Page 1 of Hungry for the Vampire

Chapter 1

JARED

A cabin in the woods.

It sounds great for a Halloween party. Maybe even idyllic, right? But the people who think that are really focusing on the cabin part, and not so much the woods part.

The woods I was currently...turned around in.

I mean what the hell, there wasn't even a path? I didn't necessarily expect a bunch of neon-paint arrows to lead the way to the party, but a little dirt trail would have been nice. How did this cabin even get built without a road leading there?

"Nature," I muttered, pushing a branch out of my way and flinching to the side as it swung back and tried to smack me in the face. I checked my phone and, yep, still no service. Nature.

Kind of spooky nature, too. It was quiet out here, in the woods in the middle of the night. The moon was up there somewhere, peeking through the canopy where it could. It gave enough light for me to walk. But I had to step carefully to avoid tripping over roots, so I was mostly focusing on that when I heard the sounds in the distance.

I froze, snapping my head up. I resisted the urge to call out, because as much as I hated being lost in the woods, I also didn't want anyone to know. It was a house party—well, a cabin party, technically—and I didn't go to a lot of these, even in my third year of college. I didn't want to show up as the guy who had screamed Hello? Is anyone there? I'm lost! and been guided there with his hand held.

The sounds kept up. Rustling; leaves and sticks being disturbed. The sounds you might expect when hearing someone walk through the forest.

Okay, perfect. Anyone else out here had to be going to the party at the cabin too, so I could just follow their sounds and make my way there. Whoever it was, they had to know their way around better than my lost ass did.

I listened and moved forward, doing my best not to face plant on the forest floor. At least my costume wasn't very bulky—I was a pirate on a budget, with a mildly puffy shirt and seafaring pants that hardly billowed. My skull-and-crossbones eyepatch was flipped up so I could see better, and my plastic sword was unfortunately useless for hacking brush out of my way.

I was struck by how creepy these words were when you were alone. So quiet, so big, so dark. If it wasn't for the moonlight, this would be a horror movie. Hell, depending on whether the person I was following was a partygoer or an axe murderer, it still could be.

Yeah. Great thoughts to have, Jared.

But wait...where were the sounds now?

I stopped, my cheap, three-cornered pirate hat tucked under my arm. The rustling was gone. Had I lost them?

No, there! Up ahead...and to my right. And my left? Was it a whole group of people?

My heart thudded somewhere in my throat. Before I had acknowledged it, my body seemed to know—I wasn't hearing a person's footsteps. This was something else moving through the forest, something that I shouldn't have followed. Something that had known I was here long before I'd ever heard it moving.

The wolf emerged from behind some brush, fifty feet ahead. Staring right at me.

"Oh, shit," I whispered.

I had never seen a wolf in real life. The zoo doesn't count, because you don't realize how huge a wolf is unless you are staring one down for real. It's not like it's just a big dog. One glance, you know this thing is a wild animal, that it eats meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if it wanted to make you one of those meals, you would have no chance. No chance at all.

Especially when its fellows come out to join. On my right and on my left, even closer than this first one. Two more wolves, all of them eyeing me like I'd stolen their lunch money.

I wanted to move. I wanted to say in a calming voice, Easy, guys, easy. But I couldn't do anything. It was a miracle that I could even breathe. How were there wolves here? This was a big, national forest, but they wouldn't let people just wander around in here if there was dangerous wildlife, right?

Maybe. And maybe I was about to be the news story that locked this place down for the next ten years.

Using all the power I could muster, I took a step backward. Each wolf took a step forward. I swallowed and stepped back again, silently begging for them to just leave me alone. If I could back out of what was clearly their territory, maybe we could all let bygones be bygones. I'd donate to a wildlife foundation. Save the wolves, whatever. It was only 53 cents a day. If they let me out of here alive, I'd do it.

I was speaking these useless promises aloud, I realized. Muttering them under my breath, making bargains with animals and whatever deity might be listening, to take mercy on this stupid bargain bin pirate who had wandered too far for his own good.

I took another step, and the wolves started to run.

Chapter 2

I shrieked. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not ashamed, either. You try not to scream with three wolves coming at you. I spun, regaining control of my body, and started to run when I almost smacked right into him.

"Wha—look out!" I yelled, no time to explain the situation to the vampire who strode past me with all the confidence in the world.