DRAGOS.
Dawn and I lounged on a picnic mat the next afternoon, after just having had lunch. My head rested in her lap, the warm sun beating down on my face while she scrolled through her phone.
"Dragos?" She called softly.
"Mm?"
"I know this might sound random and sensitive, but how did you cope without me?"
I stilled as sudden memories of my past victims flashed before my eyes. Swallowing hard, I pushed aside the images.
Slowly, I sat up. "It was uh…" I cleared my throat. "Hard"
I wasn't going to tell her I'd made a habit of going on hunts in both broad daylight and nighttime, targeting killers and rapists, and draining them of their blood.
Her face saddened. "Oh, Dragos, I'm so sorry. I wish I'd been able to fight back that day, but…"
"No, no, no. Don't … don't do that," I said, shaking my head as I took her hand in mine.
"Don't blame yourself, babe. You were taken from me, and the person who did that is gone." I caressed her face. "Remember, we're here to be happy, and not dwell on the past, okay?"
She sighed, "Okay."
After a while, she looked around. "Do you think there could be any vampires nearby?"
I shrugged nonchalantly. "It's possible. They're everywhere, but they'll only come out at night."
She paused for a moment. "Apart from Rafael, have you turned anyone else? Your family too"
"Remember Azrael can't sire vampires due to the curse," I replied, my hands supporting my weight. "Mum and Rafael's private affairs are not my concern, but yes, they have other sirelings. They'll come in handy when we need them."
I took a bunch of grapes from the picnic basket and plucked one from the stem. "I'm very choosy about who I grant the dark gift to. Besides Rose, Rafael, and one other, I haven't sired anyone else."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "And you're over five hundred years old."
I threw the grape into my mouth. "You know I spent most of it sleeping."
Dawn's curiosity increased. "How long did you sleep? And when did you wake up?"
I paused, thinking back. "I slept for four hundred and forty years. I woke up in the year 2022. Last year."
"Oh. I see" She muttered, her gaze dropping to the picnic mat. "You chose to sleep that long because you were grieving."
I studied her face. "Yes, but it wasn't immediately after Rose's death that I entered a slumber. I still stayed around for a hundred years. The pain of her death remained fresh back then."
"You make a hundred years sound like a few days."
"When you're an immortal, decades can feel like mere days."
Dawn took off her wide sun hat. "That's crazy. If there are vampires nearby, you'd be able to sense them, wouldn't you? Even without the fangs and everything else."
I nodded. "Yes. You just know. Their scent is different, their aura…"
"I see"
"Why the sudden interest?"
She shrugged, "Nothing. Just curious"
I still hadn't told her about how the curse had started affecting me, nor about my bloodlust. Nor about how I'd killed Cassius' friends to punish him. I had a lot to spill, but I wasn't going to do it here, on our vacation. I wanted her all to myself, free from distractions.
I stood up, stretching my hand towards her. "Come with me"
She smiled up at me. "Where are we going?"
"The beach"
She giggled and took my hand as I helped her to her feet.
"I still have to pack up," she said, glancing back at the picnic mat and baskets.
"Leave it. We'll come back… the beach isn't too far."
"If you say so, handsome," she said, her tone sultry.
I threw her over my shoulders and started for the beach. She burst into another round of giggles, her hair falling forward and spilling down, the strands tickling my back.
"Put me down, you centenarian," she laughed, playfully hitting my back.
"Not a chance in hell,l" I replied, nearing the ocean.
A warmth I couldn't explain spread through my heart.
Fate had granted me a second chance, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful.
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Later that night, after I'd made sure Dawn was fast asleep, I snuck out of the room and out into the night, feeling the urge to feed.
I made my way to the garden, where I struggled for about twenty minutes trying to resist the temptation.
Soon, the curse's tremors began again, my hands shaking and my throat burning with an itch.
It annoyed me so much, being affected by a curse I didn't deserve. One that had haunted my family for generations. One that had killed them.
We were innocent, every one of us, and yet we suffered. And now, I suffered too. I, the last of my bloodline.
Yes, I was strong, different from other vampires, but I was still prone to this… inherited weakness. This… scourge.
Feeding from the vein helped a little. No matter how temporary, the taste of blood drowned out the annoying symptoms for me. Probably, it was one of the reasons I'd gotten so addicted.
I was still in the garden, trying to fight off the feeling when Lani stumbled on me.
"Mr. Vlad!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't expect to find you out here so late. Everything alright?" she asked worriedly, drawing closer. "Do you need help with anything?"
I fell another step back, trying to gain control of my trembling hands and senses.
The low thud of her pulse, the sound of blood flowing through her throbbing carotid, and the sweet scent of it coming from her neck made it hard for me to pay attention to what she was saying.
"No, Lani, I'm fine," I lied, my voice unrecognizable, even to myself. "What brings you out here?"
Lani ignored the question, her eyes watching me closely, roaming from my shaking hands to my forehead.
"You don't look well, sir. You're sweating, and your hands…"
The sound of her pulse grew louder, the rush of her blood now roaring in my ears. I stepped closer, unable to resist anymore.
"Actually, you could be of some assistance."
Before she could react, I compelled her. "Don't move. Don't scream. You'll be fine."
Baring my fangs and inching down closer, I ignored her expression of horror.
"I just need one... little... bite."
As my fangs sank into her neck, I sighed in relief, the warm blood flowing into my mouth and offering a satisfaction no earthly food could provide.
I consumed it ravenously like a starved puppy.
The garden was quiet, except for the chirping of crickets. Lani remained still, putting up no resistance as I fed on her blood. Everything was going fine until Dawn's voice interrupted the quiet of the night.
"Dragos, what are you doing?!"
I froze, pulling away from Lani, who looked weak.
Dawn's gaze slid from Lani's neck to my mouth, which was a few inches away, and back again.
She looked scared of me... not scared that I was a predator, but scared of what I was becoming.
It was like she could see the hunger in my eyes… the darkness.
A part of me was grateful for the interruption, or I feared I might've drained her to death.
Dawn's hair was still mussed from sleep, her eyes heavy with it, but now wide with the realization of what was happening. No doubt, she had just awoken.
I turned Lani to face me, compelling her to forget the entire encounter.
"Go," I said. "Clean yourself up and make sure no one sees you. Keep your neck covered, if anyone asks, your boyfriend got rough."
We both watched her walk away, and I wiped the blood residue away from my mouth before turning to face my angry girlfriend.
"Dawn, I... I'm sorry. I had to."
"You had to?!" she whispered harshly, striding toward me and pointing in the direction Lani had left. "What happened to feeding on blood bags?!"
I kept quiet, debating whether to tell her about my change in feeding habits.
She turned away from me for a moment, then faced me sharply again. "Rafael told me about how you resumed feeding from the vein after my death…"
I frowned, my hands balling into fists. "Rafael did what now?"
Why couldn't my sireling keep his mouth shut?
"... I didn't want to bring it up and ruin our vacation" She continued "But guess who just ruined our vacation, Dragos?!"
"I'm sorry."
"You have to get it under control, please."
Dawn exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry I died, okay?" Her voice softened. "I'm sorry you got this way because of me. I'm sorry my death damaged you, but…"
"Stop, Dawn. Stop." I interrupted, raking my hand through my hair, "I have it under control, the blood just makes it better…more tolerable"
"Makes what better?" She asked in confusion.
"The curse, Dawn. The curse! It's starting to affect me," I fessed up, pacing.
Her face paled, her voice lowering "Dragos, why didn't you say anything?"
"Because you just got back!" I said in frustration. "I didn't want to burden you with my issues already, especially when you were dead twelve days ago!"