Chapter 5 – The Fractured Truth

Zaid’s chest still heaved, his breaths shallow, ragged. His crimson eyes flicked to Lerra, and what he saw carved deeper wounds than hunger ever could.

Her face.

Wide, terrified eyes. Lips trembling. Her body pressed to the wall as if it were the only thing keeping her from collapsing. And all of it—because of him.

He had wanted to protect her, to keep his monstrous instincts under lock and chain, but instead, he had broken the very trust he was supposed to uphold. A professor. A mentor. A man.

And yet, he had taken from her.

The sight of her trembling lips—marked red by his fangs—burned into his mind. Shame coiled in his stomach, heavier than chains. His own voice sounded foreign to him, laced with self-disgust.

“What have I done…” he whispered, clutching his temples as if he could tear the memory out.

Cassis, who had been silent until now, stepped closer, his sharp gaze cutting through Zaid’s torment. He didn’t need to say it—Zaid already knew. The moment her blood had touched his tongue, the world had shifted.

Her blood wasn’t ordinary.

And that was the problem.

“Zaid,” Cassis muttered low, his tone firm, “you know what this means. Don’t lose your head now.”

Zaid exhaled harshly, running a hand through his messy black hair. His knuckles trembled as he turned away from Lerra, forcing his voice to steady.

“She can’t go home. Not now. Not like this.”

Cassis raised an eyebrow. “Because of her scent?”

Zaid’s crimson eyes darkened, guilt flickering like lightning across his face. “Because of me. I made her vulnerable. I’ve cursed her.”

The air between them thickened, heavy with truth neither could ignore.

Lerra, still pressed against the wall, blinked rapidly, trying to piece together the fragments of their conversation. Her ears rang with every word, though none of it made sense. Vulnerable? Cursed?

Her lips parted. “Wh-What are you… talking about?” Her voice cracked, weak, but desperate.

Both men froze.

For a long moment, neither spoke. Finally, Cassis stepped forward, his expression softening in contrast to Zaid’s haunted stare. He crouched slightly, bringing himself closer to her height, his eyes steady.

“Lerra,” he began gently, though the words themselves were anything but gentle. “When Zaid… tasted your blood, something changed. Your scent—it’s no longer hidden. Other vampires, the less patient ones, they’ll catch it. They’ll come for you.”

Her breath caught, her chest rising and falling as though she were drowning.

“No…” She shook her head, hugging herself tightly. “No, that’s insane. Vampires—this—this isn’t real! I was just—” Her voice cracked again, trembling with disbelief. “I was just going home. I was just…”

Her mind clawed for normalcy, for something to hold onto. Just hours ago, she had been counting the days since her last period, annoyed with cramps, irritated at life’s small miseries. Now this? Vampires. Blood. Monsters.

And her. In the center of it all.

Zaid looked away, his guilt so suffocating he couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes.

Cassis, however, stayed steady. “I know it’s sudden. Unfair. Cruel, even. But this is the truth, whether you accept it or not. You’re an orphan. You live alone. No one else can protect you now, Lerra. Not from them.”

The words struck her harder than the bite had. Orphan. A word that had always clung to her, but never felt so heavy until now. She had learned to live with it, to build her own fragile normal. And now, even that was being ripped away.

Her throat tightened. “So… what? You’re saying my life is… over?”

Zaid’s head snapped toward her, anguish carved into his features. “No. That’s why…” He hesitated, the words bitter on his tongue. “…That’s why we can’t let you go home tonight. You’ll be hunted. You’ll be… taken. Used.”

The silence that followed was unbearable. The storm outside had quieted, but inside, Lerra felt the thunder still shaking her world apart.

Her lips parted, trembling. “So what do I do? Where do I even go?”

Zaid clenched his jaw, forcing the words out. “With us.”

Her heart stopped.

Cassis straightened, his expression unreadable, but his silence was agreement enough.

Lerra’s mind spun. Living with them? Vampires? Monsters who had already stolen her blood? Every instinct screamed to refuse, to run. But another voice, small and sharp, whispered the truth she couldn’t ignore—

If she ran, she wouldn’t survive the night.

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