Dangerous Encounter

Kian didn't even know how his feet had carried him this far. He wasn't sure when the streets of New Albion became so unfamiliar, the landmarks of his neighborhood fading into a blur of cracked pavement and broken streetlights.

Maybe it had happened when the whiskey had pushed him from tipsy into full-blown drunk. But now, as he staggered through the dark alleys, his mind dulled by alcohol and heartbreak, he didn't care.

The world was spinning around him, his heart a black hole sucking all hope from his chest. Jamie's voice still echoed in his ears, the brutal words from their argument ringing in the back of his mind like a sick mantra.

"You're suffocating me, Kian."

"We're over."

He had replayed those words so many times in his head that they no longer felt real, but the pain in his chest sure as hell was. It squeezed him with every step, a crushing weight that felt like it would swallow him whole. Kian wanted nothing more than to stop feeling. To stop the constant ache that gnawed at his insides. And the alcohol? It was supposed to help with that. But tonight, not even that worked.

Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, blurring his vision. He blinked them back furiously, refusing to let himself cry in the middle of the damn street like some pathetic loser. Not again.

He stumbled, his foot catching on the uneven pavement. His shoulder collided with the wall of a graffiti-covered building, the sharp impact jarring him. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional wreckage inside him. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself upright and kept moving. Anything to keep going, to stop thinking, to forget.

But forgetting wasn't easy when everything reminded him of Jamie, of how they used to laugh and hold each other, of how Kian had believed, stupidly, that love could conquer anything. He wiped at his face, feeling the tears spill despite his best efforts. His throat burned from the alcohol and the sobs he couldn't quite swallow down.

The streets were eerily quiet tonight, which should've been his first warning. The city never slept, especially in this part of New Albion. It was a playground for the restless and the reckless, a haven for the kind of people you didn't want to meet when the sun went down. But Kian was too lost in his own misery to care.

As he staggered past a row of darkened shops, his drunken haze dulled the instinctual fear that prickled at the edges of his mind. He didn't notice the change in the air, the way it felt heavier, colder. The shadows seemed to grow longer, the streetlights flickering weakly overhead as if they too were trying to flee whatever lurked in the dark.

Kian's steps faltered as a shiver ran down his spine, but he dismissed it, brushing it off as just the effects of too much alcohol. He pushed forward, deeper into the unknown part of the city, the weight of his grief driving him forward.

That's when he saw it, a figure standing at the edge of an alleyway, barely visible beneath the dim glow of a flickering streetlight. They stood still, unnaturally so, like a statue carved out of the shadows themselves. Kian squinted through the haze of alcohol and tears, his heartbeat quickening for reasons he couldn't quite place.

There was something 'off' about the figure. Something that made his skin crawl.

He tried to brush it off, but his footsteps slowed, the primal part of his brain urging him to turn around, to get out of there. But Kian wasn't thinking clearly. Not tonight. All he wanted was to disappear into the night, to lose himself in the darkness.

As he drew closer, the figure stepped forward, emerging from the shadows. They were tall, their face obscured by a hood that cast their features in darkness. Kian's heart stuttered in his chest, but he forced himself to keep walking. It was just some stranger, probably another night owl like him. Nothing to be afraid of.

Or so he thought.

"Are you lost?" The voice was smooth, almost too smooth, and it sent an icy chill down Kian's spine.

Kian blinked, stopping in his tracks. He swayed slightly, his alcohol-soaked brain trying to process the words. Lost? Hell, maybe he was. He glanced around, suddenly realizing he didn't recognize a single building around him. When had he wandered this far from home?

"No," Kian slurred, his tongue feeling too thick in his mouth. He took an unsteady step forward, his vision blurring. "Just… leave me alone."

He tried to walk past the figure, but they stepped into his path, blocking his way. Kian's stomach twisted with a sudden sense of unease, but his intoxicated mind struggled to catch up with the situation. He could feel the stranger's gaze on him, even though their face was still hidden in the shadows.

There was a coldness in the air, something unnatural. Kian's breath hitched, his body finally beginning to register the danger. But before he could move, the figure stepped closer, and Kian felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, the grip unnervingly strong.

The stranger leaned in, their voice a low whisper in Kian's ear. "You've wandered into the wrong part of town, my friend."

Kian's pulse spiked, panic flooding his veins as he tried to pull away. But the hand tightened, holding him in place with terrifying ease. His heart raced, the fog of alcohol lifting just enough for him to realize something was very, very wrong.

"Let go of me!" Kian tried to twist free, but his body was sluggish, his limbs uncooperative. The stranger's grip was like iron, unyielding.

In a flash, Kian was shoved against the brick wall of the alley, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. His vision swam as the stranger loomed over him, their face now inches from his own. For the first time, Kian saw them clearly, the sharp, predatory eyes that glowed faintly in the dark, the cruel twist of their lips as they bared their fangs.

His blood turned to ice.

Vampire.

He opened his mouth to scream, but before any sound could escape, the vampire struck. Fangs pierced his neck, sinking deep into his flesh, and Kian's world exploded into a blinding mix of pain and fear.

He gasped, his body jerking in the vampire's hold as the creature fed, draining him. The pain was excruciating, a burning sensation that spread from his neck down through his veins. His vision blurred, spots dancing in front of his eyes as his strength ebbed away. The world around him faded, the alley dissolving into a haze of darkness.

But amidst the pain, something strange happened.

As the vampire fed, Kian's emotions, his heartbreak, his despair, his loneliness, poured out of him like a flood. The memories of Jamie, the argument, the pain of being abandoned... it all surged to the surface, overwhelming him. And the vampire, who had expected to feast on just blood, was suddenly hit with the full force of Kian's emotions.

Viktor Hale, the ancient vampire, had fed on countless humans in his long existence. But never had he felt something like this.

As Kian's blood flowed into him, so did the searing, gut-wrenching pain of a man whose heart had been shattered. Viktor could feel it, the raw agony, the crushing loneliness. It hit him like a tidal wave, nearly knocking him off balance. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected to feel 'anything' from this broken human.

Startled, Viktor jerked back, his fangs sliding out of Kian's neck. Blood dripped from his lips, but he didn't move to continue feeding. He stood there, staring at the human who was now slumped against the wall, barely conscious.

Kian's body went limp, his vision dimming as the darkness closed in. The pain, the grief, the fear, it all melded together, pulling him into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the vampire's glowing eyes, staring at him with an intensity that he couldn't comprehend.

And then, everything went black.