Chapter 278 - Guests on their way
Most of them didn't understand what a hunter was doing in their perimeters. Hunters often hunted the vampires with a passion for killing and not to create an alliance with the creatures who sucked blood.
One of the vampire servants walking near Douglas slightly hissed as if he was about to take blood from the human. This made Douglas glaring at the vampire while the night creature chuckled in humour before walking past him.
"I hope you are having a good time here, Mr. Leighton," a voice came from behind him, and the human turned and saw it was the older brother, Joaquin, who stood leaning against a pillar.
Joaquin had been standing there for more than a couple of minutes, watching the human, who looked alert. "You should go back home and rest. We'll let you know when we find the girl," said the vampire.
"That's fine. I would like to stay here and wait instead," replied Douglas before he turned completely to face the person. He had met and killed many vampires in the past, but never had he felt such aura before like he did now with the one who stood in front of him.
"Hmm," hummed Joaquin, with a smile that pulled up from one corner to another, and his red eyes twinkled. "Excuse my men. They cannot help but want to dig their fangs into a meal that is in front of them. You see, the humans who step in here always die in a minute or two."
Though Douglas had decided to work with this vampire, he was still high on his guard.
Joaquin said, "I heard and read what happened to your dear wife. Shot her cold, did you?"
"It was on instinct," replied Douglas, and the vampire nodded as if understanding his pain.
"What I don't get is the witch girl... it seems like you are much more interested in her than what you have told me. Care to elaborate?" Joaquin hummed, looking curiously at the hunter and fishing for answers. "I can tell when a person wants someone dead."
Douglas stared hard at the vampire before he answered, "As you know, my people aren't fond of your kind or the witches. There were a lot of things that didn't sit well with my wife. She had the habit of sleep talking, and she kept apologizing to someone. At first I thought it was just nightmares, but before the week I killed her, she slipped up without realizing. She was apologizing to our daughter."
"How interesting. Misunderstanding between mother and daughter?" questioned Joaquin, but the human shook his head.
"No."
Douglas remembered the night when it was raining hard outside their house, and he and his so-called wife were sleeping in the room.
Lightning flashed through their room windows, illuminating the room for a moment before turning it dark. And though there was thunder, it was his wife's murmuring that had woken him up from his sleep.
"Please... forgive me. I never meant to do it. Never..."
"What's wrong, Harriet?" He called his wife's name to get her attention. He turned to his side, keeping his eyes open and looking at his wife. Her eyes were closed, but her words kept tumbling from her lips.
"I didn't mean to hurt you...I swear Julie. Forgive me for not being your friend... I kept you safe on the witch's words. Spare my life... I don't want to die. Don't let him kill me!"
"Honey?" Douglas tried to wake her up, believing she was having a nightmare, but he heard the following words spill from her mouth.
"I don't want to die in the hands of the hunter! Ah!" and she woke up without having to be woken up.
And when she did, she came face to face with the man, who was soon going to shoot her in the forehead. Seeing him this close, she looked petrified.
Douglas asked her, "Are you alright? You are covered in sweat."
His wife nodded, but not a single word came out from her lips with terror still lingering heavily in her eyes. She said, "I am sorry for waking you up."
"That's fine. What did you dream about?" He asked her.
And maybe...if the woman had told the truth, twisting it, she might have continued to live, and her destiny would have changed without her coming under her husband's eyes.
But the fear that Natalie had lived in all these years, dreading this time, her lips quivered as she tried to put up a smile on her face. She said, "I was running somewhere I think. To catch the bus."
It had been enough for Douglas to know that the woman who was sleeping in his bed and living under his roof all these years. Did she just say hunters and witch... a witch?
And for the next few days, he hadn't slept and had tried to understand how he had ended up marrying a witch. The Winters were obviously not a family of witches, so how? Surely, he had been deceived that the woman he loved and the family he made with her was all a lie.
And though he had planned to get rid of the woman, he had decided to keep his so-called daughter alive for his own use. Which was why he hadn't expected Julie to catch sight of her mother's dead body with him. He would have feigned innocence, and everything would be alright.
