Chapter 3- Full moon.

 I took a vial out of my pocket and held it under the steady drop pulsing from the puncture holes in my victim's neck. Filling it with the last few drops of red liquid that remained in his veins. I hated feeding off of people, and in my many years of having to do so I had picked up a few tricks to keep the hunger at bay. Making it so I could go longer without having to succumb to the pain and having to kill again. I could eat human food, but it only pushed the thirst away for so long. Each time it returned, becoming more ravenous. More painful, eventually causing a frenzy where I'd have no choice but to tear into the closest living thing. If it wasn't for that fact I'd simply starve and put myself out of my own misery. I tucked the vial neatly into the front pocket of my bookbag before tossing it back over my shoulder and trying to forget what I had just done. It would be a few days before the starving feeling kicked in again, so I tried to push it to the back of my mind. 

 After cleaning the disgusting scene, I dropped the man's body in a field behind the house. I had added this spot to my feeding ground rotation long ago and for good reason. Behind the house, nestled under a small blackberry bush was a Gier hound den. Tiny dog-like creatures that would pick his skin clean before sunrise. They would bury his bones for their pups and there would be no evidence of my crime when survivors would eventually stumble upon the house to take shelter from the night. I scoped the area for any witnesses, making sure I was alone before I yet again unfurled my wings and took off into the cool evening sky. 

 Flying was the only enjoyable part of what I had become. It gave me space away from the hellfire below. Away from the cryptids, creatures and humans in their constant state of war. I could focus on the breeze. Have the sound of the wind fog my mind and make me forget the pitiful state of the world and force the thought of my dwindling humanity to the back of my subconscious. I could stay up here forever, or at least until daybreak when I could be spotted. Then I would have to sulk back to my library, burying myself in my books until I was forced to return to the outside world again. 

 The sound of voices below interrupted my blissful flight. I glided lower at the sound of screams coming from under an old oak tree outside the limits of the small town I had been headed. A small, malnourished looking girl stood against the base of the tree, cowering with her arms stretched to cover her face in protection from the three grinning men that mocked her. Werewolves. Their canines bared as they snarled feverishly at the girl. She let out a pleading whimper, crying for them to spare her. Despite my inner voice telling me to leave things alone, I quietly landed at the top of the tree, making sure not to be spotted and covering myself in the brush of its branches. 

 "Let the girl die, monsters have to eat too," my protective inner voice told me, sensing the imminent danger. Yet the feeling in the pit of my stomach kept my feet sturdy and unmoving on the branch that held me. This woman obviously needed help. She'd stand no chance against these ravenous lycanthropes. They'd snap her bones apart and tear out her heart before anyone noticed her screams. I held my breath as I watched the biggest of the group, undoubtedly the Alpha, lunge forward. Clawing at the girl, catching her forearm with his giant talons. She let out a yelp, "Please no, I promise I won't walk this way again. Just please let me go." The wolf's buddies growled as he licked the girl's blood off his fingers, encouraging him. 

 "Now why would we want to just up and let you walk away?" He asked, chuckling. "We haven't had a good meal in ages. And you just so happened to waltz right into our hunting grounds." The girl cried and held pressure on her bleeding arm Hunkering down, she sat with her knees against her chest. Seemingly accepting her fate against the three hybrid men. My subconscious was at war with humanity as I watched the group move closer. My heart racing as she lay there helplessly and unable to defend herself. The Alpha slung his foot out, landing a crushing blow to the girl's ribcage and knocking the air from her body. My advanced senses allowing me to hear a few ribs crack. 

 In seeing that, my mind stopped arguing with my body and my feet moved on their own. Releasing me from my steady branch and lifting me from the tree. I plummeted to the ground like a bullet, my heavy combat connecting with the pack leader's jaw, cracking it on impact. I heard a heavy, booming growl and snatched my head back quickly, just in time to see the rest of the pack lunging after me. Shit.