(Brielle’s POV)
I hated it when my group belittled what I could do, and today I was given a small task. Either I was new to the group, or they just could not entrust the job to me because I was a woman.
As Giles said when we first met last week, I looked delicate and someone who wouldn’t dare step on a cockroach. Adam and Bryce even encouraged me to change my mind, maybe work as a supermodel or just join beauty competitions. Only Gen, another woman in our group, didn’t comment on me joining the group, but I was not too fond of it when she looked at me as if her eyes bored through my clothes. It was only when Bryce told me his sister is a gay woman that I concluded that Gen was treated as one of them despite being a woman.
I was back to being an outcast in the group, the weak one and the member who would only make them move slow because everyone thought I was a princess that needed to be saved in times of danger.
We all worked under the Order of the Orion, the hunters of supernatural beings that threaten the balance of good and bad. For generations, only the sons of the Chosen Templars became hunters, but soon they began to recognize the strength and power of the daughters wanting to follow in their father’s footsteps.
Both my parents were hunters, and when they realized my potential, they began training and honing me from the day I recognized a demon inside someone’s body. I was five by then.
It sucked being part of the Midnight Outcasts Hunters because Giles said I was only able to get in the group because my father held a high position in the Order, and my mother was one of the respected teachers in the field of hunting and fighting.
Tonight, all I had to do was sing and make sure to lure everyone with my beautiful voice while we waited for Monty, a shapeshifting monster they had been hunting for months. From where we sat, on the small stage of Wild Side, we saw him entering and sitting at the far end of the bar.
Another man came in, chatting animatedly with the locals. With his build and looks, he could pass as a tourist, someone who wanted to enjoy the night in a bar that has already been part of the history of the small town of San Rafael.
From where I was sitting, Giles hissed, recognizing Raven, a rogue and a blood-drinking vampire who had drained several victims across the country. For the past years, he could be considered a serial killer by ordinary people, always confusing the police and making them think he was human by leaving some traces. Only his clues would never reveal him as a fifty-year-old vampire, and it would be impossible to catch or kill him unless they used a silver bullet or put a silver stake in his heart.
“Lucky day!” Adam muttered, smiling and winking at me. “You’re a lucky charm!”
I faked a smile as I began singing the song I practiced last night and filled the small bar with what they described as my angelic voice.
“Bryce and I would go after Raven,” uttered Giles in a low voice. “Don’t lose Monty,” he nodded at Gen and Adam, leaving me out again.
A few minutes later, another customer entered the bar, walking toward Thomas. He sat on the bar stool and kept his eyes on Raven for a while before locking his gaze on me.
“Agent? Police?” asked Giles as he played the drum, not familiar with the man, but with the way he would sometimes take a quick look at Raven, checking on him if he was still there, an obvious act he was following him.
Maybe for people inside the bar, not even Thomas would notice it, but hunters like us could read him like he was one of us, only he looked like he had no idea who he was running after.
“That one’s yours, Barbie,” teased Gen, scoffing at me.
I smiled at the man gazing at me as if looking through my clothes. If only I could share my thoughts with the team, I wanted to complain about why I got this kind of job when I was as good as any of them.
Gen was the first one to stop strumming the guitar, putting it beside her chair, and standing up when Monty stood up and walked toward the back door. She flipped her midnight black wavy long hair to her back, walked to Adam, and whispered something to him. He only nodded but continued to play on the organ piano.
Giles placed the drumstick on top of the drum and bumped his fists with Bryce’s, giving him the cue when they saw Raven walking past us with a beautiful woman with him. Bryce put the guitar back on the side and pretended to laugh with Giles as they headed to the restroom, but they would make a U-turn later to catch up with Raven.
Adam and I were left, and his fingers played the keys well until I finished the song. He walked toward me, leaning his head to mine, so close to my ear that he looked like he was kissing my ear.
“He’s standing up. I don’t care what you do, but don’t let him follow us, Barbie,” he whispered before turning his back on me.
I sat at the table and smiled with the locals, who congratulated me on my beautiful voice. When I saw the man walking toward the back door at a fast pace, I had to stand up and dashed toward him, grabbing his arm to stop him.
“Wait,” I said sweetly, but when he turned around, the word I described him a while ago as handsome was not enough. He was a god… a Greek god, so gorgeous that when I met his blue eyes again, I almost forgot why I was stopping him.
“I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry,” he said in a rich baritone voice, not breaking his gaze at me. “I’m trying to catch someone.”
A while ago, I thought this was the easiest job, but now, I could hardly think as I started melting in his gaze. I smiled at him, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“Me, too. I’m trying to catch someone. I’m Brielle,” I said, saying my name and wondering why I had to say it.
