Jonah takes a sip from his drink before gently putting it down on the cracked table, he leans back both arms on the top of the chair, lounging comfortably like a bar fly. “You really are wasted as a Roderick member. You would be far better suited for Stirling but then again, Trick wouldn’t allow it. You are far too wild for this coven as well.”

“Funny I could say the same about Pedro.” Jonah gives a crooked smile.

“Pedro is a special case. Wild and unpredictable like your coven but he knows how to be tactful, plus the guy is whipped when it comes to Trick and I say that with love considering he’s my brother.” He tips the glass towards Ashlyn as if he himself is in the on the joke.

“If you say so but I have no interest in joining you.”

“Fine. Disappointing but fine,” his eyes move back to me, a sly smile curling upon his lips. “Relax little halfbreed, I’m not going to do anything.”

“Heh, I like to see you try,” Ashlyn shoots me a glare, whispering at me to shut up. Jonah lets out a small laugh and gently places the glass back down.

“There’s that mouth again, the rumours don’t do you justice.”

“Rumours?”

“Oh yeah. What? didn’t think we would find out?” he chuckles feet coming off the table, rising from his seat and hands are casually in the pockets of his pants. “We have eyes and ears everywhere. You’ve been on a fun trip in the last forty-eight hours.” the strong scent of whiskey fanning my face as smiles down at me.

“Then you know about the doors.”

“I know a lot about doors, but gotta have to be more specific,” his fingers snap and a swarm of Stirling members surround Ashlyn and hold the vampire down and the others circle around us. “Allow me to be more specific. Ceres Telfer, recently had her birthday, age nineteen, graduated in twenty thirteen, lived under her guardian Nicholai Treacher. Who works for the Hidebound corporation, dealing in the eradication of the supernatural and held you under their thumb for the last eight years.” Rage boils in my gut, my chest tight as I listen to each personal fact, Jonahs smile widens. “Now works in a dead end job, rejected Syrus’ offer, whilst living under his roof with the rest of the vampires in that fancy apartment complex of his. Best friend Zack Castellan now lives in England with Syrus’ distant brothers and living out his best life as a vampire. Got rejected and kicked out of Scars bar for being too different, funny humans or vampires, no one wants you around. An anomaly just existing, am I missing anything?”

“Ceres…” Ashlyn voice fades before it began.

“You forgot the part where a door opens up before me and I walked through. Know anything about that?” Jonah narrowed his eyes, the corners of his lips drop and his shoulders sag a little.

“Only small whispers but nothing concrete. Some believe it’s the magiq who got kicked out the council for their use of decay magic. But last I checked even that kind of magic is powerful enough to do that. After all doors don’t open on their own.”

“Yeah, I know. You, Ricky, Adrian all said the same thing.” Jonah eyes widen, his cool calm composure washing away in seconds.

“Adrian? As in the one third of a braincell Palatine leader Adrian?” the room falls to an uncomfortable silence. A simmering rage bulges from Jonahs eyes, and a sneer graces his lips, notice the fangs showing.

“With two other idiots named Bastion and Shade?” my voice flat in reply. I saw the corner of Jonah’s eye twitch.

“Where did you see them?” I raise my brow, a smile creeping up my lips.

“What? You’re part of the Stirling coven. I thought you knew everything?” a low rumble emanates from Joanh’s throat and a Stirling member punches Ashlyn in the face. “Hey!”

“Answer the question and he won’t get hurt.” His voices drops to a whisper, looming over me.

“They’re in a world that’s been mutated by magic, mutated ferals, large overgrown forests. Half of the population wiped out.” Jonahs eyes narrow.

“That world is dangerous, we avoid that world because of the werewolves populating the other half of the planet.”

“They seem to be doing just fine, hunting ferals down.”

“That’s what they’ve been doing for the last ten years?” I nod my head. “I knew they were strong but to be that strong, before even a hundred.” He growls turning back to the booth and grab his whiskey, downing the drink and slamming it back onto the table. “No wonder Syrus trusted them so soon.” He turns back to me, his expression cold. “For them to survive in a world where most avoid . . . and to kill the mutations with ease. How infuriating.”

