Tangled

142 Lisa: Chained

The sound of water dripping is the first thing to break through the darkness of my mind.

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

It’s an erratic rhythm that leaves me uncomfortable.

The voices come next, soft, sibilant whispers. Evil. Whoever they are, they’d be the villains in any story.

Eventually, I realize the darkness is really just pain. Pain that throbs and aches in half my face. But why?

Vampires.

That’s why.

My eyes fly open when I finally remember, and I struggle to sit up, blinking into the darkness.

I can’t see anything.

Are my eyes open?

My hands won’t reach my face, yanking against

17:36

1/8

142 Lisa: Chained

something cold and hard around my wrists.

Manacles?

Swiping my hands around, I can feel the heavy, rusted chains holding me down, bolted to the floor.

Fuck.

This is…

Really not good.

Ava. Is Ava here?

whisper, but

plink–plink of something dripping.

voices are gone.

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

of isolation and fear. I try to

17:36 – )

2/8

142 Usa Chained

I scream, the

I yank at the manacles, the metal biting into my wrists. Pain sears through my arms, but I don’t care. I have to get out. I have to find Ava.

and twist, my skin tearing, blood trickling down my forearms. Sobs wrack my body, each one tearing out of my throat. It’s useless. The chains hold fast,

of me. I can barely stand, the shackles forcing me to

Plink. Plink–plink.

I try to force my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Shapes slowly emerge from the inky blackness. Rough stone walls, a small window high above my head. The barest

in a cell.

A fucking cell..

142 Lika Chained

dungeon like a gothic romance heroine. Except there’s no dashing

1. am.

Plink–plink–plink.

if mocking my S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Findɴovel.ɴet website on

scream again, to rage against the unfairness of it

no magic or super strength hidden deep inside. I can’t shift

Humans are weak and helpless

I hate this.

Hated his grim

here to tell

take his smugness over this any day of

can he possibly find me when I don’t

142 143 Chalice)

know where I am?

let them

her fierce determination and unwavering loyalty. She won’t give up on me.

be enough? Can they really go

don’t know. I don’t know

is that I’m scared. I’m so fucking scared and I don’t know what

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

the irregularity of it. I

my lip hard enough to taste blood and focus on the pain. It grounds me,

342 LISA Chamed

Lucas and the Westwood pack will tear this place apart stone by

believe that. Because the

around

moment, just a moment, I almost

Plink.

fills my mind and I can’t stop thinking about

and the biting. Of how he wasn’t great at foreplay. Of the slightly–better–than mediocre sex and then the aphrodisiac