Night School by Mari Mancusi Page B

trance until I reach the sweet spot. That beautiful vein that will save my life. My body trembles as I lick his dewy skin, desperate for a taste.
    This is it. The first time I will ever bite a human. There’s no going back after this.
    My fangs slide out eagerly, no hesitation at all. They slice through delicate skin as if it’s softened butter, sinking in and piercing the vein and enabling sweet blood to start flowing into my desperate mouth. I suck hard, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of blood as Corbin moans in ecstasy, completely lost to the drug of the vampire scent.
    This is old-school vampirism. Why we have that scent to begin with. While now we only use it to get out of parking tickets, back in the day before sanctioned donors, victims had to be seduced before being drained. They’d offer their bodies willingly, never imagining they were about to have their lives stolen by their hearts’ greatest desires.
    I drink and drink, Corbin’s life force flowing through me in almost orgasmic waves. Why did I wait so long to try this? It feels so good. So powerful, rich, delicious. Nothing like that disgusting, vile substitute I’ve been drinking. There’s no way I can go back to that, now that I’ve tasted the real thing ...
    My thoughts are interrupted by the desperate sound of Corbin’s heart, pounding frantically in his chest, and I realize I need to stop—now—before I accidentally drain him dry. With major effort, I manage to retract my fangs.
    The letdown is instant and the craving inside me nearly unbearable. My victim collapses beside me, passed out instantly in a dead faint. I press my shirt against his neck wound, putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding.
    It’s then that the fear finds me, hitting me hard and fast. What have I done? How am I going to explain this to him when he wakes up? Will he remember that I did this to him? Will he report me if he does? Or just kill me himself?
    Panicked, I shake him roughly to awaken him from his slumber. He looks up at me with glazed eyes. “God, Rayne,” he slurs. “You’re amazing.”
    Amazingly awful and disgusting, I think to myself. Then I shake my head. After all, there will be plenty of time for the guilt hangover later. “Don’t try to talk,” I tell him. “You were bitten by a ... fairy. A nasty, evil fairy . You have a mark on your neck from him,” I add. “But you’ll be okay.”
    “Mark ... fairy ... okay ...” he murmurs. Then his eyes roll to the back of his head and he’s passed out again. I let out a frustrated breath, praying that he’ll remember my words when he wakes up.
    It’s then that I realize I’m breathing without pain. I look down at my stomach wound, which has completely healed over. The skin is smooth, as if it were never sliced at all.
    I shake my head in disbelief. The blood did the trick. I’m completely healed.
    Though ... at what cost? I look over at Corbin’s bruised, swollen neck and feel sick to my stomach. So disgusting. So vile. So monstrous. Who could do such a thing to a person?
    I could, I guess. And I just did.
    But I swallow hard, forcing myself not to throw up. After all, there’s real, genuine life-giving blood in my stomach. And who knows when I’ll get the chance to feed again.
    Why, anytime you like, a snickering little voice inside reminds me. He’s yours for the snacking now.
    12
    I wake the next morning back in my dorm room bed, totally and utterly starving. You’d think all that protein I drank the night before would stay with me for a bit, but evidently no such luck. I want more blood and I want it bad.
    And I don’t know how the hell I’m going to get it.
    Last night after ... feeding ... I left Corbin unconscious in the cave and went to find my sister and the other Alphas. Peter had run back to school to get the medics and when they all arrived at the clearing, about twenty minutes later, I brought them to the cave to help Corbin. I told them how a fairy had bitten him and he’d