The baron's brigde

"Useless mortals! Whenever we need them, they weaken," Caellun had left for his night hunt, since there was no way he could feed on the girls, who still had cold symptoms and the weakness of their bodies could kill them if he insisted on feeding on them. He couldn't afford to lose another girl, Padua had died less than a month ago and it might be difficult to find a second girl in such a short time. 

Among the shadows of the trees, the transformation took place. From a human figure, Caellun became a ferocious wolf. His black fur was camouflaged by the darkness of the night and the moon, now waning, still didn't have the strength to shine through the treetops that covered much of the forest. His red eyes sparkled and were the only things that could be seen in the darkness. Perhaps he would simply settle for a deer or a smaller wolf that passed by, but his hunger was great and he only needed one thing - human blood. 

Since moving to Pidia, Caellun had brought with him the legends of monsters attacking villages and devouring children, but he knew that the human mind was still too limited to understand what was really going on. Unfortunately, he had no choice. He had tried for a while to keep to hunting animals, but this "diet" was making him weaker every day, so he chose to alternate between animals and humans for almost four centuries. 

It was Corvina who gave him the idea of taking mortals into his own castle, as this would make it easier to feed a little every day without taking any victims, as the girls would recover over time and, if any didn't make it, there would be time to look for a replacement. In one of these situations, he met Rowena.

A hunter needs to be patient to know when to strike, and so Caellun did, staying in the woods until two in the morning. The strong smell invaded his nose, even more acute in his lupine form, and he headed towards the place where the delicious aroma came from. It wasn't just the smell of fresh blood, there was something else, sweat and sex hormones. 

The wolf knew it was going to be a big feast this time, so he heard low laughter, followed by loud kisses, and the closer he got, the harder it became to resist, as his hunger became voracious and uncontrollable. 

Hiding among the bushes, he saw a couple of young men lying in a better-lit clearing. They couldn't have been more than nineteen years old and, like all young people, they weren't afraid to venture out in exchange for pleasure. 

"Millo, stop. This way, even those in the village will hear us," the girl held him between her legs, her look of desire and excitement making the vein in her neck even more protruding and attractive to the vampire's eyes. 

"Isabella, stop it. We're far enough away that no one can hear us. Besides, who could be here? The most we'd find would be wolves, but everyone knows that they only hang around the upper part of the baron's mansion, they'd never come down here. Nothing has happened in Leesburg for over a month, they've probably gone elsewhere in search of game," Millo said, before pulling the girl by the neck. 

The ardent kiss induced Isabella to stop talking, but as her corset was being opened, she opened her eyes and saw red eyes among the bushes, which then disappeared. 

"Millo! There's something over there!" the girl pushed him and pointed into the woods. "Let's go, please, let's go!"

"It's all right, don't worry. What did you see?" The boy picked up the knife he had brought with him and stood up. 

With his shirt off, his chest was showing dirt, but nothing that bothered him. 

"Red eyes were staring at us. Let's go, please."

"I'll take a look. Don't go anywhere! If I'm not back in a few minutes, go home and call someone, okay?" Before the girl could answer, Millo went into the woods, leaving the maiden alone.

 "I'm not going to wait for you here, I'm sorry, but I can't," Isabella then quickly tied her corset, making it loose, and gathered her belongings on the ground, before hearing the sound of something breaking. "Millo? Is that you?" she was terrified and ready to run, when, from the same bush, the young man jumped in front of her.

"I told you there was nothing," he said, pointing the knife at her, pretending to be a threat.

"Don't do that anymore, you almost killed me..." Before she could finish her sentence, Isabela saw a wolf emerge from behind Millo, bigger than any she had ever seen or described. 

Its red eyes seemed to see into her soul, warning her that her life was now doomed to end. 

There was no time to warn the boy about the danger that lurked in front of him, for, like a figure, the wolf advanced and, in a single movement, tore off the boy's head, rolling it towards the girl, who couldn't move for fear. 

Just as the shadows moved with the small beam of light that illuminated the place, in front of the girl who stared at it in sheer terror, the monster dissipated into several bats, which flew towards Isabela, just at that moment she tried to run, but all she managed was to trip over a stone, however, before she touched the ground, something grabbed her and pulled her back, her eyes fixed on a diabolical face. Blood-red eyes stared at her, as if the devil himself was watching her, and she could see the fangs in his mouth. 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I can't let you get away," Caellun said, digging his sharp teeth into the vein he so desperately craved, the taste of hunger in his mouth giving way to a metallic taste that, like water for humans, quenched a vampire's thirst. 

 ...

Caellun arrived at the mansion at around 3am. The taste of blood in his mouth and his even redder eyes made him feel even more powerful and, happy after his feast, he decided to read a little. 

The vampire went to his library and picked up one of his books. The darkness didn't bother him at all, because with his heightened senses, he didn't need light to read. The book in his hand had a purple cover and some symbols that made it look extremely beautiful. However, as soon as he opened the first page, screams reached his ears, putting him on alert. He got up and made his way to the library door, hearing footsteps coming faster and faster in the same direction.