We made our way to the grocery store, the chill of the early morning air seeping through the car's windows. Ever the cautious one, Erin drove carefully, his eyes occasionally darting to the rearview mirror to check on Jeremy, Jessica, and me. Sitting in the middle, Blake was unusually quiet, her thoughts likely consumed by the strange and newfound hunger that coursed through her veins.

Fresh produce and baked goods wafted through the air as we entered the grocery store, mingling with the metallic tang of blood that Blake, Jeremy, and I craved. We moved in pairs, with Erin and I heading for the meat section, leaving Jessica and Blake to browse for other essentials.

Erin filled our cart with meats, choosing the freshest cuts. He glanced at me, his worry etched on his face. "We need to find a way to manage this," he whispered. "Blake, Jeremy, and you can't go on like this, hunting animals or worse."

I nodded, sharing his concern. "We have to find a solution before they lose control completely. Maybe there's someone who knows more about how to reverse it."

We rejoined Jessica and Blake, who had gathered non-blood-related groceries, attempting to maintain some normalcy. It was a delicate balance between satisfying our cravings and preserving their humanity.

As we approached Jessica and Blake, we could see the faint traces of desperation in their eyes, a hunger that couldn't be satisfied by the groceries we had in our cart. Blake's hands trembled slightly as she reached for a bag of chips, her gaze flickering towards the butcher section.

"We need to talk," Erin said, his voice low and urgent. We moved to a quieter corner of the store, away from prying ears. "We can't keep doing this, wandering around, trying to quench your thirst with regular food."

I agreed. "We have to find someone who can help us reverse this mess before the Deities find us. Maybe there's a way to control or mitigate these cravings."

Jessica interjected, her voice shaky. "I've been doing some research online, but nothing concrete. No one seems to know about this vampire hunger or if there's any way to reverse its effects."

Blake, who had been silent, finally spoke up. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I've been trying to control it, but the hunger is getting stronger."

"Just keep your head low," Erin ordered. "We don't need someone finding out they turned a Wiccan."

We finished shopping, getting enough meat for Blake, Jeremy, and I to maintain some semblance of normalcy. But as we left the grocery store, the weight of our situation hung heavy in the air. We knew that time was running out, and their hunger grew stronger daily. Our quest for answers had become a race against the inevitable, and we were determined not to lose our loved ones to their cravings.

The drive back home was tense, the silence in the car only broken by the occasional sigh or the engine's hum. The sun was now higher in the sky, casting a different shadow over our predicament. We knew we had to take action but were also painfully aware of the risks involved.

Back home, we gathered at the cabin, the groceries unpacked, but the tension was still thick. Erin and I had spent countless hours scouring the internet for any information about this mysterious virus or its effects. Still, our efforts had yielded little more than wild conspiracy theories and sensationalized stories. It seemed like we were on our own in this struggle.

"We can't keep waiting for answers that may never come," I said, breaking the silence over us. "We need to take matters into our own hands and find someone who can help us understand what's happening to Blake, Jeremy, and I."

Erin nodded in agreement. "I've been thinking the same thing. We should start by reaching out to the Wiccan community. They might have encountered something similar or know someone who can guide us."

Jessica chimed in, her voice filled with concern. "But what if they can't help us? What if there's no way to control this hunger except turn them full fledge?"

"We won't know until we try," I replied. "And we can't just sit here and do nothing while we get worse."

Blake, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up, her eyes filled with determination. "I don't want to hurt anyone, especially not the people I care about."

Jeremy nodded in agreement. "Me too."

My stomach growled, hungry for blood. I craved it so much that I felt like my gut and heart would rip from my chest. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor, weak from starvation, but Blake drank the only blood we had left in the fridge, coating her lips, clothes, and fingernails.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Erin screeched.

"I'm starving," I wailed. My fangs yanked at my gums until they visibly plunged into my bottom lip.

"He's weak," Jeremy grumbled.

"Shut up," Jessica growled.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Erin!" The King roared. "Erin, let me in."

"Dad?" Erin yelled back in confusion.

"Let me in, son." My hunch was as good as Erin's. Something felt off, almost unreal.

"That..." Erin hesitated. "That's not my father. Nobody let him in."

"Who the fuck is it, then?" I snapped. It sounded like Erin's father.

"Erin! If you don't let me in right now..."

"It's a Chimaera," Jeremy stated. "They found us."

"Found who?"

"We have to go now." Erin urgently paced to the window. "This is sacred ground. They can't enter without permission."

"Who the fuck let him in?" Jeremy roared.

"Nobody let him in, genius. It's impersonating Erin's dad." Blake snapped at him. There was a knock on the window, and our eyes shifted. "They have the king."

"Adam. Blake," Hannah dropped from the sky, floating at the base of the window, knocking with long, crusted nails, scraping against the windowsill. Unlike how I pictured vampires, my sister was gorgeous, as if she was basking in the sunlight—a vampire goddess with long black hair and bright ruby-red eyes. She licked the blood from her fingertips, staring at me with cold, blood-red eyes.

A moon hung in the sky outside the room. My stomach growled again, and I let out a blood-curdling scream as pain stabbed my gut. "Save yourselves." My voice came out weak. Glass shattered in the distance, and vampires rushed into the room, cornering all five of us in the middle. I collapsed to the floor, curled up in a fetal position, weak, starved, and defeated.

"Hey, Adam. Dad says hi." she cooed, licking her fangs, yet her eyes met mine on the ground. Jessica and Erin stepped in front of me.

"Hey, babe," Jeremy smiled, joining her side, his arm curling around her shoulders.

"Jeremy, you son of a bitch! I knew we couldn't trust a dick like you." Erin snapped. "What did you do with my dad?"

"He's safe, for now," she cooed.

I sat up, finding the strength to pull myself from the floor. "And my dad?" I growled.

"He's like you—a half-undead piece of shit. Mom warned me about turning Dad and you. I should have fucking listened to her."

"Mom's alive?" I watched her crimson eyes meet Erin's golden eyes.

"Yeah, and she can't wait for you to join us."

"I'll never join you," I growled at her.

Blake mumbled under her breath, "Committatur ignem gehennae aeternum perire non amplius in aeternum perire lamia sanguine. Committatur ignem gehennae aeternum perire nonamplius in aeternum perire lamia sanguine—" She chanted repeatedly but fell to the floor, whimpering in pain. (English: Be committed to the flames of hell, but perish eternally can not forever ruin the more bloodthirsty vampire)

"Your curses do nothing but hurt you, Blake. You're just as weak as Adam and just as hungry. The vampire's curse has damaged your soul. You know what you must do to stop it," Hannah said with a proud grin.

"Adam," Blake called my name, quivering in fear.

A deep howl escaped Erin and Jessica, and their bones cracked and crunched as his body morphed into the beast he was shifting in front of her. A group of vampires seized Blake, their arms coiling around hers, and no matter how hard Erin and Jessica fought to stop them, punching, kicking, tooth and nail. Erin's fangs clamped down on Jeremy's lower thigh, but Jeremy flung him across the room with supernatural strength. They had me, too. They ambushed us, forced under my sister's power.