TAMED: THE DARK SIDE: (THE BLOOD LINE OF VLAD DRACUL)

Clara had always felt different from the other kids at school. She had pale skin, dark hair, and piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. She was faster, stronger, and smarter than anyone else, but she never flaunted her abilities. She preferred to keep a low profile and avoid trouble. She had a loving family, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the most popular boy in her class. She thought she had a normal life, until the day everything changed. It was her sixteenth birthday, and she was looking forward to celebrating with her uncle and aunt, who had raised her since she was a baby. Her parents had died in a car accident when she was only a few months old, or so she had been told. She never questioned her uncle and aunt, who treated her like their own daughter and gave her everything she needed. They were kind and generous people, who ran a small bookstore in the town of Willow Creek. They had a cozy house in the woods, where Clara had grown up surrounded by nature and books. She came home from school, expecting to see a cake and some presents waiting for her. Instead, she found her uncle and aunt sitting on the couch, looking nervous and serious. They asked her to sit down with them, and told her they had something important to tell her. Clara felt a surge of fear, wondering if something bad had happened. "Clara, we love you very much, and we always will. You are our niece, and nothing will ever change that. But there is something you need to know about yourself, something we have kept from you for your own safety. It's time you learned the truth." Her uncle said, holding her hand. Clara felt her heart pounding, and her mouth went dry. She looked at her uncle and aunt, who had always been honest and supportive of her. She trusted them, but she also sensed they were hiding something big from her. She braced herself for the worst, and asked them to tell her. "Clara, you are not our biological niece. You are the daughter of the most feared and powerful vampire in history, who was killed by hunters long ago. Your name is not Clara, it's Clarissa. Clarissa Dracul, the heir of the Dracul bloodline." Her aunt said, looking at her with a mix of love and sorrow. Clara felt like she had been slapped in the face. She stared at them in disbelief, thinking they were playing a cruel joke on her. She laughed nervously, and waited for them to say they were kidding. But they didn't. They looked at her with serious and sad eyes, and continued to explain. "Your father was Vlad Dracul, the original vampire, the one who started it all. He was ruthless, cunning, and powerful. He ruled over the vampire world for centuries, until he was betrayed and killed by a group of hunters, who wanted to end his reign of terror. Your mother was Elena, a human woman, who fell in love with him and bore him a child. You. You were the only thing he ever cared about, the only thing he ever loved. He wanted to protect you from his enemies, so he entrusted you to us, his loyal friends and allies. We were part of his inner circle, his trusted advisors. We were also vampires, but we were different from him. We didn't share his thirst for blood and power. We wanted to live in peace and harmony with humans, not to dominate and destroy them. We agreed to take you in, and raise you as our own. We gave you a new name, a new identity, a new life. We hid your true nature from everyone, including yourself. We hoped you would never have to face the dark side of your heritage, the side that made you a target for hunters and a threat to humans. We hoped you would grow up to be a good person, a person who could choose her own destiny, not the one that was written for her by her father." Her uncle said, squeezing her hand. Clara felt like her world was falling apart. She couldn't process what they were saying, what they were revealing to her. She felt a wave of emotions wash over her: shock, confusion, anger, denial, fear. She looked at them, and saw the pain and guilt in their faces. She realized they were telling the truth, the horrible truth. She was a vampire, the daughter of a monster, the heir of a legacy of darkness. She felt a sudden urge to run away, to escape from this nightmare. She pulled her hand away from her uncle, and stood up. "No, no, no, this can't be true. This can't be happening. You're lying, you're lying to me. You're not my family, you're not my uncle and aunt. You're strangers, you're enemies. You've been lying to me all my life, you've been deceiving me, manipulating me. How could you do this to me? How could you keep this from me? Who are you? Who am I? What am I?" She shouted, tears streaming down her face. She ran to the door, and tried to open it. But it was locked. She turned around, and saw her uncle and aunt blocking her way. They looked at her with concern and compassion, and tried to calm her down. "Clara, please, listen to us. We're sorry, we're so sorry. We know this is a lot to take in, we know this is hard for you. But we did this for your own good, we did this to protect you. We love you, we always have, we always will. You are our family, you are our niece. We're not your enemies, we're your friends. We're here to help you, to guide you, to support you. Please, don't be afraid, don't be angry. We can get through this together, we can figure this out together. You're not alone, you're not alone." Her aunt said, reaching out to her. Clara felt a surge of panic, and pushed her away. She backed away from them, and looked for a way out. She saw a window, and ran towards it. She smashed it with her fist, and jumped out. She landed on the ground, and felt a sharp pain in her hand. She looked at it, and saw blood dripping from her wound. She felt a strange sensation in her mouth, and saw her teeth growing longer and sharper. She felt a hunger, a hunger for blood, a hunger for flesh. She felt a power, a power that coursed through her veins, a power that made her feel alive. She felt a darkness, a darkness that filled her soul, a darkness that made her feel free. Clara felt a rush of anger and disbelief. She couldn't believe what her uncle and aunt had told her. She couldn't believe they had lied to her for her whole life. She couldn't believe she was a vampire, the daughter of a monster. She wanted to scream, to cry, to run away. But she couldn't. She had to face the truth, and the consequences. She looked at her uncle and aunt, who were waiting for her reaction. They looked scared and guilty, but also hopeful. They wanted her to understand, to forgive, to accept. They wanted her to stay with them, to be their family. But Clara didn't know if she could do that. She didn't know if she could trust them, or love them, or be like them. She looked up, and saw the moon shining brightly in the night sky. She felt a connection, a connection to the moon, a connection to her father. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She felt a lump in her throat, and a pain in her chest. She felt a sudden thirst, a hunger, a craving. She felt something stir inside her, something dark and powerful. She felt her eyes change, her teeth grow, her nails sharpen. She felt her true nature awaken, her father's blood in her veins. She felt a new sensation, a new emotion, a new desire. She felt the call of the night, the call of the hunt, the call of the blood. She stood up, and walked towards the door. She didn't look back, she didn't say goodbye. She left her uncle and aunt behind, and stepped into the darkness. She followed her instincts, and searched for a prey. She found a man walking alone on the street, and approached him. She smiled, and charmed him. She bit, and drank. She killed, and enjoyed. She felt a surge of satisfaction, and a pang of guilt. She dropped the body, and wiped her mouth. She heard a voice, a voice in her head, a voice that sounded familiar and foreign at the same time. A voice that said: "Welcome to the dark side, my daughter. Welcome to your true self. Welcome to your destiny." She felt a chill, a chill that ran down her spine, a chill that made her shiver. She felt a fear, a fear that gripped her heart, a fear that made her scream. She felt a doubt, a doubt that clouded her mind, a doubt that made her wonder. Was this really who she was? Was this really what she wanted? Was this really her destiny? She didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore. She looked around, and saw a pair of red eyes staring at her. She gasped, and froze. She realized she was not alone. She realized she was not the only vampire. She realized she had just met another one of her kind. She ran. She ran into the night, into the unknown, into the darkness. She ran away from her past, from her present, from her future. She ran away from herself.