Summary: AU: Vampire hunter Raven Roth and the Vampire Lord Jason Todd have been mortal enemies forever, but it's not easy trying to kill a lord and hold her family out of his grasp. How far is she willing to go for their safety? And how far will he go to keep her as his?

steampunk-ish AU

Rated M for violence mostly

Chapter 1: Blood

Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip.

It had never been this bad. She had never been so close to death, even though her job screamed to her about it everyday. Tonight she was lucky. She was lucky her family had gone to bed when she got home, she really didn't want to deal with them. Tonight had been the worst battle she had ever been in, getting stabbed in the side of her waist wasn't the best thing to happen to her.

Raven held her blood soaked scarf over her side. Lucky bastard, she thought, lucky shot. She limped into the kitchen to get something to stop the bleeding, she could deal with her family in the morning.

Raven the purple haired vampire hunter had been in business in Gotham for years. After her hunter mother was killed by a vampire, she dedicated her life to kill them just like her mother before her. Her father? Raven never knew her father. After a year on her own as a nine year old, she was taken in by a woman named Maribelle. She had been adopting four other children before Raven, Victor the oldest, Richard the second oldest, Kori the third, and Garfield the youngest. Raven had refused her offer many times, but when Maribelle found her almost dead after fighting a vampire she didn't have a choice. A few years later Maribelle died, but the family stayed a family, they had grown too attached.

Raven digged through the first aid kit in the bronze kitchen. She and her family lived in a five story house at the end of Gotham. The house, like many others was strangely build. With many floors, and a thin frame. The stairs were almost ladders as they went almost straight up against the wooden walls, the base of the house was stone, but the rest was wood or metal.

The lights turned on in the kitchen and Raven muttered. "Fuck…" As she knew who was down at midnight, Richard. His spiky black hair was laying flat against his head as he wore what he usually wore the bed, a t-shirt and a boxer.

"Raven?" Raven moved so her wounded side was out of his line of sight.

"H-Hi…" She stuttered, fear grew in her eyes and voice

"You're hiding something…" He raised an eyebrow over his blue eyes.

"No I don't." She tried.

Richard crossed his arms over his chest. "First; you're fully dressed in the middle of the night, second; what's the first aid kit for then?" Raven swore under her breath as he had seen her trying to push the box behind her back.

"Nothing…" She gave a smile, which she realized was a bad idea.

"I could call down Victor." He threatened, his thumb pointed to the staircase behind him.

Raven glared at him. "Do it, he'll wake up the entire-!" She gasped as she figured out she had loosened her grip on the scarf. The scarf fell to floor with a splat, the scarf being covered in blood.

"Raven!" Richard rushed over as she fell forward on her knees. "Victor!" He yelled in panic. Not even five minutes later the entire house was in the kitchen yelling at Raven for hunting vampires again. A few years ago she had said she would stop, but she couldn't the thrill of hunting had ended up in her blood.

She was laying on the couch half dressed while Victor was angrily wrapping her waist up with a bandaid. Victor being the bald bulky big brother he was, was grumbling curses and punishments he could give her.

Richard had gotten some hot water and a cloth to clean the wound. Kori had helped get Raven's clothes off so she sat there in only pants and a bra. Garfield had went to clean up the kitchen.

When the wound was patched up, they stared at Raven angrily. She looked away in shame.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Richard asked. She didn't answer and instead she stood up and limped as fast as she could to her room on the third floor. They didn't try to stop her, they knew she was ashamed that they caught her, but she had to learn this.

"Why does she have to do this?" She heard Kori ask.

"Her mother…" Victor said. She could feel the worry and disappointment in them, and once her door was closed she fell against it and sobbed. Why was she doing this? Why was she so hell bent on killing the vampires? Raven looked up at her black room, bookcases with journals from other hunters, her bed, her silver weapon wall. Everything around her reminded her that she was meant only to kill them… Only to kill them…

Raven woke to the knock on her door, she was laying on the dark oak floor against it. "What?" She muttered. She didn't mean to sound so mad, but in her fit of anger and sadness it just happened.

"It's breakfast, Raven." It was Kori, of course they sent her. Kori was the redhead sweet heart, nobody could stay mad at her. Her green eyes would always shine when she was about to cry, it didn't help that she was the master of the puppy dog eyes.

"I'm not hungry." Raven rose from the floor and went over to her closet. Most things in her closet was black, blue, purple or any other dark color. She dressed herself in a loose blue shirt with a black corset and black leather pants with high brown boots. She wouldn't be staying for the day since she knew they would talk to her about her habit. She grabbed a dagger and her silver bullet gun.

"Raven, please, I know you are taking the guns with you. We just want you to be safe-" Raven cut her off.

"And I appreciate it, but this is who I am." She walked up to her desk and opened a book. Staring down at it.

It was a list of vampires nearby. One had a red circle around the name, the one Raven had been struggling with a long time, Jason Todd.

Raven growled at the name, she knew where he lived as well he knew her.

"Raven, can… Can I come in?" Raven grumbled a little before unlocking the door. Kori came into the room and looked around. She placed herself next to Raven. "Was it Todd you fought last night?" She asked, Raven nodded. "I do not like him…"

"Neither do I Kori, but I have to stand against him, if I don't do it he'll kill everything with a pulse." Raven rose and walked out the door, Kori followed.

"Should you not get something to eat?" She asked.

"I'll manage." She started, but when she was about to head out the door, but before she could open it, she was pulled back by both Victor and Garfield.

"You're not going anywhere!" They yelled as they dragged her into the kitchen. Right then and there, she knew it was hopeless to fight them.

