I winced when I woke up. Everything hurt. I was in white room, it looked familiar to the room where Thane had ambushed me. It brought everything back, making me tremble.

I remembered my last moments and the beating I had taken from Thane as I took a shaky breath before touching my fingers gently to the cheek that hurt. It was still slightly swollen. I whimpered.

Silas had arrived in time to stop Thane but I couldn’t remember anything else.

I was out of breath and experiencing the worst pain I could ever remember. Thane had been brutal. My body was wore the physical release of his anger. Dark blue bruises marred my stomach, arms and legs.

How long had I been out for? I wasn’t strong enough to try and get out of bed so I had to wait for someone to come to tell me what had happened.

I didn’t have to wait long before the door opened and a vampire dressed in a white doctor’s jacket pushing a wheelchair entered the room. My eyes focused on the wheelchair. I was clearly going somewhere

“Where am I going?” I asked, feeling nervous when the guy helped me into the wheelchair.

He never answered as he wheeled me out the room.

Where was Silas? Surely he would have come to see me to make sure I’m okay. Even if he didn’t have any feelings for me I was valuable to him, a Sire to bear his child.

My mind was too preoccupied to take my surroundings in until I found myself being wheeled down a large passageway. I could hear talking, lots of people. I looked back to the doctor who was pushing me in the wheelchair but he kept his eyes straight ahead. There was something wrong with this whole thing but I never voiced it as he wheeled me into a large stone floored circular room. There were vampires crowed in a circular formation around the middle of the room.

The doctor stopped I found myself the center of attention, all eyes on me. I was vulnerable and weak, the last thing I wanted was the heavy burning stares of Vampires who treated me like a slave.

In front, opposite me stood the dark haired vampire from my ceremony, including the other four vampires all dressed in gold.

“A law has been broken,” the dark haired vampire announced.

A hush fell over the crowed creating a heavy silence.

What on earth was going on? But I dared not voice my question. I knew my place.

“The accused will be punished.”

I didn’t like how they all turned to look at me. There was hatred, judgment. I was confused as to why I was eliciting this kind of reaction. I had been the one who had be attacked. Surely, I wasn’t the one who had broken any laws. This wasn’t making any kind of sense. Maybe I was confused, it was the only explanation I could think of. Maybe I had hit my head harder against the wall than I had remembered.

“But first, we will allow our brothers to restore their honor.”

The dark haired vampire stood.

“Thane,” he introduced.

I flinched like I had been struck physically.

To see the vampire who had brutally beaten me appear from the crowd, bare chested but covered in cuts and bruises. There was a roar from the crowd.

Fear kept me stiff as I watched on, not quite believing what I was seeing. Why would I be forced to face the man who had attacked me? Did these people have no empathy?

The only satisfaction I got that someone had given him a taste of the brutality he had shown me. The cuts and bruises he wore, were a sign someone had punished him. I wondered it Silas had been the one to give him that lesson. The memory of Silas appearing in the doorway in time to stop Thane replayed in my mind, did weird things to me.

Where was he?

Thane smiled at me which made me tremble. I truly hated him.

“Silas,” the dark haired vampire announced.

The crowd on the opposite side to Thane parted as I watched as Silas stepped out bare chested.

What was going on?

My gaze locked with Silas. His expression unreadable before he turned his attention to Thane who was smiling.

“Thane you tried to take something that doesn’t belong to you. You will face your punishment now.”

Was Silas going to punish him? It looked like they were going to fight, bare fisted.

It was barbaric but I was all for watching Thane get punished.

Silas stood so still while Thane turned to face the crowed, lifting his arms. The crowd of vampires behind him cheered. How could vampires back such a cruel, heartless vampire? It didn’t say much for them. The crowd of vampires behind Silas were as silent as he was.

I had no idea what I was watching but I was captivated.

Silas’ intense gaze settled on Thane and didn’t move. The tension in his shoulders was visible. Although there was little expression I could tell there was a lot more going on below the surface.

Silas waited for Thane to turn back to face him before he took a menacing step forward. I didn’t believe for a second Thane would have given Silas the same courtesy There was nothing ethical about the vampire who had attacked me.

Thane was concentrating on the applause of the vampires behind them then the menacing vampire moving closer. I did not take my eyes off Silas. He had never looked more dangerous, hard muscles straining, and glistening under the light. He was tight and controlled with every move, a sign of someone who trained and fought daily.

Thane, however, was no match. Silas had him on the floor with the first fist to the face. Winded Thane lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath as Silas stood above him.

Silas waited for Thane to get to his feet before his sucker punched him in the gut, followed by an uppercut which landed Thane back on his back again, winded for a second time.

Each time Thane was put down his crowd protested, all the while Silas’ crowd remained silent like their fighter.

Was he doing this to get his honor back? Had Thane damaged his honor by trying to take me, his possession?

I watched every hit, every drop of blood Thane shed with justice. He was getting exactly what he deserved. On his knees he stared up to Silas, in that moment I remember being in a similar position with him, blood dripped from his chin.

“Finish him off,” the dark haired vampire commanded to Silas as he rose to his feet.

Silas didn’t give any indication he had heard him but he moved like lightning to hit Thane. The egotistical vampire whimpered as he lay on the ground, bleeding.

I didn’t have an ounce of sympathy for him. He deserved every moment of the pain he was experiencing.

Vampires dressed like guards rolled in stone coffin. It took all six to removed the lid. I frowned as I watched.

“For this transgression, Thane will suffer this defeat in confinement.”

What did confinement mean? Did it have something to do with the coffin?

One of the guards handed Silas a silver knife. He held the knife up for a moment before stabbing Thane in the heart. Thane spluttered and hissed. Blood dripped from his mouth.

Silas stood watching as the guards lifted Thane and put him into the coffin with the knife still lodged in his chest. I expected them to remove the knife before they closed the coffin but they didn’t.

In front of everyone the guards sealed the coffin.

Was Thane going to die? None of this made much sense.

Silas faced the dark haired vampire.

“I trust this will be sufficient,” the dark haired vampire said.

“His death is what I wanted,” Silas replied. His tone hard.

“In a time where our kind are facing dwindling numbers we cannot afford to be that harsh with our punishment.”

Wow. So they weren’t killing him? He was going to stay in that coffin and suffer for whatever period of time they determined with a knife lodged in his chest. It sounded horrible, but I couldn’t muster any sympathy for him.

He would have taken me against my will. He had beaten me so badly. Death would have been a more appropriate punishment.

“Now it is time to punish the accused,” the dark haired vampire said, looking to me.

I turned back to see if there was someone behind me but there wasn’t. Apparently I was the accused. What on earth had I done wrong?