Midnight Lover: The Stranger In My Dreams

II

“Don’t come out, don’t let your presence be known…”

A group of six men were immediately alarmed in the dark alleyway as they sensed the energy of the newcomer. Their fine suits splattered with a crimson red substance, the corners of their lips with traces of it. They never thought someone would take a look in between the old, tall buildings at the edge of Donahue City. The newcomer, a woman, smirked as she watched them snarl at her. She did not flinch, but kept her hood over her head. She would never face them head on if she had no experience herself. She glanced at the once lively body of the victim, the newly hired secretary of one of these men, discarded behind the huge trash can overflowing with garbage. She closed her eyes and uttered a short prayer to the Father before glancing at the red glow of the men’s eyes. She did not speak but she took out the daggers hidden underneath the sleeves of her cloak as she alerted her senses.

The loud shrieks of the stabbed man pierced through the silence of the night. The woman did not even flinch as she watched him complete his transformation. Black fur started to sprout out of the man’s skin, as a pair of bat wings, which she estimated as more or less two feet in length, grew out of the man’s back. When she glanced at his eyes, they had completely turned black as he aimed his long fangs at her neck.

“Imbecile! You should know when not to meddle in our affairs, you mongrel!”

“He’s feeding off of your fears, from skin to bone.”

The woman just smirked at the creature as her fangs grew longer, like them. She screeched as she stabbed the man once again, this time in the neck. The creature stepped back, trying to stop his bleeding from the wound. The woman took the opportunity to signal in the air. The stabbed leader of the creatures saw this and attempted to calm himself and attack her once again. She knew how much pride these f*cktards were holding in themselves, after all.

Before his claws could even reach the woman’s face, the already dark alleyway was slowly engulfed by black mist. Her grin grew wider as, one by one, the creatures were pulled into the dark veil of mist eating the narrow path.

“I thought I already warned you not to f*ck around in my territory, Mischa.”

She jokingly waved her hand goodbye as she watched the leader sweat profusely. Before he could even scream, a gigantic hand pulled him into the black cloud. She listened to his last desperate pleas, mixing with the crunching of his bones. She listened to the loud, intoxicating music as the city slept around them. Until it was not any louder than the soft groans of a man on the verge of death. She wiped her dagger with a clean cloth before putting them back on their sheaths. That scene was nothing new to her. After all, ever since she was born, she has been trained and taught by the Cardinal not to feel any remorse. They were evil creatures who wanted to harm the human populace. And they were mix-breeds raised to protect humankind.

Them who were forsaken and forlorn by their own kind.

“He’s darker than the night, shepherd of the forlorn…”

“Was your meal satisfying, Therion?" she asked the man who came out of the dark alleyway, dark hues of red blood trailing behind him. His fangs slowly disappeared as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, his waist-length hair sloppily tied, turning white to black. She chuckled as she watched him furrow his brows, visibly annoyed. “Rion, you look pissed.”

“I’m still hungry and you disturbed my sleeping cycle, Olivia Bathory. Don’t piss me off or you’ll do off my next meal,” Therion growled before letting his hair loose, in an attempt to clean it off of blood.

Olivia smirked before giving him the cloth she had been using earlier. “Oh, Therion de Luca. I’d be the happiest if you’d eat me.” Her laughs grew louder as she watched him frown and glare at her. He hated being hit on, after all. Therion was always serious and rarely joked around his teammates. But this did not change the way he was adored by many of his kin, including her.

They grew up together. He was ten when the six-year-old she was adopted by the Cardinal after he learned that her parents, Count Bathory and his mortal wife, had been killed by their fellow Sanguines. He played as her older brother, teaching her how to accept her lineage and her destiny, as well. They were trained to protect the weaker. To provide support to the needy. In Layman’s terms, for her, they were stopping mankind from being butchered by stronger creations. And Olivia did not feel any remorse or anger at being born a mixed-bred Sanguine, of being in between the stronger and weaker ones. She knew she was destined to be a part of something greater. Like what Therion would usually tell her whenever she felt uncertain of her future.

“I only see you as my little sister, Liv. No offense,” Therion coldly affirmed before taking his bow and arrow that he had left for her care earlier. It was his weapon of choice, but he rarely used it, since it usually hindered him from transforming. And Olivia was the ever dutiful sidekick, doing everything to support him during missions. Even though he never did see her efforts or her, in general, more than being his little sister.

“It’s taking you longer than usual to transform back,” she commented before glancing at his trembling fingers, painted with dried blood. His nails were still black and long, which usually disappeared immediately after the shifting process.

“Don’t mind me, I’m good. I just need my antidote,” Therion said before taking a look at his fingers. “You don’t look good yourself either. You needed the blood, right? Seeing the victim’s body would’ve made it harder for you.”

She shrugged. “I stopped drinking human blood, Therion. It would not make me any more normal. I’m still a freakshow.”

He chuckled before patting her back. “If the Cardinal ever hears you, he’ll definitely stop you from going on missions again.”

“We were shunned by our own, Therion. Even humans would definitely fear us if they ever knew what we are. Even love was forbidden to us hybrids. We are all destined to be alone.”

He only smiled. “Liv, I have to disagree on that. You know that each and every one of us, each creation, was created with a moirai. The other half of our soul. The one we are going to love for the rest of the time. We both saw ours when we turned eighteen. You’re not destined to be alone.”

But my moirai wasn’t you, she thought to herself as she zipped her mouth. She just looked the other way. “And what? Are you going to look for your moirai? She would die if you ever did that, Mr. de Luca. You, of all people, know the deal.”

He did not answer for a while. As they reached the huge private property behind Hotel La Vida, Therion gave his bow and arrow to her. “Every curse has its own cure. And I would not give up on her just because of that. I have to go. Tell Cardinal that I’m off for the nightly rounds.”

“Asshole, where are you off– and there he goes,” she muttered as he disappeared into the night, his black vulture wings sending strong winds in her direction, making her raise her arms to protect her face. She cussed under her breath as she dragged his weapon back to their headquarters. They were heavy, which did not surprise her. Therion was a ripped man, after all. A giant himself, towering over six feet two.

“Black wings spreading, he disappears into the shadows, before the break of dawn.”

They hunt demons and creatures of their own. They classify and deem their own kin as if they are dangerous or not to the human race. They had to kill them if they needed to. And the irony was, even though they were killing their own kind for these mortal humans, they were still forced to hide in the shadows and conceal their own powers. They were still feared. They still belong nowhere but on being an outcast. A social pariah.

She was more concerned about Therion, of all people. They all knew the responsibility and guilt he was carrying. And the things he should sacrifice for the greater good. After all, he was destined to be the one who…

“Damn it, Therion de Luca. I’m going to smack you when you get home,” she cursed once again before dragging herself and his bow and arrow past the vast gates of the property. She has to get indoors before the sun rises. Too many prying eyes and the sun could kill her, if not weaken her.

And she hoped Therion would, too.