Chapter 4

My eyes remained fixed on the spot the royal had stood, my body still trembling moments after he'd disappeared. The threat was gone, I was safe, yet my heart continued to pound like a jackhammer in my chest, the sound so loud that it made my already sensitive ears throb. Nothing else around me registered. I couldn't move. I could barely even breathe. The fear his presence had stirred up was so potent that my eyes stung.

A Royal... Here of all places....

I knew it was impossible to avoid crossing paths with one of their kind given the occupation I'd chosen for myself but I never imagined meeting one again this soon. I always thought I'd be prepared when the day finally came but I wasn't. I still wasn't over it. I still wasn't over what HE did to me.

From the twin vampires nearly feeding from me and the Royal appearing, it was obvious I wasn't nearly as ‘healed’ as I thought I was.

My hand gripped the hilt of my blade as memories of a much darker time flooded my thoughts but the blade brought me no comfort, only spurred on the wicked memories I tried so desperately to keep buried. I tried to remind myself that I wasn't that weak and helpless little girl anymore, that I was one of the strongest hunters currently alive but fear didn't listen to reason. Breathing only became more arduous and my vision began to blur.

The feeling was all too familiar. I was on the cusp of a panic attack.

''Allison!''

Hands on my shoulders and a sudden loud voice jolted me out of my thoughts and my eyes finally drifted away from the rooftop to meet a pair of deep gray eyes staring down at me with concern. My knees buckled beneath me as recognition set in and if it weren't for his strong arms holding me up, I would have crumpled to the ground in relief.

''Look at me.'' His gentle voice ordered and I obeyed, keeping my eyes focused on the pools of grey that stared down at me. ''Good girl. Now breathe slowly.''

I tried to do as he said, putting all my focus into controlling the pace of my breaths but still panic fogged my thoughts. ''Easy now Al, you're ok.'' Damien whispered softly as he pulled me closer to him. ''You're safe.''

''A royal.... a royal was here.'' I mumbled uselessly as I leaned into him. His warmth helped ease some of the tension. I had never been so happy to see him.

''It's fine. He's gone now. You're safe.'' He pulled back slightly to search my face and his brows tightened with a look that resembled pain. ''Dammit don't cry. I don't know what to do when you cry.''

I was crying?

Only when his words registered, did I pay attention to the wetness streaming down my face like a faucet. I really was crying. I hadn’t cried in so long, not since the day of my escape a decade ago. But today the tears just wouldn’t stop.

''I'm fine.'' I said, hurriedly wiping away at the signs of my vulnerability. Why did it have to be him to see me like this? Damien was one person I never wanted to appear weak to.

''Don't try to play tough with me. I know you're not fine... in more ways than one.'' His eyes fell from my face and drifted down my torso, to the blade still lodged deep in my center.

''Ah right, I was stabbed.'' I chuckled. Fear had completely numbed the pain. ''It's just a flesh wound, put some salt on it and I'll be fine.'' I playfully said, repeating words he'd once uttered to me in a similar situation. The only difference was that his had been a bullet wound.

When his brows only tightened and the look on his face grew hard, I knew he was in no mood for jokes.

'You could've died Al, you really think now is the time for jokes?''

''I'm sorry.'' I said meekly as my eyes fell to the ground, the dark concrete suddenly becoming the most fascinating thing in the world. I tended to get on his nerves often but It wasn't every day Damien snapped at me and I had no idea how to handle it.

''Go easy on her Damien. You can scold her all you want when she's not actively bleeding.'' A mature male voice interjected from behind us and my head snapped up when I recognised the voice.

Why was the leader here?

Well, I guess it made sense for him to be here if he’d heard about the royal.

''Oh shut it, old man. This is all your fault.'' Damien snapped aggressively when the leader stood before us. ''If you hadn't sent me on a wild goose chase to track done some make-believe sirens then I would have been here to protect her.''

My heartbeat surged at his words, the organ suddenly feeling too large for its container. The elation from his words seemed to drown out the remains of my panic and suddenly all I could focus on were the strong arms holding my waist.

‘He meant it in a sisterly way. Damien doesn’t see you in that light.’ My subconscious reminded me but I wouldn’t come off my current high. I knew the nagging voice at the back of my mind was right but sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder what if.

The greying old man chuckled, seemingly unfazed by Damien's rudeness. ''Or you might have wound up dead.'' The leader calmly replied. ''The Royal clearly had no intentions of engaging lest Allison wouldn't be standing here but who's to say he wouldn't have attacked if agitated?''

''Why was he here? What did he want?'' I asked the question that had been plaguing my thoughts since the moment I Iaid eyes on him earlier.

''That's what I want to know.'' The leader said darkly. ''Mayhaps he had business with the twins.''

It couldn't have been because of the twins. While they were strong, they were insignificant characters to a royal. And the way he'd scared them off showed he had no care for them. At that moment, his parting words to me echoed at the back of my mind.

'I'll be back for you Hunter.'

Chills suddenly ran down my spine. It couldn't be that he was after me, could it? What business would a Royal have with me? My reputation wasn't enough to attract such a person.

''Do you remember what he looked like? Any unique details or features that stood out? Was he on the list of Royals whose identities we know of?'' the leader bombarded me with questions.

''No, he wasn't on the list.'' And his features…. well they were so uniquely beautiful that it would be impossible to forget such a face.

The leader frowned, ''What did he look like?''

''Can't you leave the questioning till she's not actively bleeding?'' Damien interjected, throwing the leader's words back at him. ''She's losing blood as we speak.''

''My apologies. I got ahead of myself.'' The leader said with an almost shameful expression. ''I'll look around the scene, please take care of her.''

Damien glared at the old man as he drew away from us to the crowd of hunters that had formed in the warehouse. With a click of his tongue, Damien turned his attention back to me, his expression softening.

''Let's get you stitched up. Can you walk?'' I nodded and tried to take a step forward only for my knees to buckle once more. Damien heaved a sigh before tightening his arm around me. ''You're so unbelievably stubborn. You get no medals for trying to act tough in situations like these. Asking for help doesn't make you weak.''

“Only the weak seek help.” The familiar words left a sour taste in my mouth as they rolled off my tongue. Words from the person I loathed the most in this world, words of the man who’d made me covet death. Of all the cruel things he’d said to me, that phrase stuck out the most.

Why? Because he’d been right.

“Only the strong can acknowledge when they’re weak. Stop trying to shoulder all these burdens on your own.” His rough hands grazed the side of my cheek. “If you can’t lean on anyone else, lean on me. I’m strong enough for the both of us.”

I gave a wry smile at his touching words knowing deep down I could never do the thing he was asking. Still, knowing he had my back eased the invisible weight on my shoulders ever so slightly.

“I’m stronger than you dummy.”

“Yeah right.” He chuckled. “That’s what I want you to think.”

Damien led me to the group, his hand looped behind me for support. Despite the pain in my abdomen, the little schoolgirl in me, eager to be as close to her crush as possible, didn’t want this moment to end.

“You’ll need a few stitches but-“

Chills suddenly ran down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end with caution. It was a familiar feeling. Bloodlust. My head snapped backwards as my eyes tried to search out its source. Somewhere an enemy lurked and they were eager to kill.

“You felt that too, didn’t you.” Damien said, his tone serious. I nodded while my eyes tried to search out the threat. The area was dark but my eyes saw through the darkness, locking with a pair of glowing red ones in a far distance.

My whole body tensed up in alarm. He was still here.