Chapter 03

JULIAN

Before Dimitri and Ambrosia had found me due to my severe lack of self-preservation, I was a tyrant who let the most primal parts of my being guide my every decision. My human emotions were kept locked away by the extreme need for blood that I desperately needed to sate on a near-constant basis. I used my tracking abilities to find myself the sweetest smelling blood because I knew it would be heaven once it slid down the back of my throat.

And that was the closest I'd ever get to heaven. Submerging myself, drowning in the blood lust would be the only satisfying feeling I'd ever feel. I was cursed to live a pointless endless life with only one joy and nothing more. Sometimes I would think back on the day I had been turned. It was a foggy memory but I remembered the pain of being nearly sucked dry. It was a late night and instead of being home, I was roaming the streets just like tonight.

Only, that night I was being hunted and tonight I was doing the hunting.

I inhaled the crisp air, lips splitting into a grin as the sweet notes of a specific someone's blood burned the back of my throat. Being in a club full of humans was my real test. I had to fight the urge to sink my fangs into the soft throats of all those unsuspecting humans. None of them would have left the place alive. I would have worked fast, killed them in one fell swoop before I drained them. It would have only taken me a few seconds, they wouldn't have seen what was coming their way. They wouldn't have had the time to yelp, let alone scream.

The scent I had been tracking for the last couple of blocks at a leisure pace led me down a dark alley with a dead end. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. I sometimes grew bored of this. There was no challenge when your prey made foolish decisions. Not that it mattered. His heart hammered violently in his chest. It was the equivalent of a punk rock band to my ears. I could hear his heated blood slouch through his veins, rushing to his arteries and vital organs. At some point, he must have broken skin because the scent of his blood was now more potent. I had to grit my teeth and clench my fists until the point of pain to stop myself from attacking.

My chuckle bounced off the walls in the dark alley, echoing menacingly. The man's audible gasp of terror almost had my heart starting up with excitement. Every step I took toward the massive blue dumpster he hid behind felt exhilarating. The way his heart skipped. The way he scurried further behind the object as if it could save him from his fate.

I buried my fists into my dress slacks pockets, coming to a standstill. When I faced the man the clear panic highlighting his dark eyes only had my smile widening. Sweat coated his skin, his clothes in a disarray compared to earlier in the night. This man was no random target. I had a very specific reason as to why I chose him.

That reason's name was Lilith.

He was huddled on the floor in a ball, clutching his knees to his chest. His Adam's apple bobbed but my gaze locked onto his vibrating pulse. I licked my lips at the mere thought. It had been a while since I drank fresh human blood. I planned on savoring it even if I didn't understand the complete reason as to why I was hunting this man.

"I give you a five-minute head start and instead of speeding away in your fancy car you chose to run?" I snorted, amused by the choice he took. Either way, he wouldn't have been able to escape me but I expected him to be smarter than that.

"What do you want from me?" His voice betrayed him at the end, a quiver escaping.

I crouched in front of him, gripping his jaw in my hand roughly with a snarl, "Tell me, do you touch every woman like they're your personal plaything for you to unwrap, or is it just the strippers at the club you were just at."

One specific stripper. Lilith.

"It's part of their job," he hissed in pain when I added more pressure.

"Dealing with assholes like you isn't part of her job description the last time I checked," a deep growl rumbled in my chest, one I had never heard myself make before.

I wasn't completely certain why I didn't like the idea of him touching her the way he did but I was going to make sure he never got the chance to touch her again.

The words she told him in her thick lust-driven tone swam in my mind, hedging me on. 'No touching what's not yours, big boy.' I scoffed. She was clearly insulting him because nothing about him said 'big'.

"I didn't hear her complaining," for a guy who was on the verge of dying he had one too many snarky comments.

My eyes zoned in on his pulse once more and I felt him shudder. It was as of his body knew what was about to happen to him but his mind hadn't caught up yet. I let myself sink into that pit of nothingness, only giving away to the feeling of hunger.

"You'll never get to hear her complain," I whispered, tilting his head to the side and sinking my teeth into his throat with a flash of speed.

He tried to scream but I crushed his windpipe instantly. Usually, I killed them first before feeding but I wanted to feel this one's life force drain from him as the morbid part of me enjoyed the imagery depicted. He tried shoving me away but it was futile, I only sunk my fangs in further, feeling the strange sense of unnerving euphoria that came with each mouthful of blood.

I groaned at the sweet taste but growled when I tasted notes of alcohol and something else. He was high on something but it wasn't enough to taint his blood completely. It was still enjoyable for the most part. When I was done, I pulled away with a content moan and rose to my feet once more.

