I open up the door reluctantly and stare at a girl. She’s weaving to each side, barely able to keep herself standing up. Her hair is disheveled, with dirt and dried blood covering her from head to toe. I stand with the door open and my mouth equally wide open. I literally have no idea what to do. She clutches her arms around her stomach and wearily looks at me.
“Jesus, what happened,” I’m in shock and gather my own shit together. I immediately go into auto pilot and grab the girl to come inside.
There are no houses, no neighbors, no nothing for miles around.
My house sits in the woods, not far from the beach. It’s not tourist season anymore so I can’t even fathom who this girl is but most importantly, how the fuck she even got here.
I bring her into the kitchen and sit her down at the island. She doesn’t say a word, she just drags herself behind me.
“What’s your name?” I ask her softly. She looks to be in her mid twenties, her clothes are a little out of season, it’s a bit chilly for what she’s wearing. I grab a blanket off the couch and put it over her shoulders. She still doesn’t respond, which doesn’t really surprise me. I look outside and realize nighttime is coming and the chances of me getting her any help is slowly dwindling right now. There’s really no police in the off season and they’re not going to be able to get the motivation to come here after dark.
I let out a sigh and pick up my phone. I’m not going to lie, she’s starting to creep me out a little bit.
I unlock my phone and her hand reaches to touch my arm. “No please.” She quietly whispers. I stop immediately and try to process what she just said. “I have to call for you. If you tell me what happened I can help you more.” Still, she doesn’t answer and sits in the chair with her head hanging low. “What’s your name?” I ask her again. Her chest starts to heave up and down and she starts to cry. I grab the blanket tighter around her and hold her just for a second.
Her body is on fire, almost like she has a fever.
I let go of the hug and pull her face up to meet mine. Her eyes are clouded over and she can barely keep them open. I press my hand to her forehead and wonder if she’s sick.
“My name is Reagan.” She whispers through her dry, cracked lips. “What happened Reagan?” Is all I could slowly breathe out. She tilts her head slightly up to look at me, “what’s your name?” “Faelan.” I get up to make us some coffee. It’s getting much darker.
She follows me with her eyes as I move around the kitchen.
“Your Irish?”
“My mother was. Reagan, I have to ask. I really want to help you but I need something to go on here.”
She takes the coffee mugs slowly in her dirty hands. As I drink mine I notice she doesn’t. She stares into the steaming hot cup. “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it.” I scoff and roll my eyes. That’s typical. Tears start to fall down her face. I walk over and sit next to her.
“It wasn’t your fault. Don’t make excuses please. They get away with it all the time. They’re fucking pieces of shit sometimes.” “I wanted to. He told me no, absolutely not but I kept pushing him.” She sits upright and looks me in my eyes.
“I don’t understand. So he beat you instead? You still need help. Let me help you. You look like you need medical-“
She stands up straight so fast she pushes the chair from underneath her, clattering to the floor. “No! No cops. No hospitals. I know he’s looking for me and I need to find him, but I’m scared. He was right and I should have listened. It hurt. It hurt so bad. But, it feels so good too.” She steps closer to me as I sit. I stare back at her like a bewildered child hearing a fairytale. “It’s cold here. I didn’t think you’d be way the fuck out here.” She walks over to my back sliding glass doors and opens them wide open.
The earthy woods fill my kitchen as she takes a deep breath. You can hear the ocean faintly in the background.
Hold up. She was looking for me too?
“What the fuck? Who are you Reagan? Where are you from?” I slowly stand up but she stops me in my tracks. She whips her head in my direction, standing tall and confident.
“Do you know what Faelyn means?” I shake my head no. “ it took me about a week to find you. Maybe a little more.” She leaves the doors wide open letting the windy air breeze through. She slowly walks towards me. Like she’s stalking me.
“Answer my questions.” I’m trying hard to stand my ground, but this girl is definitely bat shit crazy. I hear a phone start to ring and I quickly reach for mine on the counter. Reagan reaches it before I do.
“You don’t need this.” She stops it from ringing and puts it in her back pocket.
Then it dawns on me and she smiles as I start to piece the puzzle together.
“Reagan, from Maine, I think. Your family has been all over social media looking for you. You’ve been missing for a little bit. It’s nation wide now that they’re looking for you.” She smiles like she’s proud. “What are you doing here?” My breath picks up as the anxiety starts. She tilts her head up as she senses it. “None of this is my blood by the way,” she points all around herself, “My family is sweet and they mean well but they’ll never see me again.” She’s so close to me now that I stand up out of my chair. She slides right behind me and pushes me right back down. The fucking crazy bitch is strong I’ll give her that. She bends her face right to the side of my face and whispers in my ear, “you feel it though. You always have but you can’t pinpoint it.” Her breath is hot on my face and neck, she starts to squeeze her hand on my shoulder a little harder.
“You’re a crazy ass missing girl who ran away from home. You’re going to use your boyfriend as an excuse saying he raped you, beat you, drugged you or any other cliche victim sob story to get everyone to feel sorry for you, because what? You’re looking for attention? Well fuck you -“ I’m picked up out of my chair and slammed onto the floor. I see nothing but black and I cough to catch my breath and try to turn on my side to gather my barings. Raegan leans down and grabs my throat.
