I couldn’t wait to kill them all.
I bit harder into the rat and sucked the last bit of blood from its unmoving body. The taste was rotten and wrong, and it did nothing to soothe my thirst, but I couldn’t stop myself. It was weak, warm, and good practice for hunting.
Anticipation swelled within me. The sun couldn’t go down fast enough. The wait was pure torture.
My throat hurt. It hurt so badly. I just needed it to stop. I needed blood. All of the blood. Every last drop.
I streaked across the small room, clumsily banging into the wall in my haste. I grabbed a baby rat by its tail from underneath a cracked mop bucket.
I bit into it. There was barely any blood inside at all. Disgusted, I tossed the thing to the ground when the blood was gone.
The other rats were in the part of the factory with the windows. I could hear them running about while I had to hide in the windowless janitor closet.
Once I was too impatient. Too hasty. I tried to leave my haven of darkness. I was burned for my mistake, so I crawled back into the shadows.
“Come here, little babies,” I crooned to the rats. I opened the door and jumped back quickly. “Come on insiiiiide.”
I caught three more rats before the sun went down. They all tasted disgusting.
***
As soon as it was safe, I ran for the town.
On the edge of the town, I spotted a neon sign for a bar. I could smell booze, sweat, and cigarette smoke surrounding the building.
Easy prey. All for me. All mine.
I ghosted into the alley beside the noisy bar. Next to the bar was a pizza place. Both buildings were packed with humans. I set one foot out onto the sidewalk, ready to burst inside the bar and kill all in my path, but a man walked out of the pizza place, texting on his cell phone.
My prey was coming toward me, and his heart was beating rich blood through his veins. It was begging me to take it.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the alley. He tried to get away, but I was stronger even at my weakest. My fangs sprang forth, and I bit into his neck, cutting off his screams.
Bliss. Blood.
I sucked greedily as he feebly struggled. His fear flowed into me, making me giddy. It wasn’t long before his struggling stopped. His fear also faded, disappointing me.
Where was the fight? The high of the kill—he was ruining it for me! I bit deeper as punishment.
So intent on my prey, I didn’t hear the approach.
Something stronger than me flung me off of the human.
I flew through the air and landed lightly, whirling around with my fangs bared.
It was Gabriel.
“Stop it, Kara.”
“He’s mine,” I hissed, going back toward the human. “Go find your own.”
Gabriel grabbed my shoulders. “If you take any more blood, it will kill him. You won’t be able to live with that.”
“I don’t care! I want to kill him! I want him to die.”
Gabriel’s fingers dug into my skin, and he shook me. “That’s the blood frenzy talking, not you. This is not you.”
“Yes, it is. This is me. I’ve never felt so alive! I’m so high right now, Gabriel. It’s amazing. It’s wonderful. I want his blood now!”
I flung myself toward the unconscious man, but Gabriel was too strong. He held me back while he bit into his wrist with his fangs.
Immediately, my attention left the dying human and went to Gabriel’s bleeding wrist. Only Gabriel’s blood mattered. It took over my entire world. The human’s blood didn’t hold the promise of this blood.
Gabriel held his wrist out to me. I closed my mouth over it and moaned in ecstasy at the indescribable taste, and by the look on Gabriel’s face, it felt as good to him as it did to me.
“Consume me,” Gabriel whispered into my ear. “No one else.”
His emotions poured into me. His love for me. His worry. His longing.
I felt myself coming back, the monster inside satisfied at last.
I was finally sated. But even though I was no longer thirsty, it was hard to pull away. For the first time since becoming a vampire, my thirst was truly gone. I was free of pain, but horror washed through me.
I took a few steps back. “What have I done?” I whispered.
“He will be ok,” Gabriel said, rubbing his fingers across my cheek. “Heal him, and then Control him to forget what happened.”
I was still in disbelief. “I-I couldn’t help myself. I was like a different person. . . . I wanted to kill him.”
“I know.” Gabriel’s agony washed into me, potent and piercing. It mingled with the human’s fading fear.
Jeffery. The human’s name was Jeffery. I shuddered at the name I had forcibly derived, shuddered at his form on the ground, his blood now revolting instead of inviting. I actually had the urge to vomit, but I knew I needed to keep the blood down.
I bit into my wrist with my fangs, clinging desperately to the pain in my wrist and gums as a form of punishment for my actions. I forced my blood into Jeffery’s pale mouth, carefully holding his head back. Soon enough his eyes flew open, and the deep wounds on his neck healed. His pulse sped up, and his breathing became fast and shallow.
“Calm down,” I Controlled gently, taking my wrist from his lips. The Control came naturally, another instinct. Looking into a human’s eyes for the first time, my body knew I possessed the incredible power of Control; I could make him do whatever I wanted. “Forget what I have done to you. Go home and rest. You will feel amazing tomorrow, better than you ever have before.”
Jeffery’s eyes cleared. The idiot actually smiled at me before grabbing his cell phone and getting up. He left without a backwards glance, whistling cheerfully.
“That last part was a nice touch,” Gabriel said softly.
I shook my head, wiping the blood from
