What Lurks in Her Eyes

Chapter Eleven: Bonding with Her

Song: Fallen Angel by Three Days Grace

*

*

So Anya and I lay low, as not to raise suspicions. It's been two months now, and it's getting real old real quick. My family has to treat Anya like a slave when guests who are not from our pack come over as not to raise suspicions anymore than we already have.

I hate watching Anya being degraded, but I don't have any other choice. It's the only way we can remain unsuspected until I think of another plan. I know I have to think of something soon, and fast.

Because I know we are bound to be caught eventually, I can just feel it. But it's a feeling that I deny, and push away in the darker depths of my mind.

Because it's a truth I don't like to come face to face with.

It's a truth my family doesn't like to come face to face with.

Sometimes it's easier to forget reality rather than face it.

So that's exactly what I do. I try to forget about it in hopes the problem will just disappear on its own. But of course, that's not how it works, does it?

And as I lay awake in bed that night, that truth comes back to haunt me. It keeps me awake and dreading the future. It's only a matter of time Anya and I will have to flee from this place and run into hiding.

Anya....

Anya has been getting better every day physically. She's put on twenty pounds in the last two months, and because of that, she's looking healthier and stronger. Her innate healing ability has kicked in a little more so she's healing a bit faster now.

But mentally....she has her good and her bad days. Some days she seems as if she's improving while other days she hits rock bottom again. It's a tough situation to be in and it's even tougher to deal with. She's not afraid of me one day and the next day she's relapsed again and is terrified.

One nightmare could send her spiraling back down the staircase of darkness. Every time she's about to reach the top, something, whether that be a nightmare, a flashback, or a memory.....suddenly pushes her back down.

And then we start over from step one.

I have to admit, it is frustrating at times. But how can I blame her? I can't blame her for her behavior, I think anyone including me would be the same way.

It'll get better, I'm sure of it.

I toss and turn in my bed, and it's hours before I'm finally able to fall asleep. I'm only awoken by the sound of my bedroom door creaking as it opens.

I open one eye cautiously, eyeing the shaded figure as it approaches me. In an instant, I jolt up. My fingers fumble with the lamp sitting on the bedside table next to me. It flickers on and I find myself looking into the terrified eyes of Anya.

Her bottom lip wobbles and her eyes are filled with tears. She looks like an emotional mess. It looks like she has just woken up from a nightmare. She looks back down at her feet before falling onto her knees, her small hands resting in her lap. "H-How may I p-pleasure my Master tonight?" She asks shakily and hesitantly.

She's hit rock bottom again.

She's relapsed again.

I crawl out of bed and kneel down next to her, the sight of her this feeble and broken hurts me. I lay my hand on her shoulder gently to see how she reacts to my touch.

When she doesn't shy away, I don't hesitate to wrap my arms around her back and pull her against my chest. I hug her tightly while she cries into my shoulder. "Anya, I told you, I am not your Master. You are no longer a slave and you are to call me Donovan."