"Never hesitate, huh?" Karina mumbled as they reached the headquarters to report. The other members looked at each other with confused faces.
Alice didn’t mind her taunts, and they went on their way. She's too enraged to care about the woman's bickering.
They were welcomed by the secretary of Clarisse Monroe, the head of the hunter’s association in their country. She was better known for her alias, Black Lotus. She was also the woman who saved Alice’s life.
"You’re pretty early. I assume nothing went wrong?" She welcomed the team with a huge smile. Alice heaved a sigh. She still doesn’t get how the woman who was deemed the deadliest hunter who’d killed the most vampires has the bubbliest personality. People who didn’t know the woman would easily think that she was harmless, then die if they tried to do anything reckless.
Alice rolled her eyes but answered anyway, "The only problem here is that you put newbies right into the field. Do you know how these kids cowered in fear earlier? What is this? Are we out of hunters?" She was barely keeping it together earlier. Their lives are at stake every time they face a vampire. They could get killed with one wrong move.
Everyone behind her, except Karina, looked guilty. They barely finished their third assignment as a team. They were understaffed, to top it all off.
Black Lotus heaved an exhausted sigh. She turned to the rest of the team.
"You guys are dismissed. Have some good rest, you all. " Her eyes only went back to Alice after everyone had left.
She gestured for Alice to sit, "I’m sure that this will be a long talk. Please sit down."
"Why didn’t you tell me?" She was fuming with anger. Alice didn’t expect that the woman would lie to her.
The older woman’s eyes squinted. Alice didn’t know if the woman was acting or not; she was angry either way.
"Sorry, I can’t follow. I’m certain that I told you everything you needed to know about your teammates, the remaining few ones." She added with a hint of sulking.
"That vampire. He was at the masquerade ball. You told me you haven’t found him, but that monster is just around the place, playing around and having the time of his life! " She spoke without a pause.
Black Lotus couldn’t answer for a moment. Her mellow expression turned into a firm one, "There were vampires with whom we couldn’t deal, not with so many lives at stake. That vampire you’re talking about is roughly a thousand years old. We don’t stand a chance. "
She hissed, almost like a vampire would.
"I would kill him myself. Now give me the information about him, or I will take it myself. " She knew how dumb it was to challenge the head of their organization, but she didn’t have all the time in the world.
All of her previous lives came to an end on their 28th birthdays. She remembered exactly ten of her previous lives, and all of them never passed a day without dying. It’s exactly six months before she turns 28. She didn’t survive this long just to be killed for the nth time.
The woman remained firm in her decision.
"Fine." Alice stood and walked away without looking back. However, she didn’t go out of the headquarters but walked straight into their database.
People have been asking her what her business is, but Alice was in too foul of a mood to even explain. She just wanted to know enough information about that vampire and she will be off on her own. She was never expecting anyone to help her kill that vampire. They had already provided her with enough.
"Give me access to all of the vampire profiles you have." She gave the order to the person in charge.
The man calmly stood and tried to mediate the situation, "But you already have access to it, Ms. Alice."
Her expression didn’t change.
"I need the restricted ones too." She saw him swallowing nervously.
Alice figured that the man wouldn’t easily give her what she wanted. She pulled out her gun and pointed it at the man.
"This could kill a vampire, but so could you if you don’t give me what I need." He quickly raised his hands in fear. Everyone knew that Alice never joked around and was serious about her threat.
The glass door she locked for a reason shattered. Alice put down her gun and looked at Black Lotus, whom she thought was the only person she could count on.
"Stop wreaking havoc and follow me. I’ll tell you what you need to know. "
--
She crossed her arms impatiently while the woman pulled out several folders.
"He went by many names, just like any other vampire did. He is currently known as Elijah, and like I told you, he’s roughly a thousand years old, and it’s impossible for you to take him down alone. "
She glared at her, "Do you not hear what I said earlier?"
The woman snatched the folders and checked the information gathered so far. It only made her furious, seeing that they had already found the vampire a year ago and hadn’t told her anything.
Black Lotus’ reaction didn’t change. She knew perfectly what would happen if Alice tried to fight the vampire.
"Things are different now. I could protect you, Alice. You don’t have to try to kill him. " She argued, only thinking about the woman’s well-being.
Alice let out a frustrated groan. She rarely trusts anyone, which is also why she doesn’t feel disappointed when people try to upset her. But it is different for Clarisse. She treated the woman as her only family after she ran away from a place she couldn’t even call home.
"This isn’t what you promised me. You told me that if I joined the organization, you would do anything to help me." She was the one who gave her hope that this would stop and that she could live and break the cycle.
"That is what I’m doing. I am helping you to stay alive. Do you think I’m doing this just because I want to? No, I’m doing this for your own sake. You’ll die if you fight head on with that vampire."
