A Hybrid's Hunger

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Heat.

It creeps inside and consumes me. My eyelids flutter open, only to be met with Zade's face close to mine. His eyes show worry.

The heat grows, like a fire burning within. I feel sweaty and my head spins. It's hard to move. I try to speak, but the words won't come out. My heart beats fast, like a loud drum in my ears and when I hear Zade's, it's normal. So different than mine.

Something washes over and I'm engulfed with heat.

"Zade," I whisper, my throat dry and scratchy. It even hurts to speak.

He brings his hand up to my neck and presses against it. "You're burning up." He says, his voice laced with concern.

Every breath I take feels hot and heavy. "Water," I manage to croak out.

He quickly moves, his arms parting away from me. I press my head against the bed and my vision finally manages to clear. Zade returns moments later with a glass filled with water. I reach out, but my hand trembles, making it hard to grasp. He helps me, holding the glass to my lips. The cold water feels good, but it's just a small relief from the burning heat.

"I feel so hot." I murmur while brushing my hand over my head and hair. Sweat piles up on my forehead and spreads. I feel it all over my body now and it's not just me—it's not heat. It's something else and it feels terrible.

Pain follows the heat. And suddenly, a nauseating wave hits me, and before I can say anything, my stomach churns violently. I lurch forward, feeling an urgent need to reach the bathroom. I barely make it to the sink before blood spills out of my mouth.

Behind me, Zade acts quickly. His hands move to hold my hair back, gathering the strands in a gentle yet firm grip, keeping them clear from the mess as I rinse my mouth.

My throat burns. The metallic taste of blood is overwhelming and when I see it go down the sink, I can't help but gag. What's happening to me?

My breaths race as I lean back.

"It's okay. It's just the blood, it takes some time to heal and sometimes there can be some reactions to it." He tells me, but I doubt he even believes himself. His fingers brush the damp hair from my forehead, trying to soothe me, but the tremble in his touch tells me otherwise.

There's something else.

I look up at him and I know there's something wrong. With me. Tears threaten to spill out of my eyes, but I can't manage to say anything. My throat burns along with the rest of my body.

"It will be fine. You just need some rest." He takes me out of the bathroom and back into the dim-lit room.

Gently, he lays me down on the soft bed. I don't slip under the sheets, I'm already too warm, too hot. I wipe my hand over my mouth and lay down on my back, still breathing heavily. He sits near me, and waits. My eyes barely remain open and most of my limbs grow numb with each passing second.

A part of me knows something is wrong. Vampire blood is healing, it heals one as quickly as it enters the system. The bite on my neck hasn't been healed and I haven't felt any better than yesterday. What if there's something else wrong with me?

"Your blood didn't work on her and it's not going too..." The sound of Zade's whispers force me awake from my sleep.

My eyes snap open and focus on the curtains from where I lie. They're gently swaying in front of the opened window. Fresh and cold air floods into the room and it soothes me until I hear Martha's voice.

"That's not possible. You're worrying too much. She will heal in a few days, you've to give it time." She says to Zade.

They are near the doorway of the bedroom, talking. Their shadows cast long silhouettes on the floor. I strain my ears, attempting to catch more of their hushed conversation. I knew there was something wrong, and Zade wasn't going to tell me.

"But it has been more than a day, Mother, and she still hasn't healed. She's getting worse and you know that too."

"Perhaps I can give her more of my blood and that might help—"

"No, it's not going to help." He cuts her off and says, sounding worried. Why? Why isn't her blood healing me?

"Zade," She takes his name and pauses. "We're not going there again. She will heal with my blood, eventually."

I press my eyes shut as my forehead creases with tension. I try to understand what's happening but there's only so much I can comprehend at once. Is her blood not working on me?

"And if not?"

A silence stretches between them before Martha speaks up again in a hushed whisper. "Offering your own blood is not a solution. It's dangerous. You're risking years of control and you know well what this means for you."

"I'm not risking anything. I just want her to be fine. She has always healed in a matter of hours whenever I gave her my blood before. What if that is the reason why she isn't healing right now? It has been more than a day and she has been in nothing but pain." I hold my breath as he speaks.

"Zade," His mother sighs, not in relief but in worry. "You're walking on the same path as you did all those years ago—"

"I have control, Mother."

"Of course I can see that," she whispers. "But I fear for you."

"I know, I know. But things are different now and you'll see that too yourself." He tries hard to convince her and eventually, she's assured.

I don't fear Zade. Maybe because I don't have any memories of him drinking from me or maybe because there's a part of me that trusts him that he won't hurt me. At least not physically. I've been here, alone, for months and not once he dared to drink from me, even when I offered my blood to him myself.

But thinking about his bloodlust made me realize the control he must've on himself, especially with all that I did with him earlier, from stealing his blood bags to stabbing him so I could escape. Yet, not once he tried to feed on me.

Not once.

"Give her your blood. Heal her," His mother says and I listen onto their conversation further. "But I will have to tell Matilda that she's here. She needs to know and Aurora needs to see her mother too. You cannot keep her here if she's not willingly staying. That is wrong and it's best if she decides where she wants to be on her own. I'll give you a few days more, so she can heal and then I will speak to her mother."

"She'll take her away from me," Zade says. His voice doesn't raises, but his words are filled with a raw pain that makes my heart clench. "You know what she thinks of me."

"It doesn't matters what Matilda thinks. It's not up to her, Zade. It's up to Aurora and she's a grown woman now, she has changed and it's her choice where she wants to be. If its not here, you will have to let her go and if it is, that is great. Whatever happens, I'll be here either way for you."

I try to hear more, but before I can, their voices fade into the hallway. I turn over on the bed and glance up at the ceiling. My heart beats a bit too loudly in my ears.

For the longest, I didn't want to be here and I wished desperately to go back home, but now, I'm not sure anymore. Especially after knowing that half of my past has been scratched off my memories.

Is it here where I truly belong? Or not?

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