Hunt and Seek

by Zenina Masters

  Agreeing to the Crossroads for the sake of her mom, the seeker is about to face the hunter that has her in his sites.

  Roxanne has spent her adult life as a seeker, looking for fugitives for the guild. She is very good at her job, and she considers the trade of her mother’s medical care for her service to be fair.

  When the shifter bride asks her to go to the Crossroads in exchange for some fey healers, Roxanne agrees. Cancer is relentless and forces her hand. She goes to the Crossroads to seek out a mate. She always finds what she is looking for.

  Moriven is the best hunter at the guild, and he never misses. When he finds out that Roxanne is at the Crossroads, he heads there immediately, hoping to catch the bloodhound of the guild. There have been rifts between them, but he doesn’t want her marriage to another male to be one of them.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Hunt and Seek

  Copyright © 2019 Zenina Masters

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-2690-3

  Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

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  www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com

  Hunt and Seek

  Enchanted Crossroads Book 3

  By

  Zenina Masters

  Chapter One

  Roxanne made her way through the buffet, and she tried to keep her temper under control.

  “So, how are you dealing with Moriven passing your capture record?” The elf next to her murmured it in a smarmy tone.

  “I don’t keep track. That is for folks with nothing else to focus on. I have better things to do.” She filled the two plates she was working on and was trying to push past the elf when suddenly the woman left.

  “Thanks for the save, cuz.”

  Roxanne looked over her shoulder and smiled at Eilonwy. She was the only shifter around that could send an elf running.

  Eilonwy smiled. “I saw her coming for you. She is a real bitch, but until my entire guard is properly populated, I have to put up with the fey that make up the numbers. How is your mom?”

  “Weak. I am just bringing this to her.”

  “I can have the fey healers take a look at her.” Eilonwy’s offer was sincere.

  “The cancer is too firmly entrenched. It is just a matter of time now.” Roxanne smiled. “It is fine. We all come and go in our own time.”

  “Can I come and have a chat?”

  Roxanne grinned. “Grab some potato salad and come on over.”

  She led the way through the path of cousins and aunts and uncles. Adele was sitting on a comfortable chair, but her expression was still pained.

  “Hey, Mom. I got you some of your favourites.” Roxanne settled the plate and the fork on a small table next to her mother. She hated being fed.

  “Thanks, sweetie. Hello, Eilonwy. You are looking well.”

  Eilonwy knelt in front of her aunt, and she sighed. “You do not look so good.”

  “Aw, I will make it through a few more months. It is a pity that Roxanne doesn’t have anyone to keep her company after I am gone, but my dearest Ralph went on quite a while ago. So, I won’t be lonely.”

  Eilonwy smiled. “We all take our turns at life.”

  “That we do. I was shocked when my family sent me to the Crossroads and even more shocked when I found Ralph. A bat and a hound hadn’t made a match before, especially not at our age, but when Roxanne came along, we knew why we had been shoved into that moment. It was all for her.” Adele smiled softly and picked up her fork delicately.

  Roxanne ate and watched her mother and cousin have a nice chat about the future and the possibilities for Roxanne. She already worked for the shifter council and was an excellent hunter. A nose like hers managed to find a way in human or hound form. She wished she had come out of it with her mother’s wings, but that didn’t happen, so she made the best of what she had.

  Her father had passed when she was fifteen. He had been seventy. Her mom wasn’t kidding when she said they were old when their clans sent them to the Crossroads. Her mom had already fallen into the position of wise aunty, but her longing for children of her own couldn’t be denied, so her family got together and paid for her trip to the Crossroads. Her father had had the trip burning a hole in his pocket for years when he finally threw everything to the wind and headed out to see if anyone would take on a well-worn hound. Adele had fallen for him the moment that she saw him, and the rest was history. Roxanne had appeared before their first anniversary.

  Eilonwy looked up at Roxanne. “What do you think about that idea?”

  Roxanne blinked. “What?”

  “Would you be willing to head up to the Crossroads and try to find your mate? Your mom is worried about you being alone.”

  Adele had a small smirk around her lips.

  “Mom isn’t worried about me being alone. She just wants to see me with a man. It would give her hope for the family line.”

  Adele shrugged. “Perhaps. Perhaps I could even hold out until you have a little one of your own.”

  Roxanne frowned. “Eat your meal, Mom.”

  “You are surrounded by eligible men, but you don’t make a move, dearest. I just want to see you happy. You used to be happy.”

  Roxanne exhaled and focused on her own meal. “I used to be a lot of things. The world turns, times change, and I grew up.”

  Eilonwy looked between them and frowned slightly. She waved one of the elves over, and the young woman chatted with Adele, holding her hand.

