Veins of Desire

Confrontation

Kevin

I had meant to stay at the cottage for only a few hours, but I was still here when the sun started to rise. I paced my old bedroom, the walls smelled faintly of cedar and lavender, relics of my time here still hung on the wooden frames. I had come here looking for a sense of grounding, but what I found was so much harder.

Mom came up and leaned on the doorframe, her auburn hair braided down her shoulder, her eyes having the faintest hint of crimson in the early morning light. "You're restless." She said knowingly. "More than I usually see." I didn't answer, and she would know that my silence was an answer enough. "Tell me about her." Mom pressed as she stepped inside my bedroom. Her voice carried a huge sense of patience from the past few centuries. But also, something warmer. I stiffened. "You shouldn't sound so excited, you know what it would mean if I got closer to her."

"I know what it means," She countered, her eyes narrowing. "She stirs something in you; humans don't linger in our thoughts unless there is a reason. Maybe she's stronger than you think, maybe she's meant for more than you know." "That's dangerous," I replied, turning toward the window. "Danger is the marrow of our lives, Kevin. You've spent a century now hiding away from it, convincing yourself you can outlast loneliness. And now someone walks into your life, they ignite your hunger and possibly your heart, and you're afraid to go after it." I turned back to her, my fists tight. "You make it sound like it's fate." She smiled and nodded. "Perhaps it is."

I wanted to argue, but before I could, my father walked into the room. "Your mother romanticizes too much." He said with a laugh. My father was tall and broad-shouldered. His hard hair peppered with silver, he carried himself like someone who had seen too much over his lifetime. And to be honest, he has. "Don't mistake excitement for wisdom." My father warned, his eyes settling over me with a steady weight. "Whatever you feel for her, tread carefully. Curiosity can turn to ruin quickly."

I parted my mouth to respond, but Mom cut in, "You act as though every risk ends in bloodshed." Had turned to her, "Because I've seen it happen one too many times when we let our hunger and affection blur, the human is always the one who pays the price." The room fell heavy with silence and tension. Mom was glowing with fascination, and Dad anchored with caution. Finally, my father stepped closer to me. " Be careful, son. If you pursue this, you'll be walking on a knife's edge. We all know we can't afford to slip."

When I finally left the cottage, my parents' voices followed me. My mother's excitement, my father's warnings. And in between these, the thought that couldn't escape me was Who is this woman?

Classes had dragged on, but at least one thing had made things bearable: Raina's silence. No curious glances, no polite attempts at small talk, no challenges or brushing against my world with her daring smile. The quiet was...Welcoming to say the least. Maybe she finally learned, maybe she realized I wasn't worth chasing.

I let myself believe this as I walked the dimly lit path on the campus that night, the air was cool, damp with the scent of fresh earth from the gardens tucked behind the east hall. I came here often after dark, away from the hum of students. It was where the shadows were deeper and my hunger was easier to ignore. But tonight, a scent caught me off guard. Sweet, warm, pulsing with life. My fangs shot out, and my whole body stilled.

Raina.

My fangs ached before I even saw her, my hunger clawed through me, sharper than it had been in years. As if her presence alone had summoned his thirst. "Fuck..." I said under my breath, shoving down my hunger, forcing myself to look composed when I finally saw her. She was sitting on the edge of the garden's fountain, a book open on her lap. The glow from the nearby lamp caught strands of her hair, turning them gold against the night.

I clenched my jaw, my cold armor snapping right back into place. "You again," I said coldly. Raina looked up, her mouth turned into a small, cute smile. "Hi." She replied. I folded my arms and leaned against the shadowed wall. "I didn't take you for the wandering type. Shouldn't you be in your dorm studying like everyone else?" Her brows furrowed, but she didn't look away. "I like it out here. Besides, it seems you don't mind it either." She said, her eyes unwavering. My chest tightened. She wasn't afraid. Not from his tone, not from the bite in his words. She was looking right at me, really looking.

I turned my head sharply and murmured, "You should stay away from me." And then, before I could retreat, she said it. Worlds so simple, yet it stung like I had just been stabbed.

"I don't want to."

For the first time in decades, I felt my control slip. My hunger roared, but beneath it pulsed something worse. Desire. Raw and reckless. I shut my eyes, forcing my breathing to calm. When I opened my eyes again, Raina was still looking at me, her eyes curious and unafraid. I pushed off the wall and walked over to her. "You don't know that," I said, trying to keep my fangs from showing. I'm not the one that doesn't know." She replied as she gathered her stuff and walked away.