Sterling Silver: (Sterling Hunter 1)

by Melody Personette

  Unless... She gave Sebastian a sidelong glance.

  But no... that was impossible.

  Yes, her father had mentioned how certain vampires were immune to the sun. A few very rare ones. He had said in all his life, and in all his career of hunting vampires he'd come across two. Just two. And yet Tabitha had grown up being taught to have a healthy amount to suspicion and skepticism. Maybe she would meet Sebastian behind the school building after all. With a stake.

  “Dina, you're with Jack. Becky with Kelsey...”

  Mr. Noland got to the back of the class and Tabitha knew what was going to happen before he said it. “Chelsea, you're with Sarah. Tabitha, you get to be partnered with Sebastian.”

  Murmurs trickled through the class at the last paring. Tabitha seethed silently, beyond wishing she and Chelsea could have been partnered.

  Sebastian flashed her a rueful smirk and sat up, staring his nose down at her. “Well this is going to be fun.” He said it more like a threat than a comment.

  She didn't grace him with a response and instead turned her attention back to Mr. Noland who passed out the books. Chelsea gave her a pitying look and mouthed “sorry”. Tabitha shrugged and mouthed, “not your fault” as three copies of Dracula came upon them. Chelsea took hers and Tabitha thumped Sebastian's copy onto his desk with a loud thud. He chuckled under his breath.

  Tabitha stared down at her copy of Dracula, a shadowed face of a red-eyed vampire staring back up at her. She knew for a fact that vampires didn't have red eyes. Their eyes only became red when they fed because of the sudden influx of blood rushing through their systems. Or when they became hungry. All vampires had fangs they couldn't retract, though some of the smarter ones put fake teeth over their fangs to try and hide the monster they really were. That didn't make them any less dangerous. She wondered if Sebastian had sharp canine teeth.

  Next time he smiled she would have to check. Though, she realized with a shock–her hand tightened around her very sharp and still very deadly pencil–he never showed his teeth when he smiled. Another trick. Vampire smiles were charming and dazzling. The cleverer ones learned to smile without showing off their fangs.

  Tabitha glanced up at Sebastian from the corner of her eyes, trying to gauge any tell-tale signs of vampirism. If he could go out during the day, it meant he was one of the more powerful vampires. As far as Tabitha knew, no one knew exactly why certain vampires were immune to the sun and why others weren’t. She had asked Mr. Carter one time, and he had said they had done research on it at one point or another and supposedly, certain people who were turned had a genetic mutation that triggered when they became a vampire, allowing them to walk in the daylight with burning to a crisp. Sun still annoyed them, but the light didn't turn them to ash. But it also meant he was incredibly strong too and good at hiding what he really was.

  His gaze flicked up to meet hers from the corner of his eyes. Tabitha drew in a breath and turned her attention back to her book. But not before she caught what he did. He flaunted his true form. His green eyes flashed a hungry red, and he showed off a fanged smile.

  Tabitha's heart rate quickened.

  It was a knee-jerk reaction.

  See vampire. Kill vampire.

  She gripped the edge of her desk, her heart hammering against her ribcage. Adrenaline rushed through her system, flooding her with inhuman strength and speed to kill one of them.

  Tabitha gritted her teeth, that one thought clouding her mind and her judgment. She let go of her desk and grabbed her pencil.

  Without thinking and without warning, she lunged over and plunged the pencil into Sebastian's thigh.

  Chapter Three

  Or she would have, had his hand not snapped out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from causing a bloody, traumatic scene in the middle of her literature class.

  Tabitha's gaze met his. His eyes narrowed, and he applied just enough pressure on the inside of her wrist for the pencil clatter to the floor. He let go of her wrist with finality and turned his attention back to the front of class, at Mr. Noland as if nothing had happened. Tabitha's whole body shook. She couldn't control herself. If she didn't get out of there, she would kill him in front of everyone. Her trembling hand shot into the air before she knew what she was doing.

  Mr. Noland paused in the middle of a lecture she hadn't been paying attention to. “Yes Miss. Sterling?”

