Hunter Reborn

by Katie Reus

  He couldn’t worry about the future though. He had time for only the present. When Erin and Noah broke away from the crowd, he started the engine and glanced at Liam. “Call Ryan, tell him we’ve had a change of plans and aren’t going to Petran’s house.”

  “Where are we going?”

  He shrugged and fought his irritation. “We’re going to drive around until we’re sure we’re not being followed.” And he planned to switch vehicles. First he had to call Ana and have her and another packmate meet them with different SUVs. Then they had to make the switch without being seen.

  * * *

  Larissa glanced at Aiden, who seemed edgier than normal. The sun had set and they’d been watching this place for two hours. Aiden’s Alpha finally gave them the go-ahead. She’d been ready to move in a while ago but had respected Aiden’s desire to wait for his leader.

  They were in the farthest corner of the expansive backyard of Magda’s house. The place sat on a little over one acre of land and, according to Aiden’s packmate Ryan, was over five thousand square feet. On Ryan’s way to Winston-Salem he’d somehow managed to find house plans and e-mailed the layout to Aiden, Brianna, and Angelo. He’d said that if she had an e-mail address, he’d have sent it to her too. That made her smile, though she wasn’t sure what she’d do with an e-mail address if she had one.

  She didn’t have a lot of experience to go on, but everything about Aiden screamed that he was worried. Crouched down next to one of the bare oak trees, he kept unsheathing his claws then retracting them.

  What’s wrong? As she communicated telepathically she realized just how quickly she’d gotten used to talking to him like that in such a short period.

  He didn’t look at her as he continued to scan the back of the house. Two rocking chairs were on the back of the wide-open wraparound porch. The place seemed so warm and inviting, not like the home of a conniving, deceitful witch. Nothing.

  She nearly snorted. She might not remember Aiden well enough to be able to pick up on little cues, but when his claws unsheathed again, tearing into the bark, she gently touched his forearm. Tell me.

  He finally looked at her, his dark eyes almost midnight black under the moon and stars. I don’t like going into the unknown, especially with you not at full capacity.

  I’ll be fine. More than fine. While they’d been waiting for his Alpha to arrive she’d found two humans to feed from. The blood may be weaker than supernatural, but the back-to-back feedings had gone a long way in helping her. She felt amazing and while she wasn’t sure if it was because of the blood or because of her newfound powers—which she still wanted to test out—there hadn’t been any new activity at the house since they’d been watching it. The two human males they’d followed back to the house had gone in and never come out.

  Aiden simply nodded before pulling his cell phone from his pocket. She’d watched him do something to the settings earlier so that the screen didn’t light up and inadvertently alert someone to their presence. With it angled away from her she couldn’t read it.

  But after he did, he turned his cell completely off. It’s Angelo. They’re moving in now. Time to go. On the count of two. One, two.

  With a burst of speed, they crossed the backyard to the porch in seconds. She’d secured her hair back in a long braid so it wouldn’t get in her way, but a few loose strands whipped around her face with the rapid movements.

  Once they reached the back porch both she and Aiden paused and listened carefully. She could hear at least a couple of heartbeats inside and there were lights on throughout the house. Her palms burned and tingled, taking her by surprise. When she looked down, her eyes widened. Her hands were glowing a soft blue mixed with white sparkles. Like tiny stars across a sky. She ordered whatever it was to stop and again, to her shock, it did. Okay then. Maybe she was more in control than she realized.

  Aiden motioned with his hand that he was going to open one of the two French doors. The good thing about sneaking up on a witch was that they didn’t have extrasensory abilities like vamps or shifters. The bad thing was, they often spelled their homes and a break-in would alert Magda anyway.

  They were about to find out.

  With an unsheathed claw, Aiden cut a hole in one of the glass panes. It made a soft slicing sound that was unavoidable. Instead of pushing it through, he tapped one edge so that it twisted inward, like a pinwheel. Before it could fall he snagged the whole piece and pulled it out. After setting it down beside him, he reached through the hole, unlocked the door, and opened it.

