FicWad

The throbbing pain in her head was what woke Holly from her unconscious state, but it was the feeling of her ankles and wrists being restrained that kept her eyes from closing. She tried to move her arms, testing how tight the handcuffs held her wrists. Unfortunately they proved to be too tight for her to slip her hands through, even if she worked at slipping them out. She looked at her ankle to see them being held to the legs of the chair by a set of shackles. With a soft sigh she leaned against the back of the chair, keeping herself as calm as she could, knowing it would do her no good to panic.

"You know, Holly, you're doing a lot better than I thought you would do," spoke a soft, melodic voice from across the room. "You almost panicked for a moment there, but nope, you brought your emotions under control."

Holly looked in the direction of the voice, her eyes going wide in a moment of terror at the sight of William Beckett. They didn't stay wide, or give a look of terror long, before she remembered the emotional pain Ryan had to go through at the hands of this sick bastard. Making Ryan kill Beckett had killed a part of Ryan that was still wounded even though Brendon was alive and well. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the vampire who looked amused at the sudden turn of her emotions. "Set me free so I can kill you!" She exclaimed as she struggled against the restraints.

William shook his head, a slightly amused smile on his small mouth. "You should calm yourself before you end up getting hurt on those handcuffs," he softly warned, even though he did indeed want to see her blood spill on the floor; sooner than he expected it to.

"I'll kill you for taking my friend away from me just so you could hurt him for your sick pleasure," she growled, her body trembling as a result of her anger. She barely registered that her struggling was making her head hurt more. All that mattered to her at the moment was trying to free herself to kill Beckett.

"Some friend he turned out to be to you," he mused as he moved over to her, placing a hand on her squirming shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" She demanded, narrowing her eyes once more at him. "Ryan is the best damn friend anyone could ask for. Don't try to tarnish his name just because he got away from your sick ownership. You never-"

"I never would have gotten a hold of you if he hadn't traded you," Beckett's velvet voice cut her words off as he leaned down by her ear, "for his own freedom. What kind of friend would do that to someone he cared about?"

Holly turned her head, glaring fiercely at Beckett, who looked at her with curious, sincere eyes. Her lip curled back slightly before she lurched at him, trying to snap at his face, her lip twitching in anger when she missed. "I know Ryan. I know that he would never do anything like that. We're too close for you to try to pull that trick," she said, shaking her head in disbelief at Becket's pitiful attempt at turning her against Ryan.

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Beckett questioned as he leaned against the wall closest to her chair. "Why else do you think I'm not going after him right now?"

Holly smiled a bittersweet smile at him. "Because you're a lazy vampire who never gets his own hands dirty with his business?" She lifted a brow at him as if daring him to challenge what she had said.

Beckett chuckled, a sound that would be considered musical if she didn't hate him as much as she did, as he shook his head. "Poor, Holly, you have no real idea of how we vampires work, do you? We vampires, we look out for our own interests. If one were in Ryan's spot, slave to another vampire, who would destroy him if he left, that vampire would look for ways out. He would gain new friends, or get in touch with old ones, earning their trust, preparing them for what was needed. In your case, a trade."

Holly stared back at him, skeptical and unbelieving. "A trade? You're seriously trying to make me believe that Ryan traded me for his freedom? That's at the top of the list for worse lies I've heard."

"You want to believe it's a lie, but I could easily prove it to you," he replied as he slipped into her mind, unnoticed due to the throbbing pain, and played his memory for her.

"What if I gave you a human?" Ryan questioned from across the large room. "A trade."

"Your freedom from servitude for a human?" Beckett questioned, one delicate eyebrow lifting in amusement. "What could a human do that you can? Any human you give me would be too fragile, too breakable for my pleasures."

Ryan looked down a moment, before he lifted his gaze. "I know a human, a female, who is filled with potential." Ryan smiled, a sick smile that made Holly cringe as pain filled her chest, stinging at her moist eyes. "You could turn her and train her for the use of others. You could make a nice profit whoring her out to other vampires."

Beckett stared at his pet, obviously thinking about Ryan's offer since whoring out one of his "Boys" was never an option he would consider. "Although I don't need any money, with how much I've save over my lifetime, it would be lovely to see someone upset by being sold off like that..."

"And with her beauty, think of how many times she would have that pitiful look on her face..." Ryan moved closer to his Master. "Do we have a deal?"

"Tell me where to find her and I'll send Travi to fetch her," Beckett said as he rose to his feet from the bed he had been seated on.

Holly winced at the searing pain in her chest, caused by what she had just been shown in her mind. She blinked, sending a few silent tears own her cheeks, as she tried to wrap her mind around the betrayal. It couldn’t be true, but somehow she just couldn't believe it to be fake when it was shown to her. Beckett's words hadn't been proof enough so he had shown her his memory, something that, to her knowledge, couldn't be altered.

"Of course I could always go fetch him back," Beckett said softly as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving a soft squeeze. "Unless you want to stay in his place..."

Holly looked up at him through her tears, frowning with confusion. "Are you serious?" She questioned, confused more now than she already was. "You're giving me a say in this?" She blinked as more tears fell. "Why would you do that?"

Beckett leaned down and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, frowning. "Simply because I would love nothing more than to have my pet back in my home," he answered, "and I actually do feel bad for you. His betrayal was the last thing you were expecting from someone you were so close to. I can almost imagine how much it must hurt your human heart."

"I don't understand how he could do this to me..."

"Say the word and I'll release you, and bring my pet back, calling off the deal."

Holly looked down, shaking her head. "I know how much his being free meant to him... I'll stay, I'll take his place in your home..." She sniffled as Beckett gingerly wiped away the fresh set of tears that silently rolled from her eyes, leaving wet trails down her cheeks.

"Sad how much loyalty you still hold from his when he used you," Beckett mused softly before he brushed the hair from her neck, placing a soft kiss over the side of her neck. A satisfied smirk graced his lips before he opened his mouth and lowered his teeth to her flesh.

[Author's Note: Yeps, I finally made it on here to give you guys an update. I have one more to throw out for you guys and a one-shot that I'm working on that I'm sure you'll all love to death, it's smexiness in the making, and then I'm off for the day. I missed you all so much and I hope you like what I have for you. Holly, I hope you liked your chapter lady, and I'm sorry for what I did but I promise you'll understand later lol. By the way, a small note to my girl, I miss you angel, you know who you are.]