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 opening. 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 the best 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 hear 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 impelled 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 was broken, and I was not healing like usual. I probably lost a lot of blood between being whipped and impelling 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 like it was day out. I struggled to see correctly during the day after I turned ten. They refused to take me to a conventual 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 was running for, 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 good because I could get as far back as I needed to, so I could 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 difficult because in my good arm was the wood and my broken arm was just hanging there. I looked for any sign that an animal 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. But I could not 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 enough to be seen. I ensured it didn't get too big because I did not want to be found. I laid 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 don't know 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 could not 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 get my eyes to adjust, I tried to find out where the voice was coming from. I tried to look in the corners of the room the 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 that 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, there was a fire in the fireplace.

" What do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything from you. I want to get to know you 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 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.