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Chapter 61

Author: lordiron21
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

"If you keep getting head injuries like this, I'm going to have to prescribe a helmet." Clara's soothing voice was unmistakable even over the ringing in her ears.

Bella tried to sit up as she regained consciousness, but she was strapped down to a cot. A glance around the room told her that she was in the infirmary. She recognized the calming blue wallpaper and the elegant rose trim above it. There were plants everywhere, and a few neatly made cots beside hers. The infirmary had the same bright, feminine air as Clara's garden, and it was a stark contrast to the rest of the Lodge.

It took a moment for Bella to recall why she was there, but once she remembered, she started pulling at the restraints.

"Easy there. I don't want to have to give you another sedative," Clara said, reaching for a clear syringe on a tray beside the cot.

"Victor—”

"Is fine," she interrupted. "Well, maybe fine isn't the right word, but he will be. We heal quickly. I'm afraid Darian did a number on his ja
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    Bella's eyes burned with tears that she tried to hold back to no avail. "It's not fair. Victor is always there to rescue everyone else, but who's going to save him?" Clara gave her a ghost of a smile. "I had hoped it might be you, before the mark. I've never seen Victor light up the way he did when he saw you walk into the Lodge that night. He was reading in the lounge, as usual, when you walked in. When I greeted you and Arthur at .ere the only person in the world there ever had been or ever would be. He waited until you were gone to ask me who you were. I showed him your name in the guest book and told him you were Arthur's friend. I asked him if he knew you somehow." "What did he say?" Bella asked hoarsely. Clara looked away. "He said he'd been waiting for you for a very long time. That you were the one he was going to spend the rest of his life with." Her words knocked the wind out of Bella. The tears that had been pooling in her e

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    Bella learned that night that Victor and Darian had very different approaches to dungeon life. While Victor was all about mind games and slowly building tension, Darian's torture took a much more straightforward approach.After he assured her that she was more than up for the experience after her ordeal in the basement, Darian took her into his room on the second floor. There was no contract to sign, and his spiel was a much shorter one. "If you need me to stop, just yell 'red.' If you want me to slow down, say 'yellow.' Got it?""Got it." After that, it was into a barely-there harness and briefs that weren't destined to stay on for long. He instructed her to stand in one place, so she did. First, he put a blindfold around her eyes that made it impossible to see anything. Then, he tied her arms behind her back with impressive ease.The thrill of the experience was marred somewhat when he placed an affectionate kiss on her cheek, pulling her out of the scenario.

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    "Thanks," Bella said, getting dressed in front of him. Walking out of the room to change would just add insult to injury.She paused and tried to pretend as if a great idea had just occurred to her. "Could we try just one more thing?" she asked, holding up her index finger and struggling to look cute.It seemed to work. He perked up a little and her guilt thermometer burst. "Yeah, sure.""That big big chair thingy, could you maybe sit in it and let me tie you up?" Go big or go home.He blinked. "Why?"She shrugged. "I dunno, it's just kind of a silly fantasy I've always had. It's—no, never mind, it's so awkward." At least she didn't have to fake her blush. "Please just forget I said anything.""No," he said, his curiosity clearly piqued. "Go ahead, I wanna know what this fantasy is all about."She pretended to hesitate. "Well, it's kind of a Big Bad Wolf thing, I guess. I'm Red, and I stumble across the Wolf who's been caught in a trap." She lightly bit the tip of her finger

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    Bella laughed nervously. "Just act like a bumbling moron, and you're halfway there. Look, I need to ask an enormous favor.""Name it.""Well, wait until you know what it is first. I haven't gotten the chance to replace my phone yet, and--""Take mine, I have like three. Here," she said, digging around in her desk drawer. "This is the one I use when I'm at family events, just in case Mom decides to snoop. Here's the car charger and all that jazz."She hugged her again, but it must have been harder than she intended because she wheezed. She released her immediately."Whoa, have you been using the dungeon up there or the gym?" "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Thank you so much, Sandra. I'll get it back to you as soon as possible." "Don't worry about it." She eyed the crumpled wad of cash in her hand. "Where is Victor, anyway?" "My old town," she admitted warily. "It's a long story." She sighed. "No way is that cash gonna get you to Austin. Take my card and ju

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    As Bella made her way to the bathroom to run cool water over her bleeding hand, she reminded herself that this wasn't a surprise. She had known Victor was going to see Jeff long before she read the note, from the moment she walked into that empty room. Somehow, the visual confirmation made it real. She frowned when she realized that the blood wasn't rinsing off her hand. In fact, every time a blast of water would send some down the drain, more would appear only to take on the vague outline of a circle. She withdrew her hand from the water, and it trembled as a faint crescent started to appear on her palm. palm. It wasn't as strong as the mark she had seen on the back of her hand in the hallucination, but it was undeniably the same pattern. Still shaking, Bella turned to find that the stranger shaving in the sink next to her was already giving her a weird look. "I'm sorry, this must sound odd, but do you see anything on my hand?" she asked, too bewildered for shyness.

