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Carver

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Placing a hand over his heart, Carver Lindholm scolded himself mentally. Stay calm. They don’t know that you’re watching. No one knows. It’s safe. Owen wouldn’t put up cameras where they could be spotted. This is just like every other night. Watch. Gather intel. Prepare.

But it was him.

Moving his hand back to the mouse connected to the laptop, Carver clicked on the grainy image.

Dante Blackwood.

Carver knew every single public detail about Dante Blackwood and quite a few tidbits that Dante probably thought he kept inside his inner circle. There was nothing that Carver and his crew couldn’t find. To the outside world, Dante Blackwood might be the untouchable billionaire business mogul that had settled in Eureka, California, running the ports and businesses in the city. Carver knew the truth.

Those monsters under the bed? Oh yeah, they really existed, waiting and watching much like Carver, except the monsters only wanted one thing…and they didn’t care who they hurt.

All his life Carver had been told that he had an overactive imagination. That was what made Carver such a prolific and good author. The world building in his sci-fi and paranormal thrillers had been praised for how descriptive they were written. If only Carver knew then what he knew now.

Instead of hero dark vampires, the protective alpha werewolves, curious and kind aliens, or the sweet and funny mages Carver brought to life in the pages of his books, the reality of living among those same monsters was so much different.

Maybe that was why Carver had been so shocked when his life fell apart. The night that changed his entire world. His future. His very existence. What he was. Tracing the scars across his neck, Carver shuddered hard as he exited out of the video feed.

Dante Blackwood might not have been the one to tear into Carver’s neck or be the source of his nightmares, yet ultimately wasn’t he the one responsible? Carver had learned so much in the five years that had passed since the night their city had nearly burnt down.

There was a hierarchy of the undead monsters. And Dante was at the very top of that list. Hell, Dante was the list. Nothing happened that Dante didn’t know about or control.

Stupidly it appeared that most normal people, humans, didn’t remember that eventful night five years ago. Like…it wasn’t that they didn’t talk about the night. It was as if that night hadn’t happened at all. Or they didn’t have any memories. At least none they were admitting to. Even scouring the internet hadn’t resulted in finding one article. No one talked about it. Ever.

It had taken a year and sending out hundreds of feelers into the dark web internet chatrooms before Carver stumbled on Kenny, then Owen. Two young men that knew what really happened that night. That saw things that no rational person would ever forget. Had lived through similar nightmares to Carver.

They’d slowly begun to trust one another; him, Kenny, and Owen. A tentative alliance at first that had grown over the years. All three had reasons of their own for wanting to take down the monsters but the same desire to destroy rode them all. They were the same yet different. An alliance coming together in survival and the need for revenge.

Finally, it was time. Or close enough that Carver and his small crew could put the plan in motion. Carver was so fucking close to what he’d been seeking that he could practically taste it.

Only one thing mattered to Carver. Would ever matter.

Revenge.

They had to be careful. It took time and patience to ensure that no mistakes were made. Dante had his own spies out there looking for people, like Carver, who weren’t as silent as most of humanity. Humanity. Carver snorted. Did that even apply to him any longer? Not that it mattered. Only the mission was important.

Dante and his monsters were smart but not as smart as those who Carver considered the good guys. He was obviously a good guy.

Yep! No villain origin story here.

Carver had his sights currently set on one monster and one monster only.

At least he had help with his mission. Carver, Owen, and Kenny were tied together by that night. Forever changed. Revenge was the goal for each of them. Carver had appointed himself as the one that would bring down the bloodsuckers. Of course life couldn’t be simple, pitting them against one type of monster. So many varied species of monsters roamed the earth.

The vampires lived in the city, while other monsters seemed to visit and leave. To Carver that meant they needed to take care of the monsters in their own backyard before worrying about the others. This was Carver’s city now. Maybe the vampires arrived there first. Who even knew how long they’d been around? Still, they obviously didn’t care about the people that made the place home. That night was proof that the vampires cared only about themselves.

Carver was going to change everything that vampires believed.

Humans and others like him were going to take down the monsters. One at a time. Carver tapped the monitor and smiled. Soon.

Dante

Below him the section of the city nicknamed Blackstone spread out in front of Dante Blackwood’s eyes. He’d helped build his area brick by brick and cobblestone by cobblestone when Eureka started to grow. As Dante opened more businesses and created an international port stop, his clan had needed somewhere safe away from the prying eyes of all the humans.