Bloodlust

England

"Did you enjoy the play, dear?" Gérard asked from the driver's seat of their rental. He'd been working a lot over the past few months and was finally rewarded with free time. Naturally, he wanted to spend it with his dear wife, Amélie, so he surprised her with a trip to London.

"Oui, chérie. C'était merveilleux," Amélie replied, staring through the window fondly. She'd always been a fan of England, making it a habit to try and go at least once a year. When Gérard came home with tickets to see a play at the London Theatre last weekend, she was ecstatic! It'd been a while since they spent quality time together.

"I'm happy you had a good time, my love. I'll do my best to save more time for you in the future." He took her hand and kissed it, a mistake on his end, seeing how he missed the huge pothole he drove the car into. "Merde!" He exclaimed with a gasp.

"That didn't sound good," Amélie shared a glance with him as he pulled over to the side of the road.

"Perhaps it is a blown tire," Gérard sighed, putting the car in park and unclicking his seatbelt. "I will check." He stepped out of the vehicle, suddenly chilled by the moderate breeze that blew past him. He walked around the car, indeed confirming a flat tire on the passenger side. "Favori, I was right," he said as she rolled the window down.

"Ugh! A flat? This late in the evening!" Amélie cursed to herself in French. They saw a late play, so by now, it was dark out, and they were taking back roads due to construction reroutes. Getting a flat on a two-lane road in between some woods was not ideal, but the faster they got it done, the faster they could get back to their hotel. She mimicked his actions, undoing her seatbelt and getting out of the car.

"I can handle it, dear," Gérard walked around to the trunk, popping it and pulling out the jack and spare tire. Rolling it around to the side of the car, he crouched, putting the jack in place. "Don't want you getting your pretty hands dirty," he winked at her.

Amélie leaned against the car, her dark hair blowing in the unusually chilly breeze. "If I help, this will move along much faster."

Gérard let out a soft chuckle. He knew there was no denying her when she was like this. "If you want to help me, I'd rather you be warm while you do it." He grunted, loosening the bolts on the tire before lifting the car with the jack. "My coat, put it on. It's colder than it should be in late June."

"You're right about that." She lingered a bit as he lifted the car and slid the tire off the hub. There was always something attractive about her husband using his hands. "Perhaps tomorrow, we can go dancing," she said aloud, more to herself as she walked around the car to the back seat of the driver's side to grab his coat.

"Dancing sounds wonderful." He rolled the flat tire off to the side and slid the new one on, satisfied upon hearing the door open and shut. She loved to dance, and he loved to make her happy. He made sure they went dancing at least once a season. "I'll look for a venue when we get back to the hotel."

"How long has it been?" Amélie walked back around the car, leaning against it again. As much as she said she wanted to help, she knew he wouldn't let her. "Longer than usual," she said with a dreamy sigh.

"Which is why you have the itch for it, dear," he tightened the bolts as best he could with his hands before lowering the jack. "Just need to tighten the bolts a bit more then put everything away."

"Well, that moved a lot quicker than anticipated," she leaned in for a kiss as he stood up.

"I've still got some moves for an old man," he slipped his hand into his coat and went to hold her waist, remembering his hands were greasy. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin her nice, cream-colored dress.

"I'll go get your handkerchief," she slid her hands down his chest before walking back around the car, pausing when she thought she heard a branch snap in the woods no more than two yards away from them. She glanced at Gérard, who appeared to have not heard anything. Peering into the dark trees, she brushed it off as a wild animal when she didn't see anything. "I don't see it," she called as she opened the door and looked around the seat.

"It might be in the glove compartment," he walked the jack back over to the trunk and tucked it back where it belonged before doing the same with the newly flat tire. He shook his head; he knew the rental company was going to charge him an arm and a leg for this.

Amélie had to sit in the driver's seat to reach the glove compartment! She wasn't sure why he rented such a large vehicle when it was just the two of them. "Enfin…!" She whispered as she reached for his monogrammed kerchief. Just as she had it in her grasp and shut the compartment, she heard a bloodcurdling scream from none other than her own husband. "Gérard?!" She stumbled out of the car only to see his limp, bloody body getting dragged into the woods.

