September 18, 20xx
"Nngh… where the hell am I?"
The darkness wasn't absolute. As my vision sharpened, faint lines of light became paper talismans plastered on every surface. The foreign symbols on them pulsed with a soft, sickly glow.
Each pulse sent a sympathetic throb of nausea through my gut.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness, growing closer with each beat of my heart.
I strain against whatever binds me to the chair. "Look, if this is some fraternity hazing bullshit—"
The footsteps halted. The sudden quiet pressed in on me until a sharp click shattered it. An old filament bulb sputtered to life with a low hum, casting a circle of light that trapped me at its center.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
Holy shit, it's Amelia Beleth.
Everyone at New Pacifica knows her. Third-year student. President of ORES, the Occult Research and Esoteric Studies club that was impossible to get into. Campus royalty who moves through crowds like they part for her by natural law.
Group chats passed her picture around with a warning: Don't stare too long. She'll get stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
She stands before me now, a world away from the girl I've glimpsed across the quad—the one laughing with her entourage, pink hair catching sunlight. Here, her light was something else entirely.
Twelve petals of purple light rotated around her pupils. They pulsed with an energy that made the air between us feel heavy, and a strange part of me, deep down, recognized it.
"Amelia?" I manage, trying to sound casual. "What are—"
"We're not acquainted, Angelo. Don't pretend we are."
"Okay, I'm impressed. The dramatic lighting, the spooky wallpaper... you've really committed to the aesthetic. Is this the part where you ask me to join the ORES?"
"Shut up."
Well alright then.
She steps closer, those lotus eyes studying me. "Do you know what these are?" She gestures at the papers covering the walls.
I shake my head.
"Binding wards. Specifically calibrated to suppress demonic energy." She says this like she's discussing the weather. "They're rare. Expensive. And they're currently the only reason you're not broadcasting your presence to every supernatural entity within fifty miles."
My laugh sounds hollow even to my own ears. "Demons? Look, the only supernatural thing I've dealt with is my student loan balance. You've got the wrong guy."
Amelia doesn't answer. She reached into her jacket. As she did, one of the talismans on the wall behind her flared, its glow intensifying for a heartbeat before settling. She either didn't notice or didn't care. She pulls out a folded photograph, holding it where I can see.
It's me. From last night. The warehouse party off Maritime Avenue that Zack had insisted we check out. In the photo, I'm standing near the makeshift bar, looking directly at the security camera.
My eyes are glowing electric blue.
"That's—that's a trick of the light," I stammer. "Or Photoshop."
"I thought so too," she says, folding the photo. "Until I saw what happened to those three women."
The hairs on my arms stood on end. "I didn't do anything to anyone."
"And yet, here we are."
Her voice dropped to a seductive whisper. "So, let's start over, Isaiah Angelo. Walk me through your night. And remember... the thing inside you wants to be known. It will betray every lie you try to tell me."
A lie. It had all started with a lie, not even twenty-four hours ago.
September 17, 20xx
The warehouse throbbed with sound and bodies. Lasers painted everyone in alternating slices of neon blue and crimson through the fog.
"This place is insane," Zack shouted beside me, but his voice barely registered over the music. "I told you it would be worth coming!"
I nodded, pretending I wasn't already regretting this decision. Parties had never been my scene. Too many people, too much noise, too many opportunities to make a fool of myself. But Zack had insisted, and after three weeks of nothing but classes and work, I figured even I deserved a night off.
That's when I saw her.
She stood by the makeshift bar, a beacon of calm amidst the chaos. Dark hair tumbled over bare shoulders. Her dress, some shimmering material that caught the laser lights, hugged curves that made my mouth go dry. But it was her eyes that pulled me in—even across the crowded warehouse floor, I could feel them lock onto mine.
"Dude, are you even listening?" Zack nudged me, following my gaze. "Oh. Ohhhhh. Go talk to her."
"What? No, I wasn't—"
"She's literally staring at you bro." He shoved me forward. "Go score."
Before I could protest further, my feet were already moving. My legs felt sluggish, as if moving through something thick, but the crowd seemed to melt away, pulling me toward her faster than I could control.
Up close, she was even more stunning. Flawless skin, full lips curved into a smile. Those eyes—were they blue? Green? They seemed to shift in the pulsing lights.
"Hi," she said before I could stumble through an introduction. "I'm Jenna."
"Isaiah."
"I know." Her smile widened. "I've been waiting for you."
In any other circumstance, that line would have sent me running. But I wasn't thinking with my head. Well, not that head.
"These are my friends," she continued, gesturing to two women now standing beside her. One blonde, one redhead, both as perfect as Jenna. "Mira and Vex."
"We've been watching you," Mira said, her fingers lightly brushing my arm. The contact sent shivers racing across my skin.
"You're not like the others here," Vex added, leaning close enough that I could smell her perfume—something sweet and heavy that made my head swim.
"And what makes me different?"
"You shine," Jenna purred. "Like a star in the dark."
"We should go somewhere quieter," Mira suggested, her hand now firmly wrapped around my bicep. "Where we can... get to know each other better."
