The Taste of Seduction

The day had only begun, but it felt like a century to Marcus as the thoughts of Cassandra kept wafting into his head as soon as he finished with the application.

There was no doubt within him that something primal jumped every single time that he laid his eyes on Diana. He realized how much of an immense attraction he had to her and her blood. His attraction for Diana had transformed into an unrelenting thirst for her blood.

This primal desire threatened to consume him entirely. He paced back and forth in his dimly lit apartment, his mind plagued by the conflicting thoughts between his bloodlust and emotions.

Desperate to resist the alluring pull to barge into her life, suck her blood forcefully, or jeopardize his plan to bring them closer, he decided it was time to find an alternative to calm himself down.

"This is driving me, when was the last time I was close to losing control like this?" Marcus muttered to himself, his voice laced with longing and desperation taking a deep breath as he thought about his experiences as a growing vampire in Aarkan.

"The hunger within me grows stronger with each passing moment. I can feel her presence calling out to me, tempting me. But I can't allow myself to harm her. I won't," he strongly reminded him with firm clenching of hands.

"Things can not keep building up like this; I need some relief before I lose control," he grimly thought to himself as he picked himself wearily off the couch he sat to calm his bloodlust and seek an alternative to his noticeable red eyes that were reflecting off the monitor screen as he created his job application.

As the moon cast its pale glow upon the city, gentle steps around from down the shared corridor indicated the presence of someone entering as the elevator sound continued.

Marcus immediately knew it was Diana; however, his inner struggle reached a fever pitch. His attraction for Diana had transformed into an unrelenting thirst for her blood.

Before reaching the point of no return, he quickly slid open the windows at the far end of his room and stepped out into the night to hunt instead. Marcus embraced the darkness, his senses heightened and focused.

The hunt for Marcus was an exquisite game of predator and prey with heightened emotions that eventually lead to a fulfillment in blood and mind. The streets of New York City became his hunting ground in the bleak light of the moon, as he moved with a singular purpose; seeking out those whose lives had already been tainted by darkness to relieve this booming lust and excited mind.

I'll seek out those who won't be missed, those who have already embraced the shadows. They will be my sustenance, my means to control this insatiable thirst."

He growled in his mind as he tried to ensure that he also stayed on the side of the law to prevent the long arms of the state from reaching into his affairs.

Silently, he prowled the shadowed alleyways and hidden corners, his instincts guiding him toward his prey. The adrenaline surged through his veins as he closed in on his target, his movements swift and calculated.

"You are not a victim," Marcus whispered to his prey, his voice laced with a strange mix of compassion and resignation, his voice a soft confession amidst the night.

"I'll bear this burden, for Diana, for those I love. I'll navigate the treacherous waters of my own nature, and I won't let it drown me," he further reaffirmed in his mind as he sank into the delight that came with the blood he savoured with fiery passion.

With his thirst temporarily quenched, Marcus withdrew from his prey, his eyes reflecting a mix of remorse and determination. He wiped the traces of blood from his lips, cleared his victims of the memory of the sucking experience, and vanished into the night, his thoughts consumed by the hope that he could find a balance.

********

The morning chaos woke Marcus up into simmering anger.

"Humans are sure noisy creatures," he mouthed to himself as he swiped his hands over his face. Careful not to make sure that the sun rays fell into his apartment, he stood gingerly to the window to properly secure the blinds that were fluttering after he forgot to pin them properly on his return from his night hunt.

Marcus, though keenly attuned to the sounds usually emanating from Diana's apartment every morning, unsurprised about a commotion, infuriated about the lack of care and love, and her decision to still stay faithful to a man like Cole.

The muffled clatter of objects and the faint sound of running water reached his heightened senses, giving him a wave of headache as he tried to tone down his powers to maintain sanity.

As Diana hastily made her way out, her anxious mood palpable, Marcus sensed an opportunity as he looked at the water rushing out his bathroom.

Marcus whirled away time, allowing Diana some time to distance herself from the apartment, his mind racing with possibilities. He needed to find a way to enter her personal space but was unsure what to do to make sure his idea certainly worked.

He understood that creating a plausible reason to enter her living space required finesse and misdirection.

After deliberating for what seemed like an eternity, the idea brought a spark of inspiration on simple ways to get what was needed then.

Aware of Cole's jobless and lazy disposition, as well as his desire to conserve funds for his vices, Marcus realized that he could exploit this aspect of Cole's personality to gain access to the apartment.

With his extensive knowledge of technical matters, Marcus conceived a plan to generate a temporary surge in water pressure that would affect the joints and connections in the apartment's plumbing system.

After realizing what he needed to do to ensure that he could manipulate the water pressure, Marcus crept quietly into the plumbing network of the building as he tried to locate pipes that lead to Diana's apartment.

Carefully making sure that no sound was heard, he held onto the pipes and unleashed his abilities, as his senses followed the flow of water into the apartment, into the kitchen and bathroom.