Chapter 4

The crowd below continued dancing to the tune of the music while watching the event unfold above. They were enjoying hearing the scream of the poor human girl while getting attacked by one of their archenemies. 

Lincoln smirked at the birthday celebrant. "How is this for a birthday gift, my love?"

Janus' smile widened. He lovingly caressed Lincoln's face, his hand slipped on his nape and under his hair, and then he pulled him closer all of a sudden. With only an inch between their faces, Janus whispered against Lincoln's lips. "I love it."

Lincoln's eyes gleamed with lust. He pulled Janus by the hair. "Then, give me a reward." He did not wait for an answer. He quickly lunged forward, biting on Janus' lower lip until his mouth opened, and then slipping his tongue with hunger, pulling Janus closer to him. 

They shared a hungry kiss, no longer interested in finishing the live play they orchestrated above. The climax of the party began. Sprinklers opened and rained down blood on the whole place. The crowd cheered as they bathed in red liquid.

Janus pushed Lincoln to the floor and sat above him. He began unbuttoning his coat flirtatiously. "For capturing that bastard, preparing this party, and giving the humans reason to hunt our enemies for us again, I'll give you what you want tonight." He threw all his clothes away and arched his body forward while caressing his chest. "This…is all yours. Go on, taste me, bite me. I will allow you to do anything you want tonight, my dear."

Lincoln swept his tongue over his lips, aroused at the naked body slithering above him. He grabbed Janus' buttocks and squeezed them. Janus unbuttoned Lincoln's pants and opened his mouth to suck him in when suddenly the cheering changed to shouting and growling. 

Everyone was startled by the sudden eruption of gunfire from everywhere, shattering glasses and immobilizing a few vampires hit by the silver bullets. 

"Vampire hunters!" Someone shouted from the crowd. Everyone bathed in blood flashed their sharp fangs and claws, preparing to fight back. 

Lincoln and Janus stood upright in haste. Their faces darkened and extremely angered. Veins popped on their necks and faces and their eyes turned sinister. 

"Get out of here!" Lincoln pushed Janus away. Vampire hunters carried weapons imbued with holy water. A single bullet in the heart will kill them right away. 

Janus obeyed without hesitation. He ran to the back door without looking back, pushing away everyone in his path. 

Lincoln gritted his teeth. "How dare you humans come uninvited? I'll bleed all of you dry."

He jumped and aimed at one of the vampire hunters, however, before his elongated nails reached him, his body was snatched from the air, and bitten at his side. Then, came a growl—low, guttural, and filled with carnage. 

Werewolves appeared behind the vampire hunters and surrounded them. All the vampires who were attacking the vampire hunters hesitated. Humans were nothing to them, they died easily with just one bite on their neck, but werewolves were different. 

The vampires panicked. They weren't expecting the werewolves to team up with humans, and vice-versa. 

Silver bullets ripped through the crowd again, their gleam catching in the flashing strobes. The bloodsuckers were overwhelmed. Screams echoed as they crumpled, their bodies convulsing as the metal laced with holy water seared through their flesh and bones. 

Lincoln clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging into his palms. He was too late. His plan was thwarted. This place was hidden and only a few knew of its location. So, how did the enemies know? Someone must have betrayed them!

Enraged, Lincoln dragged his body up, glaring at the werewolf approaching him. 

The werewolf shapeshifted into a man, grabbed Lincoln by the collar, and asked him angrily, "Where is he?"

Lincoln tasted blood on his lips. He grinned and replied, "Dead." He screamed in pain after the man ripped his bitten side more, and his intestines dangled out. Blood spurted on the floor, soaking the werewolf's bare feet, yet he was still unfazed. 

He choked Lincoln with both hands, slightly raising him from the ground, and repeated his question more intensely and louder, "Where is he?!"

But Lincoln only laughed sardonically. 

The werewolf lost patience and strangled him completely, throwing his limp body on the vampire hunters who then stabbed him in the heart with a silver stake. He struggled for a few seconds, but soon his eyes stopped moving and he died. 

The fight continued, while the leader of the werewolves ran upstairs and opened every door in search of his brother. At last, he found him, unconscious and bleeding in the head. He checked the wound and cursed under his breath after seeing it was caused by a stray silver bullet. 

He immediately carried him on his shoulders and jumped from the shattered glass window. Some vampires fled and some were staked to the floor. A few vampire hunters were killed in the fight, and some werewolves were injured. 

"Burn the whole place," the leader ordered, scanning the area. He left with his pack after that, and let the remaining vampire hunters take over. 

The leader of the vampire hunters followed them with his gaze, but he didn't stop them. Their cooperation had ended as soon as they found what they were looking for. He looked ahead and prepared to set the whole place on fire. 

Meanwhile, at that moment, Elena already escaped. When a stray bullet shot the beast on his head and fell on the floor, Elena ran away as soon as possible. She was horrified witnessing what was happening below, so she escaped by the back door instead of approaching the humans she saw. 

Clutching her tattered dress, she ran to the woods as soon as possible. She ran without rest until the sun had risen.

Finally, she came to a road. However, her knees had already given up and her feet were covered in blisters and cuts. She stumbled on the asphalted road, her body sore and weakened from all that running. 

She stared at the morning sky, as she breathed laboriously. The morning fog kissed her muddied body. She was relieved she survived, but now she didn't know how to embrace tomorrow anymore. 

Elena just lay on the road, waiting for someone to pick her up.