Arav's strength was inhuman—far beyond what a newborn vampire should possess. The convergence bloodline, Kayen realized with growing horror. It wasn't just vampire venom that rebuilt him. It was vampire venom mixing with witch blood, shape-shifter genes, and divine ancestry.
He'd created a monster.
"ARAV!" Kayen shouted again, throwing him back.
Arav crashed into the stone wall, cracking it. But he didn't seem to feel pain. He simply crouched there, snarling, red eyes locked on Kayen like a predator watching prey.
Mae Siri burst into the room with Jin and Preeda behind her.
"Don't hurt him!" Kayen warned as Jin moved forward. "He's not in control—he doesn't know what he's doing!"
"He's feral," Mae Siri said grimly, beginning to chant. "The transformation awakened too much power too quickly. His vampire instincts are overwhelming his consciousness."
Arav lunged again—this time at Preeda, the closest target.
She barely dodged, her own vampire speed saving her. "Kayen, we need to restrain him before he hurts someone!"
"No!" Kayen stepped between Arav and the others. "He won't hurt me. The bond—even incomplete, he'll recognize me on some level—"
Arav proved him wrong immediately.
He slammed into Kayen with the force of a freight train, driving them both to the ground. His fangs snapped inches from Kayen's throat, saliva dripping, eyes wild with bloodlust.
"Arav, please," Kayen whispered, not fighting back. "It's me. Your Kayen. Look at me. Really look."
For a split second, something flickered in those crimson eyes. Confusion? Recognition?
Then it was gone, replaced by pure hunger.
Arav's fangs descended toward Kayen's neck—
A chain wrapped around Arav's throat, yanking him backward. Jin held the other end—spelled chains that burned against vampire skin.
Arav shrieked, thrashing violently.
"Get him to the containment room!" Mae Siri ordered. "Now!"
Jin and Preeda dragged the struggling newborn vampire down the hall. It took both of them plus Mae Siri's binding magic to get him into a reinforced room—concrete walls, no windows, iron door.
They threw him inside and slammed the door shut just as Arav threw himself against it. The impact shook the entire building.
"LET ME OUT!" Arav's voice—but wrong, distorted, barely human. "HUNGRY! LET ME OUT!"
He threw himself against the door again. And again. Each impact harder than the last.
Kayen stood frozen in the hallway, watching the door shudder under Arav's assault.
"What's happening to him?" he asked, voice breaking. "Why isn't he recognizing anyone?"
Mae Siri's expression was grim. "The convergence bloodline. I warned you this was unprecedented. The vampire venom didn't just turn him—it awakened ALL his dormant powers simultaneously. Witch magic, shape-shifter instincts, divine essence, all colliding with vampire bloodlust. His mind can't process it all. He's... fractured."
"Fractured," Kayen repeated numbly. "You mean insane."
"I mean overwhelmed," Mae Siri corrected. "His consciousness is buried under layers of supernatural instinct. The vampire hunger is loudest, but underneath that are witch powers trying to manifest, shape-shifter urges to transform, divine energy that doesn't know what to do in a vampire body—"
Another crash against the door. This time, the iron bent slightly.
"He's getting stronger," Jin observed. "How is that possible? Newborns are supposed to be weak for the first few days."
"Nothing about this is normal," Preeda said. "Kayen, what do we do? If he breaks out in this state, he'll go on a rampage. Bangkok has millions of humans. He could kill hundreds before we stop him."
"We're not stopping him," Kayen said firmly. "We're helping him."
"How?" Mae Siri asked. "I've never seen a case like this. The fractured mind, the multiple powers fighting for dominance—I don't know how to fix it."
Inside the room, Arav's screams turned to sobs.
"Hungry... so hungry... hurts... everything hurts..."
Kayen's heart shattered hearing the pain in that voice.
"The bond," he said suddenly. "You said earlier that even incomplete, there's a connection. If I can reach him through that—"
"You want to go in there?" Jin grabbed his arm. "He'll kill you. You saw how strong he is. You barely held him off before."
"I don't care," Kayen pulled free. "He's suffering. He's terrified and confused and drowning in instincts he doesn't understand. I can't just leave him in there alone."
"Kayen—" Mae Siri started.
"Open the door."