"Wherever you're going, you're not." Garfield crossed his arms over his chest. The blond boy threw a plate of eggs and bread. "Eat." He commanded.

Raven looked at the group and was about to rise from the chair. "Don't even try Rae. Richard, lock the door." Richard did as told. "You're not leaving until that wound heals." Raven grunted in frustration.

"I'm a grown woman and I will leave this house whenever I want to." Raven stated, trying her best to sound as grown as she claimed.

"We know, Raven, we're just looking out for you." Richard paused. "Do you know how hard it is to know that there is a big chance that you won't return home."

"It's my job, if I die, I died fighting…"

"You shouldn't need to die, we don't want to be the ones to dig your grave." Victor commented, the dull, depressing tone reminded Raven that she was loved, but she couldn't stop hunting. She would doom the city. It was a thing she wasn't going to do anytime soon, watch the city fall to the strongest vampire in the world was not on her list to do.

"We don't want you to die at the hands of someone you fight." Garfield sat down with his own breakfast.

"I'll stop when Todd is dead." She hissed.

xXx

Two weeks passed slow to Raven, she was mostly stuck in her room reading other hunters journals. Which she had done many times already, but she found reading them relaxing. Tonight she was reading her mother's journal for the hundredth time.

The Vampire Madame Rouge has finally been slayed. She fought like any other vampire, but she was smarter and used her shapeshifting and elastic body to confuse me. All vampires has one special ability. She was good at using it, but it ended up being her downfall. A tip to kill them; silver weapons or bullets, if you remove the head of the vampire or stab the heart and pour silver in it, you're making sure he or she can't come back, but if you're up to torture the vampire; cut off the limbs and place the remains in the sun. Not that this is a good choice, no hunter should torture anyone no matter what. Do it and you'll be a monster just as them.

Signed: Arella Roth

Grabbing her weapons she went out. Her family was in the living room doing their own stuff. Raven walked in the darkness of the forest. She was thinking about what her family had said. You don't know how hard it is to know that you might not come back.

"You seem distracted, little bird." That voice. Raven drew her dagger from her belt.

"Todd." She said as she turned her head to face him. "Who do I need to kill for seeing you here tonight?" She asked.

"Hostile tonight, Roth?" He asked, his smooth voice sounded from the trees behind her.

"I'm always hostile against you." Raven hissed. "Is there a point in you being here? You're always at the castle."

"I was looking for you, Roth." He jumped from the trees and into her line of sight. "I missed you." Even though it was dark, she could make out his features. Jet-Black hair with a white stripe in the front, blood red eyes. He wore his usual red shirt with a black west over, a black pair of pants covered to the knees by black leather boots. A ankle long black cape that was resting over his shoulders. He smiled, his fangs showing from behind his lips. Raven's hand tightened around the dagger. "I have an offer to you." He said as he began to walk around her.

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." Raven positioned herself, ready to jump at or away from him if he attacked. Unfortunately, her hand was getting sweaty around the dagger.

"Oh, but I think you'll like this one." He stood behind her, Raven was looking at him with her back turned to him but her head tilted so she could see every movement he made. "I have been thinking about our last encounter two weeks ago, you were death near, then I though. 'what am I going to do without my rival?'." She felt him getting closer.

"Nothing. I won't die at your hands." Raven had enough, she spun around and threw her dagger at him. It sliced at his right upper arm, he gasped and jumped out of the way of her second dagger.

"Is that how you want it!?" He yelled in anger as he dove for her.

Raven moved out of the way just in time, she tried to stab him with another dagger she pulled out from under her corset, but Jason was faster. He grabbed her arm, twisted it and pulled it up her back between her shoulders, she screamed in pain. Jason moved himself behind her and held her waist against his chest.

"Hmm… Lavender…" Did he sniff her?

"Creep!" Raven hissed in both pain and anger, not even she could hide the pain he was giving her. She tried to use her other hand to punch him, but he grabbed it and stretched it out behind him so she was helpless against him.

"What's the matter little bird? Don't you enjoy this?" The tone was disgustingly teasing in her ears, it dripped of lust, desire, and not surprisingly blood. She felt his lips against her ear as he began to whisper to her, everything he spoke of made Raven jerk against him. Then she stopped, his lips had left her ear and was traveling down her neck. The feeling sent fear up her spine, they hated each other and fought for life and death but he had never gotten this close to actually kill her, either literally kill her or turn her, but it would kill her anyway. As if reading her thoughts, Jason said. "Don't think that I'll kill you… I can control whenever I turn you or not, but I'd rather keep you human… It's much more fun to have you at my mercy." Raven fought against begging him to let go.

He let go of one of her hands, but pinned it next to her already pinned up arm. She felt his hand drag down over her corset and she bit her lip. His hand traveled up again, but this time they seem to have goal in mind, the knot that held the corset together. She jerked again and tried to get his hand away from her.

When she felt his hand grace the top of the corset she lifted her leg, he didn't notice until it was hooked behind his knee and he was laying on his back on the forest floor. Raven rubbed her wrists as she took a few steps back, when she knew her arms were okay she lifted her hand to her neck. A small drop of blood covered her fingertips. She looked over at Jason, who seem pleased with the taste of her blood, his lips had small streaks of her blood on them and Jason used his tongue to wipe it off.

"Delicous…" He smirked before turning to the shadow of the forest, she heard him laugh with delight before: "I can't wait for the next tase."

xXx

Okay, so I went for this. This is going to be my first M rated story and I hope I don't mess up. Judge me all you want.