The scent of blood was everywhere, coming from seemingly impossible places, the trees, sky or even coming from the mere ground itself, but I knew that it was only a trick of the wind that was pulsing past at every opportunity. The scent of blood was coming from the wounded deer in front of me. The deer just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I will admit that I do feel rather bad about killing this poor animal, but the blood lust that I must feed every night is a curse that I must bare alone. I have promised to never feed from another human being for it has cost me many lovers in my time, as well as many people that I care deeply about.
After I had finished feasting, leaving enough blood for the animal to live if it fought hard enough, I began the short distance back to my kin’s hideout. Or what I liked to call home. Home? What is home? What does that really mean to anyone? These are questions that burden me every day and night of my eternal life. Home has been many places for me over the four-hundred years that I have been living, but in the most recent years I have taken up residence with the largest kin in Paris. The walk back was only about forty-five minutes away from my kin’s home, but that was just enough time to go over my thoughts.
While walking on Main Street, I noticed a beautiful woman walking into a café just ahead of me, and instantly I felt compelled to go to her. The woman walking ahead of me seemed to be about 5’4 from where I was, and she had hair that almost reaches the middle of her back. I wanted to see who this mysterious woman could possibly be. As of late my heart had become a black hole. A bottomless pit that anyone, even I, could fall victim to. It is true that over the centuries my kin mates have been able to find me women to fill my bed, but none could ever truly fill my heart.
I never had time to go and check this mysterious woman out, for as soon as I walked a mere ten steps, my vampire senses picked up intruders on my land. I controlled the greater parts of Paris, France, and no non-humans were allowed to enter my lands without my permission. Using the shadows that covered most of the streets, I blended into them as if I were not there. I used the shadows to hide, so I could move as fast as I needed to without being seen by the mortals that inhabit my territory.
When I reached the boarders on my lands, I saw something that would shake any master vampire from his head to his toes. A pack of shape shifters were headed towards my borders. Their alpha, Rich, was out front leading them right to me.
Rich and I had a history, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. About two-hundred years earlier, we fell in love with the same woman. She ended up choosing me over him, but in the end I broke her heart.
The pack was about forty in strength. When the pack was about 50 feet from me, Rich let out a howl that started deep in his throat. It was a deep commanding howl. It let the pack know to stay back. I took a step forward, putting myself on the edge of my territory, and Rich matched my moves. Rich abased himself at my feet but kept his eyes on me like he didn’t trust me to not try and kill him.
Rich proceeded to warn me that a herd of shape-shifter rouges were headed toward my lands in search of a blonde-haired woman named Misty. He advised us that if we were ever to cross this woman’s path to make sure that she leaves the territory as soon as possible. I gave him my word that I would do all that I could to protect my people.
When the talk was over, Rich left the lands but promised to return if I did not follow his wishes the way that he had told me to. After Rich’s appearance, I decided to make my way back to the café where I had seen the mysterious woman a few hours earlier. The inside of the café was strangely empty, but to the far side of the room in the corner she was standing taking a couples order.
In my mind a red flag went up. This woman looked oddly familiar. She had the same shape, same hair, and even the same height as Rich had described only moments ago. If my guess was right then the woman that I seemed undeniably attracted to could be the woman that Rich had told me was dangerous. That would be just my luck.

