Rushing to me, he swiftly grabbed my neck and squeezed it as my throat began to feel dry and choked. When I tried to pull his hand from my neck, he grasped on tightly, twisting his fingers.

"M-Max," I screamed with the little air I could breath in. Holding his hand, I started to feel out of breath as each minute passed. As I met his gaze, my eyes flickered in fear. The hungry glare in his eyes made my heart sink gradually.

While trying to grasp on to the air in my lungs, I hit his shoulder to bring him back to his senses. But the more I did, the more he squeezed my neck harder. After coughing repeatedly, my eyes closed in hesitation with my hands beside me.

A sudden rush of energy burst within my body when my hands fell beside me. Unconsciously, my eyes remained firmly closed. A sudden chill forced my eyes open, but I could feel a difference as a weird energy slammed in me, running through my eyes.

Staring possessively at him, my eyes sparked with fire. Within that same time phase, my hair stood upright floating in the air as my left hand moved up, pushing him back with a strong palm technique. I didn't have control over my body anymore. It rather felt as though someone took over my body.

 When I pushed him against his chest, he stumbled back and fell against the wall. This caused a complete blast in the room which threw both of us on to the floor in thuds.

 Everything scattered in the room. The flower vases standing by the window seals fell off and crashed on the floor, breaking apart. Delivering a loud noise, the chairs fell down together with the glass frames hanging over the wall. The cottage shook abruptly just like during an earthquake, before settling at once when my eyes dimmed down.

Everywhere was blurry and messed up due to my sudden reaction. Feeling myself again, my hands fell by me as I felt the rush of energy burst flowing out of my body. As I stood on the floor unconsciously looking around, my eyes lowered.

  I struggled to stand still properly, my body swayed back for a moment before settling still. On the other hand, Max threw his gaze around regaining his consciousness. Looking at the mess in the room, he looked up surprised and disturbed.

What just happened to me? Why couldn't I control my body a few minutes back? Did I cause the complete mess here?

  As my eyes wavered glaring around the messed up room, my feet stumbled back unsettled due to the shock. I moved my hands up slowly towards my face to feel something. But it was different this time. I couldn't feel the energy outburst within me anymore.

My body still felt slightly weak so I tried to balance my stand while breathing heavily. Feeling a bit dizzy, my hands moved up to massage my forehead while my other hand clinged to a fallen table beside me. With this blurry vision, I couldn't find my way around. I stood still trying to open my eyes wide enough to see clearly. But when my eyes fell on a stretched hand directed to me, I looked up quickly.

 As I raised my splitting head to figure out its owner, I found a figure standing beside me. It turned out two and triple for several minutes before I could see clearly. After opening my eyes wide, I saw him vividly standing by me. He looked different from before without the features that scared the wits out of me a few minutes back.

While thinking about the situation, I realized everything. It was clear to me  now. His ability to save me from a vampire, living isolated and his refusal to tell me who he was, all linked now. I was in love with a vampire who felt insecure to tell me the truth.

As I closed my eyes to tear my gaze from him, I tried to walk out. But the moment I attempted, my feet twisted around each other and almost made me fall. But I quickly grasp on to a chair around to avoid falling. I ignored his presence when he tried to talk.

"Are you okay?" Max asked and came  closer to me. But I kept moving back shaking my head repeatedly. Holding my body in place, I yelled and took another step back almost slipping back.

"D-don't, don't come near me!" I huffed walking back as he tried to move closer to talk to me. "I can explain. Please let's talk first," he requested. Shaking my head, I closed my head and scoffed.

I had had enough today learning the true colors of my best friend and now Max too? How many secrets more are awaiting me?

No wonder he knew about the seasonal feed of vampires. Why didn't I think of this? Was that why my wound healed completely the other day? He was hiding from humans, at this point where they needed blood to feed on. Otherwise he'd die if he doesn't drink blood.

I guess he found it difficult to feed on humans. "Don't tell me you took part in killing girls on the streets?" I added furrowing my eye brows in despair.

He rested his fingers on his head and run his fingers in his hair in frustration before shaking his head. "No. It's all Ian and his puppets. I have nothing to do with that."  I moved back thumping on the door at the last moment.

"You're lying! Don't tell me you've been living all these years without taking in blood?!" I protested trying to open the door and step out, but he stopped me before I could run out on him.

I rushed out and banged the door in his face. So my mom knew about them. She always told me stories about vampires, werewolves and humans fighting against each other as bedtime stories.

