"Cain!"
He kept his eyes forward, focused on unscrewing the nail from the piece of machinery in his hands.
"Cain! Look!"
Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. Cain looked up from his place on the wet ground under the tree to see Jacob swinging from the branches above him.
"You're going to fall again and Mom's going to be mad at you," Cain said, unamused.
The little boy leapt between branches, letting his seven-year-old body cling to a large limb.
"Why do you always care what Mom thinks?"
Cain turned his attention back to the small device, a coffee grinder with a broken hand-crank. His father had given it to him to fix.
"Cain!"
He looked up again to see Jacob staring at him intently from upside down.
"Please climb the tree. Why don't you ever play with me?"
"Playing is for kids," Cain muttered, despite only being eleven years old himself.
"C'mon," Jacob begged. "You never play with me. Just this once?"
"You said that last time."
His gaze returned to his hands as he unscrewed the handle from its hold.
Cain continued to disassemble the hand-crank as Jacob groaned and continued to amuse himself by pestering his older brother.
"If you beat me to the top of the tree, I'll let you be the Alpha."
Cain rolled his eyes.
"I'm already going to be the Alpha."
"That's not what Dad said."
Cain looked up to see his brother smiling smugly.
"Dad said that whenever I get big, he's going to let me be Beta and then he will let me be Alpha whenever I'm ready," Jacob bragged.
"No," Cain said, feeling his bottom lip begin to quiver. "I'm supposed to be Alpha. I'm the oldest."
"You're not like us though. Dad said that only a Lycanthrope can be an Alpha."
"But I'm half Lycanthrope!" Cain argued, standing to his feet.
"Doesn't matter," Jacob teased.
Cain stomped his foot.
"Fine, I'll race you to the top. But if I win, you have to tell Dad that I am going to be Alpha."
Jacob smiled.
"Deal. Ready, set, go!"
"Not fair!" Cain yelled. "You have to start from the bottom!"
He groaned as he watched Jacob begin to scale the tree from where he hung, leaving Cain with about fifteen feet of a disadvantage.
Cain quickly grabbed the lowest branch, having memorized the fastest way to the top of the tree.
He caught up with Jacob in no time, soon leaving the younger brother behind to eat the leaves that fell in his wake.
Cain reached the top several moments before Jacob did, finally reaching out to help pull him up as he tried to catch his breath.
"That's not fair!" Jacob whined. "You have shoes on."
"You didn't say that I couldn't."
Jacob crossed his arms and began to pout.
"I won so you have to tell Dad that I'm going to be Alpha," Cain said.
"No."
Jacob stuck his tongue out at him.
"I won!" Cain cried. "You have to tell Dad."
"You're a cheater," Jacob said, giving Cain a shove.
Cain's nearly lost his balance on the branch he straddled, feeling anger begin to course through him.
"Don't push! I almost fell."
Jacob began to patronize him, shoving him even harder.
Cain grabbed Jacob's hand and yanked him down, forgetting his strength as the bigger and stronger one of the two.
He saw the look of terror on Jacob's face as he lost his balance and flipped over the branch sideways.
Cain yelled as Jacob tumbled back down the tree, hitting seemingly every limb on the way down.
It was like he watched it happen in slow motion.
Cain jumped from his branch to the one beneath him, trying to make his way down the tree as quickly as possible.
When he finally reached the bottom, he saw Jacob's mangled body laying on the wet ground next to his coffee grinder.
Cain jumped from the tree, landing hard next to Jacob.
He stumbled to his knees and crawled over to where his brother lay, unmoving.
"Jacob," he said, his voice quivering.
Receiving no answer, he grabbed his shoulder and turned Jacob's body over to lay on his back.
His eyes were closed and his entire face was covered in mud.
Blood spewed from Jacob's broken nose, something that immediately entranced Cain.
He reached a finger out to touch the flow of warm liquid that trickled down his face and the side of his neck. Cain smeared it across Jacob's skin before pulling his finger back to observe it.
The way the blood felt between his fingers sparked something inside Cain that he had never felt before.
This blood was different than that his mother made him drink with a straw in the mornings with breakfast and at night before he brushed his teeth.
It was still warm.
It still had a scent.
A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach that made Cain feel like he hadn't eaten in months. His throat went dry and his hands began to shake.
In the back of his mind he knew it was wrong, but he couldn't stop himself from bringing his finger to his lips and tasting it.
