CHAPTER 20: THE HUNT

CHAPTER 20: THE HUNT

AMBER'S POV

The first thing I heard was the growl.

Not a human growl.

It was deep, guttural, and terrifying enough to make every instinct in my body scream that something dangerous was standing outside.

I slowly opened my eyes.

For a moment, I didn't know where I was.

Then the memories came rushing back.

Anna.

My mother.

The plane crash.

The vampire.

The mark on my neck.

And the truth that had shattered everything I thought I knew about myself.

I wasn't Anna.

I wasn't her reincarnation.

I was her daughter.

My hands instinctively went to my neck. The strange mark was still there, faintly glowing beneath my fingers.

"What the hell are you?" I whispered to myself.

A loud crash came from somewhere downstairs.

I immediately sat up.

"Steele?"

No answer.

Another growl followed.

Then a scream.

I jumped out of bed.

My body still felt weak, but fear was enough to push me forward. I hurried toward the door and stopped when I heard voices coming from the hallway.

"Stay behind me."

Steele.

His voice was unmistakable.

I opened the door.

He immediately turned toward me.

His expression hardened.

"I told you to stay inside."

"What's happening?"

"Nothing you need to involve yourself in."

I almost laughed.

"That's what you always say before something tries to kill me."

His jaw tightened.

Behind him, I could see several men standing in the corridor. They weren't ordinary men. Even without seeing their eyes change, there was something unnatural about the way they stood.

They were wolves.

The Black Phoenix Pack.

And they weren't alone.

A man stepped forward.

He had dark hair, a broad frame, and eyes that seemed almost silver beneath the dim light.

"Steele," he said. "Move away from her."

Steele didn't move.

"She's under my protection."

The man's expression darkened.

"That is exactly the problem."

I stepped beside Steele.

"Who are they?"

Steele looked at me.

"You don't need to know."

I rolled my eyes.

"Apparently everyone knows something about me except me."

One of the wolves glanced at my neck.

His face changed instantly.

"She has the mark."

The room went silent.

Steele's eyes narrowed.

"Don't look at it."

Too late.

The man had already seen it.

"What did you do, Steele?"

"I did nothing."

"Then why has the seal awakened?"

I looked between them.

"Seal?"

Nobody answered.

My patience disappeared.

"Someone better start explaining."

Steele turned to me.

"Amber—"

"No."

I pointed toward the men.

"Everyone keeps telling me I'm not Anna. Fine. I understand that now. But apparently I'm her daughter, I have some kind of supernatural blood, and there's a mark on my neck that makes vampires chase me."

The man's eyes widened.

"You told her?"

Steele remained silent.

"You told her everything?"

"Enough."

The man looked furious.

"She shouldn't know."

"She deserved to know."

I stared at Steele.

That sentence surprised me.

For the first time, he wasn't trying to keep me away from the truth.

He was defending my right to know it.

Before I could say anything, the windows shattered.

Glass exploded into the room.

Steele instantly pulled me behind him.

Three dark figures landed inside.

Their movements were too fast for my eyes to follow.

One of the wolves shifted immediately.

Bones cracked.

His body changed.

Fur covered his skin, his limbs twisted, and within seconds a massive wolf stood in front of us.

I had seen Steele transform before.

But seeing several wolves shift at once was still terrifying.

"What are they?" I whispered.

"Vampires," Steele answered.

My stomach dropped.

The same kind that attacked me.

The same kind connected to my mother's death.

One of the vampires smiled.

"Finally."

His eyes moved toward me.

"We found her."

Steele's body tensed.

"You're not taking her."

The vampire laughed.

"You still don't understand, do you? We aren't here because she's Anna."

He looked directly at me.

"We are here because she's what Anna left behind."

My heart stopped.

"What does that mean?"

The vampire didn't answer.

He lunged.

Steele moved faster.

He collided with the vampire before the creature could reach me. The force of their impact sent both of them crashing through a wooden table.

The other vampires attacked the wolves.

The entire room erupted into chaos.

I stepped backward, trying to stay out of their way.

I wasn't a supernatural creature.

I had no claws, no extraordinary strength, no ability to disappear.

All I had was a detective's training.

And apparently, tonight, that wasn't enough.

Then I remembered something.

The vampire who attacked me at El Víamonte Residence had touched my neck.

He had said something.

"I'm a monster that will soon live inside you."

I shivered.

Maybe he wasn't threatening to kill me.

Maybe he was talking about something else.

My fingers touched the mark again.

It suddenly burned.

I gasped.

The mark glowed beneath my skin.

Every creature in the room stopped.

Even Steele.

The vampires stared at me.

One of them whispered,

"She's awake."

Steele looked at me.

"Amber, don't move."

"I didn't do anything."

"I know."

The vampire slowly smiled.

