Again, Iconia was silent for a prolonged period, then she laughed. "That's precious." Then she grew serious. "You heard too." She didn't sound contrite about it or unsettled, just surprised.
"Yeah, I heard too. You know she's my ward and—"
"Hell, if she's one of us there's nothing to be done about it. All right. Damn it. But you're not dating her. We're together and you'd better let her know it," Iconia said.
He smiled. He would date whomever he wanted when he wanted and if Selena was a vampiress, albeit a huntress too, she was fair game. He knew if he didn't date her all his friends would be interested, and maybe others also. She was unique like Tezra had been unique. Since she'd been turned by a rogue and because she'd tried to protect one of their own, it was different than in Tezra's situation. Most of the males would accept her. Some of the females, like Iconia, would feel they had lost the chance to mate with one of the vampire princes ruling the clan. Others, who had some hope of gaining his support if Iconia had slipped from his favor, would lose out.
Someone would have to take Selena under his wing, and he was already doing that. The thing about a huntress turned, from what they'd learned of cases like that, the hunter could still walk the streets in broad daylight, lay out in the sun, and be a vampire all in one. That meant their offspring would be able to do what? That was the question right now. He knew a huntress turned in Florida was due to have her baby soon and everyone was awaiting the outcome.
He hoped it would turn out well. He hoped the baby would have the same qualities that the hunter and vampires possessed and would not turn rogue. Then they would all be in for a world of hurt. Daylight vampires, some had called them. But they didn't really know for sure what would happen to them.
When he didn't agree with Iconia about dating Selena, Iconia broadcasted to any vampire around. "I mean it. If she's a vampire, you're not dating her."
Her friends both looked at her in astonishment. Atreides immediately glanced at Selena to see her take on it—had she heard Iconia's threat or not?"
Selena scoffed. "As if I planned to date a vampire."
Selena thought tonight would be a bust, or maybe the hunters were being more careful to target vampiresses because of the recent attacks and they were afraid of retaliation both by vampires and hunters who had a moral code of ethics. She worried it might take some time before the hunters tried this again, waiting for the vampires and hunters to get complacent and then the rogue hunters would strike again.
She couldn't believe Iconia would even think that Atreides would "date" her. He must have told her that Selena was a vampire. He was so wrong about that.
He'd been quiet though while he walked beside her, and she figured he was listening for sounds everywhere, just like she was. The fog couldn't get any thicker, she didn't think and then she thought she heard someone running toward them. Just a human? A hunter with his sword raised? She didn't think it would be a vampire. They could just vanish and reappear where they wanted to.
Then she saw Twilight. Oh, God, she didn't need to be out here in the gloomy night. What if a rogue hunter thought to dispatch her because she was a blood bond and they might think she would learn what she could about the hunters, acting as a spy for the vampires?
"There you are!" Twilight said, sounding like she was out of breath.
"What's wrong?" Selena asked.
"There's a fight on First Street between—" Twilight didn't get anything more out.
Atreides swooped Selena up, startling her, and carried her to the fight. But it wasn't between hunters and vampires. Three humans were beating up a single man and Selena pulled out her sword and ran into the fray, putting herself in the middle of the fight, serving as a shield to the single man. At least he appeared to be the underdog in the fight, but maybe he deserved to be just where he was at. Who knew?
Atreides and the vampiresses were off to the side, not interfering. It was better for a hunter to quell the violence between humans instead of vampires getting involved. It could look like they were ready to turn a bunch of humans or dine on them tonight otherwise.
"Who started the fight?" Selena asked.
"He did," the one man said, the others agreeing. "He stole my money at the club. Damn pickpocket."
"Do you have his money?" she asked the accused man.
"And mine. He took our wallets," the second man said.
"And yours?" she asked the third man.
"No, he didn't manage to get mine. But I caught him trying. That’s how we knew he had taken my friends’ wallets."
She pointed her sword at the man she'd been protecting. "Give them their wallets back, now, or I'll leave them to take them from you in their own way. Make it easy on yourself."
He seemed reluctant to do so, but finally went ahead and pulled out the wallets and handed them to her.
"Now get out of here before these guys want to beat you up some more."
He tore off and the men took their wallets from her.
"Thanks," one of them said.
“Yeah, thanks. He wouldn't tell us the truth when we tried to get him to tell us that he had the wallets. But we knew he had them because he went for mine and the other guys’ wallets were missing."
"Well, you're good now."
Then the men left, and she returned to speak with Atreides. “Will we find anyone do you think? Any rogue hunters?"
"If that one wants to kill you," Iconia said. "Why didn’t you do something about him when he talked to us. You saw him, didn't you?"
Selena had wanted to, but she couldn’t until she had proof that he’d actually murdered Charlene. “I would have if he had threatened any of you.” Iconia included.
Selena’s phone vibrated in her pocked and she pulled it out to see she had a call from her brother. "Hey, Selena, I just checked with Rosa and she's calling it a night. Have you seen anything suspicious?"
She still couldn't believe her brother and his two best friends were helping them. "Just some humans fighting. And Cliff was out here with his friends looking for Rosa and me—to make sure I’m fine.”
“Hell, you should have run him through.”
“Yeah, well, you know that would make me a rogue hunter then. He questioned a couple of vampiresses, but then they continued on their way.”
"Okay, so you're good."
"What about you? Are you going home for the night?" she asked.
"In a while. I'm afraid whoever did it, if it isn't Cliff and his friends, they realize we're watching for them and they're going to be on their best behavior—for a while."
"I agree. And we won't be there when it happens. Daniel, I need to tell you that I was bitten by a vampire." She hated to tell him about it.
He didn't say anything at first.
"A rogue. Not someone looking to hook up."
"A vampire bit you?"
"Tore into me. It wasn't a love bite. Yet he didn't kill me. He wanted me to reach the vampire club and get Atreides and his people involved, somehow, we figured, but now I’m not so sure. I'd been bitten and then ended up at the vampire club and they had to take care of me. After that, they dropped me off at the hunter club to get help."