Hunger Pangs - Part 8 of 9 By Daniela A. Wolfe Archie was an orphan who never suspected that there was anything out of the ordinary about himself. After bedding a beautiful stranger, he soon finds a strange hunger has awaken within him and learns he is anything but ordinary.

The following rant is brought to you by the demented mind of D.A.W.

Well this is my foray into the DarkRealms Universe, hopefully I can do it justice. Shout outs to Enemyoffun for creating this wonderful universe and for allowing me to write in it, Loki for allowing me to use several Cordays in his story and for his help and suggestions, and djkauf for the superb editing.

I conceived the basic idea for this story long-ago as a stand alone, but one day after reading one of EOF's DRU stories I was struck with the idea that it with a little bit of adjusting it would fit well into the Dark Realms Universe. I apologize in advance for the protagonist, he's a bit of an ass and he has a rather foul tongue.

As with all my stories this is a work of fiction and as such any resemblance to real life individuals events or locations is purely unintentional. Only Bigcloset Topshelf has permission to post this story.

WARNING: This story is much darker than what you will typically see from me. It has explicit content including, sex, scenes of rape, suicidal themes, and language. If any of these things offend you please read no further.

Beep... Beep... Beep... The sound pounded through my skull and I felt as if a hammer were striking my head with each repetition. My eyes snapped open and a let out a faint sigh when I realized that I was in the hospital. The source of the beeping was a heart rate monitor to my left.

"Well, it's about time," a voice said from the other side of the bed.

A girl with long brunette hair and green eyes was sitting by my side.

"Lillian, what are you doing here?"

"Well I was out on some errands and I thought I'd stop in for a visit," she said with a slight smile.

"How sweet of you," I muttered sarcastically.

"Isn't it? You thirsty? I know I could use a drink." She said leaning over to reach into a cooler that was lying on the floor. She produced what I initially thought to be a juice pouch, but quickly realized was a bag of blood.

"You want some?"

"No thanks," I muttered suppressing a shudder.

"Suit yourself. You know most my sisters prefer the taste of warm blood to chilled, but there's something about the way the cold blood sends shivers down my spine that just feels so good," she said tearing a tab off the bag and began to suck out the contents.

"Why is it that you're really here?"

Lily closed her eyes and after a long drink from the bag let out a sigh of pleasure, "I thought I'd come by and see if you'd thought about my offer."

Of course, that was why she was here. What other reason would she have for paying me a visit? I almost told her no. I didn't like the idea of being indebted to a vampire and I really didn't think I deserved to have a life. Then again, I really didn't think I was capable of taking my own life. And, there was Steagan to think of. I couldn't just turn him and unleash the monster he was sure to become on the population. He would need to be reined in and tightly controlled, and since I had turned him that responsibility fell upon me. A new identity would go a long way in doing just that.

"Alright, I'll do it," I replied with a long sigh.

"Oh good, I knew you'd see reason," she purred and planted a kiss on my lips.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, by the time I realized what she was doing I was so caught up in the kiss that I didn't really care. I could feel the need to feed rise and I reached over to Lily to do just that. As my hand brushed against the fabric of her skirt something slapped my hand away and I quickly yanked it back.

"Naughty, naughty," she whispered as our lips parted.

I could taste blood in my mouth and I suppressed the urge to spit it out as I scowled up at Lily. "You've really got to stop doing that."

Lily let out a soft chuckle and stood to stand, "Come by the Delta Beta Zeta chapter house once you're well enough. There are some details we'll need to iron out."

I closed my eyes and nodded; when I opened them again she was gone.

Oh, god I was so fucking ravenous, I needed to feed and soon. I wasn't talking about food, of course, I needed sex and I needed it badly. It didn't help that I was currently being undressed by a somewhat attractive female nurse. I had clumsily spilled my morning orange juice all over the front of my hospital gown and they wanted to make sure that I hadn't gotten any in my wound. Really she could have been a seventy-five year old grandma and it probably wouldn't have mattered. I was desperate to feed and anyone who had any sexual energy whatsoever would do. I had never fed on a woman before, but I doubted she would sate me as well as a man.

