**Ch 370: The Fight for Strength

Faint sounds of water stirred me from my heavy sleep. Painful pangs spread throughout my body because I tried to squirm when the cold air hit my skin.

"Finally waking up," Savannah stated as she wiped a wet washcloth up my elbow.

My eyes peeked open, and her red eyes gazed at me. She was sitting in a chair by the bedside while she gave me a sponge bath. On the nightstand was a large bowl of soapy water. My entire body was exposed as she cleaned the dry blood that crusted on several parts of my body. After she finished cleaning me, she dabbed a towel over my blanched figure before she put a clean sheet over my nakedness.

"I'm going to get you something to eat," Savannah proclaimed, then she picked up the bowl of dirty water and walked into the bathroom.

"What time is it?" my raspy voice asked when she came out. 

Outside the window was a creepy melancholia darkness, but I wasn't sure what day it is or what time of night it is.

"Believe it or not, it's only six o'clock P.M. timewise. Your world gets darker from the time change," she replied.

"W-what day is it?" my shaky voice stuttered.

"Today is Sunday evening," Savannah answered as she watched me trying to painfully sit up, but it was useless. "Try not to move too much. And no getting out of bed while I am gone. I don't need you hurting yourself." After she warned me, she disappeared.

Underneath the bedsheet, my trembling hands rubbed my stomach, and I felt my smaller baby bump from how it was. Ever since Rex detained my unborn vamp babies, not once have I felt them kicking or fidgeting with life. Fighting for my strength, I merely lifted my head off the pillow as my eyes searched around for any clothes.

"Aaah," I grunted, gritting my teeth from the pain that throbbed along my skin. Too weak to move, my head faltered to the pillow. Any time I shifted, my body screamed in pain from the venom Rex injected into my bloodstream, which prevented me from calling Kai to save me from his unspeakable torture. Even after Savannah bathed me, I still felt dirty from Rex's poisonous bites. Melancholy dispirited my emotions as I recalled there wasn't an ounce of my body that his lips didn't miss. There wasn't enough soap or water that would make me feel clean after every vile thing he'd done to me for the past three days. My breath was barely able to gasp from my lungs, and my body wouldn't stop shaking from the cold because the fireplace couldn't warm me enough. He's drained my veins so nearly dry from my blood that I felt lifeless.

Savannah reappeared right in front of the bedside, and she peered at me with a satisfied grin. "Good girl. You're right where I left you," she praised as she sat in the chair before she stirred the yummy-smelling soup in her hands. "This chicken noodle soup is freshly made from the restaurant, so it's probably a bit hot," she forewarned before she picked up a spoonful of broth and blew on it. 

Then she brought it to my mouth. I didn't want to take it, but her glaring eyes told me she'd shove it down my throat if I didn't. So I opened my mouth, and she began to feed me. Other than water, I've hardly been offered much food.

Death was upon me, and I was at the breaking point of wanting to give up. The tormenting things Rex did to me had me wishing for the end. Nothing relieved those thoughts because I didn't feel my unborn babies. It broke me in a way I never knew could break me.

"Why feed me when Rex is going to kill me?" I whispered through my weak breath.

Savannah smirks. "He decided to keep you. In a few hours, we are leaving for our home planet."

The flesh on my face heated as tears swelled around my eye sockets. "And my babies?" a lugubrious sound croaked in my voice whenever I inquired to know what fate would come upon my triplets.

Savannah snickered. "After we get you home, Rex will increase your food so we can prep you for surgery to remove them. Then he'll throw them into the sea," she revealed as she tried to feed me the next bite, but I shoved the spoon away.

Tears streamed from my eyes. "I-I won't let you do this!" my shaky voice stammered a little louder.

Savannah scuffed. "I can't see how you're capable of stopping Rex. You can barely raise your head."

"Kai will stop him!" I hissed.

Savannah chuckled. "You might as well come to the terms that Kai will never find you. Your unborn babies are detained, and you can't call him to save you. Unless something happens to me, my gift blocks him from smelling your scent. By the time he gets here, we'll be long gone."

"I won't go anywhere with you freaks!" I managed to yell before I cringed from the sting in my throat.

"Rex will break you the hard way, or you can submit, and he'll shower you with gold for being an obedient pet," Savannah retorted.

"More like he'll shower me with poison," I groaned when my body winced in pain.

"The choice is yours to make," Savannah affirmed as she stood up before she disappeared.

I couldn't let them do this to my babies. Whatever strength I had, which was little to none, I mustered it all to lift my head to search for something sharp to cut myself. I barely had any blood in my body, but I only needed enough to wake one baby. There wasn't a knife or tool in my sight, but I did notice a sharp broken edge on the old nightstand. I pressed my wrist to it and gritted my teeth as I cut myself against the chipped wooden edge of the nightstand. There wasn't a lot of blood, but it was more than enough for one baby to receive it. I sucked on my wrist and swallowed the metallic tart taste. Kai's blood tasted far better than mine, is one thing I thought as I waited. Shortly after, I felt a big kick slam into the side of my stomach, and my stomach grew slightly bigger on the left side.

"Call for Daddy."

From the way this baby moved around, I could recognize it was our most dominant offspring who certainly took after Kai.

The door unexpectedly broke open, and Rex's advisor, with the ice gift, flew over to the bed.

"Aah!" I screamed when he pinned my arms above my head, and his fangs sank into my neck. The life of my baby had shortly stopped, and my baby bump deflated by a smidge.

"I can hear how many heartbeats are inside this room. Don't try that again," he warned before I fainted.