His eyebrows raised, making him more charming and breathtakingly handsome. I had to do something before he could run away from me.
“I’m trying to catch you,” I said, placing my hand on the back of his neck, and since he was taller than me, I had to raise my heels to brush my lips to his mouth.
I almost laughed when I felt his body jerk, definitely surprised by what I had done. My eyes closed, afraid to feel embarrassed in front of this stranger. His lips were cold but delicious as I tasted the whiskey I saw him drinking. I nipped on his bottom lip, not because I was trying to distract him, but because there was something extremely pleasing about him.
He has an intoxicating smell, like his scent was inviting and gratifying. I gasped when he finally gave in, parting his lips and welcoming my tongue, but I didn’t expect my first kiss with him to be so glorious that I thought I saw fireflies dancing around us as he deepened the kiss.
I moaned, enjoying my little task and drowning myself in this ambrosial moment, but I stopped, pushing him slightly away from me, when I heard a sound coming. It was fast, but what surprised me was when the stranger swiftly moved in front of me, protecting me as he picked up a pipe and hit Monty in the face.
“Hmm,” I heard him mumble when he saw Monty standing up, hissing angrily and showing us his fangs and long forked tongue. He tried to make his tongue longer, reaching the veins on my neck, but before he could advance to me, the stranger hit his head again with the pipe, causing Monty to growl but fall to the ground.
The stranger shook his head, sighing as he looked at me. “Are you alright?” he asked worriedly, his hands on my shoulders steadying me. He must have thought I was shocked that he placed his palm on my cheeks, checking if I was hurt.
The small folding knife in my pocket, which I was about to get, remained hidden in my pocket. I tilted my head, peeking at Monty, but he escaped.
I heaved a sigh as I thought of him escaping when I had him already. “Do you know what that was?” I asked him, hoping not to sound angry at him.
“A drunk man?” he raised his eyebrows, guessing.
A drunk man? “Why did you hit him with the pipe?” I was surprised he saw the pipe in the dark when I didn’t notice it. He must have hit him pretty hard because Monty was strong, but he fell to the dirt.
“He attacked us, and I must say, whoever he was, he disappointed me,” he smirked.
My eyebrows raised. “You’re disappointed? Why?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he pulled me closer to his body and lightly cupped my face with his hands, kissing me again. This time, it was not as careful as our lips first molded a while ago. As I parted my lips for him, he unleashed the magic of what his tongue could do to mine. He kissed me hungrily, and as our kiss deepened, only then did I realize I was as hungry as he was.
(Brielle’s POV)It was a toe-curling kiss, wanting me to curse myself for forgetting why I was here in the first place. He was so good at devouring my mouth that I wanted him to have the title for being such a good kisser. I moaned, hardly feeling the hard concrete wall of the bar when he pinned my back to it, and perhaps after a little more of this, I would probably pull off my dress to feel the skin of his hand on top of my clothes, cupping my brassiere.I groaned when he stopped kissing me. He smiled, sliding his mouth and grazing my skin with the soft stubble hair on the side of his face as he moved his lips, touching my ear. I chewed on my bottom lip, suppressing a moan.“As much as I want more of you, I hate having an audience, Brielle,” he said, saying my name like a piece of music.He moved away from me, but before he could go, I grabbed his arm and smiled at him, but this time I was nervous, losing my confidence after drowning in his kiss.“What’s your name? Please don’t leav
(Brielle’s POV)My eyes squinted as I stared at the Kirkwood Residence. The baroque architecture mansion stood magnificent but silent under the starry night. Unlike my grandmother’s house, lampposts were everywhere, brightening the lawn. The mansion was seldom opened to the public because most of the time, the family never really stayed here, except for a few days for business, or maybe the owner wanted some peace of mind when escaping the city.Dad has mentioned this place before in passing when rumors spread that there were ghosts seen in this place, while Mom shared about the Kirkwood being vampires. Still, she brushed off the idea when she and Grandma got invited to the party and personally talked to Nicolai and his wife. She saw how the couple ate at the party, appreciating the drinks and food while conversing with the locals.No one could prove whether there were ghosts or the Kirkwood as vampires because even the locals hired to maintain the place did not see anything unusual a
(Cole’s POV)My great-great grandfather fell in love with San Rafael, and it has been his mission to keep the simplicity and beauty of the rural area. From his generation to ours, we have been the government’s conservation partner to assure the protection of its habitat and ecosystem, supporting and maintaining the site as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.The truth? He did it for our protection.For the first time in many years, nothing ever happened in San Rafael. Life here compared with the one in the city was slow, and people who chose to stay here mainly wished to have a quiet life. As for the young generations hoping to have different lives, wanting the vivacity and complexity, they tend to leave the place, but only for a while. San Rafael has always been their choice of location to retire or settle in when they got tired of the exuberance of the city.I was one among them, never staying but always coming back.After scanning the town, hoping to find Raven but failing on
