2. VESPER

The apartment was dark and deadly silent.

I could hear the steady heartbeat of my pack mates as they slept. In a few hours the sun would rise, and the same routine would start over again. Weekends were always the same, from Friday through to Sunday.

Not that it mattered.

During the day I was stuck inside, and at night I was stuck either in the apartment or the bar unless one of them was with me. I’d gotten my bloodlust mostly under control.

The scent of blood didn’t bother me as much as it used to a few months ago. Or so I thought.

Something sweet was calling to me. I could almost taste the warm liquid on my tongue, which was why I snuck out in search of it. It was only when I was outside, and being blasted by the cold wind, that I realized what I was doing.

My stomach twisted with nerves and an emotion close to fear.

The last time I had blacked out, I’d accidentally ended up killing someone. I was still haunted by the memories. Knox had made it clear that what happened had been an accident and that I hadn’t been in control then.

Curiosity had me moving forward instead of going back to the apartment. The scent was coming from the trees, and I followed it until I reached a sleek bike. My eyes darted around, searching for the owner, but no one was within sight.

Frowning, I stepped closer to get a better sniff.

It probably belonged to some guy from the bar. They tend to get drunk out of their minds, and finding a bike parked in the trees wasn’t the worst that had happened.

“Your footsteps are too loud.”

I froze, breath catching in my throat.

“If you’re hunting, you’re doing it all wrong.”

Without turning my head, I glanced to the left and then the right, but all I saw was trees. Whoever he was, he had a good hiding spot. My nose twitched when I sucked in a breath and smelt only the trees and some flowers a few feet away.

“Are you the trouble I was warned about?” the man asked.

I rolled my shoulders. “It depends,” I hissed.

A twig snapped behind me, making me spin around. “You’re not listening to your instincts, kid.”

Irritation flooded me. I might look young, but I certainly wasn’t a kid. Curling my hands into fists, I turned in a slow circle, searching the darkness.

Had I unknowingly walked into a trap?

“A vampire uses his senses to hunt.”

I froze.

“Instinct and senses. For some, they prefer to use their senses while others rely on their instincts.”

A twig snapped to my right.

“Close your eyes and use your senses, vamp.”

I clenched my jaw and breathed through the anger. Lashing out wasn’t going to do me any good because I had no fucking idea where the bastard was hiding, and he seemed to enjoy taunting me.

But he also knows what you are.

My brows dipped into a frown when I realized what it meant. The man was either a hunter or another shifter. I’d rather lean towards the first since shifters entering our town were slim. It had nothing to offer them, and Knox would have told us if someone was passing through.

“Focus, kid.”

“I’m not a fucking kid!” I snarled.

“My apologies,” he muttered. “My eyesight isn’t the best at the moment.”

“Why?” I asked as I moved around.

The tree trunks were too narrow to hide behind unless the man was extremely thin. There weren’t any bushes to hide in, and if he climbed a tree, he was stupid.

I stilled when a faint scent drifted towards me.

Blood.

Sweet.

Coppery.

My mouth started watering.

“If you’re hungry, I suggest you go search for blood elsewhere.” He groaned. “I think I’m coming up with the flu or something.”

“Do you really think that’s going to scare me off?” I hissed. “Blood is blood.”

“Wrong.”

“You know nothing!”

The man chuckled. “I know more than you, and I’m not even a bloodsucker.”

My lips curled back in a snarl. That was one term I hated. It made us seem like mosquitoes, which I suppose wasn’t wrong. We sucked blood, and we left marks behind, but they didn’t cause itching.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when something hit me on the top of the head. My head snapped up and my eyes instantly locked with golden cat-like eyes.

I might have mistaken him for Seth if I didn’t know that he was fast asleep in his bed, snoring up a storm like usual.

With my eyes locked on the man, I smirked at him and then used my favourite ability to appear in front of him in a cloud of black mist. He didn’t even seem all that surprised; he just continued to silently watch me.

Frowning, my eyes dropped to the source of the blood.

“It won’t heal,” he said.

“Why?” I tilted my head slightly to study him as I waited for an answer.

But all the man did was shrug his broad shoulders and close his eyes.

“At least bury my body when you’re done feeding.” He tilted his head to the side, exposing his throat.

My eyes zoomed in on the beating pulse under his skin. Hunger hit again, making my fangs slip free. I licked my lips, taking a step closer until common sense hit.

And it wasn’t the only thing stopping me.

My eyes lowered to the animal sniffing the ground underneath us. I held my breath, waiting for him to walk away, but instead, he took a few steps back and tilted his head up, silver eyes locking with mine.

His lips curled back as a low growl fell from his lips.

A warning.

Shoulders slumping, I looked back at the man.

His lips twitched, and then he gave me a half smile. “Busted, little vamp.”

I took a step forward.

“Vesper, get your ass down here, now!”

“I didn’t do anything,” I called.

“You would have sucked him dry if I hadn’t shown up.” Knox muttered something under his breath. “Get back to the house; it’s almost sunrise.”

Glaring at the man, I took a step back.

His eyes fluttered open and locked with mine, making me freeze again.

“I don’t like when shifters step onto my territory without my permission, cat,” Knox growled. “You have until nine tomorrow morning to get out of town, or we’ll chase you out, and if you’re planning on dying, go do it somewhere else. I don’t have space to bury a body.”

The man saluted Knox, but didn’t take his eyes off me.

“Let’s go, Vesper!”

The power in his voice made me snap into action. With one last lingering look at the shifter, I jumped down and waited for Knox to shift back to wolf-form before I silently followed behind him.

“He’s injured,” I told Knox. “He’s still bleeding.”

Knox snarled at me.

“Can you at least let the man die in peace?” I asked him. “It doesn’t seem like he has anywhere else to go.”