  He peered in first. Clear.

  Some primal part of her she didn’t understand was rankled that he was going first, but she fought her annoyance. He wanted to protect her. She could deal with it. She had the strongest urge to protect him too so she couldn’t fault him for wanting to do the same for her.

  Following Aiden inside, she was struck by how normal the residence looked. According to the layout Ryan had sent them, she knew they were in one of the living rooms. From her limited knowledge and Google research of modern times, Magda’s home appeared to have expensive but normal things most humans would. Art on the wall, leather couches, and a very large flat-screen television over a fireplace. The one thing that struck Larissa as they moved through the living room into a dimly lit kitchen was that the female didn’t have any photographs. Nothing personal to indicate this home belonged to Magda.

  But Larissa could scent the female. Her oakmoss scent seemed to permeate the very foundation of this place it was so strong. It was different from when Larissa had first met her. The witch’s scent had been almost muted, but now it was suffocating and making Larissa nauseous.

  Just as in that hotel room, she was starting to feel strange. Almost like something oily was skittering over her skin, leaving a trail of grimy fingerprints all over her. Shit. This place was definitely spelled.

  On a muffled cry, Aiden shifted forms, his clothes and boots shredding before a pure white wolf stood next to her, breathing rapidly. Sorry my wolf took over. Something about this place is off and it wanted to protect me. I feel in control now. He looked up at her as he communicated and if it had been possible she’d have said there was surprise in those lupine eyes.

  She frowned at him. What?

  You’re glowing.

  Larissa looked down at herself and realized that all of her skin was putting off that blue glow now. She shoved up the sleeves of her long T-shirt and stared at herself. Little tendrils of blue fire licked against her skin, but she wasn’t burning. Neither were her clothes. Everything about this felt familiar, as if she’d done it before, but she simply couldn’t remember. Her head ached as she struggled to grasp those elusive memories. She was about to try to tone it down when Aiden shook his head.

  You’re protecting yourself from Magda. If Angelo and Brianna see you, we’ll deal with that later. But I trust them not to say anything.

  She still wasn’t sure what was going on with herself or why she was actually glowing, but she trusted Aiden. Okay. Where to now? she asked as she bent to retrieve his fallen cell phone. It was the only personal object he’d brought in with him. Before they left she’d be sure to gather his clothes as well.

  He cocked his head to the side then turned toward a door on the other side of the big kitchen. From the house layout she’d looked at, she was pretty sure it went to the basement.

  Inhaling, she caught the faintest hint of blood. And something else lingered in the air. Something putrid . . . like death. Or dark magic. It was coming from behind that door.

  At a soft sound, like a footfall, they both turned. Brianna and Angelo—also in wolf form—stepped cautiously into the kitchen. Brianna’s eyes widened as she looked at Larissa, but she didn’t say anything. Just pointed upstairs and mouthed “All clear.”

  Larissa pointed to the door and indicated they were going to find out what was on the other side. Brianna nodded and for th
e first time Larissa noticed the fae female’s hand was glowing blue. Nothing like Larissa’s own full-body thing, but a ball of energy like . . . something rested in Brianna’s hands. Okay then. Looked like the fae could take care of herself.

  Letting her claws on one hand extend, Larissa twisted the door handle with the other. It was hot to the touch, enough so that she was pretty sure she’d have been burned if she wasn’t already a walking lighter.

  Don’t touch the handle. It’s hot. I think it’s spelled, she told Aiden, who simply nodded. She turned back to Brianna and indicated the same thing to her before slowly easing it open to reveal a walled-in set of stairs that descended. A soft flickering glow emanated from the opening at the end. Candlelight.

  Instead of using her natural speed, she crept down the steps carefully with Aiden right next to her, paying attention to potential physical traps. Larissa was sure the witch already knew they were there, but that didn’t mean they could rush in like fools.