“You couldn’t be farther from the truth.” She leans in my face. My vision starts to blur as I claw at her arms. I hear her laugh at me as she lets go.
I’m coughing uncontrollably, gasping for air. “Fae, I’m not the one looking for you. I’m just the one who found you. It’s an exhilarating, euphoric experience. Don’t get me wrong, it’s excruciatingly painful.” I hear a phone start to ring and she pulls my phone out of her back pocket to look.
I look up at her through my watery eyes and sees she just smiles at it and puts the phone in her pocket again. She grabs me by the front of my shirt and lifts me up off the ground. “Do you trust me?” I cough as I straighten myself, “absolutely fucking not”. Reagan laughs.
“You will. You have no choice. I’m not doing this for attention or daddy issues. I’ve never been raped or beaten either. My family is sweet. Old school go to church weekly catholic. I had good grades and a great boyfriend. The only cliche about my life was how utterly boring my life was. How predictable it was. Now, I’m alive. They won’t ever see me again, not because I’m teaching them a lesson or want attention but because their daughter is dead. And you, you were born with this. You don’t even have a fucking clue. The first time is the hardest. I’ll help you, I won’t leave your side.” She brushes my hair out of my face just like I did to her earlier.
I have nothing but panic coursing through my veins. She’s quick and strong.
She played me. She played me well. Raegan cocks her head to the side like she’s listening in the distance. “Do you hear that? They’re coming.” I hear absolutely nothing except for the angry waves of the ocean in the short distance.
“Run Fealan. Run.” She smiles at me. I take a step back and another. “Hurry. They’re faster than you think. It’s almost dark.”
I’m paralyzed with fear but I take off towards the woods. It’ll take me longer to get to a main road this way but I can make to the beach in minutes. My feet crunch on the dead leaves of the woods but I can’t move fast, it’s dark outside and my only light is the moon above me. I can hear the ocean is getting louder and my only option is to follow that sound. The air is getting colder as I make my way slowly to the edge of the woods.
I stop dead in my tracks. I can hear breathing right next to me. I can feel the warmth of hot air on my neck and I close my eyes in the darkness. “Can you hear them?” The voice whispered “they’re coming for you. It’s time Faelan.”
I don’t question who they are. I don’t want to move at all. I feel like I’m in a warm blanket and strangely I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be. In the distance I do hear them. They’re calling for me. Calling my name. My heart rate speeds up and my instincts take over.
My eyes snap open and I see that I’m still all alone in the woods and I run for the ocean.
I make it to the edge of the woods with the ocean angrily crashing against the beach. Over to my right I see a huge bonfire that I make my way towards. By the time I reach it, I’m out of breath. I stand in front of three males and Reagan. One of the males comes closer to me. “Do you know what Faelan really means?” He asks me as he moves my hair out of my face. I’m too tired and cold to say anything. In the distance I hear howling. He looks up and behind me. His face darkens as he smiles. The howling is starting to come closer quick. You can see my breath come out in short puffs of air.
“No.” I stand my ground and stand up taller. He smiles wickedly, grabs my body and spins me around. His big arms are wrapped around tight around me. I close my eyes to the heat that his body is warming me. He smells of the woods and hay, all earthy smells. “Look.” I open my eyes at his command and I see four sets of glowing eyes. All shrouded in the darkness that the bonfire can’t reach. He whispers in my ear. “Are you scared? Don’t be. It’s time to come home.” I take a deep breath and calm myself. The glowing eyes start to get bigger and I realize as they come closer they belong to wolves. Big wolves. Some are snarling and showing their teeth. It doesn’t scare me.
I hear Reagan standing on the side of us. “Faelan means little wolf, little sister. Welcome home.” Before I can even process what she said to me or my crazy night at all, the man holding me snaps my neck to the side and rips the side of my throat.
The warm blood rushes down my front and I see the four wolves dive right into me.
My world unravels in a blink of an eye.

I push through the crowd of people. There are just too many.
The music is so loud it rumbles through my chest and makes it harder to breathe.
I stop with people pushing into me, completely oblivious. I tryto see over the crowd but even on my tippy toes I can’t see shit. The lights throughout the club start strobing and the anxiety gets worst. I’ve lost Ava. She’s probably in a dark corner somewhere with a random guy. Fucking lucky bitch. The crowd in front of me starts to break up and part down the middle. I sigh in relief and make my way through the opening. When I see him, standing right in the middle of the crowd. No one notices him and continues on their drunken dancing.
My breath hitches and I completely freeze.
He lowers his head and smiles wickedly in my direction. He beckons me with his index finger. My nipples harden but I turn and get myself lost in the sweaty crowd.
The music gets louder and the club gets darker I can barely see where I’m going. My feet are killing me in these high heels and I keep bumping and pushing my way to the exit.
I look quickly behind me and I don’t see him anymore. The strob lights flash erratically in my eyes. I’ve got to get the fuck out of here.
