Only Vampires Cry Blood (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #3)

Only Vampires Cry Blood (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #3)
Trina M. Lee


Chapter One

The city scenery flew by as I hurtled down the street at full speed. The ice cold, night wind whipped my hair around behind me, and the sound of snow crunching underfoot accompanied my pursuit. I was hot on the heels of a vampire I'd been tracking. It hadn't taken him long to determine that he was being followed. He ran and I gave chase, unwilling to lose this one. The fact that he ran only enticed me more. He was acting like prey.

This son of a bitch was mine. The chilly, seasonal air carried his scent, guiding me with perfect precision. The combination of blood, citrus and a woman's perfume on him made it easy to navigate the twists and turns he was taking. The bastard had about a block on me. With inhuman speed, I shot through the night like a bullet.

Ice and snow marked the path I took despite the fact that spring wasn’t far off.

Nearing the end of the block, I followed his scent around the corner, careening out of control as I hit an icy patch on the sidewalk. My arms flailed, and I swore heartily but, miraculously, never went down on my ass.

I recovered quickly, regaining speed as fast as I'd lost it. He was so close, I could feel him. I surged forward, closing the distance. Once I got him in my sights, my heart jumped with joy. Oh yes, here we go.

He was stupid enough to cast a frantic glance back at me over his shoulder. It was enough to slow him down on the icy sidewalk. I moved so fast, it felt like my feet never even touched the ground. All I could focus on was having him on the ground beneath me while I tore his throat out.

The impact when I hit him was mind jarring. I threw myself into him, taking him down with all of my weight on his back. He grunted from the force and struggled to roll over beneath me. I used my forearm to pin his head to the snow covered concrete, pressing hard against the back of his neck.

“Get the hell off of me!” He attempted to dislodge me from his back, but I held tight, grinding his face harder into the ground. With a knee planted firmly between his shoulder blades, I held him down with far greater ease than I'd anticipated.

“Guess what, pal. You are all mine.” I growled the words at him around my four fangs. “It's up to you if you go out quick and painless or slow and agonizing.” For good measure, I gave his head another smack against the ice packed cement. He grunted but lay still beneath me. “I know you've been spawning vampires at The Wicked Kiss.”

He was giving off energy that stank with anxiety. It told me a lot though. He was afraid. Knowing that I intimidated him only fed my fire. I was more than ready to dust him, but I had to force him to talk first.

“Aw, f**k,” he groaned. “Not you. Not Arys' bitch.”

“Ah, you've heard of me.” I barely resisted the urge to smack him. “Piss me off, and I can drag this out until dawn and let the sunrise finish you off.”

Silence. He had to be considering his options, which were incredibly limited. After a moment passed and he hadn't said or done anything, I knew what was coming, and I braced for it. I felt it when he gathered his power and prepared to lash out at me. I was prepared to meet it with my own, so when it began to burn instead, I was beyond shocked.

I let out a small yelp. No two vampires have the exact same abilities though most are metaphysically inclined. Whatever he was doing, it burned. I leaped to my feet and tried to place one booted foot on the back of his head. He took advantage of my action and rolled, grabbing my foot in his hands as he did so.

Before he could twist my ankle, I stepped on his arm with my other foot. I could feel the bones grind but nothing broke. Too bad. He let go of me, and I immediately put a few feet between us. This gave him the opportunity to get to his feet, which hadn't been my plan but would have to do.

“You're nothing. Just a goddamn werewolf.” The look he gave me indicated that he believed his own statement. He was so wrong.

I'd come out here alone to hunt this jackass down, and I wasn't leaving until the job was done. This was a personal hunt. Neither Kale nor Jez were with me. This had nothing to do with the vampires and Weres that I usually hunt down. Those supernaturals were idiots that had to be stopped before they exposed us all. This guy, he was different.

“That's what I keep saying.” My fingertips buzzed with the energy that coursed through me. The power I had was bigger than I was. Though that might sound like a good thing, I would like it better if I could control the power more than it controlled me.

He made as if to lunge at me, and I reacted without thinking. The power went out from me like a waterfall. I could feel it cascade out to become a wave that knocked his feet out from under him. “Now tell me what’s going on inside The Wicked Kiss. I know vampires are being spawned there.”

The Wicked Kiss was the deadliest establishment in the entire city, a vampire bar that was disturbingly high class and run by the only vampire in existence that chilled me to the bone. Harley Kayson was the very vampire that had sired my lover, Arys Knight.

He wasn't too secretive about his desire to have me as his own. Lately, there were more newborn vampires coming out of his creepy club than there ever should be, along with other suspicious activity that didn’t sit well with me. Just the excuse I needed to burn the place to the ground.

“Are you f**king kidding me?” He laughed, long and loud, throwing his head back.

“I don't answer to you, honey. But, I'm not about to turn down a sure thing when it's standing right in front of me.”