Nora wasn't herself at all. She had just one thing on her mind, to run.
Her heart raced violently, what creature had she seen? Her legs barely carried her forward as she moved down the hallway. She wasn't looking back. Her breath came in multiple gasps, and she couldn't stop trembling.
What had she just seen? Jaytee's eyes. They were dark and terrifying. His veins, blackened, creeping across his skin. His fangs.
A real life fang, It wasn't possible. It shouldn't be possible.
Her vision blurred, her body screaming at her to keep running. To get as far away from him as possible. But no matter how fast she moved, her mind kept flashing back to that moment, his body caging her in, his breath was heavy, his hunger barely contained.
He had looked at her like she was prey. Tears burned in her eyes. She had trusted him.
Footsteps echoed behind her. Fast and Heavy.
Nora's stomach clenched. Was he coming?
She reached the end of the hallway and slammed against the locked exit door. She fumbled with the handle, shaking it violently. No, no, no!
A shadow came behind her. "Nora," Jaytee's voice was hoarse, strained as if he was holding onto the last thread of his humanity.
She turned around, her back pressed against the door. Her breath hitched when she saw him.
Jaytee had stopped a few feet away, hunched over like he was fighting something inside himself. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His whole body trembled.
"Don't," she choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. "Stay away from me."
His eyes were back to their normal color, almost. A faint shadow of darkness still lingered.
"I won't hurt you," he swore, his voice thick with something desperate.
"But you almost did," she shot back, her voice breaking. "What the hell are you?"
Jaytee flinched. He didn't answer. Couldn't answer. His silence made everything worse.
Nora shook her head in disbelief. "Say something!" she shouted, her hands trembling.
Jaytee inhaled sharply, turning away from her, gripping his hair as if trying to keep himself together. "I… pls calm down"
She let out a humorless frown. "You're not human Jayte, you're….." she swallowed the words, unable to say them aloud. It sounded ridiculous, it sounded impossible.
A monster. A predator. Her head spun.
Jaytee took a slow step forward. "Nora, please…."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, her fingers fumbling over the screen.
He stiffened. "What are you doing?"
"I…..I'm calling someone," she stammered, but her hands were shaking too much to even dial.
"You can't," he said, his voice sharp now.
"Why?!" she snapped. "Because no one will believe me? Because I'll sound insane?"
Jaytee exhaled through his nose, tension radiating from him.
"No," he murmured. "Because if you tell anyone… you'll be in danger."
"In danger?" she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jaytee finally turned to face her, his expression grim. "You don't understand what you've just stepped into."
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
Then, before she could say anything, a voice cut through the tension.
"You need to get out of here. Now." It was Adel.
She was behind Jaytee, her green eyes sharp, assessing the situation with unnerving calmness.
Nora recoiled, her distrust shifting to Adel now. "You…. You're not scared of him at all?"
Adel didn't answer immediately. Instead, she reached for Jaytee's arm. "You can't hold it back much longer," she murmured.
Jaytee clenched his jaw, shaking her off. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not," Adel hissed, stepping between him and Nora. "And if she keeps standing there, you're going to lose control again."
Jaytee let out a low, frustrated hurm and turned away. His whole body was rigid, his breathing ragged.
Nora watched the interaction, her mind racing. They were speaking in half-truths, but one thing was clear, Adel knew exactly what Jaytee was.
And she had been keeping it from her.
"You should go," Adel said, looking at Nora now.
Nora bristled. "Go? Just like that? After what I just saw?!"
Adel's expression was unreadable. "Yes. For your good."
Nora's pulse pounded in her ears. Adel's audacity.
She wasn't a child. She wasn't fragile. And she sure as hell wasn't going to let them shut her out.
Adel's unreadable green eyes pinned her in place. You should go.
The way she had said it, it was so cold, so final, sent a shiver through Nora's spine. "You should go"
Her lips parted, but no words came. What could she say? That she wanted to understand what Jaytee was?
No. Nora just wanted to get out.
She took a shaky step backward, her back pressing against the cold exit door. She needed to go.
Jaytee's ragged breathing filled the tense air, and she couldn't take it anymore. He was still fighting back his hunger.
Without another word, she spun on her heel and bolted down the hallway. Her hands were shaking.
She barely remembered how she made it out of the building. All she knew was that she had to get as far away as possible.
She didn't stop running.
She didn't look back
Adel waited until the last echo of Nora's hurried footsteps faded into the night before turning to Jaytee.
She was furious. "You lost control," she snapped, her voice sharp as a blade.
Jaytee flinched, running a trembling hand through his hair. "I…I didn't mean to.."
"You almost attacked her!" Adel seethed. "Do you have any idea what could've happened if I wasn't here?"
Jaytee let out a frustrated breath, his body was still tense, and his hands were still shaking. "I would never hurt her."
Adel's eyes flashed with something dangerous. "Don't be stupid, Matteo."
Jaytee became still. She only ever called him Matteo when she was truly angry.
"You think you can control it?" Adel stepped closer, her voice low and cutting. "You think just because you pull back at the last second, that makes it okay?"
Jaytee clenched his fists. "I….I had it under control."
"No, you didn't," Adel snapped. "You were inches away from sinking your teeth into her."
He turned away, shame twisting his face.
Adel exhaled, trying to rein in her temper. "I told you this would happen if you kept pretending to be normal," she muttered. "You can't fight what you are, Matteo."
Jaytee's jaw tightened. "I'm not a monster."
Adel scoffed. "Then leave the environment that makes you one,... you don't belong here."
Jaytee swallowed hard. His body was still trembling, his instincts screaming at him. He had been so close to losing himself.
Too close. Adel crossed her arms. "We need to leave. Now."
Jaytee didn't argue. Without another word, they turned away from the now-empty hallway and disappeared into the shadows.