She stood there, so perfect, so innocent; the idyllic pray for a blood sucking demon like him. The night was dark, the only illumination was that of the cold-stricken moon that floated in the sky like an orb demanding to be noticed. The surroundings in which both Blake and the woman occupied were that of a park. A huge field framed by trees and a few football goals dotted around. Funny how a place so mundane would become the backdrop for such a horrific future for this stranger standing in the middle of the grass. The musty smell of trees and damp mud clouded his nostrils but the unmistaken smell of human was still prominent in the concoction of scents. Within the silence, a strong heart beat that seemed to echo in the emptiness, along with her blood thundering through her veins.

Blake watched the young woman from afar. Her soft skin and honey hair fell around her elegant face and smart shoulders, a frame of beauty and life. Her arms crossed at her chest making her breasts rise up just a little, in a way that always got Blake’s attention. It also seemed like she was protecting her heart, perhaps trying the muffle the sound of her beating heart. Her sighs made her shoulders rise, she was waiting for something, or someone, and seemed to be getting impatient. She seemed a strong woman, one with a smart mouth and a little stamina to go with it, what fun she would be to chase. The moonlight lit up her features of where she stood. There were no trees close enough to hide her, no shadow roaming her figure, only the natural light illuminating her for all to see. She made no attempt to move, her patients that of a saint. Soon she would no longer need to wait. She was the perfect meal for a bloodthirsty vampire, but something unsettled him. She was waiting, for what? Would she be missed? Was she loved? Who cared? Thrusting his thoughts to the back, trying to ignore that pang of guilt that always seemed to creep up. He was hungry and needed to feed sooner rather than later. Time to hunt. Taking one look at her, he gave into his cravings that had been brewing deep in his stomach.

Blake started climbing down from the high tree he was in, it was tall and rough, the foliage among the top gave him the perfect place to hide and ensnare his victims. He strolled over to the delectable woman carrying his vampire charm and extremely soothing voice. “Why hello,” Blake said hoping to woo her into a frenzy of swooning and blushing, which always helped him drink easy. Instead, he got a rather rude awakening…

“Don’t be an idiot Blake!” exclaimed the woman, how the hell did she know his name? His brows furrowed with trepidation. What was this woman and where was the succumbing mess that would have been a lavishing meal of exquisite taste? He was annoyed, anxious and plain old confused. Who the hell was she? Yes, she definitely had a smart mouth and a lot of guts it seemed too but what on earth did this woman know about him?

“My name is Missey Crayton, I’m a slayer.” She answered his unspoken question with a calmness that aggravated him, how dare she talk in that tone towards him. The fact she was lying to him only annoyed him more; the slayer part was not true. It couldn’t be. The slayers over the years had developed a certain scent that warned the vampires of their presence, not really any good for them but it was handy for the vampires. It would be hard to miss such a repelling pong of such a thing. The woman only smelt like a human, the flesh and creamy crimson liquid, that run under such delicate skin, was a metallic smell and definitely something to look forward to. There was something more though, but he didn’t know what, but it definitely was not a slayer. It was a familiar scent of something he had smelt before but what? Where? Deciding against the familiar smell, he continued with the infuriating prey in front of him. “Well, that’s not true. I would have smelt it and believe me you don’t smell like that.”

“I’m new to the job.” She didnt even raise an eye brow at the statement. What she said would give him the reason for her lack of stink but what had this got to do with him? He had been careful not to leave any leads for the damn critters that were the slayers. The dumb things were not advanced enough to understand the way a vampire works and it wasn’t like they had a filing cabinet with folders in of each vampire. Right? The thought of that made Blake smile before the situation at hand got at him once more… focus Blake!

“I had to find you, so I waited here. People said this was one of your hunting grounds. It was a matter of being here at the right time. Took a while though, I was going to give up here after tonight, but seems I was in luck.” Missey spoke rather matter-of-factly but her voice seemed sincere and honest. Who were people? What did she mean by hunting ground? He never really thought about having any specific hunting grounds. That just made him sound like an animal, a lion maybe… No, a tiger. Sighing with a slight smirk on his face, he continued to scrutinise this woman, this so-called slayer.

He looked into the woman’s eyes and saw a light that captured his dark sole and turned it on its axis. She was so different, so overbearing. It made him uneasy, he had been trying to ignore the nagging of familiarity at the back of his mind but those eyes were so familiar, and through his whirlwind of life, he was suddenly very aware of who she was and why she was so familiar. The realization made him feel lifeless and slightly disappointed at himself for being so careless…

“Don’t you remember me?” her words were a staccato, a whisper of what had happened not that long ago in his vampire life. His heart sank to the bottom of his very empty stomach as he recollected his thoughts from that night. How could he ever forget?

