THE END

The marshal had incited a crowd. Most of the villagers were gathered outside to see the triumphant return of the hunting party, and to see the dangerous monster brought to justice.

There were hundreds of faces I didn't recognize, all come to bring justice to the people who had never garnered their attention before they were killed.

People were jeering and cheering, shouting triumphantly as I was dragged to the center of the town where a post had been erected just for me.

Among the madness, I spotted Luhan - still bound and now beaten by the party. I met his gaze as I was thrown against the post and chains were wrapped around my body to keep me in place.

"Please!" I begged of the marshal. He didn't hear me. My words were swallowed by the commotion of the crowd.

Luhan was terrified. So was I. I never thought that would ever happen. I never thought Luhan would be punished because of me.

My father was soon dragged into the madness. He was bound and put on his knees on the ground beside Luhan, not far from me. My father was even more afraid, but among that fear was sorrow and shame.

He must have thought he failed me so badly.

"Please!" I screamed. A rock was thrown my way and struck me in the side of the head.

"Demon!" the crowd shouted, "Murderer! Monster!"

All of that might have been true, but in that moment, they were no different than me. They were all monsters.

I saw my friends dispersed among the people. All he men I had come to know from the tavern. Even Kai was there, but he did not have the triumphant expression I expected. Chances were, he never thought Luhan would be dragged into the madness.

"Stop this!" I shouted at him, hoping he would hear me where no one else could.

"This monster has been a plague on our village for years!" the marshal said above the crowd. He pointed his flaming torch my direction, turning everyone's hateful attention solely on me. "He has drained the blood of our neighbors. He has brought death to our streets."

"I did it!" I screamed at him, "I did. Not them!"

"These two have hidden this monster and given him shelter in their homes. They have allowed him to live, knowing what he has done to their friends and neighbors."

The crowd was screaming again and their hate was no longer directed at me alone.

Just as my hope was starting to fade, Kai approached his father and grabbed him by the arm. I couldn't hear what he said, but I knew he was pleading for Luhan's life. Chanyeol and Sehun went to Luhan's side in an attempt to protect them.

"He didn't kill anyone! He doesn't deserve to die," Kai pleaded to the people.

"He betrayed Jessica. He still protected that monster, even after he tried to kill her!"

"He's innocent!"

I only lost more hope as I saw that the marshal wouldn't be swayed, not even by his own son. Neither would the crowd. "Traitors!" they began shouting. Another rock was thrown, only this time, it hit Luhan.

"Stop it!" I cried, pulling against my chains.

The marshal's torch was in my face again, but I refused to back away from the flame. I stared at him defiantly, ready to show him the monster he feared so greatly.

"You will burn!" he announced, "You will pay for the lives you have taken and the blood you have spilled. And these men will be hanged for their treachery."

Wood was brought and piled at my feet. I didn't fear the fire that was meant to consume me. I only feared for Luhan's safety.

Chanyeol and Sehun were pulled away by the crowd, but they weren't the types to abandon their friend easily. A short scuffle erupted, only driving the night further into chaos.

It all happened in but a second.

Another rock hit me in the head, nearly knocking me unconscious, just as the flames started at my feet. Though I was disoriented, my focus was still on Luhan and the fight that surrounded him. Among all the villagers and the torches and the punches thrown, someone pulled a knife.

The pain from the fire hit me just as I saw the blade stab Luhan in the chest.

For a moment, everything stopped. And all I saw was red.

The fire at my feet was insignificant. The ropes and the chains gave way beneath my strength. I screamed as I ripped through them and freed myself from the post. Before any of the villagers could scatter, I was on the marshal. My teeth were in his neck and tearing his flesh. His blood filled my mouth, but this was not about drinking. This was about killing him.

The crowd now screamed in terror. Those who were confidently cheering my death were now running for their lives. Few men came to try and stop me, but they were no match. They had no idea of what my true monster looked like until that moment.

