IT WAS HARD being inside Wolfe's mind. Sophie continued to talk to him, to ask him questions, and she could always glimpse the darkness that he was surrounded in. It was torture. The awful quiet, the sense of numbness. It was enough to almost drive her insane. The longer that he stayed in the chamber, the more open their mind connection became.

It had something to do with his lack of other senses, he had told her.

"So tell me about this imprint," Sophie pressed, as Wolfe's mind started to wonder toward the darkness.

He stumbled a bit, looking for the proper words. "It's really nothing special. It's not like we're mated or anything, not like what happens with vampires. It's just the same as an imprint between animals; I have recognized you as another person of habitual trust."

"So you automatically trust me?"

That made Wolfe snort. "Something like that. When a werewolf imprints on a human, a special bond is formed. It is supposed to make me attractive to you, and draw you closer. It kind of sets us up to be mates, if we wanted to."

Sophie remained quiet. That did make sense to her. She had always felt drawn toward him, ever since she ran into him in the hallway on her first day.

He seemed to read her mind. "I've imprinted on several humans before, so I know the drill. I thought I had it controlled enough. I guess you caught me by surprise in that hallway; I wasn't in control of my emotions."

"Okay," she thought. "I was too pretty for you to handle. Got it."

Wolfe chuckled. "If that makes you feel better, then yes. Though this whole telepathic link is new to me. Our mind link was formed because of our situation, I believe. I have never had this happen before, so I am just theorizing."

"Well, you've never been in this situation before, so it would make sense," she said.

He mentally smiled. "Exactly right. You see, as a werewolf, I rely mostly on my senses. And right now, they are being completely drowned out. It's an old torture technique used on werewolves, meant to make me go insane. I read about it once before. I believe that this mental link is kind of a last resort for my mind."

A quiet settled between them. It didn't take long before Wolfe's mind started to deteriorate, and the darkness to creep into it. Sophie immediately started to think again. "What's going to happen to us?" she asked.

He paused. The darkness crawled away, and his thoughts became clear again. "I don't know," he said, somber. "I know that you will be changed into a complete vampire."

"What do you mean?" That made Sophie wish that she could scowl. "What if I don't want to be a complete vampire? I happen to like my half human self very much."

Wolfe mentally smiled a grim little smile. "I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. Had I not pulled Aubrey off when I did, she would have completely torn out your throat."

Sophie shuddered at the thought. Before he could hide it, the memory flashed across her eyes. Aubrey right on top of Sophie, clawed hands clasped around her throat. The blood, the tattered skin and sinew.

"There's no way I should have survied that," she realized.

Wolfe nodded. "You wouldn't have, if you were just a human."

"But isn't that enough? Like, I'm not just a human, so I survived right?"

This time he shook his head. His voice was gentle. "Sophie, your vampire side helped you survive long enough to get into the healing pod. The pod isn't meant to heal that much damage. Right now it is the only thing that is keeping you alive."

"So I don't have a choice."

"You never really did," Wolfe said, grim.

"What do you mean?"

He took a moment to choose his words carefully. "The Headmaster had always intended for you to become a full vampire. He is the one who pushed Eli to get you nominated, and into the games. But I don't know why."

Another memory flashed across Sophie's mind eye, only this time it was her own. It took her back to when Eli was standing in front of her, desperate to keep her in the games. It was when he had slipped, and revealed that he wasn't the only one messing with the games.

"He didn't have a choice either, did he?"

That idea kind of made Sophie sad. The more she thought about it, the more her chest hurt. Their entire relationship was based on nothing more than his orders. Forcing her to spend time with him, and to participate in the games, he had been forced to do that. It made her feel slightly better about him; he wasn't as creepy as she had originally thought. But it also hurt, she realized. She had genuinely grown to like him, to love him even.

"No, he didn't. It was Aubrey's mission at first, but the Headmaster could sense your dislike for her. It was then changed to Eli."

Sophie didn't know how to react. She lapsed back into another moment of silence, mulling over this new information. Wolfe stared to struggle again. She rushed to fill the quiet. "Why do they want me to be a vampire, anyways?"

