Chapter 2 - II.

[A few moments Earlier.]

Victor sat on the roof top above The Serbian President's Suite, his long, blond hair hanging down to his shoulders as the cold night breeze rolled off of his open coat.

He sheathed and unsheathed his claws, waiting for the sound of his prey to enter the room. He'd been hired by an anonymous man to kill The President, allowing him to change and control the next President. 

It was boring work, the waiting and killing jobs. He preferred stronger prey, ones he could bloody up a bit and kill their morale. Like Logan, he was his most interesting and favorite prey. 

Victor's ears twitched as he stopped his claws, leaving them unsheathed as he heard someone enter the room below. He sniffed the air, licking his lips and standing up before dropping quietly on the window sill, easily opening it and slipping in before finding a darker spot of the room to watch from. 

He growled lowly , listening to the weak sounding females moans as the president of Serbia kissed and groped the three prostitutes. Their bodies reeked of sex and booze. He could have killed them the second they stepped in the room, but he liked his prey more aware of what was happening to them first.

Deciding it was time he moved forward, scraping his claws together and  as he stepped out of the shadows and bared his fangs at the room's occupants, their heads turning to him. They didn't have even a second to scream as he leaped forward, his fangs burying themselves in the neck of one woman as his claws ripped through the bodies of the two other women. With a satisfying crunch, he bit down, killing the girl he had bitten and ripping up with his claws, slicing from their stomachs to their throats, blood splattering on his grinning face as their bodies were cut open.

"W-Who?" The president of Serbia said before Victor slashed his face. As the man went to scream Victor grabbed him by the throat, raising him high in the air. His smile dropped as he saw the man's expression. 

His eyes were begging for mercy. Usually Victor would enjoy this, the thrill of causing pain to others, making them submit and suffer before finishing them off, it was one of his few pleasures in life. Yet, The President's weakness only left him unsatisfied. This was supposed to be a hunt, yet his prey hadn't even been able to try and put up a struggle.

"You were boring prey," Were his only words as he punched clean through his chest, ripping through The President's heart and pulling it out, smashing in his hand and sending more blood splattering across the luxurious sheets.

Victor looked at the bloody scene, sniffing the air as the tantalizing scent of death made him smile once more. He pulled out the phone he used for calls, clicking the most recent number after licking his thumb clean of blood. 

"Is it done Mr. Creed?" A voice asked on the other line, slightly scrambled in case someone managed to record it. 

"You know who you hired. Make sure to wire the rest of the money…" He replied, his tongue sliding over his teeth and fangs, licking the blood of those as well as he hung up.

Just as he slipped the phone back into his pocket, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, quickly leaping next to the door he watched it open and close, a woman in a red dress walking in and setting her eyes on the scene. 

He raised his arm to slash her throat, but stopped just as he was about to attack, his eyes turning to slits as he sensed nothing from the woman. 

He could smell all sorts of scents from people. The President had reeked of fear and confusion, the three women had smelled of sex, arousal, and fear as well. This woman though, she smelled of rage and frustration, not the scent of someone who hadn't seen death before.

He watched her curl her hands into fists, still not noticing him as he stepped silently behind her. 

"Beautiful sight isn't it?" He asked in a low tone, finally letting his presence be known as he sniffed the air.

Something was off about this human. She smelled sickly sweet, yet she also had the rich smell of blood around her.

Selene's entire body tensed as the voice slithered through the air behind her. That anyone had managed to sneak up on her- her—was infuriating, not to mention unsettling. She instinctively shifted into a defensive posture, her heightened senses screaming at her to move, to strike. But she didn't. Not yet.

Her breath came slow and deliberate as she raised her hand to her earpiece, her eyes never leaving the foreign, predatory man . "This is Selene. The target is dead," she said coolly, her voice barely a whisper. "But there's a problem. Someone beat me to it." She paused, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the carnage of the room again, unnerved by Victor's presence lurking just behind her like a lion sizing up his prey. "Yes, I understand..."

She flicked off the comms, her mind racing. The Grail would not be pleased with this development. A breach like this could only mean one thing—there was a threat far more dangerous than anticipated. And now, she was expected to clean it up.

Slowly, she turned to face him, her eyes taking in the man-no, the beast-standing before her. His towering frame, bloodied hands, and those f↓ eyes. He wasn't like the others she'd dealt with that much was for sure. But in the end, they'd bleed the same. 

"You really think sneaking up on me makes you special? I've seen worse... killed worse." Her eyes flicked over his bloodstained form, the corners of her mouth curling into a dangerous smirk. "But I'm curious. Who are you to interfere with my mission?"

Her tone remained calm, almost mocking, as her hand moved casually to her side, fingers grazing her retractable claws. She was probing, pushing him, gauging his reaction. "You like to play with your food, don't you? Does it make you feel big, tearing apart weaklings?" Her eyes glinted as she pulled off her contacts, revealing the yellow glow beneath.

