He flinched away at the contact and moaned weakly, "Please don't... don't hurt me. Wh-What do you want?" Tears brimmed in his eyes and travelled down his dirty cheeks.Eira watched him with horror in her eyes. "Nate, it's me. Eira. Who did this?" She asked in a rushed whisper. With a gulp, she turned around to check if anyone was behind it. She spotted nobody.His eyes fluttered open and he lifted his neck with difficulty. When his eyes found hers, his face looked relieved. "Please..." He said and feebly raised his chained wrists. The chains were nailed into the brick wall behind, just like it had been in the dungeons, limiting their mobility.The skin covering his fingers appeared to have melted away, revealing the black bones concealed underneath.Eira looked around helplessly, struggling to find something to break the chains while her mind wondered with terror what or who preyed over the predators themselves.Werewolves. It couldn't be anyone else, She told herself.She stood abrupt

Eira couldn't tell for how long she sat frozen on the couch after Nate left. Their proximity had made her feel something. The part of her cheeks where his fingers had slightly brushed felt warm. But since she couldn't place the feeling properly, she put it away for time being and focused on the cell-phone in hand.Surprisingly, there were no texts or calls from Arabella, however, she found 31 missed calls from Caleb. He had probably attempted to explain his actions but she didn't want to hear it any of it. There may have been a time when she would agree to everything he said but everything had changed—she trusted her own eyes more than him.She dialed Bella's number. Unlike Eira, her room-mate was a morning person. She would be up that early in the morning, probably exercising in her room.The phone rang twice before she picked it up."Eira?" She whispered.For a whole minute, Eira rejoiced in the sound of her voice. It had been three days since she'd seen her but it seemed more like a

When her eyes opened again, she lay on a bed drenched in sweat. The same bed she had been sleeping in every night for over a week. The one in which she had dreamt the most incredible dreams.She had been dreaming the same dream for four nights—being chased by a werewolf with Caleb’s face and finally ending when she touched the concealed painted canvas. And every time, she would wake up sweaty with her ugly birthmark feeling like it was on fire. Like she felt that night and the three nights that had gone before. There was no meaning in it, at least none she could hope to find. What does it mean? Maybe Josh knows something.The night lamp was on, driving Her eyes darted from the old wooden clock, its hands displaying the time as 4 AM to the open window on her right. The pale curtains fluttered as wintry winds swept past it, hiding and showing the white moon against a dark field becoming whole slowly. A chill reverberated down her spine, but Eira couldn’t say whether it was because of the

Alex greeted the audience, a charming smile displayed across his face. The smile made the wrinkles beneath his eyes more prominent. With a goatee on his chin and a grey moustache above his thin lips, Alexander Black appeared older than all of them, having transitioned into a vampire much later in life. Actually, Damien was seventy years older and could still pass as his son among the common folk. He resumed talking, “Its good to see all of you here.”Damien scoffed and a woman sitting beside stared at him with a frown, but he did not care.Alex signalled his hand to a table at one corner. “There’s a feast tonight. We have jugs of sweetened blood of all groups for you and pies stuffed with blood. Blood beers as well! Courtesy of Dr Lisa working at the Orilon Medical centre and Chef Jake. Be sure to thank them! I hope you have a good time tonight.” He finished with another of his charming, wicked smiles and took a seat in the audience.Nate felt sick and disgusted. He wanted to leave as

Eira's feet reacted to Dana's scream immediately. One second she was standing in the kitchen with her cell phone in hand and the next—she was running. The dark brown locks of her hair flowed behind her head, and heart raced with fear and anticipation. She arrived in the living room out of breath to find a stranger with his teeth sunk deep into Dana's pale, delicate neck. She had stopped screaming, yet the harsh sound of her screams still echoed in the witch's ears. Eira's stomach stirred at the sight. The male vampire held his arms around Dana's petite body, vigorously feeding off her blood. A red stream ran down her neck and soaked her white T-shirt completely. Her eyes were closed; she wasn't struggling. "No! Don't be dead!" Eira whispered in terror. The mere sound was enough to grab the monster's attention. His black eyes with white-slit pupils darted to her and held her captive. He loosened his grip and Dana's limp body fell to the floor with