Noah drove for almost an hour, the thick darkness pressing in around him. There were hardly any streetlights in this part of town—only the glow from his bike cutting through the road ahead, just enough to let him see where he was going.
The night was thick with silence, save for the soft rustling of leaves stirred by the breeze. The moon, veiled behind restless clouds, cast fragmented beams onto the cracked asphalt. Noah gripped his handlebars tighter, the rubber of his gloves squeaking slightly against the metal.
He scanned the surroundings, looking for her .
White dress. White hair. In this pitch black, she should stand out.
What the hell had she been thinking? Not that it mattered. She never thinks. She just does whatever she wants, whenever she wants.
He wasn't worried, not really. Just pissed beyond reason.
Tonight could have been peaceful. But Seraphine had withheld information and that had ruined everything.
And then there was the vampire.
Noah knew it was one. Had to be. The silver and vervain had stopped him from following them , so there was no doubt there. But what he didn't know was whether it had been a Vampire Lord .
The vampires weren't structured in any obvious way.
There was no proof of an organization, no clear hierarchy. They showed up alone, sometimes surrounded by Savants , sometimes without a single follower.
Too little was known about them—just as too little was known about the Bloodthorn Clan. Everything he knew about them had come from Seraphine .
The vampires created others like them.
They weren't lords—probably—but they were strong, as any vampire could be.
Noah had never faced one himself, but he was certain that was what had appeared tonight.
Even if they couldn't kill Seraphine—not that they would, considering they worked for the Bloodthorn family—they could still take her down, drag her away, and leave Noah completely lost as to where to find her.
The road remained silent , unnervingly so.
His irritation grew .
She shouldn't have left him behind. He could have helped .
Or they could have been halfway out of Texas by now.
Then— movement.
Noah stopped his engine abruptly , eyes snapping toward the disturbance. Leaves shuddered, branches twitched, something was moving between the trees and brushes.
Thanks to Seraphine's diet , his vision was better than most humans'.
Something—someone—was out there.
Was it human ?
A vampire ?
He couldn't be sure.
The thing moved again , shifting through the dark.
Noah reached for the light switch, flicking it off .
Then he got off his bike , crouching close, body tense, watching.
Waiting.
The sound of his bike would have alerted any vampire, so Noah moved away from it slowly, edging toward the bushes by the roadside.
Something was being dragged .
The sound was wet , squelchy—like whatever it was had been filled with liquid .
" Fuck! "
The voice cut through the silence, sharp and familiar.
Noah froze, straining to place it. He'd heard it before—but couldn't remember where or who.
The dragging continued, the sound growing louder.
Finally, Noah saw him.
Austin.
The human from the party—the one who had been flirting with Seraphine .
Why was he walking in the dark , without so much as a single light to guide him?
Noah's gaze dropped—and his body tensed.
White.
He jumped up, ready to punch the bastard .
But reason held him back.
It was Seraphine .
She was being dragged down the road , her body limp, clearly unconscious—and covered in blood .
What the hell had happened?
Was this Austin's doing?
If Austin was strong enough to put Seraphine down like that—wounding her so severely that her healing was delayed —then he wasn't an ordinary human , no matter how he looked.
Noah clenched his fists, forcing himself to restrain his impulse .
It was better to watch , to observe , to follow —until he could figure out what Austin's deal was.
He trailed in the shadows, keeping his distance.
Austin walked ahead, cursing under his breath every so often, dragging Seraphine along like a sack of yam .
He seemed injured , holding his side with one arm while pulling Seraphine with the other.
In the far distance, Noah spotted a house—or rather, a cottage .
Small, isolated, its wooden fence weathered , barely holding its shape. A dim light flickered weakly on the porch, casting faint shadows across the ground.
Was that Austin's destination?
If it was, Noah couldn't afford to let him reach it.
If Austin reunited with an ally, things would get messy fast.
Noah adjusted his plan.
He pulled out his short sword , the cold metal glinting faintly in the dark, and dropped to all fours.
The ground was rough , the dirt clinging to his palms as he crept forward, inching closer until he was separated from Austin by only a few bushes and a narrow stretch of road.
He crouched low, muscles tense, waiting for the right moment .
Austin's steps were slowing, his movements growing heavier.
Noah watched, his grip tightening on the sword.
He heard a groan .
Seraphine.
His eyes darted to her face—bloodied, pale, her body limp. A deep mark marred her skin, smoke curling faintly from the wound as it began to heal.
" Oops, can't have you waking up now, " Austin muttered, dropping her leg with a dull thud.
Noah's jaw clenched, his knuckles whitening around the hilt of his sword.
Austin crouched beside her head, his voice low, almost mocking.
" You are one specimen of a vampire. I've never seen anyone like you. I'm going to enjoy exploring all your many talents, your uniqueness. For now—sleep. "
He raised his hand, and Noah's eyes locked onto the object he hadn't noticed before—a syringe , glinting faintly in the dim light.
Noah didn't hesitate.
He rose swiftly, his movements silent , precise—like a predator closing in on its prey.
In an instant, he was beside Austin, the cold blade of his sword pressed firmly against the man's neck.
" Don't move. Don't even breathe wrong, " Noah growled, his voice low, dangerous.
The sharp tip of the sword bit into Austin's skin, drawing a thin line of blood.
Seraphine stirred, her body reacting to the scent of blood. Austin noticed immediately, his voice losing its steadiness as he asked, "Are you the guy with her? Do you know what she is?"
Noah's grip on his sword tightened slightly. "What is she?"
He wasn't just asking for the sake of it—he wanted to understand exactly what Austin was. He wasn't a hunter, that much was clear. Too full of openings. Too careless. He would have been dead on his first hunt, yet somehow, he had Seraphine disarmed , helpless .
