He was so cold.
For what seemed like years, that's all he'd known, blistering, mind numbing cold.
Not for the first time, he cursed the day that he and his seven brethren set foot on this measly planet. The blizzard he was caught in now was sure to finish what the avalanche hadn't. Since that night, the night when he'd fought with Breed males including one of his own offspring, he'd been starved for blood and hiding from the deadly sun in caves like the beast he was.
He should have died that night. It would've been less painful than the agony he was in now. Maybe he should just end it all and surrender himself to the dawn.
No, he immediately rejected the thought. He had to live, he had to get revenge on his kin for imprisoning him in that hell hole where he'd suffered nothing but pain and torture for decades.
Yes, the thought of his grandson's head on a silver platter had his mouth stretching in an eager smile, barring his enormous fangs.
He wanted revenge and the only way to do that was to survive. Somehow, he would make it out of this frozen wasteland and hunt down his enemy.
But first he had to find some kind of shelter out of this blistering cold.
Lifting his head was a chore, one that cost him a great deal of energy. Feeling his head bob with his weakness, he searched the night with his sensitive eyes. For a moment, there was nothing as his vision blurred, but when he shook his massive head to clear it he could make out in the distance a fiery glow.
A fire, he realized. Where there was fire there was warmth.
And where there was warmth, there would be humans, filled with hot blood.
The creatures gums throbbed with his need for blood, the dermaglyphs that covered his body pulsed with color. Saliva built in his mouth, he was thirsty.
Eager to get out of the cold and for the blood that awaited him, he stumbled towards the structure he soon realized was a wooden house.
Trying the door, he found it unlocked. Why not? The human lived in isolation, free from the worries of thieves or murderers. The creature crept into the residence, searching for the owner of the house.
No one was there.
But the fire still burning in the fireplace told him that they'd be back. Soon.
With a growl of anticipation, the vampire crouched in the corner of the room to wait for his meal to return.
Aliannah McCain let out a laugh as her pet danced happily in front of her, eager, even in this chilling weather, to play.
Eskimo ran in circles around her legs, the young male wolf cared not that his master's arms were full of firewood and was too cold to do much of anything. All he wanted to do was frolic in the snow.
Shaking her head, Aliannah nudged the canine away from her legs and started on the short trek from the small outbuilding, where she stored firewood, and back to her house. Dressed in an oversized winter parka, jeans and boots, Aliannah trudged through the snow, at ease with her surroundings.
Her mind wandered to the phone call she'd gotten from her father a few hours ago. Duncan McCain was a strong-willed man, a man who never took no for answer.
Well, except when it came to his wife and daughter that is. Then he was nothing but pure putty.
Her father had called to check on her, as his only daughter he was worried about her all alone in the wilderness without any protection. As much as she loved her father, she couldn't help but feel smothered by his protectiveness.
She wasn't helpless, as she'd told him a thousand times. Aliannah had been taught all sorts of martial arts and how to use a different array of weapons by the best in the business. Her father and her oldest brother Malcom.
With their training, Aliannah could kill a man in twenty, if more, different possible ways.
She was a big girl now, and she could take care of her self.
Eskimo's barking broke her out of her thoughts, she looked up with a smile as the rambunctious wolf streaked by her and towards the house. Apparently, he was up for a race.
Shaking her head with a chuckle, she picked up her speed, eager for a piping hot cup of cocoa and a movie in the living room.
As she approached in the door, she frowned at Eskimo's raised hackles. The usually care free wolf's teeth were bared in a fierce snarl, his amber eyes fixed on the door.
Goosebumps raised over her skin as she eyed the door. Something wasn't right, not just from her pet's reaction, but her own senses were telling Aliannah that something was wrong.
Dropping the firewood, Aliannah reached behind her back and under her heavy coat for the .45 strapped to her back. She never left home without it.
Opening the door, she entered the house, her gun extended, aim steady. Inching farther inside, she glanced around, seeing no signs of an intruder.
But Eskimo's growling continued and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, she felt as if she was being watched.
"I know you're here," she said loudly. "Come out now and I won't shoot you."
No answer. But she definitely felt a presence here.
A creak of the floor boards behind her, froze her blood into ice even her heart seemed to freeze. She held still, waited to see if she heard it again. She didn't.
She turned around slowly, eyes wide with what she might find.
The door stood wide open, just as she'd left it. There was no one there.
Frowning, Aliannah slowly stalked back to the door with her gun still raised. Peering outside she saw no sign of any life. No foot prints. Nothing.
That's when she heard the growl.
Whirling around she came face to face with a beast. Eyes glowing and with huge fangs, there was no mistaking what it was.
Vampire.
The Ancient pounced on the human female, ignoring the horrified shriek that flew from her mouth and the clatter of her weapon as it skid across the floor and out of her reach.
Desperate for blood, he threw back the hood of the coat and shoved cloth aside so he could find his target. Easily thwarting her attempts to fight him off, the vampire freed her jugular from the coat and sank his aching fangs into her throat.
Sucking at the blood that welled immediately from the wound, he barely noticed that the female had stopped screaming, though he did not care. All he wanted was the sweet blood that was currently flooding his mouth.
She didn't taste like a regular Homo sapiens, humans usually had a coppery taste to them. But this one did not. Her blood tasted sweet, incredibly sweet. Groaning, the Ancient tugged her closer, sucking even more frantically at her throat.
The scent of her flooded his nostrils, peaches and cherry blossoms. It was intoxicating. He felt his body come to life with the animalistic instinct to mate, to take. In his naked state, the female had to feel the evidence of his hunger for her body.
An animal's snarl startled him, lifting his head, he saw a large wolf haul itself at his leg. Its large, sharp teeth sunk into his flesh.
The Ancient growled in rage and annoyance at his meal's disturbance.
He'd had enough of wolves.
Shaking the wolf free, the vampire didn't notice the female going for something in her boot.
Once his leg was free of the wolf's jaws, he proceeded to feed.
Only to have a knife jabbed into his leg.
The Ancient roared with pain and fury, letting the female out of his grip as he reeled backwards. Grabbing the hilt of the blade in hand, he yanked it out of his flesh in a swift movement.
Rage rolled off him in waves, how dare this human, a female at that, stick him with a small insignificant blade.
A hiss emanating from his lips, the Ancient turned to face his prey and froze.
The female had retrieved her firearm and was now pointing it, with the steadiness he expected of a warrior, between his eyes.
Shocked at how quickly she had moved, his eyes went to her face.
And received another shock.
Her eyes were awash with an amber glow, not unlike his own, the pupils receding into vertical slits.
The female smiled, baring a set of fangs, "One more step, mother fucker. And you're history."