Her feet had somehow taken her to a dimly lit section of a lonely sidewalk at the birth of the nightstalker’s prime time. A calm, cool evening and the perfect place to have a cigarette. Fishing out a pack that she had recently purchased, she tore off the plastic wrapping over it and brought out one of the cancer sticks to hold between her lips as she fumbled with her lighter. With a click, a tiny flame began to flicker in the cold night, passing on its life into the tip of the cigarette.

While taking a long drag, Bianca would neatly put her pack and lighter back into the pocket of her pants as she leaned against a wall, raising her head to create a line of smoke from her mouth tainted the atmosphere. She had a song stuck in her head for a while now, and she would hum the tune of it silently as she relaxed. This was a nice place to chill, she would remember that. Especially at this time as well. The street was mostly empty, save for a few bikers showing up once in a blue moon. Taking another drag, she pushed herself off the wall and starting walking along the sidewalk.

Being the soundless creature of night, Bianca was naturally creeping up on people and she couldn’t even feel bad about shocking some people when noticing her arrival because it happened almost every time. But at the moment, the vampyress was still humming a tune, so anyone who had her in their hearing range would definitely not miss her. Strolling casually while occasionally taking slow drags from her cigarette, she came to stumble upon a seemingly homeless person. Halting in her tracks, she stood towering over the male sitting on the sidewalk, who appeared to be pretty lost. After she took another puff, the male would probably have already noticed her and this was when she said, “Are you lost?” She looked down at the cigarette she held in in her left hand. “Would you like a cigarette?” she offered.

Bianca brought out her pack since figured he might need a cig. “This is a sidewalk in Hargeon,” she said in response to his question, a look of amusement on her face. She kept her own cig between her lips while fishing out a new one for him. Since he wouldn’t stand up, Bianca shoved the pack back into her pocket and leaned in towards him to light it for him. He appeared pretty helpless. She would have assumed he was a homeless dude if he looked like it, but he didn’t. There were a million other reasons she could think of for why he was here, but she decided to ask him something, just to make sure.

“Were you maybe, uh, doing drugs?” she wanted to know. She was also afraid that he would get all cautious if he was doing drugs, so she added with a nervous laugh, “If you were and you remember where you got your stuff from, maybe you could share that information with me. I need to get my mind off of things as well.” Although that was probably a really risky thing to say to him if he wasn’t doing drugs, and because of the fact that he was a ‘complete stranger’ to her. What if he was one of the good guys? She wasn’t unprepared to deal with it either way. She always had her guard up.

“That would actually be cool. Do you uh, know me by chance?”

Raising a single brow and then letting out a puzzled laugh, Bianca stopped to think about it. This was getting a little bit crazy, if you asked her. What also could be crazy was this guy in front of her. Maybe he had an unsound mind. “No, I don’t know you. I’ve never met you and I have great memory so I wouldn’t forget a face like yours,” she said with a small smile. This was an improvement for Bianca. Before, she couldn’t say something like this without blushing afterwards. She finished her cigarette and tossed the butt towards the road. It was getting awkward standing there like that, so she decided to sit next to him on the sidewalk.

“My name is Bianca. What do I call you?”

The more she spoke with this person, the more she felt like she was going down the rabbit hole. “You don’t remember if you did drugs?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, turning so that she was looking at him, though from the side. “Sounds like it was the good stuff, but even then I think you’d at least remember receiving it.” Frowning, she reached into her pocket to have another cigarette but decided against it, so she brought her hands back to her lap. A short giggle escaped through her lips without permission from her brain when he called her cute, but thankfully she didn’t blush. Improvement.

“I don’t know if you’re trying to joke around with this whole ‘I don’t know who I am’ thing, but I’ll take you to my place. I figured you wouldn’t have a place to stay since you don’t even know where you are at the moment. Maybe a shower will bring your brain back,” she laughed. Another biker whizzed by, reminding her that she was in the real world. The whole conversation with the nameless guy was making her wonder if this was a dream. She pinched her thigh and it painfully came to her mind that this was real.

As the male revealed that he didn’t have a name - though Bianca imagined he probably just forgot it - she tilted her head in thought. “Well, let’s name you then! I’m feeling a little creative,” she said and got up to her feet quickly, patting away any debris that might be clinging to her butt, standing so that she was facing him, like when she first met him. “Hm, let’s see,” she muttered while studying his features with her hands were folded under her breasts as she bent down a little. He looked pretty helpless and she thought that was sort of cute. After thinking up and rejecting about twenty names in her head, she decided on a simple but unique one. It suited him a lot, she thought.