Using the pad of my thumb, I gathered the last remnant of blood dripping from the corner of my mouth and licked it before retracting my fangs into my gums. The man's corpse laid sprawled on the ground.

"And how do you plan on getting rid of the body?" A familiar British voice called from down the alley.

I looked over my shoulder and found a silhouette of Thorne, "I thought you would have left by now. They did say you had dealings of your own to take care of."

"I don't need to leave right now," was all he said, closing the distance between us.

I had to reign in my frustration. This Hellhound wouldn't think twice before setting me ablaze, "Since you're here why don't you turn him to ash? Might as well make your presence useful."

With a flick of a finger, the body lit up in orange, red, and blue flames before turning to ash a second later. Thorne allowed the flames to die out with a frown, "Let's not make a habit of this."

"Yes," I agreed, "let's not make a habit of you following me everywhere. I don't need a babysitter."

"Relax, I'm not sticking around to babysit you. I'm sticking around because your vampire buddies came through. That Hellhound got into contact with me. I'll be meeting her soon," Thorne grinned. For a creature that carried hellfire with him, he was a little too rambunctious for my liking.

"Great. So you do what you have to do and leave me the hell alone," I muttered, walking away before anyone could spot us.

Maybe I had a spec of self-preservation still left in me.

Thorne easily kept pace with me as we rounded the corner and entered the desolate streets, "You're not supposed to stay in one place for more than one night. You've hunted, it's time for you to move on."

"I still have some things to take care of," I answered bluntly but it was a lie. The lawyer didn't require anything further from me and, in all fairness, I needed to check out everything else that was now transferred onto my name but something in me told me not to go.

Instinct told me to stay. It definitely didn't have anything to do with the stunning purple-haired girl with a spicy attitude. No. I refused to believe that I was being held back by my undue interest and fascination with the little she-wolf.

"You better get everything in order by tomorrow night in that case," Thorne said firmly, leaving no room for discussion.

"Is running away from your problems the advice you give everyone?" I quipped, sliding my tongue over my teeth.

"Not if there's another option," he answered curtly, "but, as we stand, there's no option that will lead in your victory. It all only leads to your death."

"What makes you so sure about that?" I arched an eyebrow in interest as we rounded another corner to the club. The music could be heard from all the way down the street.

"Let's just say I'm good with predicting this sort of thing. At least things that involve death," Thorne's frown deepened exponentially. "The she-wolf, did you speak to her about joining a pack, even if it is a rogue pack?" He wouldn't tell me why he was so invested in getting her to join a pack but I could guess. I was new to this world but I caught on quickly to how things worked.

"She's content with living a human life," I responded blandly as we entered the club, "at least she has the option." If I could revert to human I would in a heartbeat. The person I had become after turning scared me. I was a cold-blooded murderer and the scarier part was, I enjoyed it.

I lived for the hunt. It elated me more than anything I could think of. Nothing in my human life before this ever excited me as much as tracking and hunting someone did.

"You'll have to find a way to change her mind. It's not safe for her to be alone either way. It will be good if she has a pack."

"Need I remind you that numbers don't help. This thing took down patrol wolves from a pack, leaving not one alive. She's probably safer on her own as long as she doesn't draw attention to you herself," I noted, pushing my way through the throng of bodies. My thirst was becoming a persistent itch at the back of my throat again. If this continued I'd have to go hunting again, this time for animal blood and I despised the taste of animal blood.

"You being here is drawing attention to her," Thorne whispered under his breath knowing I would be able to hear him but the humans wouldn't. We entered the office behind the bar. One I knew was rarely ever used considering the condition of the place, "you're the Vampire king. Once word gets out that you're here then your kind will want to come to see you, test you in ways you haven't been tested yet and one she-wolf amongst a coven of vampires is bad news."

The thought of harm coming to her had my skin crawling with unease. It was a worse off feeling than the burning thirst I was shackled to, "She's going to be fine. I have a feeling this isn't the first time she's dealt with vampires and it's not going to be the last. She knew Dimitri and Ambrosia and now she knows me. So, if anything or anyone dares to harm her they will have to go through me first."

"That's a cute sentiment but need I remind you that you're a newborn. You have brute strength but do you know the first thing about defense," Thorne crossed his arms and widened his stance looking like the authoritative figure he was striving to be.

"Oh, ye of little faith," I clucked my tongue in amusement, "I spent enough time in the Green Forest pack to learn a thing or two and Dimitri was training me. Vampires are quick learners."

"Of course you are but don't let that go to your head," he chastised, "you're not invincible."

"Yeah, I'm not," the corner of my lips kicked up into a knowing smirk, "no one's invincible and that's exactly what I'm counting on."