Sterling Silver: (Sterling Hunter 1)

by Melody Personette

  For once though she ignored her instincts and leaned forward. Closer and closer, unable to look away from those eyes. They'd widened into surprised green pools, his eyebrows lifted but he didn't move. Didn't pull away or make a sound as she leaned across the picnic basket and the middle of the car and press her hands against his legs. He didn't move as her eyes flickered from his surprised and excited eyes to his lips and he didn't move as she brushed her lips against his.

  Tabitha had no idea what she was doing, and she didn't care. For just one night. Tabitha just wanted to do something stupid. She wanted to break the rules. She didn't care he was a vampire. Didn't care that he killed people and ate them. She didn't even care that he was a monster and that her soul purpose, her destiny in life was to kill monsters like him. He got her. They understood each other on a level Tabitha had never known until meeting him.

  Tabitha just wanted one second of bliss and one second of freedom from her sole purpose in life. She brushed her lips against his, and he didn't move and then she did it again, coaxing his mouth open and that second kiss woke him up. Without thinking, she shoved the almost empty picnic basket to the backseat and bridged the gap between them.

  His hand cupped the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him, chest against chest. Tabitha sighed and grinned as his lips moved against hers, slow and steady and firm and so very real and so very human. His other hand trailing down her back and to her waist, pulling her closer to him until she was practically in his lap. Tabitha closed her eyes, running a hand through his hair and caressing his chilly cheeks with her other one as she coaxed his mouth open.

  She had no idea who this new Tabitha was. This Tabitha was daring and adventurous, and Tabitha let her take over, unable to stop her lips or her hands. Not with Sebastian so close. Not with his crisp scent of peppermint cologne and metallic blood washing over her. The back of her mind told her to stop. That she was making some sort of horrible mistake. The old Tabitha begged her to stop but this new one? She could care less about the rules and about what other people thought about her or what would happen the minute they broke apart. This Tabitha just wanted to live in the moment and with her hands all over Sebastian, that was exactly what she did.

  His lips left hers and trailed down to her neck, leaving a burning path of kisses in their wake. She had forgotten herself, her mind turning into one big hot mess of his lips on hers and his hands around her when his kisses against her neck between fiercer and fervent and needy. Tabitha had forgotten what he was until all of a sudden, his hands grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back. She cried out as her back hit the passenger side car door and jerking her from the liberation of kissing him. Sebastian growled and covered his face with his hands.

  “What... what's wrong?” Tabitha gasped, her head still blurry from his lips and kisses all over her face. On her neck... On her neck.

  She covered her mouth and readjusted herself in her seat. “Oh my gosh... Sebastian... I'm so sorry. I forgot... I didn't mean to...”

  He shook his head, his face flushed from their little make-out session. His fangs were prominent, and his eyes had turned a bright ruby red with hunger. Tabitha watched, a hand on the door handle in case he couldn't control himself as he blinked rapidly, his heaving chest slowing into a steady breathing pattern. When he opened his eyes for the tenth time, they were their normal murky green again, dashing and intense as ever. “No... it's not your fault Tabitha. I just... wasn't expecting that to happen and... I should have had better control over myself.”

  Tabitha touched her chest where her own heart was pounding, trying to break out of her rib cage and turned away, staring at the dashboard, her face flushed red with embarrassment. She'd lost herself in him... For a split second she'd become a different person. One that was far more adventurous and impulsive than she usually was. Which was saying something. Tabitha had always been impulsive, never really thought before she did something, but this had been a ridiculous amount of stupidity. She'd just crossed a line she should have kept drawn between them.

  But a few kisses didn't mean she loved him or needed him, right? Tabitha was a hunter. A warrior. A strong teenage girl who fought and killed vampires. She didn't need a vampire to make her complete or to protect her. That didn't mean she couldn't fall for one... or kiss one...

  Awkward and shocked silence passed between them for what felt like eternity and then Sebastian cleared his throat, his hands going to the steering wheel. “Why... why don't we finish eating...? I brought plenty of food...”

