Hunter Reborn

by Katie Reus

  As they drew closer to the front doors, he straightened and so did Kat and Teresa. They might be posing as partygoers, but everything about this mission was serious to them. There’d been mass reports of humans doing violent and illegal things while under the influence of vampire blood. The humans—who were still alive—all said they felt as if they weren’t in control of themselves, as if someone else was pulling their strings.

  After some research they’d discovered reports of vamp blood deals going down here. Winston-Salem was too damn close to Aiden’s pack’s ranch in Fontana Mountain. And Connor Armstrong wouldn’t let any of that shit encroach on his territory.

  Next to Aiden, Teresa pulled her buzzing cell phone out of her pocket. “Natalia’s on her way. She’ll be here in twenty minutes,” she said after glancing at the screen.

  “Good—according to Jayce, everyone else is inside. They’re slowly searching the place but haven’t run into any snags,” Kat said.

  If they did, at least there was enough of the pack here as backup. With supernatural beings there was never any telling when a threat could escalate out of control. If someone was dealing vamp blood out of this club and they got wind that the Armstrong pack was looking to shut them down, there was no telling what could happen.

  Chapter 2

  Raw energy hummed through Natalia Cordona as her boots crunched over the gravel of the crude parking lot. There were too many vehicles to count outside the industrial building that had been turned into a club. She was running late because one of her sisters had had some sort of crisis so she’d gotten stuck on the phone. While she loved her sisters, her Alpha Connor had given her a chance to be part of this recon mission and there was no way in hell she wanted to screw this up. Not when she was one of the youngest—translation, coddled—of the pack. As she stepped inside the entryway, she scented another shifter nearby.

  Next to a vintage elevator a tall shifter with a military-short buzz cut stood waiting, his arms crossed over his huge chest. He flicked her a quick, dismissive glance.

  She frowned as she headed his way. Not standing too close as to crowd his personal space, she didn’t hide that she was studying his profile. He was a lupine like her and there was something oddly familiar about him. Which was strange for her since she hadn’t spent much time off the ranch except for when she’d been away at college.

  His jaw clenched once and she realized she’d been staring too hard.

  She averted her gaze forward when the elevator jerked to a halt. Even though it looked vintage on the outside, once the doors whooshed open it was all sleek and shiny on the inside. Whoever owned this place had definitely refurbished part of it. Her boots clicked on the flooring, but his were silent.

  Natalia couldn’t help another sneak peek at him as they stepped inside. “You look . . . Have we met before? Did you go to Duke?” That was where she’d gone to college. She hated not being able to figure something out, and this guy was seriously making her radar ping.

  He snorted and looked at her as if she was disgusting. “Not interested.”

  Her eyes widened when she realized what he meant and she laughed. “Go fuck yourself. I wasn’t hitting on you.” That was when it clicked into place. He looked like Jayce-freaking-Kazan, Kat’s mate. “You just look like my friend’s mate Jayce, but . . . okay then, whatever.” She trailed off and turned to face the doors when it was clear that 1) the guy was ignoring her and 2) there was no way Jayce Kazan had any relatives.

  Or she didn’t think he did. He’d never mentioned any—not that he would ever have a reason to talk to her in a one-on-one situation. He was hundreds of years older and an enforcer for the Council. But Kat hadn’t said anything either and Natalia and the tall, gorgeous female shifter had become friends ever since she and Jayce had moved permanently to the ranch.

  Natalia pulled out her cell phone to text Kat to let her know she’d be arriving in a minute when the elevator jerked to a halt and an alarm blared. Whipping her head around, she glared at the tall jackass who’d pressed the emergency stop. He wasn’t putting off any hostile vibes or attempting to crowd her and it was the only reason she was containing herself. “What’s the matter with you?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Did you say Jayce?”