"You're not the first monster  I've crossed, my beloved," she finally said, drawing her claws with a slow, deliberate motion. Her fangs extended, gleaming as her lips pulled back in sadistic determination. "And you won't be the last."

Victor widened his eyes in surprise for a second, but quickly relaxed as a wicked grin spread across his face. The strange scent finally made sense to him. His claws unsheathed, his fangs on full display as he looked at her own set. It'd been a long time since he'd killed a vampire, and even longer since he'd tasted one.

"Playing with the prey makes them taste better, I'm sure you agree…" He said, a growl building in his throat as his eyes scanned over her body, looking for the best places to slice her open. "If I'm a monster what does that make you?" He asked, pouncing in the same moment and grabbing Selene, his grip tightening around her wrist and holding up her claws to his face. "The way I see it we're just two monsters here, no need to pretend you're not one." 

He stood close, staring down into her glowing yellow eyes. She was a predator just like him, he was sure of this. Unfortunately for Selene though, only one Predator should exist, and it was him… 

Just as he was about to attack again, the door opened, another woman walking in. She was older, Well dressed and smelling of Frustration and anger.

"Babe how many bitches are you fucking in here!" The woman yelled angrily, pausing as the door shut and she was face to face with two beasts.

Her eyes looked past them, seeing her husband and the prostitutes dead bodies. "Y-You two…" She said slowly, a terrified expression plastering itself on her face as she noticed Victor's bloodstained body.

"Someone!-"

That was as far as the wife of The Serbian President got before Victor Backhanded her into the wall, her neck snapping and her body falling limply to the floor, blood dripping from her nose.

He looked back to Selene, still grinning. "Someone will check on her scream soon." He said, not moving as he waited for her response. Yeah. This wasn't your ordinary Frail. For once he felt..intrigued.

Selene felt the surge of adrenaline as Victor's grip tightened around her wrist, a twisted thrill coursing through her veins. His growl resonated with her primal instincts, and her eyes flashed with an unsettling mix of defiance and intrigue. 

"You think you know monsters?" she challenged, her voice steady despite the danger. "You have no idea what true darkness is."

As he leaned closer, she could feel the heat radiating from him, but the sudden intrusion of the woman snapped her focus. The abrupt violence sent a chill through her, and she remained still, weighing her options. 

With a calculated resonance, she replied to Victor, her voice low and sultry. "You're right; we are both predators. But don't mistake me for prey." 

As the lifeless body crumpled to the floor, Selene's instincts kicked in. The scent of blood ignited her hunger, and she flashed her fangs, a feral glint in her gaze.

"Don't worry. I'll be gone by then. And you can stay here with the rest of the weak vermin," Selene snarled, the distraction to her advantage. In a swift, almost elegant motion, she swung her free hand up and drove them deeply into the man's eyes. Triumphant, her tongue flicked past her crimson lips as she twisted and gouged down to her knuckles before sharply pulling out. 

"Awe. Poor kitty. Well now at least you won't see what I will do to you," she purred, boldly leaning into his chest, lapping at the blood now streaming down his face.

Rather than wince or growl in pain, Victor's smile widened. His eyes healing almost as soon as Selene pulled her fingers out. "Only one of us can be a predator," He said, wrapping his arms around her body tightly as she began licking at his blood. "Let me return the favor then." 

He stabbed through Selene's eyes, reaching deeper than she could, his claws easily ripping through. 

He held the back of her head, pulling her back slightly and opening his mouth wide. He quickly attacked Selene's neck, ripping and tearing at her jugular. Her blood almost tasted like wine. He jumped in the air, twisting and slamming Selene's head through the floor, his fangs bloody as he sunk his claws into her back. 

"What was that about not being prey?" He growled, twisting his hips and using his superior strength to throw her across the room, her body crashing through the window he had snuck through earlier into the night. 

"Kitty? I guess that makes her the mouse then…" Victor hummed as he jumped out the window, following Selene down  seven stories, licking his blood from his teeth. Now this was a hunt.

So this  is what it was like to finally meet your match, your true equal. Selene truly never thought this day would come. There's many notches on her proverbial belt. Some clean, some messy, but all of them easy. Anyone else would have been already drained dry, mutilated, sacrificed to her blood god by now. Exhilarating, wasn't it?

A momentary sense of intrigue spiked through her as his eyes healed, as if she'd never maimed him whatsoever. That sensation was quickly replaced by instinctive agony as he launched his counterattack. She'd fought many men and bested many men, several larger, stronger, and older than this savage. But it was like she was frozen in place. Not with fear, but with a sick sense of admiration.

Like a champ, she took every stab, every brutal bite from the unknown champion. In fact, when his canines cut deep into her vital vein, Selene felt a lightheaded, delirious fog. Not from the blood loss, but from something deeper, something more raw. Like an ancient acknowledgment of the beautiful fact she'd found someone

 /like her./

The fall was slow, and the opposite of graceful. Yellow eyes had barely begun to heal as she went plummeting , just enough to make out a blurry, hulking mass hurtling down after her. God he smelled so good.