To find Joseph and the hunters, Lucian entered the alley, his eyes and ears alert to his surroundings. The dumpster lids of the bins along the brick wall of the structures opposite from him were being raised by trash. Joseph's odor was covered by the garbage that was spilling over the edges of the bins.
Behind Lucian, who had turned to the left and was moving in that direction, Declan's and Killean's booted boots thudded on the pavement. A few lazily spiraling snowflakes fell from the sky. The club was near enough to the coast that a change in the wind also carried the salty aroma of low tide. The rodents that lived there had been driven away by the predators hiding inside the alley, leaving it strangely quiet.
The lane broke off, and he walked down another passage while the end of his coat pounded against his legs. Two stakes and a miniature crossbow were stashed in the coat's inside pockets. He didn't want to burden himself with weapons, preferring to fight mostly with his fists and teeth. He also didn't want to deprive himself of the satisfaction of a close-range kill. In the end, it was what held the devil inside of him at bay.
If he could, he would try to keep the hunters alive. He didn't want to deal with the rubbish smell and heightened light sensitivity that their deaths would bring. The hunters may not have been human, but their blood had the same impact on a vampire's hands as human blood would have.
Although the hunters would not hesitate to kill any of them, he did not entirely see them as his enemies. They were more of an annoyance that sometimes required stomping. The hunters had the best of intentions, but they were unable to distinguish between vampires who murdered people for entertainment and those who did not.
They have never encountered the harsh Lucian idea.
Over the years, the hunters had slain a lot of Savage vampires, but they had also ruined some of the good ones. Fortunately, they hadn't murdered as many decent people as Savages. Those vampires who didn't murder stayed under their radar. They were pleasant people who, unlike the Savages, did not leave a trail of corpses or unaccounted-for individuals in their wake.
When Lucian saw Joseph at the end of the lane, he immediately stopped turning around. Joseph inspected the barrier in front of him as he stood before a brick wall that was 10 feet tall. The bins were now overflowing with much more trash, which spilled out onto the tarmac. Animal scavengers and even some people had ripped apart and picked through the majority of the sacks.
As he saw his former comrade, Lucian clasped and released his fists. Why did Joseph stay when he could have simply scaled the wall and left by now?
Joseph looked back at Declan and Killean as they came to a stop next to him. As he turned to face them, the smile that split his face showed his deadly teeth. Joseph gestured with his hands as if to say, "Come and get it," and for a few seconds, the hazel of his eyes appeared through the crimson that surrounded them.
To the others, Lucian muttered, "Something's not right here." He's attempting to position us for something, I think.
"What, though?" Declan asked.
I'm not sure, but be on guard.
As the three of them prowled along the alley, Declan and Killean dispersed to his sides. Lucian was not going to push him until he knew what the Savage vampire had planned, even if he had no idea why Joseph had decided to remain.
Although they needed to approach this carefully, he could hear the passing seconds of a clock in his thoughts. The hunters must have left the club in the alley going the other direction, but they would soon return this way. Before the hunters showed up there, they had to kill Joseph.
When the kill was about to happen, Lucian's body would have been alive. As he got closer to the dead Defender, he was no longer excited. The smell of trash intensified as blood poured down Joseph's chin from the wound caused by his bottom lip being cut by the long teeth of the attacker.
Joseph knelt before striking Lucian in the chest. Before he became Savage, Joseph would have never attempted such a maneuver, but the enhanced power he had gained from his murders had given him much more courage. Despite his greater strength, Lucian had no concern that Joseph would defeat him. Joseph by himself would not be sufficient to do this.
He was struck directly behind the jaw by Lucian's swing at him, and he was then thrown into one of the trash cans. A loud bang damaged the metal. Rats shrieked as they dispersed into the dark corners of the alley as garbage spilled over the ground. Spitting blood, Joseph emerged from the bin and ran off.
"So, are you going to murder me now? Do you intend to murder one of your own? Joseph asked. Lucian: "So much for loyalty, huh?
Declan and Killean closed in on him as Joseph went toward the wall and Lucian surrounded him. Joseph, you're no longer one of us, Lucian said.
You have no business judging me. You are nearer the brink than I have ever been.
The statement didn't make Lucian wince since it was accurate after all.
Declan said, "Obviously not since you're the target of our search."
Joseph's face was distorted by hatred; Declan smiled back. Declan's grin only grew as he prepared himself for Joseph's onslaught. This time, instead of charging toward Lucian, Joseph rushed directly at Declan. Declan was thrown into the wall as a result of Joseph colliding with him and dropping his shoulder.
Declan did not descend to Joseph's level. As an alternative, he clenched his fists and rammed them into Joseph's back. Declan was once again slammed into the wall as Declan was hauled up by Joseph, who moaned as he did so. Declan delivered an uppercut, breaking Joseph's grasp on him and sending him reeling a few steps back.
