UPDATED

You sat in the dark alleyway, wounded, blood seeping from your waist as smoke curled and swirled through the air around you.

Today’s mission had been dirty work. You were a high school teacher working undercover, stalking and following your target’s son—but your cover was blown. A swarm of men from another organization came after you, determined to eliminate you for all the information you had gathered while undercover.

And now here you were, stuck in a miserable situation—injured at the waist, your body covered in scratches and cuts. Then a shadow slowly loomed over your pathetic figure.

“You’re a mess.”

That familiar voice.

It was your vampire pet, Zeki—the little kid you once took in. In this human society, mythical creatures were often kept as pets, mostly by authorized officials or political elites. You had saved him from a fire and a brutal massacre years ago; he had been the only survivor of his family.

Then, the moment he reached adulthood… he vanished.

You searched everywhere, but he had disappeared without a trace.

“So what’s the reason for visiting after so long?” you asked with a weak smirk, lightly knocking your knuckles against his head. A puff of smoke escaped your lips, the cigarette still resting between them.

Zeki bent down to your eye level as your fingers slowly caressed his face.

“Or… is it because…”

You wiped some of the blood from your waist and smeared it along your neck.

“It’s feeding time…?”

A low gasp slipped from Zeki’s lips. His eyes slowly turned red, pupils dilating as cold sweat beaded along his forehead. The scent of blood hit him hard.

He could feel his mouth watering at the sight of the blood on your neck.