Knight of the Hunted (NSFW Edition) (Born Vampire Book 1)

by Elizabeth Dunlap

  My fangs almost hurt from lack of use as they slid down. I didn’t need them when I drank bagged blood, so they’d been pushed up for weeks. With them down, my senses opened slightly and Knight’s scent washed over me, and god did it smell good.

  He smelled different. I couldn’t put my finger on it. He put his hands on my waist, so I leaned in and gasped when my teeth sunk into him. I think he moaned, but I didn’t notice. All I could focus on was his blood. It tasted so good. It was like almost dying and feeling life pour into you again, which wasn’t far from the truth considering how weak I’d been. I drank deeply and freely. I was surprised I wasn’t draining him. Normally, my companion stopped me when they started to feel weak, but Knight let me go as long as I wanted to. As soon as I felt stronger, I restrained myself and pulled away. Knight’s hands were fisted in my shirt, so I stayed still until he relaxed. As I watched, his neck started to heal until my bite marks were gone, as if they’d never happened.

  I put my arms around his neck and held him close. He owed me that. “I drank too much.” If I weakened him, we wouldn’t survive.

  “No, you didn’t.” His voice was muffled by my shirt. “My body will make new blood, so always drink however much you need.” Always? I tried not to read too much into his choice of words. “Move that ass, I need some water.” I stood and found a spot against the cave wall to watch him take a drink from one of our bottles of water. My body shivered, but I was the furthest thing from cold. He looked over at me and noticed. “Are you cold?”

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly. Getting enough air was hard with my teeth starting to chatter.

  “Let’s go for a swim.”

  Yes, please.

  He reached a hand out and when our fingers touched, I felt a jolt of electricity go up my arm. So warm. He was so warm. He led me down to the hot springs and slowly the hot water chased away all the ice. Or maybe it was holding his hand. I couldn’t say. Once we were in the middle of the pool, the water came up to my armpits.

  Knight dunked his head and resurfaced, shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes. Water droplets sprayed on me and I yelped to get away, then dunked my own head underwater so it won’t matter. He laughed and went below the surface again, only to come back up right in front of me. I stumbled backward and he caught me with a hand around my waist.

  “I have a question for you,” he began, his breath coming in visible bursts. The hand on my waist pulled me closer to him, so close his foggy breath was on my face. I was very certain I wouldn’t be able to articulate an answer to whatever he wanted to know. “If I hadn’t promised to protect you…” His other hand came up to wipe a bead of moisture off my bottom lip. “Would you still want me to be with you?”

  “I uhh…” I swallowed and tried not to focus on his eyes, or his lips. “I have a question for you.”

  A crinkled formed between his eyes. “Okay.”

  “How can you be this close to me if I repulse you?”

  Something in his face changed, an edge of sadness, of disappointment, and I felt like a fool for ruining whatever he’d been trying to do.

  “We don’t have long,” he said, trying to move his hands away from me. His body had gone rigid. What had I done?

  “No, don’t.” I stopped his hands with my own and held them around my waist. “Why don’t we have long?”

  “Lisbeth,” Knight breathed in warning. I was so distracted I almost didn’t hear the infections in his voice. His hands started crushing into my hips and it was hurting me.

  “Knight, what’s wrong?” I asked him, reaching a hand up to his face. Over his shoulder, I saw the clouds part and the moon came out.

  Let me say that again. The full moon came out.

  The moonlight hit Knight like it was searching for him, and his body stiffened in response. His eyes were usually dark brown, but now they were glowing bright yellow. He met my gaze and I’d never seen so much terror in someone’s eyes before. I took a step back from him, all the heat gone from my body and replaced with white cold fear.

  Knight started shifting. His hands lengthened into long claws, his muscles grew even bigger, and his face contorted into a snout. Hair sprouted on his body, so where he used to be mostly hairless, he now had black wispy curls.

  His scent turned acrid and almost made me choke because I was standing so close to him. When he was fully shifted, he looked like a wolf-human hybrid, not the dog-like wolf I’d expected. That’s when I knew the Alpha female was right. Knight wasn’t a Lycan. He was a werewolf.