The moment his brother's blood touched his tongue, Cain's gums began to swell.
He groaned in pain as his teeth grew out of their dormant positions and poked his bottom lip. He felt as though someone was pulling them out with pliers.
He placed a hand to his mouth and cried, wishing it would go away.
Cain felt as though someone was screaming in his ears, they rang so loudly.
He felt tears running down his face as everything went dark.
Still very much awake, he fumbled around on the ground, trying to understand why he couldn't see.
Then he saw the colors on his hands where Jacob's blood had been.
It was glowing. Cain looked to his brother to see that Jacob was covered in the glow, almost like he was radiating it.
Entranced by what he saw, Cain forgot the pain in his mouth and crawled closer to Jacob.
He reached over and touched Jacob's neck, seeing that it was brighter there.
Pulling back his hand, Cain was disappointed to see the glow hadn't rubbed off on him. It was under Jacob's skin.
A thousand thoughts ran through Cain's mind, screaming at him to do things he couldn't fathom.
He raised his hands to his ears, trying to block them out.
Closing his eyes, he begged for them to be quiet.
He needed to go get help.
He had to go get help.
Jacob was hurt.
But the voices were so loud.
In a moment's rush, he decided to do what they asked him to. Maybe then they would be quiet so he could go get help.
He couldn't control himself as he bent down and bit into Jacob's neck. Immediately, the taste of the warm copper blood filled Cain's mouth.
He couldn't get enough.
He felt it dripping down the side of his mouth, but he didn't care.
His hands were covered in his brother's blood, but he didn't care.
He began to feel disappointed when there was nothing else there to drink.
The taste was gone and he wanted more.
He detached himself from Jacob's neck and stared at what it was he had done.
His vision slowly returned as he heard a woman's shriek.
Cain looked up to see his mother several feet away, running towards him.
It was then that he felt immense guilt.
It washed over him with such an impact that he began to cry hysterically.
He stood to his feet and backed away, running into the tree.
"I'm so sorry, Mommy! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"
He shrunk away, pressing himself into the tree.
His mother bent down and knelt beside her youngest son, taking his head in her lap.
Still screaming, Evelyn pressed a hand against Jacob's neck, trying to stop the slow trickle of what little blood was left in his body from leaving him.
Cain looked up and saw his father running towards them, no doubt hearing his mother's cries.
See the scene in front of him, Adam stopped. With his mouth gaping in a mixture of horror and shock, he looked at Cain who was crying with nearly as much volume as his mother.
"I'm so sorry!" He screamed, tears flooding his cheeks. "I won't ever do it again!"
Cain's hands were shaking as his father walked over.
"I swear I won't ever do it again!"
Cain's eyes opened as he was pulled from the vivid memory.
His breathing was jagged and his hands were shaking as he listened to the sound of footsteps echoing up the staircase to his office.
Judging from the sound and scent, Cain knew exactly who it was and the timing couldn't be worse.
Cain remained quiet, hoping maybe he would go away.
The footsteps stopped in the middle of the dark room as it fell completely silent.
"Dr. Zosak told me what happened."
The sound of Adam's voice reverberated inside the dark room, making Cain sigh.
It was silent for a few more moments as Cain neglected to pick up the conversation.
"Cain, I know this is hard-"
"Do you miss him?"
Cain's sudden interruption and bold question meant it was Adam's turn to be responsible for the silence that fell upon the room.
"Of course," he answered finally.
"He would have been better at this than I am," Cain said truthfully. "I wish he was here so I wouldn't have to be."
The room was silent for a few more moments as Cain felt his emotion begin to strangle him. It caught in his chest, making him feel like he was being weighed down by rocks. It wrapped around his throat and he fought to breath.
"I swore I would never again do that to someone I loved. I just... I heard her flatline and-"
He stopped himself.
Adam sighed.
"Because of you, she isn't dead, Cain."
"Is she awake?"
"She will be soon. I was sent to come and get you."
When Cain made no effort to move, Adam walked closer, navigating his way around the dark room with caution.
"Is that what all of this is about?" Adam asked. "Your mother and I don't hold what happened against you, Cain."
"Not consciously. I did kill him, after all."
"A broken neck killed your brother," Adam said firmly.
The room was silent for a few seconds before Cain sighed.
"He didn't deserve it."
"No one deserves to die so young," Adam said. "It would have been equally as devastating if it had been you."