I killed every villager who came at me. I broke their necks and tore their flesh. I let my rage drive every action, to the point where I barely remember it.

I pulled a torch from the grasp of one of the dead men and threw it at the fleeing crowd. It fell against one of the shops and within minutes, the building was in flames. It spread quickly throughout the square, as I chased down anyone I could find and the body count continued to grow at my feet.

In the end, the square was deserted. The villagers had fled for their lives, not even bothering to try and save their shops.

When my anger was satiated and I inevitably regained my senses, the scorching flames surrounded me on all sides. Nothing moved within the circle. There were bodies everywhere. People I had come to recognize within that village were now dead at my feet. Their blood was fresh on my tongue.

At the time, none of that mattered. My only concern was Luhan.

He was where he had fallen, next to the man who had stabbed him, who was now a corpse.

"Luhan!"

I ran to where he lay and fell to my knees beside him. He was alive, but struggling. The wound in his chest was severe.

"Please don't," I pleaded futilely. I couldn't see him die. I couldn't, not after he had shown me what it meant to be alive.

His eyes were locked with mine, full of understanding and regret. He didn't try speaking though. He only stared, trying to convey his last thoughts to me in silence.

"Please don't leave me," I asked. As if it really was his choice to make...

Movement behind pulled my attention from him. My father was still in the circle, still bound but unharmed. He looked over the massacre, unable to believe what was before him.

"Father!" I cried.

He didn't hear me.

"Father!" I laid Luhan on the ground and ran to where he was. I shook him to get his attention, "Help me, please! Help me save him!"

"Kris..."

"She must have told you! My mother must have told you how she was changed! Please, tell me how to change him! Help me save him!"

His gaze went to Luhan and I saw his guilt and sorrow.

"Tell me how!" I begged.

"Your blood," he answered so weakly I could barely hear the words, "Give him your blood."

I let him go and ran back to Luhan. He had gone unconscious. His chest was barely rising to give him air. I did the only thing I could think of and sank my teeth into my own wrist. Blood flowed freely from the open vein as I held it over him, letting it drip between his parted lips.

I tilted his head back so it would flow better and re-opened my wound as it started healing. It felt like I was there for hours.

"Please," I begged among my tears. "Please."

His throat swallowed, as if in automatic response to the blood. I counted his weak heartbeats. One...two...three...four...five...

Luhan opened his eyes again. He wasn't conscious for one second before he started screaming. The most horrifying cry escaped his throat as every muscle in his body tensed, as my blood went into his system and transformed his body into the thing I hated most about myself.

I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know it would be so painful for him, or so terrifying for me. But I stayed with him. I held his hand even as he crushed my bones. I waited through the entire long, agonizing transformation. Then just as soon as it began, it ended.

Luhan's body went completely limp.

I might have thought he was dead, but I could hear his heart, beating stronger than before. The wound that marred his chest was healing, slowly knitting the flesh back together.

My tears were now tears of relief. He would live.

"I'm sorry," my father uttered behind me as he sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

I had every intention of saving my father that night, but I ended up doing him more harm than the marshal ever could. The few people I had killed before were nothing compared to bodies that surrounded us. All of it had happened because my father protected me, because he loved me, because he had loved my mother.

None of it was his fault, but there was nothing that could satiate the guilt from his involvement. And now he had helped me create another vampire.

Would the cycle happen all over again?

I had spent so much of my life hating him. All he had ever done was love me, despite everything.

"Thank you," I said as I reached out for him and broke the bonds that still tied his hands.

"Go, son," he said, "Go."

There was no other option, but I didn't want to leave him there. If he stayed, he was as good as dead.

But I had a feeling he knew that...and that he wanted that.

"Just go, Kris."

"Thank you, father," I said one last time, before I obeyed him. I went to Luhan and gathered him in my arms, before leaving the village, my father, and everything I had ever known behind.

A/N: Don't worry, it's not the end yet. That was just the title of the chapter. There is one more chapter left! :)

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