CHAPTER FIVE.

Scott Anderson looked at the alley he was walking in, already regretting that he had let Lucas and Arden talk him into the situation he was in. Now, he was already getting angry at the entire situation on the ground and he was mostly angry at the human girl, whatever her name was.

He was however happy that the bond had been broken, even though the process had been nothing but pain. Lucas had tied him down like an animal so that his demon side would not take over him. Then, the man had made him gulp down some weird substance that had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had thought that was all it would entail but if only he knew.

It hadn't been more than a minute when the pain had begun. If Scott had thought vomiting due to the human blood was death, whatever Lucas had made him drink was hell. For more than 3 hours, his vampire blood and demon blood fought over domination. It got to a point when Scott had thought death would be a better option compared to what he went through.

And it had all been because he had made one stupid mistake of feeding on a human girl whose blood had called out to him and out of sheer hunger, he had obliged. And now, he was expected to live with that same human, steal some of her blood often, so that Lucas can find out the reason why she was poisonous to vampires. He also had to behave like her dog, protecting her from possible danger. This means no vampire should be allowed to drink from her.

Scott had also seen flashes of things and places. Some were his memories, the others were a jumble of things that didn't make any sense. After he had calmed down, Lucas had told him the bond-breaking had allowed his memories to merge with that of the human. With how much he loathed humans, he had felt a little compassion for the human girl.

If those weird memories had belonged to the human girl, it means she has been through stuff that should be limited only to animals. He felt a little bit sorry for her, knowing that she was going to face even more trouble and danger than she already had. Shortly, her situation would be worse than whatever she had been in before and whatever mess she was in at the moment.

Scott got distracted from his thoughts when he heard a hiss. He looked up to see a man staring at him with something akin to anger. He shook his head in annoyance, he didn't have time to humble anyone with his current mood.

"Just get out of my way, if you want to see the next sunrise," Scott warned the man, showing his fangs.

Rather than move, the man came closer, smirking at Scott as he had just handed him the evidence he needed.

"I almost thought you changed your mind about passing this way, Scott." The man said, his voice dripped with sarcasm.

Scott shook his head to clear the anger he felt. So, the man already knew who he was, and yet he wasn't afraid of him. Either the man was looking for vengeance or he's just looking to make a name for himself in the vampire world by trying to defeat Scott like others before him.

The man took another step toward Scott and he stopped when he was about two steps away from Scott. He closed his eyes and in the blink of an eye, everywhere became even darker than it already was. Scott knew that the man was out for business and he tried to hold him but just as his hand almost connected to the man's arm, the man disappeared.

Teleportation skill.

Scott thought to himself, just as he disappeared too.

The man reappeared and he began to look around for Scott. Scott willed his claws to grow and he slashed the man in the back with the claws after they appeared. The man howled an animalistic sound and Scott saw wings emerging from his backbone and the man's eyes turned to black instantly.

Demon.

Scott thought as he took a step back in shock. He had never had an encounter with a demon before, he thought. So, what could be the motive for the man's action? Why would the man be hellbent on fighting him? More than those questions, however, he wondered why a demon would be able to use the teleportation skill.

Scott didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts as the man clawed at him with one of his long fingers. Scott dodged, but he wasn't fast enough. The nail scratched him on his belly. He looked down and saw black blood oozing out of the site the nail had connected from. He blamed himself for losing guard and not realizing that he was no longer invisible.

While he felt like punishing the man before him for daring to lay even a finger on his body, Scott knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself until he killed the man. He knew that the man before him realized that little fact too and that was why he was being aggressive. However, Scott thought about giving him another chance to get lost in his sight.

"You and I have never had an encounter before and I don't want to kill you. So, let's go our separate ways and never meet again," Scott told the man.

"Indeed, we've never had an encounter before and I sincerely don't have anything against you. But, I've been ordered to kill you." The man replied, throwing himself forward at Scott.

Before Scott could blink, the man slashed his left arm open and he growled. He had had enough with the man and despite his angry mood, Scott had been lenient with the demon and he had gotten to the end of his wit. If the man was spotting a fight, then Scott could use him as a way to relieve the stress he had been going through for the past few days.

"If it's a fight you are looking for, then you came to the right man," Scott told the man, unleashing his vampire powers.

With a single thought, he was in the man's head. Scott commanded him to slash himself in the arm, and the demon obeyed immediately. Next, Scott told the man to blind himself. Just as the man was about to obey, he seemed to regain himself and stopped.

Impossible. Scott thought to himself. No one has ever blocked him out of their minds before. That could only mean someone was helping the demon secretly. Scott thought again.

Scott's right arm burned and he realized he had been slashed again. He made himself invisible and commanded a sword to appear. He slashed the man from his lower belly up to his chest before making himself visible. He saw the man slumped down, but he knew he wouldn't die from such minor wounds. Demons are too thick-skinned to be killed by such a thing. The only thing the wound would succeed in doing to the demons was weakening him temporarily.

Scott moved away from his adversary. He knew he had to find somewhere safe before the poison in the wound on his body took root in his entire system. While he wouldn't die, he would be in pain until the poison got neutralized. And while he could resist the sun more than the full-blooded vampires, he could still burn from the high sun at noon. He would also need to feed when he woke up from the injury he got.

His vision blurred but Scott shook the dizziness away. Even if he wanted to collapse, it wouldn't be in the presence of the demon. He eyed the wound he gave the demon again and Scott was astonished to realize that the wound he gave the man wasn't healing up as fast as he thought that it would.

That could only mean one thing and that was, the demon was a low-level demon. That also meant that someone had to have pushed the man into fighting with him. Hadn't Scott himself had his doubt about the skills of the demon earlier? But who could it be?

"Tell me who sent you," Scott asked the demon when he couldn't come up with a name.

"Someone powerful enough, no one can disobey him." The demon answered with a grunt.

Scott considered the reply and realized it had to be true. The demon knew he wasn't a match for him, yet he came to challenge him. That had to mean that whoever ordered him had to be more powerful than Scott. The fact that the person had been able to counter his mind-control on the demon affirmed the fact.

It could also be the same person who had injured him when he had been looking for the lost one. But, why was he the target of whoever the powerful person is? As far as he knew, he had never fought with anyone whose power equaled or surpassed that of his own before.

"Tell me. Is this man a demon or vampire?" Scott asked the demon again.

"I don't know. No one knows anything about him. He just gives the order and we obey. Failure to do that will result in the death of our families."

Scott turned away from the demon, knowing that the demon was just a pawn in the chess game of whoever the player was. The main opponent was Scott himself and he just had to remain low-key until the person was tired of the game.

"Why? Why didn't you just kill me?" The man asked, pain reflecting in his voice.

"As I said, you and I are not enemies. But come near me again, and I promise not to spare you," Scott told the man and he finally walked away.

By the time he was in front of Alijah's house, his eyes were drooping, his vision already blurred. With the last of his strength, he knocked on her door as hard as he could. As he lost consciousness, he prayed she would at least take him in.