"It is part of some kind of strategy that the Headmaster has to win the war."

Sophie paused. "What war?"

"You don't think those hunters were just random incidents, do you?" Wolfe mentally snorted. "The rest of the world, and the supernatural races? They have been suppressed by the vampire race for years. Even the humans. You wouldn't know though, because you've grown up with them. Humans aren't allowed to know about supernatural creatures. They can hardly handle the small differences between their own race, much less add in supernatural abilities."

"So there has been a war?" Sophie frowned. Shouldn't a war be messy, and hard to hide?

"Not exactly. I suppose that war is the wrong word to use. It's more of a rebellion. The other supernatural races, like the ogres and werewolves, have banded together against the vampires. And after several years of experimentation, hunters have been created to help our odds. There's a reason that the Headmaster has been the head vampire for the past several decades."

"You seem to know an awful lot," Sophie pressed. "And aren't there other vampires to attack? Why here?"

The mental smile that Wolfe sent her made chills race down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck fought the jelly and stood straight. "There are no other vampires," he explained. "Most of them died out, like the faeries, years ago. The Headmaster built this fortress to protect you lot."

Her frown deepened. "Isn't that kind of stupid? To gather all the vampires in one place?"

Wolfe shrugged. "His loss."

"So you aren't on the Headmaster's side," she concluded.

"Not at all. As I said, vampires have suppressed werewolves for years. Suppressed, and even hunted for sport. I am not a fan."

"Then what are you doing here?"

Surely the Headmaster knew he was a werewolf.

Wolfe laughed. The sound was bitter. "I was captured. The Headmaster has me held hostage, forced to teach his little vampire fledglings. I can't escape. I've already tried many times. And any student that I attempt to tell was killed."

"That's horrible," she whispered.

And then the jelly moved.

Sophie's internal alarms blared, and she struggled to make sense of what was happening. The jelly moved around her and pushed harder against her skin. The coldness it created gave way to something even colder. The colder substance was condensed into certain areas, pin pointed around her body. One was positioned in front of her throat, more pressed against her wrists. She could feel something sharp poking through.

"Stop! What's going on?!"

"Try to remain calm, Sophie. Please just remain calm. It's syringes. You're about to be changed."

Sophie struggled to open her eyes. The jelly wouldn't let her. It wouldn't let her push away the syringes, either. "What's going to happen?"

The syringes moved forward. The multiple needles pierced her skin, and pain seared through her veins. She tried to open her mouth, to scream. A thick, hot substance pushed through the needles and into her body. The warmth spread throughout her body, and sizzled around her neck.

Then the syringes were extracted, and the pain receded. The warm feeling remained. It burned through each part of her body, scorching every cell, every crevice. Her heart skipped a beat, and started to ache.

"What's going on?" she asked again. Even in her mind, she sounded breathless, and in pain.

Wolfe seemed grim. "The change will start now, and your human side will die."

Already his voice seemed farther away, and more quiet. Sophie tried to think. To talk to him. The coherent part of her wondered what that meant for him. He had said that he imprinted on her human side. It would make sense that the imprint would die with it.

He seemed to read her mind. "That's right," he said, his voice softer. The warmth seemed to flood in and bubble around inside her head. "When your human side dies, so will the imprint. An imprint is impossible between werewolves and vampires."

"What will happen to you?" she managed to think.

"I don't know."

please read fam:

alright. This is trimmed version of an old author's note that I plan to keep posted, as it still rings true today and I want to make sure that it reaches new readers. ♡

It's okay if you don't like this story. Or certain characters. You are entitled to your own opinions, and I totally respect that. But do not ever curse at, belittle, or insult another reader for stating their own opinion just because it clashes with yours.

I want everyone to understand that the comment section is not meant to cause harm to other readers. You are entitled to state your own opinion, as long as that opinion is not destructive. Didn't your Mamma's ever teach you? If you don't have anything nice to say, then keep your trap shut.

Just think of the impact your words can have. 

And on the bright side, when this chapter was posted, we reached #1 in the Vampire Category :)