  Tabitha blinked and glanced up at the small meal he'd packed. All of a sudden, she didn't feel all that hungry. If anything, she was hungry for more of him. But instead of telling him that she just leaned back in her seat and ate one of the strawberries. “I'm not hungry anymore... Why don't we... pack it all up?”

  He gave her a rather awkward grin and grabbed the basket from where Tabitha had thrown it in the back seat. She watched in silence, her face still hot and flushed as he packed everything up and set the basket in the back seat.

  “Right...” he trailed off, clasping his hands on the steering wheel. “We can finish eating later... or not at all since I don't think either of us are too hungry anymore. We should… head to the city. To find Keller.”

  Tabitha nodded, wetting her lips. “Right… hunt,” she murmured as he pulled out of the grassy field and headed back toward the road.

  Chapter Seventeen

  They lapsed into silence, the type of silence Tabitha couldn’t stand, full of awkwardness and tension. They had kissed… More importantly, Tabitha had kissed him. And had liked it. She shouldn’t have, she knew she shouldn’t have but… Tabitha had never felt such a pull to anyone before like she did to Sebastian. Tabitha glanced at him, finding him staring straight ahead. She wondered what he was thinking about. If he was as surprised by the sudden shift in mood, shift in feelings as she was.

  But should she really be obsessing over this? Emotions clouded judgement in a hunt and right now she needed to stay focused. Besides, it was just a kiss. It didn’t have to mean anything. It wasn’t a big deal.

  Tabitha cleared her throat and glanced at him, deciding to ask a few of her questions she had wanted to ask him for a while. To fill the silence and distract herself from thinking of their kiss… She wasn’t sure she would be able to stop thinking about that kiss now… and when she would get to kiss him again. “So, uh, since we have a bit of a drive, I thought you could answer some of my questions.”

  He glanced at her, guarded. “What sort of questions?”

  She shrugged. “The type about when you were human.”

  Sebastian went quiet, and Tabitha glanced at him to find him staring straight ahead with a clenched jaw. She frowned. Maybe she shouldn’t have gone that far… but she had wanted to ask about him as a human for a while now and this seemed as good a time as any.

  Just when Tabitha thought he wasn’t going to say anything and that maybe she should change the subject, he cleared his throat and glanced at her, his face guarded. “What would you like to know?”

  Tabitha shrugged. “Anything. I’m just curious.”

  Sebastian seemed to consider that for a moment and then said, “I was turned in 1862. It’s something I try not to think about… Turns out dying isn’t very fun.” He flashed her a half-hearted smile to try and lighten the mood, but Tabitha couldn’t smile back.

  She knew all vampires were technically dead. They had died at some point in their lives, and it wasn’t that she thought Sebastian hadn’t died… she had just never really thought about it. But he had. Sebastian had died in 1862 and had come back to life. Tabitha shuttered. She couldn’t imagine what that must have been like.

  “It wasn’t pleasant. Emmeline was sick at the time and… due to certain circumstances she died soon after I did, only to be revived as a vampire. We also had a big brother.”

  Tabitha’s eyes widened. She knew about Emmeline, but she had never even considered that they would have any other sib
lings.

  Sebastian smiled wistfully as he spoke of his brother. “His name was Milo… He was off fighting in the Civil War, which had just gotten started. Milo was my hero. I looked up to him and a year later, after turning and getting more control over my vampirism, I decided to join him.”

  “You fought in the Civil War?” Tabitha gasped, her mouth falling open.

  Sebastian glanced at her and chuckled. “Yes, I did. Nothing major or anything. I left a year later to go back home but Milo stayed for the duration of the war… up until he returned home… in a box.”

  “That’s horrible,” Tabitha whispered.

  Sebastian grimaced and nodded. “It was… one of the darker times of my life,” he whispered, staring straight ahead. He had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. Before Tabitha could say she was sorry, he quickly changed the topic.

  “My past isn’t a pleasant topic of conversation, and we’re almost there,” he said, flashing her a dazzling smile that didn’t quite meet his sad eyes.