  Eilonwy beckoned to Roxanne, and they walked together over to the quiet side of the porch.

  “Why don’t you want to go?”

  Roxanne sighed. “Every time my mom has had a dip in her health, I have been away from home. Going to the Crossroads isn’t worth it if she sinks while I am gone. I couldn’t bear it if she were to die while I was off trying to get laid.”

  Eilonwy exhaled. “Right. What if I could make sure that doesn’t happen? I can assign her a healer who will keep her energies up and might even be able to reduce the tumors slightly.”

  “Why?”

  Eilonwy looked around, and she said, “Because one of my guards is a seer, and she has seen you in the guard with a mate at your side.”

  “Working with you, cousin?”

  Eilonwy chuckled. “You already know more about me than any of my fey companions, as close as they are.”

  “You are still sneaking out to see him?”

  Eilonwy shrugged. “I always considered it weird to marry someone without dating them. I remove his memories after each event, though. That was a neat trick to learn.”

  “How did you learn it?”

  “Human magecraft. It was offered to me after the attack a few years ago. I kep
t the vial, and now, I use it to make sure that Larion doesn’t know we are dating.”

  Roxanne chuckled. “So, you are planning the wedding soon?”

  “There are a few pieces that need to be put into position.”

  “I am a piece?”

  Eilonwy grinned. “I knew you would understand, cuz.”

  “You can keep her alive and healthy?”

  “I can. Well, I can have someone do it. So, you will go?”

  Roxanne nodded. “I am on leave from the guild, so yeah, I can go. I am really not in the mood to flirt, though.”

  Eilonwy snorted. “Are you ever?”

  Roxanne smiled slightly. “You have a point.”

  They returned to Adele’s side and told her the good news. Eilonwy took over the responsibility for her aunt, and one of the fey was brought toward them with a look, and she took Roxanne to a corner of the property, pressed an icon into her hand that would pay for everything at the Crossroads. From there, she was swept away through a burst of light and colour before she stood in the sands of the Meditation Centre.

  Two surprised strangers were looking at her, and she stepped forward with the icon outstretched. She explained who she was, why she was there, and who her cousin was. Understanding dawned on their features, and after five minutes of talk, she was welcomed warmly into the Crossroads.

  * * * *

  Moriven logged his most recent capture into the guild records, and he casually flipped the pages back to look for Roxanne’s record. There had been no entries for the last two weeks. He was getting worried.

  “Hey, Dereth, have you seen Roxanne?”

  The recordkeeper took the book back and closed it. “No. She is on leave.”

  Moriven looked around and leaned in. “Do you know where she is?”

  “I have heard that her mother isn’t well. It is doubtful that she will return this year.”

  Moriven was stunned. He knew that shifters didn’t live as long as fey, but Roxanne was in her early twenties. How old was her mother that she was passing on already?

  “Can I get her address?”

  “Talk to her handler.”

  The dismissal was absolute. Dereth turned his back and put the record book on the shelf.

  Moriven grimaced, and then, he decided to straighten his shoulders and go ask the question.

  Seeing Roxanne on assignments was one of the bright sides of his day. The fact that she could locate and bring down her targets without help only added to his enjoyment of her presence.

  Her near-constant growling and irritation were amusing. Her tongue was as sharp as the blades she carried, and she had no problem standing up for her collar when it came to catching escapees from different holding facilities and even some high families. She always managed to take the target down without incident or injury.

  She was an exceedingly admirable young woman, even if Moriven had boots older than she was.

  He walked to her dispatcher’s offices and knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  Liantha was a half-elf who ignored her lineage and chose to focus her energies on keeping the shifters on high-profile cases where they could outshine the fey. It was a rough job, but she had a knack for it.

  “Liantha. Good day to you.”

  The woman’s body language showed tension and suspicion. “Thank you, Hunter Moriven. What brings you to my door?”

  “I am worried about Roxanne. She has been missing for weeks. Is she well?”

  She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Why? Are you worried she will return and blast your record out of the water?”

  He smiled slightly. “No. Without her on the missions, they lack a certain vibrancy that I am missing.”

  Liantha blinked in surprise. “Well, that is unexpected. She has taken leave for her family. Her mother is dying. Cancer. Even the fey healers can only delay it.”

  “What of her father?”

  “Her father died eight years ago.”

  He felt horrified. “How?”

  “Heart attack. Her parents came to their union late, and Roxanne emerged shortly after that. She has only her mother and some cousins left in the world.”

  He blinked. “Ah. May I visit her and extend my sympathies?”

