Chapter 30: The Blood Thirst
The morning starts like any other, but Damon can feel something different coursing through his veins. There's an electric tension in the air, a subtle shift in the atmosphere that makes his supernatural senses hyperaware of everything around him. The fluorescent lights above seem brighter, the voices in the hallway echo with an almost painful clarity, and every heartbeat within a fifty-foot radius drums against his eardrums like thunder.
He walks through the corridors of Ravenswood High with measured steps, his jaw clenched tight as he fights to maintain the careful facade he's perfected for a long while. Students brush past him in their typical morning rush, completely oblivious to the predator moving among them. Their warm blood pulses just beneath their skin, so close he can practically taste it on his tongue. The sweet, metallic scent fills his nostrils, making his throat burn with an almost unbearable thirst.
*Control yourself,* he thinks, his hands balling into fists at his sides. *You've done this a thousand times before.*
But something is different today. The usual iron grip he maintains over his vampire nature feels loose, unstable. Every emotion seems amplified, every instinct sharper and more demanding. He can feel his fangs pressing against his gums, threatening to extend at any moment.
When he sees Lily standing at her locker, her beautiful hair catching the morning light streaming through the tall windows, something inside him settles momentarily. She looks beautiful in her simple blue sweater and jeans, completely unaware of the internal war raging within him. Her presence has always been his anchor, the one thing that keeps him grounded in his humanity.
"Good morning," she says with that warm smile that never fails to make his dead heart feel like it might actually beat again. Her green eyes sparkle with genuine affection as she closes her locker and turns to face him fully.
"Morning," he manages, his voice rougher than he intends. He clears his throat, trying to sound more normal. "How did you sleep?"
"Like a baby," she laughs, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder. "Though I had the strangest dream about you. We were dancing in this old ballroom, and you were wearing this period costume that looked like it belonged in the 1800s."
If only she knew how accurate that dream might be. Damon forces a smile, though it feels strained. "Sounds romantic. Was I a good dancer?"
"The best," she says, her cheeks flushing slightly. "You moved like you'd been doing it for centuries."
The innocent comment hits closer to home than she realizes, and Damon feels another wave of that strange intensity wash over him. His enhanced hearing picks up the sound of her pulse quickening slightly, the way it always does when she's thinking about their more intimate moments. The sound is like a siren call, and he has to dig his fingernails into his palms to keep from reaching for her.
"Are you okay?" Lily asks, her brow furrowing with concern. "You look a little pale."
"I'm fine," he lies, though even he can hear the tension in his voice. "Just didn't sleep well."
She reaches up to touch his forehead, her cool fingers against his skin sending a jolt of electricity through him. "You don't feel warm, but you seem... I don't know, different today."
Before he can respond, the moment is shattered by a crude comment from somewhere behind them. "Damn, check out the ass on that one."
Damon's entire body goes rigid. He turns slowly, his eyes scanning the hallway until they lock onto the source of the comment. It's Jake Morrison, a senior with a letterman jacket and an attitude that screams entitlement. The boy is leaning against the wall with two of his friends, his gaze fixed on Lily with an expression that makes Damon's blood boil.
"I'd like to get a piece of that," Jake continues, completely unaware that his words are signing his death warrant. "Bet she's a wildcat in bed."
The change in Damon is instantaneous and terrifying. Every muscle in his body coils like a spring, his vision sharpening to predatory focus. He can hear Jake's heartbeat from across the hallway, can smell the adrenaline and testosterone pumping through his teenage blood. The scent is intoxicating, making his mouth water and his fangs ache to extend.
His hands begin to shake, not from fear but from the sheer effort of holding himself back. The vampire in him wants to cross that hallway in the blink of an eye, to pin Jake against the lockers and sink his fangs deep into that pulsing neck. He can practically taste the boy's blood, warm and rich and flowing freely down his throat.
"Damon?" Lily's voice sounds distant, muffled by the roar of bloodlust in his ears. "Damon, what's wrong?"
