The dress was not something I would have ever chosen for myself.
I stood in my small apartment staring at it for a long time before finally putting it on. My editor had dropped it off earlier that evening in a plain bag like it was nothing more than groceries.
"Blend in," he'd said.
Right.
The fabric was deep red, almost the color of fresh wine, and it clung to my body in ways that made me painfully aware of every step I took. The neckline dipped far lower than anything I owned, exposing my collarbones and the upper curve of my chest. The hem stopped high on my thighs.
It didn't feel like my clothing.
It felt like a costume.
I reached up automatically for the small silver necklace I always wore, the cross resting against my fingers for comfort.
Then I stopped.
Slowly, I let my hand fall.
Allysia the journalist wore that necklace.
Tonight... I wasn't her.
I left it on the table by the door.
The air outside was cold when I stepped into the street, but the dress didn't offer much protection against it. By the time I reached the Blood Bank district, the chill had worked its way under my skin.
The alley was already crowded.
A long line of girls stretched along the brick wall beside the building, some shifting on their feet, others leaning against the cold stone like they had been waiting for hours.
The glowing red sign above the back entrance cast everything in a dim crimson light.
Blood Bank.
The name sounded almost clinical.
But nothing about the alley felt clean.
Most of the girls were dressed like me. Tight dresses. Short skirts. Clothes meant to be seen. Some looked bored, others nervous. A few laughed too loudly, the kind of laughter that tried to pretend this was all normal.
I quietly stepped into the line.
No one asked questions.
No one greeted me.
They just shifted slightly to make room.
Vampires moved through the alley slowly, like predators strolling through a market.
They didn't line up.
They didn't wait.
They simply walked past the girls, their eyes drifting over us one by one, studying faces, bodies, posture. Choosing.
A tall vampire paused across the alley, his gaze sweeping down the row of waiting women.
For a moment his eyes stopped on me.
My stomach twisted.
I forced myself not to look away.
This was the part I had to play.
Sad.
Alone.
Broken.
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Desperate.
The kind of girl who had nowhere else to go.
Inside, my heart hammered against my ribs so hard it felt like everyone around me should be able to hear it.
I felt scared.
Truly scared.
But I straightened slightly, lifting my chin as another pair of glowing eyes passed over me.
Fuck it.
I was her now.
----
I had been standing there long enough for the cold to settle into my bones when someone stopped in front of me.
Not just passing by.
Stopping.
I looked up slowly.
The vampire standing there didn't look like what I had expected. His hair was light brown, cut a little messy like he hadn't bothered styling it. He wasn't dressed like some powerful creature of the night either. Just a black t-shirt stretched across his shoulders and a pair of dark jeans.
Casual.
Almost human.
Almost.
He smiled at me.
For a second it looked normal... until the faint glint of his teeth caught the red light from the sign above us.
My stomach tightened.
Not exaggerated fangs like the old stories. Just slightly longer canines, sharp enough that the moment your eyes noticed them, your brain remembered exactly what he was.
A vampire.
His gaze moved over my face, studying me for a moment before he spoke.
"You're new."
His voice was calm. Smooth.
Not accusing.
I forced myself to stay in character, shifting slightly where I stood.
"Is it that obvious?"
A small chuckle escaped him.
"Only to someone who's been here before."
That wasn't exactly comforting.
For a moment neither of us spoke, the line of girls behind me shifting quietly while other vampires continued walking through the alley.
Then he extended his hand toward me.
"Airis," he said.
The gesture surprised me enough that I hesitated before taking it.
His hand was cool when our fingers touched.
"Allysia," I replied.
He repeated my name quietly, like he was testing the sound of it.
"Allysia."
Something about the way he said it made a strange warmth creep through my chest, easing the tight knot of fear that had been sitting there all night.
His eyes met mine again.
"Do you want to go in?" he asked.
The question was simple.
But suddenly my thoughts didn't feel as sharp as they had a moment ago.
The tension in my shoulders eased.
The noise of the alley faded a little, like someone had turned the volume down on the world around us.
My worries... the fear, the plan, the danger... they all started drifting further away in my mind, like fog pulling back from the shore.
I knew I should be thinking harder about this.
About the story.
About the risk.
Instead, I found myself just looking at him.
At the easy smile.
At the calm way he waited for my answer.
My head felt a little fuzzy.
But the fear was gone.
And somehow... that made it easier.
So I nodded.
Airis didn't rush me.
He simply turned and started walking toward the door at the end of the alley, like he already knew I would follow.
So I did.
The line shifted as we moved past it, and I felt the weight of eyes sliding toward me from every direction. Some of the girls watched openly. Others barely lifted their heads.
A few of them looked... tired.
One girl leaned against the brick wall with her arms crossed, her expression flat as she watched me walk by with a vampire. Another gave me a small knowing smirk before looking away again.
I kept my head down.
The last thing I wanted was attention.
Airis walked beside me calmly, hands in his pockets like this was the most normal thing in the world. Like bringing a stranger inside a place like this was routine.
Maybe it was.
At the end of the alley stood a heavy metal door with a narrow light glowing above it. Two large men stood nearby, clearly security. They watched the line carefully, their expressions bored but alert.
One of them looked up as Airis approached.
Recognition flickered across his face.
He gave a short nod and stepped aside.
No questions.
No checking anything.
Just like that, the door opened.
Warm air spilled out into the cold alley, carrying the thick scent of perfume, alcohol, and something sweeter I couldn't quite place.
Airis pushed the door open wider and gestured for me to go in first.
My stomach twisted as I stepped across the threshold.
The room inside was darker than I expected, lit mostly by low red and purple lights that washed everything in a hazy glow. Music pulsed softly through hidden speakers, deep bass vibrating faintly under my feet.
The space was bigger than it looked from the outside.
Couches and low tables were scattered around the room, most of them already crowded. Women lounged across cushions, some laughing loudly, others draped across the arms of vampires like they had known them for years.
Clothing seemed optional.
Short dresses, loose shirts hanging off shoulders, bare skin everywhere I looked.
Bottles of liquor sat open on nearly every table, glasses half full or abandoned completely as people moved around the room.
On one table near the center, I noticed a small pile of white powder spread across a black surface, a thin card lying beside it.
Two girls nearby were laughing as one of them leaned down to take a quick breath through a rolled bill.
No one even tried to hide it.
The entire place felt... loose.
Like rules didn't exist here.
Like the outside world had been locked behind the door we just walked through.
I felt my chest tighten slightly as I took it all in.
This was the place people whispered about.
The place where humans came to give pieces of themselves away.
His hand rested lightly against my back, guiding me further into the room.
And as the door closed behind us, sealing the alley away, I realized something that made my stomach twist all over again.
I was officially inside.