"This is suicide—"
"OPEN THE DOOR!" Kayen's voice echoed with ancient vampire authority—the command of an elder.
Mae Siri's hands trembled as she undid the locks. "If he kills you, the bond will shatter. It could destroy his mind completely."
"Then I won't let him kill me," Kayen said simply.
The door opened.
Arav stood in the center of the room, breathing hard (even though vampires didn't need to breathe). His clothes—the ones from the transformation—were torn. His hair was wild. Blood tears streaked his face.
When he saw Kayen, he growled—low and dangerous.
"Everyone out," Kayen ordered, not taking his eyes off Arav. "Close the door behind me."
"Kayen, please—" Preeda begged.
"Out. Now."
They left. The door closed with a heavy thud, locking Kayen inside with the feral newborn.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Arav spoke—his voice layered, as if multiple beings were speaking at once.
"Hungry. You smell... good. Blood. Need blood."
"I know," Kayen said gently, taking a slow step forward. "You're starving. The transformation burned through all your energy. Your body is screaming for blood."
Arav's eyes tracked his movement. "Stay back. Don't... don't want to hurt you. But can't... can't control..."
A flicker of Arav—the real Arav—broke through the feral haze.
"That's it," Kayen encouraged, taking another step. "You're still in there. Fighting for control. That's good, Arav. That's so good."
"Everything's loud," Arav whispered, pressing his hands to his head. "Can hear... heartbeats from blocks away. Smell blood everywhere. And something else... power. So much power. Inside me. It's burning. It's—"
He screamed again, doubling over. When he straightened, his eyes had shifted—from crimson to gold. Shape-shifter eyes.
"Arav?" Kayen asked cautiously.
"I can feel it," Arav's voice was different now—wild, animal. "The beast inside. Wants to come out. Wants to run, hunt, kill—"
His body started to shift—bones cracking, skin rippling. Partial transformation. His hands became claws, fur sprouting along his arms.
"No, no, no," Kayen rushed forward. "Arav, listen to me. You can't shift. Not yet. Your vampire body isn't stable enough. If you force a shape-shift now, you could tear yourself apart."
Arav's eyes—gold bleeding into crimson—locked onto him. "Can't stop it. It's happening. Everything's happening at once—"
Kayen did the only thing he could think of.
He pulled Arav into his arms, holding him tightly.
"I've got you," he whispered. "I've got you. You're not alone. Feel me. Feel our bond. Let it anchor you."
Arav struggled at first, inhuman strength threatening to break Kayen's hold. But slowly—so slowly—he began to calm. The partial shift reversed. The fur receded. His hands became human again.
"Kayen?" Arav's voice was his own now—confused, scared, but his. "What's... what's happening to me?"
"You're transforming," Kayen said, still holding him. "But it's complicated. Your convergence bloodline is awakening everything at once. Vampire, witch, shape-shifter, divine—all fighting for dominance."
Arav pulled back enough to look at him. His eyes were still red, but more focused now. "I can't... I can't think straight. There are voices. Instincts. And the hunger..." He looked at Kayen's neck, fangs extending involuntarily. "I want to bite you. So badly. The smell of your blood—"
"Then bite me," Kayen said simply.
Arav's eyes widened. "What? No, I might kill you—"
"You won't," Kayen said with certainty. "The bond won't let you. And you need blood, Arav. Real blood, not the animal blood newborns usually start with. You're too powerful for that. You need ancient vampire blood to stabilize you."
"Your blood," Arav whispered.
"My blood," Kayen confirmed. He tilted his head, exposing his neck. "Drink. Let my blood anchor your vampire side. Then we can work on controlling the other powers."
"But—"
"Trust me," Kayen interrupted. "Like you did in the jungle. Like you did at the challenge. Trust me now."
Arav's hands trembled as they came up to Kayen's shoulders. His fangs extended fully. The bloodlust in his eyes intensified.
"I'm scared," he admitted. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't," Kayen repeated. "I'm yours, Arav. In this life and every one before it. My blood recognizes yours. Now drink."
Arav's fangs sank into Kayen's neck.
The sensation was... extraordinary.
Not painful. Not even uncomfortable. It was intimate—more intimate than any physical touch. Kayen could feel Arav drinking, feel his blood flowing into Arav's body, and through the bond, he could feel what Arav was experiencing.
