Our families had done this once before. Confronting us with their lies… spinning some twisted scenario about Patrick keeping secrets, painting him as untrustworthy… conspiring with Peter Grimwood. They were all there, trapping us in our own home. They claimed they were looking out for me, but I saw through them. They were scared. Scared of losing control over me… of keeping me under their thumbs. The first time, we stood together against them. Patrick and I argued, shouted them down, and for a while, they left us alone. I thought they’d finally backed off.

But they hadn’t. They’d only been regrouping. This time, they came back with a vengeance. Their words were sharper, their accusations more insidious. They picked at every thread of doubt they could find, weaving their narrative tighter around Patrick until he broke.

He cracked. He left me to face them alone.

I saw it in his eyes, the way his resolve crumbled under their weight. He started to hesitate, started to believe their garbage. He played along with their games, nodding at their lies, pretending it was all true. Creating new lies on the fly as he stood there in front of us all. The betrayal twisted in my chest like a knife. I couldn’t help it… I tried to attack him.

He needed to know… you don’t do that shit to me. I loved him, and he needed to know the rules… the lines you didn’t cross. He’d learn… in time. But I would not fall. I would not bend. To their lies.

Jane stopped me… fucking bitch!

I tasted blood in my mouth… sharp, metallic, disgusting. The bitter tang of iron spread across my tongue, a reminder of Jane’s hand smashing against my face until I could get my teeth into her, and then smash my elbow into her skull… hoping it would kill her.

My parents were losing their minds, shackling me in a web of lies they spun so tightly, even Patrick was starting to believe them. They stood there, preaching their fabricated truths as if they were saving me. Saving us. They were fucking liars!

Then Martin knocked me out… and I woke up in a cage.

“You’re wrong,” I spat, my voice trembling with fury. “You’re all wrong, and you know it.”

My mother, standing on the other side of the bars with that damn pitying look on her face, had the audacity to say, “We’re only trying to protect you, Autumn.”

“Protect me?” I laughed bitterly, the sound sharp and cruel. “From what? From the only person I’ve ever truly loved?”

“That’s not love,” my father cut in, his voice stern and unyielding. “It’s obsession. He’s dragging you down with this curse and you’re too blinded to see it.”

“No,” I snarled, stepping forward, my fists clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palms. “You are the ones dragging me down. You’re so desperate to control my life that you’re willing to destroy the one good thing in it.”

Patrick sat there, silent, his head bowed like a coward. My rage turned to him, hot and searing. “And you,” I hissed, my voice venomous. “You’re just going to sit there? Let them tear us apart?”

He didn’t answer. His silence was louder than any excuse he could’ve made.

“Unbelievable,” I growled. “You’re as spineless as they are.”

“Autumn, please,” my mother pleaded, her tone sickeningly sweet, like I was a child throwing a tantrum. “You don’t understand. This is for your own good.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me like I’m a child!” I roared. “You think locking me up, filling my head with lies, is for my own good? You’re just afraid. Afraid that I’m slipping away from your control. Living my own life outside of this sorry excuse of an existence that we call a family.”

My father stepped closer, his face hard. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“Oh, I’m thinking crystal clear,” I snapped. “I see exactly what this is. You’re losing your grip, and it terrifies you.”

They didn’t respond, but I could see it in their eyes. The fear. The guilt.

“I will not let you take him from me,” I said, my voice low and cold. “You may have turned him against me for now, but I’ll remind him who he is. Who we are. You can’t keep me here forever.”

They didn’t understand. They couldn’t. The love I had for Patrick wasn’t some fragile, passing thing. It was a fire, scorching and consuming, searing its truth into my very being. And yet, they had the gall to deny it. My family. Liars. Traitors. They were no longer my family… mere strangers wearing the skin of my old family.

Patrick… my Patrick… crumbled beneath their pressure. Weak. I always knew he wasn’t strong enough, but I loved him anyway. He was a Wicklow… he’d never be strong… not like me. I thought my strength could shield us both, but now it was just me, burning in this love alone, locked away like some kind of rabid animal.

