The forest had never been so loud. Screams, howls, and the terrible chorus of laughter bled together, filling the night air like a storm with no end. Kimberly's body went limp in the stranger's grip, and when he tossed her aside, she landed with a hollow thud on the forest floor. The ground drank her blood in silence.
Emily gagged, slapping her hand over her mouth to stifle the cry that clawed its way up her throat. Her lungs burned as though she'd been holding her breath for hours. Beside her, Elena pressed a trembling hand against her chest, her wide eyes refusing to blink.
"Don't move," Emily whispered, the words barely sounding, just air broken against her lips.
But the vampires moved. They swarmed around the fire like wolves circling prey, their eyes glinting with the same hunger, the same primal delight. One knelt over Kimberly's body, running a finger through the blood that seeped from her neck, before licking it clean. Another scooped some into his palm and smeared it across his chest as though marking himself in victory.
Elena's nails dug into Emily's arm. "We can't stay here," she hissed. "We'll die. We'll die next."
Emily shook her head quickly. Movement was death. They were surrounded, whether the vampires saw them yet or not. And if they ran… she didn't want to picture what would happen if they ran.
A deep voice broke through the chaos, cold and steady enough to silence the howls. "Enough."
The laughter strangled into quiet. The forest held its breath.
Emily's pulse throbbed in her ears as the one who had killed Kimberly stepped forward. He didn't speak again immediately. The way the others straightened, the way they lowered their heads as though in reverence, told Emily everything she needed to know. Whoever he was, he wasn't just different. He was the one they followed. But still she didn't know his name. Only his presence was very commanding, dangerous, unreadable.
His eyes swept the dark again, and Emily felt her muscles lock. She swore he could see her through the trees, could hear every tremor in her chest, every beat of her frantic heart. Her body screamed to collapse into the dirt, to make herself nothing, invisible.
At last, he lifted his hand. A slow, deliberate gesture. "Bring the others."
The clan stirred, eager to obey.
Elena gasped. Emily seized her hand, shaking her head, but it was too late. Three figures slipped into the trees, their steps impossibly silent, shadows bending with them. Branches didn't break under their feet. The leaves didn't rustle. And before Emily could even think to run, pale hands clamped around her wrists.
She screamed, and Elena screamed with her.
Dragged forward, thrashing against inhuman strength, the two of them stumbled into the firelight. The smell of burning wood mixed with the iron scent of blood until Emily thought she'd suffocate.
Dozens of glowing eyes pinned them in place.
Her knees buckled, and she would have fallen if not for the grip that yanked her upright again. Elena, pale as death, tried to jerk away, her nails clawing against the hands that held her, but the vampire restraining her only smiled with sharp teeth glistening.
"Two more," one of them hissed, shoving Emily closer to the fire. "Fresh."
Emily's mind fractured into prayers, into broken thoughts, into the image of Kimberly's body on the ground, her blood still glistening in the dirt.
The leader's eyes fell on them, assessing calmly.
Emily trembled beneath that stare, wishing she could dissolve into air. She didn't dare blink or breathe.
"What do you want?" Elena's voice broke through the silence, ragged with fear but burning with defiance. "Why are you doing this?"
A ripple of laughter moved through the clan, dark and cruel.
The leader tilted his head, studying Elena the way a predator might study prey that dared to bare its teeth. He stepped closer, slow and measured, the firelight painting his features in shadow.
"You ask as though you already know the answer," he said finally, his voice deep and smooth, every word deliberate.
Emily's stomach twisted.
Elena swallowed hard. "You… you could just kill us. Why... why drag it out?"
Another laugh, sharper this time, rose from the group. But the leader silenced it with a glance. His eyes flicked back to Emily. She froze.
"Not all blood is wasted," he said simply. "Some are chosen."
Emily's throat closed. Chosen? The word struck her like ice.
One of the vampires tugged her forward until she nearly stumbled into the fire itself. She felt its heat sear her skin, and she wrenched against the grip, panic flooding her veins.
The leader's gaze lingered on her longer now, searching and measuring. His lips curved, though not into an unreadable smile.
"She will do," he murmured.
Emily's chest collapsed. She didn't even know what he meant, but the certainty in his tone was enough to terrify her more than death itself.
"No!" Elena shouted, struggling so violently her captor growled and yanked her back by the hair. "Take me instead! Leave her alone!"
The leader's eyes flicked to her, then back to Emily. His silence was answer enough.
Emily's thoughts spiraled. She was going to die here, tonight, her blood spilled like Kimberly's. The others would watch and laugh. And yet, as she stared into those terrible eyes, something else flickered beneath the fear: a pull she couldn't explain, a gravity that tethered her to him even as every nerve in her body screamed to run.