Andrew walked up to the hotel briskly. He'd hunted that night, and had been successful, so he was flushed with energy. He wasn't exactly feeling good, guilt still wracked him every time he fed. But he was becoming accustomed to it. It was still there, but it was easier to put aside. He only did what he had to do.

He opened the door. It looked as though it was boarded shut, but in actuality it swung open easily. Inside the lobby was dim, dusty, and quiet. But he could hear footsteps on the stairs. He hesitated for a moment. He tried, as much as possible, to avoid the other vampires. In the four months he'd lived here he'd passed a few in the halls, but had spoken to nobody. The only way to avoid the ones currently coming down the stairs was to leave the building entirely, so he shrugged and crossed the lobby. Just before he reached the staircase a trio came down it. Two of them were canines, one a coyote, one a dog of some kind. The third was a tiger, a head taller than the others and half again as broad. Which made him easily twice Andrew's size. Andrew gulped and stepped aside, out of their way. The two canines looked as though they might ignore him, but the tiger looked right at him, and grinned. “Hello there.”

“Uh. Hi.”

The other two stopped and all three stood looking at him. They were all smiling now. Andrew took a step back.

“You must be Jake's little deer. I guess somebody here is a lower beta than the weak-stomached dog now.” The tiger laughed. “Although maybe not. You smell like blood. If you actually managed to catch somebody you might be doing better than Jake. Have you fed tonight then, little deer? Do you like being a predator now?”

Andrew couldn't come up with an answer.

“Cat got your tongue?” asked the coyote, and all three of them laughed uproariously.

“Uh...” Andrew tried to think of something to say. They were making him more than a little nervous. Then the tiger stepped forward. The other two moved as well, spreading out to flank him. Andrew swallowed and stepped back again. He retreated and they advanced. He glanced behind him, and realized he was about to reach the wall. Certain by now that they weren't just being friendly Andrew tried to bolt past them to the door. The dog grabbed his arm as he went past and spun him around, into the tiger who caught him in a strong grip, the huge feline pinning him easily. Andrew let out a squeak of terror and tried to fight, kicking and struggling. But he was pinned thoroughly, the tiger holding him from behind, and he couldn't even manage to bite his captor. He tossed his head, but the tiger just leaned his head back, easily avoiding Andrew's attempt to use his antler.

“I can smell the blood on you. You have fed. Well, that will spare me the trouble of hunting tonight. There's fresh blood right here.” And then the tiger bit him, sudden and fast, driving his fangs deep into Andrew's neck. Andrew cried out in pain, his struggles ceasing. He whimpered, that weak, dizzy feeling sweeping over him as the tiger fed. After what seemed like forever the tiger released him. He stumbled forward, only to be caught again, this time by the coyote, who grabbed a handful of his mane and yanked his head to the side before biting in, fangs driving into him next to the still-oozing marks the tiger had left. Andrew moaned helplessly, weakness and fear overwhelming him. And then the coyote passed him to the dog, who was quick to add another set of fang marks to his neck. Andrew was beyond moans and whimpers now, feeling so weak he could hardly move. When the dog finished feeding and let him go he collapsed to the floor and lay still.

Slowly the weakness began to fade. But the trio hadn't finished with their fun yet, it seemed. The tiger crouched next to him. “You're a tasty little thing. And I like the way you moan and whimper. I think I'm going to see if I can make you do it some more.” And then Andrew heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper being undone. His eyes flew open in shock and somehow he found the energy to get to his hands and knees and scramble away from the tiger. But the coyote jumped on him, pinning him to the ground, and knelt on one shoulder. Andrew kept fighting, trying to throw the coyote off. The man wasn't any taller than he, and only a little more muscled, but before Andrew could get any kind of leverage the dog came and pinned his other arm to the floor, then grabbed his antler and pinned his head as well. He whimpered, still fighting even though it was completely futile.

“Please, no...”