Caleb woke up in the late afternoon with a headache. He was glad it was October and the weather forecast was rainy for the next few days, because usually it was too bright to get out of bed around this time. But he had to. He had to feed. His headache was a sign.

He hated the process of feeding though. That was the thing he hated the most about being a vampire. There were other things ofcourse. He hated not being able to walk into the sun anymore. He hated not being able to eat human food anymore. He hated having to be careful. All in all, he hated being a vampire.

But he really had to address this little problem. So far he had managed with only one feeding per month, finding volunteers through the Vampire Blood Center, but having to sink his teeth into warm flesh… Caleb shuddered at the thought.

He often… lost control while feeding. His instincts told him to kill his prey, to drain all the blood, and leave no trace behind. He couldn’t help himself in that state, feeling his feral side take over more and more as the time passed.

At least at the Center there were people capable of dealing with him like that. They understood. Only through regular feedings a vampire could learn to control those instincts. But Caleb felt disgusted at the thought of feeding off of humans at all, and so he avoided the process as much as he could. He would never learn to control it. If only he hadn’t been turned into a vampire at all.

Caleb sighed. It wouldn’t help mulling over these thoughts. He threw off the covers and stood up, slightly lightheaded. Looking into the mirror, he didn’t look too good. He had dark bags under his eyes and his pupils were a pale gray instead of their usual dark red. And his silky black hair felt lifeless. Even volume spray wouldn’t help it this time.

“Whelp, off to the Center then.”

The Vampire Blood Center looked just like a regular blood bank from the outside. Not many humans knew of vampires, or supernaturals in general, so everything had to be hidden. Of course some politicians and world leaders knew, and they even had established a pact between them and the supernaturals some two or three decades ago. It had made access to live donors easier for vampires, among other things.

Caleb climbed up the white marble stairs of the building, cursing the architect for putting in so many. Walking the distance from his apartment to the Center had been tiring already, this was just hell.

Finally he stood in front of the entrance, the rotating doors slowly guiding him inside. The Center was spacious and modern, with several benches lining the large windows in the front. Left and right there were hallways that led to individual rooms and in the back of the entrance hall there was a large spiral staircase. At the front desk sat a familiar face.

“Cleo, I need your help,” Caleb managed, supporting his weight on the black desk’s surface.

Cleo, a small framed woman in her thirties, looked up. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail today. She spoke with haste when she saw the exhausted vampire in front of her.

“Oh of course, Mr. Rown. Room six is available for you. Leo is in today, would you want him to assist you?”

Caleb nodded. He would need Leo in his current condition.

“Alright, please head over to room six then. Leo and a volunteer will be with you shortly.”

He gave a quick though painful nod and then headed to the hallway were room six was. The walls were a shiny white and it reflected his shadow as he walked past. Something that Caleb had always found curious was the fact that his shadow was purple, instead of black. Somewhere he read that it was a side effect of the liquid shadow that had replaced his blood. Most people wouldn’t notice though, as he almost always was only out at night.