  “I swear to God, if you don’t release that button I’m going to flay you alive.” If some asshole thought he could trap her in an elevator he was in for a surprise. She knew she probably shouldn’t have started in with the threats right away but she couldn’t help it. Before her mom died she’d always told her she needed to get ahold of her temper—and her sailor mouth. Natalia didn’t bother trying to watch her mouth. And her temper, hell, she came by that honestly. Her mother had no one to blame but herself for that trait.

  Taking her by surprise, the giant shifter’s mouth quirked up. “You’re quick-tempered for such a little thing.”

  Her canines and claws descended. “You want to find out what this little thing can do?” She had no idea why she was getting so worked up but this guy was bringing out the crazy in her. She felt edgy and restless being near him. It was unsettling and she didn’t like it.

  He let the red button go, but eyed her as the elevator jerked into motion again. “Were you referring to Jayce Kazan a moment ago?” Now he was all politeness and civility. But she wasn’t fooled. This guy was a class A predator. She could see it in every taut line of his muscular body.

  The truth was, she hadn’t been hitting on him but now she noticed that he was actually pretty good-looking. Okay, more than pretty good. And for some reason, that annoyed her. “So what if I was?” Turning away from him, she shoved her phone back in her pocket and watched the numbers fly by on the elevator and pretended to ignore him.

  “He’s mated?”

  God, what rock was this guy living under? Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly common knowledge so she should give the guy a break, but he rubbed her the wrong way. And he’d been rude to her so he could suck it. She shrugged noncommittally.

  The elevator stopped on level nine and she could feel the pulsing beat of the club music even before the doors whooshed open. Hell yeah, time to work. Her entire body hummed with anticipation. She couldn’t believe her Alpha had okayed letting her be part of this mission and there was no way she’d screw it up. She was tired of life on the ranch. Her old Alpha had tried to keep the entire pack sequestered from society, and it wasn’t like she was happy he was dead, but she liked Connor as an Alpha a hell of a lot better. He understood that they needed to interact more with humans and he seemed to genuinely like the other species. She did too. Humans were amazing. They were fragile compared to supernatural beings but so many lived like they’d never die. It was inspiring.

  “So what are you doing here by yourself, little wolf?” the guy asked as she stepped out of the elevator.

  Immediately she was blasted with too many sensory things. Music, smells, voices . . . it was all so much. This place was supposedly owned by someone supernatural so why did they have the music so loud? With their sensitive hearing it was aggravating. Most supernatural-owned places she’d been to in the past had been conscious of their clientele and kept the music at a lower level.

  She glanced up at the male, but didn’t stop walking toward the entrance where a security guy stood next to a roped-off entryway. It actually wasn’t a condescending question—though the “little” part annoyed her. Most shifters traveled in packs so maybe he was just being curious. “I’m not by myself.” Well, she wouldn’t be in a few minutes. She was meeting Aiden, Teresa, and Kat. Jayce, Connor, Erin, and Noah were also here, but they weren’t going to interact with her group. They were doing their own reconnaissance and breaking into the offices and back rooms of this club while she, Aiden, Teresa, and Kat were simply hanging out, drinking and pretending to party while they surveyed the club surroundings. She almost asked this shifter why he was by himself but she didn’t want to open herself up
for any more conversation.

  The bouncer—who was definitely a vampire—didn’t even card them as they approached, just smelled them. It was subtle but Natalia recognized what he was doing. He gave them a quick nod, then unhooked the heavy, velvet rope and let them pass.

  “Let me buy you a drink,” the male said as he kept pace with her.

  “No, thank you.” She glanced around the expansive room. It was three stories and the first floor had three bars and a dance floor. High-top tables surrounded three sides of the dance area. From her position she could see private areas on the second floor—which was technically the tenth floor overall of the industrial building. But supposedly no one could get to the lower floors except through internal stairwells from this dance area.

  The sectioned-off rooms looked like opera boxes. Some had curtains pulled back, revealing that they were empty, while others blocked whatever was going on inside. Natalia could only guess for what. On the floor above that she saw flashes of purple strobe lights, but glass encased the balcony areas overlooking the first-floor dance area. She couldn’t hear any extra music so maybe that floor was insulated well.

