Nyx
The heartbeat outside the door was driving me insane. Slow. Warm. Alive.
Every pulse echoed inside my head like a curse. I couldn't breathe properly. Couldn't think. Couldn't stop staring at the door.
"Nyx." his voice sounded distant. Muted.
Like I was underwater. The hunger swallowed everything else. My throat burned painfully, my entire body tense with desperation. I needed blood. Now. Another heartbeat joined the first one. Two humans. Close. Too close.
A low sound escaped my throat before I could stop it. Not human. Definitely not human.
He moved in front of me instantly, blocking my view of the door. "Look at me." I tried to push past him. He grabbed my arm. Hard.
"Nyx." His voice turned sharp enough to cut through the madness for half a second.
And in that second..
I saw fear in his eyes. Not for himself. For them. "I can hear them," I whispered. My voice sounded wrong. Rougher. Hungrier.
"I know."
"I can smell them…" My stomach twisted violently. The scent was everywhere now.
Warm blood beneath skin. Fragile heartbeats.
Human. "Then control yourself," he said coldly. Something inside me snapped at those words. "Control?!" I nearly screamed. "How am I supposed to control this?!" The hunger surged again. Pain exploded through my body.
And suddenly…
My vision sharpened. Too sharp.
I could see every detail of his face. Every movement. Every flicker in his expression.
"You're stronger than I expected," he muttered quietly. I barely heard him.
Because the only thing my mind cared about…
Was getting past him. I lunged toward the door. But he caught me instantly.
His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back against him before I could reach it.
"Let me go!" I struggled violently. "You'll kill them." His words froze me. Silence crashed over the room. Kill them. The hunger inside me hesitated for the first time. My breathing became uneven. "I…" My voice cracked. "I don't want to hurt anyone…" And that was the truth.
No matter how strong the hunger felt…
I didn't want to become a monster. Adrian's grip loosened slightly. "Then fight it."
Easy for him to say. He wasn't the one falling apart. A sharp wave of pain hit me again, stronger than before. I gasped, my knees nearly giving out. He caught me before I could fall. His hand pressed against my back steadily. Warm. Strangely calming.
"Listen to me carefully," he said quietly.
I forced myself to focus on his voice instead of the heartbeats outside. "You're in the middle of your first blood awakening." My head spun.
"First…?"
His jaw tightened slightly. "That's why your instincts are unstable." Unstable. That was an understatement. "Why is this happening to me?" I whispered weakly. For a moment, Adrian didn't answer.
And somehow….
That scared me more than anything else.
Then finally…
"Because someone turned you." My eyes widened. "No."
"You didn't become this naturally."
"That's impossible…" I shook my head desperately. "I would remember something like that!"
"You were meant to." The room went silent.
My heartbeat slowed slightly.
Not from calm….
From shock. "What does that mean?" I asked quietly. His expression darkened.
"It means someone hid the truth from you."
Before I could ask another question….
A loud scream echoed somewhere outside the building. Human. Terrified.
And every instinct inside me immediately awakened again. My head snapped toward the door. So did he.
But unlike me..
His expression turned deadly.
"They found us."