Meeting: Vampire Hunter Saga Book 1

by Sands, Charlene

  "Blood-drinking?" My voice was just as low as his.

  "Exactly." Ty gave a quick nod. "But, you see, they can't kill a human, so they must take a control test every three months—most skip out on it. And they also have to have consent forms signed by humans—they skip out on that, too."

  I remembered Zane. He looked like someone who wouldn't care about silly forms. "But I thought humans weren't supposed to know about supernaturals.."

  "They aren't. So... The vampires are required to do something called 'Memoria'. It's when they mesmerize their human 'donors' to forget the experience. And they can never use the same human over and over, because that means, eventually, Memoria will stop working on them."

  "How do they do that?" I asked quietly.

  "How do you think?"

  Zane's startling eyes came to mind, and his gorgeous looks. Oh. I could see how he could mesmerize a girl into forgetting anything he wanted her to forget.

  "So," Ty continued briskly. "There are a lot of vampires who don't like that. They want to keep on... playing with their food. Some let the humans know what's going on, and keep one. But that's dangerous, not only because they could let secrets get out, but the human could eventually die—especially if the vampire lost control."

  I gave a heavy sigh. "So... Why were you there? Why did the vampire-George-try to kill me?"

  "I was there, because every now and then, we check up on supernatural clubs to make sure there's consent forms signed, and everything's legal." He raised his eyebrows. "You know, it's illegal for there to be actual interspecies relationships."

  "Even if both species are supernatural?" I asked, thinking of how Zane had kissed Kylie's jaw.

  "Yep. But, of course, the supernaturals don't exactly want to follow our laws," Ty said, rolling his eyes. "So... Sometimes we send human spies in to act as people who want their blood taken—they escape in time and tell us what happened. Usually, we disguise our scents on them pretty well, but when they are caught... Well, spies aren't supposed to be allowed."

  "The vampires kill them," I said, beginning to understand. "I see. And they thought I was a spy because they smelled your scent on me."

  "Pretty much." Ty winced. "I can't believe I didn't notice you following me... I'm pretty new to this. Or, at least, I'm new to actually working. I've known about this being my destiny since I was nine years old. Dad... Dad was one, too. Werewolves in Alaska were what killed him." He clenched his fists. "I'm not very forgiving about supernaturals, but if Zane—well, I'm not exactly sure what that vampire wants." He shook his head. "He has a reputation, so I want you to stay away from him."

  "No problem," I said quietly. "He's a jerk." However, I narrowed my eyes. "But you are, too. Why didn't you tell me? You know I'm good at keeping secrets."

  "I'm not supposed to," Ty growled. "It's forbidden. But now I'll have to tell my boss, and hopefully, I can get you protection with us."

  I touched his hand. "I... I guess I can forgive you now. It was a pretty big secret, but important to keep. I see that."

  Ty smiled, and touched my cheek. "You promise to keep this a secret?"

  "I promise."

  xxx

  The wolves gathered in around me, their eyes glowing in the night. Where was I? A... forest? How'd I get here?

  I gave a gulp, closing my eyes for a long moment before reopening them. The wolves-no, werewolves-had made what was nearly a circle around me, leaving one space. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. My feet were rooting to the spot. Looking up, I found that there was a perfect half moon in the sky.

  "Hello, Alex."

  Whipping my head around, I saw that somebody was walking through the space of the circle. His eyes shone with what was almost a black light, and his skin almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. He smile, revealing perfect fangs.

  "Zane?" I asked frantically, trying to move—it was impossible. "Zane, get away! Leave me alone."

  "Your heart is racing." He took another step towards me, his voice smooth. "I can hear it. You want to be different. You don't want to me a normal human."

  Suddenly, he was at my side, breathing in my scent. He leaned down towards me so that his face was pressing against mine, his icy skin sending a chill down my spine.

  "You want to be dangerous," he whispered, his breath almost making me shiver. "No, scratch that. You want to be around danger. It excites you, just like it did when George almost killed you." He passed his hand down my shoulder, ending at my hand, which he held on to.

  "Get away from me," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I don't want anything to do with you. Nothing."

