Ella was an eighteen-year-old girl with long black hair and hazel eyes. She had lived with her stepmother ever since she was twelve.
Her stepmother was a witch who always sent her to this forest to get herbs. The woman was more than three centuries old.
A witch was supposed to live for at least two centuries, but this woman had been using spells to keep herself young.
'Let go of my leg immediately,' Max said coldly. He didn't give a damn if she lived or died. Now all he wanted was to just kill!
His Anne was dead, and he was so sad, and all he wanted to do at the moment was kill.
'Please, please, sir,' Ella begged. If she let him go, there was a 100% chance she would die in three minutes. She didn't want to die yet! Maximus wondered why he was still letting her live. But what was the difference? She'd die here anyway. He kicked her, and she landed on the ground. The little bottle with the herbs she came to fetch had poured onto the ground. Her eyes widened.
Today was really the day she could die for real.
'I'll do anything you want, please help me!' she cried out. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she trembled on the ground.
'Let's go,' Max said, ready to leave.
'Milord, why don't you just kill her? It's the only way to help her,' one of Maximus's men said, and Ella looked up at him.
This was her life he was talking about, as if she was some kind of food that someone could decide to eat or throw away.
'No! Let the vampires have her,' Max said uninterested as he turned to leave.
'Please, please. I'm begging you! Help me, please,' she begged. At the moment, that was the only thing she could do. Just beg and hope to get help because she was going to be someone's meal tonight.
Even if they helped her, it was useless as the herbs she came here for were already gone. So either she went back deep into the forest to get another one or...
Let's just say there was no hope as today was the day she was surely going to die.
Her body trembled as if it had no bones in it.
'I'm begging you! I don't want to die!' she begged as her throat became itchy and her voice came out creaky.
'You need help? Okay, I'll help,' one of Max's men said as he pulled out his sword and slit Ella's shoulder.
'Ahhh!' she screamed. Her throat was really dry, and the scream made it seem her throat would bleed if she screamed one more time.
'I always knew I'd die one of these days,' she thought, holding her bleeding shoulder.
Max was about to leave when he glanced at Ella and saw her trembling body covered in blood.
Something flickered in his eyes, and before anyone could notice, it disappeared as quickly as it came.
He walked to where she was and slowly bent down.
'You don't want to die, huh? How are you so sure that you want to live?' he asked, still wearing an unreadable expression.
Ella, who was super weak, could only nod.
Max brought out his hands as he used his fingers to play with the tips of her black hair.
'Are you sure?' he asked again, and one corner of his lips pulled up.
'I...I'm sure,' she managed to say.
'Okay. I'll help you get out of here, and I'll also give you a place to stay,' he said, and Ella's eyes widened as if she had misheard him or something.
Even Maximus's men seemed a bit confused. But Maximus was full of wonder.
'But of course, there is a condition. You'll sell yourself to me,' Ezekiel said, and Ella's eyes widened in shock. All her body went stiff.
'Wha...what did you...say, sir?' she asked. Maybe she misheard him or something. She couldn't possibly sell herself to someone like that? What would they use her for? Who would even ask such a thing?
'I made sure I was very clear. Sell yourself to me or... get ready to be someone's meal tonight.' It was true. The only reason why vampires weren't aiming at her was because Maximus was still around.
Even right now, the vampires were all over, waiting for Max to leave so they could have some fun. And they might also rape her and drain every single drop of blood in her.
But how could she just sell herself? What about her stepmother? What about her life?
But what if she disagreed? What would happen to her? She would be dead meat in just five minutes.
Max was just too angry today for all this drama. He wondered why he hadn't killed her.
'Still thinking it through? You need time to think your life through? I thought you said you wanted to live. Seems like you don't even know what you want,' said Max, intending to stand up and leave.
'What did you mean by sell myself to you? W...what will you use someone like me for?' she asked. This was Maximus they were talking about here. The word ruthless was an understatement to describe someone like him.
'Anything I want,' he nonchalantly said. 'If you sell yourself to me, your life lies in my hands.'
'Will you kill me?' Ella asked as tears rolled over her red cheeks.
Max chuckled slowly.
'Why would I? You said you want to live, right? Isn't that the main reason why I'm saving you here?'
'Saving me? Or am I putting myself into the main fire?' she thought. She wanted to stay alive at all costs. She looked at his eyes, which were sparkling with amusement.
'Is the Lord enjoying this?'
'Why are you wasting your time?' asked Max in a nonchalant tone.
'How? Isn't it his time I'm wasting?' she was surprised by the word 'your.'
She looked at him with a trembling body, and the next thing she heard.
'Let's go.'
Her eyes widened more.
'Please, please!' she screamed at the top of her voice.
'Please, please, I've made my decision,' said Ella, breathing heavily.
Max slowly bent down and patted her head.
'Good kid! Now tell me, which decision?' he asked, and she didn't dare look at him. Even his hand felt like hot iron on her head.
'You can own me as long as you won't kill me, as long as I'm alive!' And that made the corner of Maximus's lips pull up.
'Good,' he muttered.
'How does he plan on owning me? Why am I even getting myself involved with someone like this? Isn't it better to die?' she started doubting her decision. She needed to think if belonging to a demon or death was the better choice.
'Don't worry, you won't be living with me! Not even close,' deadpanned Maximus.
With that, he stood up and started walking away. Ella looked at his companions...so creepy, and she stood up and ran after him.
They were all evil, but at least Maximus-г had a pretty face that could leave her spellbound any time she stared at him. It was better than looking at creepy things!
She was half running but even so, she wasn't able to keep up with Maximus.
She looked back and saw creepy faces that were almost where she was.
She was scared of them! Especially since they were demons. 'Why should I be scared? He said he'll keep me alive,' and with that, she started walking casually. The demons that were behind her were now in the lane she was. And even with that, Ella didn't walk fast. She didn't dare glance at their ugly faces, and soon one of them pulled her by her hair.
'Ah!' she screamed as she tried to break free from the demon, which was impossible. She looked forward and saw Maximus in the far distance.
'Let me go! Let me go!' And she succeeded in breaking free and ran with everything she had. When she was almost where Max was, she slowed down as she tried keeping up with him. And soon they were out of the forest, and the area was a little safe from vampires' reach.
A stupid idea popped into her head. The place had a few buildings, so maybe...maybe she would be able to run? Ella started calculating. She looked around and saw the demons behind while Max was in front.
'Dammit!'
They moved further and further to a place that was a little crowded. Her hazel eyes lit up.
'Maybe there is hope for survival,' and with that, she started planning how she would run. She was in a place where many people were gathered and playing. It looked as if a bonfire was in front, so she quickly looked back, seeing that the demons had worn their caps to hide their ugly faces. They were four in number. She used this opportunity to run into the crowd.
She hid in one corner and watched as all the demons passed.
Seeing that the area was clear, she ran with all the adrenaline in her. She was almost home when she met Isabella, her friend.
'Ella? Are you going home?' asked Isabella.
'Yeah, why?' Ella seemed confused. Her little brows knitted together.
'Your stepmother will kill you!'