Back in the Onik house, Ella was diligently preparing breakfast in the expansive, lavishly adorned, and ancient kitchen of the Onik residence. She had been attending to this task for an entire week, harboring hope that upon opening the door to the room where Jason was confined, he would have regained consciousness. Concern was beginning to set in as he seemed to be taking longer to recover than Ricardo had predicted. Completing the meal, she placed it on a plate and made her way to Jason's room.
Upon entering, she observed Jason lying on the bed. Setting the food down on the table adjacent to the bed, she extended her hand to touch Jason's forehead, checking for signs of returning warmth. Despite his outward appearance appearing normal and untroubled, the mystery remained as to why he had not yet awakened.
Suddenly, Jason's eyes widened, gleaming with a brilliant blue hue akin to a sapphire diamond. Startled, Ella attempted to rise, only to have Jason seize her hand and thrust her back onto the bed. He now loomed over her, his hands resting at her sides, as he drew his face closer to hers.
"Jason!" Ella screamed, not out of fear, but out of concern for his lack of control over his actions. Drawing nearer, he began to delicately sniff at her neck, causing panic to well up within her. Just as he was descending below her shoulder blade, he abruptly halted, alerted by the sound of the door being opened. Swiftly, he backflipped off the bed, delivering a merciless drop kick to the intruder who turned out to be Ricardo, denying him entry into the room.
Ella sprang from the bed and pursued Jason as he fled from the room to confront his next victim. "Jason, please stop!" she implored, her cries echoing through the halls. Ricardo, though far from a mere mortal, was still reeling from the attack when he felt himself being hoisted up by Jason, who had returned. Catching sight of Ella's attempts to intervene, Jason began to tighten his grip around Ricardo's throat.
"Jason, stop! It's me, Ella! I'm right here, I'm not dead!" she pleaded desperately. Her words seemed to reach him, as he released Ricardo and turned his attention towards Ella. As she endeavored to touch his cheeks, he seized both of her hands, his grip tightening. Refusing to succumb to panic, she gazed deeply into his eyes, tears threatening to spill, and beseeched, "Please, snap out of it. I'm right here."
This emotional appeal and plea appeared to break through to Jason, as he shook off the trance. Without giving him a chance to react, Ella enveloped him in a heartfelt embrace.
Ella hesitated before releasing her grip on Jason. He held her at arm's length and whispered, "Please tell me this isn't a dream." Jason found it difficult to believe that Ella stood before him, exuding strength and vitality. Despite all the evidence pointing toward the painful conclusion that she was gone from his life forever, her presence defied his understanding of reality.
As Jason recalled his fainting and the sense of being lost within himself, his return to the realm of the living seemed too miraculous to comprehend. A bewildering thought crossed his mind—could they be in the land of the dead? Ella initially chuckled at Jason's whimsical question, but her laughter subsided as she pondered the gravity of his words.
Ella's hesitation to respond stemmed not from Jason's need for reassurance, but from her own struggle to accept the stark reality that they might never see each other again. Did he harbor the same depth of care for her as she did for him? Shaking off her contemplation, Ella realized she had taken too long to address the bewildered man before her. Lifting her head, she locked eyes with Jason and declared, "You are alive, I can assure you of that."
Jason felt a wave of relief wash over him, grateful that his daydream had not transformed into a nightmare.
The weight of guilt bore heavily on Jason as he grappled with the thought of Ella's potential demise. The mere idea left him restless; he knew that he would never find peace if she had perished because of him.
Amidst their tender exchange, a young man loomed behind them. It was Ricardo, his countenance etched with anger. Still reeling from his injury and grappling with a clouded mind, he misinterpreted Jason's proximity to Ella as a hostile maneuver. Fueled by this misunderstanding, Ricardo harbored intentions of unleashing a devastating reprisal against Jason.
Ella took a step back from Jason, realizing that they had lingered in each other's embrace for too long. She also recognized the importance of nourishing him to aid in his recovery and help him regain his strength
She was about tell him to follow her when Jason was suddenly lifted up and left floating midair.His neck snapped that instant and every other bone in his body followed with dislocations.
Ella stood frozen, powerless to intervene as the unfolding horror gripped her. Yet, the ordeal was far from over. A decrepit cupboard, weathered by time, careened through the air, colliding with the already injured Jason. The impact propelled him into the ceiling, before cruelly relinquishing its hold, sending him hurtling earthward in a dizzying descent.
The violent collision, amplified by the airborne cupboard, produced a seismic upheaval, showering the surroundings with a chaotic flurry of dust and splintered wood. Jason, resilient as he was, succumbed to the onslaught, even breaching the floor, leaving him incapacitated by an epic, technical knockout.
For Jason, a figure renowned for his endurance, this assault proved insurmountable, especially considering his recent emergence from a coma. Ella, aghast at the unfolding catastrophe, found her gaze drawn across the room, where she spied a young man. Despite his altered guise, she recognized him as Ricardo from a mile away.
"Why on earth... why?!" Ella's voice cracked as she struggled to articulate her disbelief, her glare piercing Ricardo with an intensity that spoke volumes.
Unmoved by her reproach, Ricardo countered, "Why do you regard me with such disdain? I believed you to be in peril. Besides, considering all he inflicted upon me, the least I could do was reciprocate with an abundance of care and paternal affection."
BACK IN JUDE'S HOUSE....
Sara was petrified.She didn't know whether to scream or faint.Jude slit his own throat just to prove a point.This suicidal maniac had gone too far and now he was dead.She struggled to break free of the chains he bound her with.She had to leave this place.She couldn't handle looking at the man who killed himself for her.
Straining with all her might, she tugged at the heavy chains, a sense of desperation washing over her. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from behind, "Let me assist you with that." Startled, she turned to find Jude's strong, muscular arms reaching out to aid her in unlocking the chains. Her body froze, her skin prickled, and her hair stood on end as an overwhelming sense of horror gripped her.
To her disbelief, Jude stood before her, unharmed and whole. Not a single scratch marred his body, indicating that he had completely healed.
Sara's stunned disbelief spilled out as she fumbled to form coherent words, "How... I saw you die." Her mind reeled with confusion and disbelief. Who on earth was Jude, and how had he defied death to return to life?
Jude smiled like the cheeky mystery he was and spoke,"Shocked you right.Now do see what suicide looks like.Those left behind always face the consequences of your selfish decision."
Sara struggled to steady her breathing, attempting to regain composure in the midst of her overwhelming confusion. Despite her racing thoughts and a myriad of unanswered questions, she found herself grappling for an explanation. Jude couldn't possibly be a Wolf; she was certain she would have known. And he certainly wasn't a Vam, as they didn't heal in the manner she had witnessed.
As she battled to make sense of the inexplicable, Jude interjected, "Don't dwell on it too deeply. I don't possess superhuman abilities. I am, in fact, cursed and enchanted," he confessed frankly.
Sara's curiosity piqued as she sought to understand the implications of Jude's description of resurrection as a curse. Sensing her interest, Jude elaborated, "I have an insatiable bloodlust for the supernatural. I was ensnared by a wizard's hypnotic spell to serve a deranged woman fixated on eradicating everything inhuman."
"I need your help, though. It's the primary reason I saved you. My enchantment can only be broken by the love of a supernatural," he added.
"Why would I ever show you love?" Sara asked cautiously, wary of being on this man's bad side.
He sighed, took a deep breath, and let out a yawn before blurting, "Let me explain how this all began. Maybe then you will see me as a victim and not the predator."