Chapter 15

Rach, I'm so sorry.

A small puncture in her neck had Rachel's body tensing like a string. How could she still feel if she was dead? The nip reignited the flames sweeping her. It escalated with a burning intensity that made her scream. It came out ragged and tortured.

With every passing second, the pain heightened, bringing her to the edge of sanity. She wanted to fall into the nothingness again. But a strong sense of determination, disgust, an panic didn't let her. Where did those come from? All she wanted was to just die.

God, I hope this works.

Daniel.

She scrunched her nose at the metallic smell of blood. Something sweet filled her mouth. She tried to fight it, to spit it back out, but the warm liquid forced its way down her throat. The taste of fruit mixed with honey left a shooting trace on her insides. She wanted more. On instinct, she started drinking.

The burning sensation left her veins, retreating toward her stomach. The pain of her injuries replaced the fire, causing her muscles to scream and tense. None of that mattered. As long as the honey liquid touched her tongue, she could bear it. As she drank, she felt her flesh and skin pulling together. Her wounds closed and her blood replenished.

Her fingertips brushed fabric, and warmth radiated under her palms. She clung to someone's shoulders. A familiar scent washed over her, reminding her of forests, earth and trees. Daniel. He was there, next to her, it was his shoulders she had her hands on. Her own heaving breaths rang in her ears, joined by Daniel's controlled inhales and exhales.

Pictures zoomed through her mind, like long forgotten memories. But they weren't hers. Images of Daniel flashed in front of her eyes, like scenes from a fast forwarded movie. She saw Max – she knew it was him. He looked a lot like Daniel, like they were brothers. His face was replaced by Cheryl's, then by hers. And as soon as her own image took over, powerful energy swept through her, expanding beyond her body, contracting every muscle.

Daniel gasped. His body sagged. The skin on Rachel's shoulder stitched together, and when it finished, he groaned. Her eyes popped open as she realized what was really going on. The honey liquid was blood; his blood. And her fangs were stuck in his shoulder, gulping it down.

She yelped and pushed him away. He fell over, arms around his torso, his bloody t-shirt clinging to his skin. A loosely-wrapped bandage partially covered the wound from the stake, but she could still see the hole there, barely healed, and the three long scratches marring his handsome face.

Rachel brought her hand to her cheek and felt for her cuts. They were gone. Her face was intact. How was that possible? Her eyes widened as she took in Daniel's wounds: the scratches, the newly open hole in his shoulder, his bleeding stomach... her wounds. All the wounds were on him. What just happened?

Through her rapid heartbeat, she realized that her feelings were more complex than they had ever been. She could feel her own body, her dull pain, but could also pick up on his much deeper suffering without feeling it per se.

"Daniel, what happened? Are you—?" she scurried toward him on all fours.

It's okay, Rach. I'll be fine. He sat up and leaned his back against the couch.

Rachel froze. They weren't touching. Yet, she'd heard his thoughts as if he'd spoken them out loud. I can hear you.

I know you can. Your link— He groaned. Is wide open now. I-I have a lot of explaining to do.

"No shit! How come we're still alive? How—?" The rest of the question failed to produce itself as she stared around and realized where they were. Back in their apartment, on the floor, in the middle of the living room. "How did we get here?"

"I managed to— Oh, fuck!" He shut his eyes and bit his lip. Blood trickled from his stomach wound, between his fingers and on the white carpet. A little help, Rach? I'm not healing fast enough.

Rachel jumped to her feet and ran to get their first aid kit. She believed him when he said he'd be fine, but only now did she do the math. She probably drank half of his blood. His entire system was weakened.

She returned to the living room and started rummaging through the kit, trying to find something useful.

Just get bandages. If I don't lose anymore blood, I'll heal on my own.

With trembling hands, Rachel took out some bandages and antiseptic. She dabbed his wound. Daniel recoiled and cursed.

"Suck it up. I have to do this. Why don't you tell me what happened? That should keep your mind off this." Rachel dabbed him again.

"Trust me, the only thing that would keep my mind off this is a bullet through the head," he mumbled, but didn't twitch. "What happened is, I yanked myself off the roof and shot Vlad with the remaining dart."

"Did it knock him out?" She tried to keep her hand steady, even if she was nervous about the answer.

"I'm not sure. He fell over after I shot him, but whether it really put him under..." He winced once she started wrapping the bandage around his torso. "I didn't hang around to find out. I grabbed you and made a run for it."

"I can't believe you managed to get me back here."

"Yeah, me neither. I have no idea what happened to me. How I could still move considering my injuries. I'm not supposed to be alive. With all the blood I lost..."

Heat rose to Rachel's cheeks. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be silly." He turned and put one hand on her face. "I'd do anything for you."

