Chapter Seven
I stumbled into the mud, rain soaking through my clothes until they clung to me like chains. Every step made the fabric heavier, like it wanted to drag me down with it.
Why does this cloth keep getting heavier? I thought bitterly, forcing myself back up. My legs trembled, but I kept running toward the tree—my goal, my punishment, my test.
Days blurred together this way. Run. Fall. Get back up. Run again. Jasper never let me stop. Sometimes, when I crashed face-first into the dirt, he would stand over me with that maddening smirk.
"If this is all you can do, just give up and let the hunters have their prey," he mocked.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself off the ground, every word of his fueling the fire in my chest.
"No one tells me what I can and cannot do," I snapped, forcing myself forward again.
Jasper's smile widened. "Now that's what I'm talking about. To be strong, you have to do what the weak could never do."
By the time I reached the tree and stumbled back, I collapsed, unable to move. My raincoat clung to me, my breath ragged. Jasper knelt beside me.
"Don't worry. Today is the last day of running."
---
The next morning, he shook me awake while the world was still dark.
"Wake up. We need to leave."
My heart jumped. "Have they found us?"
He shook his head. "No. Just get dressed. Wear this." He pointed at a folded white shirt and pants on the table.
Minutes later, we left the house and trekked into the forest. The air was thick with damp earth, and every step made my curiosity gnaw harder at me.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To the Crimson Spring," he said.
"The… what?"
"Don't worry. You'll understand when we get there."
When we finally broke through the trees, I froze. A magnificent spring spread before me, its waters glittering silver under the faint light. My lips parted in awe.
"I never knew this was here. Why do they call it the Crimson Spring?"
Jasper checked his watch, lips twitching as if counting down. Then he said, almost like a prophecy:
"And now."
Right before my eyes, the clear waters shifted, deepening into a vibrant, blood-red hue.
"Jump in," Jasper ordered. "This is the perfect time to use the spring to strengthen your human form."
Without hesitation, I dove in. The water burned against my skin the moment I submerged. Pain shot through me like fire in my veins, sharp and merciless, like wolfsbane itself.
"Why does it hurt so much?" I screamed, clutching at the water around me.
"Don't leave the spring," Jasper barked. "Or everything you've worked for will be wasted. Hold on for an hour. No matter what."
Red lines pulsed beneath my skin, glowing, my veins threatening to tear open. The agony made me want to claw my way out, but I clung on, teeth cutting into my lip until I tasted blood. Time blurred. The pain roared louder than thunder.
And then, just as my body gave out, I collapsed under the crimson water.
---
When I opened my eyes, I was screaming. "John! Don't leave me!"
My chest heaved as I blinked around. I was back in Jasper's house, lying on a bed. But something was different. The pain was gone. In its place was… lightness. Strength. My senses buzzed—so sharp I could hear the faint rustle of a squirrel outside and see farther than I ever had before.
I rushed outside and found Jasper waiting for me, arms crossed as if he'd known I'd come.
"Your training is over," he said coolly. "You can leave now."
Relief filled me, so strong it made my knees weak. "Finally… I can go and save John."
But Jasper smirked, lifting a spear into his hands.
"Oh, one more thing. You just have to pass my test."
Before I could react, the spear whistled through the air. I dodged instinctively—and to my shock, I was fast enough to catch it mid-flight. I stared at the weapon in my hands, my heart pounding.
Jasper twirled another spear easily in his grip. "All you have to do… is beat me in combat."