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Chapter 2

Feminine Retribution

Silvana

D ropping off proof of Elias’s death was nice and quick. Payment from the Crassodon Coven was the same. I smiled to myself thinking about the look on their faces when I handed them the bag. Clearly not what they were expecting as proof of death.

I do imagine that opening up a brown canvas bag with a frozen vampire head inside was a bit alarming to anyone who wasn’t fully prepared.

However, the night had taken a swift detour. I was on my way back to the main road when I decided to stop at a small tavern in hopes of a quick bite to eat, when I heard them.

“Have you seen Odette this evening?”

“She won’t be in tonight. Her husband is in one of his moods again…”

“That poor woman. No one deserves that type of treatment.”

I would always be thankful to my vampire hearing at moments like that. Being able to hear across the bar? What a gift. But what I heard from the ladies? Well, that meant I was eating well tonight after all. Saving my appetite for a willing donor was truly overrated when there was fun to be had. Why use the on-tap service, when there were abusive husbands I could be eating?

I didn’t want to stay in this town longer than I needed to, but then again, it hadn’t taken me long to figure out where Odette and the horrid male she was tied to lived. I just had to follow the screams, or in this case, kindly persuade the man behind the bar to tell me where she lived. Batting my pretty eyelashes went far when I desired it to do so.

After all, I was a blood-sucking monster, but that didn’t mean I acted like an animal. I still had thoughts and knew occasionally we had to see things with our own eyes before making hasty decisions to end a man’s life.

At least that was what I’d been reminding myself of for as long as I could remember.

Their home was a quaint little two-story building made of light-colored stone. The sort that seemed common in the city where your neighbor’s home was pressed up against yours. Many humans all squished into one minuscule plot of land was only possible if you also put their houses on top of each other apparently. Personally, I preferred the towns with ample-sized pieces of land and houses spread out. Easier to hear the men scream and enjoy it without arousing suspicion. No one truly enjoyed a nosy neighbor, especially when I was having fun.

Although I didn’t see that being an issue here. No, Odette had been screaming and crying since I’d arrived, and the neighbors didn’t seem to notice or care at all. Maybe it was that normal for them. I’d just make her male scream like a woman too, I guess. Wouldn’t want to arouse suspicion.

I smirked to myself at the thought. Tonight would be lovely, indeed.

I walked up to the front door and gently twisted the doorknob. It was locked, of course, but that was where vampire strength came into play. I gave the knob a quick and harsh twist, breaking it from the door, and it quietly swung open as if even the home itself was welcoming me inside—eager for me to kill the monster of the house.

I could already smell the fear permeating through the house, but it wasn’t Odette’s fear I was after.

Their home was neat and orderly. A soft beige color on the walls, shoes by the front door, and plants in the corner before a stairwell. I walked down the front hallway toward where the voices were coming from. Passing a living area and a bathroom, I came into the kitchen and found the happily married couple there.

A small woman with short blonde hair and pale skin was on the floor, her lip bleeding and her right eye swelling shut as I glanced over toward her. A man stood above her. He was taller than both Odette and me. Also blond, his hair was down to his shoulders and stringy. His eyes sunken in and haggard. He clearly drank too much if his smell was any indication, but thankfully I knew he’d taste better than he smelled. They always did.

Walking silently up behind him, I could tell when Odette saw me. Her eyes grew wider, and she raised her hand as if to point at me. I quickly shook my head at her. I was doing this for her after all. She may or may not have seen it that way, though. Some of the victims did, and some didn’t. But that was their cross to bear, not mine.

Oh Fates, I was having a ball of fun already.

I reached up and slowly ran my nails down the back of his neck. He immediately stood upright and whipped around to look down at me. His eyes widened for a brief moment before he composed himself. Putting on the facade of a powerful man of the house.

“Do you enjoy hurting the woman you vowed to protect?” I asked quietly, a question truly only for the two of us.

“Who the fuck are you? How did you get in here?” he yelled at me—although I was a stranger in his home, so I couldn’t blame him much.

I laughed at the notion that he thought I’d fear his screaming like poor Odette always has. Odette had reason to worry, though. As a human woman against such a man, she was vulnerable and easily broken. The pathetic excuse for a male she called her husband wouldn’t find the same was true for me—not anymore.

“How I got in should be the least of your concerns.” I winked at him and then punched him in the mouth, rendering him unconscious on the kitchen floor. I decided I did want to have some fun first after all. This town isn’t too tragic a place to stay for a bit.

I looked down at his wife. “If you want to stay and get a few hits in, just let me know. Otherwise feel free to continue forth on your merry way, Odette. You’re free to do as you please.” I dropped a small bag of coins in front of her. It was plenty enough if she wanted to leave and start over, or just to cover her costs for a while without her husband around.

“W-w-who are you?” she muttered through tears. I’m not sure if they were happy and grateful tears, or if she was going into shock. Honestly, I didn’t have the time or empathy to coach her through the latter. I just wanted to enjoy my meal.

I smiled, showing off a hint of my fangs. “Just call me the angel of feminine retribution, darling.”