Chapter Text
When Severen went out that night, he knew exactly what he was searching for. He found a bar and sat there looking at the costumers.
He was desperate for a good fight.
There were nights when his inner predator just needed to beat somebody, or tease somebody until he got beaten himself.
It didn't matter to him, causing violence would always make him feel better, superior even, because in the end he knew mortals would never cause him any real damage. But they would hurt him, make him feel alive. And that was all he wanted.
There were many people in the bar that night, but Severen was quick to pick a worthy opponent.
A man in his late forties, strong, pissed off and who clearly had one too many drinks. Perfect.
Not that Severen couldn't have faced the man had he been sober, but drunk men tended to lose their inhibitions and didn't calculate risks properly. They didn't hold back and always hit the hardest. They didn't even notice Severen's inhuman reflexes and his ability to resist every assault, no matter how damaging. Just what Severen needed.
Afterwards Severen, hyped up by the fight, hungry, and ready to kill, would follow the man down a dark alley. The man would only expect him to want to fight again, maybe to prove something to himself. Having already beaten him earlier, the man wouldn't see any threat in Severen. Only when the predator'd hold him in his inhuman grip would the man start to panic. He'd even consider humiliating himself and scream for help.
Severen would laugh at him, then make him choke, slowly. He'd apply some pressure to his throat, let the man have some air again, then choke him once more.
Severen found himself wondering. Being given some air, would the man try to breathe in as much as possible only to gain a few more useless seconds of pathetic existence, or would he try to talk? Would he curse him or beg for mercy?
Not that it mattered, obviously. Neither would get him spared, anyway.
Severen would sink his teeth into the man's sweaty, wrinkled neck and collect as much blood as the old withering body could give.
Severen was thrilled by this scenario and couldn't wait to taste the man.
He was about to approach him and start a fight, punch him in the jaw and wait to be hit back, looking forward to the familiar stinging burn of pain, when something else sparkled his interest.
A young man sat on the other side of the room, and he was staring at Severen. Not only that, but the boy was eyeing him up.
That alone was an open invitation for the predator, that was now staring back licking his lips.
The boy had a somewhat shy expression hid behind dark blond messy hair. He was humble-looking, and the sun-burned skin and lean figure gave away that he was a farmer, had the cowboy hat and the dusty boots not been proof enough. But there was something else in his appearance that Severen found simply irresistible.
Innocence.
The boy looked so damn pure, Severen longed to spoil and ruin him. He felt the impulsive need to take him right there, in the middle of the room for everyone to see. Immediately, Severen knew he had found something much better than a punchbag.
He had found the perfect prey. One, he hoped, he wouldn't have to kill just yet.
One he could tease, play with until it bored him.
At that moment Severen swore that come hell or high water, he would have had the boy.
His new prey was still staring, and Severen smirked at him, enjoying seeing the boy blush, likely ashamed of being caught looking.
The boy excused himself from his group of friends and got up, legs unsteady and shaking. Severen's eyes never left him as he desperately ran to the door.
The invitation to the chase excited Severen to no end.
He got up, fighting the man now the last thing on his mind, and followed the boy out of the bar.
~
Severen walked fast, but careful to always keep a short distance between them so that the boy could hear his steps, but staying in the shadows so the boy couldn't see him clearly if he decided to turn around. The uncertainty was driving the boy crazy, and Severen rejoiced.
Severen stalked him for some time, his hunger growing as he heard the boy's increasingly faster heartbeat, then he finally made his move.
He approached the boy from behind and wrapped an arm around his neck in an iron grip.
Being this close, he was able to smell the boy better than he had before, and his scent was sweet and intoxicating.
He smelled like fear.
Oh, Severen couldn't wait to sink his teeth into him.
The boy's heartbeat echoed in Severen's ears and made him even more feral.
The predator dragged him into an alley, slammed him into a wall and leaned on him to whisper in his ear.
"Liked what you saw before, didn't you boy?"
The boy was trembling, and he tensed under Severen, afraid of getting beaten.
It wasn't easy fancying other blokes in the South, and his prey must have known that. Severen quickly wondered just how many times the boy had been punched, kicked, and humiliated. How many times other men had dared to touch, to hurt something that, Severen had decided, was now his. 'Oh boy, I'm gonna ruin you.'
"Please, let me go. It's not what you think. I didn't mean to stare't you..."
So fragile, begging already. Music for Severen's ears.
He laughed, genuinely amused, and caressed the boy's cheek with the back of his hand.
The boy shivered under his cold touch, but still tried to avoid meeting Severen's eyes.
"Don't you worry about that, boy. I've been watching you myself."
As realization came to the boy and he understood he wasn't about to get beaten, he seemed to relax a bit.
He lifted his head and looked at the predator.
Severen was now cupping the boy's face, examining his newly acquired property throughoutly.
"What's your name, pretty eyes?"
The pet name caught him by surprise, and the boy blushed once more. Severen was ready to bet this was the first time the boy received a heartfelt compliment from a guy, and it made the predator feel somehow special.
Oh, Severen was gonna have a lot of fun with this one.
The boy swallowed, nervous.
"C-Caleb"
"Well C-Caleb," the predator said, mockingly "how would you like coming with me for the rest of the night?"
Severen saw the desperation in his body, how he ached for physical contact.
Despite that, the boy seemed to reflect on it for a moment. This was a stranger after all.
But he seemed so genuinely interested in him.
Nobody had ever looked at him quite like that, with so much desire.
"That'd be splendid." He said in the end.
After all, what was the worst that could happen to him?
Right after hearing the boy's satisfactory answer, Severen wrapped his arm around his hips and led him towards the car he stole the week before.
Unnoticed by the boy, the predator was grinning triumphantly.
It had been so damn easy, Severen almost felt bad for him, so desperate for attention.
Almost.