Stone grimaced as pain pierced through his heart. Leaning against a brick wall, he gasped for air into his burning lungs, despite trying not to inhale the putrid stench of burning vampire flesh.
He hadn't felt this pain since Aubree came to live at the pack house. What was wrong with her now? She was fine when he left her.
"Damn, the hell is wrong with you, man?"
Gritting his teeth, Stone pushed down the urge of shifting into his beast and ripping the punk's head off.
Was this the best Davis could find?
There was no way in hell that Stone would explain why he was in so much pain. The kid didn't even know what he was exactly, and Stone wanted to keep it that way. The kid, Trey, was barely out of his teens. While he was fit and intelligent, he had one grating attitude that made Stone want to kill him if it weren't for the fact that they needed all the help they could get.
He had to put up with the newbie slayer tonight since he insisted on hunting in the downtown core for Carina. While they hadn't found Carina yet, they did manage to find and kill another newborn.
The good thing about having Trey around was that he was happy to let Stone handle the vampire killing part, while he disposed of the body.
Despite the ache in his chest, Stone pulled himself away from the wall. He couldn't show any weakness in front of the newbie—even though Davis told him to go easy on him.
Yanking the ripped, blood-soaked black T-shirt from his chest, he tossed it into the flames licking over the edge of the metal trashcan.
"Bruh, you should get a tattoo to cover that big ass scar on your back," Trey said. "It's nasty as fuck. How did ya get that?"
Stone turned and glared at the kid. As if he would tell him.
The punk held his arms up in mock surrender.
Stone grunted as another wave of agony coursed over him. "What good would a tattoo do when my skin gets shredded up anyway?"
The vampire had ripped up his back during the fight, but he waited until his injuries were healed before he took his shirt off. He didn't want to explain to the newbie his healing capabilities. The less he knew, the better.
"I guess." He dug into the pocket of his black trench coat and pulled out a small plastic cylinder. "So, what am I supposed to do with this?"
Stone held out his hand for it.
Trey looked from Stone and back at the object in his hands before he curled his fingers around it. "I'm the one who cut it off. Doesn't that mean I get to keep it?"
"I'm the one who killed the leech, so it belongs to me," Stone said lowly.
Reluctantly, Trey stomped toward him and handed him the small see-through cylinder. Stone looked at the severed finger before pocketing it in his black, blood-soaked shorts.
This was their proof. Their paycheck. For every vampire they killed, they cut off the index finger so it could be identified, tracked, and traced. It was more important to the government officials that they obtain proof. To Stone, it was a reminder that someone out there would receive news of the loss of a son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father, but he tried not to think about it that way.
Once a vampire, always a vampire. And vampires had to be eliminated. He was doing their families a favor by ending the misery before it could break their hearts.
"Thank you," Stone said.
Grumbling, Trey shoved his hands in his pockets and returned to the burning trashcan. In the glow of the firelight, Stone saw sadness on the kid's mahogany-toned face. The haunting look made the pain in Stone's chest intensify.
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)
Werewolf[COMPLETE] Some bonds can't be broken, even in death. -- He couldn't endure another heartbreak. "Accepting her would be a mistake," he said. "She's a human. I can't afford to have her blood on my hands." Gwen looked away, and he knew she saw the ima...
