Predator | 13

UNEDITED !

April flipped the envelope in her hand, clearly confused with Viktor's intentions. She only met him once, back at the police station and it was a rather brief encounter. Other than his first name, she knew absolutely nothing about him.

April didn't really had the nerve to pay Viktor a visit and that all alone on herself, but seeing as she had nothing better to do, she chose not to ignore his invitation.

The only problem was, her car. Or rather, her car that got destroyed when she tried to leave Rosewood for good.

A heavy sigh fell from her lips when she pushed herself off the couch beneath her, slowly waltzing into the kitchen were she looked out of the window.

For once in all the past days and weeks, she had luck. It seemed that Eric left his car parked near the apartment. Shawn most probably drove him to their working place.

April spun around and headed towards her brothers bedroom. It was the first time she actually stepped inside his bedroom. It was surprisingly very tidy and neat.

The ground was mostly covered in a dark carpet with bright furniture's. It was a nice contrast.

Though the walls were pretty undecorated, like the whole room, it looked cozy. She remembered the old days back at home, when he still used to live with her and their noisy parents. His room always was a total mess, but now it seemed like he changed into a more responsible and mature person.

After moments of letting her gaze drifting through Eric's bedroom, her eyes fell on the nightstand next to his bed. The key of his car was laying behind a small night lamp. She took the key and hurried into her own bedroom.

Viktor expected her visit in the evening. She realized that she'd still plenty of timeto get ready.

A sudden wave of fatigue hit her and she decided to take a short nap. Her throat still stung a little bit from the Lycanblood Nikolaj forced her to drink.

April slowly lifted her finger, warily touching her injured arm. A little hiss fell from her lips. Although the wound didn't look disgusting anymore after Nikolaj cleaned her arm, it still ached a bit.

Her only hope was that her arm would really heal. Although there was a hint of doubt nagging in the back of her mind, she had no other option than believing Nikolaj's words.

She breathed a heavy sigh and walked to her bed and threw herself into it. She covered herself in the sheets and her mind wavered back to Viktor and his sudden invitation. She didn't know what to expect once she arrived at Viktor's place.

* * * * *

It was afternoon when April woke up from her nap, though she slept longer than she originally intended to. She quickly pushed herself off the bed and walked to her closet, thinking about what she should wear.

April remembered the night she met Viktor at the police station, dressed in an expensive suit. He looked very serious and formal. So she chose to wear something formal instead of showing up in casual clothes.

Standing on her tiptoes, she reached her arm over her head and pulled a red dress from her closet. For a moment, she halted and stood stock-stiff in front of her closet, her fingers still gripping the hem of her red dress before withdrawing her finger from it.

In utter disbelief and almost cautiously, she looked at her arm. The long and red scratch that covered her arm just hours ago, was almost as good as gone.

April moved her fingers into a tight fist and released it seconds after. It didn't hurt. Even the sting of pain that she'd become familiar with was gone.

Only the faint red color on her arm was remembering her of the accident with that beast. Her stomach twisted painfully.

Though the Lycanblood saved her from the unbearable pain, it frightened her how some simple drops of blood could have an affect on the human body.

April gulped painfully. A sudden nervous feeling settled deep in her stomach and she wasn't sure anymore if she truly wanted to leave the comfortable four walls of her bedroom.

She quickly locked all the feelings of fear away and focused her mind on her dress, trying to distract her mind from all the unsettling thoughts, even if only for the briefest of moments.

With her arm not being in constant pain anymore, she managed to change her clothes without getting frustrated with herself.

Her dress still fitted her body still perfectly, considering she bough it over a year ago. The golden necklace around her neck fell just above her breast, and her brown hair hung over her right shoulder.

Satisfied with her decent make-up and her outfit, she put on a thick jacket and quickly left the building.

It was freezing outside, not that she expected sun and warm summer breeze.Her dress ended just above her knees and she wished she would've settled for a simple jeans and a hoodie.

Damn Viktor and his dumb invitation.

She quickly reached Eric's car and jumped into the drivers seat, turning the heateron.After briefly rubbing her hands in a desperate attempt to warm up her skin, she started the car and drove off to the address Nikolaj gave her.

The feeling of nervousness settled in her stomach. She started to have second thoughts about it, though she couldn't understand why. It was just a plain and stupid visit with some of her brothers acquaintances. Nothing more.

April was glad her brother had a functioning navigationfor his car. Rosewood was a very small town, but it was still easy to get lost in this town. Traffic signs seemed to be rare in Rosewood, just like the traffic itself.

After a short drive of fifteen minutes, she drove on a very narrowed and muddy road, with bare trees on each side of the road. Then, she finally reached Viktor's place and was taken aback by the sight of his place.

He lived in a huge ancient looking mansion. April suddenly felt like she was in a different era. The expensive looking gate was open, probably opened for her arrival.

