“It would be good to start training right away.” said the captain and got up from his chair.

“Sir, I think my squad has already too many members.” said Tao in a way that almost seemed desperate.

“Tao, you’re my best soldier. If you can’t handle a bunch of people, who can?” said the man and turned his face to point at Maddie. “I don’t think one more person will be much of a burden.”

Tao crossed his arms in defeat and lowered his head to avoid showing his anger. He silently turned to face Maddie and their eyes met, but what he realized was that the girl’s expression was not as desperate as his.

Maddie’s eyes looked straight inside Tao’s and the more she observed him the more she was certain that this would be her chance to eliminate him. Well, of course she didn’t enjoy spending time with an arrogant bastard, but she was on a mission and the safest way to kill Huang Zitao without being noticed was to gain his trust. A small smile appeared on her face as she stood up, averting her gaze from the boy. She quickly turned to face Jong Woo.

“Sorry for my inappropriate reaction sir. I promise I’ll try to learn as many things possible from Huang Zitao.”

Both the captain and Tao were left speechless. They stared at Maddie for a while in pure silence until the man’s voice was heard and startled Tao.

“That’s good to hear Ji Ann.” He said and turned his face towards Tao. “You heard the girl Tao. Now go and begin training. There’s no time to lose.”

A few minutes later Maddie was walking beside Tao towards the gym. It was late at night so almost everyone was asleep and all she could hear was the combination of their footsteps. She crossed her arms and turned her face towards the tall boy.

“Isn’t it a little late for training?” She asked in the sweetest way possible, but there was no response from Tao. “Besides I already trained a lot for today and I think maybe that-” Tao fiercely grabbed her arms and pinned her on the wall.  “What the are you doing?” said he while looking straight in her eyes.

“What do you mean?” Said Maddie as she stared back inside Tao’s dark eyes. The boy leaned even closer so their faces were only a few centimeters away. “Don’t pretend you don’t understand! You don’t like me and I don’t like you, we both know this. But suddenly you agree to train with me like everything is fine! What are you trying to do?”

A cocky smile appeared on Maddie’s face. She put her hands on Tao’s torso and pushed him back. “You’re right. I don’t like you. But I know how to follow orders.” She said and walked closer to him. She tiptoed and reached as closer as she could. “I want to fit in here. And if this is the only way to do it then I don’t care about our stupid fights. But why are you acting like this? Are you afraid that you’re not a good teacher or that I’ll be better than you in battle?”

Tao was furious. His grip tightened, squeezing Maddie’s arms.

“Shut your mouth half pint! I know how to follow orders and I will follow my captain’s. But keep in mind that you’ll be my soldier from now on. You wanna fit in? You’ll have to spit blood for it.”

The boy took his hands off of her and made a step back. There was silence for a while as they both began to walk towards the gym again. They stood outside the door and before they opened it Tao turned to face her again.

“Oh… about what you said earlier. The fact that you beat me once doesn’t mean anything. Don’t be too cocky about it.”

“Are you threatening me Tao?” said Maddie.

“Hahaha…no sweetheart. This isn’t a threat. It’s a warning. And I’d prefer if you called me sir from now on.” Said the boy and made his way into the gym first, leaving Maddie speechless and also angry as hell.

Sehun walked fast towards his room. He banged the door behind him and stood right in the middle. His eyes were glowing red and his breath was fast. He couldn’t believe what Kris had said to him a while ago. He lost control of himself and with a few quick moves he smashed the bed and a small table into a million pieces. His heart was pounding like crazy. He rushed into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. As he splashed water on his face, trying to calm himself down, he heard the same words inside his head.

“I would never help a man who would betray his kind so easily.”

Sharp pieces of glass scattered around the bathroom when the boy’s fist hit the mirror furiously. He made a step back and looked around. His breath was still fast and his heart was racing. He felt betrayed, hurt and also angry. It took him a few minutes but eventually he managed to calm himself down. He roamed around his destroyed room, he sat on his smashed bed and a mean smile appeared on his face.

“You would choose to leave me behind, right Yifan? Let’s see what your reaction will be when I choose to do so.” said he while thinking out loud. He picked up his radio and put it close to his mouth.

“It’s me. Meet me at the alley behind the hospital in five minutes.”

“I’ll be there.” Said the voice from the other side of the radio.

Kyungsoo put on his coat and covered his face with the hood as he walked through the narrow alleys. It was mid-January now and there was thick snow covering everything around the HIVE. He walked past some workers unnoticed and after a little walking he reached the alley behind the hospital. He raised his head and saw Sehun standing by the wall, also covering his face with a hood.

“You look tensed Sehun. What happened?” Asked Kyungsoo as he approached the boy.

“Nothing of your concern. We should begin. Call the nobles, I want to meet them.”

“I’ll do my best, but I don’t have that much power. Some of them might not come.” Said Kyungsoo. Sehun stared into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “You are my voice in the noble community. Don’t make me regret choosing you to play this role. They’d better come to the meeting.”

Kyungsoo swallowed and looked at the ground in defeat. He couldn’t bear that he was being scolded by a non-noble hunter, who just happened to be under General Wu’s protection. But he knew well how weak he and his family were. In order to survive and rise again among the noble families, he had to follow someone stronger.  

“You can count on me sir.” Said Kyungsoo and bowed.

The dining hall was full of hungry vampires waiting in lines to get their monthly amount of blood. Lu Han was waiting in line as well, along with hundreds of workers to take just one bottle. The boy looked at the workers that