BiteBound *completed*

Chapter 15

I was glad to see my time at the izakaya end on a good note.

I paid for my bill, left them a generous tip after that that stupid blurt, and saw myself back out to the streets of Seattle once again.

The rain started to come down in gentle kisses upon my cheeks, it's elemental smell landing against the wet asphalt as it strangely comforts me. The heavy clouds above made the night sky darker than normal, I didn't even notice how late I had been out until I had to walk down an empty street with a single blinking streetlamp right in the middle of it.

I hated the dark ever since I was a kid. Something about it always felt dangerous as if I wasn't alone and someone was constantly watching. It's one of the reasons why I always slept with a dim lamp on.

I know that kind of fear was all mental, and I was doing better over time as I got older, but something about my mom's passing just brought it back even harder than before.

As I walked down the dark path alone, I could feel a pair of eyes watching me from a far as it sent shivers up my neck. I tried to convince myself that it was just the anxiety talking, that the lack of sleep was just making me feel this way. If I could just quickly cross these two shadowed blocks, I would be back towards the crossing street that would take me down a hill and back to the busy tourist street.

Three-quarters of the way towards the next block, a low voice from the dark called out to me spooking the skeleton out of my skin.

"Shit!" I clutched onto my pounding heart, fixating my eyes towards the silhouette across the street. "Fuck, sorry. I didn't see you."

The male figure steps out from under the blinking streetlamp and towards the middle of the empty road.

"That's alright." He speaks in a southern drawl. "It is quite dark isn't it Sugar? You just never know what hides in the shadows."

His skin looked life-less against his dark worn-in clothes, it made him look as if he has risen from the grave. And his walk, so menacing as if he were a lion ready to pounce on his prey.

Red flag, red flag, red flag! My mind screamed.

"Excuse me, I have some where to be—."

"Now hold on a moment."

Suddenly, he was right before me. Stopping me from breaking into a sprint and pulling me away from the light with a harsh grip on my wrist.

"Wait, stop!" I cry out.

How in the hell did he get over here so fast?! I panic. What is he doing?!

I couldn't even lock my feet into the ground as he dragged me into the shadows of the old building before us. When he flung me against the brick wall and pinned me against it by my neck, it was if I weighted nothing to him.

"How are you— What—?!" I croak.

His red pulsing irises drained the blood from my flustered face, locking me into them as he kept a hand on my neck.

His skin felt so cold, boney even from the way his fingers dug into my skin.

That's when it finally clicked, this man wasn't human.

"How peculiar..." He runs his sharp nose up my neck, inhaling the scent that was probably calling to him. "You're not even screamin'."

How do I get out of here?! I gasped for air. How can I even outrun a vampire?!

"Why, now isn't that adorable?" He chuckles deviously. "I hate to break it to you Sugar, but you're trapped so long as you're under my grasp. Even if you did manage to break away from me, you can't outrun a vampire."