“You look like a Vance,” she said with a crazy smile. “Yes, that’s what I’ll call you,” she chuckled and that was only when she noticed the large thing lying beside him. Naturally, Bianca was an expert of observation, but she somehow missed something this big. Maybe she was too focused on the male. After confirming with herself that it had to be a weapon of sorts, she asked, “What is that you have there?”

A sly smirk crept onto Bianca’s lips as the male asked if he could sleep on her bed, too. She especially liked it when men showed some kind of confidence. Not too much, but just enough to make her feel like they were worth something. She hated it when men were shy, because she wasn’t shy. She used to be, but not anymore. “I have two beds, and one is an extra bed for the guys who can’t leave after I’m done with them, for valid reasons. In most cases, it’s because they’re too weak to move,” she told him. She didn’t mention which bed he was supposed to sleep in. This information could either scare him or confuse him, but she figured either way he would be able to handle it. She didn’t intend to make him feel any way different about her. She was merely letting him know what he was getting himself into, if he accepted. Who knows what might happen if he did? Bianca wasn’t a perfect being. She couldn’t always control her desires.

“Alright I believe you, don’t worry,” said Bianca in response to him admitting that he was telling the whole truth. She still did suspect that he might have been doing drugs, but that was beyond her concern at this point. If she did want to do drugs, she could easily find herself a source as well. She had only asked him for that information to let him know that she wasn’t going to rat him out to the police for doing illegal things.

It seemed to the bloodthirsty woman that the male accepted her name for him, based off his facial expressions. She gave him a smile as well, satisfied that he liked the first name she suggested out loud to him. It was worth brainstorming for a hot minute there. She unfolded her arms and laced her fingers behind her back, now interested in what he confirmed was his weapon. “Your weapon looks very unique. It looks nothing like a sword. In fact, it looks like a giant fluffy popsicle. I’m not very good with weapons, so maybe you should teach me,” she said, now reaching for the ‘sword’ that she never took her eyes off of while she was speaking. Holding it firmly from its hilt and making sure it wasn’t in range to hurt either of them, she flipped it in her hands. It was quite heavy. She then handed it back to him.

“I can help you find a blacksmith. Not here though, I don’t know even know if Hargeon has a fucking blacksmith,” she admitted. She only knew the basic places here, like most other towns except Oak. “Yeah I do like the look of it. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I’ll take a guess and say that it’s enchanted in some way,” she continued, looking up to his eyes for confirmation. From the way he effortlessly held it over his shoulder, she observed that he was pretty good at handling it. And he was strong. Even if he couldn’t have been stronger than her, he was still strong. That was just an overconfident thought about herself.

“Let’s walk, Vance. My inn isn’t too far from here and you can finish your cigarette on the way,” she told him and started to walk. She liked saying that name.

“I don’t know. I’m not from this town. I mean there might be one, but if I am to help you find one, it won’t be in this town,” said the sorceress, on the subject of blacksmiths. “So, it’s up to you.” She looked up at him. Vance was just a few inches taller than her, so if she wore heels, she would be as tall as him, she imagined. Bianca again searched her pockets for the pack and the lighter. It was one of those moments that would have been perfect if she had a cig, and she did, so it was perfect. The cold didn’t bother her, anyway. She would give him another cig if he wanted, if not she would put it away. You’d wonder how she had the kind of stamina she had now when she smoked like this. To answer that simply, she would have more if she didn’t.

Bianca walked facing the road. She knew the way back the inn from here. She was here in the first place because it was close and she felt like wandering a bit, and also making sure she didn’t get carried away. “Yes, it’s pretty close. You’ll see soon,” she spoke in between drags, traveling in strides as the inn came into sight. It was a nice little inn that not many people stayed it, probably because it was far from the town center, but it was good enough for Bianca. It was quiet all throughout the day and she enjoyed the tranquility. It also meant that no one would find her here.

“I guess I owe you for this then? If that's the case, then there's no going back. Here out I pledge my life to help you find drugs. What do ya say?”

This made the vampyress throw her head back and chuckle in amusement. There was really no need for anyone to help her find drugs. She had connections in most places, but it wasn’t as though she was a drug addict. She only did it when she felt like it and she wasn’t constantly feeling like it. “That’s uhh...I mean sure,” she laughed. “You will still owe me for looking for a blacksmith, how will you repay that?” Even though he hadn’t really accepted her offer to help him find a blacksmith, she just wanted to know what he would say.

