a/n: I included the song lyrics because this song was the sole inspiration of this oneshot. I initially started this as a DE story, but it just seemed so much more Kat like. Enjoy!
The Night of the Hunter
by 30 Seconds to Mars
(La nuit du chasseur)
I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell
Beaten and broken and chased from the land
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see
I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches, the bones of the liars, the thieves
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Pray to your God, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
(Un, deux, trois, cinq)
Blessed by a bitch from a bastard's seed
Pleasure to meet you, preapre to bleed
Rise, I'll rise, I'll rise
Skinned her alive, ripped her apart
Scattered her ashes, buried her heart
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Pray to your God, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
(Je te crains comme le diable)
Night of the Hunter
The night started like that of any other. He made his way to the nearest hole-in-the-wall establishment and sat at the bar. He made sure that his seat was positioned so that he could see the rest of the people in the place and that the bartender always kept his glass full. He didn't expect to find much excitement just yet as the sun had just started to fade beyond the horizon, but the universe had other plans for him. As the bartender came back for the first refill, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. When he looked up, he had to do a double take as he saw her for the first time in over a decade.
She looked the same as their first encounter. Her dark, flowing locks curled around her shoulders and stopped around the middle of her back. Her chocolate eyes were filled with just the right amount of innocence and sin to draw someone in and keep them there. Her lips were red and full of seduction; just as he remembered. His eyes continued downward to take in the view of the rest of her, noticing the way she dressed in a black dress and blood red heels. It brought back the memory that plagued him day and night, even after all this time.
He had just completed his first kill. It was strange, the feeling of taking someone's life with his own hands. He had to keep reminding himself that a vampire was not a person. That they were defying the laws of nature by being alive for eternity, but it still felt strange. He could still see the way the body turned from an everyday person into a shriveled up corpse before his eyes. The stench of death still lingered in his nose. He hoped that his usual nightly run would help calm his nerves and erase the images for a brief moment if not forever.
It was when he stopped running that he found himself at a pond in the middle of the forest. He collapsed to the ground as he caught his breath. When he could, he moved to the edge of the pond and knelt before it. He reached in and splashed his face with the icy waters. He knew it was his destiny, that his family was one of the best line of hunters out there, but it was going to take some getting used to. As he sat back and closed his eyes trying to let the events of the day sink in, he felt a shift in the air. He got to his feet and came face-to-face with a brunette female standing not too far away from him.
She was leaning against a tree, watching him with a smirk upon her full red lips was a brunette woman wearing an ensemble that was out of place for outdoors such as a dress and heels. She was beyond beautiful, but he could sense that there was something deadly behind the mask of innocence. "Can I help you?" he asked, taking a cautious step in her direction.
She tilted her head to the side and took a step forward. He saw the way her gaze dipped down to his left hand where he wore his family crest on a ring. "You're a Salvatore."
He glanced down for a split second before meeting her gaze again. "And you are?"
"An old family friend," she replied, letting her lips tug into a smile. It was then that he knew exactly what she was. As she sped forward to grab him, he leaned down and grabbed the stake in his boot. He was able to knock her away for a second, but it didn't take long for her to come back around and knock the stake from his hand. Before he had time to think, she was behind him, holding him in a way that exposed his throat, but kept him immobile. "What's your name?" she asked as he tried with all his might to break free of her grasp.
"Damon," he seethed.
"Well Damon, you're still young, so I'm going to let you live. Your family has a nasty habit of constantly crossing my path. I've always wondered what it would be like to drain the last of the Salvatore blood line."
"What makes you think that the next time we meet you'll be the one to be victorious?"
She smiled and tightened her grip on his chin. "Well I guess only time will tell. Next time it will be a fair fight and then we'll see." With that, she placed a kiss against his neck and then sunk her fangs into his flesh. She held him against her body until she felt his heart beat erratically with the loss of blood. When he was about ready to die, she pulled her head up and let him fall to the ground in a heap. "Until next time Salvatore." Damon's eyes were barely open, but through the fog of his mind trying to stay alive, he saw her walk away, tossing her head over her shoulder to smirk at him while licking his blood off her lips.
Subconsciously, Damon lifted a hand to his neck where she had bitten him a decade ago. Time had healed his wounds, but there was still the faintest trace of a scar. Staring at that for so long had kept his motivation up and feeling it now brought up a rage inside of him that he hadn't felt since that night. Using his training to remain calm and focused, he raised his glass to his lips and finished off the last of the liquid. He always wondered if this day would come and here it was. He needed to think about his every move; one brash move could ruin everything. So instead of approaching her and revealing the existence of vampires to everyone here, he signaled the bartender for a refill and continued to watch her every move as she went about the bar, putting everyone under her spell.
It didn't take long before she had everyone doing anything she asked; without using her compulsion. Damon continued to watch her and was glad that the bar started filling up with more patrons. It would be easier to make his move in a crowd rather than have it be the center of attention. She had been the first to approach to the jukebox and pick enough songs to start a dance floor with her at the center. When there were enough people, Damon finished his drink and slid off of his chair. Taking a mental note of his weapons, he made his way to the crowd and began making his way to the center of attention.
