“No, no, no.” Panic clawed at my chest. I pressed my forehead to his, my tears mingling with the blood on his skin. “Don’t you dare leave me.”
I couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not when he’d become the only thing that mattered.
Desperation settled in my bones, cold and undeniable. Every second that passed felt like a countdown to the end of something I couldn’t bear to lose.
I could feel his heartbeat weakening under my hands, each sluggish beat a reminder that time was slipping away.
His skin, so warm before, was growing colder. His breaths were shallow, a faint whisper of life barely hanging on.
I looked down at him, my chest tightening. Blood soaked his clothes, staining my hands, sticky and warm.
His face was too pale, his lips parted as if he were trying to say something, but the words wouldn't come.
I brushed a trembling hand over his hair, my fingers lingering on his temple. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Not when we had barely begun.
There was only one way to save him now.
The realization was a blade to my gut. My hands shook as I tilted his head gently, exposing the smooth column of his neck.
The steady line of his pulse beneath the skin was faint, fluttering like a fragile thing, ready to disappear forever.
My fangs ached, an instinctual pull that made bile rise in my throat. This wasn’t just survival; it was surrender.
Turning him into what I was would steal away his humanity, bind him to a fate that had cost me everything.
I closed my eyes for a moment, fighting against the storm of emotions that threatened to break me apart.
The thought of taking his life, of sinking my teeth into him and forcing the darkness I carried into his veins, made me sick. I didn’t want this for him.
I didn’t want him to know the hunger, the isolation, the eternal twilight that came with this cursed existence.
But letting him die wasn’t an option.
I opened my eyes, staring at the man who had somehow become everything to me.
The man who had made me feel alive when I thought I was beyond redemption.
His lashes fluttered slightly, a flicker of awareness, and his lips moved soundlessly.
I leaned closer, desperate to catch his words, but there was nothing. Just the shallow rise and fall of his chest, growing fainter.
I can’t lose you.
The thought screamed through my mind, louder than the pounding of my heart. I leaned in, my mouth hovering just above his neck.
My fangs scraped against my lower lip, the sharpness cutting through the haze of fear and grief.
The scent of his blood filled my senses, warm and metallic, a reminder that he was still here, still alive, if only barely.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I can’t let you go.”
My jaw clenched as I fought against every instinct that told me this was wrong. But love and desperation outweighed my guilt.
I couldn’t let him slip away into the void. Not when I could pull him back, even if it meant dragging him into the darkness with me.
I pressed my lips to his neck, a trembling kiss before I opened my mouth and sank my fangs in.
His blood rushed over my tongue, hot and potent, carrying with it all his memories, his fears, his strength.