“You really despise them.”

“I loathe them,” he snarls once again getting close to my face. “They made mockery of our leader.” His breath is warm with whiskey, fangs bared, eyes burning a violent, simmering red. Every Stirling vampire in the room leans in, like the entire coven is inhaling with him, waiting for the order he hasn’t spoken yet.

Ashlyn thrashes against the hands pinning him, fury and fear tangle in his voice.
“Let her go!”

Jonah doesn’t even glance his way.

“You have no idea,” he growls, low and venom-soft, “how much damage those three caused. Trick had to rebuild half our reputation because of their stupidity. And Syrus . . . doesn’t do a damn thing, just sits on the sidelines like wall flower as his coven continues to make a mockery of our species.”

“Sounds like to me your coven is easy to fall apart like a house of cards if three morons can put you in your place,” I goaded before stopping myself to think.

Ashlyn lets out a strangled, horrified, “Ceres—.”

Jonah’s expression fractures, his hands turn to claws and swings them at me. His claws whistle past my cheek, the tips just slicing into flesh and a warm river of blood flowing down and steals the breath from my lungs. I jerk back, boots slipping across the floorboards, and the bar reacts instantly.

Jonah licks the tips of his claw, savouring the taste, his mouth turning downwards.

“Not sweet enough.” He lunges again.

I twist out of the way, his claws shredding the pillar where my head had been seconds ago. Splinters explode across the floor. Jonah’s eyes sharpen and comes at me harder.

His claws slice across my arm, shallow, burning. A snarl tears from my throat before I think, my stance shifts and I retaliate, raking my own claws across his ribs. Blood spatters his white shirt, blooming like ink on snow. He hisses, clenching his jaw tight and baring his fangs through the pain.

Jonah swings at me again, I just move out of the way but not quick enough for his second fist, hitting right in cheek, hearing my own bone crack from the force. It sends me flying to the floor, I spit out the iron rich blood filling my mouth.

I stagger up but Jonah kicks me hard in the ribs and sends me flying, and hitting the brick wall. My spine cracks and all feeling in my legs give way.

“You’re out of your league halfbreed. Did you really think you had a chance to go against me?”

“That’s enough Jonah!” Ashlyn cries out but the vampire ignores him. The tingling numbness returns and pain slowly coming back as I feel my bones begin to repair, my nerves firing once again. I can move my legs and stumble up on to my feet. My lungs fighting for air as I breathe through the pain. My vision blurs in and out as I watch Jonah take his time stalking towards me.

He throws another fist but I drop down in time, a surge of strength pulsating through and punch hard into Jonah’s sternum, sending him back across the room. My vision clears, the world became just little bit brighter. The need for blood shed grew. A small smile graces my lips.

“I can do this all day.”

I see Ashlyn fighting and straining himself against the vampires pinning him down. He twists violently, hips driving sideways. The vampire holding his legs loses grip for a half-second, and that’s all he needs. Ashlyn kicks back, heel connecting with a jaw. The crack echoes. The vampire reels, hand flying to his mouth. Ashlyn surges up, but the one on his back shoves him down again, claws digging into his hair and slamming his face into the floorboards. Wood splinters. Blood spatters. Ashlyn groans, but he doesn’t stop. He tries again. His snarls and twists suddenly, letting his body go limp and deadweight.

The vampire pinning his shoulders stumbles forward, losing balance. Ashlyn takes the opening, rolling hard onto his back and sinking his fangs into the nearest forearm he can reach. The vampire screams. Ashlyn tears the flesh from his bone and old blood hits the air.

The vampire jerks away instinctively, screaming as he clutches his arm. This gives Ashlyn his first real breath in minutes. His chest heaves, gasping, claws digging into the floorboards as he forces himself upright. Two vampires dive on him.

One grabs his arm and Ashlyn slams his elbow straight into their throat. The other tries to pin him again and Ashlyn grabs him by the hair and smashes his face into the wall with a ferocious, ragged snarl.