  "And you want everything to do with your Hunter, the safety freak?" Zane's tongue ran up my throat. The problem is, it felt good. It must have been a vampire thing.

  "He's a friend of mine," I muttered, desperately wishing I was somewhere else. "Just-"

  "A friend that you desire," Zane purred, touching my hair. "I'm a vampire. Didn't he tell you? We specialize in luring people in. We know what they want..." He glanced up at the half moon. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to get it, for there's something I want."

  His fangs came so close to my throat-

  I sat up in bed, breathing hard. My hair was tangled, and my pajamas were soaked with sweat. Shivering, I reached up to skim my fingers over the place where Zane's tongue had been. It had felt so real... so terrifying.

  Ty was a Hunter—part of an organization that kept supernaturals under control. A vampire was going to meet with him... And the vampire also had my scent, so who knew what he was going to do.

  Where did Zane stand? He confused me. Ty had mentioned him having a reputation, and referenced to a dark past. But Zane had said that he didn't do that anymore, whatever "that" was. And he had saved me, as much as I hated to admit it.

  His cocky attitude annoyed me, though. Not to mention the fact that, as gorgeous as he was, he was also scary. The guy was a vampire, for crying out loud!

  A vampire.

  Vampires were real. Kylie's face came to my mind—so were werewolves. There were also supposed to be other supernatural creatures. What? Witches, warlocks? Ghosts? Mermaids? I had no idea. But Ty seemed adamant about keeping them under control for the safety of mankind.

  Then again... Ty wasn't even completely human. He had to be stronger if he was able to fight a vampire or werewolf. And he'd mentioned a special sense..

  I rested my forehead in my hands. How was I suddenly the only human in this bunch? What had I gotten myself into...

  There were still so many questions I had to ask. What stories about vampires and werewolves were true, and what weren't? How much would Ty be doing, as a Hunter? How long exactly had Ty been "on the job"?

  It took me forever to get back to sleep, but luckily, I did. Sleep was like a veil that I could hide behind. It hid me from the world, from my problems. Unless I dreamed of Zane again.

  xxx

  Ty's eyes widened as he saw the gigantic order of fries I'd gotten. I was walking out of Tammy's to where his car was parked, waiting for me. It had been two days since the supernatural incident-which was what I called my near death experience-and we were planning on... talking thing over.

  "What?" I asked defensively, swallowing a fry. "I just went through an extremely stressful situation, and I'm about to go through another one."

  Suddenly, Ty was cupping my face in his hands, and looking straight at me. "I'm sorry about all this, Alex. I should have told you in the first place—I should have trusted you more."

  For a moment, I was breathless, hoping that I wouldn't drop my fries. After all, they had been all of seventy cents. And I was nearly broke. And Ty was kind of stroking my wrists with his fingers, which made me kind of want to just drop the fries and throw my arms around him, and-

  "Yeah," I mumbled, taking a small step away from him and looking at my feet. "You should have." I then proceeded to stuff a fry in my mouth to keep myself from saying something that would compromise our friendship.

  "
Pretty much." I got the feeling that Ty was still looking at me. There was an air of awkwardness around us as we got into his car. As my fries sat in my lap, I realized that some of our deepest conversations lately had taken place in the car. So I was worried. Deep conversations weren't good, especially if they were about the grounds of our relationship. Which was not good, since, at the moment, my resolve was kind of weakened.

  "Have you seen any sign of Zane?" I asked quickly, plastering curiosity onto my voice. "The Hunter senses been tingling?" Oh, gosh. I'm SO going to have to use that phrase.

  Ty sent me a withering glance. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you? I was eight..."

  In the early stages of our friendship, Ty had been a major Spiderman fan. He had Spidey posters, Spidey merchandise, tons of plastic spiders. He'd even mastered that freaky little finger thing. And he'd been so mature when he'd yell, "MY SPIDEY SENSES ARE TINGLING" all over the place whenever his dad-or any adult-would enter the room. Note my sarcasm.

  "You know," I smirked. "I seem to remember you scaring the heck out of me with those plastic spiders."

