Hunter Maximus

Maximum’s POV

“Shit, it’s cold,” I swear and twirl the pretty knife I hold around my fingers, crouching on the edge of a rooftop with my best mate beside me. Darrius is peering over the ledge of this old and compact high rise which provided a convenient view over most of the entrances to our Vampire Palace.

I hadn’t had my fill of blood in a while, and I was damn thirsty. Isobel wouldn’t be able to avoid me drinking her blood for too much longer.

“Focus,” Darrius growls, looking over at me with cold eyes, “We don’t know when and where the werewolves will attack, so keep an eye out.”

I roll my eyes and scan the streets once more.

“I’d much rather be back home teaching my cute new pet a lesson or two…” I mutter under my breath. My phone vibrates in my pocket a moment later and I reach a hand into the leather pocket to pull it out, “Xavier,” I answer, while gazing at the full bright moon; the most dangerous time of the year for vampires.

“I have found two rogue werewolves entering a nightclub two streets down from your location, they’ve already killed and left 2 carcasses of vampires dumped in a wheelie bin in an alley way,” Xavier continues but I cut him off.

“Thank god you’re back,” I say with a grin, “You always had a knack at finding the werewolves the quickest.”

“We have another problem however –” Xavier goes silent for a moment and I hear an audible snarl and then a huff and a thump, “Those two werewolves are not the only people I have seen. I spotted the alpha wolf Christian, with a gang of his own pack heading for a different nightclub on the other side of the city.”

“Tell him to get the 2 lone wolves,” Darrius says to me, overhearing the conversation, “We’ll go down to Christian and his lot to make sure they don’t stir up too much trouble.”

“There is something else,” Xavier adds in, with an edge of annoyed amusement, “Claudia has reported to me that your slaves you have absolutely no control over have left the palace.”

I look over at Darrius and we lock eyes.

“Where are they headed?” I ask, barely keeping back the anger out of my tone. And the fear. I didn’t want my little vampire hunter or Jennifer to be hurt or potentially killed from ravenous werewolves. They thirsted for vampires, but Jennifer was a threat, meant to be locked up safely inside the palace walls where she was safe. And Isobel would try to protect Jennifer from harm, ultimately getting killed in the process.

“One vampire has reported to me that they are heading straight towards Christian and his pack,” Xavier adds in and Darrius reaches over and takes the phone from me.

“Are they safe at the moment?” Darrius snaps into the phone.

“I have to go contain these two rogues, learn to deal with your women yourselves, since you clearly have no idea, brother.” I overhear the conversation and Darrius hangs up with a snarl, throws the phone back at me and stands up at the same time I do.

“What are they doing out of the palace?” I ask, wondering why they would leave now, “Do you think this is their idea of escaping?”

“If it is,” Darrius growls back at me, “They aren’t going to get very far.” He already starts running to the stairs outside the building which leads down to the street.

“I can understand Isobel wanting to escape, but Jennifer?” I ask, “It hurts me that she’d hate us that much.”

“She is going to hate me even more when I’m done with her, she has to learn her place,” Darrius looks back at me, eyes blazing with anger, “I can’t lose her again.” I nod, my mind focusing on Isobel and Isobel alone.

I made a deal with her that if she didn’t try to escape, I wouldn’t turn her. She broke her word, and now…

I would have to break mine.

Once we are both on the street, heading towards their location, I grin at Darrius’ intense and focused expression.

“They’ll be okay,” I say, slapping him on the back, “They’ll be fine.”

“You know how much danger they’re in.”

“Yes,” I agree, “But once we save their pretty little asses and carry them back off home, we’ll have eternity to show them reasons never to leave, they’ll be begging to stay.”

Darrius laughs and pulls a knife out from his belt, “Once we find them, we’ll save them, possibly spank them, no, definitely spank them, and then show them all the reasons to never leave.”

“See? It’s the perfect opportunity,” I start to run with him, “Let’s go.”

As we run I can smell both Jennifer’s sweet scent and Isobel’s sweeter scent get closer. I also detect another female but I’m not sure who it is.

“We’re close now,” Darrius and I turn the last corner, into a shortcut which took us down an alleyway. Focusing on the girl’s scents, I fail to notice the disgusting wet-dog smell wafting up behind me. I do notice however, when I jerk in pain when sharp teeth suddenly sink into my ankle.

I’m yanked backwards and I lose my balance, but not for long. I see the ugly mutt that has its teeth in my ankle and I kick it hard in the snout so it eases its jaw just enough for me to free my leg. Darrius is fighting off another wolf that has lunged at him in wolf form from behind. The sneaky bastards always attacked from behind and always went for the throat.

“Disgusting mutt,” I snarl as it lunges at me once more and I slash my knife through the air, cutting its neck, but missing the jugular by an inch. The wolf falls to the floor, whimpering and Darrius has managed to stick his knife in the wolf’s stomach, where it falls onto the floor. Both start to limp away. Darrius and I grin at one another, after winning that small fight.

“Have another go,” Darrius calls back to the limping werewolves, retreating fast from us. Darrius scoffs and grins at me, pointing to the defeated wolves. They weren’t coming back.

“Shall we continue on our way, to find our slaves and proceed to teach them a lesson or two?” I ask positively, and Darrius sticks his knife back in his belt, smirking, before we both turn to see two familiar and one slightly familiar face staring straight at us from the opposite end of the alleyway.

Jennifer, Isobel and another girl, have frozen mid-walk, to see both of us staring straight at them.

“Don’t even think about running now, girls,” I say, a smile about to spread across my face – until, of course, they start running.

“Go, go, go!” I hear Isobel urge Jennifer and the other girl as they start sprinting and disappear out of sight.

Darrius and I are about to give chase when another figure suddenly drops down from the roof next to us.

A tall figure draped in a menacing black cape.

Xavier.

He pulls his hood back and glares at both of us.

“Come on, what are you waiting for?” He growls, stalking his way in the direction of where the girls have run off to.

“You decided to join the hunt?” Darrius asks, amused.

“The other girl that is with them,” Xavier snaps, “She’s mine.”

“Oh?” I ask, but Darrius and Xavier don’t say another word. They run off and I pursue with them.

Things were about to get interesting.

It was hilariously cute the girls thought they could escape us.

It was time to prove them otherwise.