Whenever I asked if they were real, she would decline or make an excuse to leave. But what would a vampire want from a normal human like my family? How are we connected to him?

"Wait! It's not what you think. Please let me explain," Max alarmed. Unable to go any further because he held my hand, I nodded and turned to him angrily.

"You want to kill me too? How long have you wanted to? You can go on. I'm fed up of this life!" I cajoled before taking a cutter out of my bag. "Here," I requested furiously using the knife to slice my wrist. But I could only make a very little cut because he ripped it off my hand. Throwing it on the floor, I felt a swift pain from my wrist as blood oozed out a little from the cut. Tears found their way from my eyes sliding down my cheeks.

"What did you do?" Max shouted, but he couldn't move an inch. His eyes rolled deepening and his teeth began to sprout out ready to feed on his prey.

He turned back holding his head with his hand shouting repeatedly.  Closing his eyes firmly, he touched his head wincing in pain. After realizing the huge effect it had on him, I started to feel guilty.

"Are you okay?" I asked rushing to  sit by him and check his condition. But when his eyes set in my blood dropping on the floor, he moved away covering his face.

"Max," I muttered trying to move closer to him but he stopped me after I saw his hands raised to put a distance between us.

"Don't come near me!" he yelled still shaking. Standing far from me, he was trying to fight the desire to drink my blood.

After managing to stand up properly for those minutes, my vision became blurred again as minutes passed. Staring at one direction, I still felt really dizzy. I rubbed my eyes with my hands but it was no better. My body felt numb as my eyes kept failing me. "Max," I muttered softly before falling on to the ground, unconscious.

The sun rays burnt my skin. Rolling my head on the bed, a headache made me wake up. I covered my face with my one of my arm to protect my face from the sunlight. Opening my eyes slowly, I stretched to turn off the alarm as usual when I realized I wasn't in my room.

I rested my head on the right and left scanning the room. I wasn't in the woods anymore. I was right in my home and in my bed. When I tried to get up, I felt a sharp pain in my head. "Clara? You're awake!"

  Spotting Janessa with a glass of water, she carefully dropped it on the table and smiled at me. "Take this. The doctor said you fainted from exhaustion. You should be careful next time."

 My wrist was carefully bandaged. When I looked at it, memories of what happened flushed through my mind when I capsized my arm.

Where was he? How did she get me here. I nodded and took the painkillers with a sip of water. "How did I-"

  "-apparently, you called me before collapsing. I found you in the woods alone." Sighing, I guess he left me there after dialing her number.  I placed my feet on the floor to get back on my feet. My hair was a mess, so I tied it to a bun and folded my lips. I trudged, dragging my feet towards the exit.
 
   "Where are you going at this hour?" I grabbed my phone and turned to her with a smile. "Work. Thanks for bringing me home. I have to go now." Widening her eyes, she stared at me blankly after hearing the word, work.

I grabbed a seat by the window in the bus before it took off. As I stared outside, I pursed my lips. What am I going to do about him? I closed my eyes, but hearing a honk, I spring up looking around. I was in front of my workplace.

As I stepped down, I saw a hoodied man walking out of the mall. But when I tried to look at him properly, a mass of people celebrating something gathered around. "Hey! Wait!" I yelled but the man didn't stop. I could only see the name at the back of his hoodie as Thunder.

  Wasn't that the name of one of the puppets of Ian? Sighing, I rushed inside and took my stand. It was quite boring today. After serving some customers, I pulled my bag up, I found the box still in it. Curious, I took the newsletters out and spread it on the table. My eyes were attracted to a pearl necklace in one of the newsletters.

  "What's this?" I asked myself after looking at it for a while. While admiring it, I found one pearl larger than the rest. I suddenly remembered seeing the same necklace on my sister in that picture too.

 This was the first time I'd taken a look at it critically. I also noticed a small switch at the side of the largest pearl. "What does this open?" Biting my lip, I dropped it in my bag and took the newsletter too. But as I was about to drop it in my bag, I saw a familiar information on it.

There were a pile of other newspapers and small books with weird writing in the box. A portrait of mom and dad was at the center of one of the books.

  I glanced at the newsletter which dated sixteen years ago on news of recurring deaths at the Liverpool streets, and fight for power among vampires and humans.

What caught my attention was a couple who died, leaving their son wandering. A picture laid sideways, a young man and woman and a boy with a snow globe.

"Wait.. that boy. I've seen him somewhere!" I thought and began flipping through the pages for more pictures and information on this particular news.

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Who do you think is the boy? She remembers the face. And where is he right now? Why was he taken ?