The Mark Of A Warrior

Women are not hunters

Hope's POV: Leaning back in my seat, I attempted to keep the bored expression off my face as my eyes drifted around the room. "Thank you for the invite. I am unaccustomed to such luxury", Alexander spoke up, causing me to refrain from rolling my eyes.

"Well, it is the least we can do for opening our eyes to the truth", Elijah responded, causing me to purse my lips. "We are curious to hear more about your order, your crusade", he hinted, causing me to snort as I lifted my wine glass to my lips.

"We are but five men. Banned by fire and the last breath of a single witch to a single cause, the destruction to all vampires", he explained, raising his glass as I turned to my dad with a questionable gaze, causing him to shake his head subtly as if to say 'not yet'. 

"And how to you hope to achieve this", dad asked him, causing me to grit my teeth. 

I honestly do not see why my father finds the hunters so fascinating. If it were up to me, I would have killed him the second he posed as a threat. "We have the ultimate weapon, which no vampire can survive", he proclaimed, causing my eyes to fill with annoyance as I glanced at my father once more. 

"And what is that", dad asked him curiously.

"A cure," Alexander answered, toasting his cup before taking another sip. 

Making a face at his answer, I looked toward him in confusion as Uncle Elijah leaned forward in his seat. "A cure", he questioned. "And how have you found that", he asked.

"The fire that bound us, the witch, she spelled the fire to give us a map", he explained, causing me to furrow my eyebrows. 

"And where would this map be", I spoke up, causing him to smile smugly as he tugged at the laces of his jerkin, revealing bare skin that was inked. "Well, if that were true, would you not worry that the vampires could make you tell them your weapon", I inquired, flagging down the compelled boy to pour me another drink. "That is, of course, if they could catch you", I said, attempting to boost his ego, taking another sip from my glass to hide my amusement.

"The spell she cast, it protects us from it", Alexander revealed, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "We cannot be compelled to do things that are not of our own volition", he explained, causing my smile to drop.

Dammit. Just what my family needs, a bunch of insolent humans that think they can overpower my kind.  

"The witch that cast the spell, where was she from", my father asked him, his tone dripping with barely concealed irritation.

"Our village, where we came into this world", he answered. "You see we had a rash of killings-"

"More so than anywhere else", I asked him sarcastically.

"Yes, we drew in the demons in hoards for many years", he nodded.

"And why is that", Aunt Rebekah asked, resting her head on her hand. He hesitated momentarily before finally deciding that we were trustworthy. 

"We had creatures of the moon, a pack that had settled here for generations", he retorted, causing me and my dad to sit up straighter.

"Wolves", Uncle Elijah nodded in understanding.

"You have heard of them", he asked us in surprise. 

"Rumors here and there in our travels", my father answered vaguely, but I could clearly see his interest hidden behind his eyes.

"Yes, well the men that turned, they drew the creatures to us. Not by their own doing. It could not be explained", he said, taking another sip from his cup.

My eyes burned with irritation as I downed the rest of my glass. I knew why the vampires were drawn here for the wolves. A few years ago, word got out about wolf bites being toxic to vampires, and, like any predator, the baby vamps sought to eliminate any threats to their existence. 

"So what is your plan to rid this earth of the vampires", I asked, setting my glass down after catching my dad's gaze.

"We will follow the map, when the time is right", he answered. "We must wait two more moons before we leave", he sighed.

"So it will be just the five of you, no one else", Uncle Elijah prodded as Alexander to look into his cup absentmindedly before clearing his throat.

"No. There will be more", he nodded to himself.

"The women", I questioned, leaning forward in my seat. "Are they your family", I asked, causing Aunt Rebekah to tense up beside me.

"No, Elizabeth and Josette are Alaric's daughters", he laughed, causing me to vaguely remember another hunter by that name.

"Are they hunters as well", I asked him curiously. 

"No. Women are not hunters", he denied, looking to Rebekah, clearly trying to impress, "It is too dangerous", he added, causing my expression to sour momentarily before a thought crossed my mind.

If the other girls were not hunters, then they were not spelled to deny our compulsion. They were weak, vulnerable, and, as a bonus, beautiful. With their father being a hunter himself, they would know everything there was to know and was no doubt trusted by the others. They could work from the inside, gathering information for me. The only thing that stood in my way is their father.