When Night Comes

21. 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷

(Y/n) had thought she would finally be safe. She had thought she was free.

As the night of the blood moon unfolded, everything spiraled into chaos. She shouldn't have left her guard down, yet she did. Her lapse in vigilance sealed her fate and that of so many others.

That night, she had looked out in the sky, painted in a deep, foreboding shade. Under the ominous shade of the sky, the moon gleamed brighter than ever, casting an eerie red glow. Its deep shade of red was unlikely to go unnoticed. She had slept that night, feeling as if she was finally free ; a momentary respite. Dorian would surely give up now. It was too late, he wouldn't want to wait three other months, would he? His infatuation must have dwindled by now, he would eventually forget about her.

She closed her eyes, feeling peaceful and relieved.

Until screams shattered the tranquility, pulled her out of slumber. Panic coursed through her entire body as she quickly rose, recognizing the sounds of pain and struggle from outside her room. A part of her already knew who the attacker was. A sinking realization gripped her — he had found her.

She placed a chair below the doorknob as a makeshift barricade even though she knew it would only buy her seconds. True to expectation, the door knob moved shortly after. Her defense stopped the vampire, though she was aware it was just a matter of time until he would brute force his way in.

"Doll," Dorian's voice oozed sickeningly sweet. "I know you are in there."

A surge of fear paralyzed her momentarily. Foolishly considering hiding under the bed, she dismissed the idea as impractical. The window seemed her only escape, but the second-floor fall carried its risks.

"Let me in, dear," he insisted.

Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, she hesitated. "(Y/N)," he snapped loudly and threateningly, "If you do not open this door now, you will regret it, young lady!"

She looked out the window, her heart beating rapidly. Outside, he began counting down, leaving her with no choice. She struggled to open the window; her hands were trembling and her vision was blurry. She had to get out. She could hear his voice, and she knew he wouldn't remain patient for much longer. When "one" resounded, the window finally yielded. Simultaneously, the vampire burst through the door. She jumped out, but her landing was flawed — a sharp crack resonated through the night as her left leg met the ground.

She cried out as she clenched her leg. Pain seared through her, yet the urgency to escape eclipsed it. She couldn't forget the danger following her. She fought against the tears and dizziness to run away as fast as she could. Every step was agonizing and the burning sensation didn't leave.

Despite her efforts, the Duke's supernatural speed prevailed. Capturing her effortlessly, she found herself back in the monster's clutches. Sobbing, she pleaded, "Let me go! I hate you, I hate—" Her words were cut short as he yanked her hair with a brutal grip.

Angry and bloodstained, he presented a menacing figure. Red eyes and sharp canines accentuated his fury. "You foolish girl," he spat out the words with venom, the hatred dripping from each syllable.

With a cruel and relentless grip, he seized (Y/n) by the hair, the strands entwining around his bloodstained fingers. Her desperate screeches and uncontrollable sobs echoed through the night. As they arrived at the nunnery, he released his vice-like grip on (Y/n), who crumpled to the cold ground like a broken puppet. Her body convulsed with sobs.

"Look at it !" He ordered, his wrath clear to see. His command cut through the chaos, compelling her to witness the gruesome aftermath — a massacre.

It was a carnage. In front of her, there was nothing but death, the bodies of the nuns scattered around. The nuns lay dead, most decapitated, their kindness repaid with brutality.

Red.

She only saw red. Everything was red. Her own hands were red. Red from the blood of these kind people that had let her stay with them.

"This," he said with scorn, "is mortality. A disease. An uncontrollable fate that comes to all humans. A parasite that has followed humanity for far longer than any of us could comprehend. Death comes for all. All except us. Do you now understand why I want to turn you ?"

He leaned down to her level, cupping her face in his hand softly, a stark difference to the strong grip he previously held on her hair. His eyes, bright red, and looking intensely at her, seemed to pierce through her entire being. "I want you to become something greater. Something far more powerful. Something Eternal."

She sobbed uncontrollably, because there was nothing else she could do. She was helpless next to this being, overwhelmed by the carnage before her. At her reaction, his eyes grew colder and he stood up. "We are going home," he ordered after some time. She offered no response, and he simply carried her, the pain of her broken leg hadn't subsided either.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lips during the entire journey, feeling an intense need to erase these images out of her mind.

With the vampire's speed, they arrived rapidly, the journey being a rapid blur of emotions and feelings. And once he quietly brought her to her room, once she was put in bed with care, once she thought everything was over, the vampire's fangs sunk deep into (Y/n)'s neck.

A scream echoed in her throat as two burning rods pierced her. Venom surged through her veins, scorching and annihilating everything in its path. As it reached her heart, her consciousness desperately attempted to cling to awareness amidst the excruciating pain. The room blurred, voices entered, and her eyes snapped shut. Darkness enveloped her, a cruel embrace as the transformation took hold.

☾

Killian's miscalculation unfolded like a haunting prophecy. In underestimating Dorian, he had unwittingly paved the way for a relentless pursuit. Dorian, fueled by an unyielding determination, had seemingly uncovered the whispers of a girl surviving a vampire assault, finding refuge under the protective wings of a nunnery.

As Killian roamed the shadows with his heightened senses, the cry of pain reached his ears, emanating from the girl's room. The realization struck him like a cold gust, sending shivers down his spine.

She had been turned.

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It was mentioned in the last chapter that word of mouth had already been traveling about her situation, wasn't it ? Dorian doesn't like gossiping, but he's willing to listen to any rumor to find her. ;)