Cain's eyes snapped open, and for a second, he didn't know where he was. His body was tense, every muscle coiled tight, like he had been running for miles. He could still hear his heartbeat in his ears, but it wasn't his heartbeat. It was someone else's.
It was a thudding, desperate rhythm.
He shot up from the bed, his heart racing in sync with the sound. He could feel it, feel the pulse of blood running beneath soft skin. Too close. Too fast.
"Cain?" Elias's voice broke through the haze of hunger, rough and tired, but there was something else in it now — fear. "Cain, stop."
But Cain couldn't stop. Not yet. The hunger was burning him alive, clawing at his insides, demanding to be fed.
He stood, hands shaking as he gripped the edge of the table. The scent of blood — fresh, hot blood — filled the air, and it was all he could focus on. All he could think about.
"Cain!" Elias grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Not this time. Not again."
Cain snapped his head toward him, his eyes darker than they should be, sharp like a predator's. His breathing came in shallow gasps, barely controlled. He had to fight it. He had to.
The hunger was always there, waiting. But tonight, it was worse. It had been getting worse.
Elias's grip tightened on his arm, his voice a low growl. "You've got to control it. You promised, Cain. You promised we wouldn't be like them."
The words hit Cain like a physical blow, but they didn't stop the craving. Nothing could. His teeth were aching, and every inch of his body screamed to feed, to end the gnawing emptiness in his chest.
He closed his eyes, trying to pull the darkness back inside. To keep it contained.
Riven stirred on the bed behind them, but Cain didn't have the strength to look at him. Riven had been quiet the last few days. Too quiet. Like he was holding something back.
"Cain, listen to me," Elias's voice was calm, soothing now, though there was an edge of desperation in it. "You're not alone in this. We're here. You're not alone."
Cain's hands clenched into fists as he fought the urge to push Elias away. He didn't want their pity. He didn't want anyone's sympathy. But it was hard to keep the walls up when Elias was staring at him with that look in his eyes — like he was trying to reach into the parts of Cain no one else could see.
"I'm not one of them," Cain growled, though the words tasted bitter in his mouth.
Elias took a step closer, lowering his voice. "I know you're not. But we're running out of time."
Cain's head shot up, eyes flicking toward the window. Something had changed in the air. Something was wrong.
"We need to go. Now," he said, his voice low but urgent.
Elias frowned, but he didn't question it. He knew better. When Cain said something was wrong, it was.
The tension in the room was thick, suffocating. Cain felt it pressing in on him, dragging him toward the edge. There was a storm coming, something darker than anything they had faced before. He could feel it in his bones.
Before Elias could respond, the door to the motel room was kicked open.
Cain didn't even have time to react. The shadows at the door were the only warning they got — and then they were there. Vampires.
A man with slick black hair and a cold, predatory smile stepped into the room, followed by two others, both younger but no less dangerous.
The man's eyes locked onto Cain, and for the briefest moment, Cain felt a flash of recognition. But it was gone too fast for him to place.
"Well, well…" the man said, voice low and dangerous. "Look what we have here. Sons of a devil." He stepped into the room, his shoes clicking on the cracked tiles. "Did you really think you could run forever?"
Elias moved to step in front of Cain, but Cain held up a hand. His mind was clear for a split second — enough to know they were in deep trouble.
"Leave us alone," Cain growled, teeth flashing. The hunger was still there, but he was holding it down. He was fighting.
The man laughed, and the sound chilled Cain to the bone. "You're not in charge here, kid. You never were."
The vampires moved forward, surrounding them. Cain could hear the rapid beat of their hearts, and all he wanted was to rip their throats open.
But this wasn't a fight he could win. Not like this.
"We should go," Elias said, but there was no room for doubt in his voice.
Riven stood up slowly from the bed, his hands raised. "We're not looking for a fight," he said, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as the vampires.
The man smiled again, this time slower, more sinister. "Too late for that."
Cain's mind raced. There had to be a way out. There had to be. But all he could feel was the hunger, clawing at him, telling him to feed.
Then, something inside him snapped.
With a speed he didn't know he had, Cain lunged forward. It wasn't controlled, wasn't thought out. His body was moving on instinct, pushing him toward the nearest vampire.
But just as his fangs were about to sink into flesh, Elias grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
"Cain, no!" Elias hissed.
Cain's head was spinning. The hunger was too strong.
But then something shifted. A different kind of anger flooded his veins — not the kind that wanted to tear apart the people in front of him, but the kind that wanted to destroy everything that had ever hunted them.
The vampire who'd spoken before raised an eyebrow. "You think you're special, don't you?"
Cain didn't know how to answer that. But for the first time in a long while, he felt the desire to fight for something more than just survival.
Riven's voice cut through the silence. "Get out of our way."
The vampires laughed. But they didn't move.
Cain had no idea what would happen next. But he knew one thing: the game was about to change.
And for the first time in years, he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.