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Ezra

A whole fucking week had passed since Ezra’s sweet little princess had abandoned him in that dark alley.

She hadn’t so much as shown her face since, and he was growing impatient.

He currently sat beside Mateo in the front seat of their truck, watching the Moonlight building through the tinted windows.

His friends had made an executive decision that he wasn’t allowed to come to Brighton alone.

Mateo tagged along this time, leaving Vince behind to finish up some work.

“You do know that if we don’t see her in the next two hours, I’m dragging you home whether you like it or not.”

Ezra didn’t pay Mateo any attention. He only stared intently at the dark alley where they’d seen her last.

They’d been preparing for another hunt the past few days.

A vampire they’d been trying to kill for quite some time had shown up on their radar again.

He hated leaving the Brighton area, but the thought of slaying that beast and carving him to pieces was the only thing outside of Scarlett that would bring him any sort of satisfaction.

It would help him get rid of some of the built-up frustration too.

His little princess had tainted his mind, making him want something he’d never cared to have.

Mateo sat scrolling through missing persons reports in Ascot.

Their vampire had returned to one of his old haunts that they’d been surveying for years now.

It had actually been their first discovery on their own, but up until a few days ago, the trail had been cold.

Cameras had detected the arrival of the estate manager and a cleaning crew, tipping them off that someone had returned.

Movement in the alley made his heart pump his tainted blood through his veins faster and the second he laid eyes on her, he was out the door. Mateo, however, didn’t miss a beat, leaping out of the truck behind him.

Unlike his friends, Ezra hadn’t grown up a hunter.

He’d discovered the thrill of hunting later in life when he was too broke to buy his supplies from others.

Witchcraft relied heavily on the magical creatures that hid from the mortal world, and most witches bought their supplies from hunters.

Ezra had magic blood as well, but only a trace compared to his ancestors.

Over the years, their bloodlines had thinned out due to the witch hunts.

Now, centuries later, witches relied on the people that used to kill them if they wanted to continue their craft.

How ironic the world could be.

As they approached, the little princess’s eyes met his and he couldn’t help but wonder if she liked what she saw.

He wasn’t what one would call a… normal sight.

Tattoos decorated his skin from head to toe, and his eyes blacked out by the spell he’d used to obtain night vision.

What little skin he had free of tattoos was marked with scars and ancient runes.

“Oh, sweet little princess.”

Scarlett’s jaw clenched. She shifted her attention to Mateo, then searched the darkness around them.

“He’s not with us tonight,” Mateo softly explained.

“It felt different,” she admitted, a voice so soft that it felt like silk brushing over Ezra’s skin.

“He’s fine. He just stayed behind to finish up some work.”

Scarlett’s gaze flicked between the two of them, then turned down to the floor, her hands shoved in the pocket of her hoodie. Not Mateo’s, so she still had that one.

Ezra took a step towards her and reached out.

Scarlett flinched, but Ezra was faster. He snatched a strand of her hair, twisting it around his fingers.

He grinned down at her, hating how her loose clothes covered her body.

He much preferred her in her tank top, even if she had been cold.

He wondered if her nipples were hard right now, just like they’d been that first night.

“He’s not going to hurt you.” Mateo stepped closer too, commanding her attention by lifting a hand to her cheek. “You’re safe with us.”

Sceptical, Scarlett simply crooked a brow.

“We were hoping to talk to you again,” Mateo continued. “We’ll be going away for a while and didn’t want you to worry when we weren’t around.”

“Oh, is our little princess worried about us?” Ezra taunted when he saw her pupils widen. “Don’t be scared princess. We do kill for a living after all.”

She stepped back, edging toward the fire exit. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and you won’t come back.”

Ezra concealed the sting from that jab with a grin he’d perfected over the years. “Oh, sweet little thing. You’re a terrible liar.”

Scarlett shamelessly let her eyes trail over his body, from his face down his chest and over his sleek body covered in a tight black outfit.

Then as if she’d realised what she was doing, she turned for the door.

Mateo stopped her with one hand on her wrist, the other pulling a burner phone from his pocket.

“This has our numbers on speed dial.” When she hesitated to take it, Mateo softly clarified, “Without our names.”

After another moment of uncertainty, she took the phone and let the door fall shut behind her.

Mateo sighed and stared at the closed door for another moment before he turned to leave. “You didn’t have to be a jerk, you know?”

“She was lying.”

“Maybe part of her does want us to disappear, but you would rather not be forced to like her through the bond either.”

Ezra would never admit it, but Mateo was right.

It actually icked his whole being to know that the bond was the only reason he was attracted to her.

According to the werewolf legends, their goddess—Isis—created each of her children’s souls and split them, giving each half an earthly form.

Once the two reunited after their eighteenth birthday, they bonded, sharing unconditional love for the rest of their lives.

There was no way out of a mate bond, no choice on whether they got to accept it or not—and Ezra had always felt it was wrong.

The werewolves, though, cherished those bonds.

They waited their whole lives to finally meet the one person chosen for them.

Once he and Mateo arrived home, they packed everything they needed for their hunt.

Vince seemed to have lost his voice again, his bond just as calm and quiet as it had been before Scarlett came into the picture.

While they stocked the car, Mateo swapped the licence plates and made sure to rid the vehicle of all their personal information.

The fake title was placed in the glovebox while the original was stored in their safe and the security system was armed.

The drive to Ascot would take forever, but they used surveillance on the vampire’s residence to keep tabs on his comings and goings on the journey.

They took turns driving, taking care not to speed or break any traffic laws.

After all, being stopped by police with enough weapons to power a small war wouldn’t be ideal.

While most hunters specialised in rogue wolves and kept up their facades in the human world, the three of them specialised in hunting more risqué targets.

Their wealth had come from vampire hunts.

Not only did they drain their blood, they harvested anything and everything they could.

Vampires were the most dangerous to kill, which was why their blood vow even existed.

It helped them stay connected during the hunt, knowing exactly where the others were and how badly they were hurt.

“We should stake out and see where this goes,” Mateo muttered, flipping through the various camera angles. “I’m not one hundred percent sure he’s in there yet.”

“We should wait until we see his victims arrive. He has to feed somehow.”

They took Vince’s silence as agreement and while Ezra drove, Mateo kept an eye on the villa. They’d learned quickly that a plan was useless. Their best bet was to wing it, to take the situation as it came.

The only goal they had was to kill their prey.