Chapter 74 - Independence

  What is a werewolf's power? They were physically strong and able to tackle any prey that was substantially larger than them. Their bodies can easily heal and also shift into their wolf form when in distress. Their night vision is spectacular and their sense of smell is something out of the world.

Comparing that to a vampire's strength, there were a lot of places where vampires came below them.

Vampires are not physically strong. They are susceptible to burn in the sun, but not tan. They can't run as fast as a werewolf or smell anything distinct. Without blood, vampires lose their energy and their body digresses faster than any human.

What is their plus point?

Age, immortality.

Vampires became substantially stronger than the other two races only because they were immortal. As time passed, they made connections and collected riches and a vast amount of knowledge that made them superior. They were the apex predators and feared only because of this quality.

'now he is telling me… we… we are no longer immortal…' Nico gritted his teeth silently.

A small snap of a twig was heard beside him.

He knew who that was, but Nicolai silently walked into the forest.

'What is the use in blaming him…. He already explained it was not his fault. But no immortality?! Fuck! I… I might lose the family I have in a few years. That's absurd! I can't…. This is just so unfair.' He silently wiped at his eyes. 'so unfair…'

Beside him, he noticed Hunter and Issac silently walking by. Their cautious eyes fell on him now and then.

"Nico… we are okay with being mortals…"

"But I am not. It's…. It's not what was supposed to happen. We, vampires, were supposed to be the apex predator and now we are lower than humans…" he grumbled, biting his bottom lip.

A small whine came from beside him.

"Dylan please… just don't try to talk to me now. I am so pissed off and I'm sure I will blow off on you. It's unfair for you and I don't wish to hurt you so…. So please leave me be for a few minutes," he said without looking at him.

Because he feared if he glanced at Dylan once again, he might resurge his anger.

Clutching the gun tightly he slowly walked into the forest. The huge trees rustled and leaves fluttered down in them.

'Why sun god… why did you take away our powers? Did we do something wrong? No… I.. It's not fair at all…'

"It's okay though..." Issac, who had remained silent till now, suddenly said. "we were always used to running and hiding. Now It's not so bad. Nico, don't think too far ahead into the future. Just live in the moment."

"But you guys… you all will die in a few years. What will I do…? What I do…. I."

"You will do nothing," Issac held his hand. "There is nothing you can do. This is no one's fault. Blame evolution. That is what made us mortal."

Evolution, ah, that thing existed. When his father taught him about evolution, he mentioned humans. On how they lose a few parts of their body because it was of no use. Their bodies evolved in the way they were used to living.

'Is that why vampires lost immortality… they… they just didn't want to live that long?'

'Is this simply an evolutionary trait of… is there witchcraft involved here?'

Nico felt out of the loop. He really wanted to find a way to solve this, but he knew that the answer was not even close. He might never be able to make a vampire immortal again.

Just that thought made him even glummer.

"Hey look," Hunter excitedly looked ahead of them.

There was a huge elk that was silently eating a bit of the fallen fruits from the tree. Its huge antlers were almost two feet long, spread out with sharp edges.

"That looks like a good target," Issac whispered crouching down.

Everyone also hid behind the huge tree nearby. The elk glanced up as if sensing them.

They went silent, looking at the prey.

"I want to hunt it," Hunter whispered with an excited grin. His hand was clutching onto a small dagger that they used back on the island.

"Okay, you shall assist. I want you to go to the other side of the elk and spook it. When it gets scared and runs my way, I will take it out,""

Hunter looked at him with a pout

"What?"

"I want to hunt with Issac."

"Okay then let Issac come with you to the other side and…"

Hunter fully pouted with his cheeks puffed up. "I want to hunt alone with Issac,"

Nico froze. He did not expect Hunter to ask this. usually, he did not allow the young teenage vampires to hunt alone. It was dangerous for them to do it alone. Even back on the island, he always assisted an adult to be with them at all times.

Usually Raven or Matt will accompany them when they hunt for crocodiles and the Hunter and Issac usually only help on the sidelines.

They had never hunted alone before.

Nico took a deep breath. "That is heavy prey. You won't be able to take it out with a knife. I'll let you guys hunt a small elk if you find one. Deal?"

"No deal," Issac grinned at him. "We found the prey we get the hunting privilege. Nicolai, we are in a hunting competition and we want to win so let us do this. We can do it,"

He said with so much confidence that Nico was slightly convinced.

Glancing to his side, he noticed Dylan crouching by him silently. His reassuring blue eyes seemed to be supporting their decision.

'It's. It's okay… I'm here and Dylan is also here. We can take out the prey… but these kids are mortal! What if….'

'No, I can't afford to think like that. These kids are vampires. They have to grow up sooner or later. Fifteen is not a big difference from eighteen…. I hunted when I was ten. I can discriminate.'

He slowly nodded

"Yes!" Hunter happily cheered and Issac also smiled at him with a nod.

The two siblings slowly crept out of their hiding space and went to surround the elk on both sides. Their footsteps were soundless, and so was their breath.

Even so, the elk felt a danger lurking close. It stopped eating and was vigilantly glancing around it.

Looking at its huge antler, Nico felt slightly anxious. 'what if they get hurt…'

A fluffy paw touched his hand.

He glanced at Dylan. He was half crouching and half in attack position. It looked like he was ready to protect them from any danger.

Being close to him really gave him a reassuring feeling.

The anger he had in him melted away.

Nico felt like a dick sometimes for blowing up on Dylan. After all, the guy was doing what he could do the best. He was surviving. He survived a thousand years only listening to his voice without going insane. That was a great feat on its own.

He gently touched the paw.

Dylan flinched, but his shimmering blue eyes showed signs of changing into golden. He gently nuzzled his head against his face.

Nico touched him gently. "Do you think they can hunt on their own?'

Dylan grunted softly.

"Is that a yes or a, no?" with a bright smirk he glanced at him.

Dylan was in his wolf form and it was very hard to understand his expression. But his confident eyes said that the two brothers were going to succeed in this hunt.

Nico silently watched how the two young vampires stalked the prey. The prey was cautious now. It was grunting and stomping on the ground.

He watched Hunter jump out of the bush and spook it. The elk grunted loudly and stepped back at that same time Issac appeared from behind him and jumped onto it stabbing it right in its neck.

"eekkk…" Elk let out a loud scream, jumping around. It was trying its best to throw off Issac from it back.

Nico tightly clutched the gun. He docked it on the fallen tree nearby and was ready to shoot at any moment.

Dylan nudged the gun with his nostrils.

"I have to be prepared when they fail…'

Just after saying that Nico realized what his problem was. He only anticipated the failure. Not their success.

'what the heck is wrong with me.. why am I acting like this he thought as he watched the two vampires bring down that huge four-foot elk.

In about ten minutes, the struggle was over and the elk was dead.

Hunter and Issac were by its neck, lapping at the blood that was dripping out.

The blood from the freshly hunted prey is always the tastiest.

Nico grinned widely. 'They did it. They actually did!'

But suddenly his grin went away as he spotted another elk close by. It directly charged at the young vampires.

"No!"