Chapter 1

With a casual jerk, she wrenched the blade out of the carcass. The demon continued to writhe from its death spasms for a few more moments before it stilled. Roxanne wiped the sword clean on her dark pants, ridding it of the gunk that painted it scarlet. As she did so, she didn't take her eyes off of the thing that lay at her boot-clad feet. It looked so human that it made Roxanne's insides uneasily with guilt but it only lasted a fraction of a second. Brown hair, slightly pale skin and normal green eyes that was now vacant and staring. Roxanne wouldn't have believed this is ordinary-looking being could've been a dangerous abomination if she hadn't seen those eyes flash scarlet like the freshly shedded blood that colored her dagger and his nails sharpened to talons. Roxanne plucked a black bladed knife from the demon's limp hand then glanced up at the sky. The sun was a half-circle on the horizon, rays of light turning the sky various shades of pink, purple and a furious red. Though the beams hadn't touched her skin yet, it made her itch uncomfortably. "The sunlight bothering you, vampire?" Came a cool voice from behind her. And along with that voice came a scent. An odd, musky scent that Roxanne knew far too well. "What is it to you?" She asked, tucking the confiscated dagger into the holster on her hip then turned her attention to the newcomer. He had fair hair that seemed to glow with the rising sun. His eyes were a brilliant blue and his skin was deeply tanned. Roxanne would have thought him to be some sort of fallen angel if she hadn't spotted the mark that exposed his true nature on his neck, so faint that someone who even had eyes less keen than her own would have missed it. The bite that was a shade paler than the skin that surrounded it was somehow what drew her attention like a neon light. The werewolf smirked, seductive and dangerous. "Then you shouldn't be here. This is werewolf territory and if you catch fire, your stench will fill the whole area." He leered, his eyes narrowed in disdain. Roxanne cocked her head to the side, completely unperturbed by his comment. "Now now. Was all that really necessary?" She asked, slightly patronizing. She kept her eyes locked on the wolfs while she inched her hand to the sword that was strapped to her waist. He didn't respond. "This is my turf. I don't want you here. So get out." He snarled, grimacing and showing sharp, wickedly pointed teeth. Roxanne smiled slightly. "You must be the Alpha. Hunter?" She questioned, slowly locking her fingers around the hilt of her weapon. Hunter's lips tugged upward into a sneer. "The one and only. And I'm commanding you to leave my area." He curled his fingers into a fist. Roxanne pretended to contemplate this while she raised her sword from her holder. "You know? I've never been the type to follow orders." She had prepared herself to throw the knife, but she had mistaken his speed. His eyes flicked to her hand. "Wrong move, Bitch." He leered before diving his hand into his pocket and flinging something through the air with such agility that she barely had time to react. The predawn light caught on a blood-red double-ended blade that flew through the air. But before it to bury itself into her chest, she snatched it from the air by the point. "The name is Roxanne Heartly. Not Bitch." She hissed and, with blinding speed, flung the blade back at him, landing, point first, into his throat, impaling itself all the way to the hilt. His blue eyes widened in surprise as a nasty gurgling sound erupted from his mouth. Blood began to bubble around the wound. His knees buckled under his weight and collapsed, unmoving and limp to the ground, his life's blood gushing out to crown around him. Roxanne smiled in self-satisfaction and crossed the space between her and the body. Kicking the corpse over with her toe, she leaned down on one knee. She reached down to retrieve her knife when something caught her eye at his hand. Around his middle finger, was a ring. The band was pure gold with some kind of inscription around it. She tried to read it but it was written in some kind of text she couldn't comprehend. There was a gem at the center, a blue that was much deeper than sapphire. Midnight blue was a more accurate comparison. She stripped him of the ring and weapons and stood straight. Now the sunlight was increasing and so was her unease. It went from an annoying crawling feeling to painful burning. Briskly, Roxanne patted down her pockets until she found her own ring and slid it onto her finger. The ring looked like an ordinary wedding ring: a silver band with a beautiful diamond. Not until one looked at the inside of the band that something unusual would uncover itself. There was a phrase carved in fancy, cursive script in Japanese Kanji. Hi no hikari susumu, translated into daylight travel (Author's note: I'm not entirely sure this is the direct translation. Obviously Japanese isn't my first language...wish it was though...v-v...-sighs- anyway back to the story) the burning that had prickled her skin seized the moment the jewelry fell into place around her finger. Roxanne sighed in relief before making her way back to her black viper and got into the drivers seat. She took a moment to relax and allowed the sunlight to warm her skin before stripping herself of her dirty gear, starting with her pants and black leather jacket, matching tank top and kicking off her heavy black combat boots. Then she pulled off her blonde wig, allowing her deep red hair to fall down her back and removed her chocolate brown contacts to expose her eyes that were a mix of dark blue like that stone of the Alpha's ring and amber with a slim swirl of scarlet. Roxanne placed her discarded contacts into her container and her clothes in the duffle bag in the passenger seat before starting the car and driving away from the scene, taking the closest highway to leave Tulsa Oklahoma for Elizabeth City, North Carolina