Hunting Allegra
A pained scream hits my ears and I know I’m too late. The cry is guttural. Usually, they don’t make much noise, but he’s fighting to get away. I don’t hesitate. I call out my target’s name as I release an arrow directly hitting Vlad in the eye. He disappears into the night, leaving his victim scrambling to stand as blood drips down from his neck.
I want to kill him, but I cannot. It’s wrong to kill another human even if he isn’t one for long. Besides, when our eyes connect, I know that I can never take his life because my heart won’t allow it.
Instead, I sigh painfully, “Shit, he bit you?”
“Yes,” he groans, grasping at the brick wall as he stumbles onto his feet. He may be weak now, but in a few days, he will be stronger than any man.
“May this be the last time we ever meet. Next time, I will have no choice.” A lone tear falls from my face as I turn away and flee into the night. I must seek shelter because vampires are more dangerous at night, but in the morning, I will hunt down Vlad again.
Alaric
I saw the dilemma in Allegra’s eyes. She fought her urge to shoot me. The choice was hard for her, that was clear. I wanted to tell her to kill me because I don’t want to turn into a fucking monster like that bastard if that was what happens, but at the same time, I didn’t want to die. I only turned eighteen today, and I was a damn virgin.
She runs away before I can stop her, but I will find her again if I live through the night. I move to my apartment and gingerly strip my clothes off to wash the blood away and bandage myself up. As I shower, the wound seems to have stopped bleeding and looks smaller than it had been.
I use some duct tape and some paper towels because I don’t have a damn supersized first aid kit, and I fashion up a makeshift bandage. By the time I’m done, I pass out on the bed. Only to wake up to the sound of someone standing at the foot of my bed. My eyes dart open to see a man almost my size standing with his arms crossed staring at me.
“I’m Lord Alessandro Vitale. And you just met Allegra, the last in a long line of vampire hunters. She spared you last night, and now you must become one of us.”
“What are you?”
“We are vampires.”
I squint twice as I look toward the window where the sun is coming through. “But the sunlight?”
He chuckles and says, “Some of the superstitions are very untrue. We are less dangerous in the day, but we will not burn in the light. Come we must get you out of here before nightfall.” I have nothing that ties me here, but suddenly, I don’t want to go. All I can picture is the fierce young lady. One day, I hope we meet again.
Chapter 1
Halloween 2018
Allegra
I am back here again. I’ve sworn to stay away, but every year I find myself right outside this town. My heart aches to see the beast, I let fall into Vlad’s hands, but he’s the enemy. And yet, the pull to him grows stronger. I thought I could fight the urge to see him by hunting him down and destroying him, but there are no signs of a dangerous vampire killing humans indiscriminately. Heavens, I can’t even utter his name without a longing so powerful it defies all logic. My family has been hunting vampires since the seventeenth century, and I’m the last of my family.
“Allegra, my pet. Come to me,” I hear in my head. The voice grows stronger, but it’s not him. I know who the devil is that calls me. “Vlad,” I whisper.
A shadow moves around my room, then I feel his presence, I have my stake ready, but he’s too strong for me. He’s been too strong for my entire family including my beloved father. “Yes, my princess. You will be mine. I have waited until you are ripe to claim you. You will be my bride.”
“When Hell freezes over,” I state, standing my ground. He can’t bite me until the moon is high in the sky. I will fight him.
“Oh, my pet. You can fight it if you must, but by tonight you will be mine, and dear Alaric and your father can’t save you.”
“Please remind me that you’ve killed my father as if that would warm me up enough to not rip your heart out.”
“Come now, I did not kill him. It is not my fault he has refused to confess that he is one of us. Soon, you will join our world, ready to breed the new vampires.”