Almost out of instinct, I toss my motorbike helmet towards him with as much force as I can muster. He doesn't dodge in time, the helmet connecting with the side of his cheek. He lifts a hand up to his attacked skin as my motorbike helmet falls to his feet, an angry look on his face.

    "What the fuck?" He sneers.

    "If you brought me here to kill me, I'd like to see you fucking try-"

    "Jesus Christ. You always assume the worst," He rolled his eyes, removing his hand from his now-healed skin and tugging on his hoodie, readjusting himself. "I just needed to talk to you,"

    I scoff, leaning to pick my sticker-covered helmet off of the ground and hold it close to me. "You're really funny, Jefferies. Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you here," 

    "I'd like to see you fucking try," He repeated my earlier words, narrowing his eyes in my direction. He steps closer, a little more light moving to illuminate his features. 

    I've never been this close to a bloodsucker for this long before. He almost looks normal. His doe brown eyes, slight stubble and angelic features make him look like an innocent person. However, I could see beneath his skin where the blood of hundreds swims through his body. 

    "Say please and you just might," I almost whisper, looking him up and down with disgust as I do so. 

    "Fine," He steps back, holding his hands up in the air in mock defeat. A sly grin spreads on his face as he looks at me, something in his eyes portraying that he knows something I don't. The thought makes my skin itch, but I can't let him know that. "If you don't want me to take you to Alex, that's fine by me," 

    The mention of my missing friend's name is enough for me to rip the knife from its spot on my thigh, moving to shove the vampire against a wall and position the knife against his cheekbone. He doesn't make any effort to resist as I do so, instead, smiling down at me from his advantaged height. 

    "I knew you had him. Tell me where he is or-"

    "Or you'll kill me?" He cut me off, amusement in his eyes as he laced his hand over mine, moving my dagger down his cheekbone and over his chin, pushing further down until it was aimed at his chest in front of me. "Do it then. I'm sure Alex will be fine," 

    We stare at each other for what feels like hours, neither of us wanting to be the one to look away in defeat. If I do, I display myself as a weak pushover and if he did, it would hurt his little ego. I clench my jaw, narrowing my round eyes into slits before dropping the dagger. 

    "Tell me where he is," I demand, taking one step back from him, my eyes still narrowed at him. 

    "I'll do you one better, bug eyes." He grins. I roll my eyes at the stupid little nickname. How original of him. "I'll take you to him,"

    "An address is fine," I smile sarcastically, turning my head to the exit of the alleyway where I see Father Odin coming out of the church. I quickly tuck my head into my helmet and flip up the visor, hiding my identity as much as I could while still being able to keep an eye on the bloodsucker in front of me. "I'm not going anywhere with you,"

    Thomas turns to where I'm looking, sending me a sly grin as he spots Father Odin locking up the church behind him. "I wonder what the big man would think if he saw you here with me?"

    To my horror, Thomas steps into the light and towards the exit, opening his mouth wide as if he were about to shout. He barely gets one syllable out before I slam my hand over his mouth and push him back into the shadows, his back slamming against the wall once more. 

    "You're an arrogant asshole, y'know that?" I whisper, seething at him. 

    "I can't take you seriously with that helmet on your head," He mocks, lifting his hand up to flick the protective device on my head. 

    "If you pull any tricks-" I begin, pushing harder against his chest with my forearm "I will fucking kill you, I don't care if we're not with Alex yet. Am I clear?"

    "Crystal," He agrees before easily stepping out of my hold. He turns his back to me, walking out of the alleyway. I pause at the exit, looking around through my open sun visor to see if there are any other hunters nearby. "C'mon Reid. Let's go for a stroll,"

          Thomas walks leisurely at my side, his hands tucked into his black hoodie pockets. We haven't been walking long, making it to a long road surrounded by trees and wildlife. Due to a lack of footpath, we walk together in the middle of the road, neither of us speaking.

    It almost breaks something in me to not be able to kill him and be done with it. He knows this, probably why he keeps popping up around me, as if to torture me. 

     "Why are we doing this? We could have just taken my bike," I huff, holding my helmet tighter to my side. 

    "I needed to talk to you, remember?" He simply replies, not speaking further as he looks around at the trees. 

    "Yeah, great conversation we're having," I scoff, looking down at my shoes as they hit the road below me. 

