Consumed » Kai Parker

Thirty Two

Stefan's POV

Blood.

The smell is the first thing that overwhelms my senses with its sharp prominence in the cool air. I was taking a short break from the party, since being in close proximity with college kids that reeked of alcohol and sweat made a breath of fresh air more than necessary. When I came outside, I heard a shrill scream sound from some yards away.

My head quickly whirled toward the direction it had come from and I sped towards it without a second thought. That's when the scent of blood became increasingly apparent, rushing through my nostrils the closer I got.

I spot a large gap between two concrete walls and immediately stop running just outside of it. The aroma is extremely strong now and I feel the familiar carnal hunger surge through me, veins crackling underneath my faces. My fangs are inching to come out but I forcefully shut my eyes, clenching my teeth and struggle to shove the urge to feed out of my mind.

As the desire dulls, I open my eyes again and turn to face the alleyway.

The source of the blood is laying on the ground, face bloodied and heavily bruised. My hands tightly ball into fists as I try with every bit of strength within me to resist the roaring hunger. His shirt is soaked with the red substance, the temptation nearly unbearable. I can't tell if the boy is still even alive at this point, but if he is, he won't be much longer.

"I-I f-found him like this."

I tear my eyes away from the body to focus on the female voice who spoke, finding a girl standing a few feet away from me. She's trembling and the paleness in her complexion indicates that the shaking is a result of her utter shock and terror at discovering a possibly-dead body, rather than a result of the chill in the air.

I quickly snap to my senses and rush down to the boy, kneeling next to him. I pull down the sleeve of my shirt and bite into my wrist, urgently placing the fresh wound against his parted mouth.

"Come on, drink," I mutter, my eyebrows knitting together when he didn't respond to the blood dripping into his slack mouth.

Then, he twitches suddenly and sputters, droplets of blood spewing out of his mouth. The girl gasps at his sudden movement and I sigh quietly, relieved that there wasn't going to be a death to taint the night.

"What–what are you doing?" she asks, puzzled as the boy finally begins to intake my blood.

I ignore her for now, eventually pulling my wrist away from his blood-covered lips. He blinks at me through two swollen, black eyes, shock and fear quickly registering on his face. He scrambles back from me, struggling to sit up. I place a hand on his arm and he flinches away.

"Who are you? What–what did you just–"

"I fed you my blood because you were about to die," I tell him, my eyes piercing through his in order to compel calmness in him, "now, tell me what happened."

"This guy, he beat me up," he explains, breathing shakily, "until I was barely breathing. Then he left, got in his car and drove away."

"Who?" I prompt.

"I–I forgot his name, he's some friend of Charlotte's."

I frown. The guy who did this is a friend of Charlotte's?

Then, it occurs to me that there's one person who attended this party tonight that was getting a little too close to her. A person undoubtedly capable of committing an act of senseless violence like this.

"Did he have dark hair?" I ask, "tall, tan, wearing a brown button up?"

He nods rapidly, confirming my suspicion. "Yeah, that's exactly what he looked like. How'd you know?"