Everyone has their own difficulties.

Yar's early morning phone call was surprising, even worrying.

— Yes?

— Hi. Did you recognize me?

— Of course. Where are you calling from?

— I'm downstairs. Will you let me in?

— Come in.

Worry turned into a premonition of trouble.

— Well, Dad, what's up? I'm fine. I just unexpectedly managed to break away and come see you…

— Great. But I have to go. Do you have keys?

— No. — Oleg shrugged guiltily. — I forgot.

— There are spares, look for them. Are you staying long?

— For a couple of weeks.

— So, see you in the evening.

The day turned out to be hectic. And in the evening, Oleg wasn't home. Yar waited for him until midnight, tried several times to

reach him by phone, but without success.

The lock clicked at the start of the second hour.

— Not sleeping?

— And where are you coming from, so cheerful?

— Oh, nowhere. Just took a walk around here.

It seemed to Yar that the troubles had already begun. Intuition. And he trusted it completely.

— Why are you alone?

Oleg smiled, but managed to look utterly miserable at the same time.

— Elena?

— She left.

— Had a fight?

— No… She just left. Said she was tired.

— I see.

— Do you? Well, I don't understand at all! Tired of what?! Everything was fine.

— And where did she go? Or to whom?

— I don't know! It seems, to no one. Said she'd go to the ocean. And told me not to look for her. And she took all her things…

— And did you look?

— No! I came to you…

— Well, that's right. — Yar paused and decided to postpone the questioning after all. Oleg was already feeling bad. — So? Sleep? Or do you want to talk?

— Better sleep.

The week passed quietly. Oleg disappeared somewhere all day long. Said he was spending time with old friends. Though, what friends? It seemed like everyone had moved away. And the premonition of trouble grew sharper. Like a tightly drawn string humming low — already familiar, somewhere on the edge of consciousness. So Yar assigned watchers to his son.

He made inquiries about Elena, though he was calm — the girl was smart, she would never expose herself or the Clan. And she lasted a long time with Oleg, Yar hadn't even expected that. Still, he was too young for her. Indeed, she left. And not alone. But the details didn't interest him. Maybe she was right, freeing the guy from her guardianship — let him try to live alone.

On Saturday, they agreed to have lunch at a restaurant.

Oleg entered the half-empty hall, and the string snapped. It happened.

— Any plans for the evening?

— Probably go to a club. They say there's a good one.

— Which one?

— "Domino." — The club was new but wasn't considered particularly prestigious. There had already been some shady stories there.

— And who says so?

— Friends.

— Probably a female friend?

— Well, yes. What, are you against it? — It was clear the question was about having a female acquaintance, not about the club.

— Do I know her?

— Unlikely. We met a few days ago.

— Oleg…

— Dad, I'm being careful, you see. And I control myself well. What, has it become dangerous to make new acquaintances here?

— Well, I haven't heard anything like that. But the city is big, lots of newcomers. And you're still young.

— I'm not a child. And I can live alone.

— I know. It's just Elena…

— Yes. But I can manage without her.

— Of course. Please — be careful.

They didn't return to that topic again. Yar ordered the surveillance to be intensified for the next few days.

The large, dimly lit club hall was crowded. Music blared, young people were having a great time. Lera was magnificent — tall, slender, flexible. She moved easily, sensitively reacting to his every movement. The dance gave both of them immense pleasure. Elena didn't like to dance — said it was boring. It was rarely possible to take her anywhere. Except maybe to the theater. But there, Oleg was the one yawning openly.

How the evening would end was obvious. He didn't want to rush. But returning home empty-handed was unthinkable. No need to offend the girl; she was clearly set on continuing.

Lera suggested the hotel — Oleg wasn't yet so well oriented in the city, which had changed a lot over the last 18 years.

They didn't make it to the bed right away. Kissing was sweet. And even better was the feeling of a pliant body under his hands, which he could finally press, stroke, explore without looking over his shoulder at his surroundings. The girl responded passionately, held his shoulders, dug in with her lips. He squeezed a breast with his palm, placed the other on a neat buttock, pressing her firmly against him.

Clothes got in the way for both. A couple of times fabric tore, but no one paid attention to such trifles. Naked, the girl turned out to be even better than imagined. Smooth skin shimmered in the subdued light, as if blazing under his hands and lips. Dark nipples gathered into hard little peas. Oleg took one into his mouth, carefully bit it. Lera moaned softly, grabbed his hair, pressed him to her. He pulled away, getting rid of the remaining clothes, picked her up in his arms, stepped towards the bed. The girl pulled her lover down by the shoulders.

She turned out to be very tight. He fancied she was a virgin, but the next moment his member slid unimpeded into the wet depth. It seemed that with each of his movements, she grew hotter inside. Oleg completely lost control of himself, driving into her, moving faster and faster. It was impossible to stop. His lover clearly didn't want him to, wrapping her arms and legs around him, pressing close and following every movement, every thrust.

The orgasm was… spectacular. The world around ceased to exist, only she and the fire of desire remained, binding them into one whole.

After spilling, Oleg froze. Fatigue came over him all at once, his eyes were closing. Actually, he never allowed himself to fall asleep right after release. So now, letting go of the girl, he lay down beside her, ran his palm over her face, looked into her wide-open eyes. Lera looked at him with a dazed gaze. There was something strange in that gaze, but he didn't have time to understand what exactly.

Instantly, the relaxed girl turned into a cocked weapon. Hands that had just been stroking his chest pulled him with unexpected force. The grip was truly ironclad. He heard a crack and felt a sharp pain in his side. The girl arched strangely, unnaturally, trying to pin him to the bed, not let him move. Her hands jerked up with the obvious aim of grabbing his throat.

