And his teeth…
She took a step back towards the wall as his face contorted, top lip pulling back, revealing canine teeth that were too long.
Alianna felt herself begin to shake as the bedposts began to splinter around Max, the energy pulsing through the air getting more and more erratic. She stepped back until her body pressed against the wall, staring in terror at the man she had been sleeping next to.
“Max,” she whispered quietly, unsure if she spoke in disbelief, out of sheer fright, or another feeling that she couldn’t describe. Her voice was barely audible as she scanned the floor for her belongings, wondering how quickly she could get out of the door.
Shit. He’d ripped her swim clothes. She had only her dress from yesterday, and a dressing gown. It dawned on her that she was naked.
She either ran naked from this room, quickly threw something around her body, or stayed here with him.
As if he sensed the thoughts racing through her mind, Max’s eyes snapped open, an inhumane roar ripping from his mouth as he sat bolt upright in bed.
The flowers were no longer shifting between alive and withered – they remained somewhere in between, in a half-dead state. The crackling, buzzing electricity in the air went silent. The bedposts creaked, then remained still.
Max took one, two, three deep breaths in and out. Alianna blinked, and the Max she was staring at was the Max she had fallen asleep next to.
No pointed ears.
No elongated canine teeth.
His skin was warm in colour.
Max was sitting on the bed, panting, shaking, a look of anguish on his face.
It was then that he turned his head to Alianna. His eyes met hers in silent question.
Alianna tried to take another step backwards, but could only flatten herself further against the wall.
“What are you?” she managed to say, the words barely forming.
“Ali,” he muttered, swinging his legs off the bed and walking around it. He moved towards her, entirely naked, with a body like it had been cut from stone. Alianna put a hand out to ask him to stop.
“Stay there. Don’t come any closer,” she warned, trying her best to sound sure of herself. Max listened, his face grave. “What. Are. You?”
“Ali,” he started again. “This isn’t…this wasn’t supposed
to - ”
“What. Are. You?” The words came out louder this time, surer, as anger and fear simmered in Alianna’s bones. Max flared his nostrils once, frowning, his eyes dropping to the floor.
He let out a long sigh. “I….I would never hurt you, Ali. You must know that.”
Alianna didn’t speak. Didn’t offer any words of comfort, any words of solace, and waited for an answer to her question.
“My name….is not Max.”
Alianna wasn’t sure what she expected after seeing him on the bed like that. She half hoped she was in a dream herself, and that any moment now, she’d wake up. She’d be curled against him, and he would be breathing softly, his arms wrapped around her as they had been last night.
Alianna closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly. When she opened them, she felt her heart crack in two as he was still standing, naked before her, shame and sorrow emanating from his body.
“My name is Rionan,” he continued. Alianna’s eyes widened, and she wished she had clothes on. She wished she could have walked out of this stupid, god damn ruined suite without having to walk through Porthan without any proper clothing.
Max – Rionan – moved like he was going to take a step towards her, but he thought better of it. He stayed where he was, looking at her with pleading eyes. “I didn’t want this to happen. I never wanted you to find out in this way. Ali, please…”
“Please don’t make me ask again.” Her voice was cold, distant, and a look of devastation passed across Rionan’s face.
He sighed, and he closed his eyes. The air around him seemed to shimmer with yellow light, and when he opened his eyes again, the creature from the bed stared at her.