  The werewolf with Knight’s eyes growled low in his chest and threw his head back to howl at the moon. My ears rang at the sound.

  “Knight, are you okay?” I stepped close to check on him, but it was a mistake.

  This creature wasn’t Knight anymore. While the moon held him in her grasp, Knight was gone and what had taken his place was a werewolf that that saw me as its mortal enemy. He swung his arm at me so quickly I couldn’t move away fast enough, and he sliced my stomach open with his enormous claws. The werewolf’s other hand came up and broke my neck in a swift punch.

  Then he howled at his precious moon again and left his enemy to bleed out and die.

  Eleven

  I woke up several hours later, floating in the pool of water. My wounds had healed and my neck wasn’t broken anymore, but it had used up most of the blood I’d gotten from Knight to repair what’d he done to me. Thankfully, I had enough strength left to push my senses out and see where I was. Knight had been overly cautious, it seemed, as our campsite was far from the nearest town. I hobbled back to the cave and put some clothes on.

  Fucking fantastic. This was how he treated girls. He holds them close and then breaks their necks. Not my idea of romance, but maybe that’s just me. Sure, he looked like he wanted to kiss me, but in the end, I was still his enemy. I was so fucking stupid. He’d never want me, not ever. I couldn’t believe I’d trusted a werewolf.

  I ate dinner and curled up in his blanket to fall asleep.

  When morning came, Knight wasn’t there. Waiting all day did no good. He didn’t come back. After the third day of sitting in the cave, literally dying of thirst, I got up and shouldered my bag, leaving Knight’s bag to rot in the cave. I couldn’t survive without blood and if he wanted to find me he could. I walked the long distance to the human town and couldn’t help but notice how lonely and quiet it was.

  The town was small enough that my picture wasn’t being circulated, and no one was talking about me killing an innocent child (I was still pissed about that). Knight’s scent wasn’t around, so I tried to relax. Darkness was already falling, the last night of the full moon, and while this town was very small, it had one redeeming factor: a nightclub.

  I found a used clothing store still open and bought something that reminded me of Olivier: a black leather dress with pockets and a million zippers. To go with it, I found some clunky black boots decorated with belt buckles. The cashier looked at me weird since I was dressed like a beach girl and buying gothic clothes. I changed in an alley and stashed my bag beside a dumpster after arranging my hair in messy curls and applying some makeup.

  The vampire was feeding tonight.

  I channeled my sensual side as I walked up to the club. The heavy closed doors held in loud pounding music that oozed from the large warehouse. The sound was muffled to those on the street, but for me, it was like I was already inside. I passed the waiting line of teenagers with fake I.D.’s and went right up to the bouncer.

  It should be noted that I’d never actually been to a club, so I was acting out what I’d seen on television. The hot girls always kiss up to the club bouncer, and if he’s straight, he lets them in ahead of everyone else. My heels clicked on the pavement until I stopped at the front door. The bouncer was stacked with muscles and looked like that guy from the racing movies Cameron liked to watch. Knight’s muscles were just as impressive. I smiled sweetly and waved at the bouncer when he noticed me. His eyes swept my body and I could tell
he liked what he saw, but apparently, it wasn’t enough to get me in the club.

  “Back of the line with that sweet ass, baby.”

  Seriously? Okay, what would Olivier do? That was easy: she’d deck him and use his body as a rug to walk into the club. I racked my brain for an idea.

  What would Knight do?

  I didn’t even have to guess that answer. I opened my purse and pulled out several hundred dollar bills, and then I waved them in the bouncer’s face. “How’s three hundred bucks sound?”

  He swiped them from me and slid the bills into his pocket. “Enjoy the club, baby.” He motioned and the big guy at the entrance opened one of the doors for me. If I’d thought the music was slightly loud outside, the music inside was deafening. I stepped into the large room packed with sweaty dancing humans.

  My prey.

  I recoiled at the thought. Humans weren’t considered prey anymore, but to rogue vampires like me, I suppose they were. Oh yeah, I guess I was a rogue vampire now. That sounded sexy.

