Chapter 8

His touch that was once soothing and comforting was suddenly sending a trigger warning to me, and every part of my being was yelling at me to back away from the danger in front of me.

My blood began to boil in rage, and my wolf was going feral against my wish as if she struggled to be let loose so she would attack him.

"I am a hunter's daughter, so I have their blood. Something is wrong because I can't hold back the urge to expose you. It is getting so hard!" I murmured, swallowing the huge lump in my throat.

"So you are going to turn against me? What happens to the baby? What about our mate bond? Is it over between us?" His voice broke, and his eyes widened as he moved away from me, shaking his head.

Just then, his vampire scent seeped out and filled my nostril, overshadowing the mate scent from earlier, and I could see his eyes turning dark with serpentine pupils, just like the last time.

"Leo.... Why are you releasing your scent? They will attack you!" I screamed in panic, and his jaw dropped, eyes wandering frantically.

"I didn't do that!" He breathed. "Something is triggering the beast inside me. Something is definitely wrong!" He growled as he rushed and locked the door. I could see his speed differently as he moved like a flash of light.

His skin was turning pale and his stature increasing as though he was about to take his full vampire form.

"Leo, you will be dead if they ambush you! ...they will come...for...you..." I was in tears, my body trembling as I watched him, confused about what to do next.

He turned to me with his eyes narrowed as if something just clicked in. "What is the duty of hunters in this pack?"

"To hunt down predators." I replied under my breath, and he shook his head, letting out a hollow chuckle.

He stared at me with a hurt expression. "How did my charm lose its power? It was perfect when I entered here, but suddenly I have lost it all!"

He sounded so disappointed, and it seemed to be projected at me.

"What are you insinuating?" I asked, squinting at him.

He shrugged and smiled sadly. "Did you hate me that much?"

His question hit me like a punch to the gut, but before I could say anything, the haunting bell rang in the air.

"A vampire is here!! Hunt him down!" The voice was followed by roars, howls, and screams as everyone ran helter-skelter.

I was feeling the intense connection with the group of hunters tracing the scent to this place. They were already in front of the hospital building.

"How did my charm lose its power? You sold me out, right? It is part of the hunter's tricky weapons." He blamed her with a heartbroken expression.

"Someone suspected a vampire was here and used the mystbane. It is not me because I don't even have mine here. I guess it was that doctor who just left."

"What is the mystbane?"

"An incense used to purify and cleanse a building, evoking a force that breaks every charm hiding an identity." I explained as the noise outside increased, the hunter marching to this room.

He was silent for some minutes before speaking up. "Go outside and check how many there are! I have no other choice!" His voice was deep and menacing, fists clenched tight as veins stalked through his neck and arms.

"What do you want to do?" I asked in fright, shaking my head.

"Kill them all and disappear. I must not be caught! I will fight them off!" He sounded confident, and I was sure he had powers, but our hunters don't lose a battle in their ground, not when it was just one person.

They must have come with all the lethal weapons. Leo may kill as many as he can, but he would never leave here free. They would definitely hunt him down.

"Leo, it is suicidal! You can't kill them all because they came prepared. There are even some others downstairs waiting as backup." I swallowed hard, leaving the bed and peeping through the window to see how possible it was for him to escape through there, but that was like falling into their trap.

The hunters had surrounded the whole place, and vesperbane has been used downstairs. The ancient relic emitted a kind of smoke that would weaken him instantly.

Once he lands, he would lose all his strength and would be caught immediately.

"What should I do?..." He asked helplessly. "You can save me, Diane. Those are your people, so you should know a way."

"They are close. I can't do anything. I can't go back home to get any relic because before I am back, you are gone. They will take you away and...." My voice hitched as horror gripped me in the throat.

The thudding sound of the hunter's feet made my whole body shake in terror as I hugged him tight, sobbing under his arms.

"What will they do if they trace the scent to be you?" He asked lowly. "Will you be killed?"

"Not immediately. I will go through a test before my prosecution."

"Then the test will prove you innocent, and you will be safe for me, baby! It would hurt, but that is the only option. Will you do it for me, please? If not for anything, then for the baby." He whispered, rubbing his hand on my stomach as he kissed my neck.

"Leo, please do anything that would save you. I can't live without you. My life would be useless if I lost you, I swear."

His face beamed up as he took my hand and slipped a ring from his pocket onto my middle finger, and it became invisible.

"Thank you, my love! I will make sure you're safe and will never forget your kindness." He kissed me.

"That ring will make you smell like a vampire, retracing the focus on you while mine becomes mild."

"Okay, just make sure you hide properly," I breathed, unbothered about any consequences.

He quickly picked up a wooden chair and slammed it on the glass window, then broke the iron rod.

"They will think I left through here!" He winked at me before he vanished into the bathroom.

Just a few minutes later, the door of the ward was broken off its hinges, and a group of ten hunters charged in like feral beasts, led by my parents with their eyes blazing like furnaces.

"Diane!" My name fell from their lips in disbelief as they stared at me wide-eyed.