"Gérard!" She scrambled after him, kicking off her heels to move faster when she was grabbed. She kicked and screamed, thinking she was next, her eyes glued to the last bit of her husband she could see and the… thing dragging him away.

"Whoa there, darlin'," the man held onto the hysterical woman, who was clearly out on a date with her lover. How unfortunate. "I don't think you wanna tread those waters."

Amélie whipped her head around, anger and fear and confusion in her eyes. "That's my husband! I can't just let that thing take him!"

"I'm afraid to be the one to tell you this, but I don't think you'll be able to bring him back," the man sighed.

"Then you go get him! I can't…" Her body sagged pendulously in his hold, giving up. She knew good and well he was gone. She recognized the attack as soon as she saw it. Tears streamed down her face, the thought of living her life without him wasn't feasible. "I can't lose him…"

The man let her go when he was certain she wouldn't try to run into the trees to her death. He pulled out a cigar and lit it, blowing out a puff of grey smoke. "I'll make sure to find that bastard. He couldn't have gotten far."

It was clear this man wasn't from that area, but he seemed to know what he was chasing after. There was only one explanation. She sniffled, looking at the mysterious man who appeared out of nowhere. "You're… a hunter."

"Damn right." He pulled out his card and handed it to her. "Jesse McCree, reliable hunter. You give that number a call if you run into any more trouble."

She highly doubted she would since she didn't even live in that country. And as much as he seemed to be well-traveled, she'd rather just solve her problems herself. She nodded slightly, taking the card and putting it into the coat pocket that belonged to her now-late husband. All she could do was cry. She'd just lost her best friend, her lover, her everything, right before her eyes!

She got back into the driver's seat, looking over at his phone and wallet. Her vision became blurry, and she sobbed again. She just wanted to go after him, but she knew it was suicide! She wasn't a hunter! She didn't have the tools necessary to exact any type of revenge!

The only good thing that came of this was that she'd remember the face of the monster that took her husband for as long as she lived.

China

She gasped awake, wiping the moisture from her face furiously. Again, with that recurring nightmare. It happened a lot less frequently than it did after that horrible evening, but even with the modifications to her emotions, it was rare when she went a full month without it creeping into her mind.

She sat up in her bed, looking over at the clock, three-fourteen A.M., and she wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon; she knew it. For something that happened over five years ago, it annoyed her that it still affected her to this caliber. Perhaps she'd schedule another session with the doctor once she was finished with her business in Kunming.

Some fresh air would do her well, yes. Pulling herself out of bed, she threw on the clothes she had laid out for the next day and left her room, debating whether or not she should take a horse. She was staying in a small village where there were no vehicles, instead, you could rent an omnic horse. Outdated, in her opinion, but she wasn't planning on being there long enough to care.

The village she was visiting was located next to the mountains, so it wasn't long before she saw herself following a manmade path into the woods. Once she reached a cliff, she figured she'd gone far enough and sat on the edge of it. What did she hope to accomplish? There were no humans aside from her loitering in the forest at this time of night, so the likelihood of an attack was low…

*Crunch*

…Or was it? She got up and looked in the direction of the distant noise. Her eyesight was one of the enhancements made to her body, so finding the source of the noise was easy. "Oh, la, la," she said to herself, activating her infra-sight and locking on to the culprit. She could have sniped at him, but he looked like he'd require more than just a silver bullet to take him out. Her main goal this time was just to get information, anyway. She'd let someone else deal with him.

He wasn't the one she wanted.

The view she had was unsightly, a rather large one wearing a modified gas mask trudging through the shrubs and using a sharp metal hook to create his own path. "Où vas-tu?" She kept her sights on him as he moved toward his destination. She zoomed in, looking in the direction he was going, and saw a tent. "So, he found himself a snack?"

She used her grappling hook to gain high ground in the branches, never breaking her line of sight on the wretched creature. She watched from her perch as he approached the tent and just stood there. Was he going to attack? Her thought was cut short when the tent suddenly unzipped open, and an unsuspecting man poked his head out, looking around.

