Page 45 of Vampire Bite

Before I could respond, he moved forward, Callum following at his side. I trailed behind them, my heart hammering in my chest as we entered the outskirts of the town. The destruction was overwhelming. Fires consuming homes, shattered windows, overturned carts. And the people… some huddled in corners, others fighting to escape the grasp of snarling shifters.

One of the creatures lunged toward us, and Lucas moved faster than I could process. His blade gleamed in the firelight, and a second later, the shifter was crumpled on the ground. Callum was already engaging another, his movements precise and efficient.

I pressed my back against a wall, trying to stay out of the way but ready to act if I needed to. My hands tingled. Was it fear, or whatever strange power I’d felt before? I didn’t have time to think about it.

Lucas turned to me briefly, his voice sharp over the chaos. “Annika! Help anyone you can. If it’s too dangerous, get out of there. Don’t wait for us.”

I nodded, my throat tight, and darted toward a group of terrified townsfolk huddled near the wreckage of a cart. One of them, a woman clutching a child, looked up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes.

“Come on,” I said, reaching for her hand. “We need to move.”

She hesitated, glancing toward the shifters still battling Lucas and Callum. I didn’t wait, pulling her to her feet and guiding her toward an alley.

“Stay here,” I whispered, crouching beside her. “Don’t come out until it’s safe.”

She nodded, her grip tightening on her child. I turned back toward the chaos, darting through it. The town was in shambles, but I couldn’t think about that right now. I had to focus on helping whoever I could.

I turned a corner, narrowly avoiding a falling beam, and nearly tripped over a body lying in the street. A vampire… his pale skin stained with blood, his eyes half-lidded and glassy. He was trying to get up, but his movements were weak, uncoordinated. One of his legs looked badly twisted, and there was a deep gash across his torso.

For a moment, I froze. Fear locked me in place, and my mind screamed at me to keep going, to get out of there before the shifters noticed me. But then he looked up, his eyes catching mine, and I saw the pain there, the same pain I’d seen in the little boy, in the puppy.

I dropped to my knees beside him before I could think twice. “Hold on,” I said, my voice shaky. “I’ll help you.”

He tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak rasp. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong despite his condition. “Leave…” he managed to whisper. “It’s... not safe.”

“I know,” I said, my voice firmer now. “But I’m not leaving you.”

The tingling started in my hands, that familiar, strange sensation that both frightened and fascinated me. I pressed my palms to his chest, just above the gash, and immediately felt the energy surge through me. It was warm, almost searing, as if something inside me was being drawn out.

The vampire gasped, his body jerking under my touch. A faint glow emanated from my hands, soft and golden, like embers sparking to life. I tried not to focus on it, to just let whatever this was do its work. The gash began to close before my eyes, the torn flesh knitting itself back together. His leg shifted, the unnatural angle straightening with an audible pop.

I pulled my hands back, trembling, as the glow faded. The vampire stared at me, his chest rising and falling rapidly as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“What… what are you?” he asked, his voice hoarse but steadier now.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t know what this is.”

Before he could say more, a loud snarl echoed from behind me. I turned just in time to see a shifter barreling toward us, itsclaws gleaming in the firelight. Panic surged through me, and I scrambled to my feet, ready to run.

But the vampire was faster. He was on his feet in an instant, his strength seemingly restored. With a feral growl, he lunged at the shifter, his claws tearing through fur and flesh. The fight was over in seconds, the shifter collapsing in a heap at his feet.

The vampire turned back to me, his expression a mixture of gratitude and something unreadable. “You saved me,” he said simply.

“We need to go,” I said, my voice shaking. “It’s not safe here.”

He nodded, and without another word, we both moved back into the chaos, the questions swirling in my mind heavier than ever.

We joined the others in this endless night of smoke, blood and terror. Every corner of the town seemed to hold a new struggle, a new cry for help. Lucas moved ahead of me, his steps precise, cutting down any shifter that crossed our path. I tried to stay close, but the chaos made it nearly impossible.

We found another group of humans huddled in an alleyway, their faces streaked with grime and tears. Some clutched makeshift weapons, broken chair legs, rusty pipes, but they looked more afraid than ready to fight. I stepped forward, my hands up to show I wasn’t a threat.

“It’s okay,” I said, my voice softer than I felt. “We’re here to help.”

One of them, a man with a bloodied bandage around his arm, looked at me with hollow eyes. “You can’t save us,” he said. “They’ll come back.”

“They might,” Lucas cut in, his voice steady, commanding. “But not tonight. Tonight, you’re coming with us.”

Slowly, they started to move, shuffling toward us like ghosts.

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