Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Pureblood
Ellysia Fields
Copyright © 2020 Ellysia Fields.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, addressed “Request for use of Pureblood,” at the email address below.
Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.
Front cover image by Lia Davis.
First printing edition 2020.
[email protected]
www.efieldsauthor.wixsite.com/ellysiafields
I would like to dedicate this book to my husband, Mr. Fields. He pushed me to better myself and supported me through all the rough patches so far in our life together. I am just sad that it took three times to get it right.
Sorry I made you wait so long! I love you, my Core.
Chapter One
The last thing she remembered was the flash of white teeth, the burning pain, and then…
Nothing.
No sound, no movement, no feeling. Just...nothing.
Floating in the empty abyss, somewhere between the living world and the dead, there was only darkness. How long had she been there? Time seemed to stretch on forever, as she tried to see what could not be seen. What had happened before she had gotten here? Pain? She’d felt pain, but why? What caused the-
Blurry images popped into existence around her, causing her to cry out with joy and surprise. Something had happened, which meant she wasn’t dead. The images around her were more like tiny moving pictures, but she couldn’t make out what was happening. She had to get back, people needed her, would miss her if she didn't get back. How had she gotten here again?
As the question flashed in her thoughts, some of the images came into focus around her. Two people, a man and a woman standing in a doorway. The woman cried. Were they her parents? Now a new image, this one of a younger man, holding his hand up to strike the viewer. Was this how she’d gotten here? Was she attacked? White walls and fluorescent lights came into view, now showing people in long white coats. Doctors? The white-coated figures looked sad and slowly shook their heads, their features blurred. As a new image came into view, this one she recognized. Her truck, packed up with everything she could fit, preparing for her long trip. As the image faded again, a new one of her farm while her chickens playing in the tall grass and Floridian sun shining down became clearer than the rest. Wait, chickens?
Those damn chickens.
Thinking about the chickens, her farm, her life caused something to snap into place inside her body, pulling her to the surface. Was she going somewhere she was supposed to be? A pinpoint of light blazed before her eyes and as she was pulled towards it, she heard a voice, the first sound she had heard in...how long? Tears welled up in her eyes as the voice spoke softly, gently as it embraced her like one would an old friend.
“It’s about time.”
Time? Time for what?
"Time to return, and I will be there for you… from now on.”
But, who…?
She would never finish her thought, as her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she could only see white, blurred grey and black forms all around her periphery. Slowly, things started to come into focus. The ceiling she was staring at was first, the stark white hurting her eyes, unaccustomed to such brightness. Her gaze shifted around the small room, trying and failing to take everything in at once. Machines on metal stands surrounded her, tubes filled with different colored fluids flowing in all directions. She felt cold and warm in different parts of her body as at least some of those tubes fed different things into her limbs. She couldn’t move her head when she tried, feeling straps across her forehead tightly holding her in place. Then she felt something even more unsettling.
Upon failing to move her head to the side, she felt something else shift as it rubbed along her teeth. The tube going down her throat was large and uncomfortable, making her throat and tongue feel dry. She started to move her hands up to pull the offending object out but felt they were restrained similarly to her head. After a quick test, her legs were also tied down. Where was she? Why was she strapped down? What kind of hospital strapped down their patients?
As her thoughts whirled and questions were left unanswered, the door to her room opened. Someone appearing to be a nurse with a clipboard walked in and began to check the machines. Upon seeing the heart monitor, she glanced at her patient in shock. Dropping her clipboard on the floor, she took off toward the door and out into the hallway, shouting for someone to call “the Alpha”. A few minutes later several people rushed in, all in white coats and started to pull gloves on their hands. No one spoke to her, not that she could say much with the breathing tube in her mouth anyway. Machines began turning off, being unplugged, unattached to her chest, arms, and legs. Finally, one of the men walked to the head of the bed and came into clear view.
He seemed nice enough, as he worked to remove the head strap. She liked him already, with his sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. His hands were gentle as his knuckles brushed against her cheek, practiced fingers working on another strap as the velcro ripped apart. She noticed it had become harder to breathe, to get air into her lungs. The breathing machine must have been turned off and now this nice doctor who was freeing her, he grabbed the tube and…
She didn’t like him anymore.
She gagged into the provided bucket even though nothing came up. Her throat felt raw and sore as this doctor put the tube onto a tray and wheeled the machine out of the room. Having movement of her neck and head now, she took in more of the room as the coated figures worked their way out with machines and tubs and cords. The heart monitor and fluid drip were still attached to her and the rhythmic beeping from the machines became her world as she waited for the doctor to return.
