I spat blood to the side. “Guess I’m not most people.”
His grin widened, flashing elongated fangs. “No, you’re not. That much is clear.”
He lunged, and I barely had time to block before his claws raked across my arm, tearing through the leather of my jacket.
White-hot pain flared, but I shoved it aside, twisting into a counterattack.
My knife sank into his shoulder. It was deep, but not deep enough The vampire just smiled.
“Tell me,” he mused as we circled each other. “Did one of my rabid pets bite you?”
That pissed me off. I launched at him, my attacks faster, harder.
My knife found his ribs, but he twisted, deflecting some of the impact.
He countered with a brutal strike to my side, knocking the wind from my lungs. I stumbled but didn’t fall.
He chuckled. “Ah, struck a nerve, did I?”
I didn’t answer. I just fought.
I slashed, ducked, spun, striking whenever an opening presented itself. He was fast, but I was relentless, fueled by adrenaline and fury.
Still, he wasn’t just some brute relying on power alone. He was toying with me, testing me. And that realization sent a shiver of rage through me.
Then, casually like we weren’t locked in a fight to the death, he asked, “Why are you with the sparrow shifters?”
I tightened my grip on my blades and didn’t answer him. He blocked my strike, then leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “You could be so much more.”
I kicked him hard in the chest, sending him staggering back. “Not interested.”
He wiped a smear of blood from his mouth and sighed, shaking his head. “Such wasted potential. You could be my second-in-command, you know.”
“Not interested,” I repeated.
His expression darkened slightly, but then his smirk returned, slow and knowing.
“I was once part of a prominent nest in Paris,” he mused. “Respected. Feared.”
I didn’t care. I feinted left, then drove my knife toward his throat. He dodged, but this time, I was faster. I slammed my knee into his ribs, making him grunt.
Still, he kept talking.
“I was exiled,” he said, brushing off the attack like it was nothing. “My own kind turned on me. I wandered for years until I found the rabid vampires in these woods. At first, I thought they would kill me. But then I realized I could control them.”
He smiled, eyes gleaming with something dark and triumphant. “Imagine what we could do together, you and I.”
I wasn’t listening, because I was done with this conversation.
I lunged again, striking fast and hard. He was strong, but I was ruthless, fueled by pure, unrelenting determination.
I carved a deep gash across his chest, making him snarl in pain. But he wasn’t done either. He retaliated with terrifying speed, his clawed hand closing around my throat.
He lifted me, slamming me back against a tree. Stars exploded in my vision, and my knife slipped from my grip.
His grip tightened. “Such a shame,” he murmured. “You would’ve been perfect.”
Then a gunshot rang out.
