Sarah lay unconscious on the cold floor, her breath shallow, her skin pale. The room was silent, but the air felt heavy - like something had been left behind. Something dark.
When she woke, hours had passed. Her body ached. Her neck throbbed. But the worst pain was inside her chest.
She was no longer the same.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes looked different - sharper, colder. Her skin had a strange glow. And her heart... it beat slower.
She hadn't told anyone. Not her parents. Not Emma. What could she say? That a vampire had bitten her twice? That she felt him inside her thoughts?
That she wasn't sure if she hated him - or wanted him back?
Days passed. She stopped eating. Stopped sleeping. Her dreams were filled with shadows and whispers. And always, Zayn's voice.
Then one night, he returned.
He didn't knock. He didn't speak. He simply appeared in her room, like smoke curling from the corners.
"You feel it now, don't you?" he said.
Sarah didn't answer. She just stared.
"You're changing. You're becoming mine."
She stepped back. "I didn't ask for this."
Zayn's eyes softened. "Neither did I. But fate doesn't ask - it takes."
He reached out, brushing her cheek. She flinched, but didn't pull away.
"You hate me," he whispered. "But you understand me."
Tears welled in her eyes. "Why me?"
Zayn looked at her like she was the last light in a dying world. "Because your soul called to mine. And now... we're bound."
Sarah's heart twisted. She wanted to scream. To run. But she also wanted to stay.
"What happens now?" she asked.
Zayn stepped closer. "You choose. I can leave. Forever. Or you can come with me."
She looked at the night sky through her window. The stars seemed colder now. The world quieter.
She turned to him.
"If I go with you... what do I become?"
Zayn smiled, but it wasn't joyful. It was tragic.
"You become mine. Forever."
Sarah closed her eyes. Her life, her family, her future - all fading. But her heart... it burned.
She opened her eyes.
"Then take me."
Zayn stepped forward, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her - not with hunger, but with sorrow.
And as the moonlight bathed them both, Sarah felt her final breath leave her body.
She was no longer human.
She was his