“Do I have to…do I have to kill them?”

The corners of Max’s mouth drooped. “Eventually, no, but I’ve yet to meet anyone with the discipline to stop themselves on their first feed. I’m sorry.”

Bennett looked toward the stand of trees and then back at Max. “But…but what do I do? I-I don’t know what to do.”

“You will in a moment,” Max said, pulling a dagger from his belt. Drawing the blade across his palm, he waited while his blood pooled. “You possess an instinct now, Bennett, an instinct as strong as breathing, and once it awakens, it will never sleep again. As I said, in time, you’ll be able to control it, but tonight it will go unfettered, and you only need to follow where it leads you.”

Max dipped his finger in the puddle of blood in his palm and then brushed it against Bennett’s lips. In a split second, Bennett’s eyes changed from brown to blue, and her canine teeth extended into fangs, pointed and sharp.

“And there it is,” Max said in a breath. “An instinct as deniable as it is horrid at times.”

Bennett hissed in a breath. The cacophony of the forest went silent in an instant, and the slow swoosh of blood in her veins became swift. Suddenly, her lungs felt fuller than they’d ever been before, and even though she was crouched, Bennett felt taller, stronger, and acutely aware of everything. She could smell the sweat of the men in the camp and hear their heartbeats and their snores. She could hear something else, too, and Bennett unconsciously licked her lips. Blood flowed slowly through their veins, and like a seductive mistress, it beckoned her.

Bennett stood tall, and Max rose with her. “I’ll wait here,” he whispered. “You are stronger than them now and so much swifter. Walk silently…and go do what you must.”

***

Max stood between the horses, running his hands over their shiny coats, and when he heard a branch snap, he took a deep breath and emerged from between the steeds. Bennett approached, walking almost as if in a trance. Blood covered her cheeks and chin, and Max could see her black tunic had become darker in several places. She had done what she needed to do.

It wasn’t until Bennett was within a few feet of Max when their eyes met, and a second later, Bennett’s hand flew to her mouth. She fell to her knees, and her stomach erupted like a volcano.

Heave after heave wracked Bennett’s body, and when she finally quieted, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before looking up at Max. “Christ, I just…I just wasted what I just did, didn’t I?”