd been through. Rylan's parents went through her questions, answering them as best as they could.
"What about food...?" She asked quietly. "Does he eat?"
"He doesn't really eat as much as he should, he's always hungry. And he doesn't feed Lucius, his Vampire side, as much as he should either... I don't think he likes to accept what he's been through, which is understandable." Brody explained. "Shall we take a walk? Go and find him?"
"Are you sure?" Adeline asked, looking at her parents for comfort.
"As long as you feel safe enough." Her father said squeezing her hand.
"He wouldn't try to hurt you, sweetie. He's doing his best." Susan comforted her. "You'll be safe with Brody."
Brody walked with Adeline through the forest, Brody knew roughly where Rylan would be and followed his scent through the forest.
"I can't imagine what he went through." She whispered, looking up at the sky... It was getting dark now.
"How much have you been told?" Brody asked.
"Not much. I know he was kept for 16 years and... Tortured and... I haven't been told anything in detail. I thought he might like to talk to himself, I understand if not. It must have been so damaging." She replied and Brody nodded.
"When we found him, he was so bad... He hadn't been able to feed Lucius in about 3 or 4 months, so he instantly fed on me. I didn't mind, I knew he needed it. But he didn't talk for about a year, and he often stays in his room for weeks at a time... He hasn't been taking the help we're trying to give him." Brody explained.
"Would he have fed off of me earlier?" Adeline asked.
"Not intentionally. He has the tendency to shut people out, but he won't hurt anyone on purpose... That why he's out here. He prefers to just get it out." Brody paused.
Rylan was sitting against a tree, facing the river, with the rain lightly covering his naked form. He listened to Brody and Adeline, who watched him for a moment.
"He usually uses blood packs, it's like manufactured stuff that we came up with for vampires, but sometimes he just needs to feed normally. He tends to let Orion, His wolf, hunt whatever he wants. then Lucius can drink from it... Then he just tends to sleep out here, naked." Brody told her and she smiled with a small giggle.
"He can't be warm, or comfortable." Adeline pointed out.
Brody shrugged. "He doesn't take care of himself..."
"How does he go out in the day...? If he's like 1/3 vampire..." She asked.
"We have no idea, the sunlight never really effects Lucius if he takes over Rylan's human form... Basically they each have their own form, but Lucius and Orion can easily take Rylan's form whenever they want... He gets quite frustrated." Brody tells her.
Adeline nods. "I can imagine... Having a wolf is hard enough... Let alone all the stuff he's been through and having Lucius."
"I hate it," Rylan speaks up, to both of their surprises.
"You're awake." Brody points out quietly.
"No shit," Rylan says yawning.
"Good feed?" He asked.
"No. Orion tried to kill an owl. Stupid wolf." Rylan muttered.
"Did you feed though?" Brody asked.
"Hmm... Just about." Rylan stretched.
"I'm sorry," Adeline mumbled, curling up against the tree to keep warm.
"For what?" Rylan asked turning his head, staying against the tree.
"Well, I sort of provoked you..." Adeline mumbled but he shook his head.
"It's not your fault. I'm sorry. This just might take a bit of getting used to." He closed his eyes again, wanting to sleep.
"Come on, let's go back. Your father won't stop asking where we are." Brody sighed. He walked over to Rylan and handed him some shorts and long tee. Brody gave him a second, before grabbing his hand and helping him up.
"Do you think you can come and say hello?" Brody asked, helping to steady his best friend.
Rylan walked a few places behind, not sure what to do. "Hi."
Adeline smiled," Look I'm trying to understand, and I don't expect anything, okay? So just tell me what you need ad we can take stuff as slow as you need." She said slowly. Brody had walked a few paces away, close enough to keep her safe, but to be there if Rylan needed him.
He just nodded. "Thankyou. I don't think I can hug-..."
"- It doesn't matter. Please." Adeline turned and they started walking back. He relaxed a little.
When they arrived back at the house, Rylan went straight upstairs to change, he didn't like having his scars on show, and it was very apparent in wet clothes. Adeline went up to the guest bedroom a few moments later, and everyone changed out of their damp clothes.
When he came back downstairs, both his and Adeline's family were sitting around the living room chatting, the fireplace crackling in the background. Adeline and Brody were already back downstairs. They had a big house, Brody lived with them and they often had people staying to help with Rylan. The living room was filled with soft furnishing and bookshelves.
The room slowly went silent as everyone turned to look at Rylan, who was nervous.
"I... Err... I want to apologize." He said slowly and Brody smiled, Rylan had never been confident... But here he was pushing himself to talk. "Sorry for flipping out. I don't have much control over Lucius or Odion..."
"Don't worry about it, Rylan... You're fine." His mother assured him and Adeline's parents both nodded, smiling.
"I'm going to go downstairs and cool off." he mumbled.
"He'll warm up to you eventually, Adeline. It's not you. He's just getting to grips with controlling himself. Especially with you here." Rylan's mother assured her as she watched him walk away.
Rylan walked down into the basement and switched on the lights, turned on his radio and stretched, before flopping on a bean bag in their hangout space... His normal method of calming down.
He thought about everything that had happened so far and let his mind destress, it's not like he could get to sleep anyway, he'd only have yet another flashback...