ONE

The world is still not ready to learn what lurks in the dark. Or for my case, my adoptive parents couldn’t accept that magic was real and chose to kick me out at fourteen. Luckily for me, my best friend was a werewolf. Although, I didn’t know this until my powers manifested at puberty.

Alcide Fenton has been my best friend since I moved to Virginia in 3rd grade when I was adopted after the murder of both my parents. They were slaughtered by what I now know were vampires.

Alcide and I instantly bonded over the hatred of our math teacher Mrs. Ecker who had a sick pleasure of making everyone miserable. Alcide’s parents were happy to take in an orphaned witch and even helped me learn to control my powers. They attempted to get me into some of the surrounding covens but I was always rejected as soon as they heard my last name, Blackwood. So I’ve been a rogue witch ever since. Which is fine by me because now my powers are free to be all mine and not bound by the elders.

Don’t worry, I use my powers for good… kind of. I’m a paranormal bounty hunter who is hired to capture the creatures that break the law or in some cases, piss of the wrong person. That’s how I found myself in the back alley of an apartment complex stalking a vampire. I was hired by a guy named “Stix” to capture and return the vamp alive to him. Apparently the vamp had embezzled over $10 million from him. Best part, he’s going to pay me $10 million to capture him as a tribute to the loss.

Taking care to make my steps completely silent, I stepped behind a dumpster that smelled like a mix of rotten fish and other seafood. Why a vamp with a high sense of smell would want to be anywhere near this thing is anyone’s guess. As I rounded around the dumpster I began to hear soft moaning noises and I hoped I wasn’t about to witness anyone in a compromising position. The alley was only barely visible by the two red security lights and I was having trouble making out what was what. The ground was still wet from rain and it helped reflect some of the red light around. I passed a stack of wooden crates and a random statue of a hound dog holding a lantern. Then as I silently rounded the corner, a figure came into view. It was the back of a man over 6 feet and blond hair… yup that’s my guy. He was holding a woman against the wall, feeding from her. From the sounds of it, she was really enjoying it. Oh well…

I stepped into view with my legs spread in a wide fighting stance. Summoning the energy to blast at the vampire once I get his attention. Once the power was radiating through my body and into my hands I spoke, “Kieran Draconis, you have been summoned for the embezzlement of…” He was on top of me before I could finish my sentence. Thankfully I was ready for the blow and pivoted to bring his momentum spiraling down into the ground. I mounted on top of him a used energy to pin his arms above his head. I looked down ready to finish the entrapment spell when my heart suddenly stopped. Kieran’s beautiful shocked face took me in and he smirked.

“If you wanted to get in on the action all you had to do was ask, love.” He said to me while rolling his hips to emphasize the position a put him in. He was still hard from the act I had caught him in and his length brushed against my core. Heat flooded my body and I was momentarily stunned.

He took advantage of the moment and broke free of the spell. I regained my bearings and sent out another blast. But he was expecting it this time and dodged it. “Let me guess, stix sent you?” He asked.

Straightening, I peered up at him. “Yes, if you would have let me finish!”

He looked down at me and when his eyes met mine his face flashed with confusion and then quickly went back to unfazed. “Do I know you?” He asked sounding puzzled.

“Nope, I’m pretty sure I would remember a 6 foot Viking vampire.”

“6 foot 5…” he said inclining his head toward me in disapproval.

“O-Kay… so are you going to come willingly or the hard way?” I asked cautiously.

“Neither.” He said with a wink and flew out of the alley. FLEW! I’ve never met a vampire that could freaking fly!

“Whoa…” said the woman he was with. I had forgot she was here and her voice startled me. “Ma’am, are you okay?” I asked.

“First of all, I’m not that old. Don’t call me ma’am. Second, he didn’t pay me yet lady so since you scared him off you owe me 150 bucks.” She said with a glare.

“I just saved your life!” I said stunned.

“No, hunny. This is my job and you just lost me $150. Now pay up!” She said holding her hand out expectantly.

I reached in my wallet and slapped a $100 bill in her hand. “This is all your getting. Have a nice day, ma’am.” I said, walking back out of the alley. As I made my way back to my apartment, I pondered over the events that just took place. This isn’t the first time a target got away (temporarily) but it is the first time my concentration was broken during a capture attempt.

I unlocked my door and when I stepped in, my dog, Luna, jumped on me in excitement. “Hey pretty girl! Ready for a walk?!” Her tail wagged vigorously in excitement while I gathered her harness and leash. Luna is a red and white pit bull I rescued 2 years ago. She’s the most important thing in the world to me and I didn’t know how much I needed her until I met eyes with her in the shelter.

She was backed into the corner looking up at me with the most pathetic sad eyes. As soon as she was let out of the cage, she tucked herself as close to me as she could get and the volunteer looked at me in shock. “She’s normally terrified of anyone and it usually takes forever to coax her out of her cage!” I smiled down at her and may have done a slight spell to allow me to adopt her same day. Normally they have a process where they have to do a background check and visit your home before they approve an adoption. But my heart couldn’t allow her to stay in that shelter for a moment longer. She went home with me that day. We made a pit stop on the way home to the pet store to pick up food, a collar and leash, a bed, treats, and every single toy she showed interest in! She’s been spoiled ever since.

Luna didn’t make it 2 seconds out of the apartment complex before squatting. “Aww, I’m sorry baby girl. I need to hire a walker for the day!” I said to her, chastising myself for making her go 9 hours without a potty break. As we walked around the block, I perused the local dog walkers app trying to find the perfect fit. I came across a profile of a familiar face. It was the teenage girl I saved from the ghoul attack the other night. Instinct told me to choose her. I clicked on the ‘book this walker’ button and looked down at Luna.

“I got you a new friend to walk you when mommy is at work!” She stopped sniffing and looked up at me with a big open mouth smile. I scratched her ears and she went back to smelling everything we passed. As we approached the entrance to my building I felt a soft breeze behind me. “I never caught your name.” Said a deep familiar voice.