She had woken fairly quickly to find herself bound in a new way in a new room, her arms outstretched to two rings on either side of the room and her feet bound to two more rings on the ground. It was tight enough that she could get no leverage behind her attempts to pull herself free and she cursed the stupid Hunters.
She had entirely lost track of time and that sense of dread inside her had begun to grow, along with thoughts of the Dragon invading her mind more and more with each passing hour.
It was driving her crazy, and she knew she was rapidly running out of time, allowing her to roughly gauge how long she had been with the Hunters.
She assumed it was about two weeks before the feeling of dread turned to physical pain and she knew the day had ticked over, she was officially going back on a deal she had made with him.
Vincent had come to see her daily, fascinated by the changes in her as she grew paler and her face registered her pain as she tried to stop it, but there was no stopping it. It didn't matter if it was her fault or not, a deal was a deal and it left her in terrible pain to not be able to fulfil it when he was expecting her.
He joined her again and his eyes grew wide as he saw her straining against the chains, every muscle in stark contrast and blood dripping from her wrists as she attempted to rip her arms free in order to escape. Her hands had gone numb at some point and she knew she was getting closer to her goal as she strained, skin tearing and tendons screaming in agony as she tried to rip herself free.
He watched her in silence, and she knew he was there, but she didn't care, she needed to get free.
"What deal is it?" he asked with a perverse interest in her suffering, but she ignored him, her focus on her right wrist as she felt something inside snap. She watched in fascination as the muscle bunched up near her elbow in a grotesque lump under her skin.
She smiled grimly as she pulled and the tendon pulled free until finally, her wrist severed and she screamed as her body jerked back, blood flowing freely as the thump of her hand hit the floor, finally ripped free.
She looked down at the ragged end of her arm and then up at Vincent, panting and covered in sweat. He looked appalled by her actions, but she smiled, a shred of relief filling her as she was partly free in her goal.
"Stop that, you stupid woman, killing yourself will not give you what you need," he growled, stalking forward, his fingers digging into her arm.
She growled softly but his growl was louder. He stared down into her face, clutching her jaw.
Something in his expression shifted, and she narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious of the change but having no time to think about it: she needed to get herself free.
"I'll make a deal with you," he murmured.
She went still, trying to think through the drive to escape.
"What deal?" she hissed.
"If you promise to return to me after, I will let you go."
The wording of his deal threw up a multitude of warning bells in her mind, but it was so very tempting.
"Return to you?" she asked, but he only smiled, grim and cruel. "When?"
"Shall we say… six months?" he said thoughtfully.
She frowned, unsure. But it meant she would be free of him for now; it meant she would be able to go to the dragon.
"Fine," she snapped, and his grin was wide, feral.
"Good girl…" he purred.
Her skin crawled, but he reached out and he slid the chain free of her good hand. She gasped as the pressure she had been putting on the limb eased, and her arms dropped to her sides, bleeding heavily, but it was not likely to result in her death.
He crouched down and released her legs and when she staggered, he caught her with a soft pleased growl. "Enjoy your freedom, my little Etani. While you are still free," he whispered in her ear, but she couldn't respond, the need was enormous inside her.
She jerked back from him, his fingers lingering on her before the world vanished into red and her blood heated. In the next instant, she was back.
The cry was deafening, and she flinched, someone hitting her from the side, and she caught the familiar scent of Kai as he launched himself at her, sending them both down to sprawl on the carpet that was quickly turning red.
She wheezed as he crushed her to him in a fierce hug, too blinded by his joy at her return to notice her state, or the smell of blood that was everywhere.
He let go of her finally and sat up, looking down to find his hands covered in blood that certainly wasn't his. His eyes went to her, face paling as he took in her half naked state and the blood.
But the smell of him being so close had set off a hunger in her she had never felt before and her fingers reached for him, curling in the soft black of his hair. He made a soft squeaking sound as her grip forced his head back.
Her teeth were in his throat before he could so much as move, her arms tight and restrictive around him as she pulled greedily. The taste of his blood filling her mouth and senses.
He shuddered against her and began to squirm, but she refused to let go of him, her grip only tightening in him as his struggles grew more desperate.
Someone had heard the cry and the door burst open with a bang like a cannon, but she ignored them, ignored his attempts to push her off him as she dug her teeth deeper, needing more and his body was not giving it to her fast enough.