Chapter 3

ALLISON'S POV

"If you're going to kill me just do it already." I spat out through the blood bubbling at the back of my throat, biting back tears from the pain. I'd rather chew on glass than let these bastards see me cry. I could feel the warmth slowly leaving my body as blood seeped from the wound. I guess I should be lucky he hadn't pulled the blade out yet. Or was that intentional?

"That would be too easy now, wouldn't it?" Man bun said behind me. So it was intentional. Typical vampires.

"We have other plans for you. Remember, I said I have a crush on you." Trench coat said as he dipped his head towards my neck. Fangs grazed the skin there and panic shot through me as memories I tried to keep buried resurfaced with a vengeance.

No. Anything but that.

I can't go through that again. Panic made my whole world spin as I began another desperate attempt to free myself.

"You'll make the perfect little blood slave."

"No... stop-" He nicked my skin with a fang and ran his tongue over the cut. I struggled but to no avail. They were too strong. My stomach twisted violently and bile rose in my throat at the feel of his tongue tracing over my skin.

No. No. No. This can't be happening.

"What a peculiar taste." trench coat said as he pulled away from my neck to meet my gaze with surprise swirling in his dark eyes. "It would seem the little Hunter has some secrets untold. But fear not, that doesn't avert me from your charms. Quite the contrary even. You fascinate me even more now."

"Let go of me." I screamed, struggling to keep the tears at bay. My heart was pounding so violently that the sound rang in my ears. Fear licked at the corners of my mind despite my attempts to keep it buried. Breathing slowly became difficult. I could feel a panic attack coming on.

"Not a chance."

They both leaned down towards each side of my neck, fangs ready to pierce my skin.

"No, please... stop...." No longer able to hold them back, tears streamed down my face like a broken dam.

I saw myself back in that dark place. Pitiful, pathetic, unable to do a thing while those fiends had their way with my body. I vowed never to be in that vulnerable position ever again but now-

'Make another move if you want me to rip your heads off your bodies.' A loud powerful voice suddenly rang in my head and my ears rang from the timbre of his rough voice.

The two vamps stilled instantly. They heard the voice too. Almost like my body had suddenly turned to acid, they released me instantly. No longer held up by their bodies, I crumpled to the ground, smacking my knees hard against the rough concrete.

I turned to the two men who had had their fangs inches away from my neck just seconds ago. They looked like they'd seen a ghost. Their bodies were frozen stiff, their already pallid faces even paler as if that was possible. They didn't even so much as blink as they stared wide eyed at the roof of the warehouse. They were the embodiment of terror.

My gaze followed theirs until it landed on the figure standing atop the roof. He was large, I could tell that much despite the distance between us. Just like the two vamps currently frozen stiff with fear, he was clad head to toe in black. A black dress shirt with the first two buttons undone tucked into black slacks. Though I couldn't see his feet, I had a feeling he had on black dress shoes as well. His hair looked equally as dark as the rest of his attire and it swayed with the gentle wind fanning the area.

His face like all the other abominations was insanely beautiful. Every feature was perfectly sculpted from the strong bridge of his nose to his cheekbones all the way to his jawline. In all my years of dealing with their kind, he had to be the most flawless abomination I had ever laid eyes on. Was he also a vamp?

Chills shot down my spine as I locked eyes with blood red irises.

All too suddenly, the twins' terrified expressions made sense. A bloody Royal had appeared. This is bad. I looked around at my unconscious squad mates and a curse left my lips.

No matter how skilled I was, I couldn't take on a royal abruptly like this on my own, not when I obviously struggled against the twins. And definitely not in my current state. It would take a whole battalion of Hunters to go toe to toe with one of them and even then, there was no guarantee of victory. Why did one have to turn up now of all fucking times?

I glanced down at the dagger still sticking out from my abdomen. Was the wound healing? Didn't matter, I still couldn't do much with the wound.

The safest option would be to run but I couldn't leave my teammates behind.

Fuck. This was the worst possible scenario.

What to do, How can we leave this situation alive?

Back up! Right! I could call the leader to send backup but we still had to find a way to stay alive till they arrived. How long would that take?

Could I manage to protect those three on my own till then? Can I hold off a royal for that long?

'You dare meet my gaze?' The twins instantly lowered their gazes the moment the royal spoke. I could almost feel the terror wafting off them in waves. They'd been so confident before. Even vamps cowered at the sight of powers greater than theirs. They weren't so different from humans in that sense.

Wait, why could I hear the royal's voice in my head when this was obviously a mindlink?

'Lay your hands on the Hunter again if you seek my wrath. Now begone from my sight.'

A gust of wind blew past me as the pair disappeared from the scene without so much as glancing back. If I didn't know better, I would have thought they teleported. They took the saying gone with the wind a bit too personally.

At least I didn't have to worry about them. My attention shifted back to the large male now glaring at me from the roof. My whole body tensed with awareness under his heated gaze. Was he going to attack now? My hand tightened around the hilt of my sword.

I was in no position to fight but if it came down to it, I had no other choice but to defend myself. I held his gaze as I willed my body to stand. My body protested, the pain in my abdomen only growing but I fought it.

'Never show weakness to the enemy.' It was one of the golden rules taught to newbie Hunters. One I've always lived by. If I was going to die here then I would die with my head held high.

Big talk coming from the girl who was just bawling her eyes out because she thought she was going to get bitten.

The royal remained unmoving in his spot on the roof. The only indication that he wasn't a statue was his swaying hair and the blood red eyes trailing down my body. Never had I felt so self-conscious being under a person's scrutiny. I felt naked. I fought the urge to cross my hands over my chest in a search of some type of cover from his rapt gaze.

Suddenly my ears picked up the sound of heavy boots hitting concrete. A group approached us and the Royal sensed it too because he lifted his gaze in the direction of the road leading to the warehouse. He lowered his eyes back down to me and without a shift in his expression, he said,

"I'll be back for you Hunter."

With those parting words, he vanished.