As she was testing the straps again for their strength, the doctor who had left with the ventilator returned to stand in front of the heart monitor. He looked young to be working in an emergency room, maybe mid twenties if she had to guess. Maybe he was an intern? No, he removed the medical equipment from her with practiced ease. She decided to test her voice.
“What-” a cough stalled her voice. The doctor glanced at her in shock. Why
was everyone so surprised? she thought to herself. Was she supposed to be dead?
The doctor recovered quickly however, and reached over to the bedside tray, grabbing a cup of water. He then helped her take a few sips before she decided she could try speaking again.
“What happened to me?” Though still hoarse, she managed to speak. Hearing her own voice again was nice. The room had been practically silent since everyone had left, despite the beeping of machines. “Who are you? Where am I? When can I leave? Are you going to answer me or not?!” She had raised her voice on the last, which was a mistake. The doctor next to her sighed and turned his head from the heart monitor.
“My name is Dr. Sykes and everything will be explained soon,” he answered simply. His tone spoke more than the words themselves. That was all he said before he turned back to the monitor. After realizing she would get nothing more from him, she relaxed and decided to analyze what she knew up to now.
She was strapped to a hospital bed, that much was certain. Whatever happened to her, it had to be bad enough to warrant a ventilator. Had she almost died? She felt fine, better than she had in a long time even, but something felt off. It was like she was on the verge of remembering something, but it kept slipping through her grasp. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on what she was doing before she woke up. She was home, right? Something happened and then…
Pain.
She remembered pain. Remembered flashes of white teeth and fur. Recalled the sudden black mass that appeared inches from her face. Blood, her blood. It had been everywhere. Suddenly being surrounded by bodies that walked on all fours. Panic.
She heard the frantic beeping of the heart rate monitor like background music. She began pulling at her restraints, fighting against them. She had to get out, had to get free. She didn’t want to be here when they came back, she couldn’t. Would they come back? She became vaguely aware that more people began rushing in, three? Maybe four? Was any of them one of those who attacked? Surrounded her? They were certainly surrounding her now.
“What ‘appened?” a gruff voice spoke, she couldn’t tell who it was, as her eyes frantically searched for an escape route. Was that her voice screaming?
“I- I don’t know, sir! She was fine up until a few seconds ago. She asked me a few questions but I didn’t think-” Dr. Sykes spoke, barely containing his panic.
“Nurse, I need 5 milligrams of Diazepam, stat. We ‘ave to get her calm before Beatrice gets in ‘ere. Move!” The new voice snapped. One of the nurses rushed out of the room, to return moments later with a syringe. The lead doctor held it up and, after a few flicks, stabbed the needle into her thigh. She cried out again, shrill and rough, before she quickly calmed down. The manic beeping of the monitor evened out again to a proper rhythm as the medication took effect.
“There we go deary, you’re safe now. My name is Dr. Gerald and I’m going to answer any questions you ‘ave, alright?” The gruff voice turned smooth as honey as the doctor walked up on her right, meeting her eyes. She felt him brush some of her dark blonde hair away from her sweat drenched cheeks before she nodded and swallowed. Dr. Gerald shooed everyone else out with a wave. “Tell the Alpha I will stay ‘ere with her until she is calm. The drugs need to wear off now before she is ready to speak ‘else we can’t count on the reliability.” Dr. Sykes nodded and left with the others. Dr. Gerald turned back to his now medicated patient. “Now, why don’t we start by you telling me your name, love?”
“What is going on? Why am I here? Why-”
“Now now, stay calm. I gave you a low dose but you’ll burn through it quickly. ‘Ere, we’ll trade, right? I’ll answer one of yours, if you answer one of mine. Fair?” A nod. “Good, now, your name?”
“E-Elizabeth.” Her voice sounded worse than before, and she looked over to the water Dr. Sykes had left on the counter. “C-can I have a drink?”
“O’ course Elizabeth. You ‘ave a very pretty name,” he placated. It was odd to hear this comforting tone from someone who looked like he did. He must have been in his upper 50’s, an extremely well-built older man, she noticed as he turned to grab the cup. Once he turned back, he gently lifted her head up with his left hand while his right tilted the cup towards her mouth. After a couple of sips, she gave a slight nod and he returned the cup to the counter and her head to the pillow. “Better?” Another nod. “Good, now it’s your turn to ask a question.”
“What happened to me?” Elizabeth asked. Her memories were very disjointed, she needed someone to fill in the pieces and put them in the right order.
