Chapter 49

Melisca stood up and took off her clothes. "Text me where you want me to pick you up." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Sure."

"But I’ll be there two hours, more or less."

"Two hours? Why?"

She could hear Lorna’s puzzlement at the time she’d stated. That’s because she had to buy a secure case for the album and had to search for a place to dig. So, she may need to travel back to the forest mountain in the suburbs. She almost rolled her eyes at the things she had to do.

"I’m having breakfast and all. See you later." She sauntered to her phone and ended the call. Not wanting to hear any more from the girl. She’s starting to get too nosy about small things.

Entering the shower, the bathtub was waving at her to get in. But she doesn’t have the luxury of taking her time. So, she had to skip it for now.

With a few minutes in the shower, brushing of teeth, and a lot of time in drying her hair, she finished in almost half an hour.

She threw away the clothes she had worn yesterday. So, she pulled up another set of her favorite black leather pair. A red camisole top, with a black leather jacket and pants. Paired them with platform mid-calf boots. She doesn’t need the increase in height, for she already had that. But she liked how sturdy the boots are, and they suit her style. After braiding her long, wavy brown hair that almost reaches her butt, she sat on a single chair and crouched to tuck the knife into her boots securely.

She almost forgot another thing again. Fishing the side of her bag’s pocket to get a new cotton mask to cover her face, at least it would somehow disseminate people’s stares.

Scanning her eyes around the whole place to ensure she did not leave any valuable thing and nothing was amiss, she finally got herself out of the room with a backpack hanging to one of her shoulders. Motor keys at hand and phone in her pocket. She missed having a cigarette. She had some in her bag but no time and her exhaustion made her skip the habit. Maybe it was for good.

Melisca gets to the ground floor by elevator. She already paid for her room, so she doesn’t need to get back to the reception desk. As she got out of the elevator, her senses instantly picked up a predator around. Another vampire in the area. She tracked the presence, and it landed in the front office area. It was from the woman whose back was to her.

"Excuse me." An old man talked to her. "You’re blocking the way."

Without answering him, she moved aside, close to the wall, standing beside whatever tall plant in a large pot was placed in there. Her presence felt familiar to her. She listened to the conversation the girl was having with the front office in charge.

"Thank you for the service. The room was nice." Said the vampire and walked away from the desk to proceed to the exit.

Melisca’s eyes almost widen like saucers upon recognizing the voice. It was the girl she saved yesterday. Why is she here? Was she following me? But it seemed unlikely. Though the circumstances were too coincidental.

She tailed her to the door and didn’t bother to hide her purpose. The vampire would sense that someone was following them anyway, that is, if she’s not a dense one or too careless to be vigilant around.

But it does look like she didn’t notice her yet. The girl continued to the door, but not before putting a hood up her head. Melisca just noticed that she had a lot of clothes on, layers of fabric. Ahh, of course, though the sun wouldn’t instantly kill them, the long exposure to its direct heat would make rashes appear on their skin and drain their stamina. It would appear just like a severe allergy to the sun. And would render them weak. But it depends on how strong the vampire is. The strongest would be their king.

Then another person popped into her mind. Ezekiel might be able to spend all day under the sun while being a half-werewolf too. But she can’t be too sure. She didn’t exactly know how the perks work in being a hybrid wolf-vamp. But in her condition as a half-wolf, she couldn’t shift. And she’d regard that as a trivial matter. She accepts what she’s able to do and would take advantage of it.

The girl was now at the back of an alley. Melisca contemplated whether to tail her further or just go to her motorcycle so that she could start her first agenda of the day. But her curiosity won. That’s why her feet led up to where the girl was headed.

The vampire was still in the area. She was about to turn when suddenly a hand reached up to grab her arms, but she blocked it by gripping the wrist of her assailant and trapped her to the wall, the other hand on the throat. The girl grunted at the impact of her back to the concrete building.

"W-Why are you following me?" The girl struggled to talk with a contorted face. Her strength was back as Melisca felt the girl’s force in thrashing to get free. "Who are you?"

So, she wasn’t that dense after all. But still too careless to attempt to grab her.

Melisca let go of the girl as people were looking their way. Before they could gather a crowd, she retreated a step.

The girl’s face lightened in recognition. "It’s you. You’re safe." There was relief in her tone.

Her brows furrowed in what the girl was talking about. "Of course, I am." She retorted and fixed the backpack on both her shoulders.

Laia stared at the woman. "I apologize. I thought it was another hunter. Your." She became hesitant to continue. "Your aura was deceiving."

Melisca knows she has an aura of a human. That’s why she was considered a prey most of the time instead of a scheming predator.

Laia could now somehow understand why the woman before her was considered an abomination. As she had thought before, she could have been dead already by her hands if she chose to attack her for blood in determination. The woman’s presence was like an invisible arrow to the heart of a being. Maybe the only thing that worked best was never to let her get near or vice versa, not to approach her in any way.

Melisca sized her up and down. She looked not more than 20 years old. But that was only a number for beings like them. The girl can be older than her in decades. "You look as good as new. I also thought you were following me. You came out from the same hotel I stayed." She looked around, no nosy eyes on them anymore.

"I stayed in the city for the night. The suburbs were not safe any more."

She met her gaze. The girl stared into her eyes. "Nowhere is safe." She stated. "Especially not here."

Then Melisca just realized how it came to her mind that what they were exactly doing in the open was a stupid mistake. "Let’s talk somewhere."

The girl was confused but nodded and followed her anyway.

Melisca kept her senses up. The vampire was nervous or something, she could hear it in her rapid heartbeat. Maybe she was afraid of her. Well, she’s not her enemy unless she dared.

She led her to the parking lot, under the hotel building. She stood by her motorcycle and checked the vehicle for anything unusual. Scanning it like her eyes was an x-ray. If someone put a tracking device on it or whatever that she wouldn’t like. All was good. Then she turned to the girl again.

The parking area was quiet and lightly dimmed. A security stood outside at the far corner. She can hear him playing a game on his phone. Tsk, tsk, playing on duty. She shook her head at the thought.

"I’m Laia." The girl spoke, offering a hand.

She contemplated if she should be friendly to her. She couldn’t be part of her schemes. And she also doesn’t have to trust her. "Melisca." At last, she said, accepting the handshake. "Laia, listen." She squeezed the girl’s hand lightly. "You’re not safe here anymore. The hunters knew what you were. And I don’t know how they managed to get that information in any of their ways. But you got to evacuate this city." Her grip then tightened in an instant, making the girl wince. "But if you are a spy for the hunters, that’s why all my wonders were useless, then I will take the life I gave you." She yanked the girl forward which made her yelp. And gripped her throat with a slight force. Yes, her trust issues knew no bounds. But that’s also why she was still alive and kicking today.