Chapter 540

One night, I stood concealed in the dark shadows near the corner of an empty house used for office space on the campus of Weston College. Several houses away, a throng of noisy students milled about in the backyard, the overflow from a party at what I knew to be a fraternity house. I watched them idly, not hunting now, for I had not been granted permission to do so. I had fed only a week or so before, and it would be some time before I was allowed to take a human again.

Up until now, no one in the yard had piqued my interest—until a new arrival caught my eye. Tall and blond, she stood by herself a few feet from the back steps. She was not classically beautiful, but lovely enough to draw my attention. Something about her tugged at me as I studied her, making me want to get closer. Some combination of lust and hunger, for sure, but different in a way I could not describe. I felt a brief pang of loss and pain. I had not been drawn to a human like this since Gabriela, though this new fema