The words crash into me like a tidal wave.Granddaddy?Hunted your kind?
“Blade, what is he talking about?”My voice is a whisper, panic seeping through my skin.I feel as if the ground beneath me is collapsing.
Blade shakes his head, his eyes never leaving Jasper.
“You don’t want to tell her?”Jasper steps closer, a gleam of malice in his eyes as he levels the gun at me.“How about I put a bullet in her and see how fast you turn into a blood-sucking freak?”
I gasp.Blood-sucking freak?What is he talking about?
To my surprise, Blade laughs.It’s a dark, bitter sound that makes my heart skip a beat.“You think I’m a vampire?”he asks, his voice laced with disbelief and something darker.
“I don’t think,I know,” Jasper sneers, his finger tightening on the trigger, his gun now pointed directly at me.
Everything happens in an instant, a blur of motion.The air around us feels electric, thick with tension.
Blade’s body tenses, and before I can even react, a low, guttural growl rips from his throat.He’s not the man I’ve known.In a split second, his body starts to contort, his muscles rippling with power.His skin shimmers, and his bones crack in a sickening snap.I scream, my heart racing, but my voice is swallowed by the sound of his transformation.
Blade’s shape shifts before my eyes, his body growing, his form elongating.His face morphs, his features melting into something savage, something primal.Fur sprouts across his skin, and in mere seconds, the man who stood beside me is gone, replaced by a massive bear.
The world seems to slow as I stare at the enormous creature now standing in front of me.His fur is dark and sleek, his eyes still the same—still Blade, but not.The sheer power radiating from him is overwhelming.His jaws snap open, revealing sharp, glistening teeth.His massive paws scrape the ground, each movement terrifyingly graceful.
Jasper’s eyes widen in shock, but there’s no time for him to react.Blade moves faster than I can process, his massive body charging toward Jasper.I watch in horror as Blade’s claws tear through the air, reaching Jasper in seconds.The sound of ripping flesh fills the air as Blade’s jaws lock onto Jasper’s neck with brutal force.Blood splatters across the ground, and I feel the weight of it in my chest, my stomach turning.
Jasper’s body goes limp, his gun falling from his hand as Blade lifts him effortlessly into the air, his massive jaws tearing into his throat.The blood drips from Blade’s mouth, a river of red that stains the ground beneath him.His eyes—Blade’s eyes—meet mine for a brief moment before he throws Jasper’s lifeless body aside like a ragdoll.
I stagger back, my breath ragged as the reality of what just happened sinks in.The bear that was Blade stands there, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with the effort.Blood drips from his claws and mouth, and the world spins faster than I can keep up with.
I can’t speak.I can’t move.
The terror is suffocating.
Blade, the man I thought I knew, is a monster.
And yet, in the depths of my fear, I can’t look away.
It takes a step toward me, and I take a step back, then stumble and fall on my ass.The thing takes another step, and I skitter backward until I hit the fence, but the monster keeps on coming.
Its nose touches my face, and I feel wetness.
“P-Please, d-don’t.”It’s barely a whisper.
My eyes are shut tight as I try to block out the bloody scene, the monstrous bear, the wreckage of Jasper’s body.I can still feel the horror pulsing through every inch of me.I feel his breath—hot and heavy—on my face, and it makes my skin crawl.My tears mingle with the fear, dripping down my cheeks as I try to block out what I just witnessed.
The monster huffs, an almost dismissive sound, and then, slowly, I hear him retreat.His heavy paws crunching the earth grow quieter, and with that, I can finally breathe.
But not fully.
I don’t know how long I stay pressed up against the fence, my body shaking uncontrollably.It could have been minutes, hours, or just a single, endless moment.Time has no meaning when your world is spinning out of control.
Suddenly, a hand lands on my knee, and I scream, the sound ripping from my throat as if it’s someone else’s.“No!”
“Hannah, it’s okay.It’s me, Prophet,” a calm voice says, close to my ear.“And I’m here with Hollywood.”
I suck in a sharp breath, trying to gather my wits.“I-is it still here?”
“No, Hannah, it’s just us,” Hollywood’s voice replies, soothing but firm.
Finally, I open my eyes, but the first thing I see is not comfort—it’s Jasper’s lifeless body, sprawled on the other side of the yard, a grotesque reminder of what happened.The sight of him sends my body into overdrive, my muscles twitching with the need to flee, but I can’t move.My body betrays me, and then the sobs come, great, body-wracking sobs that shake me to the core.My vision blurs, and my chest tightens with the weight of it all as I stare at the mutilated remains of what was once a living, breathing man.
