Page 15 of Orion: Galaxy Huntress

Chapter 7

Reznor

When I laidmy eyes on her, my breath caught at the sight of her moving toward me, and my heart thudded for the first time in five hundred years. Alarmed by the unexpected motion and her beauty, I tucked back harder against the wall, hidden in shadow, observing her.

A leather vest pulled tight on her body like a bodice, prompting her full breasts to swell generously at the top. Skirt of the same material with leather flaps that looked Greek or Roman. Odd choice of style for this era, but they showed off her long, well-defined legs. Pins I imagined wrapped around my hips as I thrust into her. I shrugged off the thought. Many women these days were exhibitionists, planting their photographs all over social media. Of no interest whatsoever to me. Whatever floated her boat, though. She had the body for it.

Another thud rocked my chest as I examined my prey, and I rubbed at the spot in my chest long dead, committing every little detail to memory. Silky, dark brown hair swept back in braids that made my fingers itch to wind around it, tug it, contort her body as I fucked her from behind. Bronze skin that blinked under the sunlight, contrasting with her rosy lips and cheeks. Skin that begged to be kissed over every inch. Very firm, fit body with tight muscles and plenty of curves. Scent carrying hints of peaches and sweet nectar. Pure goddess, if you asked me. Then again, she was heavenly, having fallen from the stars.

A part of me wanted to drop at her feet and worship the stunning, unearthly goddess. The other part got a hit of her blood, the scent intoxicating, a drug to my senses. Predator reflexes activated, fangs extended, preparing to sink into her flesh and drink her rich, honeyed blood. Pupils dilating, focused only on her. Body agile and ready to pounce.

Hunger spiked and I licked my lips, wanting a taste. Just a taste. As a starlight, I imagined her taste would surpass that of a human’s. The smell suggested it would. Coppery blood tasted at the back of my throat mixed with something sweet. Honey? Caramel? I couldn’t remember since it had been centuries since I’d tasted the confectionary. Sweet mixed with herbs. Mint and basil. Yes, it all came back to me. Her blood would taste like pure heaven to match her goddess status.

Desperate to have her, I picked up speed, trailing behind her, needing to be closer to her. To inhale every inch of her alluring scent and fuel my addiction to her. To not miss a single sway of those lush, curvaceous hips, or a peak at her thighs between the parts of her slatted skirt. To listen to the captivating rhythm of her heart that picked up when she paused, spinning in my direction and prompting me back into hiding behind a vehicle.

My chest rocked harder this time, and I massaged the spot over the blackened, dead organ that hadn’t beat in over five hundred long years. The last time it thumped like that was when I met my love, who’d been lost to a fever. No, it couldn’t be. My heart did not beat for this fallen star. Love only brought heartache, devastation, and loss. The very things I’d sworn off so long ago. The reason I’d accepted the bite of my mother, let my heart die the day she initiated me into her world. Life where pain didn’t exist because my heart remained unaffected.

I shook off the strange beating in my chest. Feelings brought nothing but pain. The little star was food. Power. My ticket out of here, nothing more. Maybe it had been a trick of the mind. Hunger pangs since I hadn’t fed in a few days. But when I took in the little star’s curvy shape, the breasts almost spilling out of her leather vest, wide hips and small waist, my heart thumped harder. What the hell? No woman, man, or lover had ever done this to me since my change.

The day she died, love failed to exist in my world. It never had until she entered it. Father left me an orphan to die in the streets because he couldn’t feed me. Left me to be collected by the orphan’s home. At the mercy of the cruel sisters and priest who ran it, where they beat me daily, abused me emotionally, forced me to work to fund their pockets. Bastards only viewed us children as commodities.

Desire to drain the little star became my only thought and I contemplated swiping her from the street and carrying her back to the coven to make love to her, bleed her, and fuck her until she lost her voice and passed out from exhaustion. No, she wouldn’t be safe there. Everyone would want a piece of her, and I’d never share her.

The fact she carried a dagger, bow and arrows didn't go unnoticed. Weapons she might deploy on me if I attacked. If she was fast enough. Doubted it. Vampires moved faster than the wind. Little Star wouldn’t see me coming. She would be mine. Just not in the middle of town and in broad daylight. Too many witnesses to hear her scream and see my flitter along the streets. No, I would capture her somewhere quiet and isolated. Patience had me waiting for the opportune moment.

Half past the hour, she navigated the outer boundary of a forest, moving through the trees, light and stealthy on her feet. She missed nothing. Every sound, even the slightest movement from a damn snail, being noticed. Her instincts were keyed into hunting and nature. One hundred yards in, she paused by a Eucalyptus tree, hunching low, listening. She glanced over her shoulder and I lurched behind a trunk. The thudding in my chest went off again and I rubbed my torso. Three checks over her shoulder during the journey suggested she’d sensed me.