I was fighting hard not to use my abilities on her, but as she helped me out of the gown my hunger won out. I was just too damn empty, I needed a fill-up and unfortunately that meant feeding on the nurse. I grabbed hold of her by either cheek and kissed her deeply on the lips. For a moment, her eyes glossed over and she was under my spell, but she shook her head and whatever influence I had gained was gone.

She stared at me with wide-eyes and her hands were shaking as she held one up to stop my advances. Clearly, she was shocked by the suddenly attraction she felt toward me. "I've never, I mean--" she said, but I interrupted her protests with another kiss. This time when her eyes glossed over they stayed that way. Even straight women weren't immune to a succubus's charms, although it did take a little more work to get them going.

I hated myself for what I was doing, but my need to feed prevented me from thinking clearly. All I could think about was getting what I needed, and the nurse would be able to provide that for me at least to some degree. I would have preferred she had been a man, but beggars can't be choosers.

I pulled down her pants and her panties followed, my hand latched over her cunt and I began to feed. It felt much different from feeding on a man, but that's not to say it was unpleasant. Her sexual energy had a different flavor to it, it almost seemed light and sweet whereas the sexual energy from a man had a more meaty feel to it. When I was done the nurse's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap. Although I had taken a lot of energy from her, it really hadn't filled me up as much as it would have had I let a man penetrate me. I pulled the nurse's pants back on, but left her lying on the floor.

I caught my reflection in the mirror and I glared at the eerily beautiful woman in disgust. I hated what I had become and what I needed to do in order to survive. What choice did I have? Hot tears streamed down my face and I turned my back on the mirror. I couldn't bear the sight of that creature.

I was still pretty damn hungry, but the urge to feed was nowhere near as strong. I would likely be able to control myself at least for a while so for the time being feeding could wait. Absently, I patted my left breast where I had been cut and was surprised when I realized it didn't hurt at all. I quickly unwrapped the bandage around it and felt my jaw drop when I looked down and found no sign that I had been injured.

Had feeding accelerated the healing process? Or was it simply a result of being a succubus? There was so much I didn't know and now that Selina was dead I would have to figure it out for myself.

There was a knock at the door, I quickly grabbed the orange-juice stained hospital gown from the floor and slipped it back on. I ran to the door and flung it open to find Linda Corday standing in the doorway. She looked pretty haggard, and judging from her appearance she hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Rachel," she said. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Well, I..."

Suddenly, she pushed past me and was on the ground beside the fallen nurse. "What happened?"

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh, "I got some orange-juice on my gown and she was undressing me to make sure that none had gotten in my wound when I lost control and fed on her."

Linda started to say something, but I wasn't listening. My breath caught in my throat and I simply stood looking out the doorway in shocked disbelief. "Selina!" I called out. I was ready to leap out the doorway, but then Arnie appeared. He just barely brushed past me, but it proved enough to set me off. Apparently what I had taken from the nurse hadn't really been enough to give me control. Before I could do anything a pair of strong hands grabbed hold of me and I was forced back into the hospital bed.

I tried to protest, but all thoughts of what I had just seen were forced aside as the need to feed rose. Whoever had picked me up had a rather strong sexual presence and I very much wanted him to fuck me. That's about when everything went dark...

Selina... Everywhere I went there she was, but no matter how hard I tried she was always out of reach. I ran through the empty halls of the hospital in the vain hope that I might catch her. Suddenly, she was there right in front of me, but then just as abruptly she was gone. I transformed into my demon form and ran as fast as I could. I turned a corner. A flash of red hair. A blur of motion. Nothing.

"I will choose for myself which path I will take. I will live with the hunger if I must, but I will never let myself become lost in it," I screamed looking first to the succubus, who smiled and released my arm, then to the male-me, who nodded and let go. They each faded away and I woke...

"Oh, hell, that was weird as fuck," I spat as my eyes snapped open.

"Rachel?" A voice said tiredly.

My eyes snapped to the side where Daniel was lying in bed beside mine. He was banged up pretty good, but it brought a smile to my face just seeing him alive. "How long have I been out?"

"Well, it's been a few hours since they brought you in here, and you've been unconscious since then," he said.

"She's alive, Daniel. I saw her being moved on a gurney outside my room," a muttered. "I have to find her."

"Who? Selina? What are you talking about?"

