Earning a territory as a young vampire was hard, you'd be expected to either dethrone the reigning leader or buy them out of both their taxes and status. Rare for a vampire under 300 to have the resources to do such a thing. But Gray was different, he'd been made a territorial lord immediately upon turning, if only to save face. It was near impossible for a human to kill a vampire, between their enhanced speed, strength, and durability they were like forces of nature. But beyond that there was the Thrall. The natural miasma of trust and submission that vampires exuded. The uninitiated could mistake it for Confidence and Charisma but someone with animal instincts would recognize it immediately as a hunter's greatest weapon. Prey didn't even realize they were in danger, in fact they'd march themselves quite happily right into the predator's jaws in a state of totally relaxed bliss.
It was a unique combination of exemplary genetics and mental illness that had made Grey immune to The Thrall as a human. An ancestor who'd trained to fight vampires, coupled with a dash of PTSD and a splash of ASD meant that when an investment banker he'd been hired to protect tried to rip his throat out with shark fangs, he didn't freeze like a deer in the headlights and instead unloaded his pistol into the man's skull at close range. The fight likely wouldn't have ended there, but being somewhat familiar with the Woo Woo side of life Grey had set fire to the man's corpse and salted it to boot. Then disposed of by cremation at a friendly and debt-addled funeral parlor. He did however make the mistake of consuming a single bite of the man's heart as a "Fuck You" to someone who'd tried to kill him. The changes that followed were excruciating.
When the Eastern Coven of Vampires heard that a visiting dignitary from the west coast had been killed by a human they immediately reached out to the head of the west coast coven to see what they wanted to do about the matter. Darius, the leader of the Western Coven, was a true believer in meritocracy. He ordered that the man be given the fallen dignitaries territory. Which just so happened to be the northern rockies between Idaho and Montana.
The process of becoming a vampire was...horrific and painful to say the least. But now, on the other side? He was so goddam happy with the change. Power surged through his every cell like a constant hit of coke. His senses were so sharp it was like he'd been living in a fogbank before. And the abilities! He'd always craved dominance, so the power of The Thrall alone would've been intoxicating. But vampires had unique skills and abilities. Not totally unique, there were common trends. Animal fellowship, stealth, power, etc.. But because of the way he'd undergone the change, having killed his sire and eaten his heart instead of simply being made by the supplantation of blood and bone like most, he was graced with exceptional power. His thrall was not just powerful but downright overwhelming, and his raw physical power was near that of a diesel locomotive.
As he sipped the sports drink he'd picked up at the last truck stop he'd hit up he sighed and stretched in the small camper he'd bought. Turning his trip from Washington to his new territory into a road trip had seemed a fun prospect at first. GIve him time to grow into his powers, play around and familiarize himself with them. Stop in and see some old flames, maybe pick up a few
Souvenirs
to fill his new mansion with. His sire's former property had transferred to him, but upon his death his servants and thralls had all been freed meaning they'd left the estate. He'd had to hire a property management company to care for it till he could find a new staff.
Today's campsite was a little spot just outside Moab. While the sun didn't cause him to combust, it burned his eyes and significantly reduced his abilities, and he would burn easily like a damn ginger. So here he set in the sweltering desert heat confined to a barely air conditioned camper. He cursed himself for leaving that little cocksleeve behind at the gas station to get her affairs in order. She'd been the second souvenir of the trip and he should've learned from the first that he'd regret not having a warm hole when boredom set in. Which was easy when you didn't sleep but had to spend nearly 16 hrs a day indoors or risk the wrath of Ra.
But he tried to convince himself that it would all be worth it soon. He'd seen photos of his new mansion and it was obviously set up with vampires in mind. Floor to ceiling windows with blackout shutters, a pool and hot tub as well as a theater in the basement, and a sex dungeon that...admittedly looked more like a real dungeon than he would've liked. But he'd been informed his predecessor's Thrall wasn't nearly as powerful as his, so it was likely he had to spend days or weeks breaking the minds of his servants through feeding and conditioning instead of just overwhelming and reprograming them like Grey could. He mused about that power when he heard a knock at the door of his camper. He grabbed his nearby sunglasses and slid a blanket over his torso as he rolled to the door to slide the small blacked out window open. He was at a well known and well lit campground and had little fear of being robbed or harassed.
Standing outside the small trailer was a park service ranger in her mid twenties. Cute looking with a cherubic freckled face and dirty blond hair. "Excuse me sir, your permit wasn't clearly displayed in your vehicle windshield. I just need to check and make sure you have one, and if you wouldn't mind fixing it for me?" She had an adorable southern belle drawl too. Something he had a painful weakness for having come from West Tennessee himself. He smiled the easy smile he knew always set them at ease.
"Of course Ma'am, I got in late last night and probably left it on my console. Or maybe it's in here" He smiled, catching her gaze with his eyes. He could watch the frost creep over her mind with a shudder of desire, it was so empowering to know that with a look they could be his. Her mouth went just a little slack, like she was caught mid thought, and she just sort of smiled and relaxed. "Perhaps you should come in and help me look, provided no one will miss you for a time". She nodded dumbly and he shifted back on the bed, unlocking the door and opening it for her to crawl inside. She followed his instructions and climbed inside, closing the door behind her.