It looked like he was nudged further out of the tent by whomever he was with, and he reluctantly stepped out. The man didn't even have time to scream before the creature's hook landed itself into his jugular, draining blood into a canister of some sort.

It didn't take long for the person who was with him to come out of the tent, screaming at the dead body on the ground. The scream was cut off when the creature put its hook in their neck next, repeating the process until the canister was full.

She shivered at the sight, a gruesome one, but efficient. She didn't think she'd seen such efficiency in a long time. She watched him turn the container up to the opening in his mask and chug it thirstily, and his skin darkened, as if he were revitalized. She saw him go back in the direction he came from, and it piqued her interest. "You can't be the only one around here…"

What a fun coincidence for her that she happened to get lucky on her walk. At this rate, she wouldn't have to stay in that tiny, unaccommodating village for another night! She grappled from branch to branch, following him at a safe distance for what seemed like forever. With the way he navigated through the dark trees, it was clear that he knew his way around these woods, especially given how he knew exactly where those campers were. But where was he going?

She followed him for about twenty minutes and realized she'd just hit the jackpot. He led her directly to a very large, what looked to be a previously abandoned castle. She marveled at it, taking in its archaic beauty. Aside from the damned things that lived in that structure, it was a beautiful work of art. What caused its abandonment? "Honte."

He entered the castle, and she watched it until sunup, monitoring any activity that may have come from it. To her distaste, nothing else came or went. She even tried to use her sights on the building, but there was some sort of technology blocking it which only confirmed her suspicions of there being multiple creatures living there. Were they all S-class like the big one she saw?

Eventually, she grew tired of sitting in the trees and went back to her room in the village nearby. It was a very successful mission, and she'd be getting paid big bucks once she posted this information for the top hunters to claim.

Perhaps after she stopped by her home in Annecy to upload her findings, she'd finally go back to London to get revenge. Maybe that would put an end to her nightmare.

Samoa

"Check this out, pepe. Just uploaded." Mauga said from his chair. He'd been staying in his home in Moata'a with Baptiste for the past month or so, bored out of his mind. They hit a slump of sorts and had been waiting for something good to show up. Sure, they could pick up some of the small-fry missions, but where was the fun in that? "Down for a raid in Yunnan?"

"Something new on the site?" Baptiste asked, not bothering to look up from his book. A raid sounded fun. It'd been a while since he'd gotten any action, and he was bored with the smaller missions.

"Come look. There are a few others looking at it so hurry it up." The encrypted site he was looking at was live, and there were at least ten other hunters looking at this posting. It wasn't too big a deal since it was only available to the more experienced, but he couldn't see exactly who was viewing it. "I'm gonna claim it."

"Wait, you don't even know if it's worth it," Baptiste threw the blanket off his body and got up with a stretch, walking over to him and reading the posting over his shoulder. "'Count unknown.' See! What if there's only one?"

"Doubt it. She couldn't use her sights which means…" Mauga claimed it before Baptiste could protest any more. "Whatever comes out of that castle is gonna be worth it."

"I guess you're right. It'll be nice to get out of this funk." Baptiste went over the more detailed information that populated after they accepted. Turns out, an S-class vamp was spotted feeding and going into the castle. It was highly likely that it lived there with others if they went through the trouble to shroud it somehow. "China? Long trip."

"Yep, and it's already ours to take, so the sooner we get going, the better." Mauga stood and leaned into Baptiste, resting his head on his shoulder. "Up for it? I know you've been bored lately."

"Well, you already claimed it, so how could I decline?" Baptiste couldn't say he wasn't curious about what lie in that stunning castle.

"I can raid it by myself," Mauga said with a cocky grin, large hands smoothing up and down chocolate arms.

"And take on multiple S-class vamps by yourself? You're asking to either be turned or to die," Baptiste snorted.

"You wildly underestimate how skilled I am," Mauga flexed his arms, kissing each of his biceps. "Nothin' these bad boys can't handle. And if shit gets sweet, I'll bust out Cha-Cha and Gunny!"