  As she scanned the crowd she spotted Aiden and Teresa dancing among the throng of shifters, vamps, fae, and some other creatures whose origins she didn’t even want to guess. Kat was sitting at one of the high-top tables and when she spotted her, the tall female smiled.

  The male next to her sighed. “Listen, I just . . . do you seriously know Jayce Kazan?”

  Natalia looked at him, assessing him. She had no clue who this stranger was or what his intentions might be and she sure as hell wasn’t leading him to Jayce’s new mate. Kat could take care of herself but Natalia wasn’t going to point her out to anyone. She shrugged. “Kind of. I met him a while ago. It’s not like we hang out or anything. What’s your deal? And what’s your name?”

  The male watched her as if he didn’t believe her. Which he shouldn’t since she was lying. Sort of. She’d worded her answer so she wouldn’t put off that metallic scent associated with lies.

  “My name’s Aldric.” Now he watched her even more intently, those grayish green eyes turning mercurial. He stared as if he expected some sort of recognition. She just raised her eyebrows, unsure how to respond. She didn’t want to give him her name. After a few long moments, he stepped back. “I’m sorry I bothered you. Enjoy your evening.” Then he disappeared into the crowd.

  Natalia watched him walk away, then glanced at Kat. Instead of fighting through the crowds she texted her friend. Something weird just happened. Going to the restroom on the west side. Meet me there in ten minutes.

  Kat checked her phone, answered okay, and didn’t look in Natalia’s direction again. They were going to act as if they didn’t know each other. Which was all part of their plan if anything out of the ordinary happened. It wasn’t like her conversation had been particularly strange but it had been odd enough and she wanted to let Kat know. Then Kat could easily let her mate know through their telepathic bondmate link.

  This floor of the club was thick with supernatural beings. The scent of sex filled the air and as she walked past the dance floor she realized there were actually people having sex on it. Vamps, of course. Hedonistic maniacs. She shook her head and kept her pace steady, but not too fast as to draw attention to herself.

  As she made her way through the crowd she passed a couple of vamp cocktail waitresses on roller skates carrying trays of drinks—some of which she could tell were blood. They wore skirts that might as well be Band-Aids and had little pasties over their nipples. Why even bother wearing them?

  At the west side exit, she pushed open a heavy metal door and stepped into a brightly lit hallway. When the door shut, all the sound and scents from before faded. Damn, that was some serious insulation. From the recon her pack had done and the map Ryan had given everyone a couple of days ago to study, she knew there was a bathroom down this hallway on the right side. There were a lot of other doorways though and the pack wasn’t yet sure what was behind them.

  She quickly ducked into the bathroom and was relieved to find the three stalls empty. The place was all marble, mirrors, and gold finishing touches. After a few minutes passed she sat on one of the cream tufted settees and checked her phone again. No message. She was supposed to get an earpiece from Kat, but until then she was in the dark.

  When she realized she’d been tapping her booted foot against the tile at a rapid rate she forced herself to stop. Another glance at her phone told her ten minutes had passed. Feeling uneasy, she stood and started to head for the door when the sound of a woman screaming outside the bathroom rent the air.

  Natalia raced out the door to find a half-naked woman covered in blood running down the hall. Her eyes were wide and her blond hair was tangled all around her face. “Help me!” she screamed.

  Out of an instinct to help, Natalia unsheathed her claws. When the human woman saw them, however, she screamed even louder and jerked to a halt. Cringing, Natalia drew them back in and held up her hands to show she meant no harm. “I can help you. What’s—”

  She stopped talking as two angry-looking vampires rounded the corner at the end of the hallway, blood dripping down their faces and bare chests. They slowly stalked down the hall, looking like rabid but very deadly predators. Something was wrong with their eyes. They glowed bright amber in the way of vamps, but . . . something was off about both males. She just couldn’t figure out what it was.