Austin exhaled shakily. "A vampire. Did you know? Vampires are real. And your friend—she's one of them. But special."
Noah barely reacted. "Right. And how did you find that out?"
Austin chuckled, dry and humorless. "It's what I do. I look for vampires—just as they look for me. I offer them my blood and take them by surprise."
Noah remained silent. And that silence invited Austin to keep talking.
"I know a thing or two about them," Austin continued, shifting his grip slightly. "Like how vervain burns them, keeps them from compelling me. And how silver kills them."
There was something self-satisfied in his tone. "If I inject mercury and lead into their bloodstream—just the right amount, mixed with liquid silver—I can knock them out completely. They'd be helpless ."
Noah absorbed the information carefully. Mercury and lead. That was new.
"Interesting." His voice was measured, giving away nothing. "Is that how you got her?"
Austin shook his head immediately. "No. I found her like this."
Noah's eyes darkened slightly. "Do I look dumb to you?"
Austin flinched. "I swear!"
For someone so quick to spill secrets, he was strangely hesitant now.
"You don't seem surprised," Austin muttered, almost suspicious. "Don't tell me—you already knew what she was?"
Noah didn't respond. He simply pressed his sword forward, the tip biting deeper against Austin's skin.
"Tell me the truth. How did she end up like that?"
Austin's breath hitched. His eyes darted around, searching for an escape he wouldn't find.
"How would I know?!"
"Are you fucking with me?" Noah's voice cut low, sharp with irritation. The blade in his hand pressed deeper into Austin's neck, widening the wound just enough for blood to bead and trail down his throat.
"Ow—fuck—please stop," Austin gasped, his body twitching in panic. "If she smells blood, she'll wake up. She'll kill us both."
"Then start talking," Noah growled. "Or I'll kill you first."
He wasn't bluffing. He'd never killed a human before, but standing here, staring at the bloodied body of Seraphine, her face slack and ghost-pale, he felt certain he wouldn't regret it.
"I'm telling the truth!" Austin yelped, voice breaking. "I found her like this. I think she was fighting another vampire. He must have been the one who hurt her—"
"Really?" Noah cut him off, lowering the blade. His eyes narrowed as he shifted, stepping to Austin's side. Without warning, he jabbed a finger into the torn fabric clinging to Austin's ribs. Austin let out a sharp breath, twisting away.
The wound was hot, angry, and deep—three jagged slashes that could only be made by a vampire's claws. The scent of old blood and sweat clung to the air like smoke after a fire.
"Then how did you get this?" Noah asked, voice flat.
Austin stammered, blinking rapidly. "This… I—I was just—"
Noah didn't wait. He grabbed Austin by the front of his shirt and yanked him up with one arm, lifting him clean off the ground. Austin's feet dangled, the breath leaving him in a startled wheeze. His eyes went wide, reflecting a healthy dose of fear now.
"When I said I'd kill you if you didn't start talking and tell the truth, I meant every word," Noah said, his tone deathly calm. The strain of fury vibrated beneath every syllable.
Austin swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. "You're not human," he whispered.
Noah's lip curled. "I'm very human," he said through clenched teeth, his voice like gravel. "Just a deadly one."
"Okay! Okay, I'll tell you!" Austin croaked, throwing his hands up in surrender, his fingers shaking. "Just put me down!"
"It's the truth—I told you already," Austin said, his voice hitching as Noah's grip stayed firm. "She was hurt but still standing. I offered to help her. She trusted me. Then I injected her with that formula I told you about—mercury, lead, silver. She fought back when she felt it. Swiped at me—tore into my side."
Noah's eyes stayed narrowed, his gaze sharp enough to cut. Austin's words painted a picture Noah didn't like—Seraphine dazed, stumbling, trusting the wrong hand in a moment of vulnerability.
"I swear, that's everything!" Austin insisted.
"Where were you taking her?" Noah asked, his voice low, lethal. His eyes fell on Seraphine lying limply on the dirt road, blood smeared over her pale limbs like paint on canvas. Her legs were bare, skirt bunched high. One shoulder of her dress hung loose, torn to expose the delicate arch of her collarbone and part of her chest.
Noah's stomach twisted. Heat rushed to his face—not from embarrassment, but from rage.
He asked, glaring, voice hard with a burning look that could kill, "You didn't touch her, did you?"
Austin recoiled at the tone, eyes wide. "Touch her?! She's a vampire! I—I wouldn't… I couldn't!"
But the memory flashed in Noah's mind uninvited—Austin at the party, eyes lingering too long on her, smile a little too eager. It all resurfaced, and bile rose in his throat.
If he so much as looked at her the wrong way while dragging her half-naked across the ground…
Noah's grip tightened on the man's shirt, lifting him higher, knuckles white with restraint.
"Where did you find her?"
"Just a bit down from The Brooks," Austin said quickly. "Off the main trail. I thought she was dead at first."
Noah's jaw locked. He'd scouted that area after the vampire appeared—but if he'd known Seraphine had gone the opposite way, he would've found her. Not Austin.
He dropped the man hard onto his knees.
"Why were you there?"
Austin hesitated, his mouth opening and closing as if searching for a lie. Noah's glare cut through him, sharp and unrelenting.
"I-I…" Austin stammered, then finally cracked under the weight of Noah's gaze. "I was watching! I planned to capture her today before that other vampire showed up, so I was waiting for my chance."
Noah's eyes narrowed, his expression both curious and disagreeable. He wanted to understand what Austin—clearly just an ordinary human—had been planning to do with a vampire.
"Why did you capture her? What do you do with the vampires you capture?"
Austin's lips pressed together, another attempt to seal his mouth shut. But the pressure was too much. He exhaled heavily, still on his knees.
"I just keep them for their blood. I sell them."