Chapter 7: Bridge of Nightmares
1418words
Twilight painted the sky in bruised purples and deep blues as Damian's car approached Blackwater Bridge. My fingers tightened around the flash drive hidden in my pocket—I hadn't found an opportunity to view its contents yet. After leaving my apartment, Damian had kept me close, as if sensing my newfound knowledge made me flight risk.
The bridge itself was unremarkable—a simple stone structure spanning a narrow gorge, the river below a ribbon of silver in the fading light. Yet as we drew closer, my heart began to race, my palms slick with sweat.
"We can turn back," Damian said, watching me closely.
"No." I straightened my shoulders. "I need to see it."
He parked at the bridge's edge, the headlights illuminating weathered stone and metal guardrails. One section had been recently repaired, the fresh metal gleaming against the older, rusted portions.
"That's where your car went through," Damian said quietly.
I stepped out, drawn to the spot as if by magnetic force. The night air carried the scent of pine and water, stirring something deep within my memory. I placed my hand on the cold metal railing, closing my eyes.
It came in flashes—rain pelting the windshield, wipers struggling to keep pace. My knuckles white on the steering wheel as I fled from something. No, someone. Headlights in my rearview mirror, gaining fast. A figure in the road. Swerving. The sickening sensation of tires losing traction. The guardrail giving way. Falling.
"I remember," I whispered, opening my eyes. "I was running from someone."
Damian moved beside me, his presence solid and warm against the evening chill. "Victor."
"Why? What happened before?"
He hesitated. "You confronted me about what you'd seen in the woods. About what I am."
"And?"
"And I told you the truth. All of it. About the pact, about moon blood, about what it meant that my wolf had chosen you." His jaw tightened. "You were angry. Frightened. You left the estate in a storm."
"And Victor followed me?"
"We both did. I was trying to protect you. He was trying to claim you."
I turned to face him fully. "Claim me how?"
"By marking you himself. By taking what he believed should be his." Damian's eyes flashed that unnatural blue. "The blood moon was approaching. He knew if he marked you first, the pact would recognize his claim over mine."
"So what happened on this bridge?"
"Victor ran you off the road. By the time I reached you, your car was in the river, and he was trying to drag you from the wreckage." His voice dropped to a growl. "He had already cut you—here." His fingers brushed my side where the mysterious wound still healed. "The beginning of his marking ritual."
Another memory surfaced—water filling the car, cold and dark. Pain in my side. Amber eyes glowing in the darkness as strong hands pulled me through shattered glass. Then different hands, gentler but no less urgent, lifting me from the water.
"You fought," I said slowly. "You and Victor. Over me."
Damian nodded. "I drove him off. Brought you to the estate. By then, you were already slipping away—not just from your injuries, but from what your mind couldn't process."
"And the wedding? Why the rush?"
"The blood moon is in ten days. Without the protection of marriage—a human claim to complement the wolf's mark—Victor could still challenge me for you." His hand found mine. "I couldn't risk losing you."
The possessiveness in his voice should have repelled me. Instead, it sent heat coursing through my veins. Whatever this man was—this creature—my body responded to him on a primal level that bypassed rational thought.
"Show me," I said suddenly.
"Show you what?"
"What you are. What you become." I stepped closer. "I need to see it with clear eyes, not through fractured memories."
Damian's expression darkened. "Not here. It's too exposed."
"Then where?"
He glanced toward the dense forest beyond the bridge. "There. But Elena—" He caught my arm as I started forward. "Once you see, there's no going back. No more protective amnesia."
"I'm done hiding from the truth."
He studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "Stay close."
We followed a narrow path into the woods, the last light of day quickly swallowed by towering pines. Damian moved with preternatural grace, never stumbling despite the growing darkness. I followed less steadily, guided by his hand in mine.
Finally, we reached a small clearing bathed in moonlight. Damian stopped, turning to face me.
"Last chance," he said softly. "We can go back to the car, back to the estate, and pretend this never happened."
"No more pretending," I insisted. "Show me what you are."
He released my hand, stepping back. "Don't run."
The transformation began subtly—his eyes shifting first, human blue bleeding into something wilder, more luminous. Then his body tensed, muscles rippling beneath his clothes as bones realigned with sickening cracks. I watched, transfixed with horror and fascination, as the man before me dropped to all fours, his form elongating, dark fur spreading across his skin.
Where Damian had stood moments before, a massive wolf now crouched—larger than any natural wolf, with midnight-black fur and those same glowing blue eyes. My heart hammered against my ribs, yet I didn't run. Couldn't run. Some part of me recognized this creature, feared it and wanted it in equal measure.
"Damian?" I whispered.
The wolf approached slowly, each step deliberate. When it reached me, it pressed its muzzle against my palm—a gesture so gentle it brought tears to my eyes.
Another memory surfaced—this same wolf curled protectively around me in a bed of fallen leaves, its body heat keeping me warm as rain fell around us. My fingers buried in thick fur, my voice murmuring, "I should be terrified of you."
Without thinking, I sank to my knees, bringing myself eye-level with the creature. "I remember this," I said softly. "I remember you."
The wolf's ears pricked forward. It leaned in, its breath warm against my neck, inhaling my scent. Then it backed away, the transformation reversing until Damian knelt before me, breathing hard, eyes still glowing faintly.
"You didn't run," he said, voice rough.
"No." I reached out, touching his face. "I didn't run then, either, did I? That night in the woods when I first saw you change."
"No." His hand covered mine. "You stood your ground. It's one of the reasons my wolf chose you."
"And the others?"
His thumb traced my lower lip. "Your courage. Your fire. The way you challenge me when everyone else submits."
The intensity in his gaze made it hard to breathe. "What happens now?"
"Now we go back," he said. "Before Victor realizes we're here. This is his territory now."
As if summoned by his name, a howl rose from deeper in the forest—closer than comfort would allow, primal and hungry.
Damian tensed. "We need to leave. Now."
We hurried back toward the bridge, the howl echoing behind us. At the tree line, Damian suddenly pushed me behind him, his body coiled with tension.
A figure stood beside our car—tall and lean, with shoulder-length dark hair and eyes that gleamed amber in the moonlight. Even from a distance, I could feel his focus fixed on me like a physical touch.
"Victor," I whispered.
"Stay behind me," Damian growled, his voice already changing as his wolf rose to the surface.
But Victor made no move toward us. Instead, he smiled—a predator's smile, all teeth and hunger—and called out, "The blood moon comes, brother. Will your human claim hold when her true nature awakens?"
Then he was gone, melting into the shadows with inhuman speed.
Damian remained tense until we were back in the car, speeding away from the bridge. "He shouldn't have been able to get this close," he muttered. "The territory boundaries—"
"What did he mean about my 'true nature'?" I interrupted.
Damian's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Nothing. He's trying to unsettle you."
But I caught the flicker of his eyes, the slight hesitation before he answered. Another lie. Another secret.
As we drove back toward the estate, I slipped my hand into my pocket, fingers closing around the flash drive. Whatever truth Damian was still hiding from me, I suspected the answers were stored in those digital files—answers about the pact, about Victor's claim, and about what would happen when the blood moon finally rose.
