Vampire's Dark Love

I can't stop myself from looking at the spine-chilling creatures in front of me. I helplessly hug myself as a cold wind blows and kisses my skin. Tears are streaming down from my eyes. I'm horrified.

How I wish that things would go back to normal. When I was still an ordinary student, a scholar at Ruther University. A normal girl that worked at night to feed herself. An ordinary woman, living in this world. But now, everything has changed. Danger lurks around me, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Fatal danger personified in these monsters in front of me.

The vampires.

My heart leaps when one of the vampires smirks at me. He closes his eyes as he inhales sharply, feasting on whatever he smells. Then he grins. I feel like I'm gonna choke on fear when I see him salivate. His now-dilated eyes only intensify my fear.

"What sweet-scented blood..." his raspy voice utters, "It's addicting."

A shiver runs down my spine. I step backward, thinking of escaping. But then I remember how impossible that is. Like a scene in a cliche movie, I'm cornered with a towering wall behind me and three famished vampires in front.

I sob when I realize I could die any second now.

Is this my end? Is this how I die? Where is he? Why isn't he here to save me? And why am I stupid enough to expect that he will always come whenever I need him?

"Don't expect him to save you again, lady. Because tonight, you are ours to devour," the vampire in the middle says.

I croak when they move forward toward me. I tighten my fearful self-hug as I stepped backward. I start to try to accept my inevitable death when my back touches the firm wall.

But it's not easy when I'm still looking forward to my future. I still want to do a lot of things. I still want to find my parents and maybe ask them why they left me. I still want to start my own family so I can feel what it's like to love and to be loved.

I slowly slide down against the wall and hug my knees. They are only a few steps away from me now. I hear their blood-curdling growls.

"Goodbye..." I hear one of them say in a mocking tone, followed by demonic laughs.

I shut my eyes tightly and burry my face between my knees. I pray my death will be quick and painless. Please, let me die peacefully. Don't let me experience excruciating torture.

I shout in terror when someone grabs my neck and forces me to stand. His sharp nails pierce my skin, cutting my flesh. I feel the pain and fear in my gut. They groan loudly as my blood gushes out. I see so much hunger in their crimson eyes.

The vampire lets me go for a second, but then he grabs my neck again with his other hand. He licks my blood from his nails, and as he tastes it, the redness of his eyes intensifies.

He growls psychotically and raises his hand, ready to rip off my face with his deadly nails, but he suddenly stops midway when both the other vampires cry out in pain. I kick him when his attention is diverted. It's not enough to hurt him, but when he sees what happened to the other vampires, he immediately releases me.

I gasp for air, watching as the vampire who held me falls to the ground on wobbling knees. I smile weakly when I realize who has saved me once again. The mere sight of him gives me so much relief, a perfect contrast to the fear it instills in the vampire who almost killed me.

The mysterious man glances at me for a second, and in a flash, his gray eyes turn the darkest shade of red. He grabs the begging vampire, throwing him against the wall, causing it to collapse. In a snap, he's next to him again, and he forcefully steps on the vampire's neck. The cracking of his bones is very distinct. It makes me flinch.

"Wait..." he begs in a faint voice. "I j-just want to k-know something."

Dark blood gushes out from his mouth. I look away, unable to bare the gory scene.

"I w-want to know, why are you protecting her?" He struggles just to utter his question. "Is it because she's your other half? Is she your mate?" he adds.

My forehead creases; I'm confused by his question. I want to look at them, but I can't bring myself to watch.

A long silence dominates the air. All I hear is my heart pounding, waiting for his answer. But I'm even more confused when I hear it.

"It's more than that. Now, die..."

Sweet Aphrodite's POV:

I opened my eyes from my dreamless sleep when I felt a tap on my cheek. Stella's face blocked my view, with no trace of emotion, just like usual.

I blinked and covered my mouth before speaking. "Thank you for being my human alarm clock," I uttered in my still hoarse voice. After pushing the blanket away from my body, I sat and stretched my arms.

I was not surprised when she walked out of the room without saying anything. She was always like that, not fond of speaking.

I got up and did my daily routine. After taking a bath, I began fixing my appearance. I brushed and dried my long brown hair. I pushed a few strands out of my face and pinned them to one side with a hairpin. To remove the small crease in my uniform, I gently ran my palm over it. It didn't completely remove the crease, but it helped it to become less noticeable.

I took one last glance at myself in the mirror before walking out of the room. The apartment was not that big; it only took a few steps to get from our room to the dining area. Stella was already sitting in front of the island countertop while Irene was in the small kitchen. I immediately helped her prepare our breakfast.

We were all living here together, sharing the rent, electricity, food, and water bills. We were also responsible for different house chores and strictly followed a schedule of tasks. We were all civil to each other, and fortunately, everything was working out fine.

I washed the dishes before we all left for school. We studied at the same university but took different courses. Although, I was the only scholar among us. We all rode public transportation to get to school.

Irene said her goodbyes when we arrived at the university. She was nice to everyone, but we were not that close because she had her own circle of friends. I shrugged it off and then I realized that Stella was already gone. I was used to her antisocial behavior. Unlike me and Irene, she was usually devoid of emotion and quiet.

"Good morning, Sweet!" a senior said with a lopsided grin.

"Boo! What a simp!" one of his friends said, followed by mocking remarks from the others.

I politely smiled at him, returned his greeting, and didn't stop walking.

