Chapter 5

Eleanor’s POV:

I glared at the far too bright walls I felt were closing in on me more and more by the day. My bare legs were exposed to the cold breeze coming in from the window, causing me to shiver slightly. There was a tentative knock on my door which I ignored.

Another maid brought in a tray of food for me and placed it on the table closest to the window seat I was currently sprawled upon.

“Miss, please, you have to eat. Prince Jaxon—”

Upon the mention of his name, I promptly began hurling all the items off of the tray at the wall. Jaxon had caught up with me easily after I had run out of the stage room that night and had given me an ultimatum; I either went back in tucked into his side like a “good girl” or he would drag me back in by my hair.

Of course, I wasn’t planning on going down without a fight so I made another foolish attempt to run away, only to collapse and hit my head on the hard tiles. The last thing I remember was him picking me up in his arms, bridal style, and sighing in frustration.

Dio mio, I hated him. He forced me away from my parents without so much as a goodbye. I don’t even know what they told them when they went to get my stuff. I tossed the stupid vase on my nightstand across the room and it smashed into the wall. My chest was rising and falling rapidly. The maid bolted out of the room just before I punched the mirror. I wanted to scream. My bloody hand was reaching for the landline phone on the dresser when the devil himself charged into the room.

“Calm. Down.”

He cornered me against the wall in less than a second with both of my wrists held up in his large hand.

“Don’t touch me,” I choked out, struggling to get out of his impossibly tight hold.

“Okay,” Jaxon said, letting his hands drop to his side immediately.

Good.

“I’m leaving.”

The prince’s blue eyes filled with mirth.

“No, love, you aren’t,” he said with a laugh.

“Yes, I am.”

Jaxon took a step closer to me, his hands still at his sides, not quite touching me but close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off of his body.

“I’m starting to think you like seeing me mad,” he breathed into my neck. “Is that it, Eleanor? Do you have a thing for hot and angry sex? That’s kinky. I don’t mind kinky.”

He lifted his head back up and looked at me through his lashes with almost silver eyes that were lustful and wanting. Jaxon placed his hands on my hips, gripping them and turning them so that his pelvis was pressed into mine. I arched into him involuntarily and he gave me that devilish smirk of his. His breath was fanning across my face and before I knew it, his soft lips were brushing against my own.

The resounding sound of the slap and my panting were the only two things that could be heard in the room. Jaxon had his head turned to the side, a few strands of his hair concealing his face from view, for which I was grateful.

But when he swung back to look at me, snarling, his eyes were red and his fangs were visible. I tried to push him off, run away, do something, but he overpowered me easily. His fangs came chomping down into the sensitive skin of my neck, eliciting a scream from me. I kept screaming and all I could feel was his hot mouth on my neck as he continued to drain my blood. I pushed at his chest weakly but all he did was moan softly while draining my blood.

I was growing lightheaded and my attempts to shove him back were getting weaker. I was on the verge of giving up, conceding defeat, when in a last ditch effort to fight for my life I raised my knee and hit him where it counts. He stepped back with a groan and I tried to run past him, but he grabbed my ankle and pulled it back, making me fall to the ground with such force that it made my teeth rattle. He kept dragging me backward, laughing at my screams for help, and mocking me when I kicked at him.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you, love,” he drawled with an amused chuckle.

I was still struggling to get out of his grasp when he finally let go, allowing my leg to drop to the floor with a thud. I struggled to get back up on my feet and hurried towards the door, but he was already blocking my way. I was panting hard, not wanting to back down but too tired to keep fighting.

“Let’s just talk, hm?”

Jaxon was getting closer to me on beat with the pounding of my heart.

“I have nothing to say to the likes of you,” I spat at him.

That pissed him off. A muscle fluttered in his jaw as he grabbed my arm with such force it made me cry out. He tightened his bruising grip even more and I felt a sob get caught in my throat.

“Where did you get the necklace, love? Stop making things more difficult than they need to be. Tell me where you got the necklace, tell me who you stole it from, and I’ll let your parents come visit you right now,” he spoke softly, sweetly almost, but his eyes remained cold and harsh.

The thought of having my parents come to visit me was extremely tempting and he knew it. Ever since he found out that I snuck in vervain with me to the mansion the night of the ball and I still have a bit left he’s been tirelessly interrogating me. He can’t compel me so he’s been trying to make deals, offers, or threats.

“I didn’t steal it,” I snapped for the hundredth time.

I met his glare with one of my own, my hair falling into my face as I looked up at him.

Something that I couldn't quite put a name on flickered in his emotionless eyes. He let go of my arm and I exhaled in relief, rubbing it immediately. Jaxon was still gazing at me like this was the first time he was seeing me, really seeing me and a crooked smile took over his face.

“You remind me of her... That’s why I almost feel bad about doing this,” he said softly.

My lungs stopped working. I didn’t have time to ponder over the meaning of his words because, in the blink of an eye, he had grabbed me and taken us down to a dungeon of some sort. The cold stone wall was digging into my back as the metal doors shut in front of me with a clang.

“I’ll let you out of here when you think you can start cooperating,” he said casually.

His footsteps grew quieter as the distance between us increased.

I began to take in my dark surroundings and realized that he had thrown me into a prison cell. The cell was barely six feet by five with walls that were made out of the same thick grey stone as the walls in the rest of the castle were made of. However, whereas in the room that I was previously inhabiting there was a wide window with sweet-smelling pots of roses situated on the sill, here there were only cold metal bars. There was a plank of wood with four legs in the corner that I assumed was supposed to be a bed. In the opposite corner, there was a freaking urn and a hole in the ground. I approached the hole eagerly to see if it could be an escape tool but quickly realized that it was meant for other uses, i.e. taking a piss or a shit.