Chapter 33

Derek

The attack came out of nowhere. I reacted too late. I must have been distracted by Diana else I would have been able to make out that someone was near. For a second, as I dropped to the ground, I thought it was part of Diana's plan and she had arranged for me to be attacked. But as I quickly turned to look at her face after the impact I realized that wasn't the case.

Diana was as stunned as I was. She was still in her werewolf form but I could read her eyes. Also, I quickly saw that I had been attacked by a vampire. Though he had a mask on, it wasn't rocket science to determine what creature he was by his snow-white skin and cold demeanor.

He had struck me with something like a blade to the side and it hurt so badly. I struggled to get on my feet as he walked slowly towards me. How had he found me or where I live? I asked myself. It was the second time in a very short period that I would be attacked by vampires. It bothered me that they could easily find me this way then there was more of a problem than I thought.

As the masked vampire prepared to attack me the second time, a hesitating Diana jumped forward and stopped him. In a flash, the masked vampire backed away and got himself into a fighting position. It seemed as though he did expect Diana to fight back. This meant only one thing, the vampire had been listening to our argument for the past few minutes. Why else would he not expect a fellow werewolf who was in the same house as me to offer me some help while being attacked?

He was wrong though. As much as Diana hated me for all I had just said to her, she would never allow a vampire to kill me. Knowing the kind of person Diana was, she would rather die in her own hands than the hands of any other person, be it a vampire or even a werewolf.

She released a loud howl to inform other werewolves that something was going on. Then they both began to fight. Diana was strong enough to hold him off for a while but I knew that if I didn't get up soon, the vampire would injure her, or worse, he could kill her. He appeared to be stronger than the average vampire and that made things a lot more interesting.

I gradually got myself up from the ground. I winced as a sharp but short pain from the injury I had just sustained hit me. I prepared myself and transformed into my other form.

I made a sound for Diana to step back. She obeyed immediately and allowed me a space alone with the vampire. He stopped and began to roll his right hand swiftly until I was unable to determine if the hand was still there. In a split second, he directed the hand as a blow toward me.

I reacted more quickly this time around but I still took a hit to my shoulder. Vampires are really quick and this one appeared to be a specifically quick one. I knew I needed some form of strategy to get to him. I slowly moved back and waited for another move from him.

He did the same thing he did the last time but now with his two hands. I studied him closely as he went on, looking for an anomaly in his movements that I could capitalize on. He might be quick but I was way smarter and I intended to show him this. I wouldn't allow a vampire to come to my house to attack me and get away with it

As he pushed towards me with force once again, I dodged his movement and jumped over him. I quickly turned and brought him down with my two forelimbs. While I held him, I dug my claws into his neck but he reacted before I could do any permanent damage. A loud yell came out of him as he released himself from my grip.

He got up again and tried to attack with a quick burst of pace. I met his strength and struck him with my head. He fell back immediately. Red-black blood started seeping out of his nose. We both knew there was nothing else he could do. I had beaten him.

But as I expected, he wasn't going to give up so easily. He pulled himself up slowly again but I whipped his face before he could get a balance. He fell back to the ground. Suddenly, I heard a pack of werewolves approaching the house. They must be responding to Diana's howl.

I knew vampires had so many abilities, so I wasn't surprised when the vampire picked up the scent too. He got himself up quickly and ran into the house. I followed him instantly before he got away. If I allowed him a little distance, he would go free. Vampires are very fast and this one was way faster than me but I had the advantage that I had injured him and he couldn't move as quickly as he normally would.

He barged into a room and got out through the window. I flew after him out of the window and began to chase him. He went through the back and got into a nearby forest that was far back behind the compound. I couldn't let him escape, I told myself. I needed to know the origin of this vampire if I was going to get on top of the situation as quickly as possible.

Moreso, I needed to show the vampires that they couldn't just mess with me as they wished. Just as I predicted, his injury prevented him from moving too quickly. I got nearer to him and extended my limbs to pull him down.

An arrow came from the far left and went past me. I pulled back instantly but the arrow had grazed one of my limbs. I fell to the ground and slowly transformed back into my human form. I looked around me fiercely but I couldn't determine where the arrow came from. Suddenly, a man with long white hair appeared before us and began to speak with the vampire.

The vampire looked as surprised as I was, so that meant that he hadn't come with the man.

"How did you get here?" The vampire asked.

"I've been following you and waiting for the moment when you'd need my help. Your father ordered me, sir. Let's get out of here. I'll explain on the way." The white-haired man said. He shot me a glance before the two men sped off.

He didn't appear to be a vampire to me. But then, some of them are really good at hiding their true self. I knew the chase was over, and there was no point in going after them now. I got myself up slowly and headed back to the house.

This attack had come too suddenly, just like the first one. I wondered why they were targeting me. This vampire seemed more powerful than anyone I had encountered before so it made me unsettled. Then it occurred to me that his eyes looked familiar under the mask. Their colors appeared like something I'd seen before today.

I remembered instantly where I saw them. It was the man that was with Roxanne at that company the other day. The same set of eyes stared back at me during the confrontation and I couldn't miss it if I were woken up to identify it.

This matter was getting messier than I thought and things weren't looking good. Could Roxanne know something about this assassination attempt? I began to have second thoughts about her. Maybe she had decided that she was truly done with me and wanted to kill me just like her father killed my mother.

As I walked back slowly into the house, I came up with a plan. I was going to ask Roxanne for clarity. Then I would take her and keep her at the villa against her wish. If the vampire was truly working with her, then he would show up to rescue her, I concluded firmly.

But firstly, I needed to know everything about that vampire and find out if he had any connection to the man I met at that company. So I called Dennis and told him to look into the man and bring me everything he found on him.