"Stop right now!"
Eden found it difficult to describe being a newborn vampire.
The experience of being driven to madness by one's instincts was complex.
It was funny to her that one drop of blood, one specific, distinctive smell, could turn her into a mass murderer in a moment's notice.
When the bloodlust took over, she was merely a passenger in her own body.
A ghostly entity, haunting herself.
"You don't want to do this," Kate called to her. "Just stop running so we can restrain you."
They might as well have been talking to a tree.
The entire Denali Coven chased the newborn as she blindly hunted down a hiker.
This unlucky human had either fallen or accidentally cut themselves about four miles away and, like a bloodhound, Eden caught the scent of it on the breeze.
One moment, she and her coven were enjoying the heat of the summer sun, the next, she was gone.
The girl was fast.
Faster than even the ancient ones.
She was agile too, weaving through the trees at the last second as if she had done it before.
Before long the Denali Coven glanced at each other mid sprint, knowing they weren't going to be able to catch up with her.
All they could do was clean up whatever mess she made once she was finished.
They slowed down, wincing, as the sound of two men screaming and then a series of growls reached their ears.
It was too late.
They stayed back as the smell of freshly spilled human blood set their throats ablaze.
Carmen and Eleazar covered their noses, muttering apologies.
Tanya waved them off.
She knew they could only take so much before they, too, became feral.
The three blondes snuck closer, hearing their mate moaning with pleasure.
The scene was almost a mirror image of their first encounter, just three months ago.
Eden was covered in blood.
The crimson liquid stained her hair and dripped down her face sluggishly.
Her first victim lie in a mangled heap. He was nothing but a twisted, grotesque mound of flesh lying on the forest floor.
Eden growled squeezing her second victim tightly as she noticed the blood was almost gone. His bones creaked and then snapped like twigs. The sound made them flinch.
When the newborn was done, she threw his body aside in frustration and went back to the first man's corpse.
She sneered at it, realizing there was no more blood left. Her nostrils twitched and she looked at her crimson stained hands.
The newborn's eyes rolled back as she franctically licked them clean.
However, it was all gone before she knew it.
She snarled in frustration.
The women watched with venom tears in their eyes as Eden dropped to her knees and released a guttural scream.
It seemed as if she were in excruciating pain.
The sound was so loud it nearly shook the trees.
The thirst was unbearable.
Unfathomable, in fact.
It burned, yes, but no one ever spoke about the other sensations that came with the thirst.
That gnawing feeling in the pit of one's stomach that would not stop. The horrible pressure in her chest from the frustration of needing more, but knowing that she wouldn't get it.
The worst part was knowing she would do anything, kill anyone, to get one more drop.
It was pure, unadulterated hell.
The sight of her, bathed in blood, roaring at the heavens was almost poetic. She looked like a demon, but everyone in attendance knew that she was the epitome of an angel.
A fallen angel, maybe, but an angel, nonetheless.
This juxtaposition was unsettling.
They waited patiently for her to calm down. It was a given that if they ambushed her, she would attack them.
Eventually, when her wailing turned into sobs, they decided to move in.
Eden caught the scent of her mates on the wind, and her head whipped toward them. Her eyes were two misty black orbs.
The woman they knew was gone.
This...thing was all that remained.
Eden growled, tilting her head like a wolf.
Those inhuman eyes flickered between them possessively.
When she spoke, her voice sounded like a rusty chainsaw.
"Mine."
The moment she twitched toward them the three woman wasted no time.
Irina and Kate bolted in opposite directions, flanking the newborn, while Tanya charged her head on. This was enough to disorient her.
As they tackled her to the ground, Eden clawed at them wildly to no avail. Hands pinned her arms and legs to the ground while Tanya straddled her.
"Look at me," she said calmly.
Eden roared, sending drops of bloody spittle onto her face.
All she could see was red.
"Eden," Tanya purred seductively. "Look at me, szerelmem."
The newborn froze to stare at her.
There was something about the tone of her voice.
There was something about the beautiful faces staring down at her, and the combination of their scents filling her nose as she panted unnecessarily.
Kate and Irina shared a wide eyed look, silently praising their mate for her quick thinking.
Eden's chest rumbled as Tanya caressed her bloodstained face. The sensation felt amazing.
Her fingertips ghosted over her forehead, her eyelids, the bridge of her nose, and then traced the outline of her lips.
She was hypnotized, unable to process anything but the sensations of her mate's gentle touch.
After a very long time, they could see the mist of bloodlust slowly fade from her eyes.
They remained silent, still holding her to the forest floor, as she regained authority over her mind and body.
"What...," she began, trailing off.
Eden's lip trembled as the sight of her mates' sorrowful faces and the scent of stale blood was brought to her attention. Memories filtered in and her eyes widened in horror.
She tried to turn her head to see the carnage she caused, but hands held her face in place.
"Don't look," Tanya warned. "Keep your eyes on us, love."
The women watched with broken hearts as Eden descended into a mental breakdown.
Her dry sobs were so deep and raw that the sound caused them physical pain.
After a moment she groaned in frustration, grasping at the dirt.
"Why can't I just fucking cry," she wailed.
Kate's eyes watered.
"I know, honey. I know."
The desire to shed tears was overwhelming, but it was impossible in this form. In this body that so willingly betrayed her.
If anyone understood that burning need, it was her three mates.
They released her from her prison and carefully maneuvered her so that they could surround her. She leaned back into Kate's chest and allowed them to encircle her. She clutched at them, trying in vain to pull them closer.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Eden muttered repeatedly. "Please...please don't leave me."
Irina nuzzled her cheek and caressed her hair.
"We love you," she said firmly. "This is not your fault. We aren't going anywhere."
Eden allowed them to rock her back and forth as she wept. All the while they repeated Irina's words to her, forcing them into her mind.
However, she couldn't get the memories of her violent attack to go away.
The horror in those men's eyes...
The sounds of their gurgling breaths.
They died horrible deaths, only because she couldn't control her own body.
Furthermore, all of the progress she fought tooth and nail for in the last three months meant nothing. She was, at best, a dissapointment to her mates, and most definitely a liability.
Eden closed her eyes, feeling the soreness as that realization hit her hard.
While her mates reassured her that she was not a monster and they would never leave her, she felt guilt well in her stomach.
She thought, perhaps they should leave.
Save themselves from her imminent self destruction.
Because, this experience brought a certain morbid clarity to her mind that allowed her to understand what it meant to be a newborn vampire. The simplicity astounded her.
Eden wasn't a passenger in her own body or a ghost haunting herself.
She was a forest fire.
She was the fire, and she was the forest, but she was also the witness watching it, hopelessly frozen.
Eden didn't know which role hurt the most, but she knew that this was all she could remember being.