"I'd bring more than just your silver bullets this time," Baptiste rolled his eyes at the display he was putting on. This guy. He was the opposite of humble, but it was for good reason. He truly was skilled in everything he did. Everything. "Might have to behead these."

"Ah, you're better at getting your hands dirty," Mauga cocked his head to the side with a sly smile. "Real dirty."

Oh. He was turned on. "I can see the thought of us in the heat of another mission is making you excited," Baptiste mused, lips all over his skin.

"You know what a good hunt does for me," Mauga muttered into his neck, grabbing his wrists and pinning them behind his back. It was true. Something about a hunt really stoked his flame, and he'd never admit it, but Baptiste felt the same way. He turned him around and pushed him against the bed, eyeing his body.

What a good-looking guy, and his physique wasn't bad at all. He had him bent over the bed with his arms pinned behind him, looking sultrier than ever. He towered over him, planting his lips along the muscles in his back as he worked his shorts down. "You feel that?" Mauga purred into his ear, grinding a hardness into him.

Baptiste lie on his stomach in anticipation, wishing he'd just hurry up and screw him. He wasn't one for being teased and wanted relief just as much as he did. "Pa toumante mwen."

"Fine," Mauga pulled the rest of his shorts off with force before freeing himself from his khakis. He was always fascinated with how small he was compared to him, and it was like the finest magic trick he could pull off: making him disappear. He slapped a girth against his backside before letting a glob of saliva fall out of his mouth and onto his length, getting it nice and slick, and he leaned down to bite his neck. "But don't say I didn't try to take it slow."

Mauga promptly slipped into a tight, warm hole and exhaled deeply. "You like that?" He breathed into his ear, panting hotly with each stroke. "You're always so tight for me," he grunted.

It was easy to be considered tight when something massive was penetrating him! Seriously, after his augmentation, Baptiste barely thought he was human sometimes! However, he always made it pleasurable somehow, so he never complained. He closed his eyes, letting Mauga rock into him while his dark hair shook around them both. He always smelled sweet, like papaya, and he hated to admit that he liked it.

Mauga hated the fact that Baptiste wasn't vocal during sex. How was he supposed to know if he was enjoying it? Sure, he always said he did, but he'd like a little more reassurance. He stood upright, brushing his long hair from his face before holding both his wrists and pounding into him. He'd make him scream come hell or high water!

Baptiste bit his lip, holding back his voice while the behemoth behind him pummeled into him. Why was he so persistent? He was completely powerless when he had him like this! He couldn't move, he couldn't touch him, he couldn't see his face! But it felt so good that he couldn't help but let a grunt or two slip out.

Mauga grinned, humming in satisfaction when he heard his sweet, Caribbean voice and only wanted to hear more of it. "Loosen up," he thrust, seating himself as deeply as he could go. "It's just us, you can make all the noise you want, pepe."

Baptiste went to speak up when he felt a heavy hand land on one of his cheeks, and he gasped, a short whine following afterward. "Okenn fason," he said, his voice muffled by the blanket. He prayed he didn't hear that!

"Ioe auala!" Mauga pulled out and flipped him over onto his back, licking his lips at the sight of him. He loved making a complete mess out of him! "Lookin' sexy down there!"

"Tch," Baptiste was thankful that it was a little harder to see him blush given how much melanin he had in his skin! He covered his face with his arm, hiding his emotions. "Just… hurry up, would you?"

"Malolo~ pepe!" Mauga said, letting both hands rub up and down his torso sensually. "You're always in such a rush when I've got ahold of you." He watched him squirm under his touch as digits wandered, stopping to pinch and twist dark nipples enough to get a reaction out of him.

Baptiste hissed in a combination of both pain and pleasure, and he could just feel the smugness coming from him! He lifted his arm to glare at him but was quickly thrown for a loop when he shoved himself back in with no warning. "Ah…! M-Merde!" He clutched the covers above his head while his body rocked against him.

