153

153

Sophia’s POV

When Jenny and Jacob finally burst through the door, the room immediately filled up with thick tension. I was sitting on the couch, reading something to distract myself, but the moment I saw Jenny’s pale face and wide, haunted eyes, I knew something terrible had happened.

“Jenny?” I said, standing up slowly, unsure of what to expect. “What’s going on?”

Jenny didn’t answer. She just stood there, shaking, her hands trembling at her sides. Jacob, behind her, looked just as shaken, his face drawn and serious. It wasn’t often that I saw Jacob this rattled, and that scared me. Something had gone very wrong.

“What happened?” I asked again, this time looking at Jacob.

“We were attacked,” Jacob said through clenched teeth, his hand resting on Jenny’s shoulder. “Two vampires. They tried to kill us.”

My heart sank. “Are you hurt? Both of you?”

Jenny shook her head slightly, her eyes staring at the floor as if she were reliving the attack in her mind. Jacob sighed heavily, glancing at her, then back at me.

“We’re fine,” Jacob said. “But it was close.”

I stepped toward Jenny cautiously, trying not to startle her. “Jenny, are you sure you’re okay?”

She lifted her head, meeting my gaze for the first time, and the look in her eyes made my stomach twist. There was fear there, but something else too—something darker. Her breathing was shallow, and her hands hadn’t stopped trembling since she walked in. I wasn’t sure what to do. I had never seen her like this before.

“I… I can’t do this,” Jenny said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “I thought I could, but I can’t.”

I frowned, moving closer. “Can’t do what?”

“All of it!” she snapped suddenly, her voice rising in pitch, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and panic. “I can’t live like this! We can’t go anywhere, we can’t do anything without someone trying to kill us! This isn’t normal! This isn’t what I signed up for!”

Her sudden outburst caught me off guard, and I saw Jacob tense beside her, clearly unsure of how to handle it. I knew Jenny had been struggling with her reality as a vampire, but she had always seemed so calm, so composed. This was the first time I had seen her completely lose control.

“Jenny, we’re doing everything we can to keep you safe,” I said softly, trying to soothe her. “We’re all in this together.”

“Safe?” she laughed bitterly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “We’re not safe, Sophia. Don’t you get it? We’re never going to be safe again! Not me, not you, not anyone! We can’t even go out to dinner without someone trying to kill us!”

I felt a knot form in my chest. She wasn’t wrong, not entirely. Life as a vampire—especially with everything going on—was dangerous. And since the attack on the realm and all the recent chaos, things had gotten even worse. But hearing her say it out loud like that made the truth of it hit harder than ever before.

“We’ll figure this out,” I said gently. “We always do.”

“No!” Jenny snapped, taking a step back, her eyes wild. “You don’t understand! I don’t want to figure it out! I don’t want to live like this anymore! I just want a normal life! I want to be able to go out without looking over my shoulder, without wondering who’s going to attack us next!”

Her voice had risen to a near-shout, and I could see her fists clenching at her sides, her breathing growing more erratic by the second. Jacob moved toward her, his hand reaching out to calm her, but she flinched away from him, her eyes glowing faintly.

“Jenny, please,” Jacob said softly, his voice laced with concern. “You need to calm down.”

“I can’t!” she screamed, and in an instant, the air in the room seemed to change. It was as if the energy around us crackled with tension, and I felt a surge of panic in my chest.

Jenny’s eyes flashed bright red, her fangs bared as she turned toward us, her whole body vibrating with barely contained fury. Her vampire instincts were taking over, and she was losing control—something she had never done before. The air seemed to thicken, and I could feel the raw power radiating off her, a storm of emotion she could no longer contain.

I took a step back, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t Jenny—at least, not the Jenny I knew. This was the vampire in her, the part of her that was still so new, so raw. The part she hadn’t yet learned to control.

“Jenny, you need to stop,” I said firmly, trying to keep my voice steady even though my hands were shaking. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

She turned to face me, her eyes glowing like embers, and for a terrifying moment, I wasn’t sure if she recognized me. Her chest heaved with the effort to breathe, and I could see her fighting—fighting against herself, against the vampire she had become.

But she wasn’t winning.

“Get out of my way!” she snarled, her voice low and dangerous.

“Jenny,” Jacob said again, his voice pleading now, “you need to calm down before you hurt someone.”

“I don’t care!” she shouted, and before I could even react, she moved.

It was so fast—too fast. One second she was standing there, and the next, she had slammed her fist into the wall beside me, the plaster cracking under the force. The whole room seemed to shake, and I stumbled backward, shocked by the sheer strength of her outburst.

“Jenny, stop!” I shouted, my voice trembling.

But she wasn’t listening. She was pacing now, her hands fisted in her hair, her breathing erratic. The energy in the room was suffocating, and I could feel the weight of her emotions pressing down on me like a physical force.

“I can’t do this!” she screamed again, her voice breaking. “I can’t!”

Jacob moved toward her cautiously, his hands raised in surrender. “Jenny, listen to me,” he said softly. “You’re not alone in this. We’re going to get through it. But you have to calm down.”

For a moment, I thought she might attack him, but then something shifted in her expression. The rage in her eyes flickered, replaced by something else—something softer, more vulnerable. She looked at Jacob, her chest still heaving, and I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she whispered, her voice broken.

“You won’t,” Jacob said gently, stepping closer. “You won’t, Jenny. You’re stronger than this.”

Slowly, he reached out, his hand resting on her arm. She didn’t pull away this time. Instead, she collapsed into his arms, her body trembling as the tears finally spilled over. Jacob held her tightly, whispering softly in her ear as she sobbed against his chest.

I stood there, frozen, my heart pounding in my chest. I had never seen Jenny like this—so broken, so terrified. She had always been the strong one, the one who held everything together. But now, it was clear that everything was falling apart for her, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

As I watched Jacob hold her, his face etched with worry, I felt a deep sense of helplessness wash over me. This was bigger than any of us. The danger, the fear, the constant threat of violence—it was wearing us all down, little by little.