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I angled my body to see both of them. “Ahh. Now I understand,” I said, trying to suppress the anger surging within me. “You thought you were hunting me.” I nodded to myself. “I should have realized it sooner. That was my mistake.” I clenched and unclenched my jaw and fists to ease the tension. It wasn’t working. My heart rate picked up from its normally imperceptible rhythm. This was not good.

The man shifted from one foot to the other, gripping the knife. Confusion and caution replaced his smirk. “Listen, buddy, just give us your wallet, and you won’t get hurt,” he said, motioning with the knife and raising his other hand to look bigger and more imposing, like an animal might.

I laughed out loud at how ridiculous the man looked. I couldn’t help it. I knew it was mostly stress, given how tightly wound I was. The man feigned a lunge with his small knife. As the laughter died in my throat, adrenaline surged, blotting out what remained of my control. I gave the man a long, slow smile, exposing the full length of my inhuman teeth.

“I’m not worried,” I growled.

The man blanched in fear, which only excited me further. Trisha, who hadn’t seen my toothy grin, grew impatient. “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “Get him already.”

I realized she wasn’t speaking to me. How could she be?

But her words still triggered a response.

Lunging forward, I unleashed the force of my rage and pent-up frustration. The sweetness of letting my body move on instinct, and the strength in my muscles, were as satisfying as any feeding.

The baffled look on the man’s face was delicious as, one moment, I stood beside his would-be accomplice, and the next, our noses were pressed together, my hands on either side of the man’s head. I let out a deep growl and snarled in the man’s face, holding him immobile.

With a quick twist, I snapped the man’s neck.

The force of the movement was so intense that it nearly severed the man’s head.

I turned toward Trisha before I saw the body hit the ground. I heard it, though, as my fangs were buried in the woman’s neck. I drank in deep, gasping swallows. Trisha was too shocked to move or even cry out. I drank until nothing remained, then let her body fall onto the pavement beside her partner.

Staring down at the two lying there, I took in the horror and absolute mess of it all. This was not what I’d intended for my evening. A thrill of real fear made its way down my spine.

As I stood there, staring, one word floated into my mind: Brutal. This was brutal, wholly unlike me, and…wonderful. I felt powerful and alive in a way I hadn’t in far too long. This was what a vampire was meant to be. This was my nature.

I dragged the bodies to the dumpster and tipped them inside. Despite the exhilaration, I knew I needed to focus and cover my tracks. The others of my kind, especially the younger vampires, would not condone what I’d done. They turned a blind eye to my public hunting because I kept a low profile and didn’t draw attention. This situation was different. They were far less powerful than I, but if they united against me, there could be trouble. It was absurd to be judged by those who had never truly embraced their nature, yet here I was.

The blood on my hands caught my attention. It gleamed black in the moonlight. I looked down at myself and realized I was drenched in the woman’s blood. It soaked through my shirt and cuffs, coating my hands and face. This was a problem I hadn’t faced in a long time. I sighed. Getting out of this would require some sneaking around. I thought about how troublesome the evening had become, but decided it had been worth it when I considered how it felt to be truly full for the first time in decades.

I made it to a nearby park with a fountain, where I washed the blood from my face and hands. I rinsed the cuffs of my black shirt and rolled them up, but the coat was a total loss, and I tossed it away. I had no regrets, though. Those two had gotten exactly what they’d deserved. I knew I would have to be more careful, though. I would hunt. I would hunt until I was truly sated. However, I would do my best not to kill, as I didn’t want to alarm the humans or draw unwanted attention from the other vampires.

On my way back to my apartment, I marveled at how beautiful the night was. The air smelled fresher, the lights shone brighter, and the people I passed laughed louder, moving with more grace. I was drunk on excess. Despite the voice in the back of my mind screaming at me, demanding to know what I was thinking, I only wanted one thing.

More.

4

JULIAN

Iunlocked my front door and stepped into the familiar warmth. Everything was just as I had left it. No lights. No music. No shoes kicked off by the front door. No cooking smells drifting from the kitchen.

Empty.

It had been less than a week. I shouldn’t have expected it to feel normal, but the pain was still acute, and Mark’s absence was still a fresh shock every time I came home.

As I hung up my coat, a flash of movement above caught my eye. Samson appeared at the top of the hall stairs and chirped a greeting. He bounded down the steps and followed me into the kitchen for his evening meal. It was nice to have someone who still depended on me and waited for me to come home, even if it was just a cat.

I shrugged off my suit jacket, undid my tie, and started sorting through the mail. It was the usual handful of junk—advertisements for services I didn’t need, preapproved credit cards I would never apply for, and mail for the previous homeowner. I was about to chuck the whole pile into the recycling when the last envelope made me pause, my hand hovering above the bin.

It was a plain white envelope addressed to me, but the sender was a surprise. Tearing it open, I was disappointed but not surprised to find a bill inside, my name on it, for a new amplifier I certainly hadn’t purchased. The invoice was dated two days before Mark moved out. The relationship had been over by then. He’d known it, and so had I. But I hadn’t ordered an expensive piece of audio equipment and had the bill sent to the guy I was leaving.

I noted that he’d apparently had the box containing the amplifier sent somewhere else—in advance of moving out. Emily had been right. He’d had a plan.

I tossed the bill onto the kitchen table just as my phone rang. Few people called me. My first thought was that it might be Mark, and I cursed myself for the flutter in my stomach, even though I was angry with him in that moment. I glanced at the screen. It was my mom. Relief? Sadness? I wasn’t quite sure how to feel, but I tapped “answer” and held the phone to my ear.

“Hey, Ma. What’s up?” I was proud of how normal I sounded.