  "So... You aren't going to let me live that down."

  "Not a chance."

  Ty rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. He looked a bit more like himself, even as he spoke of serious matters. "To answer your question, no. There's been no sign of Zane anywhere. Of course, if he was-" He broke off for a moment, then sighed. "I don't want to make you nervous."

  "I'd rather be nervous than unknowing," I told him solemnly. Though it's kinda hard to look solemn when you're anxiously chowing down on fries.

  "You see," Ty began. "I'm really new to actual work. Dad began coaching me on it when our trip began, but you know what happened. And I sort of have a mentor, but I'm not telling anyone who's a part of SCA about this until the time's right. The time isn't right."

  "I'm with you there," I agreed. "They might try to get a vampire to do that whole... memoria... on me." The word itself was kind of creepy. "Ty... I had a dream that night after you took me home. Are dreams symbolic?"

  "Some supernatural races say they are," Ty answered slowly. "Like werewolves and witches and warlocks. Vampires can't even sleep, so I don't know about them. Tell me about your dream."

  I bit my lip, then decided that if he was going to tell me all his personal stuff, then I might as well too. He tried to look completely calm during my story, but every now and then, his eyebrows would jerk just a bit, or something would show up in his eyes. When I was finished, he took in a deep breath.

  "I'm hoping that dreams aren't symbolic," he said, voice intense. "But I'm going to be honest with you: Zane's dangerous. Really dangerous. I'd prefer it if you weren't around him at all." Now he was parking, and we got out of the car and walked into the park.

  "I wouldn't let him bite me, anyway," I said. "And wouldn't it be impossible for me to be unable to move?"

  "I'm not sure..." Ty gave a slightly helpless shrug. "I'm starting to think that anything's possible."

  I gave a sigh. "Does Zane have buddies with the werewolves?" I decided not to mention his whole thing with Kylie. That kind of weirded me out, since he'd saved me-as much as I hated to admit it-and she didn't seem repentant at all.

  "Oh yeah," Ty nodded. "Zane seems to be trying to reform, but..." He shook his head. "You don't need to know."

  "Tell me."

  "He frequently lost control," Ty began slowly. "Or at least—that's what he told us. He only feeds from women around his age, and is, in fact, a womanizer."

  "That doesn't surprise me," I commented.

  "The guy is a true warrior," Ty continued. "An excellent fighter. But he was... bad. Still, from what I understand, something must have happened, since now he's calmed down a lot. As much as a vampire can calm down, that is."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "Vampires get a thrill out of truly seducing their victims," Ty explained quietly, giving me a sideways glance. "They drawn them in with their beauty and charm... Make the humans fall in love with them. Then they either break the humans' hearts... Or..."

  "Kill them."

  xxx

  Three hours ago, Ty had dropped me back off at my house. My parents were gone off having a "date night", and the sky was the pale blue of evening. I'd chosen one of my favorite thinking places to relax in: my back yard.

  Well, it looked like it wasn't Ty's fault that he'd been acting so distant all. What with the rules of the SCA combined with his desire to protect me, he couldn't help it. He'd never be in all this trouble if it weren't for the supernaturals. (Or, as Ty told me, Supernaturals. With a capital 'S'. That's how the SCA referred to them.)

  I sat up in the grass, throwing a rock at my house. "Stupid Supernaturals."

  Cold, familiar breath tickled my throat.

  "Now," a smooth voice said from behind me, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Don't go saying that. You might hurt my feelings."

  Chapter 4

  With a yelp, I jerked my head around to find none other than Zane, crouched behind me as if he was about to pounce. He gave a wide, fangless smirk. "How've you been, Alex? Is it short for Alexandria or just Alexandra?"

  "OK, OK," I panted. "How exactly is creeping up on me going to make you look like the good vampire?"

  "Who said I wanted to look like a good vampire?" Zane retorted, shooting me a venomous look. "Besides, why should I have to prove myself to the human girlfriend of a Hunter? Especially considering that she clearly knows nothing about my kind?"

  I breathed in deeply, then let it out in a long sigh. "Ty is not my boyfriend." How was that the only thing I was capable of saying?

