This made Silver Wolf smile slightly as he said: "I am sure he doesn’t because he regards you very highly. Hounds usually don’t care about getting naked, they are very open," Aselia knew this very well, Yurian had told her but he always tried to be discreet around her.

Aselia heard the car door open and shut and knew Silver had transformed and gone. She slowly opened her eyes in case he was still there but he wasn’t. Heaving a sigh of relief, Aselia took out her night vision binoculars and began to observe the surroundings.

Hours passed and she sat there vigilant observing but she found no traces of anything out of the ordinary. This was such a waste of time in her opinion just because a man had to show his dominance.

Silver Wolf returned after several hours without luck as well. They then took turns to keep watch, sleeping in bits and shifts. Aselia asked him to let her make a round.

"I will come with you, but will keep a distance so you can appear alone," Silver Wolf suggested and this was settled. It was middle of the night, clouds had overshadowed the moon. Aselia adjusted her beanie to hide her ears as she stepped outside the jeep.

Silver Wolf had shifted into his wolf form again. His fur was comprised of black and silver hair while his eyes were a combination of silver and red. His size was almost of a small horse as he was fully grown, larger than Yurian; who was still growing. Silver hounds were not as rare as golden ones but were still pretty rare compared to other species.

He pranced behind Aselia from a distance, keeping in shadows. The area they were roaming in was a slum, streets were littered and a putrid smell of urine and wastage filled the air. People in dilapidated condition were strewn all over the dark narrow streets and dingy alleyways.

Aselia’s heart broke seeing people in this condition, no one deserved to live like this. Seeing them living below the poverty level, Aselia forgot her own worries for a while. Some people stared at her but most of them were too drunk or hungry to give her a second look.

Walking past another dark alley Aselia saw a figure standing in the shadows, staring at her. It was a petite girl with a deadly look in her sharp blue eyes, Aselia’s instincts kicked in and she knew this was the vampire they were looking for. Seeing her was a bit of a surprise for Aselia and she understood why Silver wolf never revealed her age as she was just a child not more than 13-14 years of age.

The girl bared her teeth at Aselia and shouted: "Bitch," before attacking her. Aselia was ready but she didn’t want to kill the girl, so instead of using the sword she used her stun gun. The girl was fast but immature, she had no clue that Aselia would target the area where she would be in the next second instead of where she was.

As she was about to grab Aselia’s arm, the bullet hit her in the ribs and she let out a scream before falling backward. Her body spasmed as Silver wolf arrived and pinned her down with his paws. Aselia took out the laced ropes which inhibited vampires from using their speed and strength, she bound the unconscious girl in them.

"We have to take her back," Aselia told Silver who nodded his huge wolf head. Aselia picked up the unconscious girl and loaded him on Silver’s back so they could head back to their jeep. She kept looking at the girl’s face as her head bobbled while Silver carried her.

Reaching the jeep while Silver transformed and dressed Aselia contacted the Sheriff and informed him that they had apprehended the vampire and will be taking her back with them.

They had settled the young girl in the back seat of the jeep, her head tilted to the right as it rested with the window of the back door.

"We should get going so we can reach the headquarters by morning," Silver Wolf said while starting the jeep.

"Why didn’t you tell me the girl we were hunting is just a teenager? I know you knew her age since she had escaped from Valiois so you had all the data on her."

Aselia questioned him with a side glance, she felt annoyed that important information was kept from her. Silver didn’t spare her a glance as he whirled the steering wheel and replied calmly:

"You are too soft when it comes down to kids, you wouldn’t have come along. I wanted to see how you would handle the situation if it was kept as a surprise."

"This is a shitty reason and you know it. Keeping vital information from your partner on important missions is just pathetic," Aselia glared at him, her arms crossed against her heaving chest.

"Well, that’s how I roll so you have to deal with it. Besides I could have completed such a piece of a cake mission alone, you are only here because Aldridge insists. You can never replace Marhia."

Silver’s lips were forming a thin line and his forehead was creased, his eyes danced at the precipice of anger and sadness. Aselia was expecting a taunting answer from him.

"I am not trying to replace her besides who would want a stone-hearted person as their partner? I would pick Yuri thousand times over you but I guess you are as stuck as I am. Next time have a little faith in me instead of being a shithead."

Aselia yelled back at him, her eyes fierce as they burned with rage.

"Watch your mouth, I am your senior and won’t be treated like that," he growled at her not liking the disrespect.

"I always respected you but you just lost it by bringing your personal vendetta in a mission, and going against your own words. Hereafter you want respect, earn it. I am done being put down by you and others."

Aselia growled back at him, he was mistaken if he thought she would back down so easily. Silver shot her a displeased look and shook his head at her.

"Sit quietly, I can’t deal with you anymore. You are a true pain in the a*s, don’t know what I did to be partnered with you."

Aselia averted her gaze and didn’t spare him another glance, she stared outside where dawn was breaking and the sun was spreading its first hues across the darkened landscape. The soft morning rays slowly brightened up the barren rocky terrain and Aselia watched it intently.

Then she heard the girl groan behind her as she slowly awakened from her drugged state. Aselia turned her head to look at the girl who hissed at Aselia and bared her fangs at her. She tried to jerk her body forward but ropes kept her in place.

"What’s your name?" Aselia asked the girl.

"Why would I tell you, bit*h? You hunt and kill us like animals. Isn’t that what you are going to do to me?" She snarled like a rabid dog at Aselia and the elven hunter couldn’t help but feel that this was something more personal for the young girl.

"Stop wasting your time on her, White Falcon. She will be sent back to Valiois," Silver Wolf added dryly without glancing at either of the two women he was traveling with.

"I have no one left you forsaken hunters made sure of it when you killed my family and uprooted me from my home and threw me in that forsaken city you people have created," the young girl turned her attention to Silver now, while Aselia tried to soak in the information.

"Don’t act like they were innocent. They had killed countless people before we were able to track them down and end their wretched lives. Be thankful we let you live," Silver added with annoyance hinted in his voice.

"And what do you want me to do? Be thankful to you? Every day I miss them, they were my family. It’s not our fault that we are born with the curse to drink blood for our survival."

"Yes, be thankful. Because there are hundreds of ways to drink blood without hurting or killing innocent people. You people chose the wrong path and paid the price, I don’t feel pity for you and if it was in my hand, you would be dead too and joining your family. But you are a minor so you won’t be put down, just yet," Silver looked back at her menacingly from the rearview mirror.

"I wish you people would just kill me, that’s exactly the reason I escaped and killed those people," she shifted her brown orbs from Silver to Aselia and back to Silver as if pleading with them to end her miserable life.

For the first time in a long time, Aselia had felt unease at the vampire she had captured. For once the girl was so young with so much left in her life to be explored and secondly Aselia saw herself in her. Broken and alone, angry at the world for taking her family from her. She couldn’t help but stare at the brown-eyed girl who was scowling at her in return, knowing she won’t be able to help her.