I stepped out into the cool autumn night, took a deep calming breath and closed my eyes. I listened to the evenings sounds. The night was alive and active just as the day was. But few saw it or wanted to see it. The wind blew through the bare branches of the old oaks and pines that surrounded my home. Their ancient bark creaking as they swayed. Leaves twirled along the forest floor. Small rodents dashed around the yard and I opened my eyes to see them scurry away.

Dark clouds passed long shadows across the land. A smile crossed my pensive face, they would assist me in my hunt. I tied the strings of my cloche as I crossed the expanse of my well manicured lawn. I enjoyed having one of the nicer landscapes in the county and prided myself on its beauty. Besides if afforded me with a great 360 degree view. One could never be to cautious.

I raced into the woods, dodging trees and shrubs, enjoying the run and allowing the sounds to fill my ears. I could hear the night birds as they sang their songs, the owls as they searched for prey and the wolves as they played on the hills. But the familiar sounds of livestock and people were missing. I leaped into a tree, rubbing my palm across its rough bark. A faint scent filled the air. Blood. Someone was hunting.

I could hear the pack as they roamed the land in search of food. They had come down from the mountains last year and had slowly worked their way onto my land. They frightened away the travelers that used the main road to get to town and now people only traveled if they had to. They were scaring off my meals and competition wasn't my forte. But they were just as hungry as I. I surveyed the shadows and wondered who was hunting on my land?

I followed wolves across my land until they were only several hundred yards away. I ran after them and chased down the leader. They were a beautiful pack of hunters. Always working together to weed out the weak and the sick. We were the same in a lot of ways. Yet it was our differences that would be their down fall. Their silver and black coats shined in the moonlight as they ran down a small herd of deer. I could hear their labored breathing as they selected their next kill.

I was almost upon the leader, mere inches from his head when those old gray eyes gazed upon me with uncertainty. I reached out my hands to grab him when a familiar scent filled my senses. I immediately slowed and changed directions. The wolves could wait, but another vampire on my land wasn't something I could allow. I leaped over fallen trees and maneuvered around clusters of pines. I vaulted over some boulders and followed the river until I came to a small clearing.

I crept up and watched from behind an old gnarled oak as he drank from a young woman. She was passed the stage of fighting back and simply lay in his arms as he drained her. Looking at her uniform I knew she was a servant for the Shafford family.

"What a messy eater," I thought as I changed positions. I crawled up the tree and out onto a branch.

He was losing more blood than he was consuming and wasting the kill. With poor skills like that he would never get the nourishment he needed. He tore into her soft pale flesh with such veracity I knew he must be feral. Whoever he was he would be hard to bring down.

A smile crept across my face. It had been a long time since I fought another vampire.

"I would enjoy this hunt." I thought.

My bright green eyes shifted to black as I bared my fangs and leaped into the air.