Awa slowly stood up, her chest heaving with deep breaths as she tried to process everything that had just happened. Her mind spun, her body still buzzing with the adrenaline of the fight, but what rattled her more was the sensation of Kelsey's blood in her veins. She had drunk from him—not just anyone, but a werewolf. The thought made her stomach churn with unease, and yet, there was an undeniable thrill lingering beneath the surface, something primal, something powerful.
Looking down at her hands, Awa flexed her fingers and watched in fascination as her sharp, deadly claws retracted smoothly back into her fingertips. It felt as natural as moving any other part of her body, like a muscle she had always had but never used until now. It wasn't foreign to her anymore; it was a part of her. This strange, terrifying power was hers to control.
Her gaze shifted to the lifeless body of Kelsey sprawled on the rooftop. He looked pale, his skin ashen and cold under the drizzle that had begun to fall. Awa watched as the raindrops slid down her exposed skin, grateful for the cooling sensation against her heated body. She was half-naked, her shredded pants barely hanging onto her, and her chest was completely bare, save for the faint streaks of blood that had begun to wash away in the rain.
She knelt beside Kelsey's body, staring at him with a mixture of disgust and something darker. He had deserved it, she told herself. He was a monster, not just because he was a werewolf, but because of the things he had done, the lives he had taken. She wasn't the first woman he had preyed on—he had alluded to as much when he mocked her earlier. There had been others.
The thought filled her with a strange, grim satisfaction. He was dead, and the world was better for it.
As she reached down to check Kelsey's body, Awa felt a twinge of curiosity. She needed to see if he had anything on him that could be traced back to her—anything that could lead others to his body or alert someone to his disappearance. Her fingers brushed over his waistband, and sure enough, she found a phone tucked into his back pocket.
Her heart skipped a beat. A phone. This wasn't good. If Kelsey had been in contact with anyone before the fight, there could be messages, pings, or locations that tied him to this rooftop. Worse yet, he had mentioned a clan. Did he mean the Quinn clan? The same family Forrest belonged to?
The rain picked up, falling harder now as Awa's mind raced with the implications. If Kelsey was part of a werewolf clan, and if Forrest was part of that same clan, then what did that mean? Was Forrest a werewolf too? The thought sent a cold shiver down her spine, but she quickly shook her head, forcing herself to stay focused. One problem at a time.
For now, she had to get rid of the phone. Without wasting any more time, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, her body moving effortlessly despite the soreness still lingering from the fight. She could feel her wounds healing, the gashes on her body slowly knitting themselves together under the rain, but she had no idea just how fast she could heal or how much damage her body could truly withstand.
Landing on a rooftop near the train station, Awa moved with purpose, her mind already forming a plan. She slipped through a drying rack filled with clothes, stealing a simple shirt and jacket, enough to cover her exposed skin and keep her identity hidden. The rain soaked the fabric almost immediately, but it didn't matter. She kept moving, making her way to the station and finding an empty train car.
She glanced around, making sure no one was watching, then discreetly slipped Kelsey's phone into a random train car bound for the outskirts of the city. The phone was gone now, headed far away from her, far from any link to this rooftop, she made sure to wipe it from any finger prints. Satisfied, she turned and made her way back toward Kelsey's body.
Her next step was to move him. She couldn't leave him where he was—his phone's last location would likely ping near this building, and if anyone came looking for him, they might find his body. She needed to move him somewhere less obvious, somewhere where it wouldn't be easy to find him.
But as she approached the body again, a strange curiosity gnawed at her. What if... she pulled down his boxers? The thought made her pause, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her lips despite the gravity of the situation. People always said that guys with big muscles had tiny... well, you know. And Kelsey had certainly been no exception. His boxers came down easily, and sure enough, her smirk turned into a stifled laugh. Tiny, she thought.
Quickly, she hoisted Kelsey's body over her shoulder, ignoring the morbid humor of the situation as she carried him across the rooftops. The rain made her grip slippery, but she held on tight, her strength far greater than it had ever been. She moved swiftly, scanning the rooftops until she found an old, unused building that looked perfect for hiding a body. The door to the rooftop was rusted shut, the hinges long corroded from disuse—no one would come up here.
With a grunt, Awa dumped Kelsey's body into a pile of debris, covering him with broken bricks and bits of metal. The rain continued to fall, washing away any trace of the blood that had soaked into her skin. The job was done. Kelsey was gone, and with the phone far away, no one would be able to track him back to her.
But as she stood there, staring down at his pale, lifeless form, a heavy weight settled in her chest. She had killed someone. Not just killed—drained him of his blood, like some kind of monster. The realization hit her harder than she expected. She had fought back to survive, yes, but the fact remained that she had crossed a line she couldn't uncross.
Her body was shaking now, not from the cold, but from the overwhelming weight of everything that had happened. Without another word, she turned and leaped across the rooftops again, heading home as fast as she could. The adrenaline that had fueled her earlier was wearing off, leaving her exhausted, both physically and emotionally.
When she finally made it home, the apartment was dark and quiet. Tina and Beatrice weren't there, which wasn't unusual—Beatrice was never one to stay indoors for long, and Tina often took her out on adventures around the city. But the silence felt heavier tonight, like a blanket suffocating her.
Awa went straight to the bathroom, stripping off her stolen clothes and standing in front of the mirror. She stared at her reflection, her pale skin still streaked with faint traces of blood, her hair clinging to her wet skin. Her hands shook as she reached up to touch her face, her eyes scanning over the cuts and bruises that were already beginning to fade.
She should have felt powerful. She should have felt victorious.
But all she felt was sick.
Without warning, her stomach twisted violently, and she barely made it to the toilet before she began to vomit. The bile burned her throat, her body heaving as if it was trying to purge the horrors of the night. The image of Kelsey's lifeless face flashed in her mind, the feeling of his blood on her tongue. She had killed him—drained him dry like some kind of vampire. She was a monster.
Awa collapsed onto the bathroom floor, her body trembling as she gasped for breath. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of everything, but it was too much. Too overwhelming.
She had killed someone.
She had tasted blood.
And she had liked it.
As the reality of what she had become settled in, Awa pressed her forehead against the cool tiles of the bathroom floor, her tears mixing with the rainwater still dripping from her hair.