My hand dug into my bag, riffling around for the gun that wasn’t there.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I heard the vampire moving leisurely down the stairs towards us.
“Give me a weapon,” Sebastian demanded and I shook my head, pulling a stake from the bag. He made a noise of frustration and darted over to the small crucifix pendant on the floor.
“Don’t,” I snapped. He hissed in pain when he snatched it up, a plume of smoke rising from his fingers. He dropped it back to the ground and stared at his hand in shock, his mouth hanging open. Had he already forgotten what he was now?
The hairs on my neck raised and I turned. Abigail Byron was at the bottom of the stairs. Her glossy lips were pulled into a long smile with fangs protruding from her mouth. Her platinum hair was in perfect ringlets.
She’d graduated last year. Guess she never left. That lined up with what we knew; that new members remained helpers and blood bags until they graduated and got turned.
“Smells like sex,” she said with a lopsided smile, her eyes flipping between Sebastian and me. Abigail was highly entertained by her comment. Whereas my face burned in shame.
I was so obsessed with Sebastian that I didn't care that he was a vampire. I didn’t care he was likely using sex as a way to subdue me. I’d taken advantage of the situation because I was obsessed. I’d spent years imagining that exact situation. That I fucked his mouth until my cum was on his tongue, his expression dazed and hungry.
I’d been hiding a furious desire to dominate him for years, daydreams of bending him over. I wanted to see what noises I could get him to make with my cock inside him.
A shudder rolled over me with the impact of what I’d done. Being intimate with a vampire was a line I’d never expected to cross. What made it worse is I knew I’d do it again.
I couldn’t help myself with Sebastian. I was sick in the fucking head. There was no line I wouldn’t cross for him. I was damned to hell because of him. He was a burden on my soul and I had no plan to stop.
“A muzzle? Kinky,” Abigail said with a smile. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes dragging up my body.
“You aren’t supposed to fuck the food, Sebastian, but I won’t hold it against you forthatone,” she said, her tongue running over her glossed lips. Disgust roiled inside me at the thought of her thinking about sex and me. She smiled at my curled lip and then ran towards me, much faster than Sebastian had. He was still practically a human with speed and strength. What made fledglings dangerous though, was how wild they were—not controlled at all and hungry all the time.
“Tate!” Sebastian called out as if I might not be aware of a vampire hurtling towards me. I threw up my arms and grabbed her arms. She was stronger than she had the right to be but I held her off as she began chomping, her mouth getting closer to my neck as she slowly overpowered me. She snapped her mouth shut and snarled in frustration, pushing me backwards until my back hit the wall. A framed painting clattered to the ground along with the stake in my hand.
“Shit,” I grumbled, trying to hold her off. I’d never killed a vampire, certainly never been in hand-to-hand combat with one. This was a bad situation to be in. We were taught to keep them at a distance and use guns whenever possible. Getting up close like this was risky and often a death sentence. Sebastian hurled himself at Abigail suddenly, a look of sharp determination on his face. He reared back and punched her in the back of the head.
“What the fuck,” she hissed craning her neck to send him a furious look. Her grip loosened and I brought my arms down on her wrists fast, breaking the connection. Sebastian kicked the side of her knee, sending the kneecap shifting to the side. She looked down and screamed in a high-pitched wail.
“You piece of shit,” she hissed at Sebastian. Abigail jerked around, she was too fast for him. Her hand snapped out, punching him in the gut. He bent over, groaning.
“I won’t forget that,” she snapped at him before her attention was back on me. “I’m going to make your humansuffer now,” she said, her smile turning sadistic as she launched at me. I dropped to the floor and rolled, catching her legs in the process. She went down on her displaced knee and shrilled again.
“You’re so fucking loud,” Sebastian yelled over her. He looked enraged by her volume, not like the calm man he normally was. His eyes were wide as his lips peeled back from his teeth. He flung himself at her, slamming his hands against her mouth.
She was stronger and faster than him. Instantly, I knew that wasn’t a good move. She twisted, taking Sebastian with her. His eyes widened in shock, realizing what he’d done. My hand wrapped around the stake I’d dropped. Abigail noticed, kicking out with her good leg. The stake sailed through the sky.
“A stake,” she spat furiously. She pushed Sebastian against the floor, smashing her palm against his muzzle and leering at it, taking in the special make of it with the keycode lock in the back. I scrambled towards the bag of supplies while she was distracted, pulling out the first thing my hand landed on.
Abigail's eyes widened on the muzzle and she looked around, zeroing in on the bag filled with a collection of vampire hunting gear.
“Brotherhood,” she hissed with vile hatred. Sebastian held his hand out, shooting me a sharp look. I tossed the weapon I just grabbed at him. It was a crucifix blade I realized. When it landed in his hand his skin smoked but the only sign it hurt was the subtle twitch of his lips. He pulled the bottom of the cross off, revealing it was a sheath for a hidden blade. It was engraved with an inscription—“He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.“
His hand was audibly sizzling as he gripped it tightly in his hand, bringing it down on her chest. She dodged slightly as the tip sunk in. She shrieked and Sebastian groaned in frustration, bucking her off him and pressing his hands to his ears. She stumbled up and away, moving back. The dagger stayed in her chest, the skin blackening around the wound. Her last-minute dodge had saved her life, the blade had missed her heart.
Abigail glared at us as she put her hands around the handle. Her skin sizzled and smoked. She pulled it out and then dropped it to the floor. The wound didn’t bleed.
“Now I’mreallygoing to make him hurt,” she promised Sebastian, pointing at me. Abigail raced towards me, slower than before. The dagger had done some damage.
Her body collided with mine. The back of my head slammed into the wall. A moment later Sebastian growled in rage, grabbing her arms and tugging them behind her in a locked hold. She thrashed in outrage, sending them stumbling around the living room as Sebastian kept his hold. She crushed him against the wall, trying to slam him off. My hands went around the stake I’d dropped before and I launched at them.
“Hurry,” Sebastian growled behind his muzzle. His jaw was grinding as he tried to keep his hold. So much for the clean first kill that every hunter hoped for. This was already messy, about to get messier.
“Fuck,” I sighed then went for it, plunging the stake down into her chest. It hit bone and stopped. Abigail screamed. I lifted on the tips of my feet, leaning onto the stake as I pushed my palms against the flat end. My arms burned as I poured my strength into it, shoving my full weight against the stake in the process.
She was going wild—snapping, hissing, and wailing in pain. Still, I could hear bone crack as I grunted and pushed, sinking in further. The vampire sucked in a breath, her eyes widening. Blood began pooling from her mouth, spilling out on her chin.
