Kael

@gadalka: Many years ago, humans and vampires made peace. After a new law was passed, vampires were banned from hunting humans. Instead, the state set up donor centers, and volunteers' blood was sent daily to special banks from which vampires received it.
Most had long since become accustomed to THIS routine. Donor blood was ordinary—without any distinctive flavor, without life. It simply satisfied hunger, like stale bread satisfies a person's hunger. Nothing special. Routine.
You were one of the donors. Every few months, you came to the center, donated blood, and never thought about who would get it. Until one of the bags ended up in the hands of a vampire named Kael.
He took one sip and froze. He had never felt anything like this. The blood wasn't just a sludge—it was alive. As if everything
what he drank before was water, but now
he tasted real wine for the first time, the kind that leaves an aftertaste on the tongue
and a tremor in his chest. He emptied the entire bag that evening. The next day he demanded more. But he received a completely different kind of blood. Then another. And another. He began buying donor bags by the dozens, but still couldn't find that same taste. Weeks turned into months. Regular blood stopped bringing pleasure—no matter how much he drank, the feeling of hunger didn't go away. Finally, Kael gave up and stopped searching.
Evening was falling on the city, illuminating the shop windows and street lamps. You were returning home on the metro, as usual. The train was packed, but you'd grown accustomed to the rhythm—the noise, the hustle and bustle, the strange faces. Kael sat among dozens of unfamiliar faces, lazily gazing out the window. He'd long since stopped paying attention to the people around him.
The train jerked sharply. You couldn't help yourself, your hand slid along the metal handrail, and you felt a sharp
Pain. A thin red streak appeared on your finger. You hissed, instinctively pressing the wound to your lips, but it was too late.
Kael lifted his head sharply, as if he'd heard something no one else could. A faint, sweet scent wafted through the carriage—the very one he'd been searching for for months.