  Oh, shit.

  The woman looked back and forth between the vamps and Natalia, raw fear in her eyes. Natalia wanted to move between the female and the two males but didn’t want to spook her. She held out a hand. “Come to me.” The human just stared at her, as if frozen in a state of shock.

  At the sound of a door opening, Natalia swiveled. Her claws once again unsheathed as she turned to face the new danger. Instead of a threat she found Kat slipping into the hallway. Her pale blue eyes widened and went pure wolf as she saw the woman and the vamps. Without pause, she unzipped her black jacket and tossed a blade to Natalia.

  With her quick reflexes she caught it midair.

  “Take the human to the restroom!” Kat ordered. “Jayce and the others are on their way,” she murmured low enough for only Natalia to hear.

  Holding the blade tightly she nodded and faced the human again. “We can help you.”

  The female took a jerky step forward, her eyes still wide and a little manic, but it was clear she’d decided to trust them. Probably thought they were the lesser of two evils. Holding out her blade-free hand, Natalia wrapped an arm around the bleeding woman and started to usher her down the hall. As soon as she got her to relative safety she was coming back to help Kat.

  She knew for a fact that the enforcer’s mate could take care of herself—she trained with her mate and his enforcers-in-training almost every damn day of the week—but Natalia would do anything to help a packmate and she wouldn’t let Kat fight alone.

  As she practically dragged the now-sobbing human down the hallway another door burst open. A male vampire with descended fangs appeared in the doorway. Natalia shoved the human behind her. The vamp moved like the wind, slamming Natalia against the wall.

  Her back ached as plaster splintered behind her but before she could move, the vamp’s eyes widened, turning bright amber as he looked down between their bodies.

  The blade Kat had given her was embedded in his chest. Natalia shoved forward deeper and twisted it hard. Shock registered on his face—right before he turned to ash.

  Chapter 3

  Aiden casually leaned back against the edge of one of the polished wooden bars. It was the only one not in use on this floor of the club. He had a drink in one hand as he surveyed their surroundings. Though his stance was casual, he was wound tight.

  Kat had disappeared a few seconds ago, telling him and Teresa that she was meeting Natalia in one of the restrooms. He
knew Teresa wanted to go because Natalia was her youngest sister, but she’d stayed with him to give Natalia the space she’d been craving. Teresa’s sister was starting to assert her independence and his Alpha wanted to give it to her. Something Aiden respected. Not all Alphas were like that. No, they still had ridiculously archaic ideas about how their pack members, especially the females, should be treated.

  Teresa came in from the dance floor after having been dancing with a couple of female vamps, her eyes alert even though she fake-stumbled once for show as she headed toward him. Tonight, they were just partygoers. Technically Aiden could have come in here and put all the cameras in place himself, but without a cover date, he’d known females would have been coming on to him all night. It wasn’t arrogance, just experience. The thought of any strange female sidling up to him made him nauseous and they couldn’t afford to be noticed.

  As Teresa reached him, she snuggled in close and wrapped her arms around him as he placed the final video camera on the underside of the lip of the bar. With her covering his movements, there was no way anyone would see what he was doing. The device was small and the same dark color as the bar. Ryan had chosen them specifically for this mission. “Visual?” he asked Ryan through the earpiece once he felt the camera lock into place with the fast-acting adhesive.

  “Once Teresa moves . . .”

  Teresa gracefully stepped around Aiden, moving to the other side of him where she leaned against the bar next to him. Now that the last camera was in place they didn’t have to playact anymore. She took the same casual pose as Aiden as she watched the dance floor.

  “Perfect angle,” Ryan said. “Good work, you guys. When Kat and Natalia get back you all can get out of there.”

  With the nearly undetectable cameras in place Ryan would be trying to get shots of anyone and anything they could use to figure out just who the hell was selling some weird type of vamp blood that was having a strange effect on humans. “Kat?” he murmured.