He fumbled with his jacket, pulling the collar tighter around his neck to shield his face from the cold. He turned the corner, smelling the bitter morning air. His thick dark curls hung over his eyes like a shield, but he could still identify everything and everyone around him. Everyone that needed to be seen that is.

He dug his hands further into his pockets, noting a woman in the distance. He smiled, watching her pace the street; her long legs reddened a bit from the cold. He bit his lower lip, slowly approaching her. He’d spent his whole night drinking and hadn’t stopped for a bite to eat; his stomach was letting him know it. With no one around, this would be an easy opportunity.

When he got closer to her, he had quickly changed his mind. Her eyes were dialated, her hair messy from the wind, and her clothes had stains on them that he couldn’t quite distinguish. He wanted to turn away, forget about it all and suffer the night hungry. In fact he’d be more willing to go about it, then bite into her. There wasn’t much that Raven would turn down; but a street walker, most likely on crack was one of them.

He buried his face deeper into his jacket and turned to head home in the opposite direction, but she quickly noticed him.

"Hey, want a date tonight baby?" she stammered through cracked lips.

Raven stopped, not turning to face her. "Not tonight."

"Oh come on man," she pleaded running up to catch him. "Just 20 bucks, you wont regret it… My names Leda, what’s yours?"

He watched her for a moment. The veins in her neck dark and throbbing. It was obvious that she was coming down from her high, and needed a boost. He tried to control himself but all he saw was her veins. All he wanted was her neck, to bite into it hard and fast.

He grabbed her arm, dragging her forcefully towards the alley.

"Hey slow down," she argued, trying to pull away.

Raven stopped, gripping her arm tighter in his hand. "You want the cash or not?"

Leda pushed away a messy strand of hair and nodded.

"Then lets go." He brought her into the alley, pushing her up against the brick wall. "Take off your clothes" he told her matter of factly.

She held out her grimy hand smugly, "Cash up front."

Raven dug into his pocket pulling out a $20 bill, slapping it into her hand. Leda smiled pushing it into her crammed purse. "What did you want to start with?"

Raven smiled devilishly. "I have an idea." He grabbed her head, pulling it back. Raven grabbed at the collar of her coat, yanking it down her back.

"Hey be carefull!" she yelled. "That’s fur."

Raven ignored her, it may have been fur, but he knew exactly what it belonged to. The smell was strong and musky, like the German Sheppard that was killed to make it. He only wondered if she knew that.

He grabbed a fistful of her red hair, pulling her head back. He sank his thick fangs into her neck, sucking out what blood he could get from her dried veins. She let out a quick scream, feeling her body loosen beneath her, and went with it. This was better than any high she’d ever had.

Raven pulled away, her blood beginning to taste sour. He spit out what he’d had left in his mouth, dropping Leda to the ground. He whipped away at his mouth and bent down over her, riffling through her purse. "What the fuck have you been taking?" he asked her angrily. Raven pulled out his $20 and stood, pushing it back into his own pocket.

He watched her for a brief moment. She laughed to herself, rolling around the ground taking in her new high. He shook his head and turned to leave, she wasn’t worth the energy it would take to kill her.

Leda grinned, trying to sit up as she heard heavy footsteps approaching. He was coming back for her, to give her more of the same. She couldn’t look up, it took too much energy, but watched the thick black boots as they came near. She felt hands running down her face towards her neck, running their fingers over the 2 puncture wounds. She felt uneasy as the hands began tightening around her neck, knowing something was wrong when they didn’t let go.

Leda tried to scream but couldn’t. She didn’t have enough breath to do so. She tried to pull them away but she was to weak, and only sat there as she felt everything go black.

Gabrielle stood and smiled, whipping her hands on Leda’s dress before she turned to head home.

**

Raven slid into Gabrielle’s bed, pulling the covers up above him, closing his eyes to sleep. Gabrielle opened her eyes softly and watched him briefly before turning from him. She was tired after following him that night and needed her rest. She needed to see why she Raven hadn’t wanted her to come along and didn’t understand it. He was only going to the bar. He never wanted her to go anywhere, wanted her to stay in and she didn’t know why. But soon she would, soon she’d know it all.