“Well, let’s see. That’s a bit tough to answer. You were attacked,” he explained as he stroked his short, greying beard. “We thought we might lose you, but you are strong, Elizabeth. Why don’t you tell me what you remember, hmm?” His cocoa eyes returned to her emerald ones.
“I remember...I remember pain. A lot of pain. Pain. So much pain.” She was starting to panic again.
“Now, now, Elizabeth, stay with me ‘ere. Eyes on me, okay? Look into my eyes,” he soothed, brushing back her dark golden hair while turning her face to look at his. She breathed, and he breathed with her, eyes locked onto the other. She felt herself calming down, like a wave of calm washing over her, easing back against the bed and no longer pulling on her restraints. “There now, that’s be’er, right? Now, you remember pain. That pain was from the attack, but that pain won’t ‘appen again, you ‘ear? You won’t be attacked like that again, you’re safe ‘ere.”
“Where is here?” Elizabeth felt oddly calm as she watched Gerald. He was safe, somehow she knew he would never hurt her.
“Hmm, another difficult question. Well, you’re in the medical ward of our facility. We kept you alive for the last week. You kinda shocked us with ‘ow quickly you came ‘round. Never seen someone wake up so quickly before from such an attack,” she caught the laughter in his voice as he spoke. It almost made her want to laugh too. Almost.
“A week?! I’ve been out for a week?!” she shrieked, her throat going dry again. A whole week. Who knows how her farm had fared in that time. Her mother, oh no. She had to call her parents, they must be worried sick!
Dr. Gerald spoke again, oblivious to the inner turmoil his words had caused. “Yes, but considering your injuries it really is quite stunning, it’s almost like you were supposed to- ah, thank you,” he glanced towards the door as a nurse poked her head inside. He motioned for someone to enter. “Yes, welcome. Thank you for coming, Mistress. I was just speaking to Miss Elizabeth ‘ere.” The door opened wider to accommodate the new people who were behind it.
A man and a woman entered the hospital room, coming to stand at her left and foot of her bed respectively. The woman had jet black hair, amber eyes, and a tan to die for. Elizabeth wanted that tan, not the ugly tank top tan lines she had now. The dress the woman at the end of her bed wore looked straight out of Vogue with an asymmetrical V neckline, three quarter length sleeves and a cute belt around her waist. Elizabeth couldn’t see her feet, but judging from the clicking of heels along what sounded like a tiled floor, she’d say this woman was wearing black stilettos to go with her black ensemble. As nice as her outfit was, considering she was in a hospital ward, it was nothing compared to the man to her left.
Her eyes were drawn first to his white hair. Not bleach blonde, but actual white. He wasn’t an old man, either, appearing close to Elizabeth’s twenty-two years, maybe a few years older. He towered over everyone else in the room, easily six feet or more. He looked like a soldier with his hands folded behind him, making the muscles underneath his button down, coal black shirt and dark grey jeans stand out. As his eyes met hers, she saw them shift with the turn of his head from aquamarine to steel grey. She’d heard of eyes changing color, but never seen it before. The second the color shifted, he averted his gaze from her, quickly enough that she questioned her judgment. Her attention shifted back toward the woman at the end of the bed. It was then that she spoke.
“Welcome to my home, Elizabeth. Perhaps
you’d like to explain what you remember from a week ago?” the eloquent woman asked in a light Russian accent.
This shocked Elizabeth, both the question and the woman who asked it. At first she didn’t respond, she didn’t know this woman, so why should she answer anything? After all, Elizabeth was still trying to wrap her head around being unconscious for a week.
“Oh dear, Dr. Gerald I thought you said she was talking. Perhaps I need to ask a different way,” the woman sneered. Elizabeth watched the woman, drawn to her eyes. Those amber eyes, peering into her soul with the warm color of honey so… soothing. Then, in a flash they turned hard and cold like stone. The restrained woman couldn’t look away, those eyes wouldn’t let her. There was something the businesswoman wanted, and Elizabeth had to give it to her. “Now, let’s try again. What do you remember?” She felt like she had been slammed back onto the bed she was strapped to. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, her only option was to respond. Follow orders.
“Pain! I remember the pain! It hurts! Please, stop!” she cried out, eyes searching for the other two people in the room. The doctor just looked worried, lost even, but the other man… he was different. No reaction, at least that was what she thought at first. But as she responded, doing what she was told, she saw his face. The slight clench of the muscles in his jaw. It was so quick Elizabeth thought she was mistaken, or maybe that was just the reaction of him turning his head away from her writhing form back to the one doing the questioning.
Pureblood (Pureblood series) Page 1