  I forced myself to focus. The room stunk of sweat and pheromones. Anger, passion, jealously. Music poured through the speaker system and it wasn’t a bad tune so I had to keep myself from swaying to it as I herded through the crowd of people to get a drink.

  The club was lit by strobe lights that moved and bobbed with the beat of the music like someone was controlling them. Smoke machines poured out steam around the dance floor, making the dancers look ethereal and haunting as they swayed in a mating dance.

  When I got to the bar, I ordered a Bloody Mary and leaned against the LED lit counter to watch the humans dance. I’d started thinking of ways to feed that were discreet when my nose smelled lilac. I turned and standing one inch away from my face was Balthazar dressed in black leather pants, a white shirt, and a black leather vest.

  He always had to look so fucking delicious.

  I had to lean in close to his ear for him to hear me over the noise. “You’ve been wearing the same suit for 120 years, but you should wear those leather pants more often. Can I see your ass in those? I need that memory for later.”

  He gave me a dry smile and searched around me for someone. “Where’s the dog?”

  I shrugged and sipped my drink. “He bailed.” The words, or the drink, left a bad taste in my mouth.

  “Good. You smell like him. It stinks.”

  “I do not stink!” I smacked his arm and he laughed, showing all of his perfect teeth and accidentally drawing the attention of every girl around us. Balthazar noticed, for once, and dropped his smile so the females would leave him alone. Not that it worked, since they were now gathering in small groups around the bar to watch the sex god standing next to me.

  He ordered a pink martini and leaned against the bar, pretending to be oblivious to the humans staring at him. “Did you make love to him?”

  I almost spit my drink out. “What. The fuck,” I coughed.

  Taking a sip of his drink, he looked at me from over the rim. “I said you smelled like him. I failed to mention where you smelled like him.”

  “You are….” I downed my drink in one go and ordered another.

  “You’re low on blood. Interesting hunting ground, this.” He gestured with his drink at the dancing humans.

  “It’s not like I have options,” I told him. He shrugged so we sipped our drinks and surveyed the masses on the dance floor. I spotted a skinny boy wearing tight jeans and a striped shirt. His scent wasn’t too bad, so I left Balthazar at the bar to approach my target. The lights in the club were so dim that the humans wouldn’t be able to see me do some sleight of hand, so long as one of the strobes didn’t hit me.

  I was two seconds away from discreetly slicing the boys arm and filling my glass with his blood, but I stopped suddenly as Knight’s face came to me, and everything we’d shared. He thought I was a monster for drinking blood. Maybe I was if I did it like this. This wasn’t right. I couldn’t drink without someone’s consent. It went against everything I stood for. I almost wished I was hungry enough for a frenzy. At least in that state, I didn’t have the option of asking first and biting later.

  Balthazar didn’t comment when I stomped back to him and slammed my empty goblet onto the bar. It shattered from the force of my vampire strength.

  “Damn it,” I swore as the shards tore into my skin. I couldn’t afford to waste precious blood. I left the club with Balthazar behind me. We walked to the alley where my bag was and I started picking the glass out of my hand.

  If anyone else had been standing there with me, I would’ve expected a lecture or at least pelting me with questions, but Balthazar wasn’t like that. “I suppose you’re raiding a hospital now?” he asked me quietly after my hand had healed. I groaned at the thought of bagged blood, but if I wanted to keep my morals, it was the only option open to me. Balthazar produced a small wrapped box from nowhere and held it out to me. “I got you this. Happy Hallows Eve.”

  “It’s September.” He shook the box in my face so I’d take it. Inside was a familiar set of car keys. Stunned, I started to ask him why, not to mention how, he had them, but he put his hand up and gestured for me to follow him. Sitting in the parking lot across the street was Excalibur, safe and sound.

  I couldn’t think of a response beyond hugging his arm, which I did. “I’m impressed,” I told him with a smile. How he’d managed to find and buy my car back was beyond me. Though, if it had belonged to a female, I doubted he had to pay anything for it.

