I am Twelve - Captive of the Vampire Prince

Chapter 34 - Discovery

#musicvibe - You learn, Takida

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Alex POV

I felt sick.

My father watched with a stone cold face as Damian Cass, along with four other men, surrounded Valeria. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had no idea who he was. There was no way that my father was this heartless.

One look at my sister, and I knew that she was thinking the same thing,

Valeria let out a strained whimper as Cass pushed inside her and started thrusting as the others held her down. Lara turned her head away and I heard her sob quietly.

It felt like an eternity passed while the warriors took turns ra.ping Valeria. I just wanted them to stop, and I wanted to tell my father, but I already knew that there was no way he was going to listen to me.

Instead, I had to get her out of here.

She didn’t deserve to be trapped in this cursed place any longer.

When they pulled away from Valeria, my first instinct was to rush up to her. I took Lara’s wrist and shook my head at her when she took a few steps towards Valeria.

“Are we done here?” I asked my father.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Did you not enjoy the show?” He asked.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’ve seen better.” I muttered and walked over to Valeria.

Her torn clothes were scattered around her, and I started to pick up her shirt when my father’s voice stopped me.

“Let her go naked.” He sneered. “She has no power here, and she should know it.”

I wanted to scream.

“Fine.” I gritted out and left her clothes on the floor.

The doors opened and I saw Jamie walk in. His eyes widened when he saw Valeria and I saw a smile stretch across his lips.

“I smelled the blood from a mile away.” He grinned. “Can I have a taste?”

“She’s not yours.” I snarled and pushed him away. “There’s only one person that can drink from her, and that’s me. She’s mine.”

Jamie stared at me, and when I glanced at my father, he looked at me proudly.

“Dad.” Jamie whined.

“Alex is right.” He replied. “I gave her to him, and he decides if he wants to share her or not.”

I ignored his disgusting words and turned to Valeria.

Valeria’s body was trembling violently and her eyes were still shut. She gasped when I took her arm and pulled her to her feet. She could barely keep her weight up, and I was afraid that I was going to hurt her arm from the tight grip.

“Let’s go.” I muttered and left the room, not sparing my father another glance.

I heard Lara and Joey following behind us, and as soon as there was no one around, I whispered quietly.

“It’s okay.” I said. “You’re going to be okay.”

I felt stupid. There was no way my words were going to comfort her after the horrors my father just put her through.

When we reached the stairs, I frowned when I felt Valeria starting to uphold more of her own weight. I loosened my grip a little and realized that she was walking on her own. Her breathing was still ragged, so I took it slow and snarled at anyone who passed us and stared at her.

As soon as we reached my bedroom, Joey closed and locked the door. Lara picked up a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around Valeria’s shoulders. I carefully let go of Valeria and she wrapped the blanket tighter around her bruised and bleeding body.

“That was annoying.” She muttered.

I was surprised at how steady her voice was.

“Are you okay?” Joey asked.

Valeria shrugged.

“I’ve had worse.” She replied.

I frowned.

Maybe it was some kind of defense mechanism? Denial or something?

“What can we do to help you?” I asked and put my hand on her shoulder.

I saw that Valeria’s hands were still trembling, but when she looked up at me, I saw only determination shining in her blue eyes.

“First thing’s first, I need to take a shower and wait for the adrenaline to wear off.” She said calmly and turned to Lara. “Weird question, but do vampires have periods?”

Lara nodded hesitantly, too stunned to speak.

“Do you have any pads I could use?” She asked. “I’m bleeding and I’m afraid that I’m gonna get blood on the carpet soon.”

Lara stared at her.

“Umm- I’ll go get you some pads and some clothes.” She mumbled and left the room.

“Do you need some pain medication or something?” Joey asked. “That adrenaline isn’t going to last forever.”

Valeria shook her head.

“That would just look suspicious.” She replied. “We’ll have to keep up the charade for a while longer, and I can handle the pain.”

“Nice work.” She added and smiled at me.

I shook my head.

“If it was, you never would have gotten hurt in the first place.” I replied quietly.

“Don’t blame yourself.” She smiled. “It wasn’t your fault, and you couldn’t control it. The things you could control however, you did brilliantly.”

I felt stupid again.

“Here you are battered and bleeding from being assaulted and you’re comforting me.” I scoffed.

Valeria chuckled.

“If you knew me a little better, you would know that I was trained for things like this.” She replied reassuringly. “It’s not the first time it has happened, but I sure hope that it’s the last.”

Before I could respond to the odd revelation, Lara knocked on the door and Joey let her in.

“Here.” She said and handed some clothes and a bag of menstrual pads to Valeria.

“Thank you.” Valeria said. “I’ll be right back.”

She went inside the bathroom, and I just couldn’t hold back anymore. I turned to Joey and Lara and stared at them in disbelief.

“What the f*ck just happened?” I exclaimed. “There is no way that was our father, the king, commanding such a merciless act on a prisoner of war. That’s a very serious war crime.”

“But why?” Lara cried. “He must have some reason, right?”

“And I’m gonna find out what that reason is.” I said determinedly and started walking to the door. “Look after Valeria, alright? I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Joey asked.

“To get some answers.” I snapped and slammed the door shut.

I knew that my father was still in the throne room, so I went in the opposite direction: His office.

I had contemplated snooping through his office for a few days now, but I knew that if I got caught, I would be in big trouble.

But with the images of those men violating Valeria like that, I simply didn’t care anymore. I didn’t want Valeria to spend another night in this castle after everything that had happened to her.

To my surprise, I managed to sneak into my father’s office undetected, and I immediately started going through his desk. When I checked all the drawers, I found nothing, and I knew that I didn't have much time before someone realized that I was in here.

Disappointment made my chest feel heavy and I sat down in the chair with a sigh.

That’s when I saw the old book on the desk.

The cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King.

I frowned and picked it up. That’s when I realized that there was a piece of paper inside the book. I opened it and saw a handwritten note.

Breaking the curse.

Sister Athena, White Rose Convent, Bristol.

The oldest Fae book in the world.

Blood of a cursed one.

The power of a white wolf.

My blood ran cold when I realized what my father was after.

He wanted to break the curse.

And he wanted Valeria’s powers to do it.