บท 6: The other pov

Damon sped through the dimly lit hallway, his heart pounding with an ancient, primal hunger. The thirst that gripped him was unyielding, a sensation that had lain dormant for centuries, now awakened with a ferocity that threatened to consume his very being.

His mind was a cacophony of screams and whispers, each one trying to unravel the mystery of his body's sudden betrayal. For over 300 years, he had walked the earth, his cravings controlled, his desires sated. Yet now, he found himself longing for the sweet, coppery taste of human blood with an intensity that bordered on madness.

The girl—the one he had taken in the dead of night, her fate yet unknown—seemed to be at the center of this turmoil. Her presence had stirred something within him, something dark and dangerous that he could not yet comprehend.

With a force born of desperation, Damon thrust open the door to the traditional feeding room. This sacred chamber held the echoes of a thousand first feeds, each vampire in his empire initiated into the dark gift within these walls. As he stepped inside, the memories of his own initiation flooded back—the fear, the anticipation, the rush of power as lifeblood touched his lips for the first time.

He approached a painting that hung with silent judgment on the far wall. It depicted a scene both macabre and telling—a candlelit tableau of betrayal and murder. Two women and a boy, the innocence of youth stark against the sinister intent of his captors. The boy's expression was one of eerie calm, a stark contrast to the gleeful malice etched on the faces of the women as they prepared to end his life for their own gain.

But the painting held a secret, a grim narrative that shifted with perspective. A slight tilt of the head revealed a new horror: the aftermath of the deed. The boy, now headless; one woman triumphant, the other wounded—a tale of treachery begetting treachery.

For Damon, the painting was more than a mere depiction of violence—it was a mirror to his past. The boy in the painting was him, and the woman with the knife, his mother. He had been moments from death when salvation came in the form of a stranger, offering him a second chance at life, an eternity in darkness.

Shaking off the memories, Damon focused on the task at hand. He turned the painting to reveal a safe hidden behind it. His fingers danced over the keypad, entering the six-digit code with practiced ease. The safe clicked open, revealing a chilling sight—a refrigerator stocked with blood bags, a lifeline for those afflicted with Bloodlust.

Bloodlust—a term that evoked images of uncontrollable frenzy, a state where a vampire's thirst became a maddening itch that demanded to be scratched, at any cost. It was a condition that could drive the most disciplined vampire to acts of unspeakable savagery.

Damon's breath hitched as the metallic scent of blood filled the air, each bag promising relief from the torment that wracked his body. He seized two bags, tearing into one with his fangs, the rich liquid cascading down his throat, a balm to the fire that raged within.

As the Bloodlust receded, his thoughts drifted back to the human girl, her image a ghostly presence in his mind. He imagined her beneath him, her pulse a rhythmic siren call, her blood a sweet elixir that would satiate his darkest hunger. The thought of her surrender, the symphony of her gasps and moans as his venom coursed through her veins, was both a temptation and a torment.

Damon knew he stood at a precipice, the choices he made now would define his path forward. Would he succumb to the beast within, or would he rise above the base instincts that clawed at his soul?

The silence of the feeding room was suddenly oppressive, the shadows cast by the flickering candlelight seemed to dance with a life of their own. Damon's heightened senses were acutely aware of the stillness, the absence of heartbeat, the lack of warmth from a living body. It was a stark reminder of the life he had left behind, the humanity he had forsaken for immortality.

He closed his eyes, allowing the blood to fill the void within him, to dampen the inferno of his desires. But even as the physical need was sated, a deeper, more profound hunger lingered. It was the yearning for connection, for the touch of another soul, something no amount of blood could ever fulfill.

The girl had awakened this dormant longing, her humanity a beacon that drew him in despite his nature. Her fear, her strength, her very essence had seeped into his consciousness, unsettling the centuries of solitude and detachment he had cultivated.

Damon opened his eyes, the crimson hue of his gaze reflecting the turmoil within. He knew he could not ignore the pull she had on him, the inexplicable bond that had formed in the briefest of encounters. It was a dangerous path, one that could lead to salvation or ruin.

He left the feeding room, the weight of his thoughts as heavy as the ancient stone that surrounded him. The castle that had been his sanctuary now felt like a prison, its walls echoing with the whispers of the past and the possibilities of the future.

Damon's journey through the night was a silent one, his mind a tumult of emotions and decisions. He was a creature of the night, a being of power and darkness, yet within him stirred the remnants of the boy in the painting, the human who still longed for light in the endless night.

As dawn approached, Damon stood at the edge of his domain, the horizon a faint promise of light. He had a choice to make, a destiny to forge. Would he embrace the darkness that was his birthright, or would he seek the light that shone from the soul of the girl who had unwittingly captured his immortal heart?