Forbidden

Kidnapped

Van

For the second time in less than a day, Van woke in an unfamiliar place. She stared at the gauzy canopy above her and tried to recall at exactly what point she had become a damsel in distress. At least she didn't think she passed out from shock this time, and she confirmed that when she tried to sit up. Pain raced through her side, making her teeth clench. Lifting her shirt exposed a white bandage wound around her rib cage.

"Be careful."

Her neck twisted to follow the voice. "Isaiah."

Bruises mottled his dark brown skin, and they had shaved his long auburn hair off, revealing a scar running from the side of his head to just above his left eye. The right eye remained as bright and blue as before, but the damaged eye was clouded and unfocused.

"You don't sound happy to see me," he said with all of his usual arrogance plus a hard edge not present before.

He stretched before walking around the bed with a noticeable limp. He wore the uniform of Slayer red, and a gun rested on his hip. She scuttled out of his reach as he lowered himself onto the mattress. The movement lit a fire in her side, but she would burn before she let him touch her.

"So nervous." He didn't reach for her, but his gaze felt like an intrusion. "Do you have something to be nervous for?"

"I thought you'd fallen out of favor when you almost killed me in a car accident."

"True. I made a miscalculation, and I paid dearly for it." He gestured at the ruins of his body. "So I doubled down. You can't go any lower than rock bottom, so it was an acceptable risk."

Van's toes curled under, and her breath became uneven as she waited for him to continue. There was no point in rushing him. Isaiah resembled a movie villain with his need to grandstand before pouncing on his victim. Only this time, she was afraid there was no last-minute salvation in store for her. Not if the memories slowly returning to her were accurate. The devastation of the farmhouse. Her mother fighting off Slayers. The sudden fear that she might have lost her mother after finding her again nearly blinded her, but she fought hard to keep the emotion out of her expression.

"There were rumors swirling about that you and the Brooks boy were friendly. A classmate saw you playing mini golf with him one evening, and shortly after, you showed up at school. I thought perhaps the revelation of who and what you are would cure you of your need to mix with the animals, but then that evening at the diner, I could see the anger mounting in you when I talked about the shifters. If you'd just kept your pretty little mouth shut, the accident would have never happened."

"Excuse me-"

"Shh," he said, throwing his finger over her lips. "A man is speaking."

Nearly gagging, she opened wide and dragged his finger inside her mouth. A lecherous gleam blazed through his eyes, the truth of her intentions sinking in only a moment before her teeth did. Coppery liquid soaked her tongue, and she felt bone before he ripped his hand free.

"You little bitch," he raged, looking down at his torn finger.

She gave him the middle finger, taunting him with its perfection, before she wiped the blood dribbling down her chin. "Didn't your mama ever teach you to look with your eyes and not with your hands?"

"You'll pay for that."

The bedroom door opened, and Abe walked through, ending any chance of payback. He leveled a stern look at the young Slayer, and Isaiah bowed while hiding his hand behind his back. But the Supreme's attention returned quickly to his daughter, causing him to miss Isaiah's respect transforming into malice.