Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 61

I really like this.

No, I don't mean the love of my life being in danger but all the fighting, which I get to sink my teeth into.

It gives me the freedom to fully exercise my muscles. It is something I have missed doing for a long time.

Yes, I break the rules and kill a few humans from time to time, but that's more about my lack of self-control than anything else. But this, this is different.

It's all about the thrill of the hunt, the power of my muscles, and my skill levels. Trying to rein in all those predatorial instincts for such a long time has been exhausting.

Now, I am free. Free to be as vicious as I can, free to be my true self. The only thing that stops me from getting lost in my Huntress mode is Eliot.

"You idiot, your blood is too tempting for you to be here!" I yell at him as I get rid of the man who dared cross swords with Eliot.

"I was worried about you," Eliot says, breathing hard.

"That's just stupid," I say.

"I did save you, didn't I?" Eliot asks, his eyes full of hope.

How am I supposed to crush his dreams? How can I tell him the truth? That he was the main reason that I was in danger in the first place.

To my utter shock, I realize that I can't tell him that. I can't break his heart by putting that kind of burden on him.

"You did, but I need you to go now. You are bleeding, and we might hurt you. You are far too irresistible for your own good." I say.

I can see that even the other vampires can sense blood dripping from the small cut on Eliot's hand. Only he can be clumsy enough to cut himself on his own sword.

"Ahem, Helen, why is Seymour looking at me like that?" Eliot asks, starting to move away slowly while dropping his sword at the same time.

I follow his gaze and see that only Cecilia and Tobias are still themselves. The remaining vampires look at us with bloodlust burning brightly in their red eyes.

What's worse, the look in Seymour's eyes tells me that he is out of control, that the delicious scent of Eliot's blood has made him lose all reason.

"Alarcos, keep Seymour back, or I don't answer for my actions," I warn, positioning myself in front of Eliot.

Alarcos quickly snaps himself out of the blood-induced daze and grabs Seymour before he can dash towards us.

Seymour is so lost in his bloodlust that he pushes his boyfriend away, trying to break his hold and snack on my hopefully-future-boyfriend. The rest of the vampires still alive seem to also focus on us, and I don't like that.

"Tobias, Cecilia, I need your help to protect Eliot!" I yell, judging them to be the least affected.

Alarcos turns Seymour towards him and tries to calm him down by breaking his focus on Eliot's blood.

"Seymour, calm down. It's Eliot. Remember that we are here to help them." Alarcos tries to reason with his boyfriend, who isn't ready to listen to reason.

Suddenly, Alarcos changes tactics seeing that his words don't have the desired effect, and starts kissing Seymour passionately.

Kissing a blood-frenzied vampire wouldn't have been my first choice. However, after a few moments of struggling and even more of Alarcos' blood being spilled, Seymour wraps his hand around Alarcos gently, deepening the kiss. His focus seems to be only on his boyfriend. His bloodlust is forgotten.

As Cecilia and Tobias reach me, I have to refocus my attention on other vampires, now that Seymour is taken care of.

"Cecilia, you'll have to carry him back to safety. I want to be the one to do it, but I am a better fighter. It makes more sense for me to stay here," I say.

Before she can carry him away, I turn around and crush my lips to his, my bloodlust non-existent and my need to protect him overwhelming.

"Don't you dare die on me? We have a lot to discuss when all this is over." I say, abruptly breaking the kiss.

"You too, Helen. Come back to me," he manages to say before Cecilia whisks him away.

The moment she dashes off, the remaining vampires try to follow, but Tobias and I manage to block them. It helps that Seymour is back to normal, so he and Alarcos help us in our attempt to stop the others from following Eliot and Cecilia.

After a few moments, the daze passes, and the vampires start attacking us, which is just what I was hoping for.

I leave the remaining guards to the others as I focus all my attention on Vincent, the oldest vampire in the Vampire Council. He has been known under many different names and seems to have been alive far longer than even I can imagine.

I use the sword I took away after Eliot dropped it and swipe towards Vincent's head, knowing that my strength or fighting skill wouldn't be a match for this.

"Do you really believe you can win this fight?" he asks, surprised that I would even dare attack him.

"Maybe not, but I am willing to die trying. Are you?" I ask.

Something flashes in his eyes, and I realize that I hit a nerve. He is most definitely not ready to die fighting me.

If I manage to get an advantage over him, he will run away like a coward.

Our swords clash once again, sparks flying all around us. I can't help but wonder how to win a fight against someone as experienced as Vincent is.

"I can't help but wonder. Why are you ready to die? What are you fighting for?" he asks as he parries my next move.

"Of course, you wouldn't understand. You think all there is to existing is blood and mayhem." I say.

"That's all we need. Why get involved with mortal business when we can just feed on the humans and throw them away when we are done. After all, they will die eventually. We are just accelerating the process," he says, trying to stab me in the gut.

I barely dodge his blade, whirling around, trying to land a blow.

"There is more than blood and hurting others, enjoying their suffering," I say as he blocks my blow and we both skitter across the ground.

"What might that be?" He asks.

"Love," I say.

His roaring laughter feels the space between us as he surprises me by throwing his sword, effectively pinning me to a tree.

Pain shoots through my shoulder but worse than that is the fact that I can't seem to pull it out as the vampire is stalking towards me. For the first time, I am the prey, and he is the predator.

"Love is just a myth," he says, his face too close for comfort.

As his face keeps nearing, I am waiting for his teeth to rip me apart. I can't help but wonder if this is how I die.