  Next to her Aiden was impossibly silent. She’d always been fascinated by how quiet he was for such a huge wolf. It abruptly registered what she’d just thought. She’d always been fascinated. Random memories of him sneaking up on her in the woods as they’d played with each other raced through her mind, one after the other.

  Played.

  They’d had fun together. So much fun. Something she’d never had much of until Aiden. Her throat tightened but she locked all those memories down, putting a pin in them until later, when she could savor each and every one of them. Talk about the worst timing ever to get some of her memories back. She was filled with a sudden rush of rage at whoever had taken her memories from her.

  Aiden nudged her with his nose before veering in front of her and covering the last few stairs.

  Damn it, Aiden.

  He ignored her as he slowly peered around the corner. The moment he did, a gunshot blasted through the silence. Fear choked her as Aiden reared back, making a rough growling sound.

  Chapter 20

  Aiden jumped back from the open entryway, the wall behind him splintering as the bullet slammed into it.

  Larissa’s fangs descended, joining her already unsheathed claws. A volcano of rage erupted inside her that Aiden could have been injured. She knew he was old enough to possess the strength to withstand a hell of a lot of injuries, but that didn’t matter. A head shot was still potentially lethal.

  She shot a quick glance over her shoulder to find Angelo and Brianna tense on the stairs, Brianna’s ball of energy hovering quietly in her hand.

  “I’ve got this,” she growled before turning and jumping over Aiden.

  Larissa, no!

  She ignored him. Using her vampiric speed, she dove into the entry, avoiding a barrage of shots as she twisted midair before landing safely on her feet on a cold stone floor. She didn’t pause long though as she ducked down behind a giant barrel filled with—she didn’t want to know.

  In a matter of milliseconds she took in the room. A dead male lay on an altar surrounded by dozens of candles. His heart was missing from his chest. Another male was chained to a wall, welts covering most of his naked body as he slumped forward, unconscious. She could hear his faint breathing and heartbeat, so she knew he wasn’t dead.

  But all of Larissa’s focus was on Magda, crouching behind the stone altar. Larissa heard but couldn’t see the gun clatter to the stone floor. Probably out of bullets.

  Larissa stepped out from behind the barrel and narrowed her gaze on Magda. At the sight of the dark-haired female, rage like Larissa had never known rose up inside her. As it grew, she was vaguely aware of a thin blue coating of flames moving out from her body, covering the floor, walls, ceiling, and altar. It snuffed out the small flames from the candles, but didn’t touch the males as it moved closer to Magda.

  The witch jumped up and stumbled back, her pretty face twisted into an expression of horror as she tried to escape. But there was nowhere to go. The female wore a blood-covered skimpy piece of lingerie that seemed obscene with the wet crimson stains on it. And the room smelled like sex, which told Larissa all she needed to know about this monster. The female had probably screwed her victims before torturing them.

  Larissa’s flames created a circle around Magda, tightening smaller and smaller around the witch the angrier Larissa got.

  “You shot at my mate,” she snarled.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.” She held up her hands in surrender.

  Larissa’s eyes narrowed as she closed the circle of fire even tighter. She tried, but couldn’t scent a lie and wasn’t sure why. “Why don’t I believe you?”

  “Someone broke into my home, I was just defending myself,” she whispered, the fear rolling off her very real.

  But her words were bullshit. “Your home in lovely Winston-Salem. The same city where you got a hotel room with me and pretended to be my friend, told me you wanted to help me find my parents’ killers, and told me that a shifter named Aiden tried to kill them.”

  Big fat tears rolled down the female’s cheeks, giving her an innocent, annoying quality. “He made me do it,” she whispered.

  Larissa didn’t believe a word out of the female’s mouth but held her anger in check—though not her fire. “Who?” she asked as she felt something tickle against the bare skin of her forearms.

  Without looking down she knew it was Magda attempting to use a spell against her. It wasn’t a surprising attempt, but it was weak. Larissa ignored it, not letting on that she knew what Magda was doing. When the witch didn’t answer right away, she tightened the circle of fire within an inch of the female’s feet. Flames danced up, licking against her bare calves. Larissa’s eyes narrowed on the witch’s left leg as she directed a few sparks to attack.

