Hunter Reborn

by Katie Reus

  She clamped her mouth shut and stared out the window, watching the snow-covered trees move by at a glacial pace as Ryan slowed and turned off onto another small road. Surprising her, he stopped about twenty yards down from the main road and pulled into a cluster of bare, snow-topped pine trees.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  He plucked the laptop from her and slid it under his seat. “The signal is pinging about fifty yards north from here. I want to go in on foot.”

  Teresa sucked in a sharp breath. She hadn’t realized they were so close, but she was ready to find her sister. “Has Connor got back to you?”

  “Yeah, he’s on his way to the ranch. He said if we can’t handle things to call in for backup. But it’s pretty clear she just ran away.”

  Teresa nodded and grasped the handle. “Let’s go get my sister.” As she slid from the vehicle, her boots crunching over the icy ground, she stilled and very quietly shut the door behind her.

  Inhaling deeply, she took a few tentative steps toward the front of the vehicle. Full-blown panic settled in her bones as she realized what she was scenting nearby. Blood.

  When she glanced at Ryan and saw the quick flash of fear in his dark gaze, she knew she wasn’t imagining things.

  A bolt of terror, jagged and angry, shot through her as she took off racing through the woods. If someone had hurt her sister, they were going to pay.

  Chapter 15

  Aiden watched Larissa carefully, his wolf in his gaze. It was unsettling the way he stared at her, but she didn’t let her emotions show and tried to block their link as best she could. It was difficult when he was insistently pushing at it, sending all sorts of emotions her way. Lust being the main one.

  “Why are we in this random hotel room?” she asked quietly, much of her earlier annoyance fading. She knew he’d just been trying to protect her, but she didn’t want to be a female who needed protecting. And she didn’t want him to view her that way.

  “Before we take one more step out that door, I want to clear the air. This”—he motioned between them—“cold shoulder treatment is never going to work for me. Ever. I don’t care if you’re pissed at me, punch me in the fucking nuts, claw me to pieces, do whatever you need to do, but don’t ignore me. Don’t push me out. We’re bonded and that means something.” His tone was determined, but the anguish in his expression sliced her up.

  She knew she’d hurt him and she hated that. Biting her bottom lip, she perched on the end of the plush king-size bed and wrapped her arms around herself. The heavy weight of guilt settled on her like a smothering blanket as she struggled to find the right words. “While I know we’re bonded, intellectually, I don’t remember getting to that point with you, which makes all these emotions I’m feeling that much more difficult. And I like you—so much that it’s a little terrifying. When you tried to order me around, it struck a very wrong chord with me. It’s embarrassing that there’s so much I still don’t know or understand about this world. I am used to being the strongest person in most rooms.” She didn’t mean it arrogantly and hoped he wouldn’t take it that way. “And I know it’s not an excuse, but it’s why I reacted so badly. I’m feeling embarrassed and stupid and so unsure of everything, but the one thing I still know how to do right is feed without help. It felt as if you were trying to control me when I didn’t need it.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face, and all the tension fled his big body as he sat next to her on the bed. Shoving his sweater sleeves up, he kept a solid foot of distance between them. For some reason she didn’t like that, even though she was the one who’d been giving him the cold shoulder the past couple of hours. She had no clue if she’d ever done it with him before. In previous relationships things had never progressed far enough with any of her lovers for her to care enough to argue with them. It had felt wrong to do so with Aiden, but she hadn’t been prepared for any of the feelings he evoked inside her. When the tendons and muscles in his arms flexed, showcasing all that strength, she fought to breathe for a moment. He was so sexy it was ridiculous.

  “I’m always going to try to protect you, whether you need it or not. And I expect the same from you. You’re the strongest female I’ve ever met, but you were gone for sixty years, presumably dead. So I’m probably going to act fucking insanely territorial more than once. I’ll be possessive and jealous and yes, likely try to protect you from nothing because I can’t stand the thought of you being out of my sight for even a moment. But it’s not because I think you’re weak. I’m going to apologize in advance for all the stupid shit I’m going to do over the next couple of months, or hell, years. I lost you once, Larissa. I can’t go through that again.”

