Chapter 3

Fuck the high council and fuck my stupid ass father for agreeing that I need to make my first kill, i do not want to stand here in the middle of the cemetery and wait for the undead guy to arrive, but I have no choice. That choice was taken from me the moment I was born the most powerful female in the entire bloodline.

My father had a plan of course, and he had gone to trap the vampire for me, he and my brothers would lead it back this way, so it was easier for me to make the kill. What they don't know however is that i have no intention of actually killing the creature. I’m going to let them go.

The file said that they were an Nati vampire, which means they were born the way that they are, they didn’t choose it, just like I didn’t choose to be a hunter. I wasn’t going to kill him just because I was told that I must, I won’t let the council control me like they do everyone else I love.

It’s not fucking happening.

Not whilst I still have free will.

“Mae, it is coming on the left.” Jake shouts through the earpiece in her left ear, “Careful, the fucker is fast.”

I tap the earpiece, “Where are you?” I ask, “How far?”

There's a moment of static before my father’s voice echoes in my ear, “Too far to help, you are on your own.”

Great, on my own against a Nati, i just hope he’s as forgiving as i am.

I jump down from the tree I had been waiting in, landing on crouched legs as i look around, calculating a plan as I wait for the Nati to arrive.

It isn’t going to be easy convincing them not to kill me, especially when my father had already wounded them. A Nati can tell the similarities of a bloodline in one glance. Not that it was hard, i looked exactly like my father with raven black hair and dark hazel eyes.

I was thin, but i had plenty of muscle to use, especially in my legs, not many can outrun me, not even a vampire, and they were fast.

Hunters aren’t entirely human either, they are stronger and faster than normal people, they also have the endurance of the undead. That is why the council has so much say in our lives. They’re terrified we’d join the vampires if it weren’t for their control over us. And they’re probably right.

I know that if I had a choice I wouldn’t have anything to do with the high council and their backwards ways of thinking.

I hear shuffling and then a quiet curse from my left, and then the smell of blood assaults my senses, looks like the vampire did come this way, and by the smell of him, he’s weak.

“You can come out.” I say just loud enough for the creature to hear me, making sure my earpiece mic is off. “I’m not going to attack you.”

I hear a loud scoff, “What makes you think that I won’t hurt you?” it asks.

I laugh a little, “You could try, but then I wouldn’t be able to let you leave.” I step closer to the tree I know they are stood behind, “We don’t have much time, my father and brothers are on their way hear as we speak, and they won’t let me set you free in they get here before i can heal you.”

The Nati peaks his head around the tree, quickly scanning me to make sure that I am unarmed, “Why would you help me?” he asks.

I can’t see much of his features in the dark, not apart from the red eyes staring back at me, but i have already seen his photo and I know it's the same creature.

“I have no issue with you, or your kind, Nati.” I tell him, crossing my arms and leaning back against the tree i jumped from, “I’ll be leaving the council as soon as i have everything i need and I don’t plan to leave with bloodied hands.”

The Nati steps out from his hiding place and creeps forward, holding his right hip where he must have been stabbed with silver. Silver is deadly to vampires too, not just wolves. It burns them from the inside out, not a pleasant way to go.

“Drink my blood so you heal, then leave.” I tell him, pushing away from the tree, “And do it quickly, my father isn’t far behind.”

The red eyes widen, “You want me to drink from you?”

“No, i don’t.” I almost laugh, my voice cold, “But you are wounded, and you’d have a much better chance at actually getting away if you are healed.”

He nods slowly, creeping his way towards me, “How do you know that I won’t take too much and kill you?”

He's playing a dangerous game if he wants my help. Stupid creature.

“I have ways to make you stop.” I lie, crossing my arms, “Do we have a deal or not? I’m not a patient woman.”

The Nati licks his lips, giving me a clear view of the fangs that press into his bottom lip, I am the one playing a dangerous game, not him. He knows i am a hunter's daughter, he could kill me the second he has his fangs in my neck. But anything is better than living a life I hate.

I'd gladly welcome death if it sets me free.

“You have a deal.” He says, gently grabbing my shoulders and pulling me towards him.

I have the urge to stab him through the heart, but I don’t move an inch. One wrong move and this will end badly for the both of us.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart, “Leave bruises, I have to make it look like you forced me.”

He smirks, his fangs dripping with blood from his own lip, “I’ll make it painful too, that way he can hear your screams.”

I close my eyes and lean my head back, preparing myself for the pain that I know is coming for me, I may be a huntress, but I am not good with pain, and I never have been. I fucking hate it.

Now that the Nati was closer I could see that his eyes weren’t just red, they had a small tinge of emerald, green, and it was captivating. Beautiful. He was beautiful, with high cheekbones and an oddly sharp jawline. Perfection.

Were all Nati’s this gorgeous?

He captures my wrists i his hands and squeezes, hard enough to bruise my skin, but not hard enough to break the bones. He roughly shoves me back against the tree that i was leant on not a few moments before, the bark biting into the flesh on my back. I smell the blood just before he pushes me again, a piercing cry tearing from my lips as he sinks his fangs into the side of my neck where it meets my shoulder.

All i can do now is hope that he doesn't take too much. If he takes too much i will either end up dead or one of them, and i didn’t like either of those choices. Being undead wasn’t exactly appealing to me, even if i did have sympathy for those who were turned.

The sting of his fangs brought tears to my eyes, and they slid down my cheeks as the world went blurry all around me, the trees and the headstones all looking strange and far away, he was taking too much. I was dying.

Trust a Nati vampire to get distracted by bloodlust, i needed to get him off me, and quickly, before i had no blood left.

I kick out my leg into his shin, the Nati growling as he bites down harder, pinning my arms against the tree as i try to struggle, my screams echoing through the abandoned cemetery.

“Get off my daughter.” growls a familiar voice, “You have three seconds before i blow your head off.”

The Nati chuckles against my neck, pulling back and leaving my body to drop down to my knees, my arms barely able to hold the weight of my body as i try to push myself back to my feet.

The Nati glances at me, licking his lips, “It has been a pleasure, huntress, I am sure I’ll be seeing you again.”

The vampire is gone before i can process what is happening around me, both my brothers left injured on the dirt floor. It looks like they can’t handle fighting a Nati, not many can. Not that i know of.

I slwoly lay myself down in the mud, looking up at the sky, the stars blurred lights that lighten up the night. At least if i did die, I’d be going out on my own terms.

“Mae.” Nathanial calls, though he sounds so far away. “Mae hold on, I’ve called for help.”

I try to nod my head, but the pain in my back makes it awkward, fuck, i really wasn’t too good with pain.

Fuck the Nati, he took far too much, that is what i get for letting a vampire feed from me. Never again.

I'll kill the next one that tries.