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    Bella checked the phone again only to find not a single message. Maybe Darian really had given up. She thought of texting him again but decided against it. If he did reply, it would only be to talk her out of her plan, and she would only be teasing him with the idea that he could have done something more to stop her.The flight seemed to stretch out forever. The closer they got to Austin, the more anxious she became. It wasn't fear on her own behalf, but rather that she wouldn't make it in time to save Victor. Victor was physically strong enough, and from the way Clara described his powers, he was formidable in that regard as well. It was the fact that even Victor himself had expressed dismay at Jeff's psychic handiwork that scared her. Then there was Mr. Alderdice.She shuddered at the thought of the ruthless mogul. He wasn't the most physically imposing man, but what he lacked in stature he made up for in pure maliciousness. If she could only remember what he was c

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    "This isn't a game." Bella's voice shook in anger. "I don't care who you are. If you hurt him, I'll kill you.""There, much better," Sarah said proudly. "Still, those are big words coming from the little boy who was terrified of his own mate for killing one of my goons."The words reverberated in Bella's mind, but they wouldn't settle in. "You sent that vampire after me?" "Of course. It was his entrance test to get into my little troupe, and he failed. My men would have killed him as soon as they realized he wasn't bringing you back to me, but I figured that best case scenario I'd have you and worst case scenario I'd have the excuse I've been waiting for to wipe out his entire clan." "You used me?" Bella hissed. "You knew Darian would track him down and that he wouldn't stop until every member of his clan was dead." "Of course I knew. That boy is nothing if not predictable. Can't say he's any smarter than he was when he was little, but I'll be damned if he isn't pret

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    The front lobby of the Alderdice Hotel had changed a lot since the last mixer Jeff had brought Bella to as arm candy. Jeff's father had been there, and she'd somehow gotten blindingly drunk despite only having a couple of glasses of wine. She made her way over to the main desk, and the clerk recognized her immediately."It's been a long time, Mr. Cole. I have a package for you," she said brightly, pulling a wide box out from underneath her desk. The box was obviously meant for clothing, but going off of what little Bella knew about Sarah, anything could be inside."Thank you," Bella said, taking the box, wary of revealing its contents out in the open with so many people wandering around the lobby."You can use our supply room," the clerk offered, gesturing to a door behind the desk. "The party begins in eleven minutes.""Thank you," Bella said, afraid to ask how she knew where she was going. She took the box and glumly headed into the supply closet to change. To her relief, it really

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    "Are all the others out?" Bella asked, noting that the lot was almost empty. "Most of them," he said. "Clara and your dad are still around, as usual. Vic has been holed up in his office all day. Hunter and Clarence are still frolicking in the woods somewhere. Brendan was heading out with Maverick last I heard and uh, I think I saw Sarah with Jason." Anger started to boil inside Bella, but it couldn't take hold for some reason. "Oh, whatever," she muttered. "As long as she's leaving Dad alone." He glanced at her as he turned onto the road that led past campus. "That's a surprisingly zen attitude you got there." "I'm trying out a new approach to life," Bella said, admiring the heavily forested path. He shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining as long as you're okay.""I'm okay," Bella said. For the first time in a long time, she meant it.No one said a word for the rest of the ride. Darian took them into the city, or at least what passed for one in their little section o

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    A knock at the door jolted Bella awake from the most delightful nap. Despite the dull throbbing in her head, she woke feeling more refreshed and alive than she had in recent memory. “Be right there,” she called, yawning as she sat up. Her head spun a bit once she got to her feet, but it wasn't bad enough to make her stagger.On her way to the door, she noticed something strange about her room. All her stuff was there, but it looked like half of the room had been cleared out. Before the thought could trouble her too much, she remembered that Victor had probably just come for the remainder of his old things. She did have his old room, after all. Strange that he wouldn't have mentioned it, though.She shrugged it off and pulled the door open to find Darian waiting on the other side. At least, she thought it was Darian. The man before her had lightly slicked back hair, a stark contrast from his usual tousled brown locks. He wasn't wearing a suit or anything, but for Darian, a gray b

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