20: The Awakening
20: The Awakening
Isabella’s POV
"I can’t control this. I can’t stop it."
The blackness in my eyes should’ve faded.
It didn’t.
I could still feel it—something dark and unfamiliar, crawling beneath my skin.
And for the first time…
I didn’t want it to stop.
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The Fear in His Eyes
Luca stood frozen behind me, still buried inside me, his hands gripping my waist like a lifeline.
His breathing was uneven, but it wasn’t from the rough, possessive way he’d just fucked me.
It was from what he saw.
What I was becoming.
I met his gaze in the window’s reflection, heart hammering in my chest.
"Luca…" My voice trembled, but I didn’t pull away. "What’s happening to me?"
For the first time, he didn’t have a smug answer.
He didn’t tease.
He didn’t smirk.
His lips parted, but no words came out—just a flicker of something colder.
Fear.
\-----------------
The Hunger Deepens--
I tried to breathe through the chaos flooding my veins, but every inhale brought something else.
Luca’s scent.
His blood.
And it called to me like nothing ever had before.
My gaze dropped to his neck—his pulse thudding steadily beneath the surface.
I wanted it.
I wanted to taste him.
To take something deeper than his body.
The craving was ravenous, sharp and aching.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to stop.
"This isn’t me. This isn’t who I am."
But the hunger didn’t care.
And neither did the darkness slithering through me.
\---------------------
Luca’s Losing Control
Luca’s fingers tightened on my waist as he finally pulled out of me, the loss making me tremble—but not from pleasure.
From need.
He turned me around slowly, forcing me to face him, his silver eyes still locked on mine.
"You’re changing," he said quietly.
I shook my head, denying it. "No. You said I was turning into a vampire—this isn’t—"
"This isn’t a normal turning," he snapped, his control fraying.
He pushed me back until I was against the wall, caging me with his body.
"You should want my blood, Isabella," he growled, tilting his head just enough to tempt me.
"But this?" His hand came up, tracing the black veins under my skin.
"This is something else."
\------------------
I gasped as a sharp, searing ache tore through my chest, making my knees buckle.
Luca caught me before I hit the floor, scooping me into his arms as if I weighed nothing.
"Shit," he hissed, his grip possessive, desperate.
My body burned from the inside out, a heat so intense it felt like my blood was boiling.
I clung to him, my nails digging into his shoulders as I tried to anchor myself.
"Luca—it hurts."
His jaw clenched, but beneath the tension, there was something else.
Panic.
"I’ve got you, dolcezza," he murmured. "I’m not letting you go."
\----------------------
Luca carried me back into the bedroom, laying me on the bed as though I might break.
But I was already breaking.
I could feel it.
The sharp pulse in my veins—the power crawling through me, spreading like wildfire.
He knelt beside me, one hand cradling my face, the other pressing against my chest as if he could hold it back.
"What’s happening?" I choked out.
His eyes darkened, flashing silver in the dim light.
"You’re shifting."
"But—" I gasped as another wave of raw heat slammed through me, leaving me trembling. "You said you could stop it—"
His hand tightened against my skin. "I was wrong."
\-------------------
The ache grew sharper, my body burning up, and all I could think about was—
Blood.
Luca’s blood.
I grabbed his wrist before I even realized I’d moved, pulling it to my lips.
His breath caught, but he didn’t stop me.
"I need…" My voice cracked. "Please."
His fangs flashed, and without a word, he sank them into his palm, offering it to me.
The second his blood hit my tongue, the hunger exploded.
I latched onto him, sucking deep, the thick, coppery sweetness flooding my senses—
And for a moment, the pain faded.
But as the warmth spread through my veins, I felt something else rise inside me.
Something that didn’t belong.
And I knew—I was losing the fight.
\----------------------
Luca groaned softly as I drank deeper, his muscles tensing beneath my touch.
But his voice—when it came—was quiet. Too quiet.
"Isabella…"
I forced my eyes open, still dazed. "What?"
His face was pale, lips slightly parted as he stared down at me.
At my hands.
I followed his gaze—
And froze.
My nails…
They had lengthened, black and razor-sharp—claw-like.
And they were dug deep into his skin.
I pulled back with a gasp, blood dripping down my fingers, my heart slamming against my ribs.
"Luca," I whispered, horror curling in my stomach.
His eyes burned into mine, but it wasn’t rage in his expression.
It was dread.
"You’re not turning into a vampire." His voice was rough, filled with something far more dangerous.
"You’re becoming something else."