  The agony that punched through their bondmate link hit her almost like a physical blow, square in the middle of the chest. While she’d been worried about her silly pride and appearing weak, he was just terrified of losing her again.

  The need to comfort this male welled up inside her like an out-of-control tsunami. She never wanted to be the cause of his pain. Before she could talk herself out of it, she launched herself at him, straddling him and wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face against him right where his shoulder and neck met. Inhaling, she savored his spicy, earthy scent. She was such an idiot, pushing this male away for no reason. “I’m so sorry, Aiden.”

  A sharp sense of relief surged through her when he returned her embrace. She wasn’t sure what she’d been afraid of, maybe his rejection. When he buried his face against her neck too, she realized how stupid a fear that had been.

  “I just want to take you somewhere far from here and forget all this mess,” Aiden murmured, his breath hot against her neck.

  “I know.” The thought was appealing. They could hole up together and she could get to know her bondmate again without the world as a distraction. Maybe even start to regain her memories. It was a hopeless wish though. Leaning back, she looked deep into his eyes. His wolf was gone, only the man was watching her now.

  Intently.

  Possessively.

  Need built deep, heating her from the inside out. His hands slid down her back, moved over her hips and down her jean-clad thighs before gliding upward again to settle on her hips. “Are you hungry?”

  The human she’d fed from hadn’t had strong blood, but Larissa was still feeling light-years better than she had only twenty-four hours ago. And she wouldn’t feed from Aiden again so soon. Not after she had twice in less than a twelve-hour period, no matter how powerful he was. “I’m fine.”

  Those sexy lips of his pulled together in a thin line as if he didn’t believe her. “Bite me,” he murmured.

  Her nipples tightened at the soft command, but she shook her head, unsure what he was getting at.

  “Not to feed, just nip my skin like you used to. I miss the feel of your teeth and mouth on me.” His voice was guttural now, full of need as he rolled his hips upward, pushing the outline of his erection against the juncture between her thighs.

  “I used to bite you?”

  Grinning wickedly, he nodded. “Yes. You never broke the skin unless you were feeding, but you loved to nip my neck and all over my body.”

  He rolled his hips against her again, drawing a shudder from her at the feel of his thick length against her covered mound. She hated that there were clothes in the way. It would be so easy to throw away caution, to let him inside her, to forget about everything and everyone for just a little while.

  Aiden slid a hand up under the back of her shirt, stroking along the length of her spine in a rhythmic motion that drove her crazy. He was just touching her back, but she felt as if he was touching her everywhere. Sparks of heat skittered across her skin.

  Feeling her eyes grow heavy-lidded, she dipped her head to his neck again, her fangs aching just being this close to his artery. The male had such exquisite, perfect blood. She’d never tasted anything so wonderful. But s
he wasn’t going to feed from him again. She wasn’t. No matter how strong the urge was.

  As she inhaled his familiar scent, something rattled loose in her memory.

  “You are such a cheeky little male.” She waved a hand at the giant, Adonis-looking shifter, trying to make him back off as she attempted to glide by him. The meeting between her parents and the Nicholl pack leaders had been tedious and she was tired of the stupid politics. She was exhausted and needed to feed and didn’t have time for this annoyingly sexy shifter who seemed to take pleasure needling her whenever they were alone. He had to know how powerful she was yet he thought he could keep poking at her.

  “Little? Sweetheart, I’ll lift my kilt and show you what I’ve got between my thighs and if you still think it’s little—”

  “Aiden!”

  A long pause, and a slow, wicked grin spread across his devilishly handsome face. “That’s the first time you’ve said my name.”

  “Well, it is your name, is it not?”