The night was cold, too cold to find anyone on the streets. He needed somewhere better, a quick meal before the night was done and the moon hid away; only to leave the morning sun that would turn Blake on to a deathly road that never ends.

He walked with a purpose, with his senses running a mock with hunger. He hadn’t drunk in days due to the wallowing in self-pity and he needed to get himself together before the uncontrollable monster took over him and drank half the town. He could smell the storm that was brewing above his head; a tense dampness lingering and full of foreboding. The concrete on which he walked supported every powerful step as his mind wondered to what he was and the long road he had taken. He could barely feel anymore, both physically and mentally. It wasn’t such a bad thing, given the nature of his new life, but it was an empty existence, and a long one to live at that.

Standing still he rained in all his thoughts and set control of what he needed to do; feed. Blake breathed in the air, searching for his victim. He needed someone weak, someone, without a fight... The sweet scent of death soon lingered in his nose. It was an easy target but the way he felt at that moment, he didn’t care. No one was there to judge him. No one was ever there.

In a matter of seconds, he was where he needed to be. The walls were high and littered with windows. It looked like flats stacked up one by one. The bricks were a dull brown, matching the windows. The smell was welcoming him, enticing him to take what he needed. From where he stood, he could see one open window, he sensed it was the one that held his target. He hoped it was too… he was running out of time and energy. He hesitated for a moment, it was funny how the one window that was open, was the one he needed to enter. Ignoring his consciousness, he crouched down like the animal he was and pounced.

Jumping in from the open window with ease, he saw a young girl, about 14, sleeping slowly with a steady heartbeat. Her honey hair shining in the moonlight. Her skin was pale and seemingly flawless. She was beautifully innocent. Her heart was a lullaby cradling his own. She was not his hunt. She was too beautiful, too perfect to be lavished in the horror of her own blood. She was so innocent, so blind to the murderous savage of himself. Walking past her, he took one last glance and headed towards her bedroom door. Following the scent of death once again.

It led him to an old woman, asleep in front of a rich fire that seemed to call for his black heart to warm up and relax. He didn’t want to be this… but he was what he was, he couldn’t change that. Looking away from the flickering flames, he let his vampire take over so that all the nice, calming things around him were forgotten and he could feed. His fangs pushed through his gums like a paper cut, a side affect of avoiding their use. His eyes focussed on the pulsation of the woman’s heart beat and without a second thought, he was letting the warm liquid fill his mouth. It was warm and welcoming in the cool night. The frenzy began. He was beyond the hope of stopping, drawing on every drop. The weak heart of the elderly woman in her chair didn’t last long.

Standing up he turned to go back towards the window he crept in from, but the sleeping beauty blocked his path. He was stuck. He starred at her, those eyes now glossy from unshed tears. What was it about her eyes? It was as though she could see right through him, deep into his dangerous soul. It was unnerving but he couldn’t look away, he was lost in the pits of her pupils. What had he done? He knew what she now saw, a monster, and a murderer. He thought she would scream, thought she would hold fear in her eyes. She didn’t. Her face flickered with emotion, like the fire behind him. Her heart was steady and sure. She wasn’t afraid, not even a little. His brow creased, why wasn’t she scared? She was so young. Okay, it was time to leave. He rushed past her determined to get out, he needed the cool of the night to assure him, of what? He wasn’t sure. “Wait…” a hesitant voice whispered to him, making him stop without a thought. It was soft and sure like her heart.

“I’m sorry,” was the only words he could muster up the courage to say and with that he was gone…

“Blake?” the vision of the past had clouded his surrounding but as soon as Missey spoke, his mind was released once more.

“What? Oh sorry. I was having trouble remembering you.” At that moment, Blake’s eyes locked with Missey’s, the same bewitching eyes that he had seen all those years ago, the eyes that had seen him feed and be the killer he really was.

“Listen Blake, I’m cold out here, why don’t we go back to mine and talk? Please, I just want to talk to you,” well this was new. He had been invited into the home of a so called slayer, but did he really want to? It could just be a trick. But after all this he really needed answers and to be honest what did he have to lose? “Sure.” His mind was reeling, he couldn’t quite believe how calm the woman next to him was. She was so sure of herself, no sign of panic or worry, she was fine, just like she was all those years ago. He was such a mess, his head tying itself in knots over what this could mean. The next few hours could be torture but he didn’t care. This woman meant something… she always had, like a beacon in a lonely world.