  “I need to use the restroom,” she said.

  Mr. Noland nodded distractedly. Tabitha jumped to her feet and walked as fast as she could out of the classroom. Once the door shut, she ran. She sprinted down the hall and into the blissfully empty girl's bathroom. Tabitha splashed cold water over her face, trying to calm her senses, her instincts, and her nerves. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before.

  Tabitha didn't know why she couldn't control herself in class. Sebastian hadn't tried to kill her or attack her at all... She could have killed him. Stabbed him in the middle of school and he would have desiccated in front of everyone.

  Rule number two of being a vampire hunter: Keep the secret.

  No one, no one could know that vampires existed. As a hunter, Tabitha had an obligation to uphold that rule and keep the secret. If she didn't, she would be punished by the Carters. Surprisingly, there were quite a few vampire hunters in their small town. For some reason Tabitha couldn't fathom, the Carters' ancestors had decided to make Rosewood their base of operations. Where they had settled and created the headquarters for the Moirai, the secret, worldwide hunter organization. Since then, hunters from all over the world came and lived there, drawn to the place.

  Tabitha gripped the edge of the sink as she composed herself. She took deep, even breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart, and ease the adrenaline rushing through her system, urging her to kill. He'd snuck past her last night and then today in class. How had she not sensed his vampirism to begin with?

  She focused on her reflection, inhaling one more deep breath. Tabitha wiped her face dry before heading back toward class. Control. She needed to control herself. Tabitha kept her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she entered the classroom again and went back to her seat. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Sebastian shooting her an amused smirk that didn't reach his narrowed eyes.

  Chelsea tapped Tabitha's foot with hers. Tabitha glanced up. A bead of sweat left an icy trail down her back. “What's wrong?” she whispered.

  Tabitha shook her head and opened Dracula. The novel choice today did not help her need to kill the boy next to her. “I'll tell you later,” she whispered back.

  The rest of the class went on in painstaking slowness. Mr. Noland wouldn't stop talking and talking and talking. At any other time, Tabitha would have enjoyed the class but today, with a stalker vampire next to her? Not so much.

  The minutes ticked by until the bell rang, and Tabitha slid out of her seat, grabbed her backpack and walked out. It took everything she had not to reach into her backpack and stab Sebastian in the chest. She would have to hold out until the end of the day when they met. Or she could lure him out of the school and stab him then... Or just get him alone and stab him. It wouldn't be too traumatizing if a freshman found a desiccated body in the janitor's closet, would it?

  Or...

  Or...

  Or...

  Scenario after scenario flashed in her mind. She rammed into someone head-on.

  “Ouch,” a male voice said. Two hands grabbed her shoulders and Tabitha looked up. She hadn't realized she had her head bent and eyes closed until the person jarred her from her thoughts. “Tab, you Okay? You look kinda sick.”

  Jonas. Of everyone in the school and she had to run into Jonas.

  She scowled and shrugged his hands off her. “I'm fine. Just... leave me alone.” Tabitha shoved past him. She made a rather zig-zagged beeline for the exit. The one emergency exit that didn't set off an alarm. It'd been broken since she was a freshman, and everyone used it to ditch.

  She pushed the door open and lea
ned against the red brick wall, sucking in fresh air, and trying to dispel the murderous thoughts from her mind. An empty backway parking lot sat in front of her with a small forest behind it. Tabitha rubbed her forehead and threw her backpack down on the concrete. Thank goodness she had a free period. Not a lot of students did so early in the morning.

  Taking slow breaths to try and stabilize her heart rate, she knelt and unzipped her backpack pulling out the three stakes she always stashed in there. She had one in the back of her locker too. Maybe if she got rid of those three than the impulse would stop, and she could calm down. She pulled them out and lined them up on the sidewalk, staring down at them and imagining one of them lodged in Sebastian's chest.

  Tabitha was just reining in her thoughts and gaining some control, when she heard the door open and her instincts kicked in.

