The Revered Series 1: Baby I'll Hunt You

I jolted awake as my forehead bumped into cold glass. I must have fallen asleep for a moment.

The rain pounded heavily on the car, and I looked out at the drenched streets, shuddering. It was a good thing we had made it to the car before it started to pour.

I’d had a few intimate and strangely realistic dreams lately. They were making me feel odd, like I suddenly longed to be embraced and loved, although I wasn’t even sure what that actually meant.

I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling lonely at the loss of the warmth in my dream.

My mother was sitting beside me in the back seat of the black SUV, talking on the phone with one of her clients. She was a lawyer.

We were on our way home from my high school graduation. My mother had made the time to come, unlike my father.

He was running a large company, and he always prioritized it above all—even his family. I was thinking about my dream when I was pulled from my daze.

My mother was off the phone and talking to me.

“He’s going to regret this, you know, skipping your graduation,” she said sympathetically. “He can be such a child sometimes,” she muttered to herself, looking out.

“It just makes me all the surer I’m doing right by myself.” I snorted.

My dad was angry at me. We’d had a fight a few days earlier about my future.

He wanted me to follow in his footsteps and immediately study business. Meanwhile, I wanted a break from school.

I really didn’t want to get locked into the institutions that were our current universities. He had gotten furious at me when I’d said I was going to follow our blood and work as a demon hunter.

We were not humans. Umbra vernandi was what we were formally called—umbra, in common tongue.

We sent demons back to where they belonged and kept other supernatural subspecies from breaking the balance in the world, but not my parents. They were both born hunters, but my mother had left the order in pursuit of her now very successful career, and my father had taken over the family business instead of hunting, like his father before him, to support our kind financially.

Even though the government funded the umbra headquarters, it wasn’t enough to keep us going. Risking your life demanded high salaries.

“As is your right. We just got a little shocked. You can always change your mind later. I think that’s what your father doesn’t quite understand,” my mother sighed.

I glanced at her. Honestly, I had shocked myself too.

I had always wanted to be like my dad and wanted him to be proud of me, but ever since I’d started having these strange dreams, I had felt like I was losing myself, like something was missing.

It would, however, be very unwise to tell anybody that I was dreaming about doing magic. Only a select few were allowed to learn it, since it corrupted our spirits.

Besides the dreams impacting me, I’d also gotten a growing urge to be like the other umbra my age. Between our high school classes and the classes at our headquarters, most of them went out drinking in what little free time we had.

The gossip in the locker rooms about crazy nights and one-night stands made me feel like I was missing out. I had yet to visit a bar.

My classmates from high school were going out to celebrate our graduation together. I had wanted to join them, but my father was throwing his own party to celebrate my graduation, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to go out drinking anyway.

I unfortunately needed to get up early the next day. I had to start getting ready for my finals at the umbra vernandi headquarters too.

Hopefully, I was ready to join a squad—the very thing my father did not want me to do.

“I know you’re angry at your dad, and that you probably don’t want to do this, but he’ll probably get over this a whole lot quicker if you just play along and act like you usually do,” my mother said when the car stopped by the entrance of our home.

“Are you worried I’ll suddenly have a moody fit, like a teenager?” I smirked at her.

That made her relax. “No, you’ve got this,” she said, chuckling as the driver opened the passenger door and we got out of the car.

There was a glass ceiling stretching down from our large, modern home, protecting us from the rain.

“You look really beautiful, darling,” she said, while rearranging one of my blond locks and adjusting my white graduation cap, in the style of a skipper’s hat.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said, smiling at her. I had inherited my hair from her, but my icy blue eyes from my father.

“Does my dress look all right, or should I change?” I asked, making a twirl.

It was customary to wear white while graduating; unfortunately, that also made stains very visible. I wore a knee-length, sleeveless dress.

“Yes, Bella, you look just perfect,” she assured me.

“Now let’s go mingle with your father’s employees and business partners.” My mother snorted, amused.

“There she is!” my father called out, and the guests applauded when my mother and I arrived at the party.

“Congratulations on your graduation, my beautiful daughter,” he said, smiling warmly at me.

