Meet Andrei here. Read about his first day | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

He was tall, 6’2” and he wore ripped jeans, a white t-shirt with a worn leather jacket. This young man stumbled into the nightclub and he moved like he was underwater. No balance and he likely barely heard a thing, but the bass was clear. Every beat of the drum, every bump of the music bounced his fragile balance. But his focus was elsewhere. If any of the crowd had chanced to glance at his eyes, they would have seen dark, blood-colored irises. He sweated as he stared from one person to the next, inhaling short, shallow breaths through his nose. Like a moth to a flame, he inched closer to the crowds, attracted by the smells, pheromones, and heat. One heartbeat called to him like a siren’s song, alluring, warm and irresistible.

He gripped his leather jacket tighter. Closed his eyes as his balance threatened to run away from him.

“Hey! Watch it!” A woman he’d leaned on shouted as she shoved him off.

He stumbled away, his steps uneven, his gait unstable. He heaved a breath and smelled what had to be heaven. It was soft, delicate, and complex. Above all else, it was sweet. His mission forgotten, his instincts took over, he moved in search of the scent. He forgot to watch his strength or to hide his wounds. As his arm loosened on his jacket, blood dripped, leaving a slippery trail behind him.

If she tastes half as good, he thought.

He had her in his sights, could see every one of her heartbeats. Like the bass of the music, every beat of her heart pulsed her heat and blood like a beacon.

Close enough to touch. He thought as he reached.

The hand that closed on his wrist was cool like marble and as strong as tempered steel. He cried out, but they had covered his lips, his cry of pain muffled. He could feel the air move as he found that he was outside. His eyes blinked against the cold glare of the streetlights. He took a hissing breath as he narrowed his and obstructed it with a bloody hand.

“What happened to you?”

He turned, but his stance was off-kilter, and his eyes widened as he came close to losing his balance. He kept his hand up, shielding his pale, bloodshot eyes from the unwelcome light. His hand shook from the effort.

“Who’re you?” he groaned.

“Andrei, new in town. Who hurt you? Who is your master?”

He could see the stranger’s lips moving but couldn’t make out the voice. Garbled sounds were all he heard. He squinted at the tall man who approached him. He was lean, gaunt face, and ice-cold eyes. A door behind the stranger opened.

She looked from the stranger to him. He launched himself at her, unable to restrain himself anymore.

She was warm.

She was soft.

And she tasted even better than she had smelled.

He drank deep mouthfuls of her warm, delicious blood. Cold iron grip hands yanked him off and threw him against the wall. He cried out and coughed but sighed as his internal bleeding stopped, his rapid healing kicking in. Someone moved fast to his side. The younger man shook his headache off and sat up.

Andrei had an open wrist to the torn neck of the lady. She lay on the ground, pale from exsanguination but gorgeous.

He grimaced. “Uh, hey, she gonna be okay, right?”

The ice-cold eyes turned on him, and he froze. “For your sake, I hope so.”

Andrei returned his eyes to the work at hand, saving the human’s life. Though her skin remained pale, Andrei’s blood helped the torn flesh reform and her wound heal. He couldn’t move or even look away as the elder vampire saved this girl.

Once the deed is done, he returned those cold eyes to him and sighed. “You are free to answer the following questions. Who are you? Who is your master?”

The younger man sighed as his body relaxed. “Holy shit, how did you do-!”

He cried out as his arm twisted, and his elbow broke.

Andrei clicked his tongue along his pallet. “I said you were free to answer my questions. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

The younger vampire panted. “Name’s Rick. Master is Vedic.”

“Good, what brings you,” Andrei pointed to Rick with his shredded clothes. “In your current state, to Renead’s?”

Rick choked as his pupils shrank. “I…” He trailed off.

Andrei’s face hardened. “If you make me repeat myself, I am breaking the other arm.”

“I was hurt, hungry, and went to the first place I found,” Rick shouted.

Andrei walked to Rick and grabbed his broken arm. Rick hissed from the pain but did not resist.

“You can keep quiet, I hope?” the Russian asked.

“Oh, god, you’re not about to do what makes it worst, are you?” Rick sputtered.

“I’d bite down, lest you bite the tongue by accident,” Andrei warned.

Before Rick said anything further, Andrei pulled on the arm. The action swift, practiced, and precise. Andrei set Rick’s elbow in a single motion. Rick groaned and curled his torso over his broken arm as Andrei released it.

Andrei checked his pulse and, once satisfied, the younger vampire was all right, stood.

“Rick, this isn’t personal. But you injured my date and ruined my night.”

Rick froze. He looked up at the man as he picked up the pretty girl and cradled her in his arms like a princess.

“I’m sorry.” Rick squeaked out.

Andrei turned back to him, his pale blue eyes gone to oxblood red. The veins around his eyes protruded from pressure and blood flow.

“Let’s never speak of tonight or meet again.” He said.

Rick looked from side to side.

“What?”

Andrei sighed. “Tonight. It never happened.”

Rick took a breath. “You’re not… you’re not going to invoke you right-?”

“No.” Andrei cut in. “I am not. And you never speak of this to anyone, so I don’t have to do it later, understood?”

Rick’s lower lip trembled. “Dude…”

The younger vampire leaned forward and touched his forehead to the ground.

Andrei scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Please don’t.”

“I owe you a life debt,” Rick mumbled.

“No. You don’t.” Andrei growled. “Because, tonight—this thing—never happened.”

Andrei marched off without another word or glance at the younger vampire.