As they arrived at the inn, she killed her cigarette at a pillar outside so that she could continue it later in her room, gave a smile and a nod at the innkeeper and headed up the stairs to her room on the third floor, looking back to make sure that Vance was right behind her. She unlocked the door with her key and switched on the lights, tossing her pack of cigs and lighter on a desk. “Please lock the door,” she told Vance as he would enter after her. “Also, you can use one set of the towels in the bathroom, they’re all new.” Once he started using the bathrooms, she would find something to do to pass time after changing into comfier clothes.

“Hm.” A small smile appeared on her face upon hearing that Vance would repay her in any way that she desired, as long as it was within his capabilities. “Good enough,” she mumbled, walking over to the TV to turn it on. She decided to watch the news to see what was going on. She didn’t want to miss out on any big events, although she still hadn’t found out about the death of her guildmaster. That was big news. She would find out, however, sooner or later. As Vance subtly invited her to join him in the bathroom, she chuckled and said, “Maybe another time.” She sat at the edge of the double bed, folding her legs in so she sat like a guru, facing the TV. There seemed to be nothing on the news that caught her attention, even after Vance finished showering, so she switched to a channel that played some chill music.

Even though Vance was the only sober person she allowed into her room with a weapon, she felt strangely safe. She had watched him when he left the large ‘sword’ near the door, and didn’t feel insecure about it in the slightest. Bianca still hadn’t figured out who Vance really was, and she probably never will, which was good in a way. She caught a glimpse of his half-naked body, only wrapped in a towel from the mirror on the wall in front of the bathroom. Turning back to the TV quickly so that he didn’t notice that she saw him, Bianca took a deep breath. For a very bizarre reason, she didn’t want him to leave like the other men who kept her company during the night. She didn’t want to just spend a single night with him and never see him again.

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, Bianca got up and walked towards the bathroom, leaning on the door while Vance would be changing. “I have some T-shirts if you want to change into new clothes.” She should have thought of that before he finished showering, but he could still change into them if he wanted right now, so she offered. She pushed herself off the door to find an oversized grey T-shirt from the closet. It wasn’t actually ‘oversized’. It was, in fact, a men’s T-shirt. Bianca bought them to wear sometimes when she was staying home because they felt comfier. She brought it back to the bathroom and waited for him to open the door while staring at the ceiling.

Vance responded and it seemed he did want to change into new clothes. She wouldn’t want to change back into her old clothes after a shower, too. A loud bang echoed throughout the room, coming from the bathroom which startled the vampyress for a second. She quickly brought the T-shirt from her closet and came back to stand in front of the bathroom with the door ajar, and Vance sprawled out on the floor. This made her want to giggle out loud, but she didn’t want to seem rude and covered it with a polite cough. She didn’t say a thing because if Vance was the type to get embarrassed, she didn’t want to make it worse for him. But it seemed that wasn’t the case. He got up, still only wrapped in the towel, and maybe because of his momentum, got unnecessarily close to her. Bianca stared up into his face, as he was a few inches taller than her.

If she wasn’t imagining things, there was a golden glow in his eyes. The only reason she didn’t step back or look away was because of that. They seemed to have drawn all her attention to them, the pair of now amber optics belonging to this mysterious stranger. However, her attention was brought back to how closely he was standing to her when he took the shirt from her hands, then planting two kisses - one on her cheek and the other on her neck. Bianca’s lips parted as a barely audible gasp escaped them, but she didn’t say anything, and that was because she didn’t know what to say. If Vance was extra observant, he would notice that Bianca’s irises dilated slightly and her fangs had extended just a tiny bit.

Saying his thanks to her, Vance stepped back into the bathroom to put on the shirt. The tall sorceress applauded herself for not blushing or taking him right there and then. She was momentarily dazed, but she inhaled deeply and returned to the bed as Vance shut the door again to dress himself. Wondering if he was hungry, or if he needed to sleep straight away, she found herself walking back and forth in front of the TV. Why was she so concerned all of a sudden? Vance. At the moment he lowered to kiss her neck, all she could hear was his pulse ringing in her ears like drums. She sighed again and seated herself at the edge of the bed, her palms on her lap. They were sweating.

