Immortal Hunger

Teeth and Nails

Shame hit first. Cold, icy wave. Hollowed my chest.

Numbed skin.

​You f*****g i***t.

​My hands snapped off Hunter. Burning iron. I staggered back three steps, heels knocking the oak trestle table. Lungs locked, refusing heavy sandalwood air.

​Lilith didn't hurry. Heels clicked deliberate, measured notes against concrete. She stopped beside Hunter, posture immaculate. Manicured fingers dragged down his shirt, smoothing dark fabric over the spot where my palms had just pressed.

​„You're late,“ she murmured, green eyes tracking me like a cat on a fly. „Legal team is waiting at daddy's office.“

​Hunter didn't look at her. Jaw set in a hard line, vein thudding beneath his temple. He caught her wrist, shoving her hand off his chest.

​„Don't,“ he rasped, voice dropping into pure ice.

​Lilith arched a brow. A razor-sharp, mocking smile. She didn't flinch. She belonged in his world; I was the trespasser with a portfolio of paper dreams.

​My face went blank. Blood drained from cheeks, but lips stayed still. I caught the frayed edges of panic and jammed them down, building concrete around everything inside. No flush. No tears. No rage. Just stone.

​„Mr. Valerian.“ My voice came out flat, dry, steady.

​Hunter's dark eyes snapped back, anger shifting to something raw. He took a heavy step toward me, reaching out.

​„Alex, wait—it’s not what it looks like,“ he growled, desperation bleeding through his low voice. „Don't walk away from this.“

​„Structural revisions for the primary suite and elevation cross-sections are complete,“ I said, voice completely stripped of vibration, stripped of the woman who had just had her fingers tangled in his dark hair.

​I didn't look at Lilith. Didn't give her the satisfaction.

​I bent down, pulled rendering boards off the table, and slid them into my leather portfolio. The zip closed with a clinical screech echoing off bare walls. I strapped the bag over my shoulder, pulled my blazer flat, and squared my shoulders.

​„I will email the adjusted cost breakdown to your secretary by Monday morning,“ I added, offering an empty nod. „Enjoy your meeting.“

​I turned, pushed through the heavy entrance, and stepped into crisp morning air. Heavy oak doors swung shut behind me with a hollow thud.

​„Aleksandra! Wait!“ Hunter’s voice cracked through the space behind heavy timber—dark, urgent.

​He lunged toward the doorway, boots hitting the floor with heavy strides to catch her before she reached the courtyard. But a sharp, mocking laugh cut through the air, stopping him dead.

​„Oh, honestly, darling, let the little pet go,“ Lilith chimed, stepping directly into his path, her eyes gleaming with malice. „You’re acting like a starving animal over a mortal toy. Look at her—she ran the second she realized you already have a woman who actually fits your world. You think she'd ever accept what you really are?“

​Hunter froze. Stopped his advance toward the open threshold and turned back slowly.

​Suffocating rage coiled deep in his chest. For months he had tolerated Lilith’s games, her proprietary touches, her presence—a convenient corporate shield against unwanted attention.

​He had let it go too far. He saw that now, looking at her smug, mocking face.

​To mortals, Hunter Valerian was simply a ruthless multi-billionaire titan. They were ignorant that a two-hundred-year-old predator stood before them.

​Morning sunlight poured through the high arched window. Hunter’s right hand clenched into a tight fist. The heavy ring of blackened silver and blood-ruby pulsed with warmth against skin—anchoring his vitality against the sun’s weight. Without its spell, daylight would strip away his supernatural edge, bleeding immortal strength. But daylight couldn't suppress the fire burning in his blood for Aleksandra Green.

​For decades he had searched the shadows for her. Sleeping to reset his mind, dreams haunted by the exact same face long before she stepped into his office. He had waited, watched, hunted through shifting epochs until finding her in San Francisco. And now Lilith’s arrogant interference had driven her away—provoking Aleksandra’s pride, triggering cold corporate armor.

​Hunter’s dark eyes flashed amber, pivoting fully to face Lilith. The temperature in the hall plummeted. Air grew thick, heavy.

​„What were you looking for here, Lilith?“ Low, dead register.

​Lilith blinked, her smirk widening with venomous excitement. „I came to save you from embarrassing yourself, darling. She’s just a fragile little human. One push, and she breaks. She’s already running back to her safe little fiancé—“

​„Do not call me that. And do not speak her name.“

​Before she drew breath, he moved. Inhuman speed blurring the air.

​A large hand clamped tightly around her throat, fingers locking onto her windpipe with crushing force. He lifted her straight off cold stone, slamming her back hard against raw concrete.

​Lilith’s eyes widened in genuine horror. Manicured hands flew to his wrist, nails digging hopelessly into skin, but his arm remained solid iron. Feet dangled uselessly, desperate gasps swallowed by crushing pressure.

​Human disguise bled away. Hunter’s eyes flushed brilliant crimson, burning like liquid fire. Upper lip pulled back in a snarl, revealing elongated, razor-sharp fangs.

​„Listen to me very carefully, Lilith,“ Hunter growled, face inches from hers, voice dropping into a quiet vibration rattling the marrow in her bones. „I have bled kingdoms dry for far less than the disrespect shown today. You are alive right now solely because of your father's legacy. Test me again, and I will tear your head from your shoulders before your body even realizes you're dead.“

​He tightened his grip for one second, letting the promise of absolute destruction sink deep into her mind, fangs gleaming close to her neck, before releasing his hold.

​Lilith collapsed against concrete, knees buckling to the floor, gasping frantically for breath while clutching her reddened throat. Trembling, terror-stricken eyes. Her arrogant composure shattered to dust.

​The crimson glow faded from Hunter's eyes. Fangs retracted behind his lips.

​„Get out of my sight,“ Hunter growled quietly, turning his back without another word. „And if you ever set foot near Aleksandra Green again, not even your father will be able to protect you.“

​Lilith picked herself up, green eyes burning with cold hatred hidden behind trembling lashes. Silent. She stumbled out of the villa into blinding sunlight, a poisonous vow settling deep in her mind. Hunter thought he could humiliate her for a mortal architect? Discarded immortals were far more dangerous than open enemies—and Aleksandra Green would pay the price for getting in her way.