Freedom

Jacob rose before he should have. The lethargy that held them in the ground at seven in the afternoon weighed heavily on him. Still, he had to make it up to Victoria for his treatment of her and their relationship.

He opened the earth above him with some difficulty, crawled out, and went to the cabinet. He drank several bottles before making his way back to Victoria. He slit open his chest with a nail and pressed her mouth to him.

"Wake up and take what I offer freely," he said, compulsion dripping in his voice but his tone was begging.

Victoria bite down deeply into his chest before she even fully awakened, her body was so light from all the weight she had lost it was like holding a fragile doll

Jacob kept the wince to himself as he smoothed her hair, using his Carpathian abilities to clean and dress her. He didn't want to ruin the moment for her, even when he started to feel a little dizzy.

She released his chest and closed the wound, slowly she started to open her eyes "w-what...why do that when you could have just given me the bottle..." she asked in a tired tone

"Because," he said, trying to hold himself up, "you need fresh blood so that you can be healthy again. Bottled blood is not enough for you at this time. As I am the only one here, I happily take on the responsibility to care for you."

"always the hero huh....but only one girl at a time right?" se sai turning her back to him and rolling over "I don't want your help why don't you see if that other girl wants it"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" he asked full of male amusement, hoping to get off the subject of Natasha.

She threw a pillow at his face "I would have to care about you to be jealous..." she said stubbornly

"You do care," he said, moving the pillow, "or you wouldn't be angry with me."

'Im angry because of the hell you put me trough....I'm angry because you claimed me in front of everyone and Im angry because......because ever since I had to come to this school my life is not my own.....not to mention Im angry because I just had to fuck my way out of what I can only assume is a now burial site for a butch of female" she said still not looking at him

"Victoria, I never meant to put you through that," he said, reaching for her. "If I had been in my right mind, I would have never done what I did, and you would have never been taken like that. I was being manipulated and..."

"I dont care! while I was going trough hell you were and Im qouting here, taking comfort in natasha" she said grabbing his wrist and pushing him away

Jacob looked like she had punched him and said, "I would have never done that if I had known she could manipulate emotions, Victoria. The instant you had been taken, I would have risked going into the sun to find you. I would have given myself to them, just to get inside and be near you. I know nothing I can say will change your mind or what happened, but it is the truth. I wish you would look into my mind and learn what I know to be true.

"you claimed I was a horrible butcher bitch before she came into the picture jacob..." she said in a low tone

"I'm sorry," he said. "I said things that I didn't mean because I was angry, in pain, and I thought you had rejected me, sentencing me to become a vampire." He looking to her eyes. "Victoria, if you had died, or you rejected me and the binding hadn't worked, I would have turned vampire. Even now, I can't tell that I would go quietly if you were to die. I would become a monster unlike this world has ever seen to get revenge on those that took you away from me."

"like you said earlier we are complete opposites...we dont belong...so why make such a big deal about me dying jacob" she said looking away from him

"Well, opposites attract," he said with a smile.

She punched him lightly in the shoulder "shut up and go feed" she said in a softer tone

"I'm fine," he said. "Just tired. I did wake up early to care for you. I'll go to ground early tonight."

"all the more reason to go feed besides who said your aloud on the bed with me" she said looking away from him but still he would see her pink cheeks

Ignoring the dizzy feeling he had, he sat up and said, "Thank you for the concern, Victoria, but it is you I am worried about. I will live. Rest and regain your strength."

He stood up and wobbled on his feet, but managed to stay standing. He looked at the door, away from her, trying to figure out how to get it to open. He didn't notice that his skin was pale or even how the room around him spun. His only thought was to get her out.

SHe sighed "if you one feed Ill get up to make sure you do..." she said not looking at im but could feel his sickness

"I will feed when we get out," he said, looking at her with a smile. "Thank you for the concern, Victoria. But I am taking care of you, not the other way around. You are still far too thin to be healthy. Besides getting us out of this cage, I will devote all my time to taking care of you and protecting you and making up for my crimes against you and showing you how much I care about you."

"Ive always been thin....Im fine....and you do neithe of us good as weak as you are just drink a bottle or two" she said in a low and tired tone

"Not this thin," said Jacob. "I will survive, Victoria. For now, rest. I need to think on how to get us out of here. When you awake, I will feed you gain."

