Page 1 of Warrior

Chapter One

Marinah

Pain slid beneath my skin, tearing through muscles while snapping and rebuilding bone.I writhed in agony, straining against the straps holding me down.Rage flooded my veins.It was a consuming, killing rage that needed something.Blood came to mind.Had they lied to me?Am I really just a mindless fucking vampire?The world around me blurred, swallowed by a crimson haze that sharpened the edges of everything it touched.The pain consumed me, and it wouldn’t stop.

Then, without a breath between torture and lucidity, objects snapped into stark clarity, their details vivid in an incredible way.

My head lifted, the strange weight of my six-inch snout pulling at my neck.I turned left, then right, sniffing the air, my nostrils large and, if I’m honest, hairy.Scents overwhelmed me, raw and layered, each one unraveling a mystery I couldn’t fully comprehend but also couldn’t ignore.

“Take my hand, Marinah.Focus on my voice.”

King’s words cut through the confusion, but they were too loud, too much.I clamped my hands over my ears, only to flinch as claws brushed dangerously close to my face.My hands.No, things, trembled before me, alien and grotesque.This body was no longer mine; something foreign had invaded, dragging me into a nightmare I couldn’t escape.

“Breathe, Marinah.You’re okay.”

The words floated into my fractured skull, anchoring me against the all-encompassing storm.I didn’t want to hear them, but I knew that voice and clung to it, desperately shoving it into the small corner of my brain that still craved reason and yearned for control.

“Concentrate, Marinah.”

A response was beyond me, but I tried.Then, tried again.What escaped my throat was warped and unnatural, a garbled approximation of my voice.“Kin…no.”It came out nasally, almost mechanical, a sound that filled me with dread.

A sharp prick in my arm pulled me back from the brink.Within seconds, time stretched and slowed.The red fog began to lift, peeling back to reveal the shattered remnants of the monster inside me.I blinked once, twice, and the room came into focus.King’s strong face materialized before me.

“Don lev me,” I whispered through my huge jaws.The words cracked with vulnerability, a plea from someone pathetic and broken.Some creature I didn’t recognize.

King’s cool hand slid over the hot skin of my jaw, my cheek, my brow.“I’m not going anywhere.You’re doing great,” he said softly, using a wet towel to wipe down my upper chest and arms.

Memories flashed through my mind.King had been doing this for days.He held my hand, talked me through the changes in my body, wiped away sweat, and helped me cling to what was left of my sanity.

For the first time since this nightmare began, I managed a smile, or something close to it.“You’rrrre a liar.I’m wwwimp,” I rasped.

King’s soft chuckle was a balm to my hypersensitive ears.He continued wiping me down, running the cloth over the short, bristly hair that now covered my skin.I lost track of time as I tried to focus on relaxing, on controlling the rage clawing at the edges of my mind.

“Here, love, eat this,” King whispered, tipping my head back and holding something close to my nose.The scent hit me instantly.Steak… raw.My jaws snapped open, instinct taking over.Must eat.His hand jerked away as I lunged forward, ready to tear the food from him.

“None of that,” he said sharply, his voice loud again, invading my sensitive ears.Anger surged, and fury swelled until it blocked out everything but the primal need for blood.A firm hand pushed against my shoulder.“Control yourself.Concentrate on my voice.You need to eat slowly, and my fingers are not on the menu.”

The straps binding me were too tight.Too restricting.Must break.Must kill.Must eat.

No!I screamed inside my own mind, battling the interloper that had taken root in my head.Do what he says,I commanded the beast.

The food moved closer, and I forced myself to open my jaws.When it hit my tongue, a low growl rumbled in my chest.The tangy blood rolled over my taste buds, fueling a craving I couldn’t shake, and I wanted to attack.No!I demanded again, reining in the animal.I swallowed, the raw meat slid down my throat, and I opened my jaws once more.

“Slow,” King coaxed gently.“There’s more.”

I clenched my jaws and let the blood saturate my senses.It filled me, sating an ache so deep it felt like it would never end.Bite by bite, I consumed the meat.Blood.Meat.More.More.More.

“Lower the dose,” King said.

“You know that’s dangerous,” a male voice replied sharply.

It took me a moment, but I recognized Axel.The doctor.

“Do as I say,” King insisted.“She won’t miss the funeral.”

Funeral.Boot.Che.The words pierced through my foggy mind.

“King, it’s too dangerous.She needs time to adjust.It’ll take months, not days,” Axel argued, his tone edged with frustration.

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