his lips were crimson [vampire]

seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHRISTIAN SAT IN THE CORNER OF DENALI'S ROOM, eyeing her as she took a drink of her water slowly. She was watching him cautiously, afraid he'd make another move on her. She looked over at the clock, ignoring the awkward silence that filled the room up. Inviting a murderer into her apartment was not her intention.

She felt stupid for ever investing herself into John Doe's case and for hoping he'd wake up. If she knew him waking up would be like this, she would've never pressed to find answers on who he was; she would have never inserted herself into his life the way she did. She wondered if Gianna knew of his endeavors, and if she did, why she chose to be his friend.

She took another swig of her water awkwardly—unable to get comfortable in her seat. She couldn't shake the fear that embraced her with open arms. She was afraid he'd attack her again and even more afraid she wouldn't be able to tell the authorities about the event that occurred right before her eyes.

He gave her an apologetic look, and although Christian was consumed with regret and guilt, he just couldn't find a way to rid the silence in the air. He wanted to help her and heal her from the pain he caused, but without a witch's spell it was impossible.

Denali's neck was already starting to bruise and there wasn't enough make up in the world able to cover it up. Her legs were scabbed from when he dropped her on the hard concrete, and between the two of them, they probably had enough of the woman's blood on their clothes to feed another vampire.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, throwing her an uncomfortable frown, hoping it expressed his guilt enough that she'd understand that it was an accident, especially one he didn't mean.

Denali sat there, not saying a word. Her hold on the glass tightened as she took another drink out of it. She felt like she couldn't breathe, her heart was heavy and her throat swollen. Sitting in front of a murderer scared her more than anything, but she knew deep down that Christian didn't want to harm her. If he had, she'd be dead by now.

In all honesty, she wasn't even aware of how she felt. The only thing she could do to keep herself together was drink her water in silence. She knew that if she opened her mouth to say something, she'd end up screaming or crying or maybe even laughing out of fear.

She regretted bringing Christian into her house, but she didn't know where else to bring him. Their options were limited and she didn't want to be caught by the police because she feared what he'd do to them.

"Hey," Christian's eyes were a lighter color than before, the darkness escaped him as soon as he fed and regained his strength. His humanity had returned, and all the guilt along with it.

Denali turned away from him, her eyes had lingered long enough. She inched towards the night stand next to her and grabbed the remote delicately. She feared any fast moves would end her life, so she had to move at a pace that wouldn't scare the monster in front of her.

Turning on the T.V., she changed the channel to their local news, locking her eyes onto the frame. If she looked at Christian, she knew she wouldn't be able to contain herself any longer. The T.V. screen flashed, a man was standing in front of the building she'd just left, describing the crime scene behind him.

Denali turned the volume up slightly as the newscaster froze in his place. At the bottom of the screen it read WOMAN MAULED FOUR BLOCKS FROM LAKE VIEW HOSPITAL.

"The scene is terrifying," the man's voice croaked, glancing back behind him to see the disarray. As he turned back to look at the audience, the color from his face disappeared and his jaw trembled in fear. "A woman was found dismembered in an alleyway just off of Kennedy Street East. According to authorities, the event occurred just under an hour ago," he gulped loudly, his bottom lip started to bounce off his top one. "She has yet to be identified. The bear may still be on the loose." The man's fingers clenched around the microphone, squeezing it tighter, anyone watching could tell that he wanted to leave the scene as fast as possible. "So if anyone—,"