"I dont want to feed from you anymore.....just give me a bottle...and until I am better I do not mind staying in here" se said before falling asleep

"Not happening," he said, pulling out a chair and nearly falling into it. "You need fresh blood... and I need to sleep." He got comfortable. "Maybe... we can... get out... later."

-----

Raoul relieved the human guard of duty for much needed rest. Raoul knew that the woman would be starved when she awoke and grabbed two bottles of blood. He opened the door to the room she was being held in and saw her on the cot.

Colors danced in front of his eyes and emotions hit him hard, causing him to gasp loudly. He nearly dropped the bottles. He cursed fate that this dangerous woman was his mate, cursed his emotions as fear for her safety set in at the vulnerable state she was in, and cursed the fact that his shock was loud enough to wake her.

He stood in the doorway, holding the bottles, using his centuries of experience to compose himself so that he looked intimidating.

Natasha's eyes opened slowly, the first thing she felt was a hunger she did not recognize and the second was the man by the door, the way he was looking at her made her heart jump and she sat up quickly and backed away from him on the cot, fear was in her eyes

"I brought you blood," he said, holding out the bottles. "Your hunger is beating at me. Drink these and you will feel better."

She didnt say anything but slowly got up, looking like a scared animal, as she got close he could tell she was looking for a way to escape

His eyes flashed red for a moment and a growl escaped as he said, "Take the bottles, woman. I am in no mood for a game of cat and mouse."

She stepped back quickly, he could hear her heart quicken, her blood pulsing through her veins, her skin smelled like the sun and fresh water "I dont want blood...." her voice was soft and feminine and seemed to make him tingle all the way to his very soul

He stepped towards her and said, "Your hunger beats at me. You can't starve yourself. Your true mate would be upset if you were to die." He forced the bottle into her hand, his finger grazing her skin. "Drink this. Now."

When his skin touch hers, her heart sped up more for reasons unknown to her "I said no!" she said and threw the bottle against the wall making it shatter "And I dont want a mate I dont even want to be here! I dont even understand fully what is going on!" she said slowly circling him "if you people are going to lock me up like some kind of animal then fine thats how I will act" she said and bolted for the door

Before she reached the door, he was there, blocking her path. "You fed willingly from that boy, making him hurt his lifemate and we nearly lost them both. You manipulated his feelings so that he chose you over what fate deemed right. And you have a mate, who is very pissed off with you childish behavior." He took the door in his hand said, before slamming it shut behind him. "Grow up, realize what you did was wrong and sickening, come to terms with the fact you are not human anymore, and then I'll think about claiming you."

She jumped when he slammed the door and gasped "I didn't do anything to jacob....why does everyone keep saying I did" She said in a hurt tone "and I didn't....I mean I wasn't in my right mind when I drank...I couldn't think straight it was like I wasn't in control and you cant claim me.....Jacob said only lifemates can do that and he already did that.....and if Im not human its not my fault I didnt ask for this..." her tone held truth and pain

"You really don't know about your psychic abilities?" he asked, opening the door and entering the room. "Did you know you were drinking? Did you feel strings tying your soul to that boy? And who the hell turned you? Why wasn't I told?"

"why are you asking me so many questions?! ever since I woke up in this awful place five days ago no one but jacob would answer my questions and even still I dont understand! your not vampires but you turn into vampires?" she said and started pacing "Lifemates are to half of a whole? how does that even work nothing makes sense! and no I didn't all I know is that for te last few days my body.....its hot constantly...I cant think straight....so much so that I slept with someone I didn't know!" she said as her stress started to affect her body, her heart sped up tears formed in her eyes "now they lock me in here saying I messed with acob I didnt an I dint mess with whoever that prince guy was!" she said as he felt her emotions started to seep into him witout her knowing she was doing it "I just want to go ome I promise I wont tell anyone please just let me go home" she said in a heartbreaking tone as she went over to him and gripped his shirt as she lookied up at him pleadingly "PLease..."

"I have to know," he said, sweat glistened on his brow. "I'll explain everything. Look, you are ovulating, that is why you feel the way you do. In another two days, this will pass. And I want to take you home, you have no idea. To see where you are happiest, to show you the jungles of Brazil... but you can't leave until the prince has a way to keep your powers from harming others and yourself. Once we know how to protect everyone from your chaotic ability, you must stay here."