Oleg acted without thinking. Using his weight advantage, he bore down on her, pinning one arm with his body. Holding the second required serious effort. Her legs closed around his waist and squeezed with such force that his vision darkened from pain. He did the only thing he could — sank his teeth into her neck, right where a vein pulsed under the skin. Sharp fangs pierced the skin and the muscle beneath with difficulty. Blood spurted with unexpectedly strong pressure, gushed in pulses. The girl jerked, throwing her head back. Now she was pushing him away, but quickly losing strength. He clenched his teeth on her neck until she stopped moving.

Oleg let go of Lera. Everything in his mouth, throat, and stomach was burning. Of course, he couldn't help but swallow some blood. But he never imagined how painful it would be. And this fire was killing. He tried to cough, staining the blood-soaked sheets even more. He didn't even have the strength to push the dead body away from himself or move away.

Yar reached the hotel twenty minutes after the watchers' call. The room was flooded with blood — splatters were even on the walls

and ceiling. And there was a lot of his son's blood there too. Oleg himself, wrapped in several layers of some fabric, lay on the floor. Alive. Waves of convulsions frequently ran through his body.

— Yaroslav Igorevich, he needs to be taken to me immediately. — The young doctor looked with sympathy. — I gave him several injections. They'll stop working in a couple of hours, I'll set up an IV…

— What happened? A witch?

— Yes.

— Third level?

— Fourth.

— Fourth?! Could it be the Outer Circle?

— If not the Inner…

Yar strode swiftly to the bed. Grabbed the blood-stained hand, quickly scraped off the pale nail polish. A black nail with two white dots at the base was revealed.

— Outer Circle. Two dots.

The healer breathed a sigh of relief.

— Excellent. So, he'll survive. But he'll have to lie low for at least a week. And after that…

— Yes, I think he won't be able to go out in the sun for about three years.

— And that's good if it's only three.

While they were talking, one of the watchers lifted Oleg and carried him out of the room. The second was carefully examining the body of the deceased.

— Contact lenses. And overall, she's very young. Probably initiated recently.

— So, there should be a mentor nearby. Why isn't she here yet?

— I don't know. We didn't notice anyone this week. And we didn't suspect her, not a single surge. An ordinary girl. Came here on vacation, a student.

"Will have to contact the Coven. A strange story somehow." Yar mentally cursed — an unpleasant conversation was ahead.

Oleg came to in absolute darkness. It HURT. Everywhere. He was thirsty. But he didn't have the strength to move, or even ask for help. His own breathing seemed hoarse and loud.

However, soon something cool touched his lips. A few drops entered his mouth, he swallowed, feeling no taste. Even that was too difficult. The pain intensified… and receded.

The next time there was light — weak and reddish, like the glow of a fire. It turned out he was lying on a high bed, and his father was sitting in a chair nearby.

— Quiet, don't speak. I'll give you a drink now and tell you what I know.

A thick plastic straw poked at his lips, water flowed into his mouth. Drinking was easier. And it became clear that the pain was concentrated somewhere in his stomach. The water slightly dulled it.

— How you scared me! — His father indeed looked tired and aged. — You managed to find a fourth-level witch! And swallowed her blood.

Oleg knew what that meant. It was a miracle he was still alive. The blood of any witch was poison for him, and a high-level one's — simply deadly. Despite his excellent regeneration.

— She turned out to be "wild." When her eyes turned green during initiation, she didn't understand anything, just started wearing colored contacts. Painted over her blackened nails. And somehow controlled her power. If there were surges, the Coven missed them. Something unclear with the family there… But they don't accuse you of her murder. It's just that you won't see the sun now for about three years, it seems…

Any blood had such an effect when entering a vampire's body — the inability to be in the sun without burns. And having swallowed a witch's blood, one could literally burn under the sun's rays. Over time, the effect weakened. But very slowly. It was clear that practically no one among them wanted to become a bloodsucker and live up to the legends. For Oleg, this was his first experience. And he hoped never to repeat it. Still, he couldn't complain — it was good to be alive. And three years of night life was a perfectly acceptable price for carelessness.

— I gather you lost control of your aura?

Oleg closed his eyes in agreement — he didn't have the strength to nod. And he wouldn't be able to speak for a few more days — his throat was simply burned out by the swallowed blood.

— Poor girl. — Yar genuinely felt sorry. A vampire's aura for a witch was a terrible sight. A red-black veil distorted the appearance, turning its owner into a nightmarish monster. Good thing an ordinary person couldn't see it. And no one warned the unfortunate girl, prepared her. She fought in such horror that she broke four of her lover's ribs… — Get well. In a couple of days, you'll be able to get up.

Yar sat by his son's bedside a little longer, waiting for him to fall asleep.

Well, it all ended not too badly. Oleg is alive. Elena will probably have to return to him — if not as a wife, then as a guard. Let them sort it out themselves. Finding other accompaniment will be difficult. Too few vampires of suitable age — his son has only three approximate peers. And the remaining two are a couple. Unlikely they'll want to separate. And the older ones have a completely different rhythm of life; they rarely legalize. Yar is an exception here — his position as Clan Head obliges him. There will be no accusations from the Coven; it's their own fault. So, peace can still be maintained. The girl, of course, is a pity. Such a strong witch. Such a beauty. Could have become very useful in time. Like any poison, blood in small doses turned into medicine, a kind of elixir of life for vampires. Interesting, how many years of life did her death add to Oleg?

And the girl died so absurdly…

However, this story could very well have a continuation. Yar's intuition had never failed him yet.