I, however, saw what the guests did not. I saw the annoyance in his eyes.

It was going to be interesting to see what he said when his guests asked what school I’d be going to in autumn.

“Thank you, Dad. I’m sorry you couldn’t make it to the ceremony,” I said innocently and looked around at the decorations.

Someone had picked out lilies; I’d have much preferred chrysanthemums.

“Well, it’s pretty pointless, really, running out of the building all cheerful like you achieved something. Back in my day, you had to sit through your finals and only graduated if you passed them all,” my dad replied, probably thinking about his own graduation.

I fought the urge to sigh.

“Anyway, there is somebody I would like you to meet,” he said, looking cheerful again and offering me his arm.

I did a good job posing as the doll he wanted me to be. I smiled and thanked his guests sincerely as they offered me their congratulations.

“Congratulations, Bella. You must be excited to finally join our world of business and capital,” a man I recognized as Gustav, one of my father’s friends and business partners, said while shaking my hand.

“She’s taking a break from school, something about finding herself first,” my father said, rolling his eyes.

I bit my tongue and kept the smile on, although I really wanted to glare at him.

“Kids these days, am I right? You’d think they’d see how privileged they are and want to keep it that way,” Gustav told my father and shook his head at him out of sympathy.

It made me want to laugh.

“Well, there are other things that are important to our family too,” I said, staring at my father.

He knew I meant our blood, but his business partner did not know that we weren’t human, and he wanted to keep it that way.

“Where is your son, Gustav? You said you were bringing him along today, were you not?” my father said before Gustav got the chance to inquire what I meant.

“Indeed, I did,” Gustav said and turned around.

“Stefan!” he called out while I took the chance to glare suspiciously at my father.

“You called?” a young, tall man said, joining us.

He looked me up and down and smiled. “You must be Bella? I’m Stefan,” he said, reaching his hand out.

“I am,” I said and took his hand to shake.

He had other plans and lifted it to his lips, kissing it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bella,” he smirked, making him look a little arrogant.

I did, however, notice he had bags under his eyes. He looked as though he was suppressing fatigue.

“Stefan just got his bachelor’s in business and will begin his master’s after summer,” Gustav said, gleaming with pride.

“You hear that, dear? Isn’t that inspiring?” my father asked me, trying to guilt-trip me.

“Perhaps Stefan could tell you all about it for when you apply?” he suggested.

I saw where he was going with this and got mad.

“I’d be happy to tell you anything you want to know!” Stefan said enthusiastically, offering me his arm.

I smiled politely. “Maybe later, I want to talk to my father for a bit.”

“We’ll be right back,” my dad excused us before he followed me into our library.

The library was the one part of the house that wasn’t in a modern style but in classic style, and it was my favorite room in our house.

“Dad…am I imagining things, or are you trying to set me up with your business partner’s son?” I asked, annoyed, and folded my arms.

“Of course I’m not. I’m just trying to inspire you to apply to college,” he said, pretending to look offended.

“But, now that you mention it, he would be a good future match for you. Especially if you don’t have any interest in running my business,” he added, folding his arms as well.

“So, you’d be happy if love spiraled, and I’d end up marrying him? Perhaps that’s what you want?” I asked, frowning hard.

“That would be a happy outcome, yes,” my father replied, smiling like a fool and raising an eyebrow at me.

“That’s fucked up!” I snapped. “I’m only nineteen. I shouldn’t have to think about marriage, and it sure as hell isn’t any of your business!” I added. Then I turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” my father asked as I was halfway out of the room.

I turned to look at him. “I’m going to go out to celebrate with my classmates!” I shouted and stormed out.

I went to grab my purse with my phone and cards before I ventured out the front door, feeling welcomed by the smell of grass and soil after rain.

I had lied. I wasn’t going out with my classmates.

I was going to do two things tonight. Two things I’d wanted to do for months now.

I was going to get drunk, and I was going to get laid.

I was so done feeling hollow, but I didn’t necessarily crave love. I didn’t even know what that meant.

I wanted to experience one of those crazy, fun nights, and I knew just who to call to fulfill my desires.