Chapter 335: Melissa's First Hunt
Melissa's POV
The black hunting clothes felt strange against my skin—loose where I'd expected them to be form-fitting. I turned in front of the mirror, examining myself with a critical eye.
"I still think I should've gone with something more fitted," I complained, tugging at the excess fabric around my thighs. "How am I supposed to move quickly in this?"
Mom came up behind me, adjusting the collar of my jacket. "Loose clothing gives you better concealment, Melissa. It breaks up your silhouette, makes you harder to spot." Her experienced hands moved to check the gear attached to my belt. "Tight clothes might look better, but they'll get you killed faster. These monsters have incredible eyesight."
I nodded reluctantly, lacing up the sturdy black tactical boots she'd insisted on. They were heavier than I would have chosen, but I trusted her judgment.
"Remember," Mom continued, "we never use leather. It holds scent too well. Once your sweat permeates it, no amount of scent-blocking spray will completely mask you from werewolves."
I smiled despite my nerves. "I know, Mom. Breathable fabrics only. Better for long stakeouts anyway."
My heart fluttered as I pictured Axel seeing me in my new hunting gear. Would he approve? Would he finally see me as a real hunter, not just his girlfriend? I hoped so. I'd been working so hard to earn his respect.
---
When I entered the staging area, my breath caught in my throat. Axel stood with his back to me, wearing nothing but loose athletic pants, his muscled torso gleaming with a light sheen of sweat. He must have come straight from the training room. The silver portions of his tattoos caught the light, shimmering against his dark skin.
Several of my father's hunters glanced at Axel's casual attire with skepticism. Dad himself approached, his eyes narrowed.
"That won't stop a vampire's claws," Dad commented, gesturing to Axel's bare chest.
Axel turned, flashing that confident smile that always made my knees weak. "We all have our fighting styles, Conner. I've destroyed too many hunting outfits. If those monsters want to break through my skin, a layer of fabric won't stop them. I prefer comfort over useless protection."
I couldn't help but admire the perfect definition of his abs, the way his shoulders rippled as he reached for a water bottle. How had I gotten so lucky?
Tonight would be my first time seeing him in actual combat. The thought sent an unexpected thrill through me.
---
Dad unfurled a map across the planning table. "Our vehicles will remain here," he said, pointing to a clearing half a mile from our target. "We'll approach on foot in teams of two, taking up positions surrounding their camp."
He detailed each person's hiding spot before explaining our targets. "Intelligence suggests we're facing a small group—several vampires, at least two werewolves, few witches, and one dhampyr."
"A what?" someone asked.
Axel stepped forward. "A dhampyr. Half-vampire. They can walk in daylight." His voice dropped, becoming harder. "Everything that kills a vampire works on a dhampyr."
Dad nodded grimly. "Our first wave will be silver bullets through tent walls—we take out the witch and werewolves first, weaken the others. Second wave is stakes and crossbows for the vampires. The whole operation should take less than thirty minutes."
---
The forest was unnervingly silent as we approached our target area. After parking at our designated spot, everyone sprayed themselves with scent-blocking spray. The chemical smell burned my nostrils, but it would fade for humans—while continuing to mask our scent from supernatural noses.
We moved silently through the underbrush, spreading out to our assigned positions. I tried to stay close to Axel, knowing once we separated to our hiding spots, I might not see him again until the operation was over.
One by one, our team members disappeared into the darkness, taking up their positions around the target camp. I could just make out the dim glow of lights from the tents ahead.
---
Crouched behind a thick oak tree, I watched the tents, my heart hammering against my ribs. According to the plan, on Dad's signal, we'd all fire silver bullets simultaneously through the tent walls. With the werewolves and witch neutralized, the vampires would rush out in confusion, right into our waiting stakes and crossbows.
Quick, clean, efficient. That's how Dad always planned his hunts.
My hands shook slightly as I prepared to load my crossbow with a wooden stake. I'd been training for this moment for years, but the reality of it—knowing I might actually kill the legendary "Death" himself, Theodore Windsor—sent adrenaline surging through my veins.
I'd even painted the end of my stake with my signature red nail polish. I wanted everyone to know which kill was mine when we debriefed afterward.
---
A wolf howl broke the silence of the night, and my blood ran cold. It wasn't time for the signal yet.
Suddenly, the lights in the camp went out. Only the faint moonlight remained, casting eerie shadows through the trees.
'This is a trap', I realized with horror.
