Hunter Maximus
Chapter 32

Isobel’s POV

After my shower I dry my hair and put back on my black leather hunting outfit since it gave me huge levels of respect with other vampires at the palace.

I’m about to walk out and find a human to practice drinking blood from, when I come to a stop and see Jennifer’s door open. I had tried my best to block out my enhanced hearing so I wouldn’t have to listen to Maximus’ excited ramblings to Jennifer.

She must have known Maximus loved flirting with her, but she knew Maximus had chosen me... did she seduce him or did he seduce her?

I had overheard small snippets of conversation and I knew Darrius was back. Obviously Jennifer didn’t have many feelings towards Darrius if she willingly slept with Maximus. But who could blame her, Maximus was extremely charming when he wanted to be and a massive flirt.

But Jennifer had ruined what Maximus and I had together, permanently.

I head for her open door and spot her inside, talking to Darrius and looking annoyed.

She was going to pay for thinking she could have whoever she wanted just because she was a princess.

I’d make sure of it.

Jennifer’s POV (excerpt from Abducted by a Hot Vampire: Prince Darrius, Part 2 Chapter 7)

After trying to talk to an ill-tempered Darrius, I try to ignore his short temper and decide to get changed out of my crumpled dress. However as I turn, I nearly jump out of my skin when I see Isobel has just snuck into the room, standing just inside the doorway.

“Am I interrupting something?” Isobel asks, she is decked out in black leather and I kind of stare at her in shock.

“You look different, you’ve changed,” I say, “And no, you didn’t interrupt anything,” All I could tell was Darrius needed some alone time.

“Oh, really?” Isobel doesn’t believe me and I feel slightly offended by her mocking tone. She looks around the room slowly, like she is inspecting everything, “And I have changed ever since I’ve been stuck here. Even had a chance to leave and I still had to come back, figures.”

“Are you and Maximus okay? Because he has been acting a little bit strange at the moment... I thought he was with you before and then he came back here and -”

“Maximus isn’t interested in me anymore,” Isobel says this point blank, looking at me suspiciously, up and down. Why did she suddenly feel hostile towards me?

“What happened between you two, Isobel?” I ask, more gently. Clearly something was wrong.

“Oh, nothing major,” Isobel says sarcastically, “I was brought here against my will to make you a dress, then he didn’t let me go. Then we went on our little crusade to show off our ‘strength’ as humans and failed miserably. Yes, I got caught. But that’s not all,” Isobel is getting more and more heated up, she seems about to burst with her anger, “He turned me against my will, Jennifer.”

My eyes widen as she says this and I don’t even understand what she is saying until I slowly put two and two together.

Isobel... was a vampire?

“What the hell?” I ask, shocked.

“Life is swell,” she says sarcastically, she crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at the door where Darrius has just turned on the shower, “How is he going to react?”

“React to what?”

“To you sleeping with Maximus,” Isobel snaps, her eyes train in on me, so accusing.

The shower abruptly turns off.

I just gape.

“I - what - I didn’t -” I can’t even get the words out. On what planet did she start thinking that Maximus had sex with me?

Isobel seems secretly smug now that the shower has turned off and she turns suddenly to leave. Huffing to herself proudly, like she achieved what she wanted, she is out of the room in no time.

I’m still in shock.

Darrius slams open the bathroom door moments later, completely naked. I’m about to deny everything she just said but when I see his dark, menacing expression - I just gulp.

Shit.

“I didn’t - I,” I shake my head profusely, “I didn’t have sex with him!” I yell it as soon as I find the ability to speak once again.

“Come here. Right now,” Darrius snarls at me.

“Why should I? How could you not believe me?”

“She sure seemed convinced of otherwise, Jennifer,” Darrius growls, ”And, he had a shower here, called himself your lover when he walked back in. You also avoided my touch just before.”

“I was happy you were back but annoyed you left without explaining where you were going! And Maximus was talking about you when he said ‘your lover is back’, you idiot!” I snap, “He just figured out we slept together but jeez, I’m regretting it now!” I turn for the door - deciding to leave and get some space.

I couldn’t deal with Darrius in this temper.

How dare he believe Isobel over me?

How dare she try and cause a rift between me and Darrius?

It sure as hell worked!

“If you think you are leaving, you’ve got it wrong, sweetheart,” Darrius growls as I make my way for the door.

“No, I better find Maximus and fuck him,” I say, sarcastically, stopping briefly to glare at Darrius over my shoulder, “Since he is a much better fuck than you!"

In the heat of the moment I feel great for letting out some steam and yelling out whatever I wanted.

And now it was time for the grand exit!

Except...

I don’t make it to the door.

I don’t make it very far at all.

Isobel’s POV

I said what I wanted to say, Jennifer had to deal with Darrius now and I could feel secretly smug I wasn’t the only one with a ruined relationship.

Wait.

Relationship?

Pff! When did I start thinking that? I was never in a relationship with Maximus. Was I? Did I consider that we use to be in the start of one...? No, no of course not. He just thought of me as his slave.

