Still Beating

in conclusion...

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Lost in thought, Genesis paid little attention when she reached for her mother again. Her stare was distant and near-vacant. Her throat bobbed, and tears fell gracelessly from unmoving eyes. The room had gone pin-drop silent once again, the air heavy and somber as the girl's mind traveled somewhere far.

Vaguely, she felt the echoes of her lovers trying to follow her. She put up no resistance toward them as she flew into the ether that eagerly called to her. Something was waiting for her on the other side — something she needed to witness. What was hers was theirs, right? Whatever she was headed to would tolerate her mates. 

Her body was still back where she'd left it. Her mother watched on in disbelief, feeling everything Genesis was experiencing herself. This was indescribable; Tamara couldn't bring herself to even signal to the men in the room not to worry. How could she explain what was happening - what she was seeing?

Her heart ached for her daughter. For the innocence her baby would never have again. A lost memory no longer seemed so unbearable. She wished she could reach in and bring her daughter back. Genesis didn't need to relive this. She had finally been free of all this. 

Genesis had a similar thought, but she walked deeper into the woods that materialized before her. The wound at her neck opened with a slow bleed, slowly picking up traction as it seeped into her tee. She blinked at the flickering shadows around her. One of them had done this, just a little bit farther, and she'd know which. 

A faint growl sounded at the cusp of her awareness. With a frustrated shake of her head, she trudged onward, fighting low branches. The trees were much more cramped this far into the forest. It was overwhelming, she was covered in bramble and streaks of dirt left in the wake of twigs. She had been running for so long, how could she ever hope to get away?

The trees suddenly gave way and she went tumbling until she finally found rest on her knees. They burned as old scrapes tore themselves open against the earth. Her eye swelled and she felt the slow peel of her lip bursting. She went to scream, but all that came out was a wet gurgle as she choked. Her hands flew to hold the wound closed as she peered up at the man standing above her. 

He was an imperious-looking man with long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and burning red eyes. A gasp tore through her memory, making Genesis flinch in distraction, but her eyes stayed on the bored ones staring at her in distaste. This is the first time she'd been allowed to see or hear for some time now. Her eyes flickered to the men behind him: a somber man in all black and a young-looking blonde man who gnashed his teeth at her. He was yelling about how they should have just turned her anyway, or at least eaten her. The man mumbled the words "no more children" in response. 

That perplexed her because she had spent much time with two siblings around her age this week. The two of them would tag team her: taking away her senses and turning her body into a playground for pain. Genesis's back twinged painfully where it stood in sympathy. Their eyes burned just as red as the man before her, so children clearly aren't where they drew the line. What made her different?

The vampire staring down at her grinned with all his teeth as he dragged a fingertip through the blood dripping over her hands. He licked it delightfully as he hushed his followers.

"She'll be ours in due time. Won't you, Genesis?"

A/N: i know i said 35 chapters, but this felt right? tell me what you guys think! this is my first finished work, and will probably be revisited and edited someday, so archive this!

UPDATE: 01/14/22!

no, it's not the end. your fave trio is coming back soon. gonna make some edits to this installment and then we move forward with part 2!