Chapter 126 - The hunt

**Ambrogios pov**

I followed her for a few blocks, all the time at a distance to avoid suspicion and it also gave me a wider view of our surroundings. She turned off the main street, into the quieter neighborhoods and walked with quick steps, the sound of her heels bouncing between the concrete walls of the houses. Was she in a hurry because she was a single woman out in a city where everyone was hunting for something? or did she just want to come home and let her feet free from her shoes after a shift at the Black Jack table? Maybe she had someone waiting at home? Someone she could cuddle up to. A man? A cat?
I saw the three men before she did. They quickly crossed the street from the opposite side when they saw her. Like hyenas getting ready to surround a prey. I slowed down further and observed what was happening in front of me.
“Hey sweetie, what are you up to alone at this hour?”
“I’m on my way home, been working and in no mood for games.” She tried to sound determined right from the start, that can be a good defense to scare off threats in some cases. Unfortunately not in this one.
“Oh please, come on, play with us, we are fun, I promise!” The woman looked around worriedly as they surrounded her, at the same time she was digging in her bag for something. A mobile? Tear gas? A knife? Regardless, none of that could have helped her now. One of the men caught her braid and let it slip between his fingers before it fell back onto her back.
“Such a sweet temptress…” Everything happened quite quickly, this was obviously not the first time the three men played this game. They said nothing and within seconds the man behind her had grabbed her arms while one of the men in front of her grabbed her leg. She lost contact with the ground and was carried screaming into an alley while the third man looked around for passers-by. There were none, just me, and the shadows hid me well. He reached between his legs, squeezing a few times before grinning and almost with jumps in his steps following his companions into the alley. I stood there debating with myself for a while. I could go my way, let the men enjoy their loot, or I could go over there and change the girl’s fate. Why should I bother helping her? To enjoy what she had to offer myself? To let her continue her way home? I thought for a moment more before turning to leave, but something in her her scream stopped me.
I slowly entered the alley, still at a distance and covered by the shadows, I watched them. The girl was still screaming and crying, begging them to stop. She was on the ground now, one of the men was holding her arms while the other was pulling her pants off, laughing. The third man already had his cock out and was grinning and stroking himself.
“Shut up! I promise, we will make you feel so good!” The man who had taken off her pants had now restrained her and behind his back his fingers began to violently touch her, pumping her. She screamed even louder if possible.
“I said shut the fuck up!” With his other hand he punched her hard in the face, then again and again. I heard bones crack, the nose? The jaw? Her screams died away and her sobs became blood-filled.
“Give me the knife! I want this bitch completely still when I fuck her!” He placed the blade against her neck and leaned forward.
“If you’re a nice girl, I won’t cut, okay?” I decided to step in.
“Wow, three men against a defenseless girl...how manly.” Everyone flinched when they heard my loud dark voice and got to their feet. The man with his dick out quickly put it back in his pants.
“Get lost, you have nothing to do with this… you can come back for the leftovers later” The man with the knife laughed holding the blade in front of him, trying to see through the shadows. I stepped out, pissed and all of a sudden very hungry.
“What the hell..what are you?” I moved towards him, my fangs out and on full display, my eyes burning. I moved quickly, pushed him hard into the wall, the crunching sound told me he would have to crawl to get away, slowly. The other two men backed away, further in to the alley.
“It’s all right, you can have her..they held their hands up in the air to show they were unarmed. The exhibitionist was the first to die, I broke his neck and bit him hard, I didn’t take my eyes of the third man, who watched tremblingly as I drank his friend. When it was his turn the resistance was weak, a few sobbing prayers later it was over. The man with the knife had began to crawl and I walked slowly behind him. His only hope where to get out of the alley, maybe some passerby could help him. I chuckled and just as his hand reached the light of the first street lamp I grabbed his leg and dragged him back. His screams were full of terror and it was intoxicating. I took the last of my frustration out on him, and as his voice died down and his heart beat one last time, I closed my eyes and filled my lungs with the clear night air. My veins buzzed with happiness at the fresh blood. Even if it was the blood of three assholes, it did the job.
The alley was quiet, too quiet. I looked around and my eyes found the knife, bloody...why was it bloody? I looked at the girl, she was lying lifeless on the ground with her throat cut. I thought back and remembered how the man had flinched when he heard my voice. Apparently enough to cut her throat.
“Fuck!” I listened a little more closely, a faint heart sound. She wasn’t gone yet. Crouching next to her, I saw her face for the first time and I thought of Hope. Not that they were particularly similar, maybe some resemblance, the almond-shaped eyes with the long lashes, and they were the same age. I lifted her eyelids and immediately gasped, What the hell? Her eyes were different colors, two colors I knew very well, the colors worn by the two most important women in my life. One green and one gray. I pulled her into my arms, suddenly with a feeling that I couldn’t lose her. She was slick with the blood that continued to pulsate from the wound in her throat. I realized that healing her would be difficult, the wounds were no problem, the blood loss was worse, pretty much impossible as there were almost nothing left.
“Fuck!” I growled into the air as I realized I only had one choice left.
“I’m sorry, this was not my intention.” I whispered in her ear before closing my lips around the broken vein in her cut. It was almost empty, just a few deep gulps before I heard the familiar shaky sound of her heart, struggling to find something to pump. I let go of her neck and bit my wrist deeply before pressing it to her lips. I massaged her neck at the same time to make her swallow, pausing only to blow air into her lungs.
It had been a long time since I turned anyone, it was a long process on a normal day, this was not a normal day, not at all. I worked with her for a long time, with her in my arms I sat leaning against the wall in the alley and looked up at the sky while my blood slowly flowed into her.
“So Father…do you have something to say? I just sent three asses to hell trying to save an innocent girl. That must be an improvement, right? But nothing is ever good enough for you, is it? Admitting I did something good would be admitting you were wrong..and we can’t have that, can we?”
A heartbeat caught my attention, then another, and another. I could see her wounds healing and her heart now had a steady rhythm.
“There you go, good girl, that’s the spirit!” A wave of relief washed over me and I was a little surprised at how much I wanted her to make the transition. I took my arm back and gently lifted her with me as I stood up. I felt my own blood loss and it forced me to collect myself a bit before I started walking.
“This was the opposite of how I had planned the evening, you full of blood while I’m empty..but it’s okay, everything will be okay. I’ll take care of you…I look after you my child…my daughter.” I pressed her against me and the familiar paternal feelings I felt for all my children emerged, stronger than ever.
The guards at the gate looked at me with curious awe as I came walking with the young woman in my arms. They could hear her heartbeat, and they could see my bloody apparition, they understood that a new sister was born.