"Yeah, I know just how you like it, don't I?" Mauga crooned, reaching for his stiffness and giving it a few pumps. God, how fucking delicious the man beneath him was, with him throbbing for release in his hold, jagged breaths struggling to escape while he rearranged his guts. "You wanna cum for me?" He didn't let him answer, instead, he wrapped an arm around his torso, arching his back so he could hit that sweet spot of his.

"Ah, ah!" Baptiste couldn't hold back no matter how much he tried! Nearing imminent release, he held onto him, digging his nails into a very broad back. "I'm close…"

"I know you are," Mauga murmured, bringing their bodies closer together and keeping a steady and strong pace. "You act like I don't know the ins and outs of your body, pepe." And when he shuddered, making a sticky mess all over his torso, he tightened up, sending him into his own pinnacle of pleasure. With both hands now holding his hips securely, he thrust solidly, expelling himself into the depths of his lover.

"Woo~" Mauga sighed, collapsing on top of him with a content look on his face. "Amazing, as usual, Baptiste!"

"Fuck… you're heavy!" Baptiste struggled for air while this mammoth lay atop him, deadweight.

Mauga let out a deep laugh, taking his time pulling out and rolling off him. "You ready to hit the road?"

"You treat my body like that and ask me if I'm ready to go?" Baptiste swatted at him. "I don't have the energy to do anything, now!"

"Yeah, yeah," Mauga stood up with a grunt, kicking his pants off entirely. "I'm gonna shower. You're welcome to join me," he said with a smirk. "You know, if you're up for round two."

"Pass. I'll go in after you."

"Sure thing," Mauga threw a towel over his shoulder and disappeared into the bathroom. "Get your gear ready in the meantime!"

China

"This can't be the village Widow stayed in," Mauga complained, lifting his sunglasses to see clearly. There were no vehicles, only omnic horses that looked a little mean, in his opinion. "That high-maintenance killer? No way she stayed in one of these rooms!"

"Yeah," Baptiste agreed while they walked to their room. "She definitely did us a solid gathering the info she did."

"I mean, China's a well-known hotspot for vamp activity," Mauga snorted. "Anyone could have done this."

"That's not what you were saying when you saw the posting," Baptiste mumbled, fumbling with the key and opening the door to their room. "Let's leave our stuff and go get some food."

"Aw, that's no fun!" Mauga slipped his bag off his shoulder and put it on the side chair. "I wanted to jump right into it!"

"On an empty stomach?"

"I ate on the plane."

"You know that cheap plane food did nothing for you," Baptiste pat him on the shoulder before looking around the room. "You know how you get when you're hungry."

"And guess who's gonna pay?" Mauga cracked his knuckles with a wild grin. "Those dirty vamps!"

"Let's just go eat. I'm hungry too. The castle isn't going anywhere. We need to go over our game plan, anyway."

They trekked around Kunming looking for food they considered decent while briefly discussing their plans. As much as Mauga wanted to run in, guns blazing, they needed to be smart about this since they were clueless as to how many vamps actually inhabited the castle. Baptiste suggested taking the night to scope it out, looking for all vantage and entry points, and watching for movement so they could properly raid it the next day.

"How boring," Mauga complained, kicking a rock around as he walked. "But efficient, I suppose."

"Ah, we should have touched up on our Mandarin before coming here," Baptiste glanced at all the signs, none of them were in English! But why would they be? They were in China, after all.

"What's the point when we can use our phones to translate?" Mauga pulled out his phone and aimed it at one of the signs. "How about this place? Looks like they've got some good eats," he said, approaching the business.

"At this point, I'll eat anything," Baptiste said, stopping to dig around his backpack for his wallet, unaware that he'd stopped in the way of another who wasn't really paying attention, causing a small collision.

"Oh, sorry," Baptiste said before locking eyes with the most stunning person he'd ever laid eyes on. With long, platinum hair and beautiful caramel skin, he was surely a model with those looks!

"It's okay…" the man said, his own brown eyes lingering on the piece of chocolate in front of him. He was always fond of sweets.

"You're not hurt anywhere, right?" Baptiste held the stranger's arms instinctively, checking for any injuries. Why? He wasn't sure…

"No," the man laughed lightly, not at all bothered by his… friendliness. "We just bumped into each other. It was nothing major."