I heard a pained groan from somewhere to my right, followed by the sickening sound of bones breaking. Peering around my tree, I saw a vampire—a real vampire—tearing into one of our hunters.
I quickly loaded my crossbow, took aim, and fired. The stake embedded itself in the vampire's chest. I didn't wait to see if it died; I turned and ran.
---
Chaos had erupted all around me. Screams, gunshots, and wolfish growls filled the forest. I tried to find other hunters, to regroup, but there were far more enemies than our intelligence had indicated.
I spotted a familiar hunter ahead and started toward him, but before I could call out, a massive wolf-like creature burst from the underbrush. It grabbed the hunter, and with a sickening motion, tore his head clean from his body like a child pulling apart a doll.
I stifled a scream and melted back into the shadows.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Not at all.
---
A metallic clashing sound came from my left—Mom's fighting. She was the only hunter who preferred a sword.
I rushed toward the sound and found her battling a creature about six feet tall with skin that looked like tree bark in the moonlight. Its hair moved like leaves dancing in the wind.
The creature and my mother exchanged blows, her sword flashing in the moonlight. But the monster was faster. I watched, frozen in horror, as it thrust its own blade through my mother's chest.
"Mom!" I whispered, watching her life drain away as her body slumped.
Another hunter charged the tree-like creature, but it wrapped vines around his neck and snapped it with sickening ease.
I needed to find Axel. He would protect me.
---
Stumbling through the chaos, I saw more of our hunters lying in pools of blood. I emerged at the edge of a small clearing and froze.
In the center stood my father, fighting a tall vampire with red eyes. I recognized him immediately from our briefings—Sebastian Astoria, "the Arbiter."
I fumbled to load my crossbow, desperate to help Dad.
Just as I took aim, the vampire moved with impossible speed. His hand thrust forward, penetrating my father's chest. When he pulled it back, he held my father's still-beating heart.
"This is for my father, you bloodsucking monster," I whispered, tears streaming down my face as I fired.
But something unexpected happened. A girl—Eleanor, the dhampyr—rushed in front of Sebastian, taking the stake meant for him. I watched it pierce her chest, and a surge of vindictive pleasure washed over me as Sebastian's face contorted with anguish.
'Good', I thought savagely. 'I'm glad I hurt someone he cares about, just like he hurt me.'
---
I turned and fled deeper into the forest, desperate to find Axel and my brother Alexander. I heard Alexander's voice calling out and ran toward it.
Behind me, a mournful wolf howl echoed through the trees. I hoped the beast was suffering.
Leaning against a tree to catch my breath, I pushed forward until I found Alexander and Axel in a dense thicket.
"You used all my silver bullets!" Alexander was shouting at Axel. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"
Axel's face twisted into an evil smile that turned my blood to ice. "That's the point, buddy. You don't."
"You set us up!" Alexander gasped.
"I did," Axel confirmed calmly. "And you all walked right into my trap. Now it's time for you to die, and then I'll find that stupid sister of yours and end her life too."
Before my eyes, Axel's body began to change. His spine elongated, his face stretched into a muzzle, and thick fur sprouted across his skin. Half-man, half-wolf, he reached forward with razor-sharp claws and tore open my brother's throat.
'My perfect boyfriend... I had sex with a werewolf.'
The realization that Axel's seed had been inside me made me vomit onto the forest floor.
---
As I knelt there, shaking and retching, the forest grew unnaturally quiet. A cold sensation crept through the air, and I knew with terrible certainty that I wouldn't make it out alive. I would die here like my parents.
"When you're terrified enough, scent-blocking spray stops working," a familiar voice said from the darkness. "You've literally pissed yourself, Melissa."
Scarlett Harper stepped gracefully into the moonlight, her green hair floating around her face. Her golden eyes glowed in the darkness, and behind her, massive transparent wings—like giant dragonfly wings—unfurled, shimmering with rainbow colors in the moonlight.
"Scarlett Harper?" I gasped. "What are you?"
Scarlett smiled coldly, her sword glinting with an icy light. "Now you finally get to see the real me."
With trembling hands, I raised my crossbow. "Die, monster!"
She moved so fast I barely saw her. Suddenly she was beside me, the string of my crossbow snapped. I reached for my silver sword, but before I could draw it, Scarlett drove her blade through my palm, pinning my hand to the ground.
"Who's the weak one now?" she asked softly.
I screamed in agony, tears flowing uncontrollably.
Scarlett withdrew her sword and plunged it into my heart. "Go to hell, hunter girl," were the last words I heard before darkness claimed me forever.