The Vampire's Harvest

135

Without hesitation, you reach into your pocket for the shaker and uncap it as you pull it out. In one swift movement, you send the entirety of the glass container straight into the vampire's face. A cloud of pepper coats Ell's eyes and blankets their throat and tongue, which were exposed to your attack thanks to their eagerness to sink their fangs into your skin.

Ell roars with displeasure as they recoil from your attack. They busy themselves with deep, heaving coughs, while their fingers claw at their burning eyes.

Your quick thinking keeps you safe from Ell's first attack, but you know a vamp is still a vamp. Even on a good day, you're helpless against a near invincible immortal. You try to pick yourself up and ready your stance for another assault, but it doesn't gain you much. Whether you're standing or not, one of your arms still hangs limp at your side and your single weapon against the vamp has just been exhausted.

The angry vamp recoups as you struggle to come to terms with what's about to happen. However, just as they prepare to launch themselves forward, a cold panic freezes them in place and not even a second later, you can feel what has stopped them in their tracks.

Your blood is boiling beneath your skin. Your muscles are straining and releasing in quick succession which matches the your rapidly beating heart. Your breath heaves as your body reacts beyond your control, contorting and mutating without mercy.

You scream as your spine lurches and grows, but after what seems like an eternity of agony, you suddenly feel peace. And you brim with confidence and power, though you can't say just why. Maybe it has to do with the shear look of fear on Ell's face.

"Welcome Micah," says a voice that neither of your ears hear, but still rings clear in your mind. Had that voice not belonged to your sister, you may have chalked it all up to a mental breakdown. "Do not fear, I'm here to help you with your first kill."

Still, the voice comes to you from something beyond the physical force of sound. Something that resonates on a different level. After the initial shock, you find yourself coming to terms with a myriad of new sensations at an amazing speed. Inside you is a warm light that wasn't there before. Whenever fear or doubt seeps in, it's burned away by a fire fed from not just your soul but those of your brethren. You look to see Gianette standing beside you, eye to eye, and you know now she isn't your only sister. Now all the wolves are your siblings. You know without being told that you've become a werewolf, which must be thanks to the bite on your arm. A bite now healed with the power granted to lycans.

"Shall we?" asks your sister, gesturing her head towards the now fleeing Ell. You answer with a snarl of agreement and the two of you chase down the vamp and tear them to pieces before they have a chance to escape.

With your help, the wolves win the night. The pack doesn't remain to see just how the slaughter affects the town. They only initiated the attack because the vamps are you natural enemies and they suspect the town will not be accommodating to them given the wolves have just destroyed everything the town has ever known.

Still, you and Gianette manage to convince the alpha that it is worth keeping the pack in the woods surrounding the town. With the vamps decimated, the outskirts of the village could provide a good home for the pack so long as the town welcomes them. The alpha agrees, though it takes a few years for the villagers to warm up to the new life and accept what the wolves did that night. Thankfully Ferris takes charge and makes the transition easier. Soon you and the town are living and harmony, and with your sister and your new wolf brethren, you make sure that way of life remains safe and never tainted by vampiric interests again.

***

Congratulations, you found the successful ending for this branch of the story! Why not go back and see what happens if you don't fend off Ell...