Claimed by the Dark

CHAPTER 15

My heart was pumping in my ears. I was trying to breathe and concentrate. I was standing in front of the door. Storming in would be the best and fastest approach to catch them by surprise. I put on my leather gloves and fixed them on my hands. Then I took the gun out of the holster and checked the bullets. All there.

My gun is not a regular gun. It’s custom-made, blended with silver, bewitched by ancient magic and able to kill supernatural beings. I inherited it from my father. It’s my first time hunting a creature alone. And this one is a really strong one. My father ran after it all his life and failed to kill it. And now it’s here, this time, not just feeding on a human, but on the verge of turning this woman into a moroi.

I scan the hallways trying to keep a low profile and not get myself heard or seen. I must act quickly.

As I was reaching for the handle to try opening the door, I heard the elevator. I immediately headed upstairs and avoided being seen.

I saw a food delivery guy going to the door I was watching. The moroi opened the door and I saw it for the first time in human form. Tall, intimidating, powerful. It was going to be hard putting him down.

I took advantage of the delivery guy leaving and as soon as he got on the elevator I just knocked, thinking they would open freely, without checking, thinking it’s the food delivery guy, maybe coming back with something he had forgotten.

I held my breath and knocked.

The moroi opened the door wide and I lifted the gun and fired.

The woman screamed.

I missed. The moroi dodged it with an impossible speed.

Next thing I knew he grabbed my neck, pulled me inside and shot the door closed with my body against it.

He came really close to my face and growled angrily, “Hunter… I should’ve known.”

As he was squeezing my neck harder, I could feel my eyes starting to pop out and this great pressure pressing into my brain.

“NO!” the woman yelled at the moroi. “STOP! PLEASE!” she pleaded.

The moroi dropped me on the floor. As I was catching my breath, he backed off and the woman, wrapped in a sheet came to me, lifted my head, looking truly worried. She was talking to me. But I was in such agony, recovering from that choke, that I didn’t hear her for the first few seconds. I was just coughing and breathing heavily.

“MICHAEL! MICHAEL, ARE YOU OK?” the woman shouted nervously while patting my back as I was coughing.

“Yes…” I managed to whisper as I was still coughing. “Nice to see you still care…” I continued, forcing a smile and locking eyes with the moroi as I was wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

Kira helped me stand up and helped me sit on the couch. The creature was running circles around the room like a lion in a cage.

“He’s a hunter, Kira! He lied to you! He’s trying to kill us!” growled Dragomar, unable to stay still.

“What are you talking about? He’s not a hunter, he’s just upset. He’s doing this because I was a b***h to him!” said Kira, holding a glass of water and helping me drink small sips.

“You’re being naive! ASK HIM! Make him tell you the truth!” replied Dragomar in anger, pointing at me. “Speak, hunter! Tell her what you are!” he ordered me.

I got my breath back, and I was actually enjoying the situation. Not only was the creature angry, it had loyalty to Kira. It backed off as soon as she asked him. Although his every instinct asked him to kill me, he obeyed her.

“Michael…?” she asked without saying the words.

"It’s true… I am a hunter. But you don’t understand..." I tried to explain.

“See? I told you! Let me kill him, or he will kill us!”

“NO!” I shouted from the couch, bursting with more coughs. “Only you! I just need to kill you! Kira is still human. She can still be saved. And I will fight for her soul, even if it costs me mine!”

“Lies! You would have killed both of us in an instant if I hadn’t stopped you!” growled Dragomar.

“Only if Kira wasn’t human anymore! I couldn’t allow her to feed! Have you even told her what she would become? What happens to her if she does? Or are you that self-involved that it doesn’t even matter?”

“Don’t lecture me, hunter… I am centuries ahead of you. I have seen humanity at its highest, but mostly at its lowest. Are you trying to say I’m the dangerous one? With all the abuse, the violence, the crimes, the torture and all the hate you humans constantly unleash upon the world, am I the evil one?” Dragomar smirked sarcastically, finally sitting still and locking eyes with me.

“I can’t do anything about all that is wrong in this world. But I can and will stop you!” I said, keeping eye contact and not letting myself get intimidated.

Kira looked confused and worried. She kept shifting between me and the moroi. She was in distress. She clearly had feelings for both of us. I had to play my cards as best I could to take her away from him. I just had to show her that we could have the life she dreamed of, and I would be there with her.

I reached to her and tried to grab her hand. She looked at me with a little shock and then quickly removed her hand. I looked at the moroi. He saw what I did. He frowned but didn’t move a muscle. He was being careful too.

This was uncharted territory. Neither of us knew how to step, so we were doing it cautiously. But as we were staring at each other we knew one thing for sure. It wasn’t a battle between species anymore.

We were fighting for the woman.

Both of us wanted Kira.

And it was obvious that we were willing to die to get her.

“Michael…” Kira spoke softly, “What I did to you was so unfair, and please, believe me when I tell you it was never my intention to hurt you. I do have feelings for you and I do care… very much. But… with Dragomar… I can’t even begin to explain it. It goes beyond time and space. It’s not a matter of being saved… I don’t want to be saved…” She actually looked surprised that she said that. “If you really want to kill Dragomar,” she said, standing, leaving the sheet behind, and walking her beautiful, naked, body towards the moroi and placing herself in front of him, “you can kill me too. I will not let go of him. I will not live without him.”

The moroi was so pleased with all this. He placed his hands on Kira’s shoulders, practically spitting in my face that he had won.

“If you go with him, Kira, you can never come back. You can never see your parents again, your friends! If you turn, every human you meet will just be food for you!” I tried to bargain with her. And it was a success. A grin of doubt appeared on her face. I rode it as fast and as hard as I could.

“At least do right by them, Kira! Say goodbye to the people you love. They deserve that! Don’t let them grieve you without a warning and not ever know what happened to you!” I pressed.

“And what do you expect me to do? Go home, tell them I’m going away and never coming back, and expect them to say ?”

“I don’t know yet! But give it some time! Don’t rush into this, Kira! If he really loves you and respects you, he will honor your humanity and let you do this at your own pace!” I said, getting up from the couch.

The moroi growled and held tight on Kira’s shoulders. Kira clenched her fists to her chest, weighing everything.

Her eyes shifted fast from left to right as she was looking for an answer, a solution, anything.

“You’re right!” said the moroi, cutting off the silence that fell upon the room, “Kira needs time, and I never planned to rush her.”

Kira looked up at him in surprise.

“I will let her come up with a plan on her own terms. I have all the patience”, he continued, letting go of Kira so she didn’t feel pressured to answer.

"That’s a wise decision", I said, reaching out for Kira to come to me. “Kira? What will it be?” I asked with my hand reaching for hers.