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  “A man,” she breathed to Logan. “Close by.”

  He nodded and took her hand. “Try not to breathe through your nose,” he warned her.

  Laura wanted to listen, but couldn’t resist. She took a breath in… and could sense the faintest hint of something tangy; something sweet and unknown. Immediately her heart started beating faster, and her adrenaline kicked in.

  “Hold my hand,” Logan told her. “You can’t feed here, it would give us away.” Laura gripped his hand tightly, but she knew what she could smell: the unmistakable scent of humans. Close by.

  She started breathing hard. “Focus on my grip,” Logan said urgently. Laura nodded, gritting her teeth as she looked at his hand holding hers. She focused entirely on feeling the strength of his grip, the size of his hand enveloping hers. But she could feel the feeding instinct pulse deep within her, too.

  She fought down a wave that threatened to overcome her. She was breathing harder now, and her face was strained with effort. She fought the instinct, fought against it and instead focused on Logan’s hand, but it was too much. The desire to feed was completely overwhelming. The desire for blood. Another wave shook her body, and she very nearly succumbed to it. But she fought it down. Barely.

  Yet another wave rocked within her, threatening to make her lose all control. It came up, and Laura knew she couldn’t fight it off this time. An intensity unlike any other gripped her, and she could feel herself start to lose control, to surrender to the feeding instinct that now pulsed through her veins. Just as she was about to collapse under pressure… she felt Logan’s hand gripping hers tightly. More tightly than before. She looked down at their hands, fingers interlocked. Logan was right there, right beside her. And he was containing himself.

  She looked at his face. It was the image of pure composure. Laura gritted her teeth, and willed the instinct to subside. She was determined not to let the hunger take over. If Logan could do it, so could she.

  She forced herself to inhale deeply, and held the breath before releasing it very slowly. Consciously, she began to slow her breathing. She started to breathe through her mouth, so her sense of smell would be dulled.

  Anxious seconds passed, and she teetered on the edge of losing control.

  But then her heartbeat lessened, and her body relaxed. She focused on Logan’s hand, gripping hers. He was there beside her, and she could finally… relax.

  “Well done,” he told her proudly. “The first containment is always the hardest. Especially once you’ve caught the scent. You’re learning control.”

  Despite herself, Laura smiled. Logan had over 400 years of experience with this, while she was just starting out, and she had matched him completely. Despite not having fed once, yet.

  “Wait,” Logan said. “There are more.”

  Laura strained her ears again, listened for the movement. And she realized he was right. There were three other humans nearby.

  “Who are they?” Laura asked.

  “A hunting party, I’d bet.”

  “But what are they doing so far out in the woods?”

  “I guess,” Logan said slowly, “that we’re closer to civilization than I thought.” Then his tone changed, to one of greater urgency. “They’re coming towards us. Quick!”

  He took off, and Laura ran after him. He ran gracefully and silently through the vegetation, while Laura had a bit more trouble. Still, she did not think she made enough noise for the humans to notice.

  “Here,” Logan urged her, pointing to a massive growth of a tree. There was a cranny in the protruding roots, and he thrust himself inside. Laura crawled in after him.

  “We can’t let them see us,” he told her, “but we can’t pass around them, either.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’ve been able to control yourself from afar, which was good. But the instinct may yet take hold of you if you come into close proximity to them.”

  Laura gulped. She hated being scared of herself, of what she might do, and she equally hated feeling helpless about it. She still remembered what it was like being human – in fact, even now, she still felt human – and couldn’t imagine taking someone’s life. But her morals and ethics meant nothing when the feeding instinct took over.

  “We can stay here until they leave,” Laura said, and Logan nodded. He took her hand again, and held it tightly.

  They waited, hidden from sight under the roots of the tree. Laura could hear the hunters approaching, could hear them getting close. None of them were talking, but their movement through the trees was loud as thunder on a silent night to Laura’s ears. She doubted there was an animal around they could hunt making so much noise.

  Right then, as if perfectly on cue, she noticed a bear walking right across the small clearing in front of them. A large brown bear, strolling leisurely though the woods. Headed right towards the hunters.

  However hypocritical it was of her, however utterly stupid, all the leftover human sentiment of her heart went out to the bear. He was walking right towards the hunters, to his death. Completely oblivious that these would be his last moments on earth.

  Another small blur of motion behind the bear caught her eye. She looked over – and saw a much smaller bear walking behind the other one. Small enough to be a cub. Then Laura realized something: the larger bear was no he, rather, it was a she – a mother bear! And the cub looked very young, she thought to herself. She watched as he continued along with his mother, unsure of his footing and stumbling all over the place. Right into the mouth of the hunters.

  “We have to do something,” she whispered to Logan, motioning to the bears. “They’re going to get killed!”

  He shook his head. “We can’t do anything for them, Laura.” The mother bear stopped and looked back, waiting for her cub. The little cub saw his mother ahead, and started to gallop towards her. He fell, but got up quickly, and ran again towards her. When he reached his mother, she nuzzled the back of his neck a bit, and then they continued on in the same direction.

