Fighting For Survival

Chapter 2

Smiling, I looked up at the New York sky. It was grey as always, but I didn't care. I had my first solid piece of information that could help me conceal my true identity. My mother was a vampire royal who had run away from home, wanting to live a regular life away from politics. My father was a human dragged into the supernatural world when he fell in love with my mother. They moved a lot as my grandfather, the vampire king, would not accept my mother abdicating as she was the only heir to the throne. He had sent guards and witches after my mother, hoping to track her down and bring her home. My mother had always slipped under the radar because of a spell an ancient witch had cast to keep her hidden, an old friend. My mother had me secretly and used charms she had learnt from the witch to keep me hidden from the rest of the world. It was just before my parents were murdered that my mother had received a letter from the ancient witch she knew long ago.

The letter contained a prophecy of a dhampir that would be born of enriched blood. The blood could be used to forge weapons that would defeat any supernatural being and be used in potions that, if ingested, would kill. The only way to protect myself was to find something that would mask my identity. The prophecy stated that the dhampir would end the war between humans and supernaturals. The letter had never been found. I had read about the letter in one of my mother's journals. It was one of the few things I had of my mothers. She kept very few possessions but constantly wrote her thoughts in her journal. I had found them in a box that had been given to the orphanage when I was sent there just after they died. The lady who ran the orphanage had felt sorry for me and held on to the box until I was sixteen. That was when I learned about my true identity and learned that my parents had been murdered. My mother had written that she thought she was being followed, and we needed to move on to protect our family. She had known our family was in danger.

Skipping along the sidewalk, I thought of all the things I could do when I didn't have to run anymore. I could go to college to learn something or go and get a regular job somewhere and save for my own place. My heart swelled at the thought of having a forever home and maybe even finding someone to share it with. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the man standing outside the door of my building at first; it was as I pulled my keys out that I saw him move. I froze momentarily, staring at the dark figure, and knew he didn't want to be friendly before dropping my bag and lunging forward, fist first. I wasn't about to start asking questions that could get me killed. I struck the dark figure on the side of the face and heard him curse as I dodged his sidekick.

Spinning around, I struck out, but he was ready this time. He grabbed my leg and pulled, knocking me off balance. I hit the ground hard, my head bouncing off the floor, leaving me disorientated. Groaning, I rolled to the side before heaving myself to my feet and lunging forward. I managed to get in another hit on his face before pushing forward and tackling him to the ground. He was a lot bigger than me, and it was more challenging than it looked. My arms wrapped around his waist, and I used my total weight to bring him down. He rolled and grabbed my hair as we hit the floor and pulled.

Screaming, I let go, and he turned so I was underneath him. He pinned my arms down and straddled my waist; this was the end of me. This hunter was going to kill me right here, and there was nothing I could do about it. I waited for the final blow to happen, but it never came. Cracking an eye open, I look into a pair of emerald eyes. They were beautiful. You could look into his soul, but I wasn't sure I liked what I saw. The man snapped out of his stare and smirked at me before letting me go and sitting up. Frowning, I sat up, rubbing my wrists and glared at him. He was handsome, with his blond hair just long enough that it fell across his eyes slightly, giving it that messy but sexy look. I could stare at this man all day and never get bored of that view, but I still had no clue who he was. I cleared my throat.