He tries to answer, but his fangs are already beginning to extend, pressing against his lower lip. The sensation is both painful and euphoric, a reminder of what he truly is beneath the carefully constructed human facade. His eyes feel different too, and he knows without looking that the familiar darkness is creeping in around the edges, turning his usually grey irises into something far more dangerous.
"I need..." he starts, but the words come out as more of a growl than human speech. He can feel his control slipping away like sand through his fingers, and panic begins to mix with the hunger. Not here. Not in front of Lily. Not in front of all these innocent people.
Jake chooses that moment to push off from the wall, his friends encouraging him as he starts walking toward them. "Maybe I should go introduce myself," he says with a cocky grin. "Show her what a real man looks like."
The last thread of Damon's self-control snaps like a bowstring. A snarl builds in his throat, low and inhuman, and he takes a step forward. His vision tunnels, focusing entirely on the pulse point in Jake's neck. He can see the vein clearly, can imagine exactly how it would feel beneath his fangs, how the blood would taste as it fills his mouth.
"Damon, stop!" Lily's voice cuts through the haze of hunger, and her hand grabs his arm. The contact is like a shock to his system, momentarily breaking through the bloodlust. "Your eyes... they're..."
He turns to look at her, and the fear he sees reflected in her green eyes is like a bucket of ice water to his face. She can see it, can see the monster lurking just beneath the surface. The realization hits him like a physical blow, and for a moment, the human part of him reasserts itself.
"I have to go," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. The words are strained, desperate. "I'm sorry, I have to..."
"Damon, wait!" she calls after him, but he's already moving.
He doesn't walk away – he runs, but not in any way that human eyes could follow. One moment he's standing beside Lily, the next he's a blur of motion disappearing down the hallway. Students barely register the rush of air that follows in his wake, dismissing it as nothing more than a draft from the air conditioning.
Lily stands frozen in shock, her mouth hanging open as she stares at the spot where Damon had been standing just seconds before. Her mind struggles to process what she's just witnessed. People don't just disappear like that. People don't move so fast that they become invisible to the naked eye.
"Where did he go?" she whispers to herself, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and confusion.
Meanwhile, Damon bursts through the school's exit doors with such force that they slam against the brick walls with a resounding crash. He doesn't stop running until he reaches the edge of the school parking lot, where he finally allows himself to slow down. His chest heaves with unnecessary breaths, more from emotional turmoil than physical exertion.
The fresh air helps clear his head slightly, but the hunger is still there, gnawing at him like a living thing. His fangs have fully extended now, sharp and gleaming in the morning sunlight. He runs his tongue over them, feeling their razor-sharp edges and fighting the urge to use them.
He needs to feed. Now. Before he loses control completely and does something he'll regret for the rest of his eternal existence.
The forest beckons to him from across the street, its dense canopy offering both shelter and hunting grounds. Without hesitation, he launches himself into a run again, this time not caring about maintaining any pretense of humanity. He moves like the predator he is, covering ground at an inhuman pace until the sounds of civilization fade behind him.
The woods are alive with the sounds and scents of wildlife. Rabbits dart between the underbrush, their hearts beating rapidly with the natural fear of prey animals. Deer move gracefully through the trees, their blood rich and warm and calling to him. A family of raccoons chatters in the branches above, completely unaware of the apex predator that has just entered their domain.
Damon's enhanced senses catalog every living thing within a mile radius. He can hear their heartbeats, smell their life force, feel their warmth in the cool morning air. It's a symphony of potential feeding opportunities, and for the first time since the incident at school, he feels like he might be able to regain some semblance of control.
A large buck steps into a clearing about fifty yards ahead, its majestic antlers catching the dappled sunlight that filters through the canopy. It's a beautiful creature, strong and healthy, with enough blood to satisfy even his heightened hunger. Under normal circumstances, Damon might have felt a pang of regret at what he's about to do. But these aren't normal circumstances.
