Enemy of my Enemy

𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞 𝕹𝖎𝖓𝖊

Present Day

"Bianca!"

"Bianca. Her name will be Bianca."

"Bianca, please wake up."

"Bianca?"

"It means snow," her mother whispered. "Snow white. Would you look at that, Enzo? Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?"

"Fuck, Bianca, you can't do this to me!"

Her father's gaze left his newborn daughter's blinding white hair, and settled upon his wife's beaming smile.

"I can think of one," he replied.

"Bianca..." Grayson's breathing became heavy again. He brushed a lock of Bianca's hair behind her ear.

Her eyes fluttered open.

"You're going to be fine," he stuttered. "You're going to be absolutely fine."

Wordlessly, Bianca stared down at the deep cut that started at her right hip and ended somewhere near her left ribs. "Why hasn't it healed?" she mumbled.

"Silver. They- They had it with them, I don't know how, but-"

"I'll be okay," she muttered. Her eyes softened when they met his. "You seem better."

"Yeah," he cleared his throat. "Last time was like this too, I think. Right before the moon reaches its peak, I get a few moments of peace, and then the monster..."

Three seconds of horrified silence.

Then Grayson instantly scrambled to his feet. "Shit, Bianca, you have to get out of here! Now!"

He swung her arm around his shoulder and practically dragged her to the entrance of the cave. The boulder keeping them in was massive, but Grayson was sure it was nothing the two of them couldn't handle together.

Right?

"I c-can't transition right now, I'm too w-wounded," she said.

Fine. Fine- The boulder was nothing Grayson couldn't handle alone.

"You have to get as far away from here as possible, understand?" he said. Gritting his teeth, he put his entire weight on the boulder and started pushing. Inch by inch, an exit began to appear-

"Grayson!" Bianca screamed, trying and failing to catch Grayson when he doubled over and fell to his knees. A low growl exited the back of his throat. He could feel every bone, muscle, and cell in his body coming alive.

The Blood Moon had reached its peak.

A deafening roar erupted around them, its volume amplified by a hundred due to the hollow area they were in. Grayson's spine grew more and more crooked until he was hunched over with no way to right himself. He could hear Bianca's faint shouts in the distance- She hadn't gone out yet, she needed to get out-

He pushed the boulder, kicked it, pounded on it, begging it to move. She couldn't be in here, she couldn't be in here...

"Grayson!"

Again and again, he threw himself against it, until blood was running down his arms and face.

"Grayson. Grayson, listen to me."

Her voice was so calm, so soothing. This couldn't be happening, god, this had to be a nightmare.

"Grayson, I'm going to be fine. You said so yourself, remember? I'll be fine." Tears were running down her cheeks, but not a trace of her fear could be heard in her voice.

"Do you think it makes you brave, refusing to acknowledge fear?"

"I'm sorry," he sobbed, because there was nothing left for him to do. "I'm sorry."

"Was it wrong of me to expect more from you?"

"Shut up, Briare. We're both getting out of this alive, so there's nothing to apologize for, understand?"

"I don't have any trouble with acknowledging fear, darling. I just don't feel any right now."

It was ridiculous. She was the one who was in danger of getting torn to pieces, yet it was her who was comforting him.

"Is your father's name what gives you such false confidence?"

Bones broke and reattached themselves at odd angles. His screams shifted into guttural roars.

"Not really, no. No offense, but you're just not as impressive as you think yourself to be."

"I'm not going to run," she said. "You're not going to hurt me."

"You don't know me, Bianca Angelica Blackburn."

It hurt him, how much she seemed to believe her own words.

"I may not know your name, but I know you."

"I know you. You can take control, Grayson."

But Grayson was already gone. His mind was no longer his own. Towering before Bianca was a creature that was neither man, nor wolf. It was a grotesque beast that was caught in between the two species- A fanged monster that could stand on its hind legs: One that had retained its animalistic predatory instincts, and its humane thirst for blood.

"You really are as mad as they say, aren't you?"

"Not mad, darling. Just insanely ambitious."