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One
Stephan
My nostrils flare,and my fangs press against my gums, threatening to descend.
I shake my head and try to clear the cloud of lustful hunger that's slowly curling its fingers around my mind like a slow fog creeping in.
It's obviously been too long since my last feeding.
A good feeding can last me for nearly a month, although to be in the best health, it's ideal if I feed every couple of weeks. I've had to refrain from my typical biweekly meal, though. I've been trying to make it as long as I can between feedings because too many suspicious deaths are turning up. Mortals become anxious when they see a pattern of deaths, all too eager to pronounce that they have a serial killer in their midst, and when they do that, the local police force will only amp up its vigilance, making it more difficult than ever to take a discreet kill.
And I'm nothing if not discreet. I always feed from the dregs of society, those that humans would be better off without.
It's not me or any of my subjects raising their suspicions. Other unnaturally violent deaths have been occurring throughout the city lately, and they all have the mark of others of my kind on them.
Until my men can find the rogues and get them all under control, we're all on a diet.
I clench my jaw tightly and try to focus.
I'm sure my eyes are morphing from their normal golden brown to a burnt copper color.
I inhale a deep breath, something my mortal self used to do when I needed to calm down.
You'd think after two centuries of being a vampire I'd know by now that same tactic doesn't work on my immortal self.
No, it only draws the scent of food even further into my nostrils and heightens my hunger.
I continue to fight the primal instinct to hunt, and just as I think I have it under control and feel my fangs retracting back up to where they belong, I get a whiff of something so sweet and flowery, it almost knocks me over with the potent surge of lust that roars through me.
My fangs fully descend, and my eyes glow red, sharpening my already heightened vision as all my senses home in on the source of the smell.
The scent is heady, a mixture of roses and lilies and lavender all rolled into one. It wraps around me like a boa constrictor, squeezing all self-control from me while intoxicating me all at once.
It smellsdelicious. It smells likemine.
Don't ask me why fucking flowers smell so mouth-watering to me as a vampire. I know it's odd. You'd think the scents that would tempt me the most would be ones that smelled like the savory human foods I used to love.
No, now I crave flowers.
The scent is getting closer now, so whomever it belongs to is walking this way.
My vision goes red as the scent assaults me so closely now. Without thought, I fling myself from the shadows and snatch the source of the sweet scent, dragging the body back into the darkened alley with me. I move with superhuman speed, grabbing my prey so quickly it probably looks like someone has vanished into thin air.
I hear a tiny gasp and look down to see my capture is a woman. That sweet floral scent is overwhelming me now, and I'm dying for a taste.
Just as I begin to lower my head to drink from her sweet nectar, she turns her head up to look at me.
I'm almost physically knocked back by the most innocent-looking pair of blue eyes I've ever seen in my life. They're framed by thick lashes, and instead of screaming at the monster looming over her, ready to end her life, she's looking up at me curiously, her mouth open in a little "o."
She's a tiny thing. The top of her head barely reaches my chest. My eyes sweep over her, and my chest tightens.
She's fucking beautiful.
Her hair is a golden blond that rivals the glory of the morning sunshine. Her skin is smooth and flawless and pulsing with beautiful, vibrant life.
And her lips...they're a puffy pink. The sight of them parted ever so slightly sends a surge of desire rushing through me.
I become aware of how small she is in my hold. My entire hand almost spans the width of the small of her back. Her little chest is heaving up and down, drawing my eyes to the slight cleavage revealed by the top two buttons of her white blouse. My eyes trail down further to take in the black skirt she's wearing.