Back at Missey’s, Blake was cautious. Being in the home of a slayer was new for him, it was very risky. As soon as he walked through the door, a deafening alarm went off, great! The slayer was trying to make a vampire deaf, A) it won’t work and B) it was very annoying. He clutched his ears to hopefully cloud the sound, but it didn’t work very well. He really hoped there wasn’t a net. That would be all he needed, to be embarrassed in front of the slayer, in front of her. There was a fragrance in the air, of Missey entwined with a familiar smell that he couldn’t quite place. What was it? It wasn’t the past being dragged up again, this was different.

Missey strolled into the kitchen, not noticing the alarm that was going off. Why couldn’t she hear it? It was really loud. She just frowned at him as if he was clutching his ears for no reason. “Are you okay?” she asked in a confused voice. The noise was getting annoying now and it was defiantly irritating Blake.

“Aren’t you going to turn that stupid alarm off?” For god sake why was she acting so stupid?

“Oh sorry I forgot about that. It’s louder for people like you than me. I can’t even hear it, which defeats the purpose if you ask me. It’s a supernatural alarm, so shouldn’t it be a warning to me? Stupid slayers, they were never much help with common sense. ” She walked over to a little box beside the door and turned it off. A sigh of relief left Blake’s lips as the persistent noise ceased.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Missey strolled back into the kitchen and got out a glass of lemonade. Blake sat down and took in his new surroundings. The home of Missey was small and stuffy it had 3 closed doors down the small corridor, he wondered what the third one led to; if one room was hers and then the bath room, who was occupying the last one if anyone. Pulling his eyes across the rest of the bungalow, his eyes set on a beautiful 15th-century fireplace reminding him of the type you see on a Dracula film, ironic. The open kitchen was the smallest of the rooms, with its yellow walls and brown cabinets. It looked perfect for a flat or a bungalow just like this one. Everything seemed to have its place, it was all so modern apart from the fireplace and a couple of old blankets, they seemed to be homemade, by her grandmother perhaps? There was an impression of a home, something he hadn’t had for a long time; after living in alleyways and the odd hotel. He never really had a place to call his own since becoming the monster.

Prowling once again around the home he let his gaze follow Missey around the kitchen. He saw something in her eyes. Some sort of light, something he hadn’t seen in a while, but there it was in her eyes. She seemed to have captured hope, sunlight and perfection in her eyes. They were so beautiful. After a few minutes, Missey sat on the opposite sofa in silence. They were both quiet, the air becoming thick with the awkwardness of it all. “How did you change?” Woah, what a question! Random and definitely a dive in the deep end. How dare she? His anger was already creeping in for no reason at all; how could she infuriate him with one simple question? He was angry at himself because he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to tell her any of it but at the same time did. He felt his stomach flipping at his uncertainty. Gripping his insides and pulling inwards. What was wrong with him? “Please Blake, I need answers. Why did you choose to change?” His anger got the better of him, as it always did. He stood up and yelled through his clenched teeth.

“You think I chose to be a monster? To kill people like your grandmother?” Who did she think she was? He always regretted the situation he was in, the lives he took. He didn’t enjoy any of it, he just did what he needed to do.

Missey, looked at him right in the eye, “So you do remember? Come on Blake calm down. I just want some answers as I’m sure you do too. Sit down and chill out. You can drink water can’t you or did the slayers get that wrong?” Missey stood up gently, as if she was trying to tame an animal… little did she know. The images of the killing would hunt him forever. He never wanted to hurt anyone but being a vampire? It came with the title. His reactions to the questions were unexpected, both to her, but also to himself. He made himself seem weak by letting her get under his skin. Maybe he was weak.

Blake managed to calm down with the help of her concerned look. He sighed and sat back down. Missey came back in with a glass in her hand and a bottle in the other, that wasn’t water. She handed him the glass and poured the clear liquid into it. It was vodka, he could smell it. It smelt amazing. All the things he had missed out on after being bitten. He took a long gulp. The harsh bitterness cleansed his throat. He started to feel a bit dizzy but it felt so good. He hadn’t realized that booze still had an effect on him. After all this time he could have lived life drunk. Wouldn’t that be fun? “Better? It will help calm you down and help you loosen up.” Okay, it definitely worked its magic. He would answer the questions for her and her eyes; besides what did he have to lose? Deciding on that, he began his story. Sitting back, his lips moved without any hesitation. “I didn’t want to be what I am. It was mainly because of family. You see I’m not just a vampire; I’m a Zidirian as well. Do you know what that is?” If she knew of vampire’s then she must know what a Zidirian was.

