WITHERBRANC

chapter 4: what I Am

The wind whipped against my face as Ezra sped down the hill. I tightened my grip around his waist, my cheek pressed against his leather jacket. For a few minutes, I forgot everything the figure, the voices,I just felt the road beneath us and the warmth of him in front of me.

Too soon, the bike slowed down. We were at my house.

Ezra killed the engine and turned to look at me.

"Hey... wet girl. You okay?"

I nodded, but my hands were still shaking. I got off the bike and handed him the helmet.

"Thanks, Ezra. For tonight. For... everything."

He smiled a real smile, not the sarcastic one.

"Anytime. And Thea?"

I stopped at the front door and turned around. "Yeah?"

"If you need me... you know where to find me."

I opened my mouth to say something, but the porch light flicked on. My dad's silhouette appeared behind the curtains, and the moment broke.

"I should go," I whispered.

Ezra nodded. "See you at school."

I watched him ride away until his taillights disappeared down the street. Then I turned and walked toward my front door. I opened it slowly, trying not to make a sound. The lights were already off, but one wasn't: the kitchen light.

I crept closer and pressed myself against the wall so they wouldn't see me. And there they were. My parents. My father... crying? I'd never seen him cry, except at Ben's funeral. And my mother holding him, the kind of hug I wish I could have.

A knot tightened in my throat. I clenched my hands so hard that my nails dug deep into my palms, and I didn't even realize I was bleeding.

FLASHBACK – The Day Ben Was Born (Thea Was 8 Years Old)

I close my eyes, and for a second, I'm not in my room. I'm sitting in a white plastic chair, my legs dangling, swinging back and forth.

"When is he going to be born, Dad?" I ask.

My father doesn't look at me. He's pacing back and forth, hands in his pockets. He stops and stares at the door that says "Delivery Room."

"Soon, Thea. You have to be patient."

A scream cuts through the door. My father tenses. So do I. I'd never heard my mother scream like that.

"Is Mom okay?" I ask, my voice trembling.

My father finally sits beside me and takes my hand. His hand is big and warm.

"Yes, sweetheart. She's fine. She's just working hard to bring your little brother into the world."

I don't know how much time passes. Maybe an hour. Maybe two. But finally, the door opens. A nurse smiles.

"Are you the sister?" she asks, looking at me.

I nod, unable to speak.

"Come. You can see him."

I walk in slowly. The room smells like medicine, like exhaustion, like life. My mother is lying in bed, sweaty and pale, but smiling. She has a small bundle in her arms.

"Thea... come meet your little brother."

I tiptoe closer. My father lifts me up so I can see him properly. Ben is small, wrinkled, his eyes closed. He has a tuft of dark hair, and his tiny hands are clenched into fists.

"He's your little brother," my father says, his voice rough. "You have to take care of him always."

My eyes fill with tears. I don't know why. Maybe because it's the first time I've seen something so small and so perfect.

"I will, Dad," I whisper. "I promise nothing bad will ever happen to him."

END OF FLASHBACK

I open my eyes. I'm in the kitchen, pressed against the wall in the dark, and tears are streaming down my cheeks.

"I failed you, Ben. I broke my promise," I whispered, clenching my hand even tighter, ignoring the pain, not even realizing I was bleeding more.

I stood there in silence, watching my father cry and my mother hold him. And then I understood something I'd always known but never fully accepted: they hadn't just lost their son. They'd also lost their daughter.

And maybe, deep down, I'd lost them too.

I turned without a sound and went upstairs. When I closed my bedroom door, I looked at the bracelet Derek had given me, and suddenly a sharp pain shot through my head. I pressed my hands to my temples, but the pain wouldn't stop. And then I heard them.

The voices.

(Whisper – Witch):

"How pathetic... look at you, crying, alone, shattered, with no one around. What will you do, Thea? Will you keep being a weak, useless girl, or will you dare to accept us as part of you?"

(Echo – Hunter):

"Stop crying, girl. It's time to grow up and see beyond. Or you'll fail again, just like you failed your brother."

(Silk – Vampire):

"Poor thing... so alone. But you could have everything if you stopped being so weak. They blame you. You should blame yourself too."

(Jaws – Wolf):

"You disgust me. Look at yourself. All you know how to do is cry and cry and complain. You think you'll have a normal life? Poor thing... you never will."

"Shut up," I whispered, my voice trembling and broken. "Please... shut up..."

But they didn't. They got louder. My hands were shaking, and I didn't know what else to do. I started throwing things in my room the lamp, the books, the vase from the nightstand and they kept getting louder. I didn't care if I got hurt by the broken glass. The physical pain was better than the pain inside.

There was a moment when I couldn't take it anymore.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed with all my strength.

I felt something surge through my body, like pure electricity. Everything started trembling my legs, my arms, my jaw. And as I screamed, my eyes had changed. I saw it in the broken mirror on the floor.

That same color. The color I'd seen when I scratched Tiffany.

Purple and yellow.

I stumbled backward in fear, falling to the floor.

"What the hell... am I?" I whispered, my voice breaking.

Derek's bracelet was still glowing on my wrist.

"Please... someone... I need a hug... I need my little brother back," I said, the words drowning in a sob.

Tiffany's POV – 3:12 a.m.

She's alone in her house. The silence is absolute. Only the wound on her arm throbs with a dull pain.

The scratch that should have healed is purple at the edges. Veins look like black ink spreading toward her shoulder. The skin around it is gray, like dead flesh.

She's thirsty. She drank the whole pitcher from the fridge, but her throat is still dry.

Then she hears something.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

There's no one home. It's her heart. She hears it as if it had been ripped out and placed in her ear.

She stands in front of the bathroom mirror.

"You're fine, Tiffany. You're fine."

The light flickers. She didn't touch the switch. Maybe it's just breaking.

She grips the sink, and it cracks in half. A shard stabs into her palm. She doesn't even feel it.

She only sees her blood. It's dark. Very dark.

She's hungry. So hungry.

She looks at the mirror again.

Her eyes aren't hers. For a second—yellow. Wild.

Her gums... they hurt.

She laughs. It's a sound she doesn't recognize. Deep. Hollow.

She feels pain starting everywhere.

"Aaaaahhhh... Aaaaahhhh..."

A scream tears from her throat. She hears her bones breaking, her body twisting.

She has transformed completely.

She leaps toward the window, shattering the glass into pieces.

Hunting for prey.