Hunted Predators✔️

Chapter Twenty-nine

"Lock her up! Lock her up!" a woman to the right of Katherine shouts. "Screw you," Katherine says cheerfully. The woman turns to Katherine, glaring.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

Katherine smiles. "Katherine f*cking Cruz."

She looks at the sign she's holding, then Katherine's face, her mouth dropping open. A young man steps forward. "No way."

"Sara!" Darko pushes through the crowd, trying to catch Katherine's eyes. "Sara, let's go!"

"My name," she says loudly, "is Katherine."

"Get that crap out of her face." Darko pushes the sign away.

"She's the freak!"

"She's high."

"Why would Katherine Cruz come to this rally?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot. That is Katherine Cruz!"

The man's shouts draws more attention. People around them either step closer or farther away.

"Are you sure she's a vampire? I don't see any fangs."

"Show us your fangs, Katherine."

"Smile!"

A guy grabs her jaw. He pushes his thumb in between her bottom lip and teeth, pulling her lip down. Twisting, Katherine makes to push him away, but Darko beats her to it, striding forward and shoving the man back.

The man trips over his own feet and cries out when he falls flat on his back. A young woman moves to hit Darko while his back is turned, but Katherine grabs her by the shoulders, wrenching her back. The girl turns around, coming face to face with Katherine. The girl's face twists. Katherine winces as the girl lets out a loud shriek. A large man turns, taking in the screaming girl and Katherine.

"I didn't-"

He shoves her back, and she hits the ground, hearing a nasty snap before even feeling the pain. When the man steps forward, Katherine tries to scramble back, but putting weight on her left arm is like being stabbed with a white hot knife. The man bends down, coming close, and Katherine has a sudden flash of another man's face who came to close. On frantic instinct, Katherine swings.

The man stumbles to the left, blood flowing from his nose. Katherine's fangs slide out. People see them and scream, and with that, all hell breaks loose.

The part of the mob that doesn't run away screaming surges forward. The only thing Katherine can think to do is cover her face. Darko watches for a moment, his eyes wide. "Stop. Stop!"

He steps forward to help her, but a man grabs his arm yanking him back. "She's not going to hurt anyone."

"She's a vampire, what do you think she's going to do?"

Darko wrenches his arm away, but the man grabs him around the neck this time, choking him back. As soon as Darko shoves him away, two more men take his place.

"Katherine!" Darko shouts. He struggles against the group of men holding him back."Fight back! We're all monsters; are you happy?"

Katherine looks up, meeting his eyes. Bloods running down her cheek. She could take it, then catch the next blow and fight her way out. Katherine makes sure to hold Darko's eyes as she takes the next blow. Then the crowd completely surrounds her, blocking his view.

Darko grits his teeth and twists hard, freeing an arm. He rails his fist into the first guy he sees, knocking him back. The two others come at him at the same time. Darko dodges the first blow, then catches the second man's fist, twisting the man's arm back with a snap. He wheels around and kicks the other man in the gut, sending him doubling over to his knees.