  She grabbed one of the stakes and whipped around, letting the adrenaline feed her strength and agility as she made a move to plunge the stake into the guy's heart. A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her mid-swing and jerking her arm in a painful twist. Tabitha seethed and in a blur of motion threw her foot out in a roundhouse kick. Another hand reached out and grabbed her ankle. She cried out as the hand squeezed her ankle.

  “What if I was a human student? You would have killed me by now. Twice,” the chillingly calm voice said in front of her.

  Tabitha's eyes came back into focus, and she blinked, the vampire-killing-trance dissipating. Maybe because she had tried and failed, but now her mind cleared, and she realized how stupid she'd been to react so quickly without thinking. Standing in front of her, still gripping her wrist and ankle was Sebastian. Pale in the sunlight, his blond hair shining, and green eyes narrowed, his lips no longer twisted into a rueful smirk.

  Tabitha clenched her teeth, her heart pounding. Sebastian cocked his head and twisted her wrist like he had in class. She cried out as the stake fell from her hand and clattered onto the ground. “Your heart is hammering. I can hear it. Not very smart to go all hunter crazy in the middle of a high school. I hear it won't score you any points with the teachers,” he mocked.

  She scowled and tried to jerk free. His grip tightened, steely, cold, and firm. He didn't let go and instead held her in an awkward position with one foot balanced on the ground, and one hand free.

  “Let go of me,” she growled.

  He smirked. “Or what? You aren't exactly disciplined or in any position to defend yourself. I'm amazed you've survived this long.”

  “I don't know what you're talking about,” she ground out.

  Sebastian chuckled and jerked her wrist and ankle. Tabitha's foot twisted, and she lost her balance. In one swift movement he let go of her ankle, righted her footing, and pulled her in close, grabbing her other wrist. Tabitha tried to struggle free, but it was no use. He was too strong.

  “Quite the act. I know you're an amateur vampire hunter. If you weren't, you wouldn't have gone all psycho on me in the middle of class. Your poor friend–Chelsea, is it? –is worried about you. Looking all over for you. Good thing I found you before she did, or she would have a stake in her heart right now.” His words came out with ease and confidence, smooth as silk. They both knew he had the upper hand. But how he knew so much about her and why he had followed her from the city to her high school, she had no idea.

  “Why are you here?” she whispered.

  He smiled and leaned in closer, whispering back. “I'm here because the Moirai sent me. I figured you’ve seen this coming. Though now I'm not so sure if you're worth it. You don't even have control over your instincts. Have you been killing vampires on pure adrenaline and raw force of will this whole time?”

  Tabitha nodded, though she didn't know why she answered. Despite her father's death being two years ago, Tabitha had only started taking her hunter duties seriously over the past year. She had gone on the occasional hunt every once in a while, but two years ago she had only been fifteen going on sixteen.

  He raised his dark eyebrows, appraising her. Those dark green eyes studied her. She'd never seen a vampire look at a human that way. Not as a source of food or even as an object, but as if she were a weapon that needed to be honed. But why would a vampire see her as a weapon? And what did he mean, asked to recruit her? He said she should have seen it coming. How could Tabitha have possibly predicted that a vampire would walk into her high school to recruit her?

  Sebastian nodded and took a step back, giving her some of her personal space back. He still gripped her wrist though. “Interesting. That does get the job done... rather sloppy but it does work. Though I'm sure we can train you to do better.”

  Tabitha didn't even try to struggle anymore. All she wanted was answers. “What are you talking about? You're making no sense. Why would the Moirai send you?”

  Sebastian scowled, flashing his fangs and dropped her wrist. Tabitha stepped back and slid her hands behind her back. Her fingers itched for another stake. She had two left. Sebastian didn't seem to notice though. He prowled back a step and off the curb of the sidewalk, onto the parking lot and began to pace. Less like a human, and more like a big cat with taut muscles, ready to pounce if she made a move. Tabitha's fingers tapped against each other, pleading with her to give them a stake so they could do their job.

  “I asked you a question,” Tabitha snapped.