Before Joseph could regain consciousness, Lucian tugged him back by the collar of his shirt. As he pinned Joseph to the wall, his hand went around Joseph's neck, squeezing his windpipe. Lucian fisted his hand in readiness to ram it through Joseph's chest and put an end to this as he pulled his arm back.
"Lucian!" He was made aware of the danger he had ignored while concentrating on the kill by Killean's yell.
He heard whistling in time to move to the side but not quickly enough to dodge the bolt. The weapon stabbed him from behind, sending a sharp ache through his shoulder. He stumbled forward a little and almost let go of Joseph as a blazing pain swept through the broad muscle of his shoulder. He turned to look and saw three of the hunters at the other end of the lane. An empty crossbow was pointed at him by the person with black hair.
Joseph bent the bolt's end by grabbing it. When numbness began to spread across his shoulder, Lucian unintentionally relinquished his grip on him. Joseph rushed his hands to his mutilated neck. As he scratched at his skin and his eyes rolled in his head, he let forth broken noises. Lucian didn't care that he didn't understand what he was trying to communicate.
"Lucian!"
Declan shouted and was able to avoid the next arrow that one of the other hunters shot at him, an arrow that was headed directly for his heart. He grabbed the arrow out of the air, broke it in his fingers, and then gave the hunters a savage glare. The two of them moved away from him, but the one with black hair stood his ground and kept his attention on Joseph.
The hunter with the black hair charged down the lane, his shoulder down. Joseph was knocked backward as a result of the collision and his shoulder was kept buried in Joseph's sternum. The hunter and Joseph fell into the trash cans. They were suddenly buried in a tsunami of debris as garbage washed over them.
While Joseph and the hunter writhed on the ground, Lucian remained still. The hunter's out-of-character rash behavior scared more than just him. The hunter hit Joseph hard enough to shatter a cheekbone as Declan and Killean stood still. He then struck Joseph, breaking his nose. Within inches of Lucian's boots, blood-spattered Joseph's clothing splashed into the pavement.
He had never seen a hunter acting in this way. They had always been systematic and cautious as they collaborated whenever he had come across them. They never broke ranks or allowed their emotions to take control. Even the hunter's companions were confused since they hadn't yet tried closing in on their prey.
The hunters weren't immobile and shocked for very long. The other two moved forward while their commander, whom Lucian presumed to be him, proceeded to beat Joseph. One had a crossbow ready, and the arrow was pointed directly at Declan's heart. The other had a 9mm gun focused on Killean. They wouldn't be killed unless the pistol was armed with wooden bullets. They would still be harmed enough, however, to slow them down and make it simpler to kill them.
Declan and Lucian were the subjects of repeated glances from the person brandishing the crossbow, but the hunter avoided another shot at Declan. Lucian's wounds must have convinced the two hunters who were still alive that he wasn't much of a danger. They are completely mistaken.
The lady and the other hunter they had been with were nowhere to be seen despite Lucian's search of the alley behind them.
He returned his focus to the unpleasant circumstance they were now in. Joseph's battered body was being dragged up behind the hunter with black hair as he stood up.
He used to be furious at seeing a fellow Defender so battered and shattered, but Joseph wasn't one of them anymore. A reluctant appreciation for the harm the hunter had done to the Savage could not help but come over to Lucian. Lucian had to make sure Joseph died this night; if it had been any other Savage, he would have walked away and let the hunters have them. The Defender was dead, and he knew far too many of their secrets to take any chances with his survival.
The moment the hunter with the black hair turned his sapphire gaze to Lucian, his lips skimmed back. The hunter was slim and perhaps four inches taller than him at six-four.
Lucian responded, "This doesn't have to happen. "We are not required to engage in conflict. Give Joseph to us and go.
The hunter showed his fangs and put his hand on Joseph's already broken neck. Before snapping up, Joseph's head dipped forward on his shoulders. The black-haired hunter kept Lucian's gaze in his hostile eyes. Lucian didn't need to speak; he already knew the real battle was about to start.
He went to the side, signaling Declan and Killean, placing himself in a better position to pursue the hunter with the crossbow. Just as the hunter with the black hair ordered them to be killed, Lucian leaped at him.
His charge was seen by the hunter who was holding the crossbow out of the corner of his eye. He was too late as he wheeled in shock and went after Lucian. Lucian seized the bow's end and tore it out of the hunter's hands. Before shoving the hunter into the trash, he punched the guy in the nose, breaking it.
A gunshot was heard. The shot's subsequent echo, which bounced off the brick walls around them, drowned out Killean's groan. A second shot was fired, but this time, the brick was broken. Either Killean or Declan had used the rifle to take down the hunter.