Without knowing her own strength she threw him across the room "NO!" she covered her mouth in shock "Im sorry...I didnt mean too..."she went to take a step towards him but stopped and tears started to fall once more "im not a monster...i didn't do anything to anyone please you have to believe me..." she said and glanced at he open door "Im sorry" she said and ran from the room as fast as she could

Before she could get out of the building, Raoul stopped her in the front office. "You surprised me. I know you aren't a monster, but you did manipulate him unknowingly. Did he ever do something that you were thinking about? Like, if you thought that someone should be told off and then he did it, did that ever happen?"

"Stop! let me go! I didnt....please your hands....they are burning my skin" she said going limp in his arms as her body came alive to his touch, the scent of her arousal hit him like a train, she was so close he could almost inhale the scent of her blood from here, the sweetness of it beckoned him like a moth to a flame

He loosened his grip, but did not let go of her. His eyes became possessive and he lowered his head towards her. The next this she knew, she was back in her cell, the door shut behind her. He laid her on the bed before kissing her.

She tried to push him off but his kiss made her mind stat to go blank as her body started to once again feel like it was on fire, he was much stronger than her and could not push him off, instead she made things worse for herself as her breast brushed against his chest in the attempts to escape

He growled a warning as he kissed down her neck, his hand moving her shirt aside so he could feel her soft skin. His tongue played over her frantic pulse, sending shivers through her. Then, his teeth sank deep, her blood hitting him like a freight train.

It was intense, unlike anything she had felt before, he was intense even his growl did not scare her but make her body even more alive, there was something intense and intimidating about him were she felt the need to comply. She gasped as his fangs went deep and she gripped his hair and arched slightly underneath him, bring her body close to his.

Suddenly there was a knock on the doo "Raoul you in there man? Im here to take the next shift" a males voice came from the other side of the door

Raoul closed the wound, leaving his mark before opening a wound in his neck to force her to feed, as he said, "I am fine. Trying to get her to feed. Wait for me in the front office. I will be there in a moment."

"Alright" the male said and left

The second she taste his blood something in her snapped, she bit down harder and caught him off guard and rolled them until she was on top, her desire filled him and he could feel the heat of her body as she laid on top of him

He groaned and said, "Woman, I'm at the edge of my control. Do not play with a wildcat or you may get hurt."

His voice sent a shiver through her, her tongue played over his skin as she released his chest slowly, she felt the unfightable urge to want to get closer to him, her erotic desire filled the room in a sweet smell

His hand held her to him and said, "If we do not stop, they will either cage me in here with you, or move you to a solitary cell and keep me away from you. Believe me, both are not desirable to me. I must be with you, but I can not stay in this room. I'm too wild for that."

She looked at him, her eyes were glazed over with lust, her lips slightly parted, wit er breast firmly against his chest he could feel her wild heartbeat

He growled and kissed her again. He had to feel her mouth on his. He rolled until she was under him. He pulled her shirt over her head and took her stiff nipple into his mouth through the lace bra she was wearing. A growl of pleasure escaped his throat when she moaned.

However, before he could do anything else, he was flung off of her. He growled in warning, even knowing who had pulled him off of her.

"Leave," said Zandar.

"She's my lifemate," Raoul said. "She was a sleep when I found out, not controlling me in anyway. You are wearing a navy blue shirt and blue jeans."

"The prince will be in the office in an hour," said Zandar. "Listen to me, cousin. You must leave her here for the time being. Let the prince know of this." He turned to Natasha and compelled her to sleep. "Go, Raoul."

Raoul would take this to the prince and have Natasha placed in his care, so that she could be a little bit more free. The room was already closing in on him. He had to get out or he would take the building down. He and Zandar went to the front office and waited for the prince. It was uncomfortable to his fellow hunters guarding him like he were the enemy. The door opened and the prince walked into the room.

"Someone better start explaining fast why one of my oldest warriors lost his control" he said in a serious tone sitting down at his desk

Before Raoul could speak, Zandar said, "He claims she is his lifemate, though that remains to be seen. I have put her to sleep, so her influence should not have any effect on him."

"You are wearing a red shirt," Raoul said. "I want to take her to my..."

He slammed his fist down on the desk cutting him off "whether or not she is your lifemate or not I still want an answer on your lack of self control Raoul" he said in a serious tone "Zandar their is a woman in my room at this moment, it seems she might be a shield, take her to Natasha, she can finish her healing in the oter bed in the cell with her, its time we test things" he said in a commanding tone and then looked back at raoul waiting for his answer