  “Really?” Liantha smiled slightly. “It is a nice thought, but she isn’t there. Her mother’s dying wish is that Roxanne finds a mate, so they have sent her to the Crossroads.”

  Ice dropped into his stomach. “When?”

  “I believe she arrived yesterday. She is a friendly young lady, and she has a mission in mind. You know, she never messes up a mission.” The half-elf smiled. “I am already trying to pick out a mating gift. It won’t be long.”

  * * * *

  Liantha laughed as Moriven stormed out of her office. She picked up her phone and made a call. “Hiya, Drak. Yes, he freaked out and is on his way to get to the Crossroads. Is she still moping around?”

  “She is trying to get into the swing of things, but she has a thousand years of worries on her shoulders, and it shows.” Drak sighed.

  “Well, he is on his way, and he will nag a response out of her. If any two beings were ever designed for each other, these two are, and they are both too fixated to see it.”

  “That is what I am here for.”

  Liantha snorted. “And I am here to assign hunters onto those who flee. I think I did a pretty good job.”

  They both chuckled and then ended the call. The pieces were in motion. It had just taken a huge push.

  Chapter Two

  Staying at the Axion was rather fun. She was used to contact with the fey and the small static awareness that their magic brought to her limbs.

  Being surrounded by the fey had a very normal feeling for her, so it was with determination that she put on a sundress and heels and went looking for a mate. The sooner she got it over with, the sooner she could head home.

  It wasn’t a particularly romantic train of thought, but it wasn’t the worst way to start the day.

  She looked at Teelia, and a deck of cards came flying at her. Roxanne plucked them out of the air and took a seat at one of the booths. She shuffled and laid out a game of solitaire. Her nose would tell her when a likely guy came by.

  She settled in and started to play, keeping her head down and her senses open. If Mr. Right came through the door, she would know.

  * * * *

  Moriven stepped toward the guardians of the Crossroads, and the woman smiled. “Moriven Hotbow?”

  He paused and inclined his head. “Yes, Madam.”

  The male smiled. “I am Tony, my mate is Teal. We are here to help you find your way around the Crossroads.”

  “Thank you.”

  The woman waved him over. “Come here, and we will get you registered.”

  He nodded and followed the woman’s instruction to have a glyph pressed into his skin, and he signed his agreement to wait until he found a mate or until the king of the fey summoned him. That was an order he couldn’t miss.

  Teal smiled. “Right. Tony is going to take you to the Axion.”

  “The fey establishment?”

  “Correct.”

  “Can you tell me where Roxanne is?”

  Teal blinked. “Um, at this moment, I have no idea.”

  Tony chuckled. “I will take you on tour, and you can keep an eye out for her.”

  Moriven nodded. He had no other option. He had to wait to see his rival. He wondered if she had had any success yet and if he was able to destroy her lover if she had found one. He hadn’t dogged her every step for the last four years to have her choose another male.

  * * * *

  Roxanne paused in her game and raised her head. There was something familiar on the wind. Tiny molecules were making their way to her nostrils, and she could smell something or someone that interested her.

  Teelia looked at her. “Did you sense someone?”

  Roxanne l
ifted her head and scented, but the smell was gone. “I must have been imagining something or someone.”

  “You have only been here for two days. Give yourself time. Not everyone finds a match right away. For most, it takes over a week.”

  Roxanne didn’t want to explain that she didn’t have that kind of time. Instead, she kept playing solitaire to keep herself calm. She wanted to run out and sniff for anyone that her beast would consider suitable, but if he didn’t come into the bar, it wasn’t likely that he was right for her. Everybody came into the Crossed Star. It was a right of passage.

  She kept turning the cards over and over, occasionally looking up and talking to the man who had decided to sit across from her. A few minutes chatting with him usually got them both on the same page that he wasn’t suitable or that she wasn’t.

  Teelia watched all of the interactions with interest, occasionally flaring her glittery wings.

  Roxanne had run through over a dozen of those fey and shifters, but she knew that they weren’t the one. Her mother and father had always been specific about the beast knowing the right person and standing up from within when that person appeared in front of them. That is how they had known, and she shared her father’s beast, so that is how she would know. When her boring little hound sat up and bayed to get her attention, she would know that it was the right time with the right man.

  She checked her watch. It was time to head in and call her mom. That is why she had chosen the Axion. It had communications set up for easy access. Her mom was enjoying having a handsome brownie in her house, waiting on her hand and foot as well as keeping her illness from progressing.

  She gathered her cards, tucked them back in the pack, and returned them to Teelia. “Thanks. I hate not being busy.”

  “No problem. I like that you don’t cheat. If you lose, you just lose.”