Bryan’s jaw clenched, but his eyes stayed cold and unflinching.
“Funny,” Bryan replied, his voice smooth, almost amused. “We could say the same about you.”
The five vampires exchanged glances, smirking as if they found the situation entertaining. The one who had spoken first stepped forward. “We didn’t come here to fight,” he said, though there was this burning hunger in his eyes. “Just thought we had to give you a little warning.”
Aiden’s lip curled slightly in a half-smile. “A warning?” he repeated, almost mocking as he raised his brow at them. “Is that supposed to scare us?”
One of the vampires shifted forward, wanting to strike. But the leader of the group, the one who had spoken first, raised a hand, stopping him. “We just came to remind you that not everyone in this town respects your territory.”
Bryan leaned back in his seat, still relaxed, his eyes not leaving the vampire’s face. “If you want to avoid trouble, I suggest you finish your drinks and leave,” he said to them. “Otherwise, you will regret staying.”
“Now, now,” the leader of the vampires shrugged, a cocky grin still on his face. “No need to get all worked up,” he said, backing away slowly. “We didn’t come here to start anything, didn’t even know we would find some wolves around. Just dropping a friendly reminder that things might change soon.”
Then he winked, motioning for the others to follow him to another part of the pub.
Ryker watched the vampires move to the other side of the room before turning to Bryan and Aiden. “They seem to be up to something, we haven’t heard anything about Vampires for like years now.”
“Yeah,” Bryan and Aiden agreed. “Something is not right.”
“Do you want me to look into it?” Ryker asked them.
Bryan looked over his shoulder and took a sip of his drink. “Not immediately, we are being watched.”
“Understood,” Ryker replied, his voice low. He subtly scanned the room, his body tense. “We will play it cool for now, but this can’t be a coincidence.”
“Exactly,” Aiden nodded, taking a sip of his drink as he calmed down a bit before he would break the glass. “Let’s see how this plays out.”
They stayed for a few more minutes of silent drinking, then Aiden leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “We should leave.”
Bryan let out a breath and agreed, standing up and tossing a few bills on the table. He exchanged a glance with Ryker, who was already alert and ready to move.
They walked out of the pub, keeping their pace normal, but they each knew they were not alone. Their heightened senses quickly picked up faint footsteps trailing behind. It was obvious that something was about to go down or someone.
“We are being followed,” Ryker informed Bryan and Aiden, who were already aware, his eyes scanning the streets.
Bryan’s lips twitched into a smirk. “Let them follow. It would be best for us to lead them into the woods and find out what this is really about.”
The night had grown darker, the clock ticking and time passing by. They should have been home thirty minutes ago, but they would rather not take whatever this was back home with them.
“Let’s make this quick,” Ryker whispered, glancing back briefly. “They are closing in.”
Bryan rolled his shoulders, knowing fully well that this… whatever it was, was likely to end in a fight. “Don’t worry, we will give them a warm welcome. Get ready.”
Aiden cracked his neck, and Ryker slipped his hand into his boot, withdrawing his blade.
As the shadows grew closer, Bryan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Here they come.”
Aiden’s eyes darkened as the vampires emerged from the shadows, fanning out in a semicircle around them.
“We just wanted to check if you got our warning, no need to be so tense,” The leader of the vampires said while grinning.
“You should have stayed at the pub,” Aiden told them with a low growl. “This is not your territory.”
“Plus…” Bryan chuckled darkly, stepping forward. “I didn’t realize vampires had any territory left.”
The vampire hissed, showing his sharp fangs. He caressed them with his tongue, never breaking his unnerving gaze on Bryan. “Since our first warning was not taken to heart, consider this another warning. It would be best if you do.”
Before anyone could respond, the vampire leader had given a go ahead and immediately, one of the vampires lunged at Ryker with speed. Ryker dodged, his blade flashing as he slashed across the vampire’s chest, making the vampire stumble back with a growl of pain.
He was immediately attacked by another one and caught the vampire by the throat, lifting the vampire off the ground and with a feral growl, he drove his blade through the vampire’s chest, twisted it before pulling it out in one swift motion and threw the vampire to the side. “You should have really stayed in the pub.”
Bryan and Aiden wasted no time in attacking back. Aiden launched himself at two of the vampires, fist flying as they grappled with him. He was able to hit them hard, although one had plunged a knife into his stomach, but that did not stop him from cracking the neck of whom the knife belonged to.
As soon as he was done with that one, he went for another. He immediately had another vampire pinned against a tree, his claws digging into the vampire’s throat, while he smiled and his eyes grew darker with each passing moment. With a swift motion, he snapped the vampire’s neck and let the vampire drop at his feet.
Bryan, on the other hand, ducked a fast punch and rammed his shoulder into another vampire’s chest, sending him crashing into the tree. The vampire charged up immediately right after he crashed into the tree and lunged at Bryan, only to be met with a powerful kick to the ribs that sent him sprawling.
Bryan sneered, walking over to the vampire he had kicked now struggling to rise. “You call yourself Vampires, yet so slow.”
He went on to pull the vampire up to his feet with a swift yank, his grip on the vampire’s throat tightening. His fingers dug into the cold, clammy flesh of the vampire as the vampire struggled to break free. Even with the vampire clawing at Bryan and leaving marks, Bryan was unfazed.
His eyes darkened, and he tilted the vampire’s head roughly to the side, exposing his neck.
“It seems like I also have to teach you how to be and act like a vampire.” Bryan stated and without hesitation, he bared his fangs and lunged forward, sinking them deep into the vampire’s neck.
With the amount of force Bryan used, the Vampire’s skin tore easily under the pressure, blood gushing instantly as his teeth crunched through flesh and muscle.
The vampire still tried to break free, his body jerking, but Bryan held him firmly, his grip like iron. He dug deeper, sinking his teeth deeper and enjoying the sounds the vampire was making.
The fight was already over, but Bryan was not done yet, so everyone was kind of waiting for him to stop, but he didn’t stop and Aiden had a proud smirk on his face while watching his brother.
With a feral growl, Bryan yanked his head back, tearing free a chunk of the Vampire’s throat. Blood sprayed across his face and chest as the soft tissue and veins ripped apart.
Now he was done.
He let go of the vampire, blood dripping from his chin and staining his shirt as he turned and locked eyes with the leader.
Bryan’s lips curled into a cold smile as he let a piece of flesh fall from his mouth and then wiped his lips with the back of his hand, before licking the blood off his fingers.
All the time he did all this, his eyes never left the leader’s eyes, daring him to make a move.
“Care for a taste?” Bryan asked mockingly, his voice low and dangerous.