  He made a humming sound, stalking closer to her. She wasn’t sure why she liked it, but her nipples pebbled against the thick material of her full-length ball gown. She backed up, then immediately cursed the show of weakness, but it was too late. Her bare shoulders skimmed the cold stone wall of the hallway before she gained her senses and straightened.

  “I like hearing you say my name. Say it again,” he demanded, rough and unsteady as his dark eyes went pure wolf.

  She swallowed hard, not feeling like herself as she looked up at this big male. She placed one palm on his chest, meaning to push him away, but instead clutched onto his shirt. He was so hot to the touch, so strong. “I will not.”

  “Say it, Larissa.” His eyes grew heavy-lidded with raw hunger as he watched her.

  “No,” she whispered, though her heart pounded.

  He leaned closer, his lips skimming her neck, and God help her, she actually let him get so close. The male was a predator, a lupine shifter. Yet she was letting him practically lick her throat. It was almost as if she was possessed, unable to move him away. “Would you say it if I kissed you?” he murmured. “Or maybe you’d scream it while you’re coming against my mouth?”

  A shiver rolled down her spine at the visual. He was so damn arrogant. “You’re so sure you can make me come?” No, that wasn’t what she’d meant to say. She’d meant to simply shove him back for his impertinence.

  He didn’t respond, just made that sexy humming sound as he flicked his tongue over the sensitive spot behind her ear. He wasn’t touching her with his hands, which were placed firmly on either side of her head against the wall. Somehow that made whatever this was, even more intense. Her entire body cried out for his touch. She was practically ready to throw herself at him.

  That sudden thought made her straighten and finally shove him away. He stepped back under the force of her push, something akin to hurt in those dark eyes, but she ignored it. “You are far too forward. And I do not need you to achieve climax; I have someone waiting for me right now.” A complete lie, but he didn’t seem to scent it as he moved in the span of a heartbeat, caging her against the wall, using his hands and body to pin her there. Now he wasn’t holding back from touching her and she found she liked it very much. Too much.

  “You don’t have a lover,” he ground out. “I would smell him if you did.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That is because I bathe.”

  “He’s a dead man.” He let out a low growl, and something dark flickered in that gaze.

  Possessiveness had never turned her on before, but seeing Aiden get so worked up made heat flood between her thighs. She didn’t like the way he made her feel so out of control, as if she didn’t own her body. She needed to teach this wolf a lesson. One kiss and she would put him in his place. Before she could stop herself, she leaned up and put her mouth to his. Yes, she was absolutely possessed. The moment their lips touched, her entire body lit up with desire.

  Larissa’s eyes snapped open and she leaned back to see Aiden watching her hungrily. “I was an arrogant bitch,” she whispered.

  At her words he laughed, the sound so rich it filled her soul. She didn’t know how she knew, but something in her subconscious told her she’d missed this laugh very much. “Why would you say that?”

  “I thought you were arrogant, but the truth is . . . I was too.” Now look at her. No coven, missing memories, no money, no way to support herself. She was completely dependent on a pack of shifters to help her find whoever had killed her parents and to help her figure out this daunting new world.

  “You weren’t arrogant. You were . . . very secure in who you were. As old as you were and as much of the world as you’ve seen, it would have been strange if you weren’t so confident.”

  She let a smile touch her lips at his heartfelt words. “You’re very wise for such a young pup.”

  He brushed his lips over hers, the light touch almost chaste. “I’m not so young anymore.”

  Savoring the quiet moment because she knew it would be fleeting, Larissa wrapped her arms tighter around him, pulling him close. Her breasts pressed against his chest as she laid her cheek against his. “I want to feel you inside me. I want you to completely possess me,” she whispered. It was too soon and the wrong time and place, but she needed him to know.

  He jerked under her and made a strained sound before he let out a low growl. Taking her by surprise, he stood and placed her on her feet. He pinned her with an intense gaze. “We need to leave now or I’m taking you against the wall, on the floor, and maybe the bed. I won’t be gentle and we’ll likely get kicked out of here for the noise we’ll make.”