The cell was frigid, the damp clinging to my skin, sinking into my bones. A fitting place for monsters. It had held them before… beasts with fangs and claws, things that belonged in the nightmares of the world above. Now it held me. Their daughter. The one they claimed to love. Liars.

The silver bars were cold against my palms as I gripped them, the icy chill of winter sharp and immediate. I didn’t care. The cold ache kept my fury alive, kept the hatred simmering just beneath the surface. I paced the length of the cell, my bare feet slapping against the stone floor, my breath fogging in the icy air. My thoughts spiraled, coiling tighter with every moment.

Weaklings. I didn’t need their love. I didn’t need their lies.

When the outer door creaked open, I didn’t flinch. The inner door was locked and immovable. There was no escape.

My mother’s pitying gaze was met with cold silence. She spoke softly, her voice dripping with false concern. I didn’t listen. I stared at her, my eyes narrowing to slits, the rage simmering just behind them. When she dared to step closer, I spat at her feet.

“Coward,” I hissed, my voice low and venomous.

She recoiled like she’d been slapped, but I didn’t care. Let her feel an ounce of the disgust I felt for her.

My father followed, stern and unyielding as ever. He didn’t speak, only stood there, watching me like I was a rabid animal. My lip curled in a sneer.

“Pathetic,” I muttered, turning my back on them.

They said something… empty words meant to soothe or threaten, I couldn’t tell anymore. I didn’t respond. They didn’t deserve my words. Only my contempt.

I paced, letting them stew in my silence, my refusal to engage. Eventually, they left, the outer door slamming shut behind them. Their departure echoed through the cold, dark space, but their lies lingered.

Good. Let them think I was beaten. Let them think they’d won. I would show them. I would remind Patrick who he belonged to. What we had was unbreakable. They couldn’t lock that away, couldn’t smother it with their schemes.

My love was a force of nature. Unstoppable. Unforgiving. And soon, they would understand that too. Every single one of them.

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Alex stepped into the cell, and the first thing I noticed was the way her crimson hair caught the faint light, flames flickering in the darkness, a mockery of warmth. Her skin was almost tight and toned, draped over solid muscle. Something was different about her though… I couldn’t tell… but I knew there was something. Her eyes… those damn eyes… I already knew. She was their enforcer now. Their warden for my prison cell. And I hated her for it. I could already feel the bile rising in my throat, the urge to tear her apart with my bare hands, to make her bleed. But before she could even open her mouth, my body was already moving.

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I lunged, my fists swinging blindly, my nails sharp and aiming for her throat. Her smirk was almost audible, a knowing curl of her lips that made my blood boil. But she didn’t flinch. Not even a fraction.

Her hand closed around my throat, lifting me off the ground like I weighed nothing at all. My legs kicked helplessly in the air, my body helpless against her strength. Her grip was unyielding, suffocating, and for a moment, I thought I might pass out from the pressure. The pain in my throat was all-consuming. I gasped for air, clawing at her hand, but it was useless. She slammed me into the bars, my spine colliding with the silver like a lightning strike, the agonizing pain of it tearing a scream from my throat. The metal dug into me, searing, like I was being branded, and my muscles spasmed from the force she pushed me with. But it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

Her eyes gleamed, not fully red, but burning with a flicker of something ancient and lethal. A warning.

“Nice try,” she said, her voice a cold hiss. “But you’re not going anywhere.”

I spat in her face, the bitter taste of blood and defiance coating my tongue. “You think you’re better than me?” I snarled. “You’re nothing but their pet. Their puppet. You’re a whore… a monster… just look at you!”

Her lips twitched into a soft smirk… her mind somewhere else., and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it off her face. “Maybe.” She used her free hand to wipe my bloodied spit off her face. She looked disgusted. “But at least I’m not the one locked in a cage.”

The words were like a slap. I struggled harder, my chest heaving with anger and frustration, but she was right. I was trapped. And I hated her for reminding me. But then my eyes caught sight of it… the syringe in her hand. The vile yellow liquid inside it glistened in the dim light. My stomach lurched, a wave of panic slamming into me.

