Chapter 3
THREE
The sky erupted with a burst of fireworks as I wove through the bustling crowd.
Anticipation coursed through me, heightening every sense, the air thick with the intoxicating blend of sweat, beer, and the earthy scent of the forest floor.
My eyes flicked across the chaotic celebration, vibrant flashes of colour lighting up the faces around me, each explosion of light aiding in my search.
At the edge of the crowd, I found a couple locked in a passionate embrace. The man turned, his stare locking with mine.
Bingo.
I approached them, and he broke apart from his partner, grinning at me.
“Mind if I join?” I asked, my smile flirtatious.
The woman turned and scanned me up and down, nodding.
I leaned in, brushing my lips against hers and then trailing them down her neck.
Her companion reached out and touched me, watching us, blissfully unaware of my true intentions.
I let him grope me. Normally, I would have swatted away his touch, but I wanted him distracted from what I was about to do.
My fangs extended, piercing the delicate skin of the woman’s throat. Warm blood rushed into my mouth, and the taste sent an electrifying current through me.
A supermarket cart, the scent of her favourite perfume, a movie theater date.
Her mundane human memories, clear and sharp, flashed through my mind as I drank with urgency.
The moments of her life were intoxicating, reminding me of when I was human.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the taste of her blood.
She swayed in my embrace, too drunk to realize there was a predator in her midst. My hunger was fierce, but tonight, the plan was no dead bodies.
Reluctantly, I pulled away, my tongue sweeping over her wound to clean it, leaving the taste of her fresh blood in my mouth.
I quickly turned to the man. His mustache had remnants of white powder clinging to it as I pressed my lips against his, drinking in the taste of tobacco and vodka.
His hands gripped my waist and pulled me closer.
His mustache was coarse, and his tongue danced along my lips, trying to enter my mouth.
Fireworks continued around us. He pulled back, his eyes full of confusion. “You taste like—”
I cut off his words with another kiss trailing down his neck, though he started to fight against my embrace. I was stronger than he was, having just fed from his partner. I sank my teeth in and drank.
Buttoning up his shirt, lying in the sun, driving with a cigarette smouldering between his fingers.
Images from his life played out in my mind as I felt my hunger begin to subside.
His body relaxed under my touch, and I pushed his memories aside, drinking deeper than I had from his partner.
When I finally released him, I quickly slipped away into the crowd.
I hoped that, like the fleeting memories of their drunken night, I would fade as well.
After almost a week on the run, drawing attention to myself with a string of bodies was out of the question on my first night here. That meant I needed to feed on several people to feel satisfied without attracting suspicion.
I examined the crowd for my next meal and caught sight of Vail, tangled up with a woman with short black hair. A sharp ache pierced my chest at the sight of her, but I quickly averted my gaze. This wasn’t the time for distractions.
I saw the man with the blond hair I had noticed earlier. Our gazes locked once more, and his eyes sparkled with intrigue as he smiled at me. I returned the smile; a surge of excitement building and began moving toward him.
The night buzzed with energy, and the crowd swelled around me, and for a brief moment, I looked up, mesmerized by the fireworks. But then a sharp pain bloomed in my head, and my vision wavered.
I needed to slow down. I must have been drinking too quickly.
I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a long, steady breath. The scent of humans filled my lungs as I focused on regaining my composure. Just then, someone bumped into me. Without a second thought, I sank my fangs into the stranger’s neck, surrendering to the sweet, intoxicating taste of blood.
I started to pull back as my head throbbed more intensely, my vision flickering and becoming spotty once more. A wave of confusion surged through me, followed by a tight knot of panic.
Something was wrong.
I tried to steady myself, but my body refused to cooperate. I stumbled forward, desperately searching for Vail, but everything was distorted, moving in slow motion. The faces blurred and the sounds around me became a muffled hum.
My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the muddy ground. A cold sweat broke out across my skin, and I gasped, trying to force my limbs to move, but they felt heavy and unresponsive.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was the crowd, swirling like a vortex around me, the faces of strangers too far to reach, too out of focus to recognize.