Knight of the Hunted (Born Vampire Book 1)

by Elizabeth Dunlap

  I drank so much; 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, though I couldn’t say why I wanted to do so. “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. He gently let go of me. “Move your butt, I need some water.” My strength was climbing so I stood and playfully slapped his arm. He walked to the waterfall and stripped off his shirt and pants before diving into the pool of water. He splashed me several times, on purpose, so I jumped in as well. We had a splash war (he won) and swam happily for hours. Everything was fine until the sun was completely set and the moon came out.

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

  The light from it hit Knight like a smack in the face, 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 towards him and stopped.

  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 done shifting, 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, so I stepped close to ask him to stop, 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 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.

  Chapter 11

  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 ate dinner and went to bed.

  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 hunger, I got up and shouldered my bag, leaving Knight’s bag in the cave. I couldn’t survive without blood. Knight could follow my scent to wherever I went, assuming he ever came back, so leaving a note wasn’t necessary. 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 night club.

  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 a messy bun and applying some eyeliner.

  The vampire was feeding tonight.

  I channeled Olivier's demeanor as I walked up to the club so I wouldn’t look nervous. 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, sweet cheeks.”

  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. 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.

  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.

  I had to lean in close to his ear for him to hear me, but since he was right next to me, I didn’t have to lean very far. “You’ve been wearing the same suit for 120 years, but you should wear those leather pants more often.”

  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. “Interesting hunting ground for you, Lisbeth.”

  “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 tar
get. 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. 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, and as the shards tore into my skin, I swore at myself for wasting 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?”

  “As scintillating at your love life sounds…” He poked me in the side with his finger, 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.

  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 enough hospital, 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.

  I wasn’t going to let four hundred plus years go to waste.

  One crappy hotel room, a large order of Japanese take away, and a case of soda later, I had a solid’ish’ 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. “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?”

  Now that he said it, I wondered why Balthazar hadn’t done just that. “That’s not how he works,” I told Knight, though I was sure Balthazar could do it if he wanted to.

  “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.”

  Knight made a grumbling noise under his breath. “Right. Because I always have complete control when I shift. Can’t believe I 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.

  Chapter 12

  The hospital I’d chosen was quiet when I arrived. 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, so 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. 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.

  Lack of blood was making my head pound, and it was only getting worse. I was dangerously close to a frenzy. My senses were so closed in that I could barely smell the humans even when they stood nearby me. I stumbled on the stairs and over my own feet several times before I got to the right floor. Move, legs. Don’t fail me when I’m so close. The orders to my legs did no good, forcing me hug the wall slightly to stay upright.

  As I got to the blood bank, I was greeted with a locked door. I smacked my head on the door a few times and wondered why I thought I could even get away with this. Espionage wasn’t my thing, a fact I had just proved. Of course, the door would be locked. Why would it not be? I groaned and beat my head against the door again.

  “Need something?” Startled, I whirled around and leaned back on the door when my equilibrium failed me. Standing two feet away was a handsome Indian man wearing typical doctor scrubs with a white coat over them. “Oh my,” he said in slightly accented English. “You look quite close to the edge.”

  What was he talking about? Maybe he thought I was high on drugs. I thought about playing it up, but I hadn’t been playing before now and he was already convinced I was a stoner. “What you need isn’t in there, my friend. Come with me.”

  He held out a hand to me, and I saw no reason to not take it. Once he took me somewhere and we’re alone, I’d just bite him and pretend he agreed to it. Knight could shove it up his-

  “We don’t have time, let’s go.” The doctor gripped my hand tightly, and put his other one around me to tote me along. He was surprisingly strong for a human. He half carried me to a nurse’s station on the other side of the floor. Two wo
men were sitting in chairs eating popcorn, which I couldn’t even smell. They got up when we arrived and started fussing over getting me to a chair. “She needs a gift,” he told them.

  I was about to ask what in the hell he was talking about when one of the nurses unbuttoned her collar and pulled it aside to reveal her neck. There was no time to ponder what was going on, why a human was offering her blood to me so willingly, why she knew that I needed it, or who these people were and if they’d turn me in to Arthur.

  I dove for her neck and sank my teeth in.

  A hand slipped around my neck, the Doctor’s, no doubt monitoring how much I took and ready to rip me off if I drank too much. As soon as the first mouthful slipped down my throat, I regained control and pulled away when I could tell the nurse had given almost too much. Her blood had a weird flavor, almost like I’d been feeding from an animal instead of a human. It sustained me, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I’d have to brush my teeth later.

  “You are Born,” the doctor remarked as I used a tissue to wipe my mouth. “I wasn’t sure at first; you were so pale, so like the dead. But there it is, the color is returning to you.” His stance had changed from caution to relaxed, since now he knew I wouldn’t attack the humans. “My name is Ahmed.” The nurse’s blood flooded my system and I could suddenly feel his essence. He was old, slightly older than me.

  “Lisbeth,” I said back.

  He nodded and appraised me for a moment, before moving. “Come, I will show you the city.” At this point, it was too late to run if they were going to tell Arthur about me. I might as well stay. We left the nurses and walked down the hallway. “That was quite a bit of espionage to get into the hospital.” He turned his head to look back at me and smiled. “But you were so far gone, your eyes were turning black. Another second and I would’ve had to kill you.” He said it casually, like killing me was the same as getting me coffee.