Although she did not appreciate being pulled through the crowd by her arm, Mila had to admit, reluctantly, that Lisette’s enthusiasm for hunting was utterly infectious. She felt a thrill of her own run its course down her spine, through her fingertips, intensifying the ache in her throat until it was almost unbearable. The sounds and smells of the open city air only made the excitement more palpable. It held all the promise of emptying bars and lonely souls wandering the streets, just waiting to be caught unaware. Whatever feelings had prevented Mila from eating thus far were quickly melting away as the three of them prepared to head out. She was practically shaking with anticipation – a far cry from her usually cool demeanor. 

She was in the middle of tearing off her heels when she felt a hand shove her shoulder with unpleasant force. Lisette’s sensuous voice was suddenly in her ear, low and provocative. 

[i]“Race you.”[/i]

The effect was immediate. It was like striking a match to Mila’s already volatile state, igniting some animalistic desire to assert her dominance. She flashed her teeth in a vicious snarl at Lisette’s retreating form and then bounded after her with inhuman speed and agility. She was only too aware that she was allowing Lisette to pull her strings like some kind of perverse puppet master. The thought was infuriating but she raced after her nonetheless, her bare feet hardly making a sound as they struck the pavement. She caught up with Lisette and kept pace with her, flashing her a challenging look and inching just a little ahead. Booker was close behind them and she could hear him laughing in his deep voice. Whether it was from the rush of the hunt or at the way Lisette had provoked her into some childish show of speed, she couldn’t tell. She didn’t care. With the wind whipping through her hair and the throb of adrenaline coursing through her veins, all her focus was suddenly on this wonderfully invigorating rush. 

A familiar scent made her come to a complete stop. Lisette had paused too and was already leering at a young blonde woman standing all alone in the dark alleyway. The girl was in some sort of distress. She was sobbing at some guy on the phone and now she was leaning heavily against the brick wall, clutching miserably at her hair. Mila couldn’t tear her gaze away if she tried. She stood inhumanly still, staring intensely at her with dark, unblinking eyes, silently relishing the vulnerability that emanated from the poor girl. Her canines were now razor sharp. Her mouth was open. She was panting. 

[i]“Doesn't she seem tasty.”[/i]

Lisette was smirking back at them with wicked delight as she moved toward the girl and began toying with her. Mila was too preoccupied with keeping herself from springing forward to say or do anything but watch desirously. She flinched when Lisette pricked a bead of blood from the skin. [i]’Don’t let it drop, don’t let it-…’[/i] she thought, her own tongue running along her lower lip as she watched the other vampire lick it away. It was torturous. But she couldn’t just let herself loose right away. Control was another point of pride among their kind. Only a [i]fledgling[/i] pounced without thinking. No matter how painful it was to just stand there and watch Lisette scrape her teeth against the girl’s neck, she had to do it. 

[i]“Oh but where are my manners!”[/i]

Mila let out a shuddering breath and closed her eyes, knowing what was coming next and knowing that she wouldn’t be able to control herself when it came. 

[i]“She seems like your type, Mila. I recall you having a thing for young damsels in distress.”[/i]

She opened her eyes to glare chillingly at Lisette. She was aware of the sinister glint in the other vampire’s eyes, of the way she was taunting her. But Mila could only hold her gaze for a second before her attention flickered hungrily back to the girl. She was being played with but she was too ravenous to make herself angry about it. It didn’t matter now, because Lisette had finally released her hold on the girl, who was now tripping over her own feet to get away. 

[i]“Go get her.”[/i] 

The pull to obey those words was so irresistible that she hardly needed to be told. Even though she hated giving in to Lisette’s manipulation, Mila went after the girl on pure instinct, too starved to defy the urge. The desire to feed always brought with it a dreadful desire to tease and torture her food before sinking her teeth in. She did just that as she caught up effortlessly to the poor girl and moved in front of her to make her change direction again and again until the girl was stumbling frantically back and forth with no place to go. One of the girl’s heels had slipped off, making her look ridiculous as she tried to move away from the advancing vampire. She took a painful stumble, but Mila caught her before she could hit the ground, holding her like she might a lover she had just dipped to kiss. 

“P-Please, I-..a-ah!” 

“Mila’s going to feel a lot better in a moment,” Booker murmured to Lisette, glancing away from the entertainment to give her a look. He’d been watching the entire exchange play out with the utmost interest. “You might want to be careful…” There was amusement in his voice, despite the warning comment, as if he were challenging her to do otherwise. 

Mila was gulping at an alarming rate. The girl’s cries had become soft, whimpering moans and she hung limply in the vampire’s arms. Booker smirked and approached them. It was dangerous to interrupt one their kind while they were feeding but he touched Mila’s shoulder lightly anyway. She pulled back and barred her teeth at him with such vehemence, it looked as if she might tear out his throat. Booker only laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender. 

“Saving some room for more, I hope?” he asked, with a raise of his eyebrows. Mila looked conflicted for a moment and then she let the girl slump gently to the ground, straightening her posture as if from a daze. She licked distractedly at her blood soaked lips, missing the line down her chin. She hadn’t taken enough to completely sooth the ache and looked hungrily down at the unconscious girl for a moment before walking away. Although she’d reacted savagely to Booker’s interruption, she understood why he and his companion wouldn’t want to leave a string of corpses in their territory and risk giving it up. A hunt was all about sampling as many victims as possible anyway, not devouring one or two. 

Despite the insufficient amount, Mila was feeling much stronger now. The desperate aura she had carried before was replaced with her usual aristocratic air, one that seemed to demand subservience. She no longer avoided looking at Lisette directly. In fact, she looked like she was ready to toy with her herself. She sauntered up to her without slowing her pace until she was uncomfortably close, standing just a few inches taller than the younger vampire.

“You know I can’t let you get away with that little stunt,” she cooed, her voice too carefree to match the intensity in her eyes. She looked past her suddenly at a young man down the street who was strolling in the opposite direction. “I’ll let you take that one. It’s your turn,” she said with mock graciousness. She knocked shoulders with Lisette as she casually moved past her. “Unless I get to him first.”