I start to catch my breath and at least try to blend in the crowd now swaying my body to the music. I finally make my way over to the edge of the crowd and look over the couches to see if I can see Ava.
I walk past a table with bottle service and swipe a drink right off the table. I gulp it down as fast as possible and leave my empty glass on the next table I pass. I finally see Ava grinding on a small loveseat in a random guys lap with his hand is pretty fucking far up her dress sucking on her neck.
I stomp over and grab her hand off of his chest. “Ava, we have at screw like now,” I scream over the music.
“What the fuck Med, I’m fucking busy.” She’s pissed at me, rightfully so.
“It’s time Ava, let’s go,” I tug on her arm but she yanks it back. She’s still grinding on the guys lap. “I’m not ready yet.” I roll my eyes and let out a big huff as the guy pulls his hand back out of Ava’s dress. His sticks his two fingers in his mouth. “Mm, no, she’s right. Come on Ava let’s go.” He stands up and scoops Ava over his shoulder. He slaps her ass and looks down to me.
“I have to grab my roommate, then we can go.”
That’s not at all what I meant.
I follow behind as her head bounces through the crowd. “Ava, I’m fucking serious.” “Lighten the fuck up Meadow. Let’s have some fun before we leave.” She squeals as he slaps her ass again. The crowd parts like the Red Sea for this behemoth of a human being she’s found, so there’s little trouble getting through. I quickly look around and I spot him standing at the bar like he’s waiting.
The guy puts Ava down, “there he is,” her date points to. Well fuck my life. “Ooo he’s cute,” Ava runs over to him and slowly starts to grind on him. His blue eyes pay her absolutely no attention, they stay on me. Her date slides up behind me whispers in my ear, “Now, you are definitely outnumbered.” My breath picks up and I now realize nothing is going to plan. It’s now or never. I slowly reach into my bra and quickly turn to face him. The music is blaring as I plunge the stake I had hidden, very uncomfortably, into his heart.
A loud agonizing screech pierces over the club music and the strobe lights are making it difficult to see. He goes to grab at the stake, with thick blood slowly oozing out his chest. It’s so thick it’s black and stains his pale skin.
The air shifts and everyone around sees the blood and panics. Everyone starts pushes each other to get as far away as possible. The music finally stops thumping and the lights turn on. The vampire in front of me reaches to grab my throat with his eyes on fire and full of hatred, but he combusts into nothing but dust and a pile of ash on the dance floor.
I look down and notice I’ve got gooey blood all over my heels. Fucking gross.
I spin around and see the other vampire has Ava captured from behind. He bends her neck to the side, leaving it wide open for him to bite. Ava’s eye widen in fear.
I step closer and he yanks her head farther to the side, making her squeal and wince in pain. He slowly smells her neck and licks her from bottom to top, never taking his eyes off me.
“Now what?” I put my arms out and it makes him laugh. “Who sent you to kill us?”
I scoff like I’m going to tell him the truth and fold my arms in front of me. He smiles at my defiance and quickly sinks his teeth into her neck.
I barrel myself and body slam both of them to the ground. He lets go of Ava but rips her neck in the process.
Blood rushes out as she panics and tries to cover it. We slid across the floor and slam into the bar. I almost knocked myself out. I take the few seconds to gather my bearings and take a deep breath. He’s already up and grabs me by the neck, lifting me up off the ground. I claw at his arm holding me up. I know I’m not supposed to panic but that’s what the fuck I did. He slams me onto the bar and exposes my neck. I start kicking wildly trying to escape his grip. That just makes him more mad and hold down tighter.
My vision starts to go in and out, my heart beating in my ears that it starts to muffle in and out.
I slow my movements and stop altogether. Then nothing.
Time just stops just like my heart does. There’s no white light. There’s no one waiting for me to guide me and take me where I need to go.
All I hear is rushing water, like an angry ocean.
My eyes snap open and I take in the deepest breath trying to catch it. My whole body burns. I would rather let myself burn in this sensation but my body is on automatic and trying to survive.
I roll off of the bar and slam onto the floor, gasping for life.
I stumble to my feet as I see Ava lift him over her head and through him over the bar behind me, smashing bottles and glasses.
I wobble to stand up straight, looking for something to stab him with. Ava air born jumps over the bar, growling with hatred and anger and lifts the vampire up by his hair. He winces but doesn’t try to fight back.
She leans in and whispers in his ear. His eye widen and he bears his fangs growling. In a split second, she slices his head clean off. I don’t even really register it. I’m still trying to get myself together. It truly was memorizing. His body thuds on the floor and she stands there holding his head like a trophy.
“You’re a mess,” I muttered, “covered in blood.” She smiles and licks the blood clean off her fingers.
“Let’s go grab the camera footage and drop this off Meadow.” She walks up a set of stairs still holding the head out dripping blood in her path. I stumble after her. I push open the office door, Ava has placed the vampires head on top the the desk. She’s rummaging around looking for the tape to the cameras. “Check the cabinets,” I tell her as I sit down, “you healed fucking fast.” I pick through my pockets and light up a cigarette.