His Little Hunter

Chapter 13

“I warned everyone to steer clear of this place, did I not?” The royal said, his deep voice full of authority as his hand rested on Alistair’s throat. He didn’t yell, in fact, his tone was almost gentle and that was what made it so terrifying. Despite not raising his voice, I could feel the fury oozing off him in waves. It was enough for the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end even though I wasn’t the one his fury was directed at. I could only imagine what Alistair was feeling.

The vampire struggled, clasping at the royal’s hand in an attempt to free himself. An obviously futile attempt. He was no match for the Royal.

“You did, Lord Elias.” Alistair croaked through constricted vocal cords, his eyes wide as he struggled to breathe.

“Yet you go behind my back anyways and even dare lay hands on my prisoner.”

“It was her fault. She… She…”

“It’s her fault you disobeyed my orders? Do you take me for a fool?” The royal’s crimson eyes narrowed, his grip growing tighter until a sickening crack echoed in the space.

Gurgling and gasping sounds left Alistair. His lips moved but his throat was too damaged for words to come out.

Was the royal really going to kill him here?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, Alistair’s body fell to the ground with a thud.

“Get out of my sight, I’ll deal with you later.”

Alistair didn’t waste a second before shakily shuffling to his feet, gasping while clutching his throat as he scurried out of the room. In a flash, he was gone.

At least I didn’t need to worry about him for now.

The royal remained in the cell even after Alistair left, his attention now focused on me. He said nothing, only stared at me like I was some foreign object he couldn’t understand. I tried to read his face to grasp his intentions but his stoic gaze betrayed nothing.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking and that unsettled me greatly, considering my current situation. If he chose to attack me now, unarmed and chained as I was, I wouldn’t stand a chance. Not like I ever stood a chance.

He wasn’t going to kill me, I’d figured that much out already. If killing me had been the agenda, I’d have been dead already. After all, he’d had two chances to do it yet I was still breathing. But just because he didn’t plan on killing me didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt me. There were some things worse than death.

I would know.

“What? Want a piece of me next? Just so you know, I won’t go down without a fight.” I said with a glare and all the confidence that I didn’t feel. In truth I was terrified but I had no intention of letting him know that. That’s if he hadn’t already figured that out from our first encounter.

He didn’t respond to my taunt, his eyes remaining plastered on me. His silence was gradually becoming unbearable. I lifted my body off the ground, willing myself to sit despite the wave of vertigo that swarmed me. Stubbornly I met his gaze, not wanting to avert my eyes no matter how uncomfortable he made me.

I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t back down for some reason, no matter how much he frightened me.

He held my gaze with his crimson one for what felt like an eternity. I had no intention of backing out of the staring contest but the cloud surrounding my vision was growing and the dizziness became unbearable. At some point, he’d doubled and I knew I wouldn’t be able to fight unconsciousness much longer.

Darkness drew closer and despite my attempts to fight it off, it soon consumed me whole. In the brief moment before I finally slipped out of consciousness, I faintly heard him speak.

“Stubborn little hunter.”

ELIAS’ POV

I watched the hunter slumber, watched the steady rise and fall of her chest with each soft breath she let out. In sleep she looked peaceful, no sign of the stubborn female who’d stared me down or the one who taunted Alistair in sight. It still alarmed me how confidently she’d riled the i***t up despite having no means to defend herself. She’d even looked ready to fight me before she eventually passed out.

She’d taken quite the beating from Alistair. Her face was battered and bruised, her lip split, and her left eye swollen to the size of a ping-pong ball. Fury burned in my chest at the state of her and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to rip Alistair’s throat out. It was a miracle I hadn’t already.

Which made absolutely no sense.

Why should I be upset that the hunter I captured with the intent to torture and kill was hurt?

This was the plan, wasn’t it?

A small part of my mind agreed yet the other part was screaming at me to scoop her up in my arms and carry her away from this cursed place. Instinct screamed at me to treat her wounds and care for her. To protect her. To never let her see harm again.

Fuck!

Just what am I supposed to do?

My train of thought faded to nothing when a pained moan slipped past her lips and instantly I was at her side, my hand reaching out to touch her face before I even registered what I was doing. A frown creased my features the moment I realised my mistake and I drew my hand back instantly. I wanted to smack myself.

Dammit.

Why did it have to be her?

Why did fate choose to pair me up with the person who took my family from me?

She moaned in pain and once again I found myself reaching out to touch her. Dammit. I couldn’t stand seeing her in pain. It was like I was the one who was hurt.

Without much thought I brought my thumb to my mouth, nicking the finger with my fang and watching as a bead of blood formed around the cut. I brought my cut finger to her bottom lip, tracing the injured part with my blood and before my eyes, the wound began to mend until there was no trace of the split from earlier.