  “You’re on your own now, you need to take care of yourself,” he said. “I would’ve helped before but I was busy.”

  “Busy with some ladies in Copenhagen?” I joked.

  He rolled his eyes at me. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “I would actually. With details.”

  He kissed me on the cheek, and then he disappeared.

  When I sat inside my little fuel efficient car, it felt like I’d never left. I sat there for a few minutes, waiting for something, and I realized I’d been waiting for Knight to open the small door and sit next to me. But he was gone, and I was still alone.

  Damn him. I had to erase him from my mind and continue on my path. I drove Excalibur for an hour before I pulled over and started planning my next activity: robbing a hospital. It seemed simple enough. If I found a small one, maybe they wouldn’t be on alert about someone stealing blood and Arthur wouldn’t find out. Maybe. I was doubtful on that account, but if I waited any longer, I’d go into a frenzy and then it would all be over. Arthur would find me, no question about it. And then no more running, no more friends, no more….me. No more Knight.

  No, stop thinking about him. I wasn’t going to let four hundred plus years go to waste, werewolf or no werewolf.

  One crappy hotel room, a large order of Japanese take away, and a case of soda later, I had a solid enough plan put together. I rolled up the paper I'd written my game plan on and started picking up the take away trash when my phone rang. I’d considered buying a new burner phone since Renard had called me and the number could be traced if Arthur felt like doing so, but the thought of someone at the castle needing me and not being able to find me, mainly Olivier or Cameron, kept me from doing so. Plus, I’d given my number to Knight as well. I picked the phone up and saw “Unregistered number” on the screen.

  I pressed the answer button with no idea who was calling me. “Hello?” I waited for Arthur’s deep scratchy voice, but it was someone else.

  “Hey.”

  My throat constricted as I heard Knight’s voice on the other end. I searched for something to say since the only thing I wanted to ask him was where he was. If he was okay. If he missed me. “I umm…. I’m not dead.”

  “Yeah…I noticed.” I sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before he cleared his throat. “Have you fed?”

  Why would he ask me that? “No.” I wanted to tell him about the club but felt embarrassed at what I’d almost done. “I’m going to raid a hospital.”

  “Can’t that Incubus
help? You know, steal it for you?”

  “I can take care of myself, thank you.”

  “Makes sure you’re okay but leaves you high and dry? What a friend.”

  I scowled and felt my nails lengthen. “At least he doesn’t attack me and leave me for dead in a pool of water. If that’s your idea of foreplay, I’m not into it.”

  Knight made a grumbling noise under his breath. “Right. Because I always have complete control when I shift. Can’t believe I fucking forgot to mention that.” He sighed loudly. “This isn’t why I called you. I just want to make sure you’re eating.”

  More like make sure I’m not snacking on innocent people for fun. “I’ll have blood before the sun rises.”

  “Fine.” The line abruptly cut off.

  Twelve

  After an hour of blaring the car radio so I wouldn’t have to think about that buttface werewolf, I arrived at the hospital.

  The parking lot was quiet when I arrived and most of the hospital lights were turned off. The town around it was equally silent, something you wouldn’t find in a larger city, which was perfect for me. It was very late at night, and that meant pretending to visit a patient was out of the question. I’d opted for a more secret agent spy approach. I entered the hospital through the emergency room door and slipped out of the ER waiting room down an empty hallway. I push my senses out to examine the rooms around me until I found the scent of hospital scrubs. I followed the smell to a hall closet that had spare doctor robes and nurse uniforms. The nurse uniforms were the last thing I’d ever want to be seen wearing, but I swallowed my fashion sense and put one on over my clothes.

  My next move was tricky. This was a small hospital in a small town and I had no doubt that everyone knew everyone else, or at least remembered faces well enough to know that my face hadn’t been there before. It was unfortunate that I hadn’t drunk several times that day or I’d be able to manipulate my way to the blood bank. Since I was a rogue vampire now, what was another law broken? Luckily, the doors I needed to pass through were either unlocked or locked from the opposite side, so I didn’t need to steal anyone’s keycard. I made my way to the stairs after checking a hospital map for the location of the blood bank.