A TASTE FOR BLOOD

SHADOWS ABOVE THE CITY

Diego dangled in the night, suspended by the firm grip of a powerful arm. Wind whipped around him, tearing at his hair and clothes as the city blurred beneath them.

His senses screamed, every instinct urging him to fight, to flee, to sink his fangs into whatever would let him break free.

He looked up,and met the piercing, glacial eyes of Leo.

His elder brother.

“Leo…” Diego breathed, surprise and disbelief knotting in his chest.

Leo’s face was carved with cold resolve, the moonlight glinting off his sharp features. “You shouldn’t have thought you could hide, little brother,” he said evenly, his grip unyielding. “I’ve found you. And now… you’re coming with me.”

Below, on the street, Lucian Vale snarled, his coat snapping in the wind. He stepped toward the edge of the building, rifle gleaming with silver under the moon.

“Not so fast,” the hunter hissed. “You’re mine, boy! No one, no thing, escapes me!”

Leo’s gaze flicked downward, expression unreadable. “too slow,” he muttered with faint disdain. “Persistent.”

Before Lucian could aim, Leo vaulted effortlessly to the next rooftop, dragging Diego with him.

Their shadows streaked across the skyline, blending with the darkness.

Lucian raised his weapon, tracking the blur. “Damn it…” he growled, watching the red signal on his wrist tracker pulse faster, then vanish. “He’s fast. But he’ll tire. They all do.”

He fired once,a silver round, but it ricocheted off the metal frame of an old billboard. The shockwave rattled through the night.

Then, from the corner of his vision, movement, Leo descending upon him with feral speed.

The clash was instant and brutal. Lucian rolled to the side, slicing upward with a silver-edged blade, catching Leo across the forearm.

Leo hissed, his fangs flashing, then kicked the hunter backward into a ventilation unit.

“You talk too much,” Leo said coldly.

Lucian smirked, blood trickling from his temple. “And you bleed too easily.”

Before Leo could strike again, Lucian fired a flash grenade, blinding light bursting across the rooftop.

they jump from roof to roof, fought until Lucian got injured, and manage to run, his voice carried by the wind:

“I’ll be back, boy! Don’t think this is the end!”

The city fell silent once more. Only the sound of the wind and Leo’s steady breathing filled the air.

Diego stepped back warily, eyes darting from the broken rail to his brother. “You didn’t have to fight him,” he said, voice low.

Leo flexed his injured arm, the wound already closing. “when I heard someone was fallowing you from one of father's men, I had to act fast before he kills.

You know what kind of person Father is, he’ll do anything to bring you back.” He's already been mocked by the higher up, saying his younger son, was afraid at the sight of blood.

He looked toward the dark horizon. “Lewis and I were both sent to find you. I’ve been tracking the hunter’s trail for days, waiting to see who he was after. Luckily, I came just in time.”

“Lucian Vale,” he added quietly. “The most dangerous vampire hunter alive. His family and ours… have hated each other for centuries.”

Diego clenched his fists. “I don’t care about that. I don’t want to be part of the Monaghan family anymore.”

Leo sighed, the faintest trace of emotion crossing his face. “Oh, Diego… still stubborn as ever.” He turned his gaze toward the small, glowing house in the distance, the one Diego had begun to call home.

“Look on the other side. That family you care about, their lives are now in danger. you better put your act together and stop acting childish and come back home.

You think Lucian will stop hunting once he loses your scent? You’ve dragged them into our war.”

Diego’s jaw tightened. “Why are you even helping me?”

“Because I understand,” Leo said quietly. “I know what it means to want freedom. I’ve been pretending to be the perfect son for too long.” to be what father wanted me to be.

He looked at Diego with something almost human in his eyes. “But I’m sorry, Diego… you’re coming with me tonight.” you have no choice, think about that family.

Diego looked back toward the house,its windows glowing faintly in the dark, a fragile beacon of peace. His voice cracked as he spoke.

“Give me three days,” hew said. “Just three days to say goodbye. Then you can come take me back to Father.”

Leo was silent for a long moment. The wind howled between them, carrying the faint sounds of the city, a car horn in the distance, a dog barking somewhere far below.

His eyes narrowed slightly, studying Diego’s face, the defiance in his tone mixed with something else, pain.

“Three days,” Leo repeated, his voice low. “You think Father will wait that long?”

Diego didn’t answer. He just stared at the house glowing softly across the neighborhood, the place where he’d first felt something close to peace.

Finally, Leo sighed, lowering his gaze. “You always had a way of making things complicated.”

He turned away, stepping toward the edge of the rooftop. “Fine.

Three days. But after that, Diego…” His voice dropped to a cold whisper. “If you’re not ready to come back, I’ll drag you home myself.”

Before Diego could speak, Leo vanished, dissolving into the night wind, leaving nothing but the faint echo of his departure.

Diego stood alone beneath the stars, the city lights reflecting in his eyes. The hunter was out there, he will come back. His father was waiting. And now his brother had given him a deadline.

Three days.

Three days to say goodbye to the only life that ever felt real, three days before his brother

came for him again.

He whispered into the quiet, almost to himself.

“Three days… then everything ends.”

The night answered only with silence.