Bite of a Hunter's Heart

"Take that too, she's quite dangerous with that," The tall man waved at me broadly with narrow eyes, touching the healing cut on his face. "Got me well, actually."

"F*ck you," I spit, as my sword is seized by armed soldiers. He narrows his eyes at me once more.

"Oh no, my lady. You won't be f*ck*ng your way out of this. Maria!" A woman takes my hand. "You, Lana Nova, are wanted for the murder of Waylen Monore. Bring her to Him."

I'm jostled toward a large door forcefully, as I pull back. "Wait what? I came here voluntarily, I didn't murder Way. And really?! Him? You couldn't have added a name?"

The large door is swung open. A large figure cuts through the darkness, his back to me. I swallow roughly. Are they going to execute me? Probably. It doesn't even matter about me, I mean, I don't want to be killed.

But if they kill me they'll stop looking.

"So," His voice is deep and rumbling, sending a shiver down my back. "It's you. I thought the woman who murdered her best friend would be..."

He turns around. Oh sh*t. He's hot. Chiseled, pale, striking red eyes, long black hair, that's slicked back. He looks down at me in radiating white hot contempt.

"More fitting of the ugliness inside of her."

I frown. Did he just call me pretty?

"I didn't do it," I grunt, the maid throwing me forward at his feet. "I loved Waylen, he was my best friend. I--"

"Your best friend," He repeats, his voice dripping with disgust and disbelief. He leans down, grabbing my face. "You expect me to believe a Vampire Hunter would be friends with a Vampire?"

He tosses me aside with a scoff, his cape dragging along the wood floors. His steps are silent, his figure imposing. He's taller than anyone I've ever seen, even vampires. Vampires I fight usually look old, decrypt. Dead.

He's...something different. Stronger. More dangerous. My fingers itch for my sword, but I know I won't win in a fight against him. It's instinctive. It's also instinctive to try. I huff on the ground, pulling myself up.

"I came here to prove myself innocent," I murmur, looking up at him. "Let me find the killer!"

He scoffs once more. "We already have." He tosses me a look over his shoulder. "Not to mention, even if I were to let you live, and I don't intend to; how could you ever prove your innocence?"

It's a good question. I've trained my whole life to be a Hunter. Tracking and killing Vampires is what I do. Finding out who killed them is...a little outside my field of expertise.

"Even you can see how preposterous your proposal is," He chuckles. "Not to mention, you'd just use it to escape."

He's right. I need to give him something. Something of equal value. All I have is freedom. And with my life in jeopardy, is...honestly not worth that much. But nothing beats a failure but a try, like they say.

My uncle used to say, Everything beats a failure, don't try just succeed. Which..is less helpful. But everything my uncle used to say was less helpful.

"I'll work for you," I offer. "He was my best friend. I loved him. I don't care about my life. I just...want to find who really did this."

He doesn't respond, instead showing his back as he looks out the floor to ceiling windows. "Why would I want a Vampire hunter skulking about in my castle. Lady Lana? It's more trouble than it's worth, isn't it?"

He asks a lot of rhetorical questions. I sigh. "I.." My vision fades a bit. Oh. I glance up, seeing his eyes. They're brighter than before, aren't they? Vampires only do that when there's...

I pull my hand down, looking down seeing a flood of red.

Blood.

Mine.I look up at him. He grins, his fangs glistening. "Ah...perhaps I won't have to make a decision after all, Lady Lana It seems you're dying. Oh well. All's well that ends well, hm?"

Oh sh*t. I'm dying. I...

I turn over, looking at the ceiling. It's so intricate.

Beautiful. 20 years. I made it 20 years in a high risk profession. It's not bad, I don't think. My parent's got to 30. Then again, I was never as good as them at my job, was I?"

"Waylen..."

My eyes close for a moment. And then they're open, pain shooting down my neck. I know what it is. His glowing eyes are narrowed, almost venomous, his fangs sinking into me, injecting me full of his venom.

Turning me.

And then he throws me to the ground, spitting out my blood in disgust. "You got your wish, human. Instead of death, I'll give you life. A life of servitude to me as the thing you despise most. Enjoy it,"

He walks away, slamming the door behind him. I shudder staring up at the ceiling.

He never mentioned his name.

You can't feel sympathy for them," My uncle frowns, rolling next to me in his chair. "They're not human, Lana. They're monsters."

I shake on the ground looking at my scarred hands. "Monsters...just them?"

He narrows his eyes. "No. Not just them."

I look down at my hands. They're not as scarred as they used to be. I'm healing. My stomach turns. I'm changing. And of course he did this, he's sadistic. He wants to see me suffer. I look down at the maid outfit he had me stuffed in.

Like really...suffer.

I'm only moving because I know very intimately that vampires can die. I've been killing them since I was 5, know the feeling of dust between my fingers, the remaining remnants of their victim's blood splattering in my face.

It's a visceral feeling, killing. I suppose it had to be. Even if they're monsters, they're alive.

"Take this up to his Ma