“Ceres!” Another vampire catches his ankle, Ashlyn kicks back, hard, connecting with a ribcage. Something cracks. The vampire collapses, wheezing. He pulls free, dragging himself to his feet, wobbling, swaying, blood dripping from his mouth.

I give Ashlyn a quick nod, tightening my stance, grounding myself against the trembling in my chest. Jonah watches the gesture, his smile curling wider, sharp as broken glass. He begins at a slow pace across the ruined bar that sends every Stirling vampire into a hush. His claws extend with a wet, sickening whisper of skin splitting, his fangs fully bared, his eyes burning that dangerous, simmering red that promises violence.

“Ready for round two princess?” I sneer.

Jonah charges at me. I watch the shift in the air, the twitch of muscle along his forearm, the direction of his weight, letting me read the movement a fraction of a second before Jonah’s claws tore through the space where my neck had been.

I pivot hard, redirecting his momentum with a tight parry that made my wrist shudder. Even with instinct whispering warnings, my body couldn’t fully keep up. His next strike came in before my feet finish adjusting, and manage to turn with the blow, his claws graze across my shoulder, slicing through skin in four shallow, burning lines. Pain spikes hot down my arm, but adrenaline drowns it before it could root.

Jonah twists, recovering faster than I could blink. He went for my ribs, aiming to crack bone, but I drop my weight and let the strike sail over me. My counterattack came clean, a palm-heel to the base of his sternum, delivered with perfect form. It should’ve knocked the air from him. Instead, he staggers only a step before baring his fangs in a new, sharper grin

“Heh, you’ve been holding out on me.”

“I know how to kick ass.” He lunges again and something in my chest pulled tight, a breathless tug of instinct telling me where he’d be, how he’d strike, the shape of his next motion. My head turns before I saw the blur of his claws. My feet shift but instinct wasn’t enough, it couldn’t match the raw force.

Even as I tried to slip through the attack, Jonah’s swing land across my ribs. White pain tore through my side, stealing the air from my lungs. I hit the floorboards hard, slid back against the wreck of an overturned chair.

His hand fist in the front of my shirt and he hauled me upright with the casual strength of someone lifting a ragdoll. His claws dug into my collarbone, not deep, just enough to burn.

“Still think you can win?” he breathed against my cheek, the warmth of his breath brushing my skin.

Something I didn’t recognise coming from my own throat, a low threatening snarl. I slam my knee into his groin. Jonah grunts and threw me across the room. I crash into a support beam, the impact rattling through my bones and knocking every breath from my chest.

My vision blurs. My lungs burns. My body tremble under the weight of human limitations, even as the vampiric instincts thrashed, desperate to bridge the gap my flesh couldn’t cross.

Jonah approaches slowly this time, steps silent, expression sharp and triumphant.
“You may fight like a vampire,” he said, voice tightening as he closes in, “but you break like a human.” He looms over me, his boot slamming into my chest, pinning me to the ground. “You think you can survive our world? You were better off in that dead end job, wasting your life away like a sad pathetic human with no aspirations in life,” he grins, pressing harder.

“Fuck. You.” I spit. Jonah throws his head back and laughs.

“Sorry sweetheart but you’re not my type.” He raises his foot, a half manic grin grows, eyes shot with bloodlust.

A sound split the air, sharp and quick. Like ice fracturing underfoot, echoing from nowhere and everywhere at once. The floorboards beneath us shiver. Jonah lowers his foot, his head snapping towards the bar.

“What—” He didn’t finish. The fabric of space split open, a violent seam of blinding white light tearing through the bar. Every bottle shook. Tables rattle. Dust rained from the rafters. The room went dead silent as the tear widened, its glow spilling over our faces like moon fire. Jonah stands in awe “How?” he breaths, genuine fear cracking through his voice for the first time.

“Ceres!” Ashlyn’s voice tore through the chaos. I look over to him, still fighting off the other vampires, holding them back. “Get out of here!” I nod, rising from the floor. running to the light, every inch of my body screams for me stop and rest but I press on and leap into the light.

Darkness soon swallows me whole.