Some other students with familiar faces smiled and greeted me. I was surprised to see that there were some unfamiliar students that seemed to know me and also put in the effort to greet me. I shyly returned their greetings to show my appreciation.

"Hi, Sweet!" Aaron, my classmate, greeted me.

"Hi, good morning!" I greeted him as I walked towards my seat.

I smiled hesitantly when I noticed how noisy my classmates were. Their ages ranged from 19 to 21, but a lot of them still acted immature.

I saw Aaron, already a few steps away from me, immediately sit when our professor stormed into the room. The noise suddenly died down, resulting in a deafening silence. My classmates went back to their original seats and faced themselves forward.

"Good morning," his baritone voice filled our ears.

He stood in front of us, giving off an assertive vibe. His eyeglasses made him even more intimidating, along with his large physique, perfect posture, and neat uniform.

"Good morning, Sir Pablo," we answered in unison with practiced intonation.

He just nodded and checked attendance. Right after that, he sat at the table, facing us. He eyed us critically.

"Have you heard the news?"

I shook my head and glanced at my classmates, waiting for their answers. Sir Pablo seemed serious, and when he noticed that we were all clueless, he shook his head disappointedly.

"Dead bodies were found. Ten, to be exact."

Some gasped in surprise. Some seemed unable to understand what the big deal was. It was painful to think that hearing news like this wasn't surprising anymore. Thousands of people were dying every day.

"So what, Sir? I mean, with the authorities abusing their power over ordinary people, this happens a lot..."

"The dead bodies had been drained of every last drop of their blood, and they each had a pair of small holes on their necks, as if something had pierced through their skin."

The class reacted loudly. Curiosity and fear overtook us. Different theories filled the room until Sir Pablo silenced them.

"Now, is that not surprising?"

***

I was almost absent-mindedly walking. After class, all of us immediately looked up the news, and it was now trending all over the country. Skin dry and wrinkly, the victims looked like their blood had been drained from their bodies. Two holes were also evident on each neck. I couldn't imagine how horrifying their deaths must have been.

Who would do that? How did they do that? I couldn't believe that a human had done something like this. Was it possible that wild animals did it?

I massaged the side of my forehead while walking to the bathroom. Thinking hard made my head ache. I went directly into a stall to pee. I washed my hands after and looked at myself in the mirror near the sink. I was about to wash my face when the lights suddenly went off. I almost jumped in shock, but I calmed myself.

"Relax, Sweet Aphrodite..." I whispered to myself as I attempted to regulate my disturbed breathing.

I was scared of the dark. Every time darkness surrounded me, my mind would begin thinking creepy things. And the realization that I was alone was pushing me to the edge. I just needed to relax and get out of here. I would not be trapped here like a victim in some B-rate horror movie.

I gathered my things, and with swift steps, I marched towards the door. My eyes widened when I heard the door click shut and lock before I could even reach it. My breathing became shallow as I twisted the knob, trying to open it. I slammed on the door as loud as I could, trying to get someone's attention from the outside. Why did they lock me in here? Didn't they know that someone was here?

"Open the door! I'm in here! Please!"

Breathing became difficult for me when my heart started thumping so hard I could feel it in my throat. Beads of sweat were building up on my forehead. I could feel the fear in my gut.

"Open up!" I shouted. "Please! Open thi—" I choked on my words when I heard a thudding sound behind me.

I was stupefied for few seconds. Was I still alone? I slowly looked toward where the sound originated. I held my breath when I saw movement in the dark. And with the help of faint light spilling from a small window, I confirmed that someone was here.

I almost sighed in relief, but I froze when I saw the stranger's manly build. I couldn't find my voice. I reached for the knob again and twisted it, trying to open it. Tears clouded my eyes when I heard his low growls. They didn't sound human.

It was walking towards me, judging by the volume of its growling. My knees weakened so much I fell on the ground helplessly. Hot tears cascaded down my cheeks. I wanted to scream, but there was no sound coming out of my mouth. My body began to shake in fear when its face moved into a faint patch of light and I saw its eyes. But what terrified me even more was the sight of his sharp bloody fangs.

He brought his face level with mine and growled louder after inhaling sharply.

"What an enticing smell..."

He raised his hand, and I became even more frightened when I saw a hint of blood on his long fingernails.

"N-no, d-don't touch me," I uttered under my breath.

My brows furrowed when he suddenly disappeared from my sight. Then I heard his groans, like he was in pain. I was confused about what was happening, and I was taken aback when I saw another silhouette.

A stranger was holding my attacker by his neck so that his feet dangled above the ground. Then the man squeezed the monster's neck. My lips parted when I saw his head fall to the ground.

I felt like my life fled my body after I realized what had just happened. I sobbed silently while my body went numb due to the overwhelming emotions. I covered my ears when I saw the stranger throw the body away like it was nothing.

I shook my head when I saw him take steps towards me. What was he gonna do now? Did he just save me or did he just want to kill me himself? And what were they? I had a theory about the one who had attacked me earlier. But with this man, I didn't know. I just knew he wasn't human. He was too strong to be human. He ripped the monster's head off just by squeezing it.

I froze when he kneeled in front of me then wiped away my tears with his thumb.

"Hush now, my innocent Sweet..." he whispered gently. I didn't know why, but my system immediately calmed down at his words. "You're safe now."

I looked at his face, but I couldn't see it clearly. One thing was for sure: he was wearing a black half-mask.

"I'll always protect you. I promise."

As if hypnotized, I nodded. He touched my cheek before tilting his face slightly and claiming my lips.