Hunter Maximus

Skip down to Isobel’s POV if you’ve read the below excerpt already.

Caitlin’s POV (Abducted by a Hot Vampire: Prince Xavier, ch19)

I have to explain to Maximus and Isobel in the car how I have super enhanced strength and agility for the remainder of the hour. In response Maximus put his foot down, because even though he found it hard to believe, he was taking my word for is that I was even stronger than vampires. Potentially strong enough to stop Eddrick.

And they needed my help because they were all human, which meant I was the strongest out of all of them.

We already had a plan in mind. Maximus and Isobel would go save Abbey, I would go straight for Eddrick with Jennifer’s blood. Jennifer said she would stay as the look out from the outside, and we all had our mobile phones to contact each other if we needed to.

We are able to get in through the gate sectioning off Royalty drive from the public, because I now knew the password.

We park just out of sight and we all cautiously approach from the path, looking to see if any windows are open and how much activity is going on. The lights are on in most of the rooms and I am able to spot Abbey’s room around the side of the mansion, with the light on.

“We’ll break in through the window and take Abbey from there,” Maximus suggests, and Isobel nods.

“Caitlin, are you sure you can face Eddrick by yourself?” Jennifer asks me, looking highly nervous as we crouch low behind some hedges in the lush garden out front.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll go in once Abbey is out,” I say, determined to use my enhanced strength to kill Eddrick. I had a syringe full of Jennifer’s blood, all I needed to do was inject it into Eddrick and hopefully the rest would work out itself.

“Maximus, Isobel, you should hurry,” Jennifer nods to me and looks to her watch before announcing, “Caitlin only has ten minutes left to inject Eddrick with my blood, then she’ll be too weak to face him.”

“Let’s go,” Maximus dramatically sweeps Isobel off her feet into his arms and starts walking off towards Abbey’s window around the side, where they will be mostly out of sight. Isobel hits his chest and glares back at him.

“What the hell?” She hisses, but her only response is a demeaning chuckle from Maximus.

“I know how to walk lightly, you stomp around like an elephant...”

I look to Jennifer and roll my eyes.

“That was really mean,” Jennifer says, “But I guess that’s Maximus for yah...”

“As long as he helps get the job done, that’s all we need,” I sigh in frustration, all my muscles feeling tight and tense. The spell Eddrick made me cast to enhance my strength made me want to move. I want to get in there as fast as possible, except I had to wait until Abbey was safe first.

Jennifer and I nearly jump out of our skin when her phone vibrates with a text.

“They can’t be done already, surely,” Jennifer looks down at her phone and frowns in the moonlight, “Ah oh....“”

“What?” I ask, worried, “Is Abbey in there?”

“It’s not Maximus or Isobel,” Jennifer turns off the screen without replying to the sender, “It was Darrius, he is asking where we all went, he obviously found out we took a car. I’ll reply later.”

“He can’t be too angry, the order after all was to kill all the humans. In a way we are safer out here than back in there –” Suddenly the silence is broken when my phone also vibrates silently.

I look down, hopeful it is Maximus or Isobel once more.

I’m sorely disappointed.

“Well?” Jennifer asks, “What’s wrong?”

I guess she asked because I was also frowning.

“Xavier knows I’ve gone too,” I say, “He is ordering me to return at once, and he is stressing that it is the final and only warning he will give me.”

“Before what?” Jennifer asks, trying not to laugh.

“I don’t want to know.”

“Don’t worry about it, Caitlin,” Jennifer reassures me, “Like I said, we’re safer out here.”

Or that’s what we all thought.

Isobel’s POV

“Put me down you idiot,” I hiss quietly, just as Maximus places me on my feet before the window we needed to enter to save Caitlin’s sister.

“Shhh, this is a stealth operation, be quiet,” Maximus has a note of playfulness in his tone but it just makes me more angry. As we look inside we spot a bedroom and a girl lying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I stay silent beside him as he reaches for the window and starts pulling it up.

“Quickly,” I encourage him as I watch what is presumably Caitlin’s sister, jerk from out of her lying position on the bed and turn to face the intruders breaking into her room. I watch in horror as I see that she really has become what can only represent a zombie. Her skin is grey, her hair doesn’t look healthy at all... only her eyes have a little life left in them.

She is frozen as she watches Maximus open the window before he quickly jumps in and I follow.