  Laura could still hear the hunters to the right. The mother and cub were going to walk right into them, and both were going to get killed. Maybe, if luck were on her side, they would turn back, or somehow to avoid the humans altogether. Although she doubted it.

  “George!” She heard the whisper come from her right. “Over here!” Her breath caught. They had seen the bears! “This one’s mine, guys,” the voice continued, “back off.” Everything was silent for a few moments, and then she heard more movement. The hunters were moving away.

  But not everyone. One did not move away. Likely aiming his rifle right at the bear. The mother would be shot, and killed. Skinned, even. And the cub wouldn’t survive on its own in the wild.

  “Logan,” she whispered urgently, “let me hear their thoughts.”

  Logan looked at her, puzzled. “Why?”

  “I need to,” she said. “Let me listen, please.”

  Logan shrugged kind of apathetically, but took both her hands in his. Abruptly, she felt her mind opening, receptive to the thoughts of those around her. The thoughts of all five hunters rushed to her mind. It was not exactly a flood of thoughts, like had happened back at school, but more a steady, though somewhat jumbled, stream. She focused on the thoughts of the voice she heard whispering earlier.

  Come on, you great stupid bear, come to papa. That’s right… stay right there. Steady, and… A sudden crash broke the silence around her, ringing loudly in her ears. And a moan immediately followed; a very human cry that could only be of pain. Of death. She started to get up, but Logan held her back.

  “No,” he said. She sank back. But he took her hands again, and let her into the mind of the hunter.

  Ah, this one’s going to look great above the fireplace. Lisa’s going to love it. What a stupid thing, walking right towards us. This bear deserved to die, with that kind of instinct. Hah! Wait until the boys back there get a good look at this one. Jesus, it must be the biggest one we’ve got yet. Damn, but I’m good �
� wait. The thoughts cut off as the hunter’s mind went silent. Laura thought she could feel him focusing. What’s this? A cub! Ha, this bear was a bitch! Well, no use sparing the little one. The baby will make a great matching piece.

  Laura couldn’t take it anymore. The cruelty of the hunter had been too much. She ripped away from Logan and ran towards the bear and the hunter. They came to sight quickly. She could see the mother bear, lying in a pool of her own blood, moving her head weakly. And the little cub kneeling beside his mother, nudging her with his nose.

  And she saw the hunter. He was a big man, with a huge round stomach that stood out above all else. His face was round and pudgy, and he was sweating profusely. He was kneeling with one knee on the ground. She slowed, allowing herself to walk out in front of him.

  A look of bewilderment came upon his face when he saw her. Bewilderment, quickly supplanted by confusion, and then irritation.

  “Girl,” he growled, “what are you doing out in the woods?” He started to get up. “Who are you? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to walk alone around these parts?”

  Laura continued towards him without answering. Or slowing.

  “Where are you going?” he asked as she walked towards him. He frowned, and took a better grip on his rifle. “If you think you’re going to interfere…”

  Laura had had enough. In a single burst of speed, she was right beside him. And before he even had time to react, she picked him up by the shoulders and threw him to the side. He flew through the air, and landed with a loud thud a dozen feet away.

  Quickly, his face became angry. He moved his hand for his rifle… and stared in shock to find it missing. He had dropped it on his flight. Laura turned slowly towards him

  “Run,” she told him coldly.

  The man looked to his rifle, lying six feet away from him, and back at her. She could see him sizing her up in his head. She moved, quickly again, and stepped on the rifle.

  “I said, run,” she whispered. Laura felt the feeding instinct start to come over her, and this time did nothing to stop it.

  The man’s gaze quickly turned to fear. It was like he caught something about her, something… unnatural. With a strangled yelp, he scrambled up. And ran.

  Laura watched him go and laughed. Let him run, far away where his friends wouldn’t find him. She started jogging after him. He ran with all he had, pushing through bush and low branches to get away. But he wasn’t in the best of shape. Laura slowed so she would match his pace. She wanted him to be far from where he started when she finally caught up.

  He ran, looking over his shoulder to always find her right there. He gave it all he had, but his breaths soon became ragged. Laura pitied him. He was a pathetic excuse of a man. She would have no problems taking his blood.

  The man tripped, stumbled, but caught his feet at the last moment. And kept going, trying desperately to get away. Laura kept pace, not increasing the distance between them but not closing it, either. He ran, hard for another few hundred meters, until he finally began slowing. He was breathing hard, and his ragged gasps rang loud through the air. Laura did not slow her pace this time.

  He glanced back, and his eyes went wide with horror as he saw her closing in on him. In one final mad dash away from her, he ran with all he had, desperately attempting to flee. But it was no good. His lungs did not have the capacity for him to keep going. His breath gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

  Laura came up to him, and rolled him to his back with her foot. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his face had turned completely red. Laura took in the unfamiliar but immensely tantalizing human scent. Her mouth watered with anticipation.

  The man’s eyes popped open, and he saw Laura standing right above him. Fear mixed with bewilderment crossed his face. “What… what are you going to do to me?” he said between gasps.

  “What you did to that mother bear,” Laura whispered unkindly. And she leaned in closer, slowly, teasingly.

