It had been just over a month since Kai woke up in this world, and he'd already made himself very comfortable.
One of the first things on his mental to-do listright after "figure out how this world's magic works" and "stalk main characters for fun and profit" was the very simple, very practical matter of sustenance.
And by sustenance, he meant blood.
First order of business? Robbing a blood bank. Because what's immortality without a decent supply of hemoglobin?
Not in a dramatic, wear-a-ski-mask kind of way. No. He just walked into a nearby hospital, compelled the night shift staff to ignore the weirdly attractive man helping himself to the storage fridge, and strolled out with enough O-negatives to feed a family of vampires.
He chuckled to himself as he described the plan in his head:
"Step one was Navaigate hospital security. Step two compel every harried nurse in a five-mile radius to pretend I don't exist while I cart off two pints of prime-grade blood. Step three: get weekly deliveries on rotation special blood, special delivery."
Now, he had a little arrangement going on as well. A few well-compelled nurses delivered two pints to his door every few days after their shift. They thought it was part of some medical trial, and Kai? He just labeled it "Bloodflix & Chill" and called it a win.
This way there were no suspicious glances, no beeping alarms or neighbors asking too many questions, just Kai's very own transfusion subscription.
"Oh, Doctor Parker," he imagined them cooing. "Your blood sample is ready would you like whole or skim?"
But nursing the blood was just a baseline. Kai had a to-do list far more exciting.
Most of his spell practice was done far away from the city's more crowded places. Secluded rooftops, construction sites, abandoned subway stations… any place with enough room to throw a motus spell without turning heads. At this point, his control had become surgical.
Invisibility, telekinesis, elemental spells they all rolled off his fingertips like muscle memory. He barely even needed words anymore. The magical knowledge he inherited from Kai Parker was fusing with his instincts. The power felt like it belonged to him now. Naturally, it all started clicking without the candle-lit living room setup. He was becoming that dangerous hybrid he'd wished to be.
And then, of course, came his first vampire.
A scumbag trying to assault a woman in a back alley. Kai showed up, threw the guy across a dumpster, and… well, decided to get creative.
He fed the bastard his blood. Snapped his neck. Then waited.
When the guy woke up later that night, bloodthirsty and confused, Kai gave him a quick lecture about vampire biology and morality with the moral part being entirely optional and thought, 'Cliche? Totally,' he thought, smirking. "But hey, it works. Let's see if I can brew a daylight ring for him next."
He tried half-hearted ritual at best and lit the vamp on fire like it was a Halloween prop gone horribly wrong.
First attempt? Massive failure.
He enchanted a ring he'd snagged off a pawnshop clerk, slipped it on the guy's hand, and opened the blinds.
Poof. Instant rotisserie vampire.
"Oops," Kai muttered, watching the guy sizzle. "Well, that was crispy. But hey, silver lining: I still get the hands-on experience minus the guy."
"Anywho, test subject one very dead and then we move on to number two."
Eventually, he got it right. On someone else.
After cleaning up his crispy mistake, Kai spent the next few days refining his approach. He even kept the failed ring as a paperweight. Things were moving fast.
Next on the Kai hit list? Scouting possibilities among the main cast. He'd been tracking the main cast like a predator with a clipboard and that wasn't even easy. Kady was still sticking close to Marina after he found them by mistake while scouting for a warehouse to use for his magic. Nasty little thing, that girl, but with eyes like a lightning storm. Dangerous, sharp, and probably twice as damaged.
Next, it was Alice Quinn who really piqued his interest.
He'd found her holed up in a surprisingly upscale penthouse. Security spells on every window, glyphs carved into the floorboards, and enough wards to make a lesser witch cry.
"Protected tighter than Fort Knox. Probably has something to do with her family rich, secretive, and known for throwing the kind of magical sex parties that involved at least two summoned entities and a pile of regrettable decisions."
"Still… damn. She's even hotter in person."
He grinned before scanning the mental map he'd built. Then, with a shrug time to dial up Quentin.
Quentin, on the other hand, was doing his usual brooding thing.
He'd admitted himself into a Midtown mental institution, true to form. Kai had tailed him for a few days, mostly out of amusement.
"Poor guy," Kai muttered one evening, watching him stare at a wall. "Classic Q. The only place more messed up than his head is a carnival funhouse mirror. If this were a rom-com, I'd be the hot mysterious stranger who helps him find his spark again. But this ain't a rom-com."
What Kai did notice was that Dean Fogg had spells cast over nearly every one of the main characters. Protective spells wrapping every main character like bubble wrap, instantly telling Kai: no joy here.
Definitely the kind of thing that got dropped into place after the whole time-loop trauma from The Beast storyline.
That's when Kai pivoted to a simpler target: James the "mundane" boyfriend of Julia. Far less warded, way more accessible. Kai had been watching him for a week, learning his schedule and routines, and had recently discovered a very juicy bit of info: a party was happening this weekend.Bingo
And from what Kai remembered of the timeline, that was where everything kicked off.
"So Just gotta find a way to get invited," he said aloud, flipping a coin between his fingers. "Compelling James to invite me directly? Little too sketchy. Might raise eyebrows."
He paused.
"But if James invites me in Julia's prescence or Julia herself? That's just fate. Or poor judgment. Whichever works." Step in as her casual third. Party become his gateway. Plot kicks off with him already inside.
With that, he grabbed his coat and slipped it on. Hair tousled, fangs tucked away, smirk locked in place.
He sighed, confident.
"Time to swing by the bar, nudge things into motion, cue the social butterfly routine."
Kai stepped out into the dusk-lit street, plotting his next move with the assured predatory grin of someone who'd already won the game before it even started.
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