“Hey buddy,” Maximus says quietly, not approaching Abbey just yet, “We’re here to save you, we’re with Caitlin, who’s just outside.” I watch as her eyes instantly light up at the mention of Caitlin. She holds up a bandaged hand out towards us, and tries to speak but it only comes out as a moan, a simple noise.

Maximus slowly walks up to her and reaches for her hand.

“Follow us and we’ll bring you to safety, darling,” Maximus says as gently as possible.

I watch with a sad heart as she shakes a little with the effort of giving her hand to Maximus, who pulls her towards him.

“Be gentle,” I remind him, her eyes hold both excitement but also fear of the unknown, and I’m worried about her hand. She was injured, I wonder what happened to her?

“I’ll carry you outside,” he says, she just stands there so I guess we take that as an okay. Maximus picks her up and she doesn’t complain.

We both turn around as we hear a rustle just outside the window in the dark, there is a quick burst of movement before a figure comes jumping into the room with expert ease.

We all freeze as we come face to face with one very handsome, half-naked man. My eyes are instantly drawn to the wild looking, long, wavy brown hair and piercing light blue eyes.

“Care to tell me what you’re doing here?” The new intruder rumbles from his throat, he was obviously a leader who was use to giving commands. This couldn’t be Eddrick, surely not?

“Christian,” Maximus says wearily, he doesn’t sound too happy about this new guy – even though it isn’t Eddrick.

“Who are you?” I ask. Christian just gives me a smirk and ignores me before sniffing the air, his smirk growing wider.

“That’s interesting,” he says, taking a threatening step closer to Maximus and Abbey, “You smell quite human to me...?”

“What do you want?” Maximus snaps back, “We’re trying to save one of our friend’s sisters, this girl right here.”

“I made a pact with your princes to work together to stop Eddrick, I’m just curious as to why he sent friends here now without informing me. I’ve been having this house under surveillance ever since I found out Eddrick’s location. Human or not, the vampires once again cannot be trusted, not even in a truce, it seems.”

“What the hell is going on?” I ask Maximus and glaring at the new guy, “Who is this guy?”

“This is the alpha werewolf, darling,” Maximus responds with a sigh, the look on his face shows how concerned he is about this twist of events, “And we’re in some deep shit.”

“Why?” I ask.

Christian slowly turns to face me, an evil smile growing on his face.

“I’m not letting either of you leave,” Christian explains in his low, rumbling tone, “I’m taking you both prisoner.”

“Like hell you are,” I try to snarl back as best as I can, grabbing the dagger I have with me stored in my belt. I didn’t understand what this guy’s problem was but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

“I wouldn’t challenge an alpha werewolf, Isobel,” Maximus warns me off, dead serious as he glares at me, “Put it away.”

“You’re just going to surrender?” I ask, shocked that Maximus would give in so easily.

“I obviously value my life more than you value yours, we can’t fight him off,” Maximus explains and Christian looks smug by this admission and it seems to tick something off inside Maximus, his eyes suddenly light with humour as he adds dryly, “This idiot is going to take us prisoner, then we are going to explain why we are here and that we aren’t actually breaking any truces, and then he will realise how much of a stupid dog he actually is.”

There is a pause as Christian cocks his head at Maximus, hardly believing that Maximus had the nerve to say something so insulting.

“You asked for it,” Christian growls, cracking his knuckles before I watch him rush forward and tackle Maximus, who quickly throws Abbey on the bed out of reach and out of danger.

"No!" I scream, watching how quickly Maximus is taken down.

Christian literally knocks Maximus out cold with one punch to the head. I grab my dagger tighter, about to rush the alpha werewolf, when he suddenly turns around, holding Maximus’ head in a chocking hold.

“Follow me and shut up, if you don’t want me to kill him. One wrong move and I’ll snap his neck,” Christian growls, his eyes glowing an unearthly yellow. He stalks to the window and jumps out, dragging Maximus with him easily.

He was only wearing ripped jeans but he still looked menacing with his upper torso, super bulky and rippling with power as he moved.

"Hurry up,” he snarls without looking back, and I quickly follow him before he decides to kill Maximus because I’m slow to react.

I hurry after the alpha werewolf, adrenaline pumping as I can’t figure out what to do.

I look over my shoulder and see a distraught Abbey, standing now just beside her bed, eyes wide as she looks out the open window with frightful eyes. Her injured hand outstretched towards us.

It looked like she wanted to help, but couldn’t. Just like how Maximus and I both failed to save her.

I mouth back to her that I am sorry.

Hopefully Caitlin and Jennifer could figure out a way to save her...

... if the werewolves didn’t catch them first.