"You've already done enough." She moved to his shoulder wound...her shoulder wound. She still couldn't believe he took her wounds upon himself. "How did you heal me?"

"I gave you my blood. It gave you the strength you needed." He touched the scratches on his cheek and winced. "Apparently a little too much blood. I had no idea this could happen." He didn't sound sorry about it at all. Merely fascinated.

"You really saved my life." She swallowed. Even if he'd helped and protected her many times, this was different. He literally brought her back from the brink of death. "I would be dead, if it wasn't for you."

He straightened against the couch, head pulled back, eyes shut in pain. "No, Rach. You wouldn't have died."

"Yes, I would have. I don't heal as fast as you do." She bit her lip, wondering if his fast healing would be enough to save his life. She believed him capable of acting just to make her feel better.

I can't lie to you anymore. You feel what I feel.

She jumped. It would take some time to get used to him being inside her head all the time. Yet, he was right. She could tell he was in pain, but it didn't feel like he was dying.

"You wouldn't have died. You'd have become a vampire. Vlad's bride." His voice shook as though he wasn't fully used to the idea that she was safe.

"What? I'm a Hunter. I can't be turned into a vampire." Her voice was almost hysterical. She wished she'd said this in mind-talk. But it wasn't fair. What use would Hunters be if they could be turned into vampires? She'd been thrilled that she could battle monsters without fearing she'd turn into one.

"Normally, you'd be right." Daniel took the bandage from her hand and tried to strap his shoulder. She grabbed it back and continued bandaging. "You know how vampire transformation works, don't you."

She started to nod, but, halfway through it, shook her head. She wasn't sure she knew anything anymore.

"In order for a vampire to transform someone and not kill them, they have to put a little of their blood in that person's body."

"Yeah, I know." She finished with his shoulder and wondered if she should do anything about his face. Even with the scrapes, he was still drop-dead gorgeous. "Vampires usually bite their tongues and lick over the fang marks on their victims." The image of Vlad doing just that to Cheryl came to Rachel's mind. She shuddered, but waved her hand in a circular motion, indicating he should take it from there.

"That's right. Once they do, their poison enters the human body and takes over, turning them into vampires. Hunters are an incomplete vampire transformation. When I turned you, I actually stopped the poison spreading."

"How did you do that?" She thought she knew, but seeing as the same method didn't work on Cheryl, maybe there was more to it.

"You already know this. I forced you to drink my blood. That way, I gave you my antibody and you were able to fight off the venom."

"Antibody?" Okay, so this was the part that Daniel had told her not to bother about. She'd wondered about the mechanics of it before. But this seemed to go into Daniel's category of 'know, don't use' information.

"When the original Hunter – Max, I guess – survived the vampire attack, he developed this antibody. At least, that's what he called it. This is our poison. It's in our blood and when we turn someone, all we do is pass it on. It battles the vampire's venom." He stopped to take a deep breath. He winced as the bandages tightened against his body. They were already soaked in blood. "The stronger the Hunter is, the easier it is to overcome the venom. 

"But if a vampire bites you, more poison gets in, and if it's powerful enough, it can destroy your protection. It doesn't usually happen. Vampires don't bite Hunters. They find us as disgusting as we find them. Vlad's a certified weirdo for trying it. But I don't doubt his poison would've eradicated your antibody."

"But Vlad didn't bite—" She bit her tongue. The feeling of the blood stained arrow tearing her flesh had her shuddering. He didn't bite her, but put blood into her. She couldn't believe this was possible, though Daniel's explanation made perfect sense. Her entire Hunter existence, she'd been certain there was no way in hell she'd become a vampire. "You knew about this and never told me?" Her voice shook. Whether it was with shock or repressed anger, she couldn't tell.

"Yeah, but I didn't find it worth mentioning. I never thought any vampire was powerful enough to force you to complete the transformation. But seeing as Vlad is special..." He leaned his head back. Some color had returned to his cheeks. "You have no idea how relieved I am that my blood was powerful enough to battle Vlad's poison. I actually sucked some of your blood out, so I'm a little high on poison right now."

Rachel got up and sat on the couch, clutching her head in her hands. Her mind buzzed, but for some reason, a feeling of peace coursed through her, calming her down completely. She should be throwing a tantrum right now.

Do you want to throw a tantrum? Daniel looked up at her, his eyebrows drawn together in worry. I'm asking because it's me keeping you calm. If you want, I can pull back.

Rachel pondered on his statement. It didn't feel like he was invading her privacy. She could sense him too, and was unconsciously doing her best to stop him from feeling the pain. It amazed her how well she used this new link.

Thanks for blocking out the pain. He smiled weakly.

