The Vampire's Harvest

18

You pull the cord from around your waist, as you race forward. With the ends of the rope wrapped firmly around each of your hands, you fling the length of cord over his head and then snag it against his throat. You then cross the rope and pull tight so that it cinches around his neck. He hisses and claws at his throat. You certainly can't strangle a vampire and it will only take him moments to tear the rope from his neck, but, of course, your goal wasn't to kill him.

You feel his grip on the rope and you release your ends before so you don't get caught up in his quick motion of flinging the cord to a random corner of the battlefield. He then turns toward you and flashes his fangs, reminding you how easily he could tear your throat out. However, though the vampires could crush you in a blink of an eyes with their strength, the werewolves are still superior in that particular category. Which is why it only takes a moment for the alpha to crush the distracted vampire's head in his jaws.

You turn to avoid the shower of blood. When you hear the body hit the floor, you look back just long enough to make sure the alpha is indeed all right. When you do, he catches your eye and holds it for only a second before darting off and tackling another vampire to the ground.

You find air returning to your lungs, your eyes bulging as you come to terms with what just happened. With a shake, you free your muscles of their tension and urge them to send you flying back to the outskirts of the battle, where Ferris and the coven draw close to the end of the spell.

You wonder if you should join in or if jumping into the circle would cause more harm than good. However, you don't have a chance to decide. Instead you find Gianette sprawled out on the street, blood pooling around her body.

"Gianette!" you cry, falling to your knees beside her. You see that the source of the blood is a cut along her midsection.

"It's okay," she mumbles as some blood bubbles at the corner of her mouth. "That blood sucker didn't manage to bite me before I cut her head off." She turns slightly, looking back towards an alley not far from the coven. There a limp body slowly turns to ash, the years of the vampire's life rushing forward, the aging process progressing in the blink of an eye. Not far from the disintegrating body is a bloody ax that not only took the vampire's life, but may have also been the weapon responsible for ending Gianette's.

"Sister, I..."

Pops of fire burst around you. Screeches of pain fill the night while wolves howl and yip in victory. You look to the coven and find them back in the midst of chanting, preparing a spell to release the vampires' hold on their drones, who will soon be going on a homicidal rampage now that their vampire masters are dead. Which means none of the mages can help you save your sister.

"Gianette, I don't know what to do..." You take hold of her hand, clutching it to your chest, your sight blurring with tears. "Just hold on long enough..."

But her eyes turn from yours and she looks out to the distance. She smiles and raises her arm, stretching it to the sky.

"Thank you," she says behind her tears. Confused, you follow her gaze, only to catch sight of a wide jaw of glistening teeth.

The alpha nips her arm, his fangs digging into her soft flesh and holding tight as his saliva drips from his lips.

Anger, fear, confusion, all boil in your throat, threatening to burst free in a fiery tirade against the heartless alpha. But then you realize that he intends to go no further than the simple bite on her arm. Instead, he releases his grip and her arm falls to her side. The alpha gave her the gift of lycanthropy. She'll live thanks to the werewolf venom now flowing through her veins.

You release her hand as her eyes close and her body tenses with the coming transformation. You know you can do nothing to ease her pain, except to remain by her side as she struggles through it. You then turn to face the alpha, who still hasn't turned back into human. Instead, he watches you, waiting for your eyes to meet before he opens his jaw once again, and holds it that way before you.

There's no threat in the gesture. Instead, an offer awaits, a welcome to his pack. You look to your sister, her skin already sealing up the wounds of the alpha's bite. Too many times today, you've almost lost her. You decide that from now on, you'll always be by her side.

With jaw set and heart pounding, you place an arm into the alpha's open mouth. He bites down and the world around you spins as you join the pack.

Even with the aid of the werewolf blood, it still takes Gianette a week to fully heal. It takes the town even longer.

Though many eventually warm up to Ferris's rebellion, others still desire the life promised by the vampires. Ferris, however, leads the town with the promise of freedom. Those who want to be a vampire are free to leave town and pursue that dream. Everyone else, though, find joy in their humanity. And thanks to you and the pack, who remain at the town, living in the forest that surrounds it, no vampire will ever be able to take that freedom away.

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