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“Where did you go?” Henry asked.
“At first, I was just running,” Brett said. “Every part of my body was screaming at me. I... I wanted blood.”
He paused, waiting for a reaction, but they stayed quiet.
“More than anything else I’ve ever felt in my life,” Brett continued. “I wanted it. I passed people, and I barely noticed that they were staring at me. Some part of me did, but I was running, and it was too fast, but I knew they looked at me like I was a monster.”
He wouldn’t meet their eyes, and Nick reached out and squeezed his arm.
“Afterwards, I realised they were probably staring because of the dried blood covering me, but at the time, I couldn’t focus. It took all my strength to keep running. I wanted them. I wanted to kill them.”
Brett took a breath and kept talking. “Every single person felt like the one that would make me lose it. Every single one. I thought they’d break me, and I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. It happened again and again and again, and I knew I couldn’t keep going. I was about to lose control. I felt the pull towards them, towards the blood pumping through their veins, and I ran away from it.”
“You were able to run?” Henry asked.
Brett nodded, still staring at his hands. “Barely, but yeah, I managed it. Eventually, I figured out which direction had less people. My instincts were trying to fight me, but I went towards it. I ended up outside the city. There were fields, and some trees, and I finally stopped.”
“You did well,” Nick said quietly.
“Not well enough,” Brett said. “There were some animals out there. I... I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Animal blood,” Henry murmured, and Nick glanced at him, wondering what he was thinking.
“I heard their heartbeats, felt their body heat, and I went for it. It didn’t taste good, but it was enough.”
“It sated the bloodlust,” Henry said.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said. Brett always had a soft spot for animals. Just a few weeks ago, they were discussing the possibility of adopting a dog. “How do you feel about it?”
Brett shrugged. “Better than a person, right?”
Henry tapped his fingers against the desk, thinking about it. “I’m impressed that you could control yourself, Brett. I wonder how much of that restraint is due to your void abilities, and how much was willpower.”
Brett frowned. “I wasn’t going to kill someone, Henry. I’m not a monster.”
“New vampires rarely have that much sense, no matter how good or kind they were as a human. You seem remarkably normal, considering how recently you turned.”
“Normal?” Brett glanced at Nick. “Is that what you heard from my story?”
“Uh...”
Brett frowned. “Maybe I told it wrong.”
“You struggled,” Henry said, “but you still had your own thoughts, your personality, your restraint. You kept your humanity.”
“What does that mean?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know.” Henry was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded. “We need to get Brett some human blood.”
“What?” Brett said, sitting up straighter. “I don’t want that.”
“Animal blood isn’t enough. If you try to ignore your bloodlust, it could grow out of control.”
“What if I can’t stop? If I bite someone, I might not be able to stop.”
“You don’t need to hurt anyone. There are donors, private blood banks and other ways to get what you need. Animal blood is a temporary fix, but it won’t sustain you. Don’t worry, humans and vampires have been living side by side for centuries. With modern technology and medicine, you have more options than you could imagine.”
“Wait, so people actually donate blood for vampires?” Nick asked.
