After Solitude

Chapter 48

Desmond's POV

She's a fucking vampire.

How could I not have seen the signs?

She must be thousands of years old to hide it from me.

I shake the thought of Poppy out of my head as I walk into my condo. Small, but livable with a reasonable price for rent. I got it when I first moved here, I should have known better to discredit the local hunters in my hometown when they told me this place was a goldmine for the supernatural.

The gun I had intended to unload on Zoey is thrown onto my laminate counter. I want to bash my head in knowing that I accidentally pulled the trigger on my ex girlfriend.

Why should I feel bad? I ask myself. She's a vampire after all.

Images of her smile looms in the back of my mind, making me regret my earlier thoughts. I was falling for her, I really was.

Absentmindedly opening the fridge, I search for something to eat. Stress eating is a bad habit that many people struggle with.

Eventually, I pull out ingredients for a sandwich. When in doubt, a sandwich is always the way to go.

Shuffling of the bushes outside my kitchen window cause my eyes to snap in that direction only to have to shuffling to settle.

My instincts tell me to investigate, but my aching body tell me that it's just a raccoon looking for some food.

As soon as my sandwich is finished, I bring it to my beat up brown leather couch and flip on the TV. The channel is the same as I had on last night and the night before, true crime.

Of course, nobody on here knows who some of the murderers really are. Granted, some are just really fucked up humans, but a lot are monsters like vampires, wolves, fairies, or even succubus'.

The shuffling returns, making my skin crawl like ants on a log.

"Fuck off." I whisper to myself, not wanting to get off the couch.

As the rustling continues, I force myself off my couch and open my front door, inspecting the area.

It could be Poppy. Maybe she's woken up.

Nothing but grass and weeds.

Maybe I've officially lost my mind. I shrug and lock my door behind me before walking back into my living room.

I freeze, seeing a human shaped figure silhouetted on my couch.

"Poppy?" I ask, hoping it's not some random monster that wants me dead for many understandable reasons. Being a hunter in general pinpoints me as a target anyways, non-humans aren't fond of me.

"Guess again." The voice comes out cold but unrecognizable also feminine.

Stepping back, I look around for a weapon, something, anything, but nothing is in sight.

"We haven't met before." The silhouette moves forward, forming closer and closer to me until she is fully in sight, "Brina." She holds out her hand.

Who?

"I'm going to need you to stay away from the Vurthron." She states nonchalantly.

Saliva pricks my windpipe, blocking my airway and causing me to viciously cough.

She quirks her eyebrow at my struggle. I'm not sure if she's amused or concerned.

"You're talking about-"