Hunter

02. How to Recover From Venom

I glanced over at Opal, who was busy eyeing my wound.

"This is the fourth time this month you've been bitten," Opal tsked at me. "You're getting sloppy."

"Or the vampire are just getting smarter," I sighed. "Maybe I killed all the idiots." Or not, I thought, remembering just how eager Marcus Chauncey was to get out of that stupid bar. I've met much more intelligent vampires, ones who actually acted their age - being around for a few centuries, they managed to pick up a few things.

They're the ones who are a lot more difficult to kill.

"I don't know." Opal smiled slightly, echoing my thoughts. "I have a client who's rather dim-witted, considering she's nearly two hundreds years old."

"Is she on the list?" I asked referring to the list of names that was hung on the refrigerator - hiding it in plain sight. Every name on the list belonged to somebody who had supernatural qualities. They were mostly witches and warlocks, the species I didn't hunt quite as often, seeing as how they were mostly harmless, along with a few vampires Opal deemed Cullen-like - meaning they didn't typically feast on human blood.

Basically, the list held the names of supernatural beings I'm not allowed to kill.

It's not a very long list. Only about twenty or so names.

"I think so," Opal said, abandoning the bandage for a moment to glance at the fridge, scanning down the list. "Yep. Elizabeth Meyers."

I craned my neck to see, and a burning hot pain stabbed through my body. I clenched my teeth, inhaling sharply, as I felt the vampire venom finally find its way into my bloodstream and was making my vision swim and my clenched muscles relaxed.

Opal was still examining the list, like she did every night, looking for any names I might have added or taken off.

"Opal," I called out weakly as white specks flashed at the edge of my vision. "I need you to get rid of the venom."

She jerked her gaze away from the fridge, immediately giving me her full attention, examining my neck. Letting out another sigh, she grabbed the bandage, slapping it onto my neck with way more force than what is necessary.

"Right," she said, sitting across from me on the table as the medication Opal applied on the bandage began seeping into the vampire bite, chasing the venom down and exterminating it from my body. "It's not a new moon, you weren't bled dry, and you didn't ingest any vampire blood - I think. You didn't bite him, did you?"

"I'm not stupid," I said. "Of course I didn't."

Ingesting vampire blood is the most idiotic thing you could possibly do. Once the vampire blood enters your system, you're kind of infatuated with the species until it leaves. It's a good way of getting yourself killed.

"Just making sure," Opal said, leaning back in the chair. "So, who's next?"

I narrowed my eyes, trying to recall the much longer list of the supernatural beings I am allowed to kill.

"Ryker Marcel," I said. "Werewolf. Twenty-three years old. Next in line for the... Beta, I believe, of Toronto's pack." I think that was right. A pack's Beta is usually the best friend of an Alpha, somebody they can completely and utterly trust without question. This particular werewolf has a particularly strong bromance with Nicholas Randon, the younger brother of Toronto's Alpha and current heir... unless the Big Bad Alpha finds his mate and has a child.

"Excuse me?" Opal paled - and not just her skin. Her eyes, her hair, her lips... everything. "You're going after Ryker Marcel? Didn't you just say you're not stupid?"