Blazing Hearts

APRHODITE'S POV.

Whispers surround me, torment me like hovering wraiths. I feel the darkness closing in on me but I have neither the strength nor the urge to escape, it comforts me.

The rattling sounds of an iron door opening cause me to slightly tense up. He's here, I know it before I even smell him.

"Sleeping so early, my little dove?" The mere sound of his voice makes me want to vomit. The voice of the devil himself. I hear his stealthy footsteps approach me, causing me to shrink back in fear but it is of no use seeing as I am already backed into the wall; there is nowhere to hide from him.

Slowly forcing my eyes open, I can barely see him considering how dark the room is, only being able to see his silhouette. I watch as he crouches down in front of me, a smirk etched on his face as he raises a hand to move the fallen strands of hair on my face. I recoil in fear and disgust.

"Come now little dove, haven't you missed me? I've missed you quite a lot. I couldn't wait to see you after the hectic day I had, being an alpha is no child's play. You're the highlight of my day, you know that right?" He speaks as if we were friends and I was his, I might as well be seeing as I've always been his property since birth. He calls me his little dove because I remind him of *her*, whoever she is. He says I look so much like her.

"Please, Conner, let me go." My throat is parched, making my words sound croaky. I know that it's pointless begging him but I hope that maybe, just maybe there's a silver of consciousness in that dark heart of his.

"You always do this, Aphrodite," he sighs. My head whips to the side harshly, i feel my lip splitting open. My cheek feels hot and my eyes burn with unshed tears. Raising my chained hand to my lip, I feel for blood seeing just a tiny speck on my finger.

Pulling me roughly, he snarls in my face, "Get it through that thick-headed skull of yours that you're mine, always have been and always will be." My head hangs low in defeat and pain as his words sink in once again.

I hear him exhale softly as his grip on me loosens slightly. "You always do this, little dove, you always make me hurt you even when I don't want to." He draws closer to me, sniffing me slightly. His hands crawl all over my body, skimming over my thankfully clothed breasts before touching my belly.

"Very soon my dear, very soon you'll bear my pups. And then I'll give you whatever you want." My eyes widen in horror at his words, they weren't new to me but it didn't get any easier hearing them every darn time. Unable to utter a word, I continue to look at him with a horrified and now disgusted look which he ignores.

"I'll be back again little dove." He kisses the tops of my dirtied-matted hair. "And you better not piss me off next time, it won't end well for you." His promise is evident, it never ends well for me but there are a few times he lets me be without any beatings. Today was one of those days, he lets me fall to the ground harshly before I hear his retreating footsteps and the rattling sound of the iron gate, when I don't hear any more sounds I breathe out a sigh of relief which doesn't last long.

I fall back into the pain that engulfs me, the memories. I hardly even remember my childhood, all I've ever known was the four corners of this cage. Conner never told me anything about my family other than I was his, I was born to be his no questions asked. A few times, I saw faint images of a woman whom I think is my mother but I can't be so sure seeing as I only saw her at birth and it would be practically impossible for me to remember any face as a baby.

I felt pathetic and filthy, locked up in this cage with no human contact except Conner and an elderly maid who comes to drop my food and clean me up once in a while, no one else knew of my existence....of the hell in which I loved. Thinking back to Conner's words and his touch on my skin, I scrub at my skin furiously and tears fall from my eyes. I hated him, his very being and everything about him. He took my life away from me, how many years has it been? Seventeen? Twenty-one? Locked away like an animal, I crawl over to the wall I had been digging at. Perhaps I could escape... A scream tears its way out of my throat as I curl up into a ball, clawing at my throat as the tears fall freely. It was hopeless to think I'd ever escape, I could never outrun him. My worst nightmare.

Sometimes I try to picture myself as a free bird, was I ugly or was I beautiful? I guess I'd never know. How many days had it been since I had eaten? A day? Two? I sigh as I feel the tears dry up on my cheeks.

The rattling sounds of the iron door jolts me awake, I tense up fearing he has returned but then I relax upon hearing her voice.

"Aphrodite...child are you awake?" her soft-soothing voice calls out to me. A few steps later, she crouches next to me holding my face carefully in her hands.

"Oh, my poor child, what has he done to you this time?" Her voice breaks tearfully as she speaks. Anna has been the only companion I've ever known since I've been caged here. She tried to care for me the best she could but there wasn't much she could do with *him* around. He'd kill her off without a second thought, she already had two fingers chopped off for helping me try in the past.

As she holds me in her arms, I can't help but pray to whatever god may be up there to save me before the inevitable happens.

DROCO’S POV.