He moves with the fluid grace of a born hunter, circling around until he's downwind of his prey. The buck hasn't noticed him yet, too busy grazing on the tender shoots of grass that grow in the small clearing. Damon takes a moment to appreciate the irony of the situation – a creature that should be at the top of the food chain, reduced to hunting animals in the forest like some sort of feral beast.
But it's better than the alternative. It's better than giving in to the darker impulses that would have him draining every student in that hallway dry.
He launches himself forward, moving so fast that the buck doesn't even have time to register the threat. His fangs sink deep into the animal's neck, and immediately he's flooded with the warm, copper taste of blood. It's not as satisfying as human blood would be – nothing ever is – but it's enough to take the edge off his hunger.
The buck struggles for only a moment before going limp in his arms. Damon drinks deeply, feeling the familiar rush of strength and vitality that comes with feeding. His vision clears, the red haze of bloodlust gradually fading until he can think clearly again.
When he's finished, he steps back and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. The buck lies motionless at his feet, its life force drained but its body unmarked except for the two small puncture wounds at its neck. It's a clean kill, efficient and necessary.
But as the immediate hunger fades, the weight of what just happened at school comes crashing down on him. He came so close to losing control completely, so close to revealing his true nature to Lily and potentially hurting innocent people. The memory of the fear in her eyes haunts him, and he knows that no amount of animal blood can wash away that image.
He finds a fallen log and sits down heavily, his head in his hands. The forest around him has gone quiet, as if even the wildlife can sense the predator in their midst. A gentle breeze rustles through the leaves above, carrying with it the scents of earth and growing things, but even these natural perfumes are tainted by the metallic smell of blood that still clings to him.
What's happening to him? He's been a vampire for over a century and a half, has learned to control his impulses without detection. But lately, especially since meeting Lily, his emotions have been more volatile, his hunger more intense. It's as if caring for her has somehow made him more vulnerable to his own nature.
He pulls out his phone and stares at the screen, seeing several missed calls and text messages from Lily. Each message grows more frantic, more worried. The last one simply reads: "Please tell me you're okay. I'm scared."
His heart – or what passes for one – aches at her words. He's scared too, scared of what he might become if he can't get this under control. Scared of what he might do to her if he loses himself completely.
A rustling in the bushes nearby catches his attention, and he looks up to see a family of rabbits hopping cautiously into the clearing. They freeze when they see him, their small bodies trembling with instinctive fear. For a moment, predator and prey regard each other in silent understanding.
Then the rabbits bolt, disappearing into the underbrush with tiny squeaks of terror. Damon watches them go, envying their simplicity. They don't struggle with questions of morality or control. They simply run from danger, following millions of years of evolutionary programming.
If only it were that simple for him.
He stands up, brushing dirt and leaves from his clothes. The feeding has helped, but he knows it's only a temporary solution. The real problem isn't his hunger – it's his inability to control his emotions around Lily. She makes him feel human again, makes him want things he thought he'd given up on long ago. But with those feelings comes a loss of the careful emotional distance that has kept him stable for decades.
He needs to figure out how to be with her without losing himself in the process. Because the alternative – living without her – is becoming increasingly unthinkable.
The walk back to the edge of the forest is slower, more contemplative. He takes his time, using the quiet solitude to center himself and rebuild the mental barriers that keep his darker nature in check. By the time he reaches the tree line, he feels more like himself again.
But as he stands at the edge of the woods, looking back toward the school where Lily is undoubtedly worried sick about him, he knows that this is just the beginning. The intensity of his feelings for her isn't going to fade – if anything, it's only going to grow stronger. And with it, the challenge of maintaining his humanity while embracing his love for her.
The blood thirst has been satisfied for now, but the deeper hunger – the longing for connection, for understanding, for a love that transcends the boundaries between human and monster – remains as strong as ever. And somewhere in the distance, he can hear the school bell ringing, calling him back to a world where he must pretend to be something he's not, for the sake of the girl who has become his everything.