Page 26 of Finn
My hand felt slick with the blood coating the knife, crimson dripping onto the ground.
I’d done it. I’d completed the mission the Elders had sent me on.
A breath of relief fought to break free, but it was crushed beneath the weight of the horror clawing its way through me.
My heart felt split in two. Part of me reminded myself, firmly, that he wasn’t Gabriel anymore.
Not really. He was a vampire, just another monster to eliminate, another target in a long line of them.
But that look in his eyes… the shock, the betrayal. It had felt human. Almost too human.
I hadn’t expected that.
Clapping echoed off the walls of the alley, sharp and mocking.
I spun, my body automatically snapping into a defensive stance, knife still gripped tight.
“Bravo, little hunter,” came a drawling voice from the shadows. Scar stepped into view, his expression smug.
“Didn’t think you had it in you,” Scar added.
I swallowed, steadying my breathing, forcing myself to stay calm.
Dang it. I hadn’t even sensed him approaching, which told me how out of it I really was.
I couldn’t tell how long he’d been there, watching, waiting. My heart raced, adrenaline still burning through me.
“How much did you hear?” I demanded, keeping my tone steady, though my pulse was hammering.
Scar shrugged, his grin widening.
“Enough. But don’t worry,” he said, his voice dripping with mock concern. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Somehow, I don’t find that reassuring,” I replied, the words tight in my throat.
The urge to run tingled in my limbs, but I knew better than to turn my back on him.
He was a predator through and through, and right now, I was the prey in his sights.
Scar took a step closer, his eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.
“Do you really think your ex-boyfriend is the first hunter who’s been turned and then hunted by his own people?” he said with a sneer.
His words cut deeper than I wanted to admit, stirring something raw in me.
My heart twisted painfully, bile rising in my throat as the truth started to settle.
This was just a job to the Elders. Gabriel was just another “asset” they’d discarded, and I’d been the one chosen to end him.
I felt sick, the weight of the knife in my hand turning unbearable. Why hadn’t I questioned it?
Why had I taken it without a second thought? I hated myself for it.
Every fiber of me wanted to hurl the knife into the shadows and turn my back on everything.
“Well, the job’s done,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady.
I clenched my jaw, staring past Scar, refusing to look back at Gabriel’s lifeless body.