Alice shook her head, "No. You know what you did to me? You betrayed me, and you broke my trust. " She didn’t wait for Black Lotus’ reply and went on her way, carrying the folder containing the information about Elijah. "What was that about?" She was welcomed with a question from Carl. Alice doesn’t even know why the man was still here when they were dismissed ages ago. Alice rolled her eyes and went on her way, but the man blocked her way. "An answer would be nice. Was it because of our mission earlier? " "No. It’s none of your business. Now let me get through, or I’ll break a bone or two in your body. " One glare was enough for her teammate to make way. She went straight to her car and drove like hell back to her house. The night was still young, and it was rare for her to go back this early because she usually joined in other departments' hunts, just for the chance to see and kill the vampire she was finding. She flipped through the papers to try and find the man’s current wh
Alice could see desire in Elijah’s eyes, and she wanted to gouge his eyes out for that. He grinned innocently as the woman took her seat, wearing a straight face. "Why are you doing this?" She didn’t beat around the bush, but the man ignored her and called for the waiter. She looked at him dead in the eye when he asked what he wanted to eat, but Elijah simply shrugged and ordered himself. "I also ordered for you. Don’t worry, I have an exquisite palette. " His eyes went straight to her neck. It glimmered crimson for a split second. Alice glared at him after the waiter left. The restaurant is spacious, and every table has its own section, so the people could have the privacy that Alice used to interrogate him. "Let’s cut this crap. Tell me, why are you doing this? Do you really have a death wish? " She was more than willing to kill the vampire if there was one. The vampire shrugged, "You were the one trying to find me. Shouldn’t I be the one who’s asking you why? " He threw back t
Elijah felt a sudden gust of wind inside his house. He didn’t pay much attention to it until someone tried to attack him. He was faster and didn’t break a sweat, catching the culprit by the neck.He grinned upon seeing his blood servant grinning at him despite being strangled. The younger vampire, in the body of a rather skinny teenager, struggled with his strong hold. Elijah is starting to regret saving the child."Who told you to sneak up on me?" His eyes glimmered in the dark. The sun is still up, and any sun seeping inside is dangerous for vampires that can’t withstand the sun.The younger vampire hissed, "And who told you to go after her when you said she was a hunter in this life?" Allen complained as his master let go of him. His eyes were still glowing in anger, not because of the pain but because of his master's being careless for the nth time.Elijah clicked his tongue, "Aren’t I the master here? Why are you the one scolding me? " He complained and sat on the couch. His eyes
Alice checked her things before leaving the headquarters. The moon was already up, and she decided to go for a hunt. Hunters usually never do hunts alone, but mostly with three people or at least a partner. But Alice is always an exception. She had a bad history of leaving her partners and going on her own way until Black Lotus just let her be instead of being everyone’s source of stress. "Block my way again, and I will break a rib or two." Carl didn’t flinch and kept using his over six foot frame to block the way. He was worried about what was happening to Alice, and so were the other people in their team. The woman rolled her eyes and walked to the side, but Carl blocked her again. She glared at the man and then punched him. Carl managed to catch her hand, but the woman was fast enough to make a counterattack. He ended up on the ground writhing in pain, holding his crotch. "I told you not to block my way. I’m not in a good mood." She picked up her bag and left. She passed Art on
Allen gasped in pain. His master took out the bullet in his chest with a swift move. He catches his breath while his body does its thing to survive. He was healing slowly, but he was out of danger."I’m sorry." He promptly apologized and shivered, knowing that the man was dangerously furious right now.He gasped for the second time. The older vampire took him by the neck, his hands digging their way into his flesh. The blood servant helplessly tried to inhale air."You could have died, you idiot! You weren’t supposed to die before me. " Elijah’s eyes were glowing with anger. Allen didn’t budge, knowing that the vampire was just angry because of his rash actions.Elijah’s hold on him slowly loosened. He collapsed on the couch beside his blood servant. He didn’t intend on hurting him further when he was already injured, but Allen had been with him for more than 200 years. He was his only family, and the thought of him dying scared the hell out of him.The blood servant was still heaving.
Black Lotus looked at Alice with curious eyes. She didn’t know if she should ask or not, but Alice beat her into it. "If you want to say something, then do it already." Alice gave her report and sat down. She preferred to be out, but she needed to talk to her mentor. She heaved a sigh while thinking that Alice would never change. She taught her to be stronger, but the woman was already strong enough even before they met. She would have survived without her in any case. "You looked hammered, and so did Karina and Arianne. When I said to train your team, I didn’t say to give the kid a hangover. " She pointed this out with a sarcastic smile. Alice crossed her arms, leaning her back against the chair in a lazy manner. "It wasn’t my fault, okay? I went there alone, trying to drink my misery away, but those pesky people planted a tracking device, which wasn’t so obvious by the way," She rolled her eyes, "So yeah, it wasn’t my fault." Black Lotus imitated her annoyed look and answered,
Alice woke up in an unknown place. She was alarmed at first, but the serenity of the place made her heart at peace. It was odd, because she shouldn’t be here. She doesn’t even know where she is! The woman walked around, looking for anything that looked familiar, but all she saw were trees and more trees. The sun was brightly up and surprisingly irritating to her a bit. It wasn’t exactly hot, but she didn’t feel comfortable walking around either, especially since she was barefoot. "Why am I walking around without shoes on?" She asked herself, slowly gaining some consciousness of where she was and what was happening. She tried to find a huge shade to hide herself from the sun. She struggled to recall which of her previous lives she was in, but she was certain she hadn't seen this one yet. "At least this wasn’t a nightmare." She sat on the ground, not minding the dirt getting on her dress. She hugged her knees. Alice had never felt this comfortable in a dream before. It was serene, b
The streaks of wind hit her as she speed towards the location where the signal was sent. Her heart was pounding fast and loud. It was emotions she hasn't felt in a while, back when she still let herself to care about others. "Alice, where are you?" It was Carl’s voice from the ear piece. It was automatically connected to all members after someone sends the distress signal. She could hear engines from the background. The others are probably on their way too. Hopefully, they could still see Arianne alive. "I’m on my way." She avoided the question and sped up. If vampires get to her, then they must hurry. Alice bit her lower lip in anguish. She shouldn’t have gone this far if she knew that something like this would happen. Out of all days, why it has to be today that someone in her team needed help. She arrived at the location and everyone was already crowded at one side. Karina looked at her with worry in her eyes. She handed Alice Arianne’s phone, which remained on the page of the