She was running.
The forest stretched endlessly around her, shadows chasing her like dark specters.
Her boots pounded against the earth, leaves and twigs crunching underfoot. She couldn't stop. Couldn't think.
Her chest heaved, and yet her body was alive, too alive.
Every nerve felt supercharged, her senses sharper than they'd ever been.
Her vision cut through the night like a blade, and the scents of moss, smoke, and distant alcohol clung to her nose.
Where was this energy coming from?
She was starving. Not just hungry, starving. It was a need that clawed at her insides, raw and primal, but she didn't understand it.
Her mind was clouded, her thoughts hazy, and yet her body surged forward, unstoppable.
Somehow, she broke through the tree line.
The music hit her like a wave, the bass thumping in her chest. She blinked, disoriented.
How had she made it back to Bryan's party? The explosion should have left her miles away, but here she was.
Except she wasn't her. Not anymore.
The sweater clung to her like an unwanted second skin, suffocating.
She yanked it off, tossing it to the ground, left in only her bra and jeans.
The cool night air brushed against her bare shoulders, but the fire burning inside her didn't care.
She stepped into the crowd, her boots crunching on stray beer cans.
Heads turned, eyes following her as if drawn by a magnetic pull.
"Hey, hottie," someone called, the words laced with drunken boldness.
"Blondie!" another voice chimed, followed by wolf whistles slicing through the air.
They were high on something. Maybe adrenaline. Maybe alcohol. Maybe drugs.
And so was she.
Because without thinking, she climbed onto the nearest table.
The crowd erupted into cheers as she stood above them, a goddess commanding their attention.
She swayed her hips to the pulsing rhythm of the music, her hands running up and down her body in slow, tantalizing strokes.
Her fingers traced her bare stomach, sliding over the curve of her hips, and her head tilted back, eyes closing as if she was lost in the sensation.
The cheers grew louder, the crowd feeding off her energy.
A grin spread across her face.
She grabbed a bottle of something, she didn't care what and poured it down her throat, the liquid burning as it slid down. Another bottle followed. And another.
The heat in her veins grew hotter, more urgent.
She jumped off the table with effortless grace, landing in front of a guy who was too stunned to move.
She grabbed his shirt, pulling him close, and crushed her lips to his in a searing kiss.
He froze for a moment, surprised, but then melted into her, his hands finding her waist.
She didn't care who he was, what his name was. The hunger inside her was all-consuming, and he was just fuel for the fire.
She grabbed his belt, tugging him along through the crowd.
Her movements were fluid, confident, primal. The world around her blurred into a haze of heat and noise.
They reached the pool, the water shimmering under the glow of string lights. Without hesitation, she pushed them both in.
The cold water hit her like a slap, but it didn't matter.
She was still kissing him, her hands tangled in his hair as their bodies pressed together beneath the surface.
And then, something shifted.
Her nails dug into his scalp, harder than they should have.
His lips stilled against hers as her grip tightened. Her mouth moved to his jaw, his neck, her teeth grazing his skin.
She didn't stop.
Raw panic flashed in his eyes, but it was too late.
In one swift motion, her fingers tore into his scalp, and his muffled scream bubbled through the water.
The soft tantalizing brain in palm she swallowed it in one gulp.
Her lips, now stained with blood, pulled back into a twisted grin as she devoured what she'd taken from him.
The crowd's cheers echoed faintly in the distance, oblivious to the horror unfolding beneath the surface.
The hunger inside her quieted, if only slightly, as the taste of him spread through her.
Her body trembled, not from fear, but from satisfaction.
She surfaced, gasping for air, her chest heaving. The crowd cheered again, thinking it was all part of the show.
But Rexan knew better.
Something dark had awakened inside her. Something that would not, could not, be contained.