Control

Chapter Fourteen

“Locke won’t be happy if you touch me,” Hope said, hoping her bravado held out. In her mind she could hear the taunting laughter of the men who raped and murdered her mother.

“Do you think we care?” Remus asked.

“There’s two of us-” Romulus began.

“One of him,” Remus finished. “He doesn’t scare us.”

“Where is Selena?” Hope asked.

“She’s a little tied up at the moment,” Remus said. He and his brother laughed heartily at that.

“Bitch should have known better,” Romulus said.

“Well she’ll learn,” Remus said. “What about you, little girl? How long will it take you to learn your place?” She knew at that moment that she would not be making it out of this alive if she didn’t escape.

“Who’s first?” she asked.

“I am,” Remus said.

“Bullshit,” Romulus snapped. “This was my idea.” The brothers started arguing. Hope watched until Remus shoved his twin. She quietly got to her feet before she took off running. “Stop!”

“Get back here, you little bitch!” Remus snapped. Hope ran faster. She just hoped that the whole ‘vampire’s had superior speed thing was a myth.

“Help me!” she called. A door opened ahead and a man came out. Hope stopped running but immediately wished that she hadn’t. Marius stood before her smirking. There was blood on his white shirt.

“Well, well, well,” he said slowly. “What are you doing here, all alone?”

“I-I got lost,” Hope said. “Locke must be looking for me.”

“What happened?” Marius asked the twins as they approached.

“This little tease tried to run from us,” Remus announced.

“Why would she do that?” Marius asked.

“She said she had to get back to her master,” Romulus said.

“I’m sure your master will be fine without you for a while,” Marius announced pulling a gag out of his pocket. “You need to be punished for making your betters chase you.” Hope stepped backwards.

“Please, they were going to rape me. I just want to get back to L-my master,” Hope said.

“Remove her dress,” Marius said. Hope struggled as Romulus pinned her arms behind her back and Remus ripped her dress in half. “Resisting, that’s ten more lashes.”

Locke looked around as he and Jon walked into the ballroom. Hope was nowhere to be seen. They had already checked the nearby bathrooms and talked to Anabel. “I’m going to go look for her,” he announced.

“I’ll join you,” Jon said. Locke led the way through the house.

“I don’t like this,” he said after they had been looking for ten minutes. Jon nodded in agreement. Locke froze hearing a muffled scream. He growled low in his throat and Jon got a glance at the vampire who was feared throughout the vampire community. All emotion drained from his face and his ice blue eyes seemed to almost glow. He turned and walked down a different hallway. Jon followed and caught the scent of blood. Locke flipped out his cell phone.

“This is Locke. Someone has Hope. We’re in the South Wing.” He hung up, not waiting for a response. He stopped at the door and kicked it open. His eyes went wide and Jon gasped in horror. Hope was covered in blood. There were lashes and cuts all over her petite frame.

She was gagged and bound naked to the wall. Locke felt his heart clench as he saw her. For a moment he thought that she was dead. Then she stirred and opened her eyes. The relief and trust in her gaze made him furious. He walked into the room and saw a woman in similar shape to Hope dead on the floor.

“Fuck,” Jon said going to Hope and undoing the ties.

“Lay her down on the bed,” Locke said pulling the sheets off the bed to cover the dead woman. Jon carefully carried Hope to the bed and laid her down. He pulled the gag out.

“Locke,” she whispered.

“I’m right here, dearest,” he promised going to her side and taking her hand.

“It hurts,” she murmured.

“I can fix that,” he told her. “Just wait a few moments.”

“Thank you for coming after me,” she whispered.

“I’ll always come after you,” he promised, brushing his fingertips across her cheek, one of the few parts of her body that was untouched. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I never should have left you alone.”

“I think Selena might be dead,” Hope said.

“What?” Jon asked.

“I don’t know…. She might just be hurt, or tied up somewhere,” Hope said.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Locke asked.

“I got lost and the twins found me,” she said. “They were talking about what they were going to do to me.” She took a deep breath. “They started arguing so I ran, right into Marius. He had the twins strip me and tie me to the wall. He gagged me himself. Then he… touched me.”

“It’s okay, dearest,” Locke assured her, gently squeezing her hand.

“God, I want to rip that son of a bitch apart,” Jon growled.

“So do I,” Locke said.

“He started whipping me,” Hope continued. “He told me to count, but I couldn’t keep count. It hurt too much.”

“It’s alright,” Locke said.

“Then he got out the knife.”

“Fuck,” Locke murmured.

“He started cutting me, not deep enough to kill me, he told me that he wanted me alive for what was coming next.”

“I am so sorry, dearest,” Locke said stroking the hand he held.

“This is why I want to pass that bill,” Jon spat. “No one will even raise an eyebrow over what happened here. Marius will get away with it. Those damn boys will keep doing this shit. If you even try to go after them they’ll just say that she came onto them then she’ll be the one to be killed.”

Hope had started sobbing. “I didn’t. I didn’t come onto them.”

“I know,” Locke assured her. “Jon, if you aren’t going to help, leave.”

“I’m sorry, Hope,” Jon said. “I’m just upset about what happened here.” Lars, Alex, and Salem walked in.

“Oh, hell,” Lars breathed.

“I would like them to see what was done to you, but if it makes you uncomfortable-”

“No, it’s okay,” Hope said. She covered her privates with her hands as the three men walked over. Locke handed her a pillow.

“Who?” Alex demanded.

“The twins and Marius,” Jon said.

“I think Marius is responsible for the dead woman as well,” Locke added.

“I’m getting really sick of that man,” Alex growled.

“Now that you’ve seen this, I’d like to heal her,” Locke said.

“Of course,” Alex said bowing slightly.

“I’m so sorry, Hope,” Salem said.

“I’ll go get my coat,” Lars said. “It’s long enough to cover you.” The three men left.

“I’m sorry about that,” Locke said. “But I think that it’s very important that they know what a monster that man is.”

“It’s okay,” Hope aid.

“I’m going to leave the room,” Jon said. “But I’ll be right outside if either of you need anything.”

“Thank you, dad,” Hope said, testing the word out and discovering that she liked it. Jon gave her a warm smile before walking out.

“Okay, first I want you to take my blood,” Locke said. “Then I’m going to close the marks.”

“How?”

“With my tongue,” he said gently. “Vampire saliva has healing properties,” Locke explained, “as does our blood. Together, they’ll ensure that you don’t even scar. Your skin should be unscarred by morning.”

“Okay,” Hope said. “Will it hurt?”

“It may sting a little, but then it will take the pain away.” He looked her over studying each mark and committing every cut and lash to memory. Marius had to be stopped. “Ready, dearest?”