The Gift

"I want to go home," Jade said, backing up until she hit the desk. "Vera, please. I’m sober now. I take it back."

Vera shook her head slowly. Blood dripped from her chin onto her chest. "You can't take back a pact, Jade. The industry... it made you weak. Domesticated. If I send you back now, you'll die. You'll overdose or jump off a balcony within a year."

Vera stepped closer. The heat radiating off her was intense, like an open oven door.

"I love you too much to let you be human," Vera whispered.

"No," Jade whimpered, raising a crutch as a weapon.

Vera caught the crutch and snapped it in half like a twig. She tossed the pieces aside.

"It will hurt," Vera said, her voice tender. "The first fever burns the humanity out of the blood. It breaks the bones to reshape them. But when you wake up... you will never be afraid again."

Vera lunged.

She didn't strike Jade. She embraced her.

Jade screamed, thrashing against the wet, bloody skin of her captor. But Vera was immovable. She wrapped her arms around Jade, holding her tight, pinning her against the monitors.

Vera buried her face in Jade’s neck. She inhaled deeply, savoring the scent.

Then, she bit down.

It wasn't a nip. Vera’s jaw unhinged, and her teeth sank deep into the trapezius muscle of Jade’s shoulder.

Jade felt the crunch of bone. But worse than the pain was the heat. Liquid fire poured into her veins. It felt like acid, racing toward her heart.

Vera pulled back. Her mouth was stained with Jade’s blood. She looked at Jade with a terrifying, maternal pride.

"Welcome to the pack," Vera whispered.

Jade’s legs gave out. She collapsed onto the dirt floor of the den. The world tilted sideways. The lights on the security monitors blurred into streaks of neon.

The fire spread. Her skin felt too tight. Her heart hammered against her ribs—*thump-thump-thump*—faster and faster, until it sounded like a hummingbird's wings.

"Shhh," Vera cooed, stroking Jade’s hair as Jade began to convulse. "Let it happen. Let the girl die."

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