Chapter 44: Melting

Kitty's tongue shot toward her owner, then coiled around the dog like a python strangling its prey. Bones cracked with a sickening crunch as Kitty howled in agony.

"Kitty! My baby!"

The landlady immediately lunged into the mess, trying to rescue her beloved pet. She screamed when her chubby hands began to corrode - just from lightly touching Kitty's tongue.

Autumn and Ethan rushed in together, trying to pull the large woman away. But the landlady fought with ferocious resistance. Despite being hurt by her own pet, she kept charging toward Kitty.

"Kitty! Mommy's coming!"

She shoved the two teenagers to the floor and lumbered forward - her nearly 100kg body wobbling as she ran toward the dog.

By then, Kitty had vanished within her own eyeball-covered tongue. A translucent, pale-red fluid secreted from the tongue, dissolving everything it touched: Kitty, the tongue, the eyes - all melting into a single grotesque, mushy pink mass.

The flesh-like lump was covered in thick, pulsating red veins. It kept expanding - now occupying nearly the entire double bed.

And it kept writhing, nonstop. Something inside that mess was squirming, restless. Something… wanted to come out.

THUD!

The landlady's bulky body collapsed to the floor. To stop her from reaching the hideous mass, Autumn had been forced to knock her out cold.

She dragged the unconscious woman into the bathroom. Ethan rushed over to help push her large frame into the bathtub.

"We'll have to hide her in here for now. Sure, her blood's full of cholesterol, uric acid, and glucose - but Feral Vampires aren't exactly picky."

Autumn offered a grim justification for her actions.

Once done, she locked the bathroom door, then shoved the wardrobe against it to reinforce the barricade.

"Autumn! We've got to get out of here - now!"

This time it was Ethan who shouted urgently.

"I need to wait until it finishes transforming. Then I'll lure it out of here. I can't let it slaughter anyone in this building."

Autumn explained, her tone resolute.

In the dim light, her brown eyes seemed to glow. Her fangs had lengthened, and her nails looked sharper, tougher than ever.

Autumn was now in full combat mode.

But Autumn's body was trembling uncontrollably. She was clearly terrified of whatever was gradually taking shape inside the pulsating mass of flesh.

"Ethan! You don't have much time left. You need to get out of here - now…"

"No! I'm not going anywhere without you!"

Ethan cut her off.

"Idiot! Stop acting like you're in a movie!"

"You're the idiot! You couldn't even handle a tentacle and a Chihuahua, let alone whatever that thing is!"

"…What did you say?"

That line hit Autumn's pride like a sledgehammer. The veins on her forehead and jaw visibly bulged in a mix of anger and embarrassment.

She stepped closer, face to face with Ethan. Her shimmering hazel eyes seemed to bore right into his soul.

Autumn stood on her tiptoes. Her hands gently touched Ethan's cheeks as her soft pink lips slowly parted…

Ethan was caught completely off guard.

The blood in his body surged toward his heart, which now pounded furiously.

And it wasn't just his heart racing - the Bloodbound mark at the spot where Autumn had once bitten him was pulsing in sync with every beat.

But the sensation from the Bloodbound mark now was… strange. It didn't hurt like it usually did when other Vampires or Infected approached.

Instead, it was hot, ticklish, restless - almost… craving. Craving the bite of a Vampire's fangs once more.

"My Bloodbound…"

Autumn's voice - usually youthful and chirpy - now turned soft, velvety, and utterly enchanting.

"Yes… my Mistress."

Ethan replied obediently. His rational mind cringed at what just came out of his mouth. No! That wasn't him speaking. It felt like someone - or something - was speaking through him.

"Go to Harmony High. Find shelter in Mr. Locke's security room and stay there until sunrise."

Autumn gave her command, firm and precise.

"…Why?"

Ethan asked, still wearing the dazed expression of someone sleepwalking. But that wasn't the response Autumn was hoping for.

She was completely stunned.

Some humans are born with an indomitable free will - resistant to control or manipulation. Ethan had always been one of them.

But Ethan was already a Bloodbound - her Bloodbound, created by Autumn herself. And yet, she still couldn't control him.

She had used every manipulative tool at her disposal: scent, voice, gaze, touch and none of it worked. What would her mother say if she found out?

Autumn wanted to try one more time.

But there it was again - that clarity, that awareness in Ethan's eyes.

"Little Fox… What did you just try to do to me?"

Ethan forced a smile. But his expression was far from friendly - he hated being manipulated, and it clearly showed.

He gently removed Autumn's hands from his face, but kept his own hands clasped around her wrists - just in case she tried to hypnotize him again.

"I just… wanted to keep you safe…"

Autumn mumbled.

Dozens of emergency plans for Ethan flashed through her mind. She even considered knocking him out cold. If she moved fast enough, she could hide him in one of the rooms upstairs.

"…But that's not what I want."

Ethan couldn't continue. No words he knew could capture what he was feeling.

He let out a long sigh.

"So what the hell do you want, bro?"

A familiar voice cut into Ethan's overly long sigh - one that seemed to stretch for miles.

Startled, Ethan instantly let go of Autumn's wrists. Both of them quickly hid their hands behind their backs like mischievous kids caught red-handed.

Royce climbed over the balcony railing with ease. His gleaming white teeth sparkled in the dark as he flashed them a cheeky grin.

"Wait… Is this support team just you, Royce?"

Autumn quickly regained her cool, but there was a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Things are chaos back THERE. Everyone's busy. I barely managed to slip out and make it here."

Royce said it casually, stepping into the dark room to join the two.

It was only then that Ethan noticed how roughed up he looked. Royce was wearing a torn-up T-shirt that revealed his well-built frame - broad chest, tight six-pack abs, and skin still streaked with claw marks and bite wounds that were faintly oozing blood.