(Cole’s POV)“I’m lost,” Aarush creased his forehead, knowing he was missing something important. “Care to explain? Human here! Present!” he waved his hands to Lucilla and me.Lucilla sneered at him. “I thought you’re a genius, and you know a lot of stuff about us?”Aarush pursed his lips and nodded. “I did until I met you two,” he said, blinking at her.“I’m sleeping,” I turned my back on them, not waiting for their answer and ignoring Lucilla when she called me. Even from the staircase, I could hear Aarush bothering her to explain what I meant, but she was too mad at me that she didn’t want to talk with him.Like me, she left the home bar, ignoring Aarush. I care less if she tells our parents about it or reports me to the council. I knew Lucilla was happy but afraid for me, but she should know that this was something I had no control over unless something happened to Brielle.As if I would let something terrible happen to her because beginning last night, I, Nicholas Kirkwood, had v
(Cole’s POV)Brielle almost didn’t leave my side, watching me cook the omelet but studying our every movement inconspicuously. Yet this was something we had mastered for years, and living with Kione, Ichiro, Aarush, and Xian helped a lot because, with humans around, there was always a need to stock the kitchen with food.“Mmm…” moaned Xian as she entered the kitchen. “Aarush, I need coffee -” The petite woman, still in her lab coat, stopped as she saw Brielle. She placed her car key in the cupboard and opened the fridge, getting bottled water.“Hi,” greeted Brielle, wanting to break the silence between them, maybe as women.“Coffee?” Aarush asked, giving me the plates from the cupboard and getting her a cup.She half-smiled at her but returned her attention to me. “If the company’s not giving me enough funds for my research, I’m resigning, Cole.” She started the conversation as she took the plates from me. “What’re the plates for? Who is she?” she asked in an unfriendly tone.She took
(Brielle’s POV)“You kissed me first, remember?” Gen repeated Cole’s question, laughing hard when we returned to Grandma’s house. She and Bryce told everything they had seen inside, and it didn’t surprise me when she played a video recording of their short tour in the living room.Giles glanced and scoffed at me. “You kissed him?” he asked, but his eyes were now focused on the dagger he was sharpening after not finding anything unusual from the video.“You told me to distract him,” I said, leaning on the couch and fixing my eyes on Cole’s gorgeous face on the screen as Gen replayed the video. “It’s my only way to stop him.”After seeing us last night, Giles suspected his connection to Raven, and this morning, he woke us up, plotting a scheme that I continue my act as someone who was too interested in him. He didn’t trust that I could do the task alone, so he asked Bryce and Gen to accompany me and pretend we were jogging and seeing their place.If Giles didn’t ask me to see Cole this
(Brielle’s POV)“Brielle, just tell me if you want to cover your whole body with it because hand wraps wouldn’t be enough,” Gen teased and looked briefly at me, one corner of her mouth lifted as she continued to wrap her hands with a boxing bandage.They discovered the basement training area this morning and wanted to kill time while waiting for nighttime. Still, no one wanted to be my boxing opponent; all four had excuses of wanting to mind their time training alone.Maybe the boys, even Gen, are afraid to fight with me because if I beat them, it will be difficult to accept that their ‘princess’ is as strong as any of the hunters in the group. Winning against the men would be hellish to accept, so they all had their excuses.Wrapping my hand with the elastic wrap, I was quiet and looked furious as my lips pursed, not looking at anyone. I let Gen think I was upset because the guys were ignoring me, but partly I was angry with my conversation with Grandma.She sounded like she favored
(Brielle’s POV) “Brielle,” Cole whispered my name, his hands grabbing my shoulders, but I continued to kneel before him. I swallowed hard because I had never done this in my life, but this would buy me time to come up with a way to stop his magical hands from undressing me, and I had to think fast about how to escape from his room. “Umm… Brielle,” he said, not sounding nervous, but his tone was something else I could not comprehend. I craned my neck to look at him, seeing him shaking his head at me like stopping me. Before I could tease him that he was being a coward, the door opened wide, and Cole had to place his hand on my head, tapping lightly to bend my head down. “Gosh, Cole!” growled Xian, entering the bedroom without bothering to knock. “I’ve been loo-” she stopped. Even without seeing her face, I knew her eyes were pinned on me. My hands groped the floor, pretending to look for something. “She lost her earring,” Cole said. She scoffed. “Last time, she lost her hairpin,