    "Oh, I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Bugs," He grins sarcastically, placing his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his side the way a friend would. I quickly shrug it off and take a big step away from him, leaving distance between us. He laughs at this before continuing, "I needed to make sure we were far enough out so no one could hear us,"

    "That's comforting," I mumble, my hand subconsciously inching towards my dagger. Without reacting, he reaches over and takes my dagger from my leg, holding it up in front of him with the tip of the dagger balancing on his pointer finger. "Hey-"

    "Why did you become a hunter?" He asks, walking casually as he balances my weapon. I blink at him, turning away quickly to look at the ground.  "That's not a rhetorical question,"

    "None of your business, Thomas," I reply coldly. "It's also not relevant,"

    "It's always relevant. No one becomes a hunter for the fun of it," He states, dropping the dagger down and catching the handle in his palm. 

    "Is that seriously what you wanted to talk to me about?" I stop walking causing him to stop as well. He turns to me, standing side by side with an unamused look on his face. "Do you get a kick out of being annoying or are you just bored?"

    "Just bored," He shrugged, looking up and smiling to himself. I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest, feeling annoyance climb itself up my spine. "Tell me, do you have much time for boredom with all those fledglings running around?"

    I narrow my eyes, a sense of dread overwhelming me. I've been more than aware of the fledgling problem, but, to hear him actually mention it in the tone he did feels different. 

    "What is this, Thomas?" I ask sceptically, eyeing the forest around us in paranoia. 

    He steps closer to me, holding eye contact and my dagger in between us. The intensity of his stare and body language would typically cause any normal person to shiver in fear. "Forget about the fledglings, Reid," 

    "You can't compel me, Thomas," I laugh dryly, looking at him with humour. He's an idiot if he thinks I don't take vervain for every meal along with other hunters. 

    "I'm not trying to," He pledges sincerely, flicking from my left to my right eye repeatedly. "Don't be stubborn, stop focusing on the fledglings,"

    "Why? So your kind can get what you want easier?" I scoff.

    He laughs bitterly, turning his head away from me and clenching his jaw in frustration. He then turns back, looking down at me "Remember what I said, Bugs. You'll know what I mean soon enough," 

    I ignore the nickname he uses once again, the phrase only reminding me of Bugs Bunny. "You can't threaten me into backing down,"

    "You hunters are all the same, so up yourselves," He seethes, his knuckles turning white as he clenches my dagger even harder. I reach over and snatch it from him, my skin getting nicked by the sharp blade. 

    I don't flinch as the blade slices the skin of my finger but I don't miss the way his jaw tightens and his eyes flash red for a second. He can smell the blood, hear it as it seeps from my wound and out onto my fingertip. 

    He stares through me as I tuck my dagger away, looking up at him through my lashes with blood still dripping from my finger. I hold my finger up the same way he was previously holding my weapon, a smirk on my face at the restraint visible on his face. "Not so tough when you're hungry, huh?"

    Stepping close to him, his eyes darken. He finally rips his eyes from me and to my finger. If his heart were beating at all, I'm sure even I could hear it. I lift my finger towards him, moving the blood towards his face. Just as I'm about to press the blood to his bottom lip, I divert my path and swipe it across his jaw. 

    He doesn't even seem mad as he stares at me, his head slightly tilted downwards. I finally speak after what feels like forever, breaking the silence "Let's get going, shall we?"

    Without waiting for him to reply, I turn and begin walking forward, my hands stuffed into my pockets. I hear him mutter 'Tease' under his breath followed by his footsteps. 

    A noise to my left catches my attention. I stop in my tracks, pulling my dagger out in a second and holding it up in front of me. The leaves and bushes continue to make noise, and a dark figure emerges from them until it steps out of the forest and into the street. 

    "Alex?" I ask, lowering my knife. Alex's eyes are wide as saucers, his hair dishevelled and dirty as well as dried mud on his face. His expression falls, eyes softening as he looks at me. 

    "Mic," He almost sobs, stepping forward until he collapses. I reach him in time, catching him and holding him up. His clothes are dirty as well, the fabric ripped in several places.

    "What happened to you?" I ask, pushing him back from me to inspect him for any injuries. 

    Thomas storms over, pushing me out of the way to look at Alex in his dishevelled state. 

    "What the hell did you do to him?" I yell, shoving Thomas away from my best friend. Out of rage, I raise my dagger high in the air and cast it down towards him. In a second, he raises his hand to block my attack, the blade going directly through his palm instead. He doesn't so much as flinch, instead, pulling the dagger from my grip and disappearing into the distance. 

    I breathe out, looking around for any sight of the tall male only to realise he was gone. I then turn my attention back to Alex, slinging his arm over my shoulder to better support his weak frame. 

    "He's a fast runner," Alex slurs, stumbling around as I move us down the road. 

    "C'mon. Let's get you home,"