"Who are you?" The man chuckled, got up gracefully, and offered his hand. I glared at it like it was poison before swatting it away and standing up alone. That only made him laugh more.
"My name is Ben." I nodded, still staring at him.
"What are you doing here? Do I know you?" Sighing, he brushed his hair out of his face.
"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"Ask a lot of questions? I don't know you; all I know is that you're a hunter, and I thought you were here to kill me." He shrugged and leaned against the wall, looking me up and down in a way that made my legs feel like jelly.
"If I was here to kill you, don't you think I would have done it by now?" I frowned at the man before leaning against the other wall, keeping my distance. I didn't trust him.
"How do I know that you still won't? It doesn't answer my question. What are you doing here? What do you want?" he shrugged.
"Like I said, you ask a lot of questions." I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation; this man was driving me crazy. Bending down, I picked my bag up from the floor and retrieved my keys before heading towards my door. After I unlocked it, I turned back to the man.
"Well, if you aren't going to answer any of my questions, then I don't see why I should waste my time talking to you." He raised his eyebrows at me, moved away from the wall, and stepped towards me.
"Why don't you invite me in?" I narrowed my eyes at him, realising he was a vampire. I didn't trust vampires. I mentally scolded myself for thinking he had been human. I needed to be better.
"And why would I do that?" he chuckled again and leaned against my door frame, making me uneasy. All I had to do was step over the threshold of my apartment, and I would be safe. But that was a big step, and vampires had quick reflexes.
"Because, little dhampir, I think I have some information you want." I snorted and rolled my eyes at him. If he thought I would be impressed that he knew what I was, he had another thing coming. Dhampirs had a strong scent, so it was easy for him to guess. Placing a hand on my hip, I glared at him.
"What information would that be, then?" This man couldn't offer me anything I didn't already know.
"Well, it would be about that special blood of yours." I felt the blood drain from my face. No one knew of my blood. I had made sure that I had kept it hidden for years. I decided to play dumb.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." I struggled to keep my voice steady. Ben just laughed.
"Oh, Morgan, you are feisty, aren't you? Don't worry; I am not here to hurt you. Your mother sent me." I blinked. My parents had been murdered years ago by hunters; I even went to their funeral. It was something I wanted to forget.
"My mother is dead; you must be mistaken." He gave me a sad smile.
"She wanted you to think that she was dead to protect you. It was the only way she knew how. But things have changed, and you need protection." I sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. It was too much to believe that my mother was alive. She couldn't be; she would have never left me alone. Raising an eyebrow at Ben, I offered a challenge.
"Prove it then." He went into his jacket pocket, pulled out a bracelet and offered it to me. Taking the bracelet gently, I studied it closely. I couldn't help the gasp that came out of my mouth. It was the bracelet my mother gave me on my seventh birthday; it was the last gift I had received from her. I thought I had lost it years ago after I took it off to sleep and found it gone when I woke up. I now knew why. I glared at Ben.
"Where did you get this?" I demanded, stepping forward and looking up at him, still careful not to get too close. He gave me a small smile.
"From your mother, of course."

"So you're saying that my parents faked their death to protect me from hunters?" It was still a lot to process. Ben was sitting in my only armchair as I paced the floor. He just nodded. Shaking my head, I looked out of the window down at the hustle and bustle of New York and wished that I was on the bus I planned to be on thirty minutes ago. But then, I wouldn't have found out my mother was alive. It couldn't be true; she would have never left me.
"She has been keeping tabs on you." I refused to look at him. He tried pulling at my heartstrings, but it wouldn't happen.
"Then why hasn't she sent me a message?" I sounded tired even to my ears. Ben shuffled in his chair and stayed silent. Sighing, I turned to face him.
"I think you should go. I shouldn't have let you in." I needed to stick to the plan. I couldn't waste time on finding potentially non-existent parents. Ben looked confused and stood up.
"She is out there, you know, waiting for you." I shook my head at him, fighting back the tears.
"Then why hasn't she come for me?" my voice broke. He scratched the back of his head, looking uneasy, before shrugging.
"She said it wasn't the right time to reach out." I stared open-mouthed at him in complete shock before turning and grabbing a mug off the side. I threw it at him. Of course, he dodged it, and it smashed into the wall. I glared at him, seething.
"She would not have left me like that! She loved me and would have taken me if she wanted to hide from hunters. I was a child!" His eyes softened with pity—the one thing I hated. People always looked at you with pity and treated you differently when they found out that your parents died as a child and you grew up in the system. I didn't need a pity party.
"She wanted to take you with her, Morgan, but she couldn't. The hunters were closing in, and putting you in the system was the best way for you to disappear. She hated what she did to you but didn't see that she had a choice." Snorting, I turned away from him and leaned against the window. I would not listen to more lies any longer.
"If she wants to find me, she knows how. Please leave and tell her to come herself if she wants me. I'm leaving town and need to pack, so if you don't mind." I gestured towards the door, and Ben looked disappointed.
"She misses you, Morgan. She regrets sending you into care. If I were in your position, I would jump to find my parents again." Spinning to face him, I threw another cup. He dodged it. Again.
"Well, you're not me, are you? Now get out of my apartment!" I yelled. He held his hands up in surrender and headed towards the door. He turned to face me one last time.
"Please think about it, Morgan." Turning away from him, I waited for the door to click as it closed. As soon as it closed, I slid down the wall to the floor and cried for the first time in years.