FIRST BLOOD

The thrill immediately vanished as a very eerie sensation took place.

Hunger.

Hell, I had been hungry before, but as a human, and I was surprised to realize just how different it was from my now-new form.

In this state, it felt like nothing mattered but blood. I could do anything and everything just to feed. I realized that all my focus and energy had been driven toward my senses. I suddenly grew acutely aware of my environment, even the tiny details. Like the room I was in.

There were bats – twenty-one to be exact – a family of seven mice. No, ten if you counted the one that was pregnant with three.

Just outside the hut, there were two squirrels. All these I did not spare much thought, as they could not solve my current problem. What I wanted was blood. From insects to birds and tiny rodents, I shut them out as I refined my senses.

"Oh, fuck!" I cursed in frustration.

There was no human near.

My hunger was now turning into seething anger. And then it reached me – a rhythmic pounding of a heartbeat. Immediately, I could tell it was not human, but it was certainly that of a big mammal, maybe a deer.

Well, it was not how I usually fed, but I was growing weak and in dire need of sustenance. Normally, in my territories, I had plenty that I actually chose from the flavors of various bloods. Normally, I drank from virgins, which usually tasted like heaven or maybe a blonde. But right now, choices were a luxury I could not indulge – any blood would do.

Driven by the relentless need for sustenance, I followed the rhythmic heartbeat.

The forest enveloped me, its darkness a comfort that I seemed to be quite accustomed to.

I moved silently through the trees, the scent of the creature becoming stronger and stronger, mixing with the earthy aroma of the woods.

And there it was, a majestic deer, its eyes reflecting both fear and innocence.

In my previous life, I might have marveled at its beauty, but now my perception was clouded by the primal hunger that consumed me. With a burst of supernatural speed, I closed the distance between us. The deer froze for a moment, sensing the imminent danger. In the blink of an eye, I lunged at it, fangs bared.

The act itself was brutal, a visceral reminder of the predatory nature I had inherited. The taste of blood, however, flooded my senses, an intoxicating elixir that momentarily satiated the gnawing hunger within me. The more I drank, the more the world around me seemed to shift.

The heartbeat of the deer synchronized with mine, and a surge of vitality coursed through my veins.

Despite the violence of the act, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of power and fulfillment. Once the hunger was appeased, the reality of what I had become sank in.

Standing in the moonlit forest, surrounded by the echoes of crickets and other predators, I grappled with the duality of my existence.

The human part of me recoiled at the savagery, while the vampire within reveled in the newfound strength. With the taste of fresh blood still lingering on my lips, I stood in the desolate woods above the lifeless deer.

The darkness no longer bothered me; in fact, I embraced it. I loved it.

This was now the only time I could live my life freely. I was, after all, a creature of the night. Of course, my needs were not yet quite satisfied, only human blood could do that, but that could wait. Since darkness had just set in, I realized it meant about twelve hours of understanding my predicament. Namely, the full array of my vampire abilities, my weaknesses, and where exactly I was.

I mean, I was aware I was in Westeros... but if I had to plan ahead, I needed to know where exactly I was. Westeros was vast, after all. How exactly I would do that, I had no idea.

The moon cast a faint light through the forest floor as I navigated through the trees. I did not need the light; my eyes were more than capable of spotting even the tiniest insect. but "Let the lady shine," I sighed. Maybe she was just like me, shadowed by the sun, and only in the darkness of the night could her radiance be seen.

A howl of a wolf from a distance confirmed it.

"Go on, brother... some of us thrive in the night." I should have been perplexed by my new line of thoughts, but like I said, Dracula was now who I was. I pulled my thoughts back to my current predicament. My senses had heightened in the darkness. I needed information, and I needed it fast.

The memories of Dracula and his own experiences, his familiarity with various ancient worlds, resurfaced. However, the specifics of this unfamiliar Westeros eluded even an ancient vampire. For that, I needed the other half of the equation—my former self.

Yes, I had, after all, been an ardent fan of the show. Even better, I had read all the books in A Song of Ice and Fire series, so in a way, I was well familiar with most stuff in this world.

Thing is, reading or watching is one thing, but finding your way in the actual place is something entirely different. Plus, I had indulged in it as a means of entertainment. Never had I thought that the knowledge of it would someday play a part in my survival.

In short, both my new self as Dracula and the modern nerd had to work in harmony.

It's called survival.

Fading in, fading out—it's how I appeared to move. One moment I was in one place, and the next, I was kilometers away.

Superhuman speed was one of the perks. By now, I had noticed several others. I had superhuman sight, senses, and reflexes. This led me to the conclusion that since I was a vampire, that meant I had all the abilities of my kind, which would include superstrength, immortality, mind control, and more.

Something I wasn't sure about, however, was whether, since I was Dracula, did that mean I could warp into animals' minds, especially fellow creatures of the night? It was something that I was yet to find out.

When it came to my weaknesses, however, that was where things canceled off...to be on the safe side I had to assume that all the weaknesses vampires had from the films and books I had read affected me as well...I mean I had already confirmed two...the sun and the reliance on blood...of course, due to my unique nature, there were bound to be more or less... other mythical weaknesses like religious symbols and silver were something I would have to test and see.

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