Chapter 179: Vampire Luna

"No! No, you can't leave me locked up in here alone!" I shrieked, my hands gripping the cold metal bars so tightly my knuckles turned ghostly white.

Panic seized my chest, making it impossible to catch my breath as I stared back and forth between them. "I can't stay alone in a dark room like this! Please... don't worry, I can control myself! I swear I will try harder! I can discipline my mind on my own, but I can't stay locked in here with that revolting pile of trash! I feel like throwing up just by looking at it!" I gestured wildly with my trembling hand toward the steaming plate resting on the small wooden table.

The Butcher didn't show a single drop of pity. His heavy jaw remained set as he stared straight into my frantic eyes. "You are going to sit in there, eat that food, and force your body to get used to it. This is exactly what your mother would have wanted for you, girl. You have to try."

Tears of pure frustration burst from my eyes, and I pressed my face against the hard bars, my voice cracking into a desperate plea. "I can't try! I can't even stand to look at that plate for another second! Please, I am begging you... give me another test! I will do literally anything else you ask of me, but not this! If I am trapped in a confined space for a long time, I am going to lose my mind completely! I will go insane in here!"

The old man simply turned his back on me, placing a hand on Ava's shoulder to guide her down the dark corridor.

A sudden wave of burning rage erupted in my chest, completely overpowering my fear. "Fuck you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

He paused for a brief second, glancing back over his shoulder alongside Ava, but he kept his arm around her.

"Who on earth do you think you are?!" I roared, thrashing against the heavy iron frame until the door rattled violently. "You are not my father! You are not my mother! You don't know a single damn thing about me! You've only known me for a few hours, and you honestly think you have the right to lock me up and fix me however you want?!"

I slammed my fist against the metal, my dark eyes flashing toward my best friend. "Fuck you, old man! And Ava!" I yelled, my voice ringing down the quiet hallway. "Don't listen to a word this crazy bastard tells you! He doesn't know you, but I know you, Ava! Remember everything we've been through together! We can find a way out of this nightmare on our own!"

The Butcher turned around fully, a calm, faint smirk spreading across his weathered face as he looked at my unhinged state. "You came to my doorstep begging for my help, girl... and helping you is precisely what I am going to do."

"Let me out!" I screeched, grabbing the iron door with both hands and shaking it with every ounce of my supernatural strength. The heavy frame groaned, but the lock didn't budge a single millimeter. "Ava, let me out right now! Open this door! Don't trust a single word coming out of his mouth!"

Ava stood her ground, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, but her expression remained resolute. "I am so sorry, Luna Amanda..." she choked out, her voice trembling with emotion. "I know this isn't the real you talking right now. It's the dark hunger taking over your mind. He warned me this exact thing would happen... he told me this whole process is like a painful therapy, and that you would say or do anything just to trick me into opening this door."

"He doesn't know anything about me!" I screamed back, my voice breaking. "He's lying to you!"

Ignoring my frantic shouts, the old man took Ava by the elbow, and the two of them turned around, walking slowly down the dimly lit hallway away from my cage.

"Ava! Ava, don't leave me! Ava!" I screamed, watching them retreat into the shadows.

Blinded by pure, uncontrollable fury, I whirled around, grabbed the heavy plate of spaghetti off the table, and wound my arm back. Using every bit of strength in my body, I hurled the entire plate straight through the wide gaps between the iron bars.

SPLAAT!

The heavy ceramic plate zoomed through the air and struck the old hunter squarely in the middle of his back. The warm spaghetti plastered across his dark shirt, dripping sauce and food down his tunic before the shattered plate clattered onto the wo

oden floorboards.