But no, the little witch had reported him!
He had been a fucking father to her, but she repayed it by calling the cops and sending him to prison.
"During my research, I came to find something. A young witch's heart is supposed to be useful when it comes to creating an elixir," came the blunt words from Douglas, and Joaquin raised his eyebrows.
Joaquin smirked and said, "You might as well just turn yourself into a vampire. If that is what you want."
"Vampires feed on blood to sustain their bodies. But it is different when it comes to turning into an immortal with a witch's blood. Though there is a process, which I will need to wait for," explained Douglas, and though Joaquin's appearance looked calm, he became very curious.
It was the first time he had heard something like this regarding the witch's heart, and he would like to have some or all of it for himself. But as he wasn't aware of what was required, he decided to keep this petty little human alive for some more time before he would discard him, thought the vampire to himself.
"It still isn't that bad, when it comes to turning into a vampire, just saying," smiled Joaquin before walking away.
And almost at the same time, back in the hunter's house, Conner was finally let off the hook, and he returned to his phone as quickly as he could in haste.
But his phone wasn't there on his seat, and he turned paranoid. The only relief he could give himself was with the thought that his phone was on lock, yet he now frantically looked for his phone.
"Dad, did you see my phone?" questioned Conner to his father, who shook his head.
"Where did you last keep it?" asked his father.
"Right here on my seat," replied Conner, and he looked around before Mrs. Davis tapped on his shoulder.
"What's the matter, Conner? Did you give all the details of the map of Veteris?" asked the woman.
"Ah, yes, I did," Conner replied, and his eyes continued to look at the ground when he heard the woman ask,
"Are you looking for this?"
When Conner looked up, he caught sight of his phone in Mrs. Davis's hand. As relieved he was on finding it, he felt his face turn slightly pale.
Mrs. Davis said, "You shouldn't leave your things unattended, Conner. You never know if you would lose it or if it gets in the wrong hands."
Her words were enough for Conner to turn white as a ghost because there was no way there was another meaning behind her words, was it? It just couldn't be!
He took a quick look at his phone, noticing no network. Shoot…
Conner smiled at Mrs. Davis and said, "Thanks for keeping it safe with you, Mrs. Davis."
"Of course, who else will make sure that everything is safe that belongs to us and are close, isn't it?" questioned the woman, and Conner could feel he was going to start sweating bullets.
He took the phone before the woman would keep it with her or stress him out more. But before he could slip it into his pocket, Mrs. Davis said,
"You look very tired. Everything alright?"
"Yes, Mrs. Davis. Everything is good. It's just the light in here and the crowd. I am used to less people around me," replied Conner, and he excused himself from the room and stepped outside.
Mr. Davis came to his wife and asked, "What was that about?"
"I don't know. Both Conner and Melanie have been acting strange since they returned from Veteris," replied Mrs. Davis, her eyes narrowing at him.
"If there was something wrong, we would have known by now," replied Mr. Davis. "You should trust the kids. How are things at home?" he asked her.
Mrs. Davis pulled out her phone, and opened an application that was linked to the surveillance in their house. With the meeting going on, she hadn't been able to take a look at it earlier. She saw Melanie sitting in the living room and watching a movie.
"Seems fine so far," replied Mrs. Davis, and she lowered her phone.
Back in the area where Julie's father was in the company of the vampires, one of the servants appeared and informed Joaquin something in his ear.
"I should have known that she would end up there. Back to where her origins are," Joaquin gave a sarcastic laugh.
"Did you find where Julianne is?" inquired Douglas, with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yes," replied Joaquin. "It is time for us to plan the attack, especially knowing there are other guests we have to entertain. Looks like everyone has already gathered at the same place. It is the right time. Enoch!" he called his younger brother.
"Yes, brother?" responded Enoch, coming to stand in front of Joaquin.
"Send four of our best men to check the atmosphere in Veteris and Willow Creek. And have them inform about the Elder vampires," ordered Joaquin, and his brother bowed his head.
And while the hunters had sent their own men to check the grounds of Veteris, the vampires residing in the property of University were unaware of the uninvited guests, who were arriving there soon.
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