“No, not exactly,” Okay maybe not.

“A Zidirian is a human that turns into a white tiger. It’s pretty awesome actually. Anyway, my father was the leader of our streak. He was strong and powerful. When he turned, he could run for miles without getting tired, he could take down a mammoth if he had to, without hesitation. He was fearless. But everyone has a weakness and my fathers, was his family. My family. And one person in particular was my mother. Their love was the strongest I have ever seen. I am yet to see a love as strong as theirs.

One day, my mother was approached by a lady with pale skin like ice and eyes a rich red. She seemed to be lost in the woods. My mother being who she was, ignored her better thinking and let her into our home. She let her snuggle up in her and my father’s bed to get warm and even offered her hot food and drink. My mother had no clue what she really was. She spoke to my mother of her love for a stranger in the woods. That all she wanted to do was love the mysterious man, but that his heart belonged to another. I sat and watched this strange woman talk about my father, who was out hunting. We sat, locked on every word of hers. To this day, I have no idea what made Poppy click. I don’t know what suddenly made her feed on her. It all seemed to go so quickly. I was stuck in my seat, watching the monster that I have come to realise that was in love with my father. She fed on my mother as her lifeless eyes stared at me with a sadness so haunting that it still rocks my body to the core.

After a long while of rocking back and forth as my mother was sucked dry, Poppy turned to me. Realising what was going to happen to me, I ran out of the house and bolted towards the hills. I called for my father and within a second, he was there in his white and black glory. I explained the situation and then I turned around and there was my mother’s murderer. My father attacked her and in her rage, Poppy killed him too. I was done for. Poppy turned to me with tears in her eyes and pushed me down. She grabbed my head in a lock and me being stupid, I bit her to break free. Her blood entered my system and with a quick jerk, she snapped my neck. As a slayer, you should know what happened after that. When I woke up, I had a hunger so harsh that I could barely breathe. The vampire blood seemed to sit in my throat, burning it to a cinder. I needed to put it out… When I first drank human blood, the Zidirian part of me seemed to abandon me. I tried to change to feel some sort of solace towards my parent’s death, but I couldn’t. It was as if it was rebelling against me, like everything that I used to be had left me all over again. The Zidirians had left me out of fear and I couldn’t blame them for it. After what Poppy did to my family, I would leave me alone too. Immortality sounds amazing but when you’re spending it alone its very lonely and depressing.”

As he thought about the past, he saw it in his mind and the pain was there again, the pain of the change inside and the pain of the family. He had forgotten all of it and now he remembered it all after these past years of being a bloodsucking monster. He missed them. “Blake?” Missey’s voice broke through and caught his attention. The pain stopped but there was still the dull hurt of being alone at the bottom of his stomach.

Missey shouldn’t have made him talk. Who was she to make him talk? Then again… he was the one that just blurted it all out without hesitation. He watched her pour some more vodka into his glass then she took a gulp from the bottle. But why was it so easy for him to talk to her?

After a while, his words came out without a thought. “Thank you, Missey.” He tried to say, it didn’t seem to come out right… was he wasted? He was definitely pissed up but that wasn’t exactly surprising considering he had drunk three-quarters of the bottle already. “Why did you say thank you? And do you want any more booze? I’ve got some scotch?” Maybe all he needed was a friend, he didn’t want to be alone anymore. But why him? He killed her grandmother without a second of hesitation. He was a killer, there was no changing that… then again, after tonight, nothing was for certain. Maybe he didn’t need to be alone anymore?

“Scotch sounds good and I said thanks because you helped me remember my family. I bet you miss your grandmother. I bet she was your whole world.” Blake’s emotion erupted within making it hard to keep back the tears in his stinging eyes, so he just gave up. Afterall, he could always blame it on the alcohol. “Actually she wasn’t, I only stopped with her because mum was having a hard time. We were going to go berry picking in the morning though.” His tears started to fall, knowing she wasn’t even that close to her, but it felt good to have feeling again. He put his hand on his face, trying to regain some sort of control over his emotions. “I didn’t realise vampires had such feelings.” Truth is, they didn’t usually, until now. Why was he crying? He gathered himself up and looked at Missey. She was why. She was the reason why he was crying. She could help so much just by breathing, being the light in his life. But what was the point in hoping, she shouldn’t want anything to do with him.

