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At that, the vampire blinked, turned, and fled into the night.
Hopefully, their speed would take them out of danger. A few Hunters gave chase, Hunters that were genetically enhanced. Gunshots sounded farther away. He hoped that the two vampires were smart enough to fly once they got the chance.
But they weren’t his problem anymore.
The woman had stopped struggling and now hung limp in his hand, but he hadn’t killed her. Blood bloomed over her chest and stomach. One of her own had shot her, probably thinking she might as well be dead now that Julian had her. At least this way, he couldn’t feed from her to gain strength.
What a waste of life. Julian let go of the dead human. The wall was back. The ice that had made him immune to the killings, to feeling, returned.
Cold and merciless, Julian faced the Hunters.
He was ready and itching for a good fight.
Chapter Seven
TheHunters,sixofthem, circled Julian, teeth bared and arms hanging loose with the ease and confidence of one who had cornered their prey. Yet, they approached him with caution, unaware of his strength and capabilities. Smart move. Because if they thought six humans could defeat him, even if enhanced to be stronger and faster, they were sorely mistaken.
Their goal had clearly been to use the female to attract a few clueless vampires and kill them. They hadn’t expected a stronger vampire to show up.
“Are you just going to stand there? Or are we going to get the show on the road?” Julian said, flashing his fangs and crooking his finger at the nearest Hunter.
“You’re cocky for someone about to die,” the Hunter snarled.
Someone signaled and they fired. Did they think they could surprise him? Even without the ability to read their minds, he could predict their actions.
Julian dodged in a blur that confused the Hunters. They trained their guns in his direction and continued firing, unable to follow his rapid movements even with their enhanced vision. Julian grunted when the bullets hit, the burn of silver instantaneous. It was a minor annoyance. He’d lost count of the times he’d been shot or staked or stabbed with silver, and he blocked out the pain without a second thought.
He slashed open the throat of the nearest Hunter, pried the gun from his hand, and fired twice behind him before the gun clicked, empty. Two surprised grunts. Two bodies hitting the ground. He knocked the gun out of the fourth Hunter’s hands and buried his claws in the man’s chest.
Blood roared in his ears as adrenaline pumped through him. The last two Hunters tried to run. Julian threw a gun at one Hunter’s head, which hit with a sickening crunch. The last one he chased down and snapped his neck.
It was over in a minute. The smell of the dead Hunter’s blood perfumed the air, but Julian had no desire to feed. Instead, he only felt…
Sad.
Sad?
What the fuck?
As he glanced down at his handiwork, exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders. He’d grown up in a war-torn world, so it had seemed natural that even as a vampire he should still be fighting. Yet, things hadn’t changed after a thousand years. Was immortality nothing but endless killing and fighting?
Perhaps he should’ve rejected Alistair’s offer to turn him all those years ago.
Perhaps he’d have found peace in the next world.
Peace.
An image of Leah flashed through his mind.
It was her fault. Her fault that he craved something as banal as peace.
Who the hell wanted peace? He’d fought to survive, and nothing would change that. If he could go back in time, he wouldn’t change a thing.
Julian grimaced as fiery pain penetrated his consciousness despite his efforts to block it. Silver burned through his veins like acid, spreading at the speed of an uncontrollable forest fire. A few decades ago, the Hunters had modified the silver so it circulated faster inside vampires, immobilizing them. Julian could feel its effect as he lost sensation in his right leg.
In his condition, flying back would be like taking a megaphone and telling every vampire in the vicinity that he was vulnerable.
Like signing his own death warrant.
