Page 29 of His to Slash

I rubbed my arms where his fingers had left marks, watching as they faded far too quickly. “What’s happening to me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Grayson tilted his head, studying me with an intensity that made me nauseous. He reached out slowly, his fingertips brushing against my cheek. The touch sent ajoltthrough my system, like a live wire connecting us.

I gasped, stumbling backward. The surge of energy left me dizzy, my vision blurring at the edges. When I looked up, Grayson was closer,loomingover me. His mask gleamed in the moonlight, but for a moment, I swore I could see through it—see theconflictraging in his eyes.

“We need to keep moving,” I said, trying to shake off the strange sensations coursing through my body. “Cain could still be out there.”

Grayson nodded, but he made no move to lead the way. Instead, hecircledme slowly, his gaze never leaving my form. It was as if he was seeing me for the first time, cataloging every change, no matter how small.

I feltexposedunder his scrutiny, but not in the way I expected. There was a thrill to it, a dark excitement that I couldn’t quite explain. Part of me still wanted to run, to hide from whatever was happening. But another part—a part that was growing stronger by the second—wanted toembraceit.

The silence of the clearing was broken by a distant howl. Grayson’s head snapped towards the sound, his body tensing for a fight. I found myself moving closer to him, drawn by some primal instinct I didn’t understand.

As we stood there, poised on the edge of something I couldn’t name, I realized that our relationship had shifted. The lines between predator and prey, between victim and tormentor, wereblurring. Whatever I was becoming, whatever power was growing inside me, it was changingeverything.

twenty-six

As Graysonand I navigated the dense woods back to my house, I suddenly doubled over, a strangled cry tearing from my throat. Every nerve in my body screamed in unison, my vision blurred by a haze of searing pain. It felt like my bones were twisting beneath the surface, threatening to break free.

Grayson was at my side in an instant, his massive form looming over me, hands gripping my shoulders with an urgency I’d never felt from him before. His eyes behind the mask burned with an intensity that made my heart pound even harder—was it fear?

"Grayson," I gasped out, panic and confusion making my voice tremble. "It’s—something’swrong." My words were cut off by a raw, guttural scream as another wave of agony surged through me like a lightning strike.

Through the haze of pain, I felt Grayson lift me effortlessly. He carried me deeper into the woods, away from prying eyes and ears, until we were surrounded by nothing but oppressive darkness and an eerie silence that seemed to amplify my suffering. He laid me gently on the ground, his body curling protectively over mine as if he could shield me from the torment tearing me apart.

“Please,” I choked out between sobs, tears streaking down my face. “Help me.”

But there was nothing Grayson could do except hold me down. The change had already begun, and there was no stopping it now.

Every muscle in my body contracted painfully, spasms wracking my limbs as if they had minds of their own. The sensation was unlike anything I had ever experienced—an excruciating blend of fire and ice coursing through my veins. My screams echoed through the stillness of the woods, a haunting sound that seemed to reverberate off the trees and come back to mock me.

Grayson's grip on me tightened, his masked face inches from mine. His breath came in ragged bursts, mirroring my own labored gasps. Despite the mask obscuring his features, I could feel his desperation—his helplessness.

The darkness inside me swelled with each pulse of agony, threatening to consume everything I was. And yet, amidst the chaos and pain, a part of me welcomed it. Embraced it.

I stood at the crossroads, suspended in a world of shadows. Two paths stretched before me, both drenched in blood. The weight of the decision pressed down on me, threatening to crush my very soul.

The path to Cain beckoned with whispers of absolute power. Bones and corpses littered the way, promising freedom to destroy without consequence. I could almost feel Cain's presence waiting for me, his laughter echoing in the darkness.

But the other path... Grayson's path... It called to something deeper within me. The carnage here was different - protective, fierce. It pulsed with a primal need to claim and be claimed. The darkness that roiled beneath this path was possessive, demanding, and somehow... tethered to me.

I closed my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest. When I opened them, my choice was made. I stepped towards Grayson's path, embracing the wild, vicious need that thrummed between us. A whisper curled in my mind, dark and seductive:You are his. And he is yours.

The shadows exploded around me, and I was consumed by the power coursing through my veins. It burned like liquid fire, reshaping me from the inside out. My bones snapped and shifted, contorting my body into something new, something terrifying.

I screamed, realizing the sound was no longer human. It echoed through the darkness, a primal roar that shook the very foundations of this shadow realm. The pain was excruciating, but I couldn't pass out. Something inside me refused to let me escape, dragging me deeper into the torment.

As the agony reached its peak, I caught a glimpse of Grayson's mask through the haze of my transformation. His eyes were wild and desperate, blood splattered across the white surface. His grip on me tightened, anchoring me to reality as I teetered on the edge of losing myself completely.

I gasped, my body convulsing as the last waves of pain subsided. The forest around me came into sharp focus, every leaf and twig etched with impossible clarity. I could hear the frantic heartbeats of small animals scurrying away, smell the rich earth beneath my feet, and taste the metallic tang of blood in the air.

The transformation shattered my mind, and my memories from my childhood unlocked, showing me firsthand who the true monsters in this story were: my family. My mother tried to save me by taking me away, but as I grew older, the shadows started to play with me, and she knew it was only a matter of time.

My eyes snapped open, and the world seemed drenched in shades of red and black. I stood slowly, marveling at the newfound strength coursing through my veins. Every movement felt deliberate, powerful, as if I could tear through steel with my bare hands.

A low growl rumbled from my throat as I turned to face Grayson. He stood frozen, his mask tilted slightly as he regarded me with a mixture of awe and wariness. I could sense the rapid thrum of his pulse, the tension coiled in his muscles, ready to spring at a moment's notice.

But there was something else, too. A primal hunger radiated from him, matching the fierce desire burning within me. I took a step toward him, shadows swirling around my feet like smoke. The air between us crackled with electricity, charged with unspoken promises of violence and passion.

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