Her head snapped around when she heard the low growl she’d come to dread. She fought the instinctual urge to immediately sprint away from the sound. She knew that fleeing only urged the creature on. Instead, she began to back away in the opposite direction. Her feet moved slowly as, step by step, she put space between her and the monster hunting her. Bethany heard scratching along the walls and cringed at the awful sound. She’d seen the claws that made this noise and knew them to be at least three or more inches long. Like all the times before, her eyes were trying to give her something to see, but there just wasn’t any light for them to draw on. The one time she had seen anything at all, it had been because she’d come face-to-face with the beast and his glowing eyes lit up the area in front of her like a neon sign. She decided then that she preferred to not be able to see.

Her hands ran along the cold walls, guiding her back. When her left hand suddenly met air, Bethany knew that she’d come to the first turn. She eased her body to the right as she began to back her way down the new corridor. The growl came again and the nails against the walls continued to grate. Despite the cool air around her, sweat was beginning to form on Bethany’s neck and back.

“Don’t lose your cool, Bethygirl,” she told herself, using the nickname her father had called her. She remembered him calling her that, but it had been so long ago that she no longer remembered the sound of his voice. She pushed that thought away before it could take root and bring emotions that didn’t need to be clouding her focus.

She remembered another corridor just ahead, and, just as she was about to turn down it, she heard another growl. Her breath froze in her lungs. This one was coming from the wrong direction.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she muttered under her breath as she continued backing down the corridor, skipping the turn she normally took. She passed several more turns before finally taking a left. Her feet had turned her around and she was now walking forward as her hands continued to guide her along the wall. These walls didn’t feel familiar, as odd as that sounded. She’d been in the maze so many times over the years that her hands had practically memorized the texture of the walls. But the walls she was touching now were not ones she’d ever touched before.

So they’d added a second beast and made the maze larger. Bully for them, she thought to herself. Perhaps, they thought two monsters would be double the fun. Regardless of the vampires’ reason for upping the terror factor of the maze, Bethany now had two creatures she would have to evade for the duration of her time down here. She paused on that thought. Why did she have to evade them? She’d told the vampire king that she’d rather be dead than continue her miserable existence—the existence she’d endured since she was seven years old. For eleven years she’d been the sickos’ food source, and there were many times, as she was lead to his chambers, she’d prayed that it would be the time he finally drain her completely. But he never did. She thought the only way she could die would be by his fangs on his terms. A smile spread across her face as Bethany realized that she had another option and it was death on her terms—sort of.

Naturally, at the thought of allowing the beasts to catch her, the survival instinct that was inside every living being lunged forward. There was a part of her that didn’t want to die. She wanted a chance to have a life. She wanted to get away from the monsters and forget all about the world that Sincaro had exposed her to. She wanted to build her own life. She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to have children because of all that she’d been through, but she at least wanted her own place, to be able to pick her own meals, and to even decide when she needed to use the bathroom. But she didn’t think that day was ever going to come.

“What’s the point in continuing to fight if I’m never leaving?” she asked the darkness. Bethany took several deep breaths as she allowed herself to come to terms with her decision. She was going to die. She was going to choose to end her miserable existence and finally have peace. Though there was a natural instinct to fight for her life, she pushed it away as she heard the beasts getting closer. Any second they would be upon her. She closed her eyes and stood rigidly in the middle of the corridor, dropping her hands to her side. She heard the growling and clawing moving closer. She faced the direction of the sound and waited.

Long lost memories, covered in dust in the corners of her mind, suddenly came barreling to the forefront of her consciousness. She remembered her mother and her kind eyes. She remembered her father and his playful demeanor. She thought about the bedroom she had not seen in eleven years and remembered lying in bed staring at the stars through her window. Then her thoughts shifted to all the things she would never have. She’d never finish high school, go to college, or get married and have a family. She would never experience having a child or being a mom. She would never love and grow old with a man she’d given her heart to. She would never look into his eyes and see that he’d given his heart to her as well. All of those things had been stolen from her by the vampires. The only thing she could ever have was peace.

When the growling got closer she opened her eyes and saw two sets of the yellow, glowing eyes. They moved slowly toward her and the closer they got, the more she was able to see. The large beasts looked like an unnatural combination of two apex predators. The huge creatures walked on all fours, moving like wolves, but had the round boulder sized heads of grizzly bears. They were terrifying, and yet they would be her salvation.

She closed her eyes once again and felt their hot breath on her face. Bethany readied herself for the claws and fangs that would soon pierce her skin. The creatures roared in unison, and the girl jumped violently and fell back, striking her head on the hard ground. Just before the darkness swallowed her, she heard a beautiful voice speak into her mind.

“I am sorry, my child, but it is not yet your time. There is much for you to do in this life and many people who will love you. You must endure a little longer.” The voice faded along with her consciousness.

Chapter 7

“I keep thinking that at some point I will no longer be surprised by anything in this world that Jacque, Jen, and I have found ourselves in. But then, as if the universe is laughing at me, it blows my mind again. ~Sally

Jen clapped her hands once as she followed her mate into Vasile’s office. “Please tell me that we’re going to let the pregnant chick chase after vampires. I’m dying to see her waddle along while holding a stake.”