Night Of The Hunter

Awake

I jolted upright on the couch, gasping for air. Fire licked through my veins, scorching hot and humming with unnatural energy. My hands flew to my neck, searching for puncture wounds that were no longer there. The blood was gone. My skin was whole.

I sucked in a breath, heart racing like it wanted to escape my chest. I turned to find Aiden watching me from the edge of the armchair, his green eyes narrowed with wary fascination as they flicked down my body, checking for signs of damage. His face was tense, jaw locked tight, as though waiting for me to explode or fall apart again.

"What happened?" I croaked, my voice sandpaper-dry. I pushed sweaty strands of hair out of my face and planted my bare feet onto the hardwood floor.

"You passed out," he said calmly, though his eyes betrayed the storm behind them. "You weren't healing, and you weren't waking up. I... got worried. So I did a blood transfusion."

I stared at him. "What?"

"You were out for almost four hours. I didn't know what else to do. Your skin was ice. You were getting paler by the minute. I gave you my blood."

My stomach dropped.

"No..." I murmured, scrambling to examine my arms. I twisted them in the natural light, expecting veins turned black or unfamiliar marks. Nothing. Just skin. Healthy skin. Too healthy.

I stumbled toward the foyer mirror, nearly tripping over my own feet. I studied my reflection—skin flushed with life, pupils slightly too dilated, cheeks pink like I'd just come in from a winter storm. I looked more alive now than I had all week.

My fingers nervously trembled as I reached up, pulling back my lips. I tilted my head, examining the inside of my mouth. No fangs. No elongated canines hiding behind the gumline. But still, a flicker of paranoia kept me searching—running my tongue over the edges of my teeth, pressing gently, as if something would suddenly extend. Nothing.

"I'm not a vampire," Aiden said behind me, lips quirking as he leaned in the doorway with arms folded. "Just in case you were panicking."

I shot him a glare. "Then why do I feel like this?"

"Welcome to my world. Even more enhanced speed, strength, healing—all courtesy of the new and very expensive cocktail they conjured up. It won't last. A few days, maybe. Depends on how much I gave you. You hungry? I made toast."

I exhaled a shaky breath, the tension slowly draining from my muscles. "I didn't give you permission to make yourself at home."

"Yeah, well, I also didn't give you permission to nearly die on me. So here we are."

I followed him into the kitchen, still dazed. He pulled open a cabinet and grimaced. "You eat like a raccoon in a dumpster. I did what I could. Toast. And... coffee. Kinda."

I ignored the sarcasm and poured myself a glass of water, chugging it until my throat stopped burning. I poured another. "Start explaining."

He took a swig of beer and leaned against the counter. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Let's try with your homicidal doppelgänger."

He groaned. "Technically, he's not a doppelgänger. He's my clone. His name is Xavier. Project X created him."

I frowned, my hand tightening around the glass. "Then why is he a vampire and you aren't?"

"Because they used me as a blueprint," Aiden said, dropping into a chair at the kitchen table. "After I.. died and brought me back... they kept a sample of my DNA. They wanted a soldier who was stronger, faster, and more obedient. So they grew him in a lab. Gave him accelerated aging. When they tried to infuse him with vampiric DNA like they did me, it stuck."