Page 29 of Vivian

CHAPTER 15 – Viv

Rule one of hunting vampires, know your limitations. Don’t take a shot or stab above your skill level; you could easily become the hunted.

Rule two of hunting vampires, safety. If you want to return home after the hunt, you will be safe, cautious, and careful. Always assume that the hunted is onto you, and be one step ahead.

Rule three of hunting vampires, practice & persistence. Very often the first attempt fails, and the hundredth attempt can fail just as easily as the first. These are not innocent animals you hunt. A rogue vampire is a ruthless killer, often with IQ’s out of the stratosphere. You often won’t outsmart them, but a wise hunter can get his prey.

Rule four of hunting vampires, your eternal life will be short—expect the worst, and you won’t be surprised.

I reread the old pamphlet that Ace had found in the palace library about hunting. I was hoping that the second time through wouldn’t leave me with such an eerie feeling of doom and gloom. Obviously, I was destined for disappointment because I felt more frightened the second time around.

This wasn’t the job for the faint of heart.

Brendon had explained that there are two types of vampire hunters. The humans who hunt all vampires and kill them simply because they exist. Ace and Brendon still insist that my parents are two such hunters. I just can’t see it. My mom and dad were two of the kindest people I had ever met.

They didn’t even eat animals because they had faces. Mom always let dad cheat at scrabble. Dad watched mom’s dancing shows even though he grumbled the whole time. They just didn’t strike me as mad killers.

“Look, Viv,” Brendon put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me down into a soft chair in the library. “I need you to read up on everything you can on rogue vampire hunting and vampire hunters. We need you up to speed.”

I frowned, “But I have read so many of these things already, and I don’t feel any smarter. Maybe more freaked out, is that the goal?”

Brendon flashed me that sexy smirk of his, “Whatever it takes for you to understand.”

And he left me reading for hours upon hours, or forty-five minutes, but it felt longer.

I smelled Ace’s cologne before I saw him, there was another scent with him, one I didn’t recognize. It was fruity, but there was an underlying tone of something sour.

“Baby,” the girl’s voice came across whiny, and I wondered if she was trying to be sexy. If so, she had missed the boat by an ocean or two. “Why have you been avoiding me? You know how much fun we like to have together.”

My brows came together. Obviously, if I could smell the chick, she had to know that I was in here. What a bitch!

“Baby,” I mocked her saccharine tone. Standing, I walked around the bookshelves to see a very worried expression on Ace’s face. “What took you so long?”

I reached my hand out to Ace, and he came toward me with determined strides.

“I didn’t ask her to follow me, I have had nothing to do with her.”

I looked over at Francine, who had stopped pouting and was now giving me a death glare.

“I know you wouldn’t. After all, she was fucking Malcolm just the other night while Cian watched. She has enough on her plate without adding anymore.”

Francine took a step toward me, “Little Miss Goody-two-shoes watched the entire thing, so stop acting all appalled. For your information, I am not in a relationship with anyone. You don’t understand because you are so naive. Go ahead and think what you want, I don’t give a shit. Just know that I have had both of your boyfriends in more positions than you could possibly dream of. You might think they are loyal to you, but sweetheart, you are just a new toy. Once you are broken, they will throw you away like all the rest.”

Francine turned on her stilettos and pranced out of the library. If I wasn’t so disgusted by the images she had put in my head, I would have applauded her performance skills. She should have been an actress on Broadway.

Ace let out a loud sigh, “Viv, she’s just jealous.”

I shook my head, “You don’t need to explain yourself, Ace. I can’t say that I like the fact that you have been with her and likely every woman here. But it all happened before you ever met me. It pisses me off and makes me want to puke, but it’s a fact that can’t be erased. I can’t blame you.”

Ace cocked his head to the side, “But you are still angry, I can see it. You are pulling away from me.”

I moved closer, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Immediately, as my face met his chest and my body molded to his, I felt better. My heart started to beat normally, and I felt relief coursing through me.

“Tell me what you are thinking?” he whispered against my ear as his large hands caressed my back.

“I am worried that she’s right. I don’t know all of the sexual tricks and things that they do. I am worried that one night together and you and Brendon won’t feel the same way about me.”

“Fuck,” he let the word out slowly, and I could tell he was trying to put together what he wanted to say. “Viv, I have never felt the way I do about you with any other girl. That includes being intimate with them; it doesn’t hold a candle to just having you in the same room. You don’t need fancy moves or tricks.”

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