amor // raphael santiago

II

The Hotel Dumort was cold and still when Raphael returned to it later that night, the entryway empty and dark as he ascended the staircase and made his way through the main corridor. As was the usual during this time of day, the other vampires were noticeably absent, most of them out feeding or, occasionally, patrolling the neighborhood for demons or fellow Downworlders looking to start trouble. Normally he wouldn't have minded the company, but tonight Raphael was oddly thankful for the silence, the burning sensation in his throat and the sharp pain in his chest resulting in an unusually irritable mood, even for him. It had been twenty-four hours since he had last fed, his earlier hunting mission being cut drastically short by the overzealous ways and never-ending questions of the emerald-eyed girl he had, rather foolishly, been following since awaking at dusk. Although revealing himself to humans was one of the few mistakes vampires could make without risking facing consequences from the Shadowhunters, Raphael had immediately begun to regret his encounter with Lauren, never before remembering a time in which he had allowed himself to be so reckless. He hadn't intended on any such an event transpiring; his goal was to lure her in, take what he needed, and compel her to forget the two had ever crossed paths, but there was something simply mystifying about the woman, and although her beauty may have been a large factor, there was another quality about Lauren that Raphael found inexplicably enchanting, and because of this, he had risked breaking the Accords and compromising his position as leader of the New York clan of vampires. He had almost killed her, almost ended a human's life for the first time in over a century, and the worst part was that he had wanted to. The eagerness to feed was more powerful than anything he had ever encountered, and though it was true that Raphael had become quite the expert at fighting his instincts and not succumbing to such deadly aspirations, he was still a vampire, still a creature who lived solely from stealing the essence of others, and nothing he could ever do would be able to change that. He needed blood, and Lauren's was unlike anything he had previously tasted, the intensity of desire still clouding his mind and filling his head with the dizziness that came with hunger, the Earth-shattering type that caused wars and ended entire communities. Even as Raphael staggered to the tiny keypad on the north wall, trembling fingers punching in the familiar code and watching with faint interest as a large painting--an idea of Camille's, one that Raphael absolutely despised--gave way to a freezer filled with dozens of blood bags the vampires had managed to snatch from the unaware doctors at the local hospital, even as he ripped one of the containers open and fervently began to drink, the liquid seemed bitter and tasteless, at least compared to the sweet, almost heady sensation that had previously filled his veins.

    It took him less than twenty seconds to down the entire contents of the bag, draining the last few drops with an air of slight disgust and wiping his lips with the back of his hand, leaning on the end of the gold futon in the center of the wide space Camille had designated as the living area--an ironic choice of words, Raphael realized, seeing as none of the room's occupants had been alive for years--until his fangs had receded and the fire in his throat had subsided into the habitual dull ache that came with his existence. Although his needs had been sated, if only temporarily, the deep hunger was always there, the urge for blood as much a part of him as if he still had a beating heart in his chest. Closing his eyes and resting the back of his head on the soft cushions behind it he found his mind wandering, found his thoughts being drawn back to a single name, a single pair of emerald green irises that reminded him of rare jewels--Lauren. Although his time spent with her had been brief, it had evidently made some sort of impact on the vampire, and Raphael momentarily began to wonder what would have happened if his cravings had gotten the best of him, picturing the way she would have fallen into his embrace, sighing as his fangs pierced her jugular, tasting the warm blood as it filled his veins with burning flames, a wild rush of power and contentment that was rivaled by none other. Her eyes fluttering shut, Lauren would have let out one last raspy breath, whispering Raphael's name as he gently lowered her down to the concrete--