Salem:
The female is dangerous.
She’s a threat to my kind.
I’ve been given one simple task – I must kill her . . .
Except, I don’t seem to be able to control my actions whenever she’s around.
Something carnal and wild is rising inside and I don’t think I can control it for much longer.
I will possess her flesh, then . . . her soul.
No one will stop me, even if it starts a war.
Piper:
Fear is nothing new.
I’ve been terrified of the shadows for as long as I can remember.
Danger is part of my world . . .
Until the dark stranger from my dreams shows up in real life.
He’s commanding, rude, and arrogant, but something in my soul burns when he’s near.
I have to find out why he calls to me . . . and why I crave his touch.
Before my nightmares become reality.
A vampire sworn to kill.
A hunted female with everything to lose.
There’s only one thing that matters . . . don’t get bitten.
The sweet innocent scent of her aroma surrounded my body from every angle, swirling in the warm evening breeze as tendrils of the intoxicating pulse of her blood tickled my heightened senses. A low hum of vibration danced across my skin as I inhaled. Flooded with sensation, my mind reeled with possibility and heightened the overwhelming urge to flash forward and steal what I wanted without delay. She was so enticing. So perfectly fragile in every way. I could hear each beat of her human heart as the rich life-essence flowed through her veins. The steady thump, thump called to the beast within.
My thirst deepened as I imagined the blissful moment when I would sink my fangs into her neck and the euphoria that would follow, combining with lust when I felt the first droplets of blood hit my tongue. I would swallow and shiver, pulling harder from her vein as the need to drink overrode all other directives. Drink. Feed.
My monster knew no other way to survive.
I wasn’t kind. Or good. Or even anything less than the exceptional hunter I’d grown to become.
My only real enjoyment centered on the hot, delicious crimson fluid that provided life to humanity while simultaneously reminding me that my own was forfeit. A twisted lie. Nothing less than an abomination.
Dhampir.
That was the title I had been given. Born to live with one foot in the grave and the other dangling in the cesspool of human existence. I was neither immortal nor completely human. A being that couldn’t quite decide what loyalty – if any – persevered beyond my own selfish desires.
A wildcard. That was what the rumors revealed on numerous occasions. The term wasn’t incorrect.
I did whatever I damn well pleased.
The female I had stalked for the last hour walked slowly from the doorway of Hampton Hall and down the wide concrete steps. She checked her phone twice and then pocketed the device, smiling into the night as if she shared a juicy secret. Tiny black buds were placed in her ears and I heard the lyrics of a popular rock song playing as she adjusted her backpack. Humming the lyrics to the song, she glanced at the moon as it hung low in the sky and picked up her pace as if suddenly noticing the late hour.
She never noticed the dark shadow that followed her every movement toward the other end of the campus and all the way to the female dorms of the university. A frown creased her peachy colored skin and I wondered briefly if she would feel as soft as I imagined. A luster accompanied a slight shimmer that seemed to float over her exposed neck and slender shoulders. A tiny translucent shine that must have been the result of a beauty product or lotion.
Coconut. Fresh rain. Linen.
A shame no one would enjoy all her efforts to appear attractive. Of course, I would appreciate her beauty briefly before I sank my fangs into her neck and drank from her natural liquor, sucking her in like the habit-forming drug I couldn’t live without.
It wasn’t personal.
I didn’t know her name. Never met her. Didn’t have a clue why she was chosen, and I didn’t care.
My job was simple. Feed. Kill. Dispose of the body.
Over time, I’d become a hired killer. A monster who tracked my target and eliminated the threat. That was all. I didn’t ask questions. My services were expensive for this reason. I completed the job and all loose ends. No witnesses. No evidence.
This young female was just another in a long list of faces I would forget. Perhaps it was callous to view the world this way. It wasn’t that I didn’t have some compassion. After all, I gave as much pleasure as I could when I snagged my female victims. Die with an orgasm. A slogan that was pretty ingenious.
I thought it was kinder than most of my brethren. Better than dying with a scream in your throat when you knew what was coming . . . and it wasn’t your body reacting to the venom’s seductive power. The male victims, I reacted too fast to give them time to fight back. A simple compulsion and they were unable to move or speak.
Yeah, I was the equivalent of a vampire douchebag.
This was irrelevant as I stalked my way from one roof to the next. My movements were whisper soft as I landed after each jump, the only sound my clothes as they rustled in the wind. Far too quiet to give any kind of warning.
I’d adopted the use of a full length black hooded leather trench coat in recent years. It fit my persona. Hiding within its soft confines, I kept my identity a secret from any who could stumble upon my little excursions. I kind of liked to think of myself as that amusing character from the Buffy series – Spike. He was far too underrated. Hated his hair but loved his no bullshit attitude.
Maybe I watched too much television when I was bored. I aged slowly and the years stacked swiftly. Entertainment was fleeting and all too rare in my world. Most things were far from surprising as were most humans. When something caught my attention, I considered it fascinating and latched onto the temporary distraction.
Humans and their reactions were predictable. The gothic look I wore provided anonymity whenever glances were cast in my direction. Tonight, it was of little consequence. I stopped at the next row of buildings as my prey entered her dorm and used a keycard to unlatch the door. Crouching on the roof’s edge, I tracked her movements all the way to the third floor and into her room.
She was alone.
Her roommate was out on a date, just as the Intel promised. I was free to pop in and give this little female a surprise. The sliding glass bedroom doors were opened to let in fresh air, and it struck me as careless that she walked away to undress in such a provocative manner as she was doing now. Too much skin was revealed as she changed her top for something far more revealing with thin straps that barely held up her ample bosom. Any stranger could enter her room and there would be nothing she could do to prevent it. Perverts were plenty in such an environment. The university was a hotspot of activity for the depraved and twisted desires of humans and supernaturals.
My gaze swept over the female and my mouth salivated at the sight of her womanly curves as well as the prominent vein in her neck as her pulse thrummed faster. Fear tainted the air briefly before it vanished. Did she detect my presence? Impossible.
At that specific moment, her scent carried on the wind and filled my nostrils. The aroma was laced with something lightly sweet and almost primal. A shiver of dark and decadent need swept over my skin and hovered, lingering long enough to completely ensnare every hidden desire that simmered deep inside. Taken aback, I blinked twice.