  Tabitha went along with the change in conversation, not wanting to dredge up anymore of his painful past. She glanced out the window, her eyes widening as she took in the bright lights of the city coming up on them. Rosewood was only about half an hour from the city, but somehow driving with Sebastian seemed to have cut that time in half. When she glanced at the speedometer, her mouth went dry. He was going fifteen over the speed limit of the road they were currently on. No wonder he’d gotten them there so quickly! Tabitha quickly looked away from the speedometer, deciding it best not to know how fast he was going.

  “Where did Carlos say he tracked his lead to?” Tabitha asked as they entered the city.

  Sebastian turned away from the more populated areas, like where the mall and business district was and headed down darker, quieter roads. The type of roads and type of areas not even Tabitha would have the guts to drive down by herself.

  “He didn’t get a hotel address, which is unfortunate. Alistair never stays anywhere less than a five-star hotel. I’m sure if we searched long enough, we could track him down, but that could take too long. Carlos did manage to find a place in the city where Keller has frequented over the past few weeks,” Sebastian explained, turning down another road Tabitha would never go down at this time of night. Not alone at least. The road led down a run down, not so great neighborhood and onto a stretch of street with a tattoo parlor, liquor store and several boarded up and graffitied buildings.

  “Why would Keller come here?” Tabitha murmured.

  Sebastian shrugged. “Cus he doesn’t have as much class as Alistair? I don’t know. All Carlos could figure out was that he’s been visiting a house on Mulberry Street almost every night in the past week. That’s how Carlos ended up with the bite… Keller caught him following him.”

  “Huh, well it’s a miracle he survived then,” Tabitha murmured.

  Sebastian nodded somberly as he pulled up in front of an old two-story house with boarded up windows. He turned the car off and flashed her a grin. “You ready?”

  A grin spread across Tabitha's lips. He knew her too well. So well, it made her heart cringe. She pulled her purse up from the ground and took out two stakes, holding them up. “What do you think?”

  A delighted smile lit up his face. “Good, let’s go then.”

  They left the car and headed up the steps. Sebastian held up a hand to stop her, cocking his head to listen. “There are two,” he whispered. “Upstairs.”

  Tabitha nodded and followed him into the house. Old and rotting. It smelled of mold and overgrown plants. The floor was creaky and damp, and it took all their efforts to keep from making too much noise. Sebastian stopped her halfway through the front chamber of the house where two double staircases sat above them, looking old and unstable. He grabbed her arm and Tabitha froze, her whole body going still, barely making a noise. Sebastian pointed up, indicating that they were above them and Tabitha nodded.

  He pulled her close, still clutching her arm and whispered in her ear, “I'll draw them down. You take one, and I'll take the other, all right?”

  She nodded, gripping her stakes as he let go of her and disappeared, vamping up the stairs and away without making a noise. For a second or two Tabitha didn't hear anything and then a crash and a growl split through the silent air. A minute later a dark-skinned vampire fell down the stairs with another tumbling behind him. The first one picked himself up and vamped straight for Tabitha, having no idea she was there. She grinned, and her instincts hummed, adrenaline flooding her system.

  Without having to think Tabitha lunged forward and struck. He was fast, though. Probably around the age of Sebastian, because he managed to get out of the way. The stake still scraped his chest, right over his heart. The other one barely had enough time to pull himself to his feet before Sebastian appeared and threw him down the stairs and into the middle of the room with a swift kick.

  Tabitha got into a fight stance as the second vampire, her target, growled at her and flashed her fangs at her. She was beautiful. Dark skin, curly black hair and in jeans and a t-shirt. Her eyes flared a bright, hungry red and Tabitha grinned. “Come get me,” she taunted.

  The lady vampire sneered and lunged for her. Tabitha sidestepped and plunged her stake into her side. She howled and fell to the ground, leaving a streak of blood in her wake. Faintly she heard Sebastian and the other vampire scuffling and fighting on the other side of the room. Sebastian threw him against a wall, but he just jumped back up and ran at him, grabbing his shirt and plowing him into another wall.

  Tabitha's own vampire got to her feet, snarling. “I can see what Sebastian sees in you,” she growled, stumbling to her feet and clutching her side which was gushing with blood. “You have fire and strength. Most hunters I've faced, even full-grown ones couldn't touch me and yet here you are, taking me on all by yourself, little girl.”