When he broke through, he was glad to see that she was facing the opposite direction. She was moving seductively to the rhythm of the music in a way that made everyone around take notice. Damon closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her hips. He leaned in close so that his lips were against her ear before he whispered, "So we meet again, Katherine."
Without missing a beat, she turned around to face him, a look of malicious glee in her eyes. "Damon," she mused, taking in the sight of him. She placed her hands on the bottom of his torso and ran them upwards slowly until she was able to take his shirt into her hands and pull him close. "My, have you grown." She smirked and inhaled deeply to catch his scent. "I thought I recognized that scent."
Damon reached up and covered her hands with his, narrowing his eyes at her comment. He watched as the veins on her face pulsated and her eyes dilated for a second, showing that she was nearing bloodlust. Even though there was vervain in his ring to keep her from messing with him via compulsion, there was nothing that could keep him from falling under the spell that she produced without effort. Dangerous as she was and as much as he had fantasized about getting his revenge, he couldn't help but feel the pull of her seduction.
Sensing that she had him within her grasp, her hands slid out from beneath his and made their way up to his neck. Slowly, she pulled his face down to hers until their lips were touching. Her lips were silky smooth and begged to be kissed properly, but as he moved to continue, she trailed them down the side of his face until they reached the curve of his neck. As she pressed a soft kiss against his flesh, Damon snapped out of the spell and reached for the nearest weapon. As she reared back to bite, he struck, driving the stake as far as he could into her side. She hissed and shoved him into the crowd before taking off outside the bar.
The crowd stopped what they were doing and looked around in confusion. No one had witnessed what went down and were staring at Damon as though they weren't sure if he needed help. He pushed himself up and rolled his shoulders to make sure there was no damage. He reached down for the stake that he kept in his shoe and followed the now pissed off vampire seductress into the night.
He paused outside of the bar and looked around. To his left there was an alley that led to the garbage bins behind the bar as well as to the loading entrances of the other establishments along the road. To his right was a parking lot and more store fronts that were closed at this hour. Damon looked every direction for a sign as to where Katherine had disappeared to. As he moved towards the left he saw something shine from the corner of the building. Blood. That was all he needed to make his decision. He tightened his grip on the stake and made his way down the alley.
Just as he suspected, it didn't take long for her to show herself. She came at him from around another building, pinning him with a loud thud to the side of the bar. As he went to stake her in the side again, she lashed out with her arm and knocked the stake from his grasp. It fell to the ground and rolled too far out of his reach. However, instead of feeling her fangs pierce into the skin of his neck, he felt her lips on his. Her body pressed tightly against his and without much thought he found himself kissing her back.
Of all the things he had imagined he would be doing with Katherine when he found her again, this was not one of them.
Her lips tugged at his hungrily and he met her pace evenly. His hands went to her hips and he gripped them hard to keep her in place. Her hands rested on his shoulders, balling the material of his shirt in her grasp. It didn't take long for her to figure out that he wasn't going to try and kill her again. He was too far into the new scenario to pull anything, but he knew he had to be on his guard with her at all times.
As if to show her that he would still try to be in control, he lifted her by the hips and spun around so that it was her back slamming against the wall. She moaned into the kiss as her tooth sliced into his lip, drawing blood. Her head tilted back as his lips trailed their way down her neck, leaving a faint line of blood along the way. He heard her hiss with pleasure as his hands slid across her thighs in order to remove her underwear, only to discover that she wasn't wearing any in the first place.
She cupped his face and brought his lips back to hers as he continued to get closer to the pleasure they both sought. His hands moved to his own clothes and without trouble, he was able to free himself and slide into her wet heat. They both moaned into the kiss; her inner walls clutching at him, drawing him in even further. Katherine flexed her pelvis in a way that signaled him to continue. Damon obliged and began sliding in and out of her, picking up the pace and depth with each thrust.
The passion charged energy between the two moved things along quickly, because after a short number of thrusts, they both felt themselves on the edge of release. Katherine took that as her cue and when she felt Damon's seed spilling into her body, she reared back and sank her fangs into his neck.
Damon's head soared. He had never experienced anything like this before. It was though he was having an out of body experience. It felt so good that he wanted it to last forever. It was when he started to feel pain that he realized what she was doing and he began to struggle.
Just as he had the first time they met, he found himself on the ground almost drained of blood staring up at her. Only this time, she seemed to have thought of something better. She leaned over him and he felt her fixing his clothes. Through the haze of blood loss, he saw her bring her wrist to her fangs and his stomach lurched as he realized what she was about to do and that he was powerless to stop it. He tried to refuse the blood that she put against his lips, but his mind wasn't strong enough to command his body's reaction.
She got to her feet and pulled him with her. His back rested against her front and he could feel her hands on the sides of his head. "I told you I would kill you the next time I saw you and I intend to kill you every time we cross paths," she whispered in his ear. "Until next time," she added and in the blink of an eye she snapped his neck. She let his body fall to the pavement with a thud and smiled smugly before walking away from the corpse.