Page 1 of Bleeding Love

Chapter 1

Roman

Thereisnothingasmagnificent as feeling the life drain from a person. There is nothing quite as hollowing either. But to a monster, neither matters.

And a monster was exactly what I was.

Throwing my head back, I licked the blood from my lips. I could feel it pulse through me, singing a song I had been dancing to for centuries. The magic simmering in those veins was so sweet and invigorating that it made me smile as I let the witch slump to the ground.

She was a weak one, but my body bristled with power while her taste lingered on my tongue. Feeding on weak, helpless humans could never compare to draining a supernatural. And it had been a long, long time since I had a witch. Maybe I’d start hunting them again in another attempt to sate that damn hunger that never gave me peace.

Stepping back, I straightened my waistcoat and winced, noticing the few droplets of blood that had stained the hem of my sleeve. It was rare for me to get this sloppy, but I had been starving, and even this witch didn’t fully quench my thirst. Maybe I should have taken her to bed first and distracted myself with her body before killing her. The problem with witches was that if she knew what I was, she would have never opened her legs for me. Despite being a monster that thrived on death and suffering, taking a person against their will was a line I had sworn not to cross.

I lowered my eyes to the slender form lying sideways in the dark alley. Her blonde hair was falling in front of her face, her pale skin almost translucent now that her heart had gone quiet. She had been young, almost a witchling, which explained why she was so foolish to be caught unaware.

Running my fingers over my chin to make sure I got all the blood, I turned my back to the lifeless corpse and returned to the main street. The night was cold, so there was almost no one outside in the small town where I had been residing for the last few months. Lights spilled from houses and taverns, paired with loud voices and laughter, but everybody kept inside, clinging to the false sense of safety their four walls gave them.

They were going to be even more cautious after finding her body, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on lingering for much longer. Just until my Master called me back to her side. There was nothing I could do in this world, no one I cared about. There was only my Master.

I was just about to head toward my residence when the wind changed direction, and the scent of blood and magic made me stagger. It couldn’t have been the witch I had just killed since she didn’t have this much power even before I caught her. And the blood…the smell was so rich and overwhelming that my fangs dug into my lips until the skin broke.

Without thinking, I followed it, moving at a speed the human eye could not detect. I slowed only after I drew close enough to taste the metallic tinge permeating the air.

A massacre, it had to be. No single person had this much blood in their body.

I paused when I found the first corpse. There was a giant hole right in the middle of his chest, the rest of him covered in burns that scorched most of his skin. A wide, gruesome gash ran across his face, slicing through the bone, and making me wonder exactly what kind of creature could have done this.

The next corpse was missing a head and both arms from below the elbows.

I moved further, studying the carnage with growing curiosity. The smell of burned flesh, fresh blood, and sweet magic was making me so thirsty that I had to stop myself from sinking my teeth into the nearest warm body. It had been so long since I faced anyone strong enough to put up a proper fight, and the thought of finding them here, in this god-forsaken town, made me chuckle with excitement.

I was stepping over another mangled corpse when a dark brand caught my attention. Careful not to let the back of my coat dip in the pool of blood, I pushed the collar of his jacket aside, raising an eyebrow as I recognized the marking.

A rune for protection against magic. This man was a witch hunter.

My curiosity spiked when I checked another corpse, and another, only to find them all wearing similar markings. I had counted over thirteen bodies when a sharp cry made me lift my head.

It seemed like the rest of them had finally caught their prey. Unless she traveled with others of her kind, a single witch couldn’t handle such a large group, not when those runes protected them from most of her magic. She’d run out of energy before they ran out of people. The fact that she had taken down thirteen was a cause for admiration.

Still, the scents I caught were all human except for one. Hidden beneath the layers of fear, pain, and death, it made every hair on my body rise in anticipation as it invaded my nostrils. Before I knew it, I was following the trail of bodies, noting how they grew fewer and farther in between.

It didn’t take me long to find her, but whatever I expected, it couldn’t compare with what I saw. Keeping to the trees, I stared at the lone figure in the center of a clearing, the bodies of at least another dozen hunters lying at her feet like some altar of death. She stood with her head thrown back, eyes closed, and face turned toward the moon while its light glided over her skin. Blood dripped from her hair and chin, her tattered dress stained in crimson and sticking to her trembling body. There were cuts and shallow wounds all over her exposed flesh, but even if she was in pain, her expression was wholly serene.

The wind changed direction again, carrying her fresh scent to me. I took a deep breath, tasting it slowly, and almost dropped to my knees. Despite her youthful appearance, she stank of power, the likes of which I had never felt before. Even the Elders of my kind didn’t exude so much might as she did at that moment, relaxed and vulnerable, basking in the moon’s glory.

And the sweetness, oh, that sweetness. All witches smelled distinctively sweet because of their magic, but this woman…she was going to taste divine. I knew it. Looking at her exposed throat, with all that blood slipping down it like a delicious topping on a cake, I couldn’t help but lick my lips.

I took a step forward without thinking. The long, soft neck…the ceaseless energy that slithered beneath her skin…the heartbeat that made the world quiet…they woke a hunger that consumed any rational thought.

I had crossed half the clearing when her eyes snapped open and she turned her head in my direction. The movement was slow, deliberate, like a warning. There wasn’t a hint of fear in her scent, not even as I bared my fangs. Her magic hovered around her like a halo, making her look even less human than she was. Like some beautiful goddess that had decided to venture into the mortal world, but got lost in its darkness.

She had to be weak after fighting those hunters and losing so much blood. Her power had to be depleted. How much of a fight could she put up now? Suddenly, I didn’t feel like I wanted a challenge. I just wanted her. Whatever blood was left in that body of hers. I wanted to taste it, devour it all.

Yet that calm look in her eyes made me halt just outside of the circle of corpses surrounding her. I looked down at the hunters, wincing at the state of them. I had done my share of murdering and maiming and torturing, but I preferred neat, clean kills. This was just…brutal efficiency.

“Hello there, witch,” I said as I drew my eyes back to her. “Lovely night, isn’t it?”

She didn’t reply, just kept staring at me with that calmness that made a growl rise to my throat. I was used to my prey screaming and running, to their cries and fears riling me into a frenzy. Yet this woman looked…bored.

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