I stare into the darkness, a glass of blood in hand. I welcome the peace, it isn’t a usual emotion I feel but I welcome it whenever I get the chance to feel it. I hear a knock on the door causing me to clench my jaw in anger.

“Enter,” I order in a bored tone which is followed by the sounds of footsteps.

“Your grace” I scowl at the voice, taking a sip of the contents in my glass before placing it on the table.

“Elder Jason, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask dryly, still staring into the darkness.

“Your grace, I uh come bearing goodwill. There are rumors, your grace, of a coup forming to dethrone you seeing as you’re yet to take a mate or even any female to bear you an heir. It has aroused my concern for you your grace, I can’t simply let the throne you’ve…”

“Out with it Elder Jason” I snap impatiently, I know what he wants but his beating around the bush is making me sick to my bones.

“Of course, my apologies. I’ve brought my daughter to you to quench these uprising rumors your grace. As you know, I come from a lineage of beta’s and warrior which makes her the best female candidate to bear your pups.” He says arrogantly making me chuckle lowly. The room remains silent for a few minutes and for a moment, I fall back into the peace until he breaks it.

“Er, your grace?”

Standing up from my chair, I look at him and his daughter. Black hair with dark eyes, a beauty to behold but I’d never even dream of having anything to do with her. She looks at me with a rather shy look but I see through it, the similar streak of greed which she shares with her father…Pathetic.

Walking over to them, I stand in front of her placing a hand under her chin to look at me and just for the fun of it, I give her a small smirk. “What’s your name sweetheart?”

“Kathrine your grace” Her voice is sultry, like that of a trained seductress.

“Katherine, pretty name for a pretty girl.” A blush rises on her cheeks at the compliment and I nearly scoff.

Sitting at the edge of my desk, I motion to her to come closer which she does without second thought. I pull her towards me but not close enough to touch before leaning close to her ear.

"I don't buy your good girl façade for one moment Katherine and I know for a fact that that rumor's a story concocted by your father which you may or may not be involved in." I feel her tense up slightly at that, Gotcha.

"Now I know you're stupid to come before me and try to feed me lies but I don't think you'd be that stupid to even try to cover it up with more lies so I'd suggest you take your sorry ass along with your father and get the hell out of my sight." Shoving her slightly, she stumbles a bit but quickly recovers her footing with her father's help who looks between us in confusion. They both exchange silent eye contact for quite a while before he looks at me.

"Might there be any problem your grace?" I nearly scoff at his audacity.

"Now that you ask so politely I believe yes there is." Hands in the pockets of my pant trousers, I walk ever so calmly to both father and daughter who have weary expressions on their faces.

"You dared to come into *my* abode to feed lies to *me* and think that you can easily get what you want? You must think me a fool to ever believe your goddamn lies and I swear by the moon goddess that I'll rip you to shreds if you're still standing before me within the next minute." I threaten lowly, satisfied with the look of fear etched on their faces. Elder Jason looks enraged but the look of fear is still visible, while his daughter looks like she wants to be anywhere else but here.

Just as they are about to leave, I call out to Katerina. "You look rather appetizing for a drink, I hope to see you around sometime soon." For good measure, I reveal my fangs which scares her out of her wits as she runs like her tail's on fire, her father following suit.

As soon as they leave, the smirk falls off my face as I pinch the bridge of my nose in irritation. Picking up my glass, I down the remaining contents of blood before slamming the glass down harshly. Bunch of twats, all of them. I feel the urge to let loose in my wolf as I look at the bright moon, deciding the give in to my urges I jump out of the window, landing on the ground with a loud thud.

I walk into the deep forest for a while before breaking into a run, changing into my wolf form mid-run. The cool breeze blows through my dark fur as I enjoy the peace of the night. I slow to a walk as I catch the sounds of an animal nearby, a deer drinking from the river. Tuning into the instincts of a predator, I try to blend in with the grass as the reflection of the moon gives me enough light. When the time's right I pounce on the unsuspecting deer, ripping into its jugular before it falls dead. A while later, I walk over to the river to clean the blood off of me before lying down at the edge of the shore.

I think back to the time I became this....the monster that I was. Once upon a time, I had been an innocent pup until the time of the vampire attack. My parents were the alpha and luna of the Crystal Lake pack and everything had been peaceful up until that very night. I could still hear their screams, I could feel the flames and I could feel the vampire sink its teeth into me once again. Bodies everywhere...so much blood. It was all my fault, if only I had stayed hidden...if only I had listened, perhaps they'd still be alive. Filled with anger and self-loathing, I let out a ferocious roar into the night scaring the birds away as they flew for their lives.

In the end, I'll always be this...a monster.