"Why did this happen? Why did my link suddenly open?"

Daniel grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the floor. He shifted and pain shot across his face. Rachel twitched. She'd felt it too. It didn't hurt her, but she could tell he was in agony. Fortunately, he was doing a bit better.

"Rach, before I explain about the link, I want to talk about something else. Then I'll reproduce another of Max's teachings that used to fall under the 'know, don't use' category." He bit his lip and squeezed her hands. "I wanna talk about Cheryl."

Rachel pulled her hands back. "Cheryl?" A dull ache settled in her chest, and she hoped he wouldn't notice it.

"Yes. I've been confused as hell until recently." He leaned against the couch again, staring at the ceiling. "We've known each other for eight years now. You know how crazy I am in battle. I was even worse before I turned you. I never thought about anything or anyone but myself back then. Hunting vampires was all that mattered."

"It was kinda fun." Rachel scurried to the other side of the carpet and leaned against the adjoining couch. 

She could remember only too well the excitement of those first years as a Hunter. She and Daniel discovered their powers together and got a thrill out of the hunt. She hadn't thought about anyone else but herself, either.

"Max always said that the first five years are amazing. There's nothing like them." He smiled weakly. "The thrill of getting to know yourself makes you too selfish to care about anyone else. I never realized I started going out with Cheryl after I turned five."

She hadn't made the connection either. And, come to think about it, she had been a Hunter for almost five years when she started going out with Chris. Until meeting him, she hadn't even thought about a relationship, even if her need to be around people was greater than it was now. Until Daniel met Cheryl, they'd wondered alone, and not once had she had any remotely romantic thought regarding him.

"Even after we started going out," Daniel continued, "I rushed through the relationship, eager to give her every reason to run. When she didn't, things got serious. A part of me always wanted her as far away as possible, but you knew Cheryl almost as well as I did. She got under my skin easily."

"Where are you going with this?" Damn, why couldn't she keep the irritation out of her voice?

"I'm trying to wipe that annoyed look off your face for good." He took in a deep breath. "I won't lie to you. I loved Cheryl. I still do, in a way, and I'll never forget her. I would've married her and I suspect we would've been very happy."

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could block out the sound of his voice. Couldn't he tell he was hurting her?

"But she wasn't the love of my life."

Her eyes sprang open. "What?"

"As much as I loved Cheryl, she wasn't the love of my life. As a freak, there's something I needed, something she could never give me." He leaned toward her, his eyes twinkling. "I need this link I have with you."

"The link?" Rachel's body leaned forward, mirroring his move. "But what if you'd have turned Cheryl into a Hunter?"

Daniel shook his head. "Max told me Hunters have a link with special people in their lives, people they can be completely open with. I could've never been completely honest with Cheryl. There were things I kept from her."

"Like what?" She'd always thought Cheryl knew everything about Daniel's life.

"Like how close we actually are. Or that I felt attracted to you." He sighed. "What happened that night in Prague, when you offered yourself as food, that was just me taking advantage of the situation to vent. I mean, it wasn't always there, and you weren't on my mind constantly while I was with Cheryl. But when we were alone, I sometimes...you know, wondered what it would be like."

Rachel stared at him. Now, when she looked back on all their talks, his jokes, his reactions, it was obvious that they were a bit more than friends. Hell, she'd sometimes wondered what it would be like, especially after Chris's behavior toward her changed.

"Max said the link is the most amazing feeling," Daniel said quietly. "Of course, I was way too busy keeping a chart of how many vamps I'd killed to pay attention."

"I would've liked to have met Max," Rachel whispered.

"I'm sure he would've loved you. You were right. The reason the link was closed, the reason I couldn't teach you Romanian... It was all me. I refused to open up to you because I was fighting my own feelings. I mean, Cheryl died less than a year ago, and that's a drop in my long life. You just broke up with Chris, and I wanted you to heal properly. I didn't want to be a rebound."

"A rebound?" Had she heart right? "Daniel, I got over Chris a long time ago. Tell me what's really going on. You've been talking me round in circles for long enough."

He stared out the glass wall, into the distance, at the flickering city lights. "Do you know what happened the night Cheryl died?"

She shook her head, but then realized he couldn't see her. "No."

"It was like a big chunk of me blew up. I felt empty, miserable, guilty. I was one second away from throwing myself into the fire to die with her. Then you came, picked me up and hugged me. And the hole filled." Self-loathing stretched on his face. "With a simple touch, you managed to make me want to live. I realized I never wanted to let you go. And I hated myself for it."

Rachel noticed her breathing had become shallow. She inhaled deeply, holding the air in her lungs. This was new.

