Captured (The Captive #1)(3)
She turned slowly toward the person beside her, shock rolling through her as she caught sight of him. “Max,” she breathed.
He managed a wan smile for her, his clear blue eyes sad and resigned, yet still resonating with the strength and confidence she was so used to. Sadness engulfed her; the sight of him here was nearly her undoing. A sob rose up, caught and strangled within her throat. Max and her brother Daniel had been best friends for as long as she could remember. They had always been together; nearly as inseparable as she and William. He had been like another big brother to her, teasing her, taunting her, teaching her things, and protecting her.
He had also been her first crush as a young girl, before she’d come to understand that there would never be a place for love in her life. She had realized long ago that she would not live long, and she would never have a peaceful life. There was no way that she would ever bring a child into this world of brutality, fear, and humiliation. But for one brief year, when she had still been a young, silly girl, she had entertained thoughts of a home and a family. Max had been the center of most of those fantasies as the man that would help her with that home and children.
And now he was here, with her. “Max,” she whispered again, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. She had not thought that things could get any worse, she had been greatly mistaken. Her own death was fine, she could handle it, but to know that Max might die too, or even worse survive, was more than she could tolerate. Max was always so good to her, always so patient and gentle with her. Though she had given up her fantasies of one day being with him, she still loved him dearly, and deeply. She could not handle this too, not bravely, not stoically. Not anymore.
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes surveying her. “Stay strong Aria, stay strong. Think of your brothers, your father. We will get through this.”
“How did they catch you?” she mumbled miserably.
He didn’t have to answer her though, she already knew how. Max had been with her on the hunting party, he had been with her when they had approached the human camp. The vampires were already there, raiding the recently assembled camp with ease. Though they had originally rushed to aid the people, it had become quickly apparent that it was going to be a losing battle and they would be of no use. The best hope was to flee, to retreat deeper into the woods, to escape and hide until the vampires retreated with their new captives.
That was what they had been doing when Aria had spotted young John being captured, she had plunged heedlessly forward without thinking to intervene and save the young, scrawny boy. And because of that, she had cost her father and brothers two of their best soldiers. “Oh Max,” she whispered, tears burning hotly in her eyes.
“I couldn’t let you come alone. Plus, I’ve always been curious about what happens here.” He tried to sound light, but she could hear the tight tension in his voice. “Don’t cry for me Aria, they’ll think you’re crying because of them, don’t give them that satisfaction.”
“They’ll keep you,” she moaned, knowing it was true. He was filthy and disheveled, but his handsome features were still clearly visible beneath the layer of dirt covering his face and chest.
“That will give me a chance to figure out an escape plan.”
Arianna shook her head swiftly. “No Max, they won’t keep me. I have nothing to offer them.” It was true; she was skinny, dirty, disheveled, smelly, and unwomanly in every possible way. They would not want her, or at least that was the hope that she clung to. They did not appear to be choosing blood slaves solely on looks though, but some strange method that she did not understand, or even want to. She didn’t want to have any kind of understanding of the monsters that held their fates. “I’d rather be dead anyway,” she assured him.
His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched slightly. “They will want you Aria, and when they take you, you must cling to the knowledge that I will come for you. I will save you. Keep hold of that certainty, it will get you through the awful times ahead of us.”
She swallowed heavily, stunned by the earnestness and emotion that radiated from him. “Max…”
“I will come for you Aria. I promise you that.”
She gasped, stunned as he was ripped suddenly away from her. It was only then that she realized that there were just a handful of people left within the fenced area. She almost ran after him, almost chased him and the creature pulling him along, but she only made it one step before she halted abruptly. She could not show so much emotion here, they would only use it against her, or against Max. No, she had to remain in control, had to be as emotionless as she could in here.
Max was paraded onto the stage and swiftly claimed by a dark haired woman that oozed cruelty and sadism. Aria swallowed heavily, her mind spun as she realized the fate that Max had just been handed. He believed that he would be able to escape, and she knew that he was smart, wily, fast, and strong, but no one had ever escaped from the vampires before. No one had ever returned to the woods, and freedom, after capture. Once a person was taken, they remained a prisoner until they died.
Max was now at the mercy of this woman, and as long as she possessed him she could do whatever she wanted to him, whenever she wanted, and for as long as she wanted. When she grew bored of him, she would simply kill him, or sell him, and then come back here for another toy. Aria was shaking; her legs trembled with the will it took to keep her upright.