  The man desperately scrambled away. He pushed himself away from her, using his hands and feet to push against the ground, and she let him go a short distance. He did not see where he was going, and his back hit a tree. He was trapped.

  Laura advanced towards him. She could smell his sweat, smell the tangy human scent that Logan had told her about. Her nostrils flared, and her heart started pulsing faster with anticipation. The human smell was completely seductive to her.

  She would feed, finally. After a torturous start, her body would have the sustenance it so desperately needed. She advanced slowly, basking in the moment before her first meal.

  The man had gotten up, and was looking wildly side to side. His body was pressed against the bark of the tree. She came up to him slowly, until she stood right beside him. He was taller, and much heavier, but that made no difference. He shied back, falling down again, and whimpered pleas escaped from his mouth. Laura didn’t hear them.

  She felt a tang of disappointment with how easy the chase had been. She wanted him to feel fright, more so than ever before.

  “Look at me,” she demanded harshly. He didn’t move. His hands were covering his face now, and his whole body shook with fear.

  Annoyed, she picked him up by the shoulders, and roughly slammed him against the back of the tree. His arms hung limp at his side, unable to fight her grip. He still looked away.

  “Look at me,” she said again, moving her face close to his. She deeply inhaled that tantalizing human scent that she so desired: it was the scent of blood. He whimpered weakly. She was breathing right on his neck, right on the spot where her teeth would sink into his warm flesh…

  “Look at me,” she repeated one last time. There was command to her voice that hadn’t been there before. Slowly, agonizingly, the man turned his head towards Laura.

  “Do you know who I am?” she asked. He shook his head. His whole body was shaking, now, but Laura held him steady against the tree, his feet tangling off the ground. “I am called Laura,” she told him, “and today, you are going to die.”

  His eyes went wide with fear, and Laura couldn’t hold off the anticipation anymore. She threw him to the ground, and launched herself on top of him. He struggled pathetically against her, but she was strong, much stronger than she remembered. She felt completely invigorated. The man was sweating puddles now, and it disgusted Laura, but the sweetness of his blood called to her. .

  She inhaled deeply, taking one last long, savoring breath of the smell of human blood, and drew her lips back. She bared her teeth, and like a viper ripped her mouth towards his neck.

  “AAAHHHHH!!!” he cried as her teeth sunk in. It was a distinctly human sound, the sound of terror, the sound of great pain, of… despair. The same sound she heard when the bear was shot.

  What was she doing? His cry… it moved something deep inside her. She had lost herself in the heat of the moment, overtaken completely by her newfound instinct. But that cry – it reminded her of what it was like to be human. To feel fear, and pain. It broke her out of the spell.

  She tore away, heaving herself aside. Away from him. A tiny trickle of blood started to crawl down his neck from the wound, and she could taste a little bit of it on her lip. It only whet her appetite. That small drop of blood on her lip sang out to her, its sweet, seductive warmth calling for her drink deeply more of it. Calling her like a drug calling an addict, like liquor calling an alcoholic. It was all she could do to contain herself.

  She spun around and ran. Unsteadily, not caring where she was going, she ran away. She had to get away. Away from the call of her first ever feeding. Away from where she nearly committed murder.

  Chapter Three

  ~A Third Companion~

  Laura stayed in one spot, terrified to move lest the feeding instinct take over again, until the humans were gone. She heard the hunter’s companions gathering around him, heard them when they found him motionless on the ground and worriedly woke him. And she heard them laugh as he told the story of what happened, saying he
had too much to drink and was having fantasies.

  Once they had all gone away, Logan had found her. Or, more aptly, approached her – she was sure he knew where she was the whole time.

  She heard him coming closer, and waited. All at once, he emerged in front of her, looking glorious as ever. And proud.

  “You didn’t take his blood,” he said simply. She shook her head. Logan squatted down beside her, and brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen in her face. “You’re strong,” he said, “much stronger than anyone I’ve known. A new vampire never has the control to stop the craving once the instinct takes over. But you did. You are a different kind altogether.” He looked proud.

  “As are you,” she said, touching his cheek. He smiled.

  “They’re gone now, as I’m sure you know,” he told her.

  “Yes.”

  “But I have something else for you.” He rose, and Laura looked at him curiously. “Wait here,” he told her, and was gone.

  A few seconds later, he came back, cradling something in his arms. Laura gasped from surprise when she saw what it was. The baby cub.

  “If I had just left him there,” Logan explained, “he would have died quickly. I was sure you wouldn’t like that. So, I took him away from his mother’s corpse… to see what you wanted to do with him.”

  Laura stretched her arms out, and Logan gently lowered the cub to her. He was warm, and looked scared. Laura brushed her hand against his back to calm him down. And she realized that his fur was matted, a mixture of light grey and brown.

  “What is this?” she asked. “Is he sick?”

  “No,” Logan replied, “I don’t think so. It looks like he’s albino. He’ll shed the brown and become grey before he’s grown.”

  “A grey brown bear,” Laura mused.

  “So you’re going to keep him?” Logan asked suggestively.

  “…yes,” she said finally. “That’s why you brought him, didn’t you?”

  “I wanted you to make the decision,” he said.