Chapter 7: A line being crossed

As Alice walked through the park, she put her hands in the pockets of Oliver's coat and pulled the collar to her face to breathe in his scent. She walked with a hop in her step for she was happy. Temptation did not stand in the way of her career and her career did not stop her from giving into temptation.

However, the coat she had been wearing, although warm, did not reach down to her legs and because she had been wearing a pencil skirt, her legs were exposed and the cold started to seep in ever so slightly making Alice pick up the pace till she could get to the road and get a taxi home. But as she walked along the path, the amount of people that passed her by had completely thinned out and she was now alone on the path.

Alice watched as the trees cluttered and rustled around her as she walked in the darkness of the night. Alice looked behind her and thought she saw the shadow of a man and it made her pick up her pace once more. She walked vigorously and could not be more eager to get to the road. She turned around and saw the shadow was gone, but she did not feel less afraid, actually the opposite. She walked quickly, her senses on high alert. She heard the sound of the bushes rustling once again around her, but this time it was different. She could hear the sound of twigs being snapped as if they were being trampled on, as if someone was following her through the bushes.

***

Oliver heard the sound of a scream, he recognized the voice, and it was Alice. He jumped off the bench and ran through the trees at top speed, following the sound of her voice and also her scent. Oliver got onto the path and found Alice’s notebook lying on the floor. He stopped to close his eyes and listen to the sounds around him. “There,” he shouted before opening his eyes and jumping once again into the bushes running full speed towards Alice.

When Oliver found Alice, a man with a grey hoodie stood over her beaten body and her clothes ripped to shreds. Alice looked pretty hurt, but alive. Oliver looked on, enraged by the sight before his eyes. He could feel the blood boiling from inside of him and his fangs start to grow along with his nails. It was as if the transformation had ripped him of his humanity.

Oliver charged at Alice’s attacker in a fit of rage but the attacker easily dodged it. He turned to face Oliver and Oliver saw that the attacker also had fangs, he was also a vampire.

Why would a vampire target Alice? Oliver couldn’t care less about figuring that now though, the only thing on his mind was ripping out this man's throat.

Once again, Oliver charged at the attacker, now grabbing his jacket and pulling him towards him as he tried striking the attacker in his face with his claws. Oliver managed to swipe him and the blood gushed from his face.

The attacker stuck out his tongue as the blood ran to his mouth and laughed before taking initiative, now going after Oliver. The two exchanged blows, with Oliver being beaten to a pulp but also not letting up, giving back as much he got and eventually gaining the upper hand. Oliver threw the attacker against the tree, trying to break his back.

“What the f*ck have you done?” Shouted Oliver while kicking the attacker in the ribs as he lied helplessly at his feet.

Oliver got down to his knees and started pummeling the face of the hopeless creature that had made the biggest mistake of his insignificant life. Oliver got up and hit the tree, breaking off a piece of wood, sharpening it in order to stake the vampire that had hurt that had hurt the person he treasured most, the love of his miserable f*cking existence.

Oliver looked over at Alice before making the final blow, then took a big breath and looked back at the attacker and staked him through the heart without hesitation.

Oliver breathed heavily as he looked down at his defeated opponent and pulled the stake out of his heart and threw it to the ground. As he got up, he noticed something strange under the attacker’s sleeve, a sort of tattoo. Oliver pulled up the sleeve in order to get a better look at the tattoo, and what he found he could not believe. It was the symbol of the Greek vampire clan.

When Oliver reached Alice, she was barely conscious. He dropped to the floor and held her in his arms as he wept. He then pulled out his phone and called Trevor to pick them up in order to take them back to the penthouse so that he could tend to her wounds.

***

Alice lied, beaten and swollen on Oliver’s bed while Trevor tended to her wounds. Oliver watched on as he sat in a chair in the corner of the room, trying to figure out why a vampire from the Greek clan would come after Alice.

“I need to go see him,” said Oliver as he stood up.

“Would you like me to drive you, sir?”

“No, look after Alice. I will be back soon.”

Oliver picked up his coat and made his way to his private lift that took him directly to the garage. Oliver pulled out of the parking bay and sped off in search of the Immortal, Arthur Keric. He would know why the Greek clan had made a move on him.