The forest was alive with shadows. Rico tightened his grip around Adel as she stumbled beside him.
"Just a little farther," he whispered, urging her forward. Adel's breathing was labored, her hand pressed against her swollen belly. "I…. I can't, Rico."
"You have to," he said, scanning the darkness. "They're close."
Behind them, the night stirred with movement. Bird singing echoed through the trees. Kobo's hunters were relentless. They had been running for days, but the scent of fear and desperation made them easy to track.
Adel gasped, clutching her stomach. A sharp cry tore from her lips.
"Adel?" Rico's heart slammed against his ribs.
She withdrew herself, nearly collapsing. Rico caught her just in time. "The baby…" she choked out. Not now. God, not now. Adel was in labor.
Rico lifted her into his arms, pushing forward with all his strength. He needed to find shelter, somewhere to hide, somewhere safe. But there was no safety. The forest was a death trap and they had a long way to go.
Another cry of pain. Adel was growing weaker. Her body trembled against his.
"Hold on," he begged. "Please, just hold on."
Adel's nails dug into his arm. "If something happens to me… protect him."
"Nothing's going to happen to you," Rico growled and for the first time in a long time, Rico tore "I won't let it."
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating a jagged rock formation ahead. A cave. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. Rico rushed inside, lowering Adel onto the cold, damp ground. She curled onto her side, panting. The lightning became heavier than usual, with rain, but one could still see the full moon turning red.
"I can't… I don't think I can do this," she whimpered.
Rico brushed damp strands of hair from her face. "You're the strongest person I know. You can do this, Adel….. for our child, for me….. for us"
Tears fell from her eyes. "Rico, I'm scared."
So was he. Rico was terrified. But he couldn't let her see it.
"You've got me," he murmured. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Adel squeezed his hand, her grip became weak. "If I don't make it…."
"You will make it," Rico cut her off.
Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, her breathing shallow. Panic rose in his chest.
"Stay with me," Rico urged. "Adel, stay awake."
She didn't respond. Outside, the wind howled louder. A growl. Closer this time. The hunters were near.
Rico cursed under his breath. He couldn't fight them, not with Adel like this. He needed to buy time.
Adel let out a strangled scream. Her body arched, her fingers clawing at the dirt. Blood soaked the ground beneath her.
There was so much panic. Rico's mind raced. He couldn't lose her. He wouldn't. Adel was convulsing, her body writhing in pain. The baby was coming "Ahhhhh!!" Adel pushed with so much pain, but then, she had no strength in her, she was dying.
All of a sudden, there was no motion, Rico's hands trembled as he held Adel's lifeless body, his fingers brushing against her blood-soaked dress. Her chest didn't rise. Her lips, once so warm and full of life, were now pale. Her heartbeat was gone.
"No, no, no! Adel" He called out in fear. He pressed his forehead to hers, his breath ragged. "Adel, wake up," he whispered, his voice breaking. "You promised me."
A shrill cry pierced the silence. Rico snapped his head toward the newborn, still slick with birth, screaming into the night. But the baby wasn't just crying, his tiny body glowed.
Something burned at the base of his neck. It was a mark. A strange, shimmering symbol pulsed beneath his delicate skin, swirling like silver fire. It wasn't just light, it was power. An ancient energy that made Rico's undead heart stutter.
Then, the moon was different. The familiar silver glow of the full moon darkened, twisting into a deep crimson. It was the Blood Moon.
Rico's breath hitched. He had heard the myths. A vampire born under a Blood Moon was destined for power, for ruin. They carried a fate worse than death. A curse or a prophecy.
None of that mattered because Adel was dead.
His whole world felt empty. His vision blurred. He had lost people before, but not her. Never her. "I won't let this happen," he whispered.
His body trembled as he held her closer. The scent of her blood was thick in the air, mixing with the newborn's cries, the electric charge of the storm raging outside.
His fangs ached. "Forgive me my love" Rico cried. The hunger. The instinct. The only way. To turn her.
It was a sin to take a soul from death. A cruel, unnatural fate. He had seen it before, humans brought back with an unquenchable thirst, their emotions stripped, their humanity forever lost.
But the alternative? Losing her forever. Rico let out a shuddering breath, then lifted his wrist to his mouth. His fangs tore through his skin, ripping flesh, and piercing veins. His blood was dark, rich, powerful, spilled over his fingers.
He pressed it to her lips. "Drink," he whispered desperately, his voice raw. "Please, Adel. Come back to me."
Her lips were soft, cold. The blood-stained them like wine, but she didn't move.
"Come on," he pleaded, his voice breaking. But there was nothing, he took her hand and allowed his fangs to pierce through them for his venom to be in her. But still nothing, just silence.
His grip tightened around her. Had he been too late?
His throat constricted. The pain was unbearable. He couldn't do this. He couldn't lose the one woman he had truly loved.
He bent his head in agony, and just then, there was a twitch.
A shudder rippled through her body. Her fingers curled slightly. Her lips parted just the slightest bit.
Rico froze. A beat of silence. Then her body convulsed.
A choked gasp escaped her lips, her back arching off the cold ground as if something unseen had just ripped her from the afterlife.
Rico's heart nearly stopped. Her eyes flew open. But they weren't hazel anymore. They were deep, glowing red.
She wasn't human anymore. The air around them shifted, the oppressive energy of the Blood Moon wrapping around them like a noose.
Then, before Rico could react, Adel lunged.
Faster than thought, her fangs sank into his throat.
A sharp, electric burn tore through him as pain and pleasure clashed. His breath hitched, his hands gripping her shoulders, but he didn't fight her. Because this meant she was alive.
She clung to him with an unnatural strength, her nails slicing into his skin. She was different. She was stronger. Her entire body trembled as she drank, her transformation tearing through her veins, rewriting her very existence.
The storm outside became dead. The wind stopped. The world paused.
Rico closed his eyes, a grim realization settling over him. Two mysterious things had happened that night, the birth of his son and the conversion to vampire. She wasn't human anymore. She was something else. Something more.
And as the blood-red moon burned above them, Rico knew….There was no turning back.