"Ah," Baptiste snatched his hands away and rubbed the back of his head nervously. What the hell was he doing, touching a stranger like that?! He must have been out of his mind. "Good, then."

"Yo! Baptiste!" Mauga called for him, perplexed at what he was watching. Why did it annoy him?

"Well, take care," the man said, walking away. However, not without looking back at that treat for the eyes! And to his surprise, he looked back, too!

"Yeah, take care…" Baptiste couldn't hear Mauga calling for him. All he could see was the tall, chiseled beauty he just had the pleasure of laying eyes on. And he looked back! "Etonan…"

"What was all that about?" Mauga popped up behind him, seemingly scaring him out of his boots. "Why so jumpy?"

"Sorry, I went to look for my wallet and ran into… someone…" Baptiste trailed off, scanning the streets for the white-haired beauty, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Well, come on," Mauga grabbed his arm and yanked him toward the restaurant a little rougher than he intended. He saw nearly the entire interaction! He never once looked at him like that, and it pissed him off!

"Ouch! Shit, let go!" Baptiste fussed, trying to pry what felt like an iron grip off his arm.

After a while, they were seated and had ordered their food, and Mauga pulled out the dossier that had all the information they needed to find the castle. "You got your phone?"

Baptiste was out of it, and he didn't know why! It happened after that run-in with that stranger, and he just couldn't shake him from his head! "Uh, yeah." He pulled out his phone and brought up the job, looking over the details as best he could with his distracted mind.

Mauga scoffed, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. "Must have been a real looker."

"What?" Baptiste looked up at him, confused. "De kisa wap pale?"

"I'm talking about that guy you ran into out there," Mauga rolled his eyes. Surely, he wasn't jealous, was he? What a foreign feeling.

"Oh," Baptiste couldn't lie even if he wanted to! That man was gorgeous! "He was alright."

"Tch. Liar."

"Whatever. Let's go over the plan," he said, pulling the map out of his bag and making two big red circles somewhat near each other. "This is where our room is," he pointed at the first circle. "And this is where the castle is supposed to be."

They chatted for a bit, finalizing the details of their plan when their food arrived. As the waiter placed their bowls in front of them, Mauga couldn't help himself. "Hey, you haven't seen anything strange around these parts, have you?"

The waiter looked at him confused, then saw all the paperwork face-down and scattered around on the side of the table. These men were hunters. Not that it was a bad thing. "Strange?"

"Yeah, strange. Like blood-sucking strange," Mauga said before he was rudely kicked in his shin. "Ow! What the fuck?!"

"Sorry about my friend, he's just joking around," Baptiste said, glaring at Mauga while the waiter nodded awkwardly and moved on to his next table. "Hey. Jackass," Baptiste leaned in, lowering his voice. "You don't know who's an undercover vamp around here, so how about you don't go blabbering our business, huh? No one here needs to know who we are."

Mauga just looked at him with a smirk. It was safe to say, he was bothered! He would never tell Baptiste, though. "Let's just finish our food and go. We should try to get this done before the sun sets."

"Why? I figured we could go at night when there's nobody out."

"You're forgetting the one major thing about vamps, pepe," Mauga pointed his spoon at him. "They're more active at night."

"That doesn't mean they don't show their faces during the day," Baptiste countered. Most vampires lived normal lives, believe it or not. They blended well with humans when they were at max power, and only fed when they needed to. It was unfortunate that some would take a human's life to do so, and you never knew which vamp was friendly. So, they treated them all as if they were sinister.

"Geez, this funk really made you forget some things," Mauga said, stuffing his mouth with food. "Yeah, they come out during the day, but they attack at night most of the time. Plus, they're stronger when the sun sets."

He was right. He definitely didn't need to be caught off guard by a roaming vamp while they were scoping things out. It would only ruin the mission. Why didn't he think about that? He knew that! It was as if he couldn't think clearly about anything else but that guy he ran into… "Okay, then let's just take the rest of our food to go and get this done. It's getting late."