  "Oh, really?" Zane sounded amused. "'Ty'. Tyler Sanders, son of Rick and Jennifer Sanders, both Hunters and loyal members of the SCA." His eyes darkened briefly. "Rick specialized in werewolves-ironic, isn't it?-and Jennifer in vampires."

  Ty's mom was a Hunter, too? I guess it made sense. But how did Zane know all this? How did he know more about my own best friend than I did?

  "Look," I began, placing one hand on my hip. "You said you'd visit Ty to talk about your loyalties. Why are you here? How'd you find me, anyway?"

  "Simple," Zane shrugged. "I got your scent and tracked you down. As to why I'm here... Do you realize that your friend could easily be setting up a trap for me? There could be tons of his men with him, just waiting to attack me. Now you could show me to his place and come with me, just for backup."

  "You mean..." My eyes widened. "You're holding me hostage?" OK, time to run. But before I could, Zane grabbed my wrist in his impossibly strong hand.

  "Not really," he informed me. "I have no intention of hurting you, since I doubt your friend will have any of his people with him. He's new to all of this." He looked me over, and seemed to breathe in my scent. "Not as new as you, though. I had a feeling that you weren't a spy."

  "I'm not." I tried to keep my voice level. Being calm was the key. No freaking out. "Just let me go, OK? Then I'll show you where Ty lives."

  Zane's eyes locked with mine. "Alex, please don't try running. It's not going to be any use to you, and you'd know that if you've heard any vampire tales whatsoever."

  "Superhuman abilities?"

  "Exactly." He tilted his head to one side, studying me. "For a human, you're taking this all awfully well."

  I gave a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant. After all, if he thought I was taking this well, it'd be better to keep that image up. "After you find out that your friend kept his father's death from you, other shocks just pass through pretty easily."

  "True." Zane gave a nod of agreement. "So... Hope you keep that attitude up, because now, you're in our world."

  "And what world is that?"

  Zane gave a quick smile with fangs. "The world your boyfriend and I share. It's a world that I've been in for nearly five hundred years—while he's just been initiated. And you're even newer than him." With a laugh, he stood up completely.

  "How many times do I have to tell every
one?" I mumbled, blushing as I tried to look taller than I was (and failing miserably). "He's not my boyfriend! Not that it's any of your business."

  "Considering that I've known you for such little time, it shouldn't be," Zane said. "But, you see, I'm a vampire. Everyone's business is my business if I want it to be."

  He turned the full power of his eyes towards me, and I quickly looked down at the grass. No, no, no. After Ty's story of Memoria, I didn't want to get myself entranced. "Look, you may think that holding me hostage is the best way to get to Ty, but it isn't. Just let me call him-"

  "There is no way in Hell that I'm going to let you do that," Zane interrupted flatly. "And trust me, I've been to Hell—so I know what I'm talking about."

  "My parents will freak out and call the cops," I warned.

  "I have no intention of hurting you." For some reason, his voice sounded oddly honest. "Your Hunter friend just needs to realize what he's dealing with, and what I want. You're coming with me." With those words, he slung me over his back.

  OK. This was getting annoying. Did guys feel like they had some right to just start carrying me? Gosh. Maybe I should get a restraining order, or something... Though I doubt any restraining orders apply to vampires.

  It was weird, and completely irrational, but I didn't get the sense that Zane wanted to hurt me. Not really, at least. Sure, the guy thirsted for my blood-

  What was I thinking?

  "Your heart's beating rather quickly," Zane pointed out conversationally. "You really shouldn't worry. I drank before I came here."

  "That comforts me a lot," I said dryly, my stomach jolting with each step he took. "The idea of you murdering some innocent girl before meeting me."

  "Just because I bite and drink from someone doesn't mean that they die," the vampire snapped in an irritated tone. "Such a misconception. And who said she was an innocent girl? Kylie's not even human, let alone innocent."

  "Kylie?" I choked out. "The werewolf?"

  "Yes... I have a regular donor, but sometimes I can't get to her. Kylie was around, and let me tell you, she's not as bright as she seems."