Metal scraped as her dagger unsheathed. Sunlight blinked off the metallic surface. Steel blended with silver. The scent hit the back of my throat. Fuck. Silver wounded and weakened vampires and was toxic if it got in our blood. From here on in, I had to be careful. My hands clawed, ready to pounce before she did. Let her do her best. I’d knock the weapon from her grasp, apprehend her, and take off with her before she had the chance.

Cracking twigs told me she moved again, and I took off at a pace matching hers. Birds squawked overhead. Cockatoos. Loud, boisterous things with white feathers and a yellow crest. Alerted, she replaced her dagger, and armed herself with her bow. An arrow struck one of the damn birds and it plummeted to the ground. Fine shot. Little Star crossed to her prey, crouched to collect it, and tied it by the feet to rope suspended from her belt.

Time to move while her weapons were lowered. Moving swiftly, I caught up to her, catching her by the waist, my forearm wrapping around the front of her stomach, sweeping her off her feet. A shocked gasp flew past her perfect little mouth.

“I knew you followed me, beast!” Strong little thing kicked and struggled against me but was no match for my strength or speed. Trees flew past in a blur as I broke into a run, carrying her with ease through the thicket.

“Unhand me, monster.” Fists thumped at me with surprising strength, leaving aching welts on my flesh that prompted me to pin her arms to her sides. “I said, unhand me, vampire!”

Her abdomen muscles flexed as she raised a knee then brought her boot crashing into mine. My body buckled, and I stumbled and crashed to the ground with us both. She tumbled out of my arms, rolled, and righted herself in a crouch, ready to spring at me. Dazed by the pain, I failed to move before her boot connected with my jaw, sending me reeling.

“Fuck!” I grunted clutching my jaw, thundering with fire.

Vampires were accustomed to being the stronger and faster predator and we took our superiority for granted. This hunter, used to stalking and catching his prey, had just met his match in this little star. She wouldn’t be easy to apprehend. My fangs descended with desire to taste her and conquer her. A vicious thud in my chest had me clutching the spot over my heart. No. It couldn’t be. One heart thud was out of the ordinary. Two, a coincidence. Three, a sign that something was wrong.

“Die, monster,” she snarled, coming at me with the flash of blade that had me stagger backward and hitting wood.

I laughed coldly, trying to spare myself time to regain balance and my position of authority. “Finally, this hunter has met his match in prey. Ready to be capture, pretty Little Star?”

A punch hit the opposite side of my jaw, and a kick to my balls made me fold over myself, adding to the ache all over my body. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’ve fought beasts like you all my life.”

Vision spinning, I rubbed my jaw and scrambled to my knees. Metal stung my flesh as she stabbed me in the shoulder. Fire hit my veins as the silver scorched me. I screamed and flung myself back, out of her reach.

“I’ll kill you, Little Star,” I growled, cupping my screaming balls.

“Not before I kill you!” Her blade went right through my chest, penetrating the top of my lung. Every cell in my body reacted to the toxin scalding it. Knives dragged along the skin of my breast. My heart gave one last pitiful beat before falling silent.

I woke an unknown amount of time later with a dizzy and sore head. “Where the fuck am I?” I blinked, rubbing my forehead, taking in my hazy surroundings, fighting the ache in my chest and burning in my veins.

Memory came back to me. A fight that surprised me. Blows to the head and a kick to the balls that made me remember how vulnerable it felt to be human. Fierce Little Star. Silver-laced blade penetrating my heart. Injury that weakened me and made me pass out. Fuck. I rubbed at the stinging location of my stab wound. Blackened blood stained my cloak and undershirt. I peeked through the slice in the cotton, alarmed more at the set of fangs burned into my flesh than my wound weeping. Fuck. The fated mark of the vampire. Rare. Happened to one in one thousand vampires. Seemed my old ticker had chosen the little star, but I didn’t want her when my heart belonged to another.

The burning ache through the center of my heart where she’d stabbed me brought me back to my wound. Vampires were not immune to silver. If it had entered my blood, I was good as dead. I tested my strength by unfolding myself and climbing to my feet. Unsteady at full height, I wobbled and leaned on a tree for support. I would not be up for hunting her again today. This kind of wound required the attention of a witch healer.

“Fucking Little Star defeated me.” I grinned, both mystified and impressed. I hadn't been challenged like this in centuries. Thrilling. Exhilarating. Arousing. No one had been worthy of such a duel, but Little Star proved her might.

I’d enjoy capturing her again. Enjoy imprisoning her. Enjoy tasting her for the bruise to my ego. Oh, yes, I’d make her pay. Torture her. Make her last remaining days the worst of her life, irrespective of what my heart said. My heart was dead. Had been for over five hundred years. Just because a little star made it beat didn't mean anything. This heart only beat for one woman, and one woman only. I was still very much dead and planned to remain that way. Just as Little Star would be dead when I caught up with her again.

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