  His eyes shot up to glower at her and narrowed. No longer charming or mocking. Just plain animalistic and aggravated. “Your last name is Sterling, right?”

  Tabitha folded her arms to stop her fingers from tapping and scowled at him in answer. He nodded as if she had said yes and stopped his pacing, coming up in front of her. Tabitha took another step back toward her backpack. “Your father was Jonathon Sterling.”

  Tabitha stopped shorted. “How... how do you know that?”

  “You know the Carters, don’t you?”

  Tabitha nodded though she had no idea what they had to do with anything. His eyes became intense. “Well I've known their family and yours for a long time. I'm probably one of the only vampires who know where their headquarters are. And are allowed to work with them.”

  Tabitha's jaw dropped, her mind working double time to try and process what he was saying. “Why?”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “I have a history with them… I guess over the years I’ve earned their trust. You already know their sole purpose in life. To hunt and kill vampires. Now that you’ll be eighteen next year, they want you to start preparing to take the trials. And guess what?” his eyes flashed. “The Moirai have sent me to train you.”

  Chapter Four

  Tabitha’s mouth opened and closed several times as words formed and then stuck on her tongue. She knew all about the Moira. She had grown up knowing all about them, most of her family’s friends being a part of the organization. What Sebastian said was true, the Sterling’s and the Carters had both been the ones to create the organization years and years ago.

  Tabitha had thought a lot about the Moirai, especially since her dad died. When someone from a hunter family turned eighteen, they were allowed to go through the trials to be brought into the Moirai. The trials were generations old. Made to test a hunter’s skill, strength, power, mental capacity and more. And now that Tabitha was seventeen, she’d been planning to ask the Carters about starting the trials. She wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. But… not like this. The last thing she wanted was a vampire to train her. Why would the Carters ever do that to her?

  Her hands drop to her sides, her fingers tapping out a crazed beat on her thigh. “I don't believe you,” she lied.

  Sebastian snorted and took a step toward her. Tabitha took a step back. She was so close. So close to her backpack. One more step and she could spin around and grab the two stakes and get rid of him.

  “You do believe me. Know how I know?”

  Tabitha had a good idea of how but couldn't bring herself to voice it. She hated vampires, but the thing she hated the most about them w
as their abilities to listen to a person’s pulse and tell when they’re lying.

  “Because I can hear your heartbeat and guess what? It just skipped when you said you don’t believe me. You’re a liar.” Sebastian tilted his head and prowled another step closer Tabitha took a step back. “You believe me, and it confuses you. I can prove where my loyalties stand and that I'm telling the truth. And I can help you master this skill you're so epically failing at using.”

  Tabitha scowled at his criticism. “I killed three vampires last night without any help. I think I can pass the trials on my own.”

  Sebastian folded his arms, a smug expression spreading across his face. “Three vampires, huh? Could they stand in the sun or compel people to do what they want?”

  He squinted up at the sun as if making a point. Tabitha bent down and grabbed one of the stakes, hiding it behind her back while he had his gaze turned away from her. “Not that old but... I got them. I'm not as pathetic as you think I am.”

  His eyes flicked back to her face and Tabitha took advantage, striking. She raced forward, stake out and made a move for his chest. Tabitha would have gotten him too, if he didn't have such fast reflexes.

  He appeared behind her in a blur. A hand flew out and smacked her in the back with inhuman strength. Tabitha shrieked and went tumbling off the curb and hit the pavement. The stake flew out of her hand and rolled away from her into an empty parking spot. Her knee scraped against the concrete, blood springing to the surface.

  He leaned over her, blocking out the sun as Tabitha pushed herself up and threw a punch at him. Sebastian caught her fist easily and gave her a shove. The pain in her knee burst and she tripped, hitting the ground. “Nice going. Now I'm bleeding,” she snapped as she pulled herself up and sat down on the curb.

  She angled her face up to glare at him. Sebastian's face had gone pale, and he took a step back. Tabitha smeared the drops of blood on her knee, watching his reaction. His eyes turned ruby red and he took another step back, his hands clenched at his sides.