Page 10 of Captive Hybrid

Chapter Five

Zenna

I awake to Callen’s dark eyes on me, level with mine. I gasp, a sharp intake of breath. He’s squat down, peering closely through the bars of my cage, a panther watching a rabbit sleep. I inch back. ‘That’s creepy.’ All I can do here is sleep, worry and panic, occasionally collecting kernels of potentially useful information from my captors. So, I sleep off what I hope isn’t a too-damaging concussion that no one seems bothered to treat properly.

Callen’s eyes gleam, pleased. ‘Did you sleep well?’

He’s playing with me, like a bored cat toying with a mouse. ‘I want to see Drusilla.’ She’s the one who might give me answers. Who might want to tease me enough that she lets a few gems of information loose. I will get out of here, but I’d rather not go crazy first. Those pills have eased the pain in my head, but the flushed dreams of Mordecai’s voice in my mind linger.

Callen raises a brow, the side of his mouth kicks up in an amused smirk. ‘Do you, now? I’d be careful what you wish for, little snack.’

I balk, sitting up on the bed. ‘Did you just call me a snack?’

Callen rises to his feet, tongue darting out to wet his lips. He folds his hands in front of him, assuming the casual position of a guard by my cell. ‘I do hope to get a taste of you.’

Disgust pools in my stomach. I’ve never met a vampire so… overtly sinister before. Drusilla has a calmer sense of danger and power radiating from her. Godric just seems to get irritated with me.

I stand in what I hope is a dignified way in the centre of my cold, smelly cell. My hair is tattered and greasy, the ice-white locks hanging down my back. I don’t even want to think about the state of my clothes, but I know that a fair amount of the stench of this cell is actually me. ‘I want to see her,’ I demand again. There’s no other way for me to fight. So, I will be an annoyance. I will demand what I have a chance of getting. I will do something.

Callen leans back against the wall, a casual stance. ‘Why? You don’t like me, sugar?’

‘No, I don’t,’ I snap. ‘But that’s not it. I have questions.’

‘Too bad. You’re stuck with me.’

If Godric hadn’t warned me to stay out of his reach, I would go right up to the bars and get in Callen’s smug face. ‘Why?’

He hitches his shoulders off the wall, gaze intent on me. ‘Lady is busy.’ He pretends to study his nails, but I highly doubt he’s the type to care for his cuticles. ‘Besides, I don’t like to interrupt her during feeding. Unless I have the honour of joining her.’ His eyes gleam, dark and dangerous.

A group feeding. I half-turn, trying to keep bile from rising up my throat. I close my eyes. There’s nothing I can do while Callen is here. No means to escape or gather information. Unless I do something really, really stupid. Which, at this point, sounds better than doing nothing. I chance a glance at him, batting my eyelashes. ‘Well, could I at least wash up? Please? I’m so gross.’

His ‘offer’ earlier—to help me and bite me while I shower—was abhorrent, but I’m hoping to wear him down. He’s amused by me at the least. I’d like to keep it that way. Without being killed or eaten, that is.

Callen gives me a onceover, his nose turning up slightly. ‘You smell like a pigsty. It would be nice to see you all clean.’ He appraises me, considering.

I wonder if Drusilla has ordered the guards to keep me in here. And if Callen would risk disobeying her for his own desires. I don’t think Godric would. He seems like a stay-out-of-trouble type.

Callen does not. Slowly, he glances up and down the halls, tilts his head, listening, then slides a key out from his pocket. ‘You behave, you hear me? You try to escape, and I will make your suffering slow. Lady wants you alive, so more fun for me.’ That wicked gleam seems to brighten at every hint or suggestion of violence. I wonder if he was born a purebred vampire or was Turned. He seems to take well to bloodlust.

I don’t want to imagine the awful things he could do to me. If I entertain him, I might get something useful out of him, but my current state is becoming unbearable. I drop my head in a nod, agreeing to behave.

He turns the key in the lock. With a low click, he pushes the door open, beckoning to me. ‘Come on.’

I meet his gaze. ‘Are you going to bite me?’ A genuine concern. I’ve never been bitten by a vampire before, and I don’t have any interest in changing that.

Callen smiles like a cat, all teeth. ‘Do you want to wash up or not?’

I fold my arms over my chest. ‘I want clean clothes, too.’ If I’m going to suffer at his hand, I’m going to make sure it’s worth it.

‘As you wish.’ He takes a step back so I don’t have to touch him to leave. He nods to the right. ‘Go that way.’

I do as he says, my bare feet scratching over the hard packed earth.

‘There’s a wash room two doors down.’

I glance back at him, horrified. I’m all too aware that he is a predator, stalking silently.

‘Lucky for you, some vamps like their meals washed and prepped before dinner.’ His words are ice in my veins.

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