Page 36 of Vampire's Bite

The hunters attacked from all angles, lunging, and latching their bodies to ours. With not much effort, we ripped them from our torsos. Their screams of agony were deafening and only fueled our madness.

We fought like we used to back in the days when we were the guardians of the royal court. There was no mercy, no hesitation. We went for the kill, and we didn't hold back. Jonathon stayed on the perimeter of the fighting circle that had formed, watching as he sent his insignificant minions to do his dirty work.

The hunters were no match for us. They were overly cocky and sure of themselves in a way that spoke to their arrogance, but they had never faced opponents like us before. We were skilled and experienced fighters, and we knew how to take them down with minimal time wasted, minimal energy expended. It was almost too easy.

Only a few of them had guns, which surprised me, and while Ash and I were both shot multiple times, none of them had very good aim. Plus, with the heat of battle pouring through my veins I barely felt it at all, and I was sure it was the same for Ash.

It was a bloody battle, but within a few short moments, we emerged victorious over the majority of the hunters. Their remains were strewn across the field and the stench of their bowel releases sent a jolt down my spine, one that spoke of battles fought long ago. They had been terrified before meeting their deaths. A perfect end to their useless existence.

"Looks like your numbers have drastically decreased." Ash wiped his mouth after grabbing a quick snack in between attacks. His smile was smug as he smeared the blood of one of the hunters across his face. Milo glared but didn’t dare move forward.

He and two of his friends stood erect, shoulders back, arms crossed. They were ready for a fight, but they had no idea what they would soon experience.

"Where's Jonathon?" I asked, scanning the field of bodies, wondering if we had taken him out without realizing it.

"You won't find him anytime soon," Milo said as he stepped forward, daring us to make the first move.

Jonathon might have escaped, but I would find him. In this moment, though, he wasn't what mattered. My gaze was firmly set on Milo. After all, he had misled Cordie, and he was the reason she was kidnapped, the reason Rook and I had gone after her, why Rook was unable to fight right now. Milo deserved a slow and painful death, and under any other circumstances I would be very happy to provide that, but anxiety over leaving Cordie and Rook alone was starting to bleed through the haze of the battle fury.

"I heard you're not a fan of vampires, Milo. Too bad. Don’t know what you’re missing, buddy." Without another word, I sped toward him and shoved him to the ground.

He was so pathetic, so weak. The barrel of a gun pointed at my abdomen and he smiled as though this had been a trap he laid for me and I fell for it. The bang of him pulling the trigger reverberated through the night air, but it didn't make me move. When he realized that being shot, even by a hunter's bullet, had no effect on me he attempted to punch me with his puny fists while his body writhed beneath mine.

I basked a few moments in the sensation of holding him against his will. He was like a turtle flipped onto its back, or a fly in a spider's web, he had no chance of escaping my grasp.

"Get the hell off of me, you psycho." Milo spit directly into my left eye and a loud roar of laughter split the silence of the night.

It took a few seconds for me to realize that it was me, I was the one laughing maniacally.

My instincts took over and I plunged my fangs deep into Milo’s chest. His scream rang in my ears as I made my bite hurt as much as I could, turning his neck into a tattered mess while the energy from his blood coursed through my veins. There was no blood sweeter than that drained during a fight from one who would rather die than be tasted.

His friends tried to help him, but Ash immediately pulled them from my side, snapping their necks simultaneously.

I could sense Milo’s life leaving his body, but I didn’t want to make it that easy for the bastard. My fangs retracted, and I wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my arm.

“You messed with the wrong person, Milo. Maybe you should’ve stayed holed up in your dorm room, jacking off to the thought of Cordelia’s breasts against your puny body.” I stood, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him high into the air. His feet dangled, kicking lightly. He didn’t have the strength to fight me, which made my next move even more delicious.

“Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.” With one, effortless movement, I crushed Milo’s body into the ground. An audible crack, the sound of his neck separating from his spine, alerted me that I was victorious.

“We need to find Jonathon, he can’t get off that easily,” Ash said as he stepped to my side, kicking Milo’s lifeless body. “Good. So… good.”

I agreed but we had other, more important things to focus on for now. “Cordie and Rook have been alone too long. We need to get back to them. Between the grief and the bloodlust Cordie could be in trouble.”

29

Rook

I woke with a start, Cordie's soft body pressed against mine. Wait. Maybe I was still asleep. Cordie appeared magical, just as she had before. Her skin was luminous and pale while her hair was full and almost shimmering. For a moment, I forgot where we were and what had happened, but then it all came rushing back to me as I picked my hand up to stroke her head.

She was dead. My memory was spotty, but I knew there was a fire. I glanced down at the charred skin on the hand I'd been about to stroke her hair with and shuddered at the sight.

Cordie was my Blood Heart, and she had died because of me. I should have been the one to die at the hands of Milo or, at the very least, been there to save her. I wanted to hate myself for what I had done, allowing Cordelia to be put in such a vulnerable position, killed with the very weapon that was meant to protect her. But I couldn't muster the energy. All I felt was relief that she was alive, even if she was no longer human. I couldn’t imagine an eternity without her in it. And that was what I’d been facing.

I looked down at Cordie's sleeping form and couldn't help but feel guilty. I had turned her into a vampire without even talking to her about it first. I knew she was grieving for her former life and everything she knew, her former self. But there was something more, too. I could sense a deep well of sadness within her.

She stirred, sensing my movement, and looked up at me, her eyes were shining, looking more vibrant than ever before as she scanned every inch of my face. "You're awake."

"Yeah," I replied. "I guess I am." Although I wasn’t fully healed. I felt it. The pain. The anguish. The slow mending of my skin. I was a hell of a lot better than I had been though. I could tell there were no gaping holes in me, no exposed bone, nothing that had me too concerned. Plus, it was just another factor that added to my belief that Cordie was my Blood Heart, since true mates healed faster when they were close to one another.

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