  When they did, a surge of power raced through Larissa. Magda yelped and jumped up, trying to slap at her leg. As she did, the sleeve of her shirt caught the flames. Before it could move or singe the skin on her arm, Larissa put it out. “Answer,” she ordered. “And don’t lie or my fire will eat you up one inch at a time. I’ll keep you alive for a decade of torture.” Larissa wouldn’t actually do that, but she hoped the reputation of vampires savoring their torture would resonate with the witch.

  She also hoped Aiden didn’t think she was capable of torturing someone like that. He was quiet along their link, but she could feel his solid presence directly behind her.

  Magda shivered in fear as she wrapped her arms around her slender frame. Larissa could still feel the invisible fingers skittering across her skin and knew that Magda was attempting to buy time. Fine with Larissa as long as the female talked. “My master made me. Once he found out you were still alive, he . . . he ordered me to bring you back to Winston-Salem.”

  “And how did he even know about me?”

  “There’s a reference to your stasis in my grimoire. I wasn’t lying about my line being connected to your coven. My grandmother was the one who assisted with the spell that put you under.”

  Yes, Larissa had guessed that was the truth already. Magda looked eerily like one of the witches from the Moldoveanu line that her own coven had worked hand in hand with. “Why’d you change your name to Petran?” She kept her voice soft, her question seemingly benign. The more truth she could get from this witch, the easier it would be to discern lies. It still bothered Larissa that she hadn’t been able to tell the female was lying to her before, but she was watching for facial and body cues now. Maybe it was because she had been so weak after stasis that she couldn’t scent them. Now she felt as if she could take on an entire army and hoped she’d be able to pick out lies from truths. Aware of the others close behind her, she reminded her fire that Brianna and Angelo were friends, not enemies. She didn’t need to remind the fire about Aiden. The most fundamental part of her would never hurt him.

  Magda shrugged. “Who the fuck can pronounce Moldoveanu?”

 
A truth. She could see it in Magda’s tiny facial expressions. Now Larissa wanted to know more. “Who is your master?”

  Raw fear sparked in Magda’s brown eyes. “I can’t tell you. He’s a monster.”

  Her master was likely a monster. But so was Magda. “You cut out that man’s heart and likely ate it,” she said, tilting her head a fraction in the direction of the dead human. Not the actions of an innocent or sane woman. “Now tell me about your master. What does he want with me; what the hell did you or he do to my memories; and how is he able to control vampires?”

  When she hesitated, Larissa engulfed the female’s entire right leg in flames. Magda screamed, falling to her hands and knees. Larissa moved the fire back so it wouldn’t completely engulf her. She was aware of Aiden moving up beside her. So far he’d been silent in her head and for that she was appreciative. She had a good control of this fire but feared she wouldn’t be able to hold it. Even though it felt familiar to guide the flames, her power and energy were waning. She just needed to hold on to them for a little bit longer. Something told her Magda would be easy to break.

  Suddenly she withdrew the flames from Magda’s leg. The female’s skin was unmarred, but she still rolled around, slapping at her leg as she shrieked in pain. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t actually been burned physically, she’d feel the phantom pains for a while. Larissa wondered how she even knew that, but didn’t have time to dwell on the unexpected knowledge about her gift.

  “Enough!” Larissa finally shouted.

  Whimpering, Magda pushed up onto her knees to face Larissa. Once again she felt the whisper of fingers over her skin. Foolish woman. Kneeling so that she was at eye level, Larissa pinned the female with her stare. “You think I can’t feel what you’re trying to do? That I can’t feel your pathetic attempts whispering against my power? You are a child with much untapped power, but you clearly don’t know how to use it.” If the witch did she wouldn’t be resorting to the dark arts. True witches could call on power from within. “You have two options. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll make sure your death is painless. Resist and you’ve just barely tasted what I can do. Understand?”