The click that sounded from the bathroom door unlocking woke her up from her little train of thoughts. She watched the male walk towards her, seating himself next to her on the bed. The shirt she gave him fitted him nicely and that put a small smile on her face. As he got closer to her, she could feel the warmth of his body whereas her own was absent. The touch of his hands caused alarm bells to go off in her head while she tried her best to maintain her cool. He was very bold, compared to the other men, and she liked that. He was different, and in a good way. She turned to face him, looking directly into his eyes with a very curious look, her lips parted from the fangs protruding. Then her gaze fell onto his moving lips, as he said that he liked the kiss. She could feel that his hands were tugging at her shirt, but she paid no attention to it, and instead leaned in for a gentle kiss on his lips. It was a quick one, and Bianca detached her lips from his after just a few seconds.

“Mm.”

Her fangs had extended to their maximum length at this point, but before he could notice that, or her pupils dilating, she leaned in again for a deeper kiss, one that was more passionate than the last. She bit his lower lip with her pointed teeth and tasted his blood straight from it, allowing a satisfied noise to escape her lips. Bianca hoped she wasn’t scaring him, but he looked like he was ready for anything, any risk, as he had demonstrated with his actions earlier. Her instincts told her it wasn’t too soon, and there was no better time than now. She held a side of his face after the kiss, licking the blood on her teeth and moving lower towards his neck. She didn’t say anything - she didn’t feel the need to.

Sinking her teeth through the skin on his neck, Bianca held him firmly although he was strong enough to wiggle out of her grip if he wanted to. She wouldn’t wait for his permission to start taking his blood, however. It had already begun the moment she bit into his neck. This would cause Vance to be aroused, in turn, and she would take care of that afterwards. But first, she would satisfy her craving.

The lack of struggle surprised her, making her tighten her grip on the male as she fed on him. The more blood she took, the stronger she felt and in a matter of seconds her fingers had crept upwards from his neck to pull at his hair while a series of satisfied groans filled the room with the music from the TV that neither of them paid attention to. Their bodies were close enough for Bianca to feel warm - and protected, like she was safe in Vance’s arms, however silly that may sound. The taste of his blood invited more inappropriate thoughts to her mind, but she tried her best to control herself, for now. She wanted to make him hers, make him belong to her, although they had just met. Some things were meant to be, and her feelings told her that this was meant to be.

“You’re mine.”

Goosebumps broke out all over her pale skin as closed eyes peeled open in an instant, displaying the shock that she felt. How was this possible? He had stolen the words she had been waiting to say, not to him specifically, but to the perfect one. Though she was sure now. She knew whom she had been waiting to say them to. Detaching her teeth from Vance’s neck, she moved back a little so she could look at his face. She kneeled in front of him so that her face was above his, slender fingers trailing from where they were previously to the sides of his face, cupping it in her hands. His eyes glowed like brilliant golden stars she had never seen before. Hypnotizing. She lowered to plant a soft kiss on his forehead while she held him.

“And I’m taking you home with me,” she whispered. Vance would have no clue about this ‘home’ she was talking about, but he would find out if he trusted and followed her. Pushing him so that he fell back onto the bed, Bianca crawled over him to tear off his shirt and remove her own.

It was a night full of thrills, a night like no other she had ever experienced before. Even after what they had done, Bianca still felt excited to be around Vance. She woke up before the lycan the next morning, in his arms. Slipping out of the sheets quietly so that she didn’t wake him up, Bianca freshened herself and put on a comfy oversized shirt, then started to make breakfast for Vance. She had her filling the night before that would last her for weeks, so she didn’t need to food for the time being. Instead, she just made a cup of coffee for herself. It was all still very strange to her. For starters, she had never cooked breakfast for anyone but herself. Making cookies for the guild was a different thing. She took a quick glance at the clock - it was five minutes to seven.

Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail so it couldn’t bother her. It would only take her a while to prepare a large breakfast for the lycan to replenish the energy that he lost. A faint blush rose to her cheeks at the thought, but she quickly cleaned up and brought her creation to a table. She came back to the bed as silently as she could, staring at Vance’s sleeping form for a while then reaching to trace the mark of Phantom Lord on his bare chest with her nails. This would probably wake him up and she hoped it did. She didn’t want his breakfast to get cold.

When he did awaken from his slumber, she would smile at him saying, “Good morning. I made breakfast for you.” Pulling him out of bed, the vampyress would lead him to the bathroom where she had folded his pants for him to put on and then leave him to do his morning rituals. She watched him while he was busy with a dreamy look, whispering under her breath, “Mine.”