Relief. The burning hunger easing. The chaotic voices quieting. The overwhelming instincts settling.
And underneath it all—love. Recognition. Home.
Arav drank for maybe thirty seconds, then pulled back with a gasp.
"That's enough," Kayen said, even though he could easily give more. "Too much and you'll make yourself sick. Newborns need to build tolerance."
Arav stared at him, blood—Kayen's blood—on his lips. His eyes were still red, but clearer now. More aware.
"I remember," he whispered. "The transformation. The pain. Dying. And then... nothing. Just chaos and hunger and—" His voice broke. "I tried to kill you. Just now. I attacked you—"
"You were feral," Kayen said gently, wiping the blood from Arav's mouth with his thumb. "Not in control. It wasn't your fault."
"I could have killed you," Arav said, tears—blood tears now—streaming down his face. "What if I had? What if the first thing I did as a vampire was murder the person I love most?"
Kayen pulled him close again. "But you didn't. You fought through the feral state. You recognized me, even when your instincts were screaming to feed. That's incredible, Arav. Most newborns can't do that."
"I don't feel incredible," Arav sobbed into his chest. "I feel like a monster. I can hear everything, smell everything, and inside me there's this... this thing. Multiple things. Powers I don't understand, trying to claw their way out."
"I know," Kayen soothed. "I know it's overwhelming. But we'll figure it out. Together. One step at a time."
They sat like that for a long time—Kayen holding Arav, Arav trying to process his new existence.
Eventually, Mae Siri's voice came through the door. "Kayen? Is it safe?"
"Yes," Kayen called back. "He's calmer now."
The door opened cautiously. Mae Siri, Jin, and Preeda peered in, ready to fight if necessary.
But they found Kayen and Arav sitting on the floor, Arav curled against Kayen's chest like a child seeking comfort.
"How is he?" Mae Siri asked softly.
"Stable," Kayen said. "For now. He drank from me—it helped ground his vampire side."
"And the other powers?" Mae Siri approached slowly. "The shape-shifter, the witch magic?"
"Still there," Arav answered, his voice muffled against Kayen's shirt. "I can feel them. Like... like different animals in a cage, all trying to get out at once."
Mae Siri knelt beside them. "Arav, look at me."
Arav lifted his head. His eyes shifted colors as she watched—red to gold to a flash of violet (witch eyes) to a brief gleam of pure white (divine).
"Fascinating," she breathed. "Your powers are cycling. Fighting for dominance. We need to teach you to separate them, control each one individually."
"How long will that take?" Arav asked.
"For a normal supernatural being? Years. For you?" Mae Siri shook her head. "I honestly don't know. You're unique, Arav. There's no manual for this."
"Great," Arav laughed bitterly. "I'm a freak even among freaks."
"You're extraordinary," Kayen corrected firmly. "And you're mine. We'll figure this out."
Jin cleared his throat. "We should probably discuss the immediate problem."
"What problem?" Kayen asked.
"The hunger," Jin said. "He just fed from you, but he'll need to feed again. Soon. Maybe every few hours for the first week. And Kayen, you can't be his only food source—you'll weaken too much."
"I'll teach him to hunt animals," Kayen said. "Like I do."
"Will that be enough?" Preeda asked doubtfully. "With his power level?"
"It'll have to be," Kayen said firmly. "I won't let him feed from humans. Not until he's in complete control. The guilt would destroy him."
Arav looked up at Kayen. "What if I can't control it? What if I hurt someone?"
"You won't," Kayen promised. "Because I'll be with you every second. Teaching you, guiding you, helping you. You're not alone in this, Arav. You never will be again."
A new voice spoke from the doorway.
"How touching."
Everyone spun around.
A woman stood there—tall, elegant, with silver-streaked black hair and eyes that glowed with ancient power. She wore modern clothes, but carried herself with the authority of centuries.
"Who are you?" Kayen demanded, moving protectively in front of Arav.
The woman smiled. "My name is Seraphina. I'm Theron's creator. His vampire mother." Her eyes fixed on Arav with predatory interest. "And I've come to claim what's mine—the newborn who killed my son."
**To be continued...**