Clearly.

Argh, trying to get my mind off the word ‘relationship’ and why the hell the word filtered through my mind in the first place, I make my way to the dining area where they fed humans. After all, I needed to find some well-fed humans to drink some blood from.

I consider asking Carla and Anthony for their help again but I was sick of relying on others.

I could figure this new life out by myself and on my own.

When I walk into the entrance of the dining room with the huge buffet, I instantly spot Maximus with Claudia at one of the tables, she is laughing at some joke he made while he holds one of her hands.

I try to convince myself they are just friends as I look around the room, undecided of how to approach a human.

I can feel the human heart beats coming off people in intoxicating waves, and I’m either imagining things or Claudia also had a human aura about her. Yep, I was definitely imagining things. Since she was a vampire, not human.

But I swear -

“Can I help you, miss?” I nearly jump out of my skin as a waitress comes up to me, a glazed look about her eyes.

“I need blood,” I say, my eyes focusing in on her neck.

“Fresh or in a wine glass, miss?” she asks me, and I’m about to take the easy option but I know that drinking from a glass is never enough for long periods of time.

“Fresh,” I say boldly.

“We have some new arrivals, follow me,” the waitress turns and starts walking in the general direction of Maximus and Claudia.

I watch them with narrowed eyes and quickly look away when Maximus turns to look in my direction and spots me. I completely ignore him as I walk by, and I hear him pause in his conversation with Claudia.

“...what are you doing with her, Maximus?” I hear Claudia whisper, and it sounds as if she is scolding him, “You and your games,” she scoffs and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

Games?

Was this a game to him?

Suddenly I am more angry than ever and it doesn’t help that I am thirsty.

The waitress takes me into a back room next to where they prepare the meals for the buffet, it is separate and inside I spot some scared looking girls and boys.

About three of each, and they are all standing in a row while other vampires in the room walk around them and survey them.

I watch with wide eyes as one female vampire smiles widely at one of the human males, and she grabs his hand and whispers in his ear, taking him out of the room. He was shaking with nerves but a few whispered words from her and he follows like a dog to its owner.

“Have your pick, miss,” The waitress walks out and leaves me with three other vampires who are still trying to make their pick.

I don’t wait long, I choose a female, because males are the bane of my existence lately.

“You,” I point to the girl with curly blonde hair and big brown eyes. She looked about 16, and seemed quiet enough. Easy to work with hopefully.

She doesn’t budge though, she just looks at me with scared eyes.

Oh shit, I had to use compulsion.

I’d never done it before.

I focus in on her and I am looking at every little intricate detail of her eyes until I felt like I could almost see what she was thinking, “Come with me,” I say slowly.

It was that easy, she walks towards me, but I can see behind her eyes, she is fighting it, but can’t help but follow my compulsion.

“I won’t hurt you,” I say, “Or I won’t try to.”

The other vampires in the room smirk at me like they think what I am saying is funny.

I hear them whisper ′newbie′ to each other and I just choose to ignore them.

“What is your name?” I ask her.

“Grace,” she mutters, still under my compulsion.

“Follow me,” I say, and just to make sure she does, I grab her elbow and pull her out with me, still ignoring the snickering of the other vampires.

Just as I am about to leave the room, I see Maximus blocking my way out, his hands on either side of the door.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing, Isobel?” He asks, very annoyed.

“Move,” I hiss.

“I’m not letting you take an unexperienced human back with you to your room, just to have a dead human at the palace, absolutely not, so put her back,” Maximus orders this, glaring at me.

“I’m not going to kill her,” I snap.

“You will, you don’t know how to do it yet, you’ll lose control and kill her. You need guidance -”

“Guidance from a cheating asshole like you?” I snarl, letting go of Grace’s arm and charging at Maximus. I don’t think, I just act. I try to punch him but he grabs my fist, and I try to kick him but he grabs my ankle.

“Hmmm, now, those are some interesting accusations, my little hunter,” he growls.

“Argh!” I pull away from him and try and tackle him again but he quickly and swiftly moves to the side, sneaks up behind me and grabs both my arms tightly.

“Why does something tell me,” he whispers in my ear, “That you miss me treating you like my slave?”

Against all my morals and all my will power to deny that he is half-right - I still can’t stop the annoying sense of relief flooding me.

Why did I feel like I needed him so much?

“No,” I hiss, not sure who I am talking to, him or myself or both of us.

“Alright darling,” Maximus doesn’t sound amused or teasing, but completely serious, “This little game of ours is over, you’re coming back with me to my room.”

I try to struggle but he just holds my arms tighter, “Why?” I hiss.

“I’m going to give you want you want darling,” he says, quickly spinning me around and reaching down to grab my waist and throw me over his shoulder. He starts stalking his way out of the dining room, making a scene, he smacks my ass and says darkly, “I’m going to give you what you need.”

I was both incredibly angry and relieved about this change of events.

Maximus wanted me back.

But he said this was a game.

Which means he wanted me all along...

But what the hell was he going to do to me now?

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