“No,” I gasped, struggling against her iron grip. “You’re not putting that in me.”

She didn’t answer. Her gaze never wavered. Instead, she sank the syringe’s needle into her own inner arm as she pinned me to the wall. She pulled out on the plunger, drawing her bloody, cursed, lifeforce out into the needle. Her eyes never left mine.

I screamed, louder this time, raw with desperation. “Let me go!” I shrieked, but my voice was weakening, fading under the pressure of her strength. “Don’t touch me with that!”

But she did. She knew exactly what she was doing.

The needle pressed against my skin. I twisted and fought harder, my entire body trembling with resistance, but it was useless. I was trapped, helpless, unable to move, and then the needle pierced my flesh. The cold, slick burn of it sent a jolt of terror through me. The fluid was freezing as it entered my veins, a horrible chill spreading through my body like razor water, infecting my blood. And then the burn. It wasn't just cold… it was agony, searing and ruthless, a fire freezing me from the inside out.

My screams turned into whimpers as the sedative sank deeper into my bloodstream, mixing with her blood, and corrupting mine. I thrashed, my limbs growing heavy and leaden, every ounce of strength draining out of me. My body felt alien, unresponsive like I was drowning in slow motion.

"I’ll kill you!" I screamed, but my voice was barely a whisper now. My throat felt tight, and raw. “I’ll kill all of you!”

Her face didn’t change. No pity. No fear. Just cold, dead green eyes watching me as I fought to stay awake, to stay conscious. But the sedative was already taking hold, sinking deeper into my system, clouding my thoughts. The fire of rage was slowly fading, replaced by a hollow emptiness. My arms and legs felt like stone, unmovable.

How could my parents let her do that? They were willing to let her pump me full of vampire blood? How far had they gone… how far away were they from the parents I remembered?

And then it all went black.

I didn’t even feel the ground when I collapsed.

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Why were they doing this to me? Why? Weeks? Maybe longer. I didn’t know anymore, and I didn’t care. It was all the same. My family, my parents, they kept me down here… locked away like some kind of animal. They thought they could break me. They wanted to change me into something else, something I wasn’t. And then there was Patrick. Betraying me. Turning his back on everything we had. He believed them… swallowed their lies whole. He wouldn’t help me. He wouldn’t even look me in the eye. He was ashamed… as he should be.

They wouldn’t let me go. And now, they had her… Alex. That fucking vampire. She was the one who came in every damn time, ready to inject me with that disgusting mixture of tranquilizer and her filthy blood. Every time she walked in, she brought with her the stink of her corruption. I could feel it… her poison, swirling through my veins, tainting everything. And what sickened me most? My family, my flesh and blood, stood there behind her, watching, waiting for her to do her job. They were so damn comfortable with it. It was a sick joke to them.

I would wake up, disoriented, heavy with the effects of whatever drug they’d pumped into me, but always with one thing clear in my mind. Alex. She was always the last to leave. Always the one injecting me. My parents didn’t have the guts to do it themselves. They wanted to turn me into something else, something dead. But why not let Martin do it, if that was what they wanted? Was I that unimportant to them? I wasn’t worth the effort? They’d rather have me undead than have me be with Patrick? Patrick… the only one I ever gave a damn about… he was all they cared about. They wanted to take him from me too.

Another ritual was prepared… I watched them set up for it again. Everyone was too afraid to connect their eyes with me. Like seeing my face would haunt their dreams. Except... this time, something was different.

When Alex stepped into the cell this time, the air shifted, and thickened, like something powerful was about to break. The ground beneath me shook, a low, deep tremor vibrating through the walls, rattling the foundation of the house itself. The force of it... it was real. Like the love I had for Patrick. Unstoppable. Everything about it felt like an earthquake, a force of nature beyond their control. They froze. Even Alex faltered, her face twisting into something I hadn’t seen from her before. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to scream. This was my moment. They’d fucked with the wrong person.

