I wake up in a hospital bed, though it wasn’t just any hospital, it was one of the strongholds of the high council, the ones that they used when the hunters and huntresses couldn’t go to a normal hospital. A human doctor wouldn’t understand what happened, and all they’d do is call the authorities. But a doctor hired by the hunter's council knew exactly how to treat someone who had been drained by a vampire. Luckily for me.
Fuck, what was i thinking?
I should have just killed the stupid Nati and got it all over with, at least then my father might have looked at me with an ounce of pride. I am nothing but a disappointment to him, even though I wish I wasn’t.
He wants me to be as heartless as he and my brothers are, but I can’t. God, I am so stupid. Why do I have to make things so difficult for myself?
The room I have been left in was small, it barely fit the bed and all the machines plus two small chairs, it was giving me major anxiety. I couldn’t wait to get out of here.
The walls were covered in a perfectly white plastic, it's easier to clean the blood off that way. It's a good thing too, hunters get injured a lot.
I tense when the door opens, moving to lay on my side to try and relieve some of the pain in my back. If it wasn’t for the painkillers the nurse had given me, I'd be in tears by now, and I fucking hated crying. It was weak.
My father walks in a closes the door behind him, the look on his face a sobering reminder of what i had done. I have betrayed my entire family by letting that vampire go.
Yet, I don’t regret it, not for that reason, though I do regret the pain.
“Are Jake and Sean ok?” I ask, using my softest voice.
I was the only one who was supposed to be hurt, not them.
“They’re in a better position than you are.” He says, slumping down in one of the small chairs. “The Leason from the hunter's council will be here soon to ask you some questions.”
I nod, I expected as much, it isn’t every day that a huntress of my skill is caught off guard by a vampire, even a Nati. I needed to think of an excuse, and I needed to make it believable.
“What happened Mae?” he asks, looking at me with tired eyes.
“I don’t know.” I say, the lie easily rolling off my tongue. “One minute I was talking to you and the next I was pinned against the tree.”
My father stares at me for several eternal seconds, as though he is picking apart my lie with his mind. “You know better than to let your guard down, Mae, it could have cost you your life.”
“I know.” I whisper, sighing loudly, “It isn’t a mistake I’ll make again.”
I’m never letting one of those creatures feed from me again, even if that means I actually have to kill them. I'd do anything not to feel that vulnerable ever again.
I've never been weak, and I’m not about to start now.
“Make sure it isn’t.” My father says, running a hand through his greying hair, “I don’t know what I’d do if i lost you. You are my only daughter.”
I wince as i sit up, crossing my legs under me, “Is the council angry?” I ask, almost fearing the answer.
You don’t want to make the council angry at you, they can make you disappear in the blink of an eye. It'll be as though I never existed at all.
“No.” He says with a shake of his head, “They’re more worried, if the Nati can catch you off guard then it means they are highly trained.” He runs a hand over the stubble on his chin, “They’ll think twice before ending another family after him. No one should face him alone.”
I just made that poor Nati a target, more so than he already was. It's a shame, he was cute.
He won’t last long, not with the entire council out to get him.
My father stands, brushing off his jeans as he clears his throat, “I have some work to do, I am sure you’ll be in safe hands, there are plenty of hunters around, shout out if you need assistance.”
I nod, but i don’t say a word as he leaves, my eyes heavy as i lay back down on the lumpy bed. If only i could sleep away all of my problems.
The darkness takes me quickly, I can thank the pain for that.
****
I wake up in the early evening, and there is a tray beside me filled with small sandwiches and a few sachets of coffee. Along with a kettle in the corner that I can use to make them myself. It made me happy that they brought coffee. I hadn't had one all day and I was nursing a killer headache to prove it.
I grabbed my phone from the charging station and scrolled through a few videos as i made my coffee, the writer from the hunter’s council hadn’t arrived yet, and my guess was that I'd be remaining here until they do. Might as well make myself comfortable.
There is no sense is worrying over it, my father will protect me and back up my story, they won’t question a hunter of his standing. It would only cause them harm.
I look down at my phone when it dings, my eyebrows shooting up when i realise it's a text from my brother, Sean.
Sean- GET OUT.
I stare down at my phone, frowning, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?
Mae- What?
He replies instantly.
Sean- they're coming, GET OUT.