Three gorgeous women I'd never met before, suddenly interested in me? Thank you Zack for inviting me.
"I know the perfect spot," Jenna said, taking my hand. "Follow me."
They led me through the crowd, past the makeshift dance floor, beyond the bar, to a door marked "Storage—Staff Only." Vex produced a key from somewhere, unlocking it.
The storeroom beyond was dimly lit by a single hanging bulb. Shelves lined the walls, stocked with bottles and sound equipment. The door clicked shut behind us, the music now a distant, muffled thump.
"Finally," Jenna sighed. "I thought we'd never get you alone."
The three women circled me slowly. The air in the small room grew thick, each breath was like inhaling warm sugar, and it was becoming difficult to think.
"You have no idea how special you are, do you?" Mira asked, trailing her fingers across my shoulders as she moved behind me.
"How rare," Vex added, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips in a motion that seemed oddly elongated.
That's when I noticed the shadows. Their shadows on the wall weren't matching their movements.
"What—" I started, but Jenna pressed a finger to my lips.
"Shhh. Don't ruin it with questions."
Her eyes had changed. They glowed now with a faint, amber light. As I watched, small, leathery wings unfurled from behind her shoulders, stretching outward before folding back against her spine.
"What are you?" I managed to ask, my voice barely a whisper.
"Hungry," she answered, and lunged forward.
Her lips crashed against mine in a kiss that felt like ice and fire simultaneously. Her hands gripped my shoulders with inhuman strength. I was paralyzed, unable to break the kiss as a numbing cold spread from her lips, racing through my veins.
I was being drained. Something vital was being pulled from me, through my lips, into her.
The silver necklace I'd worn for as long as I could remember—the one my social worker had said was left with me as a baby—suddenly burned white-hot against my chest. The pain was excruciating, like molten metal searing into my skin.
Then the chain snapped.
The silver pendant clattered to the floor. For a single moment, the world held its breath. The music, the women's breathing, my own frantic heartbeat—all silenced.
Then, a supernova ignited in my core.
It felt like every cell in my body simultaneously combusted and was reborn. Pain and pleasure so intense they became indistinguishable. My vision sharpened until I could count the dust motes floating in the air. My hearing expanded until I could detect the scurrying of rats.
And hunger—a hunger so profound it eclipsed every other sensation—consumed me.
Jenna staggered backward, breaking the kiss, her expression transforming from predatory to terrified in an instant. The other two froze, their glowing eyes wide with fear.
"Impossible," Jenna whispered. "You're—"
I didn't let her finish. Moving with a speed I'd never possessed before, I grabbed her wrists and yanked her back to me.
"My turn," I growled, and kissed her again.
This time, it was different. I wasn't the prey—I was the predator. Something flowed from her into me. Energy. Essence. Life force. It tasted of artificial sweetness and ancient hunger, flooding my system with intoxicating power.
"Mmmmph!" She struggled against my grip, her muffled cries vibrating against my lips. "Nnngh!"
I could feel her weakening, her substance literally flowing into me. Her tears wet my cheeks as she realized what was happening, but I couldn't stop.
Her body turned ashen, starting from the fingertips. The skin cracked like dry clay under my grip as I drank, deaf to her muffled cries.
"Ahhnnn!" Her final cry as her form collapsed completely, dissolving into dust that scattered across the concrete floor.
I turned to the others, who now pressed themselves against the wall, wings fully extended, looking for escape. Their terror was palpable, a scent as strong as their earlier perfume.
"Please," Mira begged, her voice trembling. "We didn't know what you were."
"We can serve you," Vex added desperately. "We can bring you others."
The hunger didn't care about their pleas. I took a step toward them, feeling their energy calling to me like a banquet to a starving man.
That's when the door exploded inward.
The force of the blast sent splinters flying in all directions, though none seemed to touch me. Framed in the doorway stood a woman with flowing pink hair. My new senses screamed at me, mapping the sheer density of her energy. It was an overwhelming pressure that distorted the air around her, turning it into a shimmering haze.
Even through my hunger-induced haze, something primal recognized her as dangerous—as apex.
"Well," she said, her voice melodic and completely at odds with the destruction she'd just caused, "it seems someone got a little carried away at their first buffet."
Mira and Vex saw their opportunity. They lunged not for me but for the exit, moving with supernatural speed.
The pink-haired woman didn't even look at them. She raised two fingers casually, as if hailing a taxi.
"Banishment," she said softly.
Twin waves of invisible force slammed into the fleeing creatures. They didn't scream—there wasn't time. One moment they existed, the next they were just glittering dust motes suspended in the air before settling to the floor.
I stepped toward her, my newly awakened senses mapping the currents of energy that swirled around her body. So much power. Enough to sate this unbearable hunger for days, weeks, maybe forever.
She smiled—a genuine, dazzling smile that somehow managed to be the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.
"Oh, no, darling," she said, wagging a finger at me. "You're not ready for the main course."
She moved. One moment she was in the doorway, the next she was directly in front of me. Her hand blurred, and I felt a sharp impact at the base of my neck, and the world dissolved into black.