"Anna's blood."

My heart pounded.

"What does my mother have to do with this?"

"Everything."

He took one step toward me.

Steele immediately positioned himself between us.

"You won't get near her."

The vampire tilted his head.

"You're protecting her just like you protected Anna."

Steele's eyes turned gold.

"Don't say her name."

The vampire smiled.

"Still carrying guilt after all these centuries?"

Steele's face changed.

For the first time, I saw something crack through his cold expression.

Pain.

Real pain.

Then the vampire continued.

"Tell her what happened, Steele."

He laughed.

"Tell her why Anna had to die."

Steele attacked him.

The fight became faster than anything I could comprehend.

I heard the sound of bodies crashing against walls and furniture breaking apart.

One vampire rushed toward me from the side.

I barely had time to react.

I grabbed the nearest object—a wooden chair—and swung it toward him.

He caught it effortlessly.

"Damn it."

He smiled.

"You have your mother's temper."

Before he could touch me, a blur crossed the room.

Steele.

He grabbed the vampire by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"You don't get to touch her."

The vampire laughed despite being pinned.

"You're already too late."

Steele's grip tightened.

"Where is Simon?"

The vampire's smile disappeared.

That name.

Simon.

The same name Stan mentioned before.

The same brother connected to Anna.

The vampire stared at Steele.

"You still think Simon is your enemy?"

Steele froze.

"What did you say?"

"He has been looking for her too."

Steele's eyes darkened.

"Where is he?"

The vampire smiled again.

"You'll find him soon."

Then his body suddenly dissolved into black smoke.

Steele released empty air.

The remaining vampires retreated almost immediately.

The wolves tried to follow them, but Steele raised his hand.

"Stop."

"They're getting away."

"I know."

He stared at the broken window.

"They wanted us to chase them."

I swallowed.

"So this was planned."

Steele nodded.

"They wanted us to know they're here."

"Why?"

His eyes shifted toward me.

"Because the hunt has begun."

I felt a coldness settle inside my chest.

"What hunt?"

He walked toward me.

"The hunt for you."

I laughed nervously.

"That's not funny."

"I'm not joking."

His gaze dropped to the mark on my neck.

"That seal was hidden for twenty-two years. They didn't know where you were."

"But now they do."

"Yes."

"And the vampire at El Víamonte Residence?"

Steele's expression hardened.

"He was testing you."

"Testing me for what?"

He didn't answer immediately.

I stepped closer.

"Steele."

He finally looked into my eyes.

"To see if Anna's blood was still inside you."

My heart sank.

"And is it?"

He stared at me for several seconds.

"Yes."

I felt like the entire world had suddenly shifted beneath my feet.

"Then what am I?"

Steele's expression softened, just slightly.

"You're Amber."

I frowned.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer that matters right now."

I shook my head.

"No. I spent twenty-two years believing I was simply a survivor. Then I found out my parents were murdered by creatures that shouldn't exist. I found out Anna existed. I found out she was connected to you, Stan, Simon, and the vampires. And now you're telling me there's something inside my blood that everyone wants."

I pointed toward my neck.

"So don't tell me I'm just Amber."

Steele remained silent.

I stepped even closer.

"I want the truth."

His eyes met mine.

"You will have it."

"When?"

"Once you're safe."

I scoffed.

"Safe? Look around us."

I gestured toward the destroyed room.

"Apparently nowhere is safe anymore."

He didn't argue.

Instead, he reached for my hand.

His fingers wrapped around mine.

"Then we leave."

"Where?"

"Somewhere they can't find you."

I looked at him suspiciously.

"Where?"

"My home."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Your home?"

"Yes."

"With your assistant?"

His expression became annoyed.

"You're worried about my assistant?"

"I'm just asking."

He sighed.

"She's not important."

"Sure."

He looked at me.

"Amber."

"What?"

"Don't make jokes right now."

I smiled faintly.

"You're the one who said you wanted to light up my dull life."

His eyes narrowed.

"I regret saying that."

I laughed.

For the first time that night, the fear inside me loosened.

But only for a moment.

Because somewhere beyond the broken windows, I heard something.

A whisper.

Soft.

Almost carried by the wind.

"Anna..."

My smile disappeared.

Steele heard it too.

His grip around my hand tightened.

He looked toward the darkness outside.

And for the first time since I met him, I saw something I had never seen in his eyes before.

Fear.

Not for himself.

For me.

"Steele?"

He pulled me closer.

"We need to go."

"Why?"

His eyes remained fixed on the darkness.

"Because if they know you're here..."

He paused.

"...then Simon probably knows too."

My breath caught.

The mystery I'd spent twenty-two years chasing had just become something much bigger than my parents' deaths.

And somewhere in the darkness, someone was already coming for me.

The hunt had begun.