On this particular night, beside the mountainside, a narrow stream trickled gently over stones. A majestic buck stood drinking, its antlers dipping into the water like gnarled branches reaching toward their reflection. It stood taller and broader than the rest of its mob, a proud sentinel among them.
Its coat, though matted in places, still shimmered like morning dew. From its crown grew a great rack of ivory antlers—fourteen pointed tips that spread like ancient limbs from a sacred tree.
But peace was shattered in an instant.
A sharp rustle tore through the underbrush—like thunder cracking open the sky—and in a blink, the buck vanished from its post.
Chaos erupted. The deer scattered in all directions, leaping through brush and shadows. But the buck lay collapsed not far off, felled with eerie precision. Standing over it was a man, tall, imposing, golden-eyed. The light from the clouds flickered just enough to catch his inhuman glare. Then, like wind through leaves, he vanished again, giving in to the thrill of the hunt.
Not far from the carnage, three figures stood cloaked in the woods—inhuman in posture, movements coiled like springs ready to release. When the mob of deer broke into the clearing, the trio pounced.
One attacker—a—tall, skeletal silhouette—stripped fast and cold, like death incarnate. Another, a medium-framed female, moved with fluid grace, her takedown a thing of elegance.
The last figure was different.
A smaller, woman-like silhouette moved with less certainty. Her strikes were messy, almost hesitant—like someone still learning, taming the wild thing inside. She chased her deer across a stretch of road, her pursuit growing frenzied.
As she broke into the open under a dim streetlight, her features finally came into view. Long, curly hair of light and dark brown danced in the wind. Her eyes—black voids—held no warmth. Her dress rippled around her like smoke, weightless and free.
She halted suddenly, sniffing the air with sharp, animalistic turns of her head. Then she froze.
There it was.
A scent like no other. Sweet. Warm. Intoxicating. It flooded her senses—an aroma that wrapped around her mind and squeezed until nothing else mattered.
She trembled as heat flared up her throat. Her jaw clenched. Her hunger roared. Whatever prey she'd been chasing was forgotten. This was something else. This was… perfect.
She moved, eyes wide, limbs tense, chasing that divine scent down the road.
Her thoughts unraveled with each step. She was close now. Too close.
Then, she saw him.
From two miles away, through the fog, she spotted a lone figure sitting at a broken-down bus stop. A young man. Hoodie pulled it over his head. Joggers. Phone in hand. Oblivious.
But she could see his face clearly, like the mist didn't exist.
Hazel eyes. Curly hair. Tall. Sharp-jawed. The scent was coming from him.
A human.
She whispered it like a curse.
Every instinct screamed to take him—to tear, to drink, to indulge. Her body shook with the need. She fought it. Forced herself to stop. But a second breath of his scent and she crumbled again, stumbling forward like the undead—soulless, mindless, starving.
Then he noticed her.
He stood, cautious, concern clear in his voice. "Hey… is everything okay? Do you need help?"
His fear trickled into the air like incense. She could taste it.
That was it. The final snap.
She crouched to lunge, ready to surrender to the monster inside her. One bite. One taste. Damnation be damned.
But as she was about to spring—
An arm shot around her waist.
She was yanked back into the shadows, her prey slipping from her grasp. The boy turned and ran, vanishing down the road, unaware of how close he'd come to death.
Held tightly, she thrashed once, twice, before going still.
The chase was over. The meal was lost. And she left shaking with a thousand feelings.
Anger. Sadness. Hunger. Despair.
But above them all… was relief.