Then, it hit me. Something was happening to Alex. She was changing. Her body contorted as if the very air had a life of its own, choking her, bending her in ways that weren’t natural. I felt it before I saw it… something dark, something hungry; like a force of nature finally breaking free. It pulsed with such raw power, a will to consume, to devour. The walls of the cell vibrated again, and I was dying to get out of there, to show them all the hell they had unleashed by keeping me locked in this cage. I wasn’t going to waste this chance.

But before I could make my move, the floor erupted. A fiery, blood-red energy shot up from the ground, coiling around Alex like it was claiming her. I could hear the air crackling with raw energy as the shockwave sent everything flying back. They all recoiled, stunned, reacting as if they had never felt anything like this before.

I stood there, trembling with anticipation. This was it. This was my chance. I wasn’t going to let them keep me anymore. I was done.

Every muscle in my body was screaming as I pushed myself forward, fueled by pure, unrelenting rage. The air around me thickened, each breath like fire in my lungs. My hands were shaking, but I didn’t care. My father was the first to get in my way, standing there like he could stop me. Like he could stop me? It increased my need to attack… to kill. I would show him… show them all that they could not control me.

I swung with everything I had, every ounce of fury I’d been holding back. My elbow collided with his face… crack. His head snapped back, and I could feel his bones shatter under the force. He staggered, falling back. His silver blade was exposed on his side. I grabbed it, feeling the cold, hard metal in my hand. It was mine now… I needed to … use it!

I turned on a dime, moving toward Patrick, my heart pounding, adrenaline coursing through my veins like molten lava. But then… she… Kayla was there, blocking my way. That bitch. That whore.

If I had to go through her first, so be it.

I didn’t hesitate. I launched myself at her, the silver blade glinting in my hand. But just as I reached her, Patrick grabbed her… pulled her out of my way. His protection of her sickened me. She had her claws in him, didn’t she? She was trying to take him from me, trying to steal him, trying to take what was mine.

Once I was done with him, then I’d go to her.

But first, Patrick.

I felt my grip tighten on the silver as I closed the distance between us. It trembled in my hand, slick with rage and bloodlust, but I still drove it into him. Once. Twice. Again. Again.

The blade sank into his flesh, deep, over and over again. Every strike was a vicious, unforgiving reminder of the betrayal he’d laid on me. I wanted him to feel every ounce of pain I’d felt… the rage, the heartbreak, the utter devastation of loving someone and being thrown away like I didn’t matter.

I stabbed him until the world around me blurred, until his blood was painting my skin, the warmth of it mixing with my fury, the thick, hot liquid splattering across my face. I didn’t care. I couldn’t stop. I needed him to know… needed him to understand what he had done to me. I needed him to feel my pain. To feel my love!

But then, something stopped me.

My arms froze, blood still dripping from my hands, but the rage had momentarily faded. I was covered in it… his blood, soaking through my clothes, my hair, splattering across my face. The warmth of it ran down my body, trickling like some twisted waterfall of crimson.

I heard her… Kayla. Screaming. Her voice was warped, a shrill, broken cry. Her terror made my blood run colder, her agony singing in my ears. It was almost... satisfying. But not enough. Not yet.

Suddenly, two arms wrapped around me, pulling me away from the bloody mess that had once been Patrick. The pain in my chest was unbearable like it was splitting me open from the inside out, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything but the relief that was starting to flood me. The rage, the fire, was still burning, but there was something else now; something deep and primal that was filling me up, making me whole. I was finally complete.

But that relief didn’t last long.

A force tore through my body, spreading like wildfire, burning my skin, my chest, my neck. It hit me all at once, a searing heat, the kind that twisted inside my bones. My heart felt like it was going to burst. My vision went white with the intensity of it… pulsing, unbearable, until my eyes watered and burned with the force of it.

My insides felt like they were caving in, something hot and wet spilling out of me in gushing waves. I screamed; a guttural, desperate sound as my body ruptured internally. There was a moment of excruciating relief as the pain finally burst within me. Then… just as quickly, it all faded.

My eyes closed… and everything went black.

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Thud...