Panic and anxiety tear through me at the same time as i scramble out of the bed, searching for my shoes, i quickly find them under one of the chairs and pull them on, ignoring the sharp pain in my back. The vampires had found the hospital, and they were coming to finish what they had started. They were coming to kill everyone.I had to warn them, even if it slows me down, I couldn't just leave everyone here to die.Maybe it was stupid, but I had to take the risk.I quickly stumble towards the door, my hand inches from the handle when I hear several screams from just outside, I was already too late. I couldn’t save them, not now, not without dying myself.I had none of my weapons on me, not even the dagger I normally keep in my sock, they take everything from you the minute you arrive. No weapons are allowed in the hospital.That rule just killed everyone here, maybe even me.I quietly walk backwards away from the door, my eyes wide as i make my way towards the window, making as little
I yawn, trying not to stretch out my body as the pain in my back worsens, I’ll definitely need some painkillers to help me. For some reason I am just not healing quick enough, and that is a problem. A very dangerous problem. But there is nothing I can do about it right now, so there is no point in worrying, the doctors will know what to do.The doctors, where are the doctors? I haven’t seen one in a while.I open my eyes, looking around the strange room that I haven’t seen before, my heart rate increasing rapidly. I’m no longer in the hospital, I realise, it was attacked and I … I was captured by the Nati vampire I spared.Fuck. Where has he taken me?I look around the room, dark maroon wallpaper lining the walls, a tv and a small sofa in the corner to my left and a bookshelf littered with books and a chair to my right. I was laid on a four poster bed, white curtains tied at the edge, and as comfortable as it was, I needed to get out of here before he comes back and decides to finish
I flinch back a little when he lifts his hand and strokes it down my cheek, every nerve in my face on fire, it’s like his touch awakens something in me that I never knew was there. And I don’t want it to be there, I don’t want to feel this way, I can’t feel this way. It’s too dangerous.What the fuck is wrong with me?“Open your legs.” He commands, removing his hand from my face and kneeling down in front of me.I clench my legs together instead, my heart racing inside of my chest, fighting to break through my breastbone. What is he going to do to me?“Open your legs, hunter.” He says again, more forceful this time, “I won’t tell you again.”Reluctantly, I do as he says, slowly opening my legs so that my underwear is exposed, and what’s underneath it.My body is tensed in apprehension, and I’m fighting to catch my breath, how can something be so terrifying and yet so exciting at the same time?“I’ve been wanting to taste you since the moment I laid eyes on you.” He says, slowly tracin
The Nati vampire watches me in silence as I eat the toast and drink the coffee that he brought, they were both cold, but I didn’t mind. It isn’t like I had an abundance of food and drink choices lying around. Nor did I have the courage to ask for something else. I’d much rather deal with scraps than ask him for anything.The way that he looks at me is different from anything I have experienced before, and it fills me with feelings that I don’t want to think about, feelings that will do nothing except get me killed.I have to tread very carefully around this creature if I ever want to make it out of here alive, and I intent to. I will not allow myself to be destroyed by him, in more ways than one.I place the empty coffee cup onto the window sill beside me and glance out of the window, I’d like nothing more than to go for an evening run to stretch my muscles and help my body heal, but I know that it wouldn’t be possible. He isn’t exactly going to let me run around his estate, and besid
“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, little hunter.” he says, snarling in my face as my visions blurrs. “The choice is entirely yours but hear me when I say I can make your time here, much, much worse. Do you understand me?”I struggle to nod my head, my voice barely above a whisper, “Crystal clear.” I gasp.Mihai drops me, my back landing on the edge of the window sill as I crash into the ground, coughing as my lungs fill with as much air as they can.Why was he so impossibly strong? He was stronger than any other Nati I had ever met, and I have met my fair share of them over the years.Maybe I truly was lost to my family.I whimper as I try to stand, my back screaming at me in protest to the movement, landing on my back must have done more damage than I thought. I manage to move onto my hands and knees, crying out as another fit of coughing overtakes my lungs.Who knew that being choked could hurt so much. They never mentioned that in the books I read.Mihai takes a step t
I’m forced awake when the door slams open, the Nati vampire entering with a big smile on his face and a box in his hands. I slowly sit up, the pain in my back is slightly better, but I decide to be cautious anyway.“I’ve brought something for you.” Mihai says, placing the box onto the bed beside me.I stare at the box like touching it would give me leprosy, “No, thanks, I’m good.” i say, trying to politely decline.The Nati vampire frowns, “Open it.”I shake my head, “I don’t want to.”I'm not opening that god damn box, knowing my luck it’ll be the decapitated heads of my father and brothers.“I suggest you open it, little hunter, i only have so much patience.” He warns, his eyes flashing a deep crimson red.Fuck, then i guess i have no choice.Anxiety spirals through my mind like a tidal wave, I am really hoping that it isn’t anything gruesome. It's not that i can’t handle it, it’s more that if it is someone i care about, I can’t kick his ass for it. Not in the state I am in.My body
Tears stream down my cheeks as he slowly stands, making his way around the bed, “We are going to have to bandage it and put some cream on it, we don’t want it to get infected.” His voice is so soft, so gentle that if it weren’t for the burning in my hand anyone would think he was ok, for a vampire.He was so hot and cold, angry and then calm. He is a sociopath.He's trying to break me down, get me to submit to him, but i will not, even with this brand i will find a way to get out of here, even if i die trying.Death would be much better than this.“Come here.” He says, stopping a few feet from me.He's testing me, he wants to see if I'll obey him, i won’t.I stay where i am, staring at him with as much hatred as i can muster, though i am certain i am close to passing out.He heaves a heavy sigh, “There are much worse places i could have branded you, Mae.” he says, “The cream will help with the pain.”I want to believe him, I'd do almost anything to stop the intense throbbing in my han
I feel myself waking up, but i don’t want to, i don’t want to open my eyes and spend one more moment with that fucking Nati vampire just so he can abuse me in some way or another. I roll over and then grunt, my eyes shoot open, i laid on the hand he branded, and fuck, it hurt like hell. If only i healed as fast as one of them, that way i would have the energy to get the fuck out of here.I still healer faster than an average joe human woman, the hunter blood makes me stronger like that, but it still isn’t fast enough to compete with a Nati, and it never will be. No matter how much i wish for it.This is the real world, wishes don’t come true here, it isn’t a Disney movie, no one is going to save me, i have to save myself.I jump when the door opens, contemplating pretending to be asleep, but there is no way i want to piss Mihai off again, I've had enough of his punishments to last an entire year. I do not want anymore.I turn over, watching as he steps inside the room and close the do