Niko

I peeped through the crack in the door and saw him. He wasn't alone.

Quietly, I watched as Dragos bowed his head slightly, his lips pressed against a maid's wrist.

He was feeding again.

I remembered him telling me he still needed to feed after I caught him in the garden.

Maybe our argument had further pushed him to take the edge off, too.

For a second, I felt relieved that he wasn't feeding from her neck.

He knew how much that had troubled me, and he'd chosen not to do it.

It meant something, didn't it?

It meant that he remembered… that he cared enough to change where he drank from. 

But then, the jealousy was back, and with full force.

No, it didn't matter that he wasn't feeding from her neck. He was still feeding from someone else. Another woman. After I'd practically begged him to feed from me and assured him that if he was on the brink of losing control, I'd stop him, yet there he was, satisfying his hunger with someone else.

My heart crumbled, and I could feel my body flush with anger.

I felt so stupid because I'd just been about to apologize, to make things right. But now, all I could feel was betrayal, as irrational as I knew it was.

Without another word, I turned and walked back to my room, whatever apology I had prepared vanishing from my head.

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DRAGOS. 

Two days had passed, and Dawn still wasn't speaking to me. I couldn't understand why she didn't see that I wasn't willing to risk it with her, especially with the curse making me unpredictable.

I loved her way too much to take that chance.

I couldn't bear the thought of losing control and finding her dead in my arms again. It terrified me.

It would destroy me.

Even though I knew she could protect herself as she'd claimed, I still couldn't shake the fear of harming her again. 

I'd already lost her once. I wasn't going to lose her again. 

I found my way to Desire, a vampire club I discovered on my stroll the previous day.

It was a large place, alive with activity despite how late it was. 

Desire looked just like any other club with its dim lighting, exquisite bar, and a stage with strippers, except it was dominated by nightwalkers. 

The club had designated areas. One was for feeding, where the vampires could satisfy their hunger. There was a string of humans who had been compelled to see to their needs.

Another was a gaming area, where poker, blackjack, and chess went down. While the other rooms were mostly occupied by nude couples, having orgies and engaging in other sexual relations. 

I sat at the bar ordering a glass of whiskey, disinterested in what was going on in any of the rooms. 

My mind was still occupied with thoughts of my girlfriend and the root of our argument, the reason I was here in the first place. 

Our vacation wasn't exactly going as planned, and I didn't like it. 

I didn't like the distance between us. The quiet… it unsettled me. 

The bar lady, a dark-haired vampire with glowing gray eyes, slid me my whiskey with a seductive smile, her eyes lingering on my arm muscles which were more defined in the dim light, but I paid her no attention. 

Taking a long, slow sip of my drink, the liquid burned my throat, leaving behind a tingling sensation. 

My tongue felt heavy, but not in a bad way. It tasted strangely good, the flavour, unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. 

"Not your regular type of whiskey," the barlady said, winking and moving to attend to someone else. 

As I took another sip, someone slid onto the stool next to me, and I glanced sideways to see an average-height vampire with dark hair and brown eyes.

He had sun-kissed skin, one that boasted of his Fijian heritage, and a warm, golden brown complexion. 

The vampire turned in his seat to face me, raising an eyebrow.

"Out with it, brother. You look like shit" 

I took another swig of my drink, replying in a growl, "Get lost."

The vampire seemed unfazed. "Try me. I'm a good listener," he replied. "Besides, it looks like you could use the company" 

I ignored him, but he kept talking. 

"Come on, I'm not going to bite… unless you ask nicely, that is," he chuckled, and I stopped to glare at him, watching the smile die on his face. 

He cleared his throat and continued, "You're new around here, aren't you? I haven't exactly seen you in this club before."

The vampire sighed and turned, so that his elbows and back leaned on the bar counter. "I can bet you're here because of a woman. It's always because of a woman. 

As much as I wanted the loquacious vampire gone, hearing him talk provided me with some sort of distraction, away from my annoying thoughts. 

"Take me, for example, falling for the sweet, lovely Anna Beth was my biggest mistake. Oh, how I loved that woman." 

He turned to look at me again. "I was so devoted, there was nothing I wouldn't have done for her. No sacrifice was too great, no lengths too far.

But what did I have my love repaid with? Abandonment and deceit" His voice had lowered to a monotone, his face showing his pain.

"I drank for days, hoping to drown out the heartache she left me with."

I sighed, setting my glass down and glancing at him. "Mine's giving me the silent treatment. Barely talks to me because I won't indulge in her… fantasy"

The vampire laughed. "She sounds fascinating. And what is the nature of this fantasy that has you so torn, if I may ask?" 

I drained the last of my whiskey, shifting the glass away. "She wants me to feed from her."

The vampire smiled sheepishly. "Ah, the blood rite. I see. Well, there's nothing wrong with indulging in it, especially with the one you love. What's holding you back?"

"I fear I won't be able to stop. I fear I'll lose control." 

His expression relaxed. "Ah, I see. The fear of harming the ones we love is a heavy burden to bear. I'm Niko, by the way."

I nodded, "Dragos."

After a while, I gestured towards my empty glass of whiskey, feeling slightly inebriated. "The bartender mentioned something about this drink not being regular. Alcohol typically doesn't affect me much, yet this one managed to."

"Their drinks are different here," Niko replied casually. "Special. The only thing they'll say when asked is that it's made from an old, secretive brewing process."

"Hm." 

I turned to face Niko directly. "So, what made you approach me? Be honest, because I know it wasn't out of pity."

He leaned back, studying me. "You're strong," he said, "I can tell by your aura, which you're trying to suppress. Still, it's coming off you, and by the looks of it, I'm not the only one who has noticed." 

Niko subtly gestured around the bar where a few heads had turned our way, but I wasn't surprised. 

"That still doesn't answer my question," I pointed out. 

"Actually, it does," he replied. "I could use your help."

Before I could respond, the club's door burst open, and two aggressive-looking vampires stormed in, their eyes locking onto Niko. 

I exhaled deeply, fixing him a hard stare. "Seriously?"

Niko looked nervous, sweat trickling down his forehead despite the air conditioning. "Please just help me out with this once, okay? I promise it won't happen again."

"Listen," I began, speaking through my teeth. "I don't want any attention, I don't want any trouble. I'm supposed to be low-key here, Niko. I'm on vacation with my girl."

The men had started for us, appearing in our in less than a second. 

As one made to grab Niko, I held his hand to stop him, throwing him a glare. "What do you want with him?" I asked. 

The first vampire fumed. "That's none of your business." 

"It is," I replied, glancing at Niko. "He's my friend." 

"Your friend stole from us, and till he gives us what he owes us, he's going nowhere."

I looked at Niko angrily. "What did you steal?" 

The second vampire interrupted before he could speak. "Doesn't matter what he stole, it's gone. What we need is the money." 

"How much?" I asked, and Niko turned to look at me in incredulity.

The first vampire hesitated, glancing behind at his partner. 

"Thousands of dollars," one responded, "I'm not sure you can…" 

"How much?" I snapped again, running out of patience. 

They paused to discuss among themselves for a moment before reaching an agreement.

"Ten thousand dollars," they both said. 

I gritted my teeth and glared at Niko again.

"You don't have to do this… I…"

"I'll transfer the money," I cut in, "But I'll need time to pull it from my trust."

"We can wait."

"It's late," I said through my teeth. "I'll make the transfer first thing tomorrow morning. Is that alright?" 

The two vampires were quiet for a moment before the first one spoke. "Fine. But if we don't get the money by then, he's dead. We'll know where to find him."