Mated to My Twin Brother

bringing unbearable pain with each heartbeat. I fought, what felt like hours, but could do no more. Rough tree bark scraped my back, each slight movement sending waves of fresh agony through my body.

my breath caught in my throat. It was a woman, but there was something jarringly unnatural about the way she moved, her sliding steps slow, almost trance-like. Her white gown streaked with dirt and grime, clung to her thin frame; her hair hung around her face in matted strands. Her eyes, half-open, empty, stared straight ahead as she came closer. "Help." My voice faltered, caught in my throat as the woman drew closer, her fear closing in tighter upon my chest. Something was wrong. This wasn't a rescuer; it was something far more terrifying. She stopped just inches away from me, her head cocked as if weighing me. I could see the dirt ground under her fingernails; the hollow look in her eyes that did not make her seem quite human. She reached in and pressed her mouth to my neck, sniffing. Every muscle in my body tensed, screaming for my mind to run, get away, but I was helpless, trapped. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for whatever was about to happen. Then, in an instant, the woman's eyes snapped fully open, and a feral snarl escaped her lips. Before I could react, she lunged forward, sinking her teeth into my neck with a vicious bite. The pain was immediate, overwhelming, the fire coursing in my veins. I screamed, my raw desperate voice echoing through the forest as I tried to thrash against ropes. Teeming in vain against her iron clutches. "Help! Somebody, please, help me!" I cried out, but the forest remained silent, uncaring of my pleas. She clamped down harder, ripping into my skin, and I felt the warmth of blood trickling down my neck. The world went spinning as my vision began to blur, the pain become impossible to bear. Just at this moment when I could bear no more, a bright, blinding light arose from the darkness, which forced the woman to release her clutches on me. She recoiled, hissing, as the light drove her back into the shadows like some feral animal. She disappeared into the forest; her movements were frantic, erratic, and left me to myself once more. The light hung for a moment in the air over me, its warmth touching me skin, before it too started to fade, once more plunging me into darkness. I was overcome with uncontrollable shivering, the pain of the bite mingling with terror clutching my heart. Blood was still oozing from the wound, and I could feel my strength slipping away with each passing second. As the darkness closed in around me, my mind was out of control. Memories flashed in front of my eyes: images of my childhood, my mother, who even as a child was warning me about the dangers, friends whom I believed were trustworthy, and Ralph-the boy whom I had foolishly trusted so much. The sting of hi