# Chapter 21 – The Fated Mate
## Vanessa's POV
The scream that tore from my throat wasn't mine. It belonged to someone else. Someone braver. Someone who could handle what I just saw.
But it came from me anyway.
I stumbled backward from the window. My legs hit the bed and I fell hard. The stone floor was cold against my palms when I crawled away from the glass.
Gerald drinking blood. Gerald's eyes glowing. Gerald looking younger after...
My stomach twisted. I ran to the corner and threw up the stale bread and strange water. Nothing came up but bile and fear.
*Get up,* I told myself. *Think. There has to be a way out.*
But my body wouldn't stop shaking. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the girl's face. The way she looked at me through the window. Like she was asking for help.
Help I couldn't give.
The lock on my door clicked. I froze. Was Gerald coming back? Had he seen me watching?
"Breakfast," Martha's voice called.
