Chapter Seven: First Night Terror

I spent the whole day feeling like a caged animal.

Every time I stepped outside my room, someone was watching. Not openly, but I could feel eyes on me. Following my every move.

The worst part? Axel was nowhere to be found.

I'd asked one of the women in the kitchen where he'd gone, but she'd just shrugged and walked away. Like I wasn't even worth talking to.

The man from this morning - Michael - kept showing up wherever I went. Him and three older men who looked at me like I was poison. They didn't say anything, just stared. But their message was clear.

I didn't belong here.

Around noon, I tried to walk to the front gate. Just to see if I could. A man with dark hair and sharp eyes appeared beside me before I'd taken ten steps.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

His voice was calm, but there was steel underneath. This was the man who'd knocked on Axel's door earlier. The one who'd looked worried.

"Just getting some air," I said.

"Plenty of air in the courtyard."

He didn't grab my arm or threaten me. He didn't have to. The message was clear - I wasn't leaving.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Jace."

"Well, Jace, am I a prisoner here?"

"You're protected here."

"Same thing, apparently."

He studied my face for a moment. "Axel's trying to keep you safe. The least you could do is not make it harder for him."

"Where is he?"

"Handling business."

"What kind of business?"

"The kind that keeps people like you alive."

The words sent a chill down my spine. People like me? What did that even mean?

"I want to leave," I said quietly.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"If you really wanted to leave, you would have tried harder last night. Instead, you let Axel mark you. You turned your head and let him scent you like you wanted it."

Heat flooded my cheeks. Because he was right. I had wanted it. Had craved Axel's touch in a way that scared me.

"That doesn't mean anything," I said.

"Doesn't it?"

Jace walked away, leaving me standing there with burning cheeks and a racing heart.

The rest of the day dragged by. I stayed in my room mostly, pacing and thinking. Every hour that passed made me more anxious. More aware that I was trapped here with people who didn't want me.

Dinner was the worst part.

I sat at a table by myself while conversations died around me. Forks clinked against plates. People whispered just loud enough for me to catch pieces.

"Don't trust her."

"Bringing trouble."

"Should send her back where she came from."

Michael sat three tables away, but I could feel his anger like heat from a fire. He wanted me gone. They all did.

By the time I made it back to my room, my nerves were shot. My hands shook as I got ready for bed. Everything felt wrong. Dangerous even.

I needed to get out of here. Soon.

But first, I needed sleep. Maybe in the morning, I could think more clearly. Figure out a way to escape that didn't involve walking past Jace and his watchful eyes.

I pulled on the oversized t-shirt someone had left for me and crawled under the covers. The bed smelled like Axel - leather and something wild that made my stomach flip.

I tried not to think about it. About him. About the way his lips had felt against my neck.

Sleep came eventually, but it didn't bring peace.

---

I was running.

Fast. Faster than I'd ever run before. My feet barely touched the ground as I flew through dark trees. Branches whipped past my face, but I didn't slow down.

I was hunting.

The thought should have scared me, but it didn't. It felt right. Natural. Like this was what I was meant to do.

Something warm and metallic filled my mouth. Blood. I was tasting blood, and it was the most delicious thing I'd ever experienced.

A scream echoed through the forest. High and terrified.

It was coming from me.

No - it was coming from my prey. The thing I was chasing through the trees. Something small and helpless that ran on two legs instead of four.

I wanted to catch it. Wanted to tear into soft flesh with teeth that felt too sharp in my mouth. Wanted to feed until the hunger finally stopped clawing at my insides.

The scream came again, closer this time.

And I realized it wasn't coming from my prey at all.

It was coming from me.

---

I woke up screaming.

My throat felt raw, like I'd been making that sound for a while. The sheets were soaked with sweat, clinging to my skin. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst.

The taste of blood lingered in my mouth even though I knew it had just been a dream.

Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a—

The door burst open.

Axel stood there in just jeans, his chest bare and heaving like he'd run here. His eyes were wild, scanning the room for threats before landing on me.

"What happened?" His voice was rough with sleep and something else. Something very sinister.

"Nothing," I gasped. "Just a nightmare."

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. The space suddenly felt smaller and intimate.

"You were screaming for two minutes straight."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake anyone."

"Don't apologize." He moved closer to the bed. "Tell me what you dreamed about."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

The command in his voice made something inside me want to obey. But the dream had been too vivid. Seemed too real and just too violent.

"It was nothing. Just stress from everything that's happened."

"Calla." The way he said my name made my skin tingle. "Look at me."

I raised my eyes to his face. Even in the dim light, I could see the concern there. The way his jaw was tight with worry.

"Tell me," he said softly.

"I was running through the woods," I whispered. "Hunting something. And there was blood in my mouth, and I liked it. I wanted more."

His expression didn't change. Like what I'd said wasn't crazy at all.

"What else?"

"That's it. That's all I remember."

It wasn't true. I remembered everything. The way my body had felt different and stronger. The way I'd moved through the trees like I belonged there. The hunger that had felt more real than anything I'd ever experienced.

But I couldn't say those things out loud. Couldn't admit how much I'd enjoyed the violence in the dream.

Axel sat on the edge of the bed, and the mattress dipped under his weight. He was close enough to touch. Close enough that I could smell his scent - the one that made my head spin.

"It's starting," he said quietly.

"What's starting?"

"You are really awakening."

"My what?"

"The dreams are just the beginning. Your body is trying to remember what it was meant to be."

"That's insane." But even as I said it, I could feel something stirring inside me. Something that whispered he might be right.

"Is it?" His hand moved to my face, fingers tracing my cheek. "Tell me you didn't feel different in the dream. Stronger. More alive than you've ever felt."

I wanted to deny it. But the touch of his skin against mine made it hard to think. Made it hard to remember why I should be afraid.

"You're scaring me," I whispered.

"I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to help you understand."

His thumb brushed across my lower lip, and I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped me. The sound seemed to affect him too. His breathing got heavier.

"Calla," he said, and my name sounded like a prayer on his lips.

"What?"

"I should go."

"Why?"

"Because if I stay, I'm going to do something we'll both regret."

But he didn't move. His hand stayed on my face, his eyes locked on mine. The air between us felt charged.

"What if I don't want you to go?" The words slipped out before I could stop them leaving me horrified.

His eyes darkened. "Don't say things like that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm barely holding on as it is."

I could see the truth of it in his face. The way his muscles were tense. The way his breathing had changed. The way he was looking at me like he wanted to devour me.

And God help me, I wanted him to.

"Axel," I breathed.

That was his breaking point. His hand slid into my hair, and he leaned closer. So close I could feel his breath on my lips.

"You have no idea what you do to me," he said roughly.

"Show me."

For a second, I thought he would. His grip tightened in my hair, and his lips were almost touching mine. I could feel the heat of his body, the tension in every line of him.

Then he jerked back like I'd burned him.

"No." He stood up so fast the bed bounced. "Not like this. Not when you're scared and confused."

"I'm not—"

"Yes, you are. And I won't take advantage of that."

He backed toward the door, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Get some sleep," he said. "We'll talk more in the morning."

"Axel, wait—"

But he was already gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

I sat there in the dark, my body still humming with need. With want for something I couldn't even name.

The dream came flooding back. The taste of blood. The hunger. The way I'd felt powerful and wild and free.

What was happening to me?

And why did part of me hope it would happen again?