  The way his voice shook told her he meant every word. Unfortunately, it made her even hotter. She wanted nothing more than to make very good use of the bed. Now wasn’t the time or place. But very soon she was going to get this male under her, on top of her, and every other way she could possibly imagine.

  As if he read her thoughts—or more likely the scent she was throwing off—Aiden growled low in frustration and stalked from the room.

  * * *

  Ryan took off after Teresa, cursing her speed. Even in human form she was damn fast. They weren’t far from Natalia’s last known location and the scent of blood grew stronger the closer they got to their destination. As he reached Teresa, he wanted to tell her to slow down, but she did it anyway.

  As the thick forest started to thin, they both slowed their pace. Through the trees he could see a two-story cabin. One of the ski lodge rental places. The sound of grunts and angry shouts filled the air, somewhere beyond the cabin, but it couldn’t be too far past. When Ryan heard Natalia scream, he didn’t even think, his wolf just took over.

  His clothes, SIG, and shoes scattered around him as he shifted form and raced toward the cry. Under normal circumstances he would have used more stealth, but he knew without a doubt that Teresa was going to run right into danger no matter what he did. So he had to beat her to it. There was no way in hell he was letting her get hurt.

  He could hear her behind him, but ignored her as he raced toward the cabin. He slowed when he reached the back of the place and crouched low as he raced along the edge of the outer wall. Risking a quick glance behind him he was surprised to see Teresa still in her human form—holding his fallen weapon. He knew the female could use it well, but he didn’t want her getting tangled up in whatever the hell was going on.

  Forcing himself to drag his focus from her, Ryan peered around the corner of the house. He assessed the situation in seconds. There were two shifters in wolf form, one he recognized as Natalia, battling with four vampires. One vamp was on the ground, likely dead. Three were taking on the unknown male wolf who was ripping them to shreds, while one vamp grappled with Natalia.

  Ryan looked up at Teresa and growled low in his throat. She seemed to understand him because she nodded and stayed put. Without making a sound,
he crept across the snowy ground, barely feeling the chill against his paws as he zeroed in on the blade-wielding vamp.

  The male raised his knife out to the side as Natalia bit into his other forearm. Growling, she tore into him, making the male howl in pain. But he didn’t drop the knife, poised to stab her through the side, possibly piercing her heart. The vamp’s expression was filled with rage. He didn’t even see Ryan until it was too late.

  With a burst of speed, Ryan covered the final few feet between the vamp and Natalia. The vampire’s glowing amber eyes went nuclear as Ryan launched himself through the air. The vamp dropped his blade and rolled off Natalia as Ryan slammed into his shoulder, throwing him off balance.

  Adrenaline pumping through him, he landed on all fours, but swiveled back quickly to face the male. Though Ryan saw Natalia in his peripheral vision, he ignored her, focusing on the threat instead. Growling low in his throat, he flattened his ears against his head.

  The vamp dove for the blade and Ryan struck hard and fast. He clamped his jaw around the male’s throat, ripping and tearing until he reached the bone. He didn’t savor killing any being, but this bastard had been trying to kill his packmate. A second after the male went limp, Ryan completely severed his head. Crimson stained the white ground in a macabre display.

  Not dwelling on the gory sight, Ryan started to turn when a very distinctive puff of air filled the air. His weapon.

  Moving lightning fast, he swiveled to find the three vamps, who’d been attacking the unknown male, already dead. Two had been ripped to shreds, their heads severed. The third lay in a pool of blood, gasping for air. A red stain covered the front of his shirt, where Teresa had clearly shot him.

  Depending upon his age and strength he might have been able to survive the injury. That wasn’t happening. Before Ryan could move, the other male wrapped his jaws around the vamp’s neck and ripped it off as if it were paper.