Hunter CEO

Chapter 1

It started as an ordinary night. Lucas did his usual stretches and 20 laps in the pool. Swimming not only maintained his athletic form but also helped clear his mind. His second job required an agile body, but more importantly, a focused and uncluttered brain. One wrong move and he could end up dead, or worse, one of those he hunted.

"Done for the night, Mr. Lancaster?" a voice called out from behind. 

"Nicolas, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Mr. Lancaster? Mr. Lancaster is my father. I'm just Lucas. Luc will also do,"  Lucas said, pulling on his boots. They looked commonplace, but with a tap of his heel silver blades would come out of their toe tips. 

Nicolas laughed and sat beside him on the bench. "Not around here, you're not. You own the freaking complex, man. You deserve respect. And please, stop calling me Nicolas. Nico will do."

Lucas chuckled and shook his head. Nico had been his only friend since childhood. He was not a very social person, even as a child. When he lost his mother at the age of seven, he retreated within himself. Only Nico was able to coax him out of his shell and deal with his mood swings. 

"Respect, yeah, right. As if it's something you understand, you ass," Lucas said, playfully punching his friend's muscled arm.

“Oh, I do understand the word. Not sure if you deserve it, though,” Nico said, smirking. 

“You and me both, brother. You and me both,” Lucas murmured as he shrugged into his highly customized leather trench coat. Aside from the numerous inside pockets that held the tools of his trade, it could also withstand extreme heat and cold, and repel all liquids, including corrosive vampire spit. 

He was as usual dressed in black from head to toe, bringing his pale, white skin into stark contrast. His shoulder-length, chestnut hair was tied in a tight knot. He couldn’t risk having vampire talons twisting through it to immobilize him. He’d learned from his mistakes. 

“Where are you off to now? Don’t tell me you’re going on a date dressed like that. Unless you’re dating an emo, of course” Nico said, following Lucas out of the locker room. 

“An emo? How old are you, sixteen?” he said, glancing at his friend with narrowed eyes. 

Nico shrugged, his mischievous smile adding a boyish touch to his normally menacing countenance. He was a couple of inches shorter than Lucas’ 6’3” frame, but stockier. And unlike Lucas, who preferred to wear his hair long and flowing, Nico sported a shiny, smooth pate, which only enhanced his intimidating aura.

“How I wish, my friend,” Nico said, stepping aside to let Lucas pass when they reached the revolving doors. 

“Not going home to your hot girl, yet?”  Lucas said, raising a brow at his friend. 

“Nah, still got to do my rounds. Being your head of security isn’t a walk in the park, you know. And the only girl waiting for me at home is that mangy mongrel you rescued from the wolves in my backyard. How’d you do that, anyway? You never told me that story.” 

Lucas wanted to. He’d shared much of his experiences with Nico, including his female ‘conquests’ as the press loved to label them. But this was something he must keep to himself. 

“They were just large dogs harassing a tiny pup. Wolves don’t go running around so near the city. You were piss drunk that night, I’m sure everything looked wild to you.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll get to the bottom of that mystery yet, I promise you.”

Lucas knew his friend would eventually find out about his secret. It would be the ultimate test of their friendship. But for now, he would rather maintain the status quo.

“Why do you always have to be so melodramatic? There’s no mystery, brother. I saw a pup getting bullied, I rescued her. End of story. I gave her to you to keep your sorry ass company. I was worried you’d drink yourself dead from boredom,” Lucas said. 

Nico rolled his eyes at him and turned on his heels, walking away with both middle fingers extended and pointing upwards. 

“Love you, too, buddy,” Lucas chuckled as he stepped into the revolving doors. 

All lightness in his disposition disappeared once he was outside Lancaster One, the building housing the business mega powerhouse he and his father owned, Lancaster Limited.  This was where he spent most of his days, whenever he was in the mood to show up for work, anyway or wasn’t too drained from a night of hunting. 

He began his ‘shift’, as he liked to call it, with the usual sweep of the alleys. He could smell his enemies from a mile away, but he couldn’t be too careful. A few of them had learned to mask their scent by smearing themselves with the victim’s blood. City vampires were usually solitary creatures, preferring to find prey in crowded bars where they could blend in seamlessly. A lone vampire would rarely drain his victim of blood. They get satiated before they could do so.  

Lately, however, he’d been seeing groups of two or more hunting together, staking dark and deserted sidestreets to await the unsuspecting. These were the savage ones who would either suck their victims dry right then and there or keep them for days, feeding until they got tired of the taste of the poor sap’s blood. These were the ones he hunted. 

Which was why he had to be extremely careful. Fighting one vampire was easy, going against two or three upped the degree of difficulty just as much. It’s been weeks since he’d encountered any vampires. Word must’ve spread about a hunter roaming the city. Normally, such news wouldn’t have bothered the bloodsuckers, but he was no ordinary hunter. He was the only one who killed each and every time. No one ever got away once they were in his crosshairs, so to speak. Two years in Afghanistan had honed his deadly skills to perfection.

Lucas picked his perch and watched as people lined up outside a popular club. His nose twitched as the mixed scents of sweat, perfume, and s****l arousal reached him. He smiled to himself. There was no danger here. Most of these people were just looking for a quick f**k. Perhaps he could go home early tonight. 

Then, something shifted in the air. The subtle smell of stale blood filled his nostrils, prickling his senses. He turned back to the crowd, scanning it for the source. And there he was, standing at the end of the line, quietly eyeing the patrons of the club. Lucas immediately recognized the tall and handsome vampire. He was dressed expensively, but with such elegance and class, he looked a bit out of place. Except for those who became afflicted with the insatiable hunger that turned them into abominations, most vampires were smart enough to amass vast fortunes. This was definitely one of them. 

Lucas had stalked this wretch before. He was actually quite harmless. His modus was to pick up a girl, or a boy, depending on who he could charm into sharing an empty cubicle with him. He would get them drunk and f**k them senseless, all the while blissfully suckling at their exposed necks. After he’s had his fill, he would stash a big wad of money inside their pockets and leave without a word. The victims would wake up with no memory of what happened, but several thousand dollars richer.  A good exchange, by vampire standards. 

And as long as he kept to the same routine, Lucas would leave him alone. Who was he to deny a man his pleasures? Especially when he was paying generously for it. Lucas hunted monsters, not lonely bastards who seduced stupid asses into selling a couple of pints of their lifeblood. Because that’s truly what the vampire was buying. He wasn’t after the s*x. He was after their sweetly intoxicating blood. 

With a stretch and a grunt, Lucas jumped from the ledge with the grace of a cat. He still had a few areas to cover. This wasn’t the only club in the city and it wasn’t the only vampire haunt. Hopefully, he would not find any of the notorious kind tonight. He had a big meeting tomorrow and he wanted to catch a few z’s before then. 

Unfortunately, people didn’t always get what they wanted.