I didn't reply, I started fumbling with all the wires and tubes attached to me. "Rachel! Talk to me!" Daniel said suddenly.

I pursed my lips and sighed and started to explain how I had fed on the nurse and everything up to when Linda had showed up. "That's when I saw her Daniel. They were wheeling her through the hall, but Arnie showed up I lost control and I tried to feed on him."

"Look, I gotta get out of here. I need to know if that really was Selina I saw." I started fumbling with the IV tube in my arm.

"Well, someone's in a hurry to leave," a voice said with a light chuckle.

"Holy fucking shit, don't sneak up on me like that!" I exclaimed upon catching sight of Linda.

"What's going on?"

"Selina... I think I saw her before I tried to feed on Arnie..."

"Well, she's alive, but only just barely," Linda said sadly.

"I've got to go see her," I said reaching for the IV again.

Linda's hand closed around mine and blocked me from doing anything with the IV. "I'll see what I can do, but you need to stay here for now. You're too weak."

"God, I need to feed," I said with a soft moan. The hunger was building and it was becoming very difficult to keep myself from feeding on Linda.

Linda quickly withdrew her hand and the hunger receded just enough for me to gain a small measure of composure. "The sooner I feed the better. I don't think I'll be able to control myself the next time someone touches me."

"God, another second and I would have let you do whatever you wanted to me," Linda stared at me wide-eyed.

"Yeah, all the more reason for me to get out of here," I muttered bitterly.

I pursed my lips as I looked down at the bandage-wrapped form of Selina. It had been a few hours since I'd first been released from the hospital. Since then I'd managed to feed twice and I was pretty well satiated. Selina had been in a coma since they found her and I wondered if she would ever awaken. The doctors didn't seem to confident about her chances of recovery, but I wasn't about to let her die. The doctors were at a loss to explain it, but I was pretty sure I knew the reason why she was so unresponsive to treatment, she needed to feed.

I didn't know what I was about to try would work, but it was all I could think of and Selina was running short of time. I should have tried it earlier, but I was afraid that it might have an adverse effect. I moved slowly over to her bed, transformed into my demon form as I did so, and knelt beside it then I reached inside her hospital gown and slide a finger inside her vagina. I let a slight shudder as I did so, then I began to funnel my own sexual energy through my finger into Selina. It was more or less the same thing I had done to turn Steagan, and I hoped that it would help replenish her diminished sexual energy.

All my instincts screamed for me to stop, but I kept the flow pouring into her until I could stand it no longer. I jerked my hand back and let out a loud gasp and waited for any indication that what I had done would help. The effects were almost instantaneous, her skin seemed to take on a much healthier glow and there was a sudden intake of breath as her eyes flew open.

"Thank God," I muttered with a relieved sigh and grabbed hold of her hand.

"Archie?" she asked with wide eyes. "What happened? The last thing I remember was being captured by Steagan."

So, I told her what had happened. I even told her about trying to kill myself and feeding on Daniel. I didn't intend to, but somehow it slipped out anyway. There was one thing I managed to keep from her; my suspicions that she was my mother.

"God, there's so much I didn't tell you, but from the sounds of it you figured most of it out for yourself," she said with a sigh.

"Selina there's something I need to know. Are you my mother?"

Selina closed her eyes, "Is that what you think?"

Tears were streaming down my face, "You mean you're not?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "The story I told you about meeting that succubus who had just abandoned her child was true. What I didn't tell you is that I strongly suspected she was my mother as well, but I could never bring myself to tell her by the time I worked up the courage she was gone. When I saw you after your transformation. I knew you were the child she spoke of, I mean there's such a strong resemblance to both myself and--"

"--our mother," I finished with wide-eyes. My hand was trembling and slow smile crept onto my lips. Selina was my sister; I think I could live with that.

Then I grimaced as struck by a sudden thought, "You know we had sex right? I mean does that bother you? Fucking your own sister?"

"Technically you were male at the time, but yes the thought had occurred to me. I may not have many sexual inhibitions, but incest is one line I hoped never to cross."

"Yeah, I'd just as soon not think about it."

"Then let's not," she said and I nodded in silent agreement.

"I was wondering when you would show up," Steagan said glaring back at me as I approached. He was chained to the floor in the same silver-titanium cuffs that he had used to restrain Daniel and me.