  Tabitha sneered right back at the vampire, brandishing her bloodied stake and her clean one. “Call me little girl again and see what happens.”

  She laughed and lunged for her a second time. This time though Tabitha couldn't side step, she made sure of that. With one hand, she twisted the left stake from Tabitha’s hand, but she was too fast for her to deal with the other one. Before she could grab her other wrist, Tabitha plunged the stake into her stomach, right under his rib and twisted up. The vampire howled and fell backward, collapsing, and Tabitha went with her. She sprawled out over her chest but didn't let go of the stake or releasing the pressure as the stake pierced her heart.

  She cried out and grabbed Tabitha’s throat, her fingers tightening and squeezing the breath out of her. Tabitha gasped and choked but didn't let go. Instead, she pulled the stake out and jabbed it right into her heart. Her grip on her throat loosened and the vampire’s hand fell away as her eyes widened in disbelief that a “little girl” like Tabitha could kill her. Tabitha pushed off her and got to her feet.

  Sebastian sure knew how to show a girl a good time. She'd needed this. Needed to kill a vampire to give herself a sense that she was doing the right thing. She may not be able to kill Sebastian, but she could kill any other vampire she wanted. Just then Sebastian came through a hole in the wall with his own vampire slung over his shoulder, knocked out.

  Tabitha frowned, gripping her stake. “You want me to kill him?”

  He shook his head and glanced down at her victim, a grim smile on his lips. “Nicely done. Seemed those training sessions have come in handy.”

  Tabitha shrugged and grinned, following him out and shutting the door behind them. “It did help actually. I feel like I’ve gotten stronger and faster.”

  “Good. Now let’s get out of here before we have any more company.”

  Tabitha watched as he popped open his trunk and threw him in. He shut and locked it and then headed for the driver seat. Tabitha slid into the passenger seat and shoved her last remaining, bloodied stake into her purse. “Why do you want him alive?”

  Sebastian grinned as he started t
he car and pulled away from the house. “For questioning. Emmeline was less than cooperative, and I knew she wouldn’t give me what I wanted, but Keller? He’ll spill. He’s loyal to Alistair… but not that loyal. Keller’s going to give me the details of what Alistair’s up to.”

  Tabitha raised her eyebrows. Another mention of his sister. “Good. We need a head start on this. Catch Alistair off guard. But, uh, your sister, huh? She’s… in town then?”

  Sebastian nodded, gripping the steering wheel. Tabitha brushed her hands together and shrugged out of her jacket as she waited for him to answer. “She was. I told her to leave, though. I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned it. There’s just been a lot going on.”

  Tabitha shrugged, leaning her head against the head rest of the seat. “It’s fine. I get it. Siblings can be complicated.”

  He flashed her a knowing smile. “They can be indeed.”

  Tabitha grinned and crossed her hands in her lap. “So how did you found her and why she's loyal to Alistair.”

  Sebastian shrugged, all excitement and energy gone from him as if the thought of his sister drained him. “As I've told you before Alistair and I used to be close. He taught me how to be a vampire, how to survive as one. He also taught Emmeline and... a long time ago Emmeline fell deeply in love with him. You have to understand Tabitha,” he glanced at her, his eyes pained. Tabitha flinched, resisting the urge to reach up and cup his cheek in her hand, to give him some form of comfort. “Us vampires feel deeply. When we fall in love, we don't hold anything back. We live in two extremes. We either love or we hate. And Emmy... well, while I learned to hate Alistair, she learned to love him. We got into a bit of a spat in the early 1900's and I haven't seen her since. I found her in a hotel yesterday, and she said that she and Alistair got into a fight. I told her to leave town.”

  When Tabitha didn't say anything, he plunged on. She didn't want to scare him away from the topic by asking more questions. “But she still loves Alistair no matter how many atrocities he's committed, and she too has a resentment against the hunters. Anyways I used to know Keller, the guy in the trunk, so I'm hoping maybe he'll give me some information, so I don't have to torture it out of him.”