"I also realized I couldn't hold my feelings back. My pain was hurting you. I'd managed to do wrong by both you and Cheryl in such a short time... I thought the answer was drinking my brains out. At least, that way I didn't have to think about what I'd done, about you or how unfair this was to Cheryl. I thought that as long as you didn't touch me, you'd never know what was going on. I almost convinced myself that my attraction to you was just a way to get over Cheryl. And I didn't want to use you."

Rachel inched closer to him. Poor deluded fool, tortured himself all this time over nothing. "Let's think this through. You admitted you felt attracted to me before Cheryl died. If losing her hurt so much, turning to me was nothing but a survival instinct. You don't have to beat yourself up over it."

He leaned toward her and propped one hand against her couch. She shivered as she felt the pain resulting from his move, but he ignored it completely. "You took so much shit from me, and when I'm trying to apologize, you tell me not to beat myself up over it?" He trapped her between his arms and leaned closer to her.

Rachel drew in a sharp breath, trying to calm her heart. "You're my best friend. I know you. You wouldn't hurt anyone. Especially me. Or Cheryl."

"I don't want to be your best friend anymore. You heard what I said when you were transforming."

Heat swept her body as memories of his voice through the haze returned. "I'd like to hear it again."

"I love you." And I mean it. It took something this big for me to say it, but I really mean it.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He groaned and pain shot through his ribs, but he steadied himself on his knees and encased her in his arms, kissing her back. 

Should I take this to mean that you share my feelings?

"Or maybe I've been waiting since forever to get the upper hand and bed you." The grin spread across her face, bringing with it more happiness than she thought she could feel.

"That's plain stupid. If you wanted to bed me, all you had to do was walk naked in front of me. You didn't have to go through all this trouble." He rubbed his nose against her cheek, smiling.

She cupped his face and looked straight into his inky eyes. "I love you, too. I've never felt this connected to anyone."

"It's the link." He caressed her cheek. "As soon as I completely opened up to you, it activated. Most of your powers should have spiked. And the gory blood exchange helped, too."

"Very romantic." She rolled her eyes. "Why do you always deflect?"

He leaned closer to her. "It's a coping mechanism. A bad habit. Break me of it." His mouth found hers and he pulled her in close.

Her sense of self seemed to melt with her sense of him, creating a much more complex being, one who felt much more than normal humans – even normal Hunters – could. Every nerve in her body responded to his touch, to his kiss, and her hands moved under his t-shirt. She shouldn't be doing this. He was hurt, but stopping would get her so frustrated.

Who said we're stopping? He pulled her in his lap, trailing kisses down the line of her jaw. Don't worry about me. I'm almost completely healed.
"It's a coping mechanism," she whispered. Her fingers clutched his bloody t-shirt and tore the fabric. The shreds of material dropped on the floor. It's fun, being super-strong.

He laughed against her skin and returned to kissing every inch of her he found available. You have no idea how hard it's been for me not to do this.

Rachel moaned. Really?

Are you kidding? All those nights you spent in my bed...It was so hard not to hold you, kiss you... His hands slipped under her top. Do this. I could hardly keep my hands off you. That's why I made sure to get two beds next time we stayed together.

Rachel's entire body trembled. His fingers trailed down her back, sending shivers down her spine, like electricity. She wanted to hear more, to feel more.

And then I lost control completely and kissed you. He pulled her closer, pressing his body against hers. I've been an idiot, pushing you away, when all I wanted was to be with you. I'm so sorry I hurt you.

It didn't matter anymore.

"I want you," he whispered. "I always have."

Rachel's heart swelled. "How did you manage to hide it so well, then?"

Rach, sweetheart, I've never taken so many cold showers in my life.

A rush of arousal so powerful swept through her, she dug her nails into his back. Every nerve in her body shouted for him. She'd never yearned for anyone so much in her entire life. Her clothes burned against her skin.

As though sensing this, Daniel removed what remained of her t-shirt and laid her on the carpet, his hands already fiddling with the buttons of her pants. Her fingers shot to his belt, trying to unlatch it. The feel of his hot skin on hers got her mind spinning out of control.

With one swift movement, he pulled her leather pants off. God, you're even hotter without any clothes on. He bent to kiss her again, but groaned. His hand shot to his blood stained bandage.

"Shit. I think we should clean up a bit before we go any further." His voice was low, raspy and so sexy.

"No! I don't care." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

He scooped her up. No one said we can't do both things at the same time.

As he kicked the bathroom door closed, she couldn't wait to see what was hiding under his clothes. 

🦇🦇🦇

And the cat is out of the bag... mostly. At least they get to gave some fun.

Thanks for reading another chapter of Hunters. Hope you had fun! Leave a comment or vote in case you enjoyed it. And thank you for your support!

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