In front of the mansion was a very large garden with a round fountain in the middle of it. She frowned when she realized that a wolfs stature was in the middle, decorating the fountain.

Who was this man? He seemed to be filthy rich.

April could immediately imagine how breathtaking it would look in the days of summer. She pulled over a space in the corners of the garden, which was, judging by the deep skid marks, used as a parking space.

After moments of taking in the sight of the place, she got off the car and walked straight towards the dark wooden door. A golden colored door knocker in form of an aggressive looking wolf that decorated the dark door, was baring it's well formed canines at her.

The heavy feeling of nervousness returned. Slowly and almost hesitantly, she raised her hand and used the frightening door knocker to knock the door.

Not even seconds after she withdrew her arm, an old man dressed in a black butler suit opened the door. "Miss Carter," he spoke and nodded, widening the door for her to enter.

"Yes, that's me," she answered nervously, realizing only seconds later that it wasn't a question. He knew who she was.

She quickly stepped in and let her gaze drift through the mansion. The decoration remembered her of the early modern Europe. A very dark atmosphere surrounded the whole place, making her even more nervous.

April slightly crooked her neck and glanced at the ceiling. It was covered with endless paintings of angels and wolves who ripped their throats in the most violent and disturbing way. It looked like a war between wolves and angels.

"Please follow me," the man spoke, ripping her attention from the ceiling and gestured with his arm towards the direction.

April tagged behind him, silently admiring the mansion. Paintings of men and women from a different era covered the deep red and black walls.

The dark brown ground was mostly covered in unique looking Persian carpets, which looked pretty clean, considering that more people must had walked on it before.

The halls were all too dark for her liking and she soon realized that Viktor didn't use electric light. Only candles far above the walls were lightening the corridor with light and the light that fell into the mansion through the windows.

When the butler came to an halt, they reached the living room of the mansion and just like everything she saw so far, it fitted the late 16th or early 17th century.

Viktor truly had an odd taste. April never visited someone who decorated their house to this extent. It was pretty amazing, but still very odd.

"Mr. Alexandrov will be here in short minutes," the old butler informed her, void of any emotions. "Please take a seat," he briefly gestured to a couch in the middle of the room, before turning around and leaving behind dark wooden doors.

April walked to the couch and sank into it. Her attention fell on the fireplace and the burning fire in front of her. Over the fire place was a very huge oil painting of a blonde haired man.

It was Viktor, no doubt. He posed very proudly with both of his arms crossed. A rather sadistic smile was tugging at the corners of his lips.

A bit under the oil portrait of him were two crossed silver swords decorating the wall. But what truly perked her interest was the long silver branding iron right above the fireplace.

She slowly rose from the couch under her and walked to the fireplace, taking the branding iron from off the wall, holding it carefully between her hands. It looked like one of those branding irons farmers used for their cattle.

Her eyes widened. She recognized the smybol of the branding iron. It was the same symbol Nikolaj had on the skin of his neck. Between all those symbols she found two capital letters. Initials.

VA.

Viktor Alexandrov.

April's breath got stuck deep in her throat and a violent shiver of fear run down her spine. Nikolaj was brand marked. Viktor branded him. He branded him like a farmer did to his cow.

"Did you know," a familiar accented voice suddenly broke through the silence, startling her. "That in the old days, Lycan's were brand-marked? The most common place to carry the mark was the shoulder," he spoke his voice dark and very low.

He leaned his back against the wall, keeping a safe distance to her. He watched her silently with sad eyes, gauging her reaction. April was sure a shocked expression was all over her face.

"It was a common way of showing the ownership with an unique symbol burned deep into the flesh. The greatest warriors though, had the honor of being brand-marked directly on the neck, for everyone to see," Nikolaj said. "Females were a different story.They were marked on the right breast," he continued.

April couldn't suppress an audible gasp falling from her lips. Her vocabulary momentarily crumbled to dust. She didn't expect him to reveal such a horrifying thing to her.

"They were some, who actually were proud carrying the mark. It was like a gift to them," he whispered, his voice thick with the Russian accent.

As if nothing happened, Nikolaj walked off to the other side of the room, standing stock-stiff behind a wall.

April slowly turned around and watched him cautiously. He still wore the same clothes he had on when he gave her the blood and Viktor's invitation this morning.

Her breathing was still uneven and the little story Nikolaj just told her was disturbing her greatly. Now she regretting this whole thing for sure.

She didn't even know why he felt the sudden need to tell her all of this.

Moments later, she heard the heavy doors creaking open and revealing Viktor in his proud self. Unlike the last time she met him, he wore his blonde hair down, falling a little over his wide shoulders, and not combed back into a tight ponytail like the last time.

That didn't make him appear less intimidating though. He wore a black suit, just like she expected him to wear, with a blood red tie around his neck.

"April," he greeted her with his deep voice. He had a bright smile across his face, but to April it looked rather unsettling."It is nice seeing you again. Please, follow me," he said and gestured his hand to the door behind him.