I could not fathom what a pack of rouges would want with her. The mysterious woman was leggy and she stood about four inches shorter then me. When she turned around, I saw that she was wearing a name tag, so I took the opportunity to take a look at what her name was. The nametag read “Misty” with big red letters and sparkles. So this woman that I am so interested in was the woman that I must make leave my territory as soon as possible.
I made my way to her, and when we locked eyes, I tried to read her, tried to read what she thought of me. I couldn’t and that puzzled me. I concentrated even harder, but still I failed to be able to read her. While trying to read her, I hadn’t realized that she had walked right up to me.
“Um, hello, sir? Sir! Can you hear me?” she spoke softly.
I blinked once lazily, like a cat that got the cream. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t even see you come towards me.”
She smiled and led me to the table that was in the far corner of the room. The ceiling rose what seemed to be forever into the sky. The room itself was in a hexagon short of shape, with beautifully carved wooden furniture. The room was decorated with a very eloquent way. The interior of the room looked to be something out of 15th century China with the way that decorations donned the sides of the table’s legs and the chairs themselves, with carvings of dragons and fortune cookies. After Misty had seated me and started to walk away, I thought I had to act quickly or lose my one chance to talk to her in public.
“Wait, won’t you sit with me?” I said
She hesitated for a fraction of a second and then nodded her approval. She called over to someone that was working with her and told her that she was taking her dinner break now. She walked around the table to the opposite side from where I was seated and took a seat. For a few moments, we did nothing but stare at one another. My stare was something more out of curiousness, but hers was a mix of distress and anguish. I have seen that look upon many women’s faces in my time; all were caused by the startling color of my eyes and hair. The combination of both lilac eyes and golden honey hair seemed to startle the women that I met, and I have yet to see why.
After a couple of moments, I decided it was best to break the silence. “So, Misty,” I said as I pretended to read her name tag. “How long have you worked here?” I inquired gently as to not scare her anymore.
“Well, probably about six months. I am trying to pay my way through college,” she said, as her face turned a cherry red.
“Oh? What may I ask is your field of study?”

“Nursing,” she replied sheepishly.

I could tell that Misty was very unsettled about my appearance, but right now none of that mattered. What mattered to me were two very important things at hand. The first and most important one being why couldn’t I read her? But the next one that was bothering me most of all was what in the world did a bunch a rouges want with such a young woman?

After trying and failing many times to read her, I left without offering much of an excuse as to why I was being so rude. All I managed to say was I had stuff that needed taking care of. I would pay for this insult greatly in the future, but right now that didn’t matter, nothing did but figuring out why I couldn’t read her.

I returned to my home with my kin mates. I never stopped to say hello; I just went straight to my bedroom. I needed time to think of all that had happened today.

Shortly after returning home, I began to feel tired, but not just tired like I had a long day, but more of a tired that is down to the bone. I nodded off while sitting on my bed.

Suddenly I woke, but I was not alone as I had been before I had fallen asleep. At the foot of my bed stood a man. The man looked like he was a living breathing part of the darkness. He looked to be something out of a nightmare, that makes the darkness seem oh so real for childern. My heart jumped. For the first time in years I could feel my heart beating and blood pumping trough my veins.

The man spoke, and when he did it, seemed as if the very darkness was speaking to me. “Sage,” he said. “Sage, you need to listen to me.”
When I went to draw a breath to ask who he was, I found that it was like trying to breathe mud. The air itself was thick, and it felt as if the darkness was alive, trying to make it so I could not breath. What do you want? I thought.
The man replied as if I had actually spoken to him rather then thought it. “I am here to warn you. Misty is a shape-shifter. She is the leader of the rouges, and she is making an army amongst your own people. She intends to turn them against you.”

Before I had a chance to respond, the man disappeared. He vanished into the darkness like he was never there. Waking in a cold sweat I realized everything had been nothing more then a dream.

With great haste, I returned to the café where I had seen Misty only hours ago. With luck one my side, she was still there. As I walked in she took one look at me and walked away. I can’t say that I blamed her. After all I had treated her more like dirt than a human. With a sigh, I walked up to her and asked if she could come outside with me for a few moments. She finally agreed and gave me five minutes to explain myself.

Once outside I used the connection I had to my brethren and told them to call Rich and his wolves and tell him that I had the woman they were looking for. Within seconds, I could hear the sounds of distant howls. Rich and his pack came running around the corner towards me and Misty.

When Rich met us he came to a halt and thanked me for what I had done for him and his pack and even my own people. Taking Misty from me, they began to lead her away. I said my last goodbyes to the woman who very well could have been the soul mate I have been searching centuries for.