Daphne’s POV

Fresh blood in the Border Lands means one of two things: You have found your prey…

Or the predator has found you.

Tonight, I can't tell which.

I reach for the hunting knives strapped to my thighs. The sun is already setting, which means the real idiots will be out soon.

I follow the faint metallic stink that clings to them no matter how many centuries they waste walking around.

You’d think after decades of being hunted, they'd have figured out how to rid themselves of that tell-tale scent. But there's an arrogance that comes with immortality. Or maybe it’s just the certainty that nothing human can truly touch them.

A shame no one’s told them about me.

My eyes snag on a shabbily buried corpse beneath the layers of soil. The kill is fresh, so I say a quick prayer for the victim and keep moving. The monster responsible for this definitely won’t be too far off now.

As I continue down the trail, a blood curdling scream shatters the silence of the forest.

Before I can think, my feet break into a run in that direction. The bastard has probably gotten to someone else.

Another scream tears through the air, and I push myself harder, barely giving my lungs time to expand and fill with oxygen. My weapons are drawn by the time I arrive at the center of a clearing where the trail stops.

Desperately looking around for any signs of struggle and finding none, I realize what has happened entirely too late.

There’s movement from behind me and I turn to look directly into the crimson eyes of a vampire- freshly fed. They’ll fade back to black soon enough, but for now, he’s riding the high of it.

“You lot are far too gullible,” He hisses and I mentally prepare for a fight as he circles me slowly.

“First of all, your imitation of a human scream needs a lot of work. Far too shrill.” I discreetly adjust into a fighting stance, “Secondly, if you lured me here for a chat, I hate to disappoint you, but I have to be home soon.”

He merely laughs at what he thinks is my arrogance. Good. I love when they underestimate me.

“I’m going to have too much fun draining you.” His eyes practically glow with hunger. Greedy bastard.

I give him a little smile, “Likewise.”

The next thing I see is a blur, as he lunges at me. I duck, dodging his strike as I send one of my knives into his side and he staggers back.

Fast, but not particularly skilled. A small smile curves my lips- he’s a rookie.

I fake right and he follows, leaving his left side open. I kick his ribs, sending him stumbling sideways. He’s getting angrier, and by all accounts, sloppier.

His fist slams into the tree behind me with a satisfying crack, and I get behind him, slashing my knife across his ribs.

Fuck. I was aiming for his heart.

He turns faster than expected, grabbing my wrists and throwing me backwards. The impact rattles my skull, but I roll out of his range and push myself back up, tightening my grip around my knife.

My breath is coming in harder and shorter bursts. I need to end this.

He looks at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. “You're a hunter.”

“Took you long enough.”

His lips curl then he disappears. I barely have time to register the movement before something hard slams into my side. My ribs crack as I fly into the dirt and gasp for air.

Oh okay, change of pace then. Rude of him not to send me the memo.

I scramble to my feet, but he's already on me again. I barely block his first strike, and the second one successfully connects with my shoulder.

What he lacks in extensive skill, he makes up for in speed because he’s really fucking fast. He's not fighting like a rookie anymore, he's fighting like a vampire.

I manage to put some distance between us and grab the second knife from my thigh. I aim and release, watching it fly through the air and sink into his chest.

He freezes and for one glorious second, I think I've done it. But then his eyes lift to mine and that wicked mouth curls into a depraved smile.

“You missed.”

“No shit.”

He rips the knife out and comes at me again. I barely manage to reach for my crossbow before he wraps his fingers around my throat and completely lifts me off the ground.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

My feet kick uselessly as I claw at his wrist. He doesn’t even flinch.

“Hunters,” he murmurs. “Always so confident.”

“Let me go!” My words are a strangled mess and his laughter carries genuine amusement.

“Why would I do that?” His grip tightens, “Have you ever thrown your dinner away?”

“Once or twice.” I choke out even as my heart hammers in my chest.

I can’t believe I let myself get cornered like this. How will my parents find me? Am I about to become the fourth disappearance this week?

His fangs break my skin and sink into my neck. I have never known such breath-taking pain. It fills every fiber of my being as my body goes rigid.

The bastard is going to kill me.

The world becomes blurry as he drinks, my strength draining with every swallow. There’s no way this is how it ends for me- dying like helpless prey in the middle of the forest after falling for a cheap trick.

I hit his arm wrapped around my throat weakly, but I’m losing energy fast and making even less of an impact than before. My fingers barely move against his wrist.

As black spots dot my vision, I send my prayers into the afterlife ahead of me and slip into a strange sort of light headedness where I can no longer feel the pain.

From somewhere far beyond me, I hear someone choking but I don’t register what’s happening till his grip loosens.

I drop to the floor hard, filling my lungs with as much air as they’ll take and my hands fly to my bruised neck.

The vampire staggers backward, coughing and clawing at his own throat as blood spills from his mouth. He looks back at me and for the first time since he attacked, there is no hunger in his eyes.

Just pure terror.

His gaze drops to the blood running from my neck, before coming back up to my face.

“Corren…” His voice is hoarse as his eyes widen in recognition.

“What the fuck?”

His body begins to convulse and he drops to his knees at the same time I scramble to my feet, desperate to get away from him.

“The bloodline…”

His eyes find mine one last time.

“The bloodline lives.”

The vampire falls forward.

He’s dead.