Chapter 1

A deep hunger growled within Blaise as he prowled the dangerous streets. The darkness shrouded him, a cloak of nightmares smothering him in protection from the mundanities of life. Nothing yet. But he could smell it. The rich, metallic scent of blood was thick in his nostrils. The scent made his pupils dilate. Made his mouth water. Made his knees weak. It made his fangs slip from their lair in his gums and peirce the flesh of his soft lips, making the blood gush from the wounds and his mouth to fill with his own blood, only exacerbating his deep thirst.

His hand lifted to his lip and swiped at the wound. Yup. A smear of blood had placed itself from Blaise’s knuckle to the top of his wrist. A stark reminder of the one thing craved. The one thing he so desperately needed.

Blaise closed his eyes and sniffed the air deeply. His footsteps quickened. Faster. Faster. Faster Until he broke into a full run. Although his vision was blank, he could still smell what was ahead. Like a hound, Blaise tracked his prey by its scent and felt his way around the city in the same way.

After a while, Blaise came across a dark alley strewn with glass and reeking of a grotesquely interesting mixture of blood and urine. He came to a stop when he saw a stream of blood trickling down the middle of the alleyway, three hulking men in black denim and tracksuits encircling something. He couldn’t quite work out what it was yet.

He started to run to get a better look, but he only managed a few paces before he doubled over and braced himself against the graffittied wall. The hunger was overtaking him. He had to fight just to stay in control.

Shaking his head and setting his jaw, he advanced. But yet again he was stopped by the beast inside of him. It was all too much.

He couldn’t hold on any longer...