Cain said nothing else as he stood from his chair and walked around his father to the staircase.
"Answer me one question: if Jacob were still alive, would he have been Alpha?"
A few moments went by as Cain waited anxiously for Adam to answer.
"You were the firstborn," Adam said, sighing. "I had no intention of giving the title to anyone other than you."
Cain said nothing else as he walked down the stairs, leaving his father to perseverate in the lie that loomed over the dark office.
He made his way to the infirmary, his heartbeat quickening with every step.
Cain had been trying to avoid the thought of what she would say when she woke up or what she would think but now he would have to face the reality of it.
Walking down the hallway, he saw Dr. Zosak standing outside her door reading from a clipboard.
"Ah," the doctor said, seeing him. "I'm glad you're here. I was just about to wake her."
"How is she?"
"Doing great. Her body is taking the change well. There's actually something I wanted to tell you before I woke her up."
Cain nodded.
"Her white blood cell count is very high, abnormally so. Her organs have yet to deteriorate which leads me to believe that she has much more Lycanthrope in her than the initial tests showed."
Cain's eyebrows knit together as he received the information.
"What are you saying? That being turned somehow woke up that gene in her?"
Dr. Zosak shrugged.
"It's not uncommon that the body would resort to extreme measures to fight off an unknown disease. However, I will say that Vampirism isn't something that she will be able to fight off. The disease itself is too strong. But, I will say that she is adapting to it well, which gives me hope for a good recovery."
Cain nodded.
"But," Dr. Zosak added, "we won't know until we wake her up."
Cain let out a shaky breath as he felt his palms begin to sweat. He followed Dr. Zosak into the examination room to see Ella resting peacefully on the bed.
While she was still attached to a monitor that displayed the rhythm of her heartbeat, all of the initial tubes and wires that had run across her body had been removed.
Cain stood at the foot of the bed as Dr. Zosak pulled a syringe from his jacket pocket. He pulled the cap off of the needle and inserted it into the intravenous line that ran to her arm.
"Is that blood?" Cain asked, eyeing the bag hanging next to her.
Dr. Zosak nodded.
"I figured it was best if she didn't wake up hungry. We drained her completely before we began to give her transfusions. I took her blood and added a few supplements to help fight off any infections and now we're just feeding it back into her. Somewhat experimental, but it seems to be working."
Cain had never considered that maybe an intravenous line would be the best way to introduce blood into her body without making her bite for it.
He was grateful for the doctor because the thought of letting her feed using her teeth hadn't settled well with Cain. Cain needed her to adjust to the idea before she became accustomed to the lifestyle.
"How long do we have until she wakes up?"
"A few minutes," Dr. Zosak answered. "The injection I just gave her will counteract the barbiturate that's been keeping her in a coma, so she'll be waking up soon."
Cain watched her with a wary look and Dr. Zosak sighed.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk," he said, placing a hand on Cain's shoulder. "Let me know if you need me."
With that said, he walked from the room and closed the door behind him.
Cain was thankful the infirmary was underground because that meant there were no windows to cover. He walked over to the light switch and turned it off, sending the room into partial darkness. The only other light came from the monitor beside her, which he covered with a blanket from her bed.
Cain took the seat from beside the cot and placed it at the end of the bed and took a seat as he waited.
- - -
Ella's P.O.V.
I fought hard to wake up.
My body wanted to rest, my eyes wanted to stay closed.
When I finally peeled them open, I couldn't see.
I blinked a few times before I realized it was just a dark room and that I wasn't blind.
There was a faint mechanical glow that came from beside me, allowing some illumination into the room.
I heard the squeaking of shoes that walked in the hallway, outside my door.
I could smell the strong, overpowering scent of disinfectant that lingered in the air.
But something wasn't right.
I felt empty.
I sat up slightly, rubbing my head as I did so.
It was then that I realized I was attached to an I.V.
It occurred to me almost immediately where I was.
Beginning to feel myself start to panic, I pushed back the sheets.
"Easy."
Cain's voice echoed loudly across the room and I immediately placed my hands over my ears.
"You don't have to yell," I told him, grimacing.
"I didn't."
Hearing the whispered tone of voice that he used didn't match the volume that I heard him speak with.
Something isn't right.
"Why am I here?"
Cain didn't answer and I felt my heart drop inside my chest.
"What happened?"
- - -