April followed him into another corridor and she heard Nikolaj's footsteps echoing through the corridor close behind her. Not wanting to think about him and their little moment minutes ago, she admired the portraits on the walls.

Viktor's mansion seemed to be full with portraits and a few ancient looking sculptures. They walked into a huge dinning room with a wooden table in the middle of the room.

Like all the others room, the only light came from candles on the dinning table and candles on the wall.

"Please, take a seat. Dinner will be ready soon. I hope you are hungry," he spoke and pushed the chair for her.

She silently took a seat and waited for him to sit across the end of the table. Nikolaj was standing on his left side, his green eyes watching her every move. April shifted uncomfortably on the seat beneath her and avoided his gaze.

"Natalya," Vitkor called in his booming voice, snapping his finger. Merely seconds later, April heard soft footsteps approaching the dinning room.

A tall woman, with straight blonde hair that reached her elbows, entered the dinning room with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

She placed the glass in front of April first, filling it with the red wine before walking to Viktor. Natalya placed the bottle on the table in front of Viktor and then stood next to Nikolaj.

"Ostavit' nas," he sneered at her in Russian and waved his hand, not even bothering looking at her.

The sudden change of his tone made April flinch, even though his harsh sounding words weren't meant for her.

Her eyes wandered off to Natalya. She held a very calm posture, but the fear in her eyes betrayed her. She bowed, before quickly walking away behind one of those large doors.

When April looked back at Viktor, he was already smiling at her. "So April," he begun and swirled the wine in his glass. "How do you like Rosewood so far?" He asked.

She took a gulp of her wine. "It's great so far," she lied. The town bore her to death and all those monster hiding in the dark made everything only worse. "It's a great contrast to the city life I've grown used to, but it's a nice town."

Viktor nodded in agreement. "Rosewood may be a quite small town, but it has many things to offer." He chuckled to himself. "Ah, the food his arriving," he stated and not seconds after, maids were serving them with dinner.

A plate of steak was silently placed in front of her. While hers was well done, Viktors was dripping off with blood. His whole plate was red. He cut a large piece of his steak, dipped it in the blood and enjoyed the taste on his tongue.

An expression of delight crossed his face. The sight was unappetizing for her, so she averted her gaze. April's attention fell on Nikolaj, who was still standing next to Viktor.

Why isn't he eating?

Viktor followed her gaze and chuckled lowly. "Don't worry about him," he said and drank his wine. "I hear you had quite an accident not too long ago. I hope you are doing well."

April cleared her throat. She didn't like where the conversation was leading to. "Yes, thank you. Although it was quite a shock, I'm fine now."

"I can only give you my deepest apologize. As you may have already known, Nikolaj already took care of the filth that did this to you," he spoke.

April raised her eyebrows, very surprised. "He did?" She asked, her tone laced with doubt.

"Of course," Viktor confirmed. "He is on of my best predators. There is no one that is able to escape him. I collected him back in Russia, when he was still a pup," Viktor continued and smiled.

Her grip tightened around the fork and the knife. April didn't like the way he was talking about him. Like some sort of product he imported from Russia. That only showed how little he cared about him.

Then she realized what Viktor just told her. He took care of it. Nikolaj was the second beast she saw that day when she tried to leave Rosewood. He killed the Lycan that infected her.

Her nervous gaze fell on Nikolaj. Why didn't he tell her that? Then again, why should he tell her anything at all? It didn't seem that talking was one of his favorite things to do.

"Hmm," Viktor hummed, his expression turning into a serious one. "I see that the infection hasn't affected you at all," he remarked as his gaze dropped down on her arm. He had a thoughtful expression over his face.

"Ah, yes," she answered with a forced smile. "Shawn was very kind and made sure that the infection I had wouldn't spread any further." It wasn't completely a lie.

She left the part where Nikolaj unexpectedly paid her a visit and made her drink the blood. He already told her to keep her mouth shut about it.

"I see," he responded. "And your arm healed quite fast, no?" The smile he had hovering over his lips was quite frightening.

She frowned at that. There was no way that he could now about the bottle of blood Nikolaj gave her.

April took another sip from her wine, carefully thinking about her next words. "I guess I'm a lucky girl." April kept her voice even and firm.

For a split second, Viktor's eyes flashed into a pure golden color, the pupil of his eyes turning into black and small slits.

Visibly startled, April blinked a few times, but his eyes were normal. There was no hint of gold in the color of his eyes. She must've been imagining things from the lack of sleep, she figured.

Viktor didn't say anything after that and continued devouring his steak. April quickly glanced to Nikolaj, who was staring at her with an expression void of any hint of emotions.

The rest of the dinner continued in a tensed atmosphere around them. If April didn't regret this little visit before, she sure as hell did now.

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I remember those days where I updated once every few months hehe. Vote & Comment if you liked this chapter and tell me what you think. c: Thanks for reading!