The question is whether he's building an army to take my territory by force, or if he's planning something more subtle.
My phone buzzes. Elena, texting from the donor coordination office:
Elena
Need to discuss Michael's condition. Not improving.
Michael. The vampire who went feral last night. Celeste helped subdue him. I’d seen her on the security feed. She moved with instincts that saved lives.
I head to the medical wing where Michael is being held in one of the reinforced containment rooms. Elena is there with Dr. Dalton, the human physician I keep on staff for specialized medical needs.
"Show me," I say.
Through the observation window, I can see Michael strapped to a medical bed. The black veins have spread across his entire body now, pulsing with contamination. His eyes are open but unfocused, and he's making sounds, not words, just animalistic noises.
"The sedation is barely keeping him under," Dr. Daltonexplains. "His system is fighting the treatment. The contamination has progressed too far."
"How long does he have?"
"Hours. Maybe a day. After that, even if we keep him sedated, his body will start shutting down. He'll either die or go fully feral the moment we reduce the medication."
I've seen this too many times. Watched vampires deteriorate from contaminated blood, tried every treatment I could research or fund. The success rate is less than ten percent, and even that requires catching the contamination early, like I did with Celeste.
"Keep trying," I say. "If there's any chance…"
"There isn't," Dr. Dalton says gently. "I'm sorry. The kindest thing now would be to let him go peacefully."
Kindness. What a strange concept to apply to ending someone's existence.
But he's right. Michael is suffering. Keeping him alive in this state is cruelty, not mercy.
"I'll do it myself," I say. "Tomorrow night, after we rise. Make him as comfortable as possible until then."
After they leave, I stand at the observation window alone, watching Michael's labored breathing.
This is what Konstantin wants. He wants the blood supply so contaminated that vampires either die or go feral. Wants chaos. Wants the careful system I've built to collapse so he can seize control in the aftermath.
I won't let that happen.
I spend the next two hours in the detention wing, interrogating the prisoners from last night's attack. They're well-trained; Konstantin chose them carefully. But everyone breaks eventually with the right pressure.
By the time I'm done, I have confirmation: Konstantin is planning a major assault within the next two weeks. The attack lastnight was reconnaissance. He wanted to see our response time, our tactics, our numbers.
And he wanted to know if the rumors about Celeste were true.
Apparently, word has already spread through Atlanta's vampire community that I brought someone into my sanctuary. That I'm training a fledgling personally. That I've added her to my inner circle with unusual speed.
Konstantin thinks she's either a weakness he can exploit or an asset I'm grooming for succession. Either way, he sees her as significant.
Which means she's in danger.
The thought bothers me more than it should.
I return to my study as dawn approaches. The windows are already sealed with blackout systems, but I can feel the sun rising. That instinctive pull toward dormancy that comes with sunrise.
I should rest. But instead, I pull up the security feed.
Celeste is in her room now, sitting on the bed, staring at nothing. She looks exhausted but not defeated. Just… still. Sitting with unusual quietness, staring at nothing.
