Chapter 59: .•25•.

Warm. She felt so warm. And safe. Safe like a baby cradled between its mother's arms. In fact, it actually felt like she was being held, cradled into someone's arms as if she were a small child. She could vividly feel those arms around her. The typical warmth of skin against her cheek. That slight movement of breaths. And they were...moving. There was a slight jostle with every step.

Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. Noticing that painfully familiar tattoo of a red rose stretching right in front of her very eyes. Her gaze immediately flitted upwards, coming face to face with that heavily painted figure.

A single, blood-curdling scream escaped her, breaking into a desperate fit of struggling and squirming as those last moments of consciousness came back to her full-force, making her reminisce everything. The sickening pain. The freezing fear. That horrifying sensation of his claws pushing into her thigh. That pulsating throb in her broken wrist.

He simply let go of her and she fell, landing over a carpet of plushy and healthy grass. She didn't get to look around or even mind where she was for that matter as that instinct to run away desperately pushed at her, urging her to just get up and flee. Escape. He was trying to kill her! He was just about to! She'd heard that demon's words. His heartless commands. He'd messed with Nicholas' mind like she had suspected. It wasn't him anymore! And he was just about to murder her!

She stumbled up to her feet, barely noticing that she was still barefoot as she started to run. She had to get away from him. She evidently had no idea where she was going, but it didn't even matter anyway. As long as she was as far as possible away from him.

She ran and ran through that green meadow, her rapid and uneven breaths being the only ones that she could hear. There were no sounds of footsteps following her. Trailing after her. She made the stupid mistake of turning to peer over her shoulder, her body immediately crashing into something solid.

She stumbled back from the force, almost landing on her butt on the grass again.

"Really, Diana?" She let out another frightened scream at the sight of Nicholas, standing there right in front of her. Hands shoved into his dress pants' pockets and...bare from the waist up. For some reason.

She didn't waste any more time thinking about how he'd gotten there or why he was naked from the waist up, her shocked and adrenaline-pumped brain still commanding her to run. Escape. So she turned and tried to take a different path, unfortunately only managing to conquer a few metres forwards before that strong and big hand curled around her bicep and tugged, forcing her to twirl back around and smack right into his chest.

She stumbled again but that only held onto her, steadying her before she could fall.

"Do you honestly think that you can escape me?" The vampire uttered with an aggravated tone, holding her so tightly. She started to scream and thrash again, pushing and slapping against his chest like a feral little cub, still trying so desperately to escape.

She tugged and tugged against that firm restraint, almost to the point where it starting to hurt. But she didn't stop. She was relentless. So she tugged and tugged until he finally let go of her, making her stumble and this time actually fall back on that incredibly soft grass.

She immediately rolled onto her front, using her hands and knees as she started to rapidly crawl away through the grass. Eating up metre after metre until that strong hand wrapped around her ankle, effectively preventing her from going any further. She wailed again, hands burying into the grass before she tugged at it, pathetically trying to slip away from his grip. It evidently didn't work. That hand only tugged at her in return, pulling her backwards. But she didn't give up, and instead she started to squirm and kick her legs into a chaotic attempt to have him let go of her, even managing to land a blow.

She had absolutely no idea which part of him she'd hit. She only knew that she did. And as soon as that angered growl resounded from behind her, her eyes widened, almost pissing her panties from that bout of fear. She felt his hand land on her bare thigh, milliseconds before she found herself flipped on her back. The vampire instantly crawling on top of her.

She squealed with horror, using her legs and arms to try and kick him away from her. She only got to struggle for a few short-lived moments before he effortlessly restrained her by pining her hands above her head, his powerful thighs straddling hers.

"Would you just stop fucking running away from me?" He roared in her face, making her jolt with fear. She immediately started to cry. Big fat tears rolling down her face as she helplessly wailed and sobbed. Lying beneath him like cowering prey.

"Please..." she could barely see his face now from all those tears pooling into her eyes. Her body trembling so violently. She felt so scared. She didn't want him to hurt her again.

"Please...don't..." she begged, her chin wobbling as she blinked those tears away. Trying to look up at him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you idiot," he angrily grunted in reply, the girl letting out a sob that wracked throughout her entire body.

She continued to cry for another few short-lived moments until that sentence finally registered into her brain, making her falter.

Wait...What?