“Did the slayers say we didn’t?” Missey nodded. Blake could feel himself go smug. “There is a lot of crap that comes out of their dirty little mouths. They say a lot of bullshit so that people like you, turn against us. It makes life very difficult.” Blake was running out of time. It was already 3 o’clock. “You got any duct tape? That's if you don't mind me staying the day? Ill leave later when the darkness returns.” He was starting to sober up and was wary of the upcoming morning. It couldn’t kill him because he wasn’t just a vampire but it could make him very ill. He didn’t want to be in pain like before, it would put Missey in danger.

He sat and stared at Missey, imploring her to help him. She got up and headed to a cupboard, grabbing some duct tape and some blankets, she started to cover the windows. He needed hope, that was all he had left. He wanted to end it all, the amount of times he had tried to kill himself were too many to count, but then, when he got so close, he would see a small reason to hang on, something as simple as a bird or something free and innocent, a reason to live. Lost in thought, he saw Missey struggling with the last window. Blake’s hands enclosed around her hips, lifting her up to reach the top of the window frame. Her skin was blazing against his cold skin, he felt a small tremor rock her body. Latching the cover over the window, Blake let go. “Thanks,” she breathed. She was so close to his lips. They both went to sit back down. “Do you plan on stopping here for the day then?”

“Well considering I’m pissed out my head and planning to get even more pissed then yeah because a drunken vampire is probably dangerous to the public. And sunlight and vampires don't mix..”

The laughter coming out of Missey was a godsend after everything she had exploited out of him. The light in her eyes seemed to get brighter and brighter as she got happier and happier. There was something about this girl, this sweet young woman. She brought out a whole new side to him, a better side. It was the heat from her eyes. It was radiating him, melting his cold and fierce heart. But there was something more. Something he hadn’t realized until he thought about it. He didn’t have the need to devour her. He wanted to protect her, to preserve her heat, her beauty and above all, her caring personality. Bottoms up might as well make the most of the booze and the relaxed state he was in. He took the bottle of vodka and drank up until it was empty. This woman may have been a slayer but damn she was hot in the eye of the wasted. She may have had questions but so did he. He had just burst out crying in front of her and the trust he felt for her was more than he had ever felt for anyone, but why did he cry out at her or trust her so completely when he didn’t know her at all? “I barely know who I am any more.” He admitted. “Anyway, Id like to learn more about you. What’s life like for a mortal these days?” time for him to ask the questions. “It’s ok, I suppose. Nothing much to do though. The only decent thing that’s in my life is you at the moment.” Okay was the alcohol playing tricks or did she just say that he was a decent thing?

Had that just come out of her mouth? A vampire was decent. “I wanted to find you. I haven’t stopped thinking about that night. You just left. I tried to tell people but of course, they did not believe me. I ended up with numerous councilling appointments and it was only about a year ago that someone actually took me seriously. I have a new councillor and he was the one that introduced me to the slayers.”

Blake looked at her in disbelief. What was he meant to say to that? “Didn’t they see the bite marks?”

“No. I saw them after you left, pretty hard to miss, but I touched them out of curiosity and then the disappeared. I assumed that was something to do with you.”

“That’s nothing of my doing. I’ve never heard of that happening.” Strang… something else to look into.

“Blake what’s your plan? Because I’m pretty beat. I need to sleep, especially if you want my help.” Why didn’t she just kick him out? It was her house anyway. She stood up and rested her hands on her hips. A perfect picture of control. “I think I’ll stay right where I am. I’ve not been this relaxed in years. And to be honest you’re cute.” Okay, too much booze for the vampire. “If you don’t mind of course.” Trying to leave the ball in her court. He would do whatever she wanted. “Sure I don’t mind just please don’t go rummaging through the house.” That would be all she needed a pissed vampire wrecking the house by mistake. “Anyway night,” Missey said with a yawn.

What the fuck was he doing? Blake sat there on the sofa. He had let himself become relaxed around a slayer. He had told her everything, about his past and his life. WHY!? Why the hell was he doing it? And now he was relaxing on a sofa in early hours of the morning and not only that; he was in a slayers living room. He let out a sigh and thought. He thought about Missey and those bewitching eyes. She was in the other room sleeping, with her amazing body. He passed out, with a glass in his hand half full of whisky. Blake’s dreams were haunted by images of Missey, her honey brown hair, her amazing strong body and those bewitching eyes that could hold the sun.