Eclipsed Bloodlines: Tales of Shadow and betrayal

Chapter 13

LILA

I hesitated at the threshold of the hospital room, my hand trembling as I gripped the door frame. The sense of foreboding that had haunted me since I received the urgent call about my brother, Mike, seemed to intensify as I stepped over the threshold.

My eyes fell upon the figure lying on the hospital bed, and a gasp of horror escaped my lips. Mike, my brother, was no longer the same person I once knew. His transformation was beyond comprehension, beyond the realm of possibility.

His eyes, once a warm hazel, now glowed with a malevolent yellow hue that sent a shiver down my spine. His mouth, now lined with sharp fangs, seemed to twist into a grim smile as he caught sight of me entering the room. The scars that marred his face told a tale of unimaginable pain and suffering.

The doctor, a solemn figure in the corner of the room, met my gaze with a mix of pity and regret. His words, as he explained the drastic measures taken to save Mike's life, swirled around me like a storm of despair, threatening to drown me in its depths.

"Lila," the doctor's voice was a somber echo in the room, "I'm sorry, but to keep Mike alive, we had to make some... drastic changes."

A surge of fear, so potent it was almost physical, coursed through me, paralyzing me in place. The reality of what had been done to my brother, the sight of him transformed into a creature that belonged in nightmares, was too much to bear.

As I forced myself to move closer to the bed, the fear that clawed at my insides threatened to overwhelm me. Mike's gaze, once full of warmth and familiarity, now held a predatory gleam that sent a chill down my spine.

"I'm here, Mike," I managed to whisper, my voice barely audible above the pounding of my own heart. "I'll try to be here for you."

But as his gaze locked onto mine, a silent plea for understanding and reassurance, I felt a wave of unbridled fear wash over me. The abyss of uncertainty that yawned before me seemed bottomless, a void from which there was no escape.

The fear that gripped me, rendering me immobile, only intensified as I realized that the bond between us had been irrevocably altered. The terror that pulsed through my veins, mingling with the remnants of love and hope, threatened to consume me whole.

In that moment, as I stood by Mike's bedside, grappling with the enormity of his transformation and the fear that clung to me like a second skin, I knew that I could not stay. The terror that permeated the air, the feeling of being a stranger in my own brother's presence, was too much to bear.

"I can't." I whispered. I was being selfish I knew that. I wasn't scared for him, but for me.

With a trembling hand, I backed away from the bed, my gaze fixed on Mike's altered form. The fear that coiled within me, a beast waiting to pounce, propelled me towards the door. As I fled the room, my heart heavy with terror and uncertainty, the realization dawned on me that this was only the beginning of a nightmare beyond my wildest imagination.

MIKE

 Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would not only date a werewolf but would transform into one myself. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and moss as Lila's eyes bored into mine, her expression a mix of sorrow and resignation. "I can't," she whispered before turning and disappearing into the shadows of the forest, leaving me alone with the weight of my newfound reality.

My heart ached with a pain I had never known as I tried to come to terms with the enormity of what had just happened. I felt a surge of emotions, my mind swirling with confusion and fear. I shifted in my hospital bed, the very essence of my being in turmoil as I grappled with the realization that nothing, not a single aspect of my life, felt familiar or right anymore. It was as if I had been thrust into a world that existed parallel to the one I had always known, a world where the rules were different, and the consequences more dire.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in my mind, a voice that wasn't mine. "Oh dear," it whispered, causing a shiver to run down my spine. Who was speaking? Was it me, or was it the beast that lurked within, waiting to be unleashed? The lines between human and werewolf blurred, the boundaries between reality and nightmare fading into obscurity.

A sharp pain pierced through my skull, causing me to cry out in agony as my hands flew to my temples. "Ouch!" I groaned, feeling as if my very essence was being torn asunder. My mother burst into the room, her eyes wide with concern as she rushed to my side. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice trembling with worry.

I tried to shrug off the pain, to push back the darkness that threatened to consume me. "Nothing," I forced out through gritted teeth, but even as I spoke, I knew it was a lie. I stole a glance at my mother, and in that fleeting moment, I saw the fear and shock etched onto her face, a stark reflection of the monster I had become.

As I lowered my head, a sense of dread settled over me like a heavy cloak. She noticed this and lifted my face. She smiled. "My boy." I looked into her eyes. She was pretending not to be scared. She still was. I locked eyes with her. Her gaze wavered. "Don't lie to yourself." I whispered to her. "I'm not what you think I am."