He had already started to change, which surprised me, but when I thought about it, it made perfect sense. Selina had drained nearly all my sexual energy and it was only after feeding that I had started to change. When I turned Steagan, I'd channeled a good deal of sexual energy back into him which had obviously been enough to start the changes. The most dramatic change, of course, was all the age that had drained from his face. He looked to be around my age and he had thinned down quite a bit. His hair was now raven-black and he had lost some of his height and he had a much smaller build than before which gave him an almost boyish appearance.

"You're probably dying to feed right now. Aren't you?" I said kneeling down next to him and tracing my hand across his cheek.

Steagan trembled and I could feel his need for sustenance wash over me in deluge of longing and despair. "Here's the deal: you tell me what I want to know and I give you some of what you need."

"Never! I'd rather die!" he spat vehemently.

"Suit yourself," I said with a shrug and turned to leave.

"Wait!" he called and I couldn't help but smile. This was going to be even easier than I thought.

It took a great deal of coercing and threatening, but I eventually got what I wanted from Steagan. Normally, I think he would have been a much tougher shell to crack, but his desperate need made the job much easier. What I learned brought cold chills to my spine. Though Steagan and his ilk, called themselves the Tenebris Petentibus, they also refereed to themselves as Seekers as a sort of nickname. Their goals weren't the annihilation of the unseen, like the Order of the Sacred Heart. No, in some ways what they intended was much more nefarious. They believed that by experimenting on the unseen they could make some sort of super human with none of the weaknesses and all the strengths of the unseen.

They would frequently take an unseen and use him or her to ferret out other unseen, sometimes it was willingly, sometimes they were coerced and sometimes their victim was completely unaware that they were being used. Steagan had hoped to use me and Daniel in this manner and had already used an unaware Selina to lure us to him.

"How is it that you've been tracking her?" I growled.

"The same way we found you in the forest," Steagan laughed.

My thoughts flashed back to when me and Daniel were being held captive in the tent and our discussion about the tracking devices. "You had some sort of tracking device placed on her. Like Barns and Darrell."

"Very good," he said with a twisted grin.

"Shit!" I said jumping to my feet in sudden realization and started running for the door. I had to get to Selina and Daniel before it was too late. They were both still in danger.

The drive to the hospital, though only thirty-miles, was one of the longest in my life. Ravencrest didn't have a hospital of its own so everyone that had been injured during the fight with the Seekers was taken to Brendsen. This was only my first trip back after returning to Ravencrest and I could shoot myself for leaving. I should have stayed with Selina, but I was anxious to get the truth out of Steagan. I was convinced that we were out of danger and both Selina and Daniel seemed well onto the path of recovery.

By the time we reached our destination it was dark, and I didn't wait for Stu find a parking spot as I lurched out of the truck followed closely by my thrall. Since I didn't know his real name I'd taken to calling him Tim. I sprinted for the hospital doors and suddenly lunged to the ground as I heard a familiar click. As if in confirmation bullets whizzed over my head, and I knew that I might already be too late. Apparently, the Seekers had given up on trying to capture me which could only mean they believed I was too big a liability to let me live. I reached deep inside where my inner succubus waited and called out to her, fiery pain consumed my body and quickly faded away.

I jumped to my feet and leapt into motion even as bullets whizzed past me. Tim followed me as quickly as he could. God, I could move fast, I was on the nearest of my attackers in seconds. I didn't even feel a twinge of regret as I commanded Tim to kill him.

"Cover me!" I commanded as I lurched back into motion. I moved for the entrance with little concern for my own safety, if Selina or Daniel died my life would mean nothing.

Just before I gained the entrance I transformed back into my human form. I didn't even worry about Tim; he was likely dead in any case. By changing I lost the advantages that my demon form granted me, but it wouldn't do to have normals to see me in my altered state. I kept moving even as the pain became unbearable and just barely managed to make the doors as bullets shattered the glass doors behind me. There was a hot stab of pain in my shoulder, but it didn't matter I kept moving. I didn't even stop to see if it was a bullet that had hit me or glass from the shattered door. My mind was focused on one singular goal, saving my friend and sister and nothing would keep me from getting to them before it was too late.

To be concluded...

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