maggieveach@g*******m

Chapter One: Beginning I breathe deep and plant my booted feet as I wait for the next attack. I look at his eyes waiting for his next movement. My opponent stands at 6 ft tall with a lean muscled body. His grey eyes pierce mine. They flicker and I dodge to the left, executing a round house kick to his head. He goes flying to the mat. Victory is mine!  "Damn, Cass, that hurt."  "You should defend better, Jules." I say as I help him up. He rubs his head in agony.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you that badly."  "It's alright, it's like your Mom always says 'The pain is a lesson learned.'"  "Right."  We head to the separate showers to clean off from our match. There is nothing better than a hot shower after a match. Jules and I have been sparring since we were 12 years old. He and I are the perfect team. He's the peanut butter to my jelly. Corny, I know. He's my hunting partner. And no, I don't mean big game. We hunt monsters.  Not as glamorous as it sounds. There are all kinds of monsters out there. Werewolves, ghouls, demons, and vampires. Vampires are the worst. You think it'd be demons, but they aren't that smart. Vampires are smart and pure molten evil.  A vampire killed my father. He was on a hunt at the time. They tried to keep the details from me, I was ten at the time. I found out anyway. His throat was ripped out and he was left to bleed out. I hate vampires. My Mom doesn't talk about Dad at all. I think it's easier for her. She's the leader of our people. She assigns hunters to different hunts and organizes the teams. So, she's a bit intimidating.  Okay, enough shower time. I turn off the water. I put on my blue t-shirt, black cargo pants and of course my signature black boots. Hunters are required to wear weapons at all times.  I have a cross around my neck, two stakes strapped to my arms, and two knives on my legs. I'm about 5'5 with short strawberry blond hair and grey green eyes. So, I'm cute. I mean, I'd date me. But, that's a bit narcissistic.  I head towards HQ. That's the main headquarters for Hunterdom and basically where my Mom spends all of her time. Jules catches up with me and we head in together. He's wearing his typical black on black. Black t shirt with black pants. It goes well with his short brown hair. I wonder what it would feel like to run my fingers through it. Dammit Cass, we've talked about this.  It's an ongoing problem. Jules is attractive but he's my friend. Besides, Hunter men are extremely overprotective when it comes to their women. Even though their women can easily kick their ass. No, I'd rather kick myself than be in a relationship with him. Doesn't mean I don't feel the attraction though. I am human, after all.  "Cassandra, Julian. It's good that you're both here. There's something very important we need to discuss."  "I'm all ears, Mother." Jules smirks. My Mom shoots my a glare and I shut up. Her glares are legendary.  "As you know, the most important thing for our people is to continue our survival. That is why we have traditions in place to ensure it. One of these is marriage. So, you two will marry tomorrow in order to continue our people's traditions."  What the hell?! Where on Earth is this coming from? I look over to Jules and he doesn't look shocked at all.  "And what if we don't want to get married?"  "You have no say in this. This is our tradition."  "f**k tradition."  "Cassandra!"  "Cass."  "Don't 'Cass' me, Jules. Did you know about this?"  "Yes, I knew. But, I don't see the problem. We've known each other forever. I've always wanted us to get married. It's just happening now."  "If you wanted to get married, then you should have proposed. Not gone behind my back to my mother."  "It's traditional to get a parent's permission to wed."  "You take your tradition and shove it, Mom."  "Cass, please don't be rash. I know you would've preferred it happened differently. But does it really matter how it happens? We're perfect for each other."  "No, we were perfect as we were. We were a team, the perfect team."  "Cass, what are you saying?"  "You broke our trust, our friendship."  "Cassandra, stop being so dramatic. It doesn't matter how Julian proposes."  "Yes, Mother, it does. Because if he had come to me and proposed. I might've said yes. But this...this isn't a proposal. It's a business transaction. One I don't want any part of." I begin to walk out.  "Cassandra." "Cass."  I look back and see Julian's eyes storming.  "There's nothing left to say."  I walk out. I can't believe he did this. I don't understand why he did this. This, such a sacred thing: to choose someone to kill for, to die for, to give all of yourself to. And he turned it into a hunter tradition, a f*****g business transaction. I go to the park and find a park bench to sit on. What the hell am I supposed to do now? Tears start to hit my cheeks. Dammit, I thought I was stronger than this.  "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"  "Looks like a lost little kitten."  No. Not now. Two vampires are standing in front of me. How do I know? The glowing eyes and fangs are kind of a tip off.  "Go away"  "The kitten speaks."  "How cute." I stand up from my bench. I pull out one of my stakes.  "Turns out the kitten has claws."  "Hmm, how fun."  I plant my boots and ready myself for a strike. Vampire 2's head goes flying. What the hell?!  "Rogues are such a nuisance." A new vampire has arrived. He's about 6'1 with black hair pulled back in a pony tail. He's wearing a long coat, with a buttoned up shirt and black slacks. I don't know his eye color, never look a vampire in the eyes.  "Please don't kill me. Please. I didn't know. Please." Vampire 1 is on his knees. Pony tail goes over to him.  "I will spare you if you pledge your fealty to me."  "Yes, I swear it. I pledge myself to you. Please don't kill me." Pony tail extends his hand and Vampire 1's head goes flying.  "As if I would trust the word of a rogue." He takes out a handkerchief and wipes blood from his hands. I didn't even see him move. He's f*****g fast. I need to go. I need to get away. He cups my chin. What the hell?! I look at his mouth, not his eyes.  "You have seen quite a bit this evening. You are carrying a stake so, you are a hunter?"  "Yes. Please let me go." He smirks and lets go of my chin.  "So polite for a hunter."  "Right. When are you going to kill me?" He turns his head and bursts out laughing. It envelops me, curling throughout my body, invading every inch of me. Goosebumps erupt all over me.  "Oh, love, I am not going to kill you. In fact, shouldn't I be asking that question of you?"  "You're fast. "  "That has not stopped your people before. Though, it is good to know one's limits."  "Yes."  "You may go." Is he serious?He's just going to let me go? I start to walk away. I look back, he and the bodies are gone. I just dodged a bullet. A motherfucking monster of a bullet. I can feel his laugh touching me. The weird thing is, it feels kind of...good. No, stop that. He's a vampire. He did that to manipulate you, to hurt you. And yet, he let me go. It doesn't make sense. I should head home. Home. How the hell am I supposed to face this?