A Hunter's Choice [The Hunters 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Suzy Shearer

  Suddenly in the back of her mind was a niggling of unease. She had cut his jeans off him and his shirt had been covered in blood, yet now he had clean clothes on.

  The thought was lost as his mouth dropped to her nipple again.

  She felt Tomas wrestling with his pants and watched as he pulled them down. She gasped as his huge erection burst free. As he held it toward her body, Julie had a moment’s panic, wondering if she would be able to accommodate his size, when he thrust into her.

  At first, it felt thick and tight but gradually her body adjusted as he rhythmically began to move inside her. Julie wrapped her legs around him as he began to thrust harder and deeper. She matched his strokes with her hips and then felt him push a hand between them to rub onto her hard clit again.

  She felt her muscles grab onto his turgid cock as another orgasm rolled across her. This time she screamed even louder as it shook her. Her hands clenched into fists, it was wonderful, and it felt like she was dying in pleasure. Tomas increased his thrusts until he, too, came with a loud shout.

  He rested his head on her breast, his weight held up with his hands until his cock fell limp from her warm slit. Rolling to one side, he pulled her with him. They lay panting and gasping for air.

  Julie had no idea how long they lay there, trying to get their breathing back to normal. Finally, Tomas moved. He tried to cover her with the sleeping bag, then wriggled down alongside her again.

  Julie had no idea what to say. So many things were running around her head but she didn’t know what to say first. Tomas saved her by speaking.

  “You are the most amazing woman! I just wish we were on a bed instead of on the ground, next time we can try for somewhere comfortable.”

  “Next time?”

  “Iubită, surely you must know that this is not some five minute fuck. You mean so much to me. I can’t believe how lucky I’m to have found you. You’re truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I’ve dreamed of finding you all my life.”

  Julie raised herself on one elbow and looked at him in puzzlement.

  “I think it is time for you to start talking.”

  He nodded his head and sat up cross-legged. Julie threw his pants at him and he grinned at her but laid them on his lap. He was distraction enough without having to look at his cock. His hair had come loose from the leather thong he had worn. It hung like a silky waterfall over his shoulders and down his back. Julie wanted to reach out, touch it, smell it. Instead she pulled on her T-shirt and manoeuvred her jeans back on.

  “Okay. This is going to sound far-fetched, but believe me it is all true. You’ve already seen the strigoi so it should be easier to accept what I say.”

  Julie snorted a little at his words. Tomas ignored it.

  “My name, as I said, is Tomas, Tomas Lupei. I’m a Hunter of what you would call vampires but I know them as strigoi or strigoaică, a female one. It is the Romanian word for the evil souls that rise from their tombs, the immortal vampires.”

  “As you saw, they have the ability to appear as handsome, they can control human mortals, and they use them for food. They will drain their victims of blood and cast the husk aside.”

  When Tomas said this Julie remembered him drinking from her wrist and she had a shiver of fear.

  “I’m a Hunter, I would never endanger a human. You are always safe with me.”

  She looked unsure, and then noticed something he said.

  “You just said ‘never endanger a human’. A human!” She shrank back against the wall of the tent. “What are you?” She screamed. Shaking her head to and fro, she cried, “What have I done?”

  He tried to take her hand but she pulled away.

  He ran his hand across his face. “I’m a Hunter, Julie. Strigoi are immortal, they prey on the mortal humans. Hunters are immortal also.”

  Julie tried to breathe. “Immortal! Immortal? Oh my god, what are you?”

  She knew was hyperventilating.

  Tomas grabbed her. “Breathe deep, relax, iubită. Hush. Breathe with me.”

  Julie felt him link his breathing to hers. Slowly settling hers into a normal rhythm, he held her hand. She was still terrified, she felt her eyes fill with tears. Still holding her hand, Tomas continued.

  “Many thousands of years ago, when man first came down from the trees, so did another creature. This other species was nocturnal and fed on the blood of other animals. As man began to thrive, this second species was in danger of becoming extinct. A few surviving creatures discovered they could catch humans easily and so they began to use humans as their food.”

  “Over the millennia man tried to fight against the strigoi with little success. Then they began pleading with the Gods to save them. They made offerings, they sacrificed animals, pleaded with the Gods until finally the Gods took pity on them. They took twenty hunters, the finest hunters, and they created what is now known as the Hunters. I’m descended from those first twenty Hunters.”

  None of this made sense to Julie. Gods, vampires, immortal hunters. It sounded like a madman’s raving, except she had seen that creature earlier tonight. And she had seen Tomas, his teeth sunk deep in her wrist.

  “We were created to fight against the strigoi. We are human but immortal humans. We are the light to their dark. We have their strengths, we can transform into other animals, we run fast, our bodies heal very fast. We also have their weaknesses, although not quite as bad.”

  “The strigoi can’t tolerate any sunlight. We can bear it in the early hours of the day and in the late afternoon. They sleep from sunrise to sunset. We can be awake for those first few hours, but then we, too, must sleep.”

  Despite her fear, Julie could hear the truth in Tomas’s voice.

  “There is something you forgot. You drink blood, too, don’t you?”

  He nodded his head. “Yes, yes we do. However, whereas the strigoi live only on blood, a Hunter eats normal food as well as blood. We need blood for our supernatural abilities. A Hunter will only take enough blood from a human to survive. The human wouldn’t even know. We cloak our presence from them and insert a pleasant memory. There are even humans who are friends to Hunters and will freely offer their blood if needed.”

  He searched her face.

  “Do you understand? I would never have harmed you. I only took enough blood from you to aid in my healing and then tonight, when I woke I searched out other humans to drink from, and no one was hurt.”

  “So you drink blood to survive just like them.” Angrily, she pulled her hand from his. “What makes you better than them?”

  Tomas looked hurt that she would compare him to his enemy. “As I said, the vampire lives only on blood. When the vampire drinks, he drains immediately, killing his victim. They also torment, they are cruel. A Hunter would never harm a human. Like mortals, we also eat food, just as you do to survive, although we don’t eat meat.”

  “Tell me the rest,” she asked resignedly.

  “A strigoi sometimes finds a human who is psychic, like you for instance. When they do, they don’t kill them immediately. Instead, they torture them. They keep them alive for a few days or even weeks while they toy with them and feed from them. Filling their mind with pain and agony, breaking bones, wounding them. Making them do unspeakable things. It’s only when they are bored that then they drain them.”

  “So that thing! That thing! It was after me?” Julie could feel her fear rising again.

  “Yes, yes Julie it was. It would have hurt you and eventually killed you.”

  Julie hugged her knees.

  “Is that all?” she whispered.

  “No.”

  Julie looked up in terror.

  “No. There is one other thing I must tell you. When the Gods created the Hunters, they knew they would roam the earth for all eternity unless they were killed or chose to die. They took pity on what would be a lonely existence for the Hunter. So they told them that for every Hunter there is one perfect person for them, their partner, their One. They did
n’t tell them when they would find this One or if they ever would. The only clue they did tell them was they would be a psychic mortal.

  “A Hunter would know immediately when he met his One. In the very instance of meeting them, the Hunter would love them forever and that person would fall in love immediately also, for each is destined for the other. The Gods, in their wisdom, decided to give the Hunter the means to convert their One and in doing so, make them immortal and give them the same strengths and weaknesses as a Hunter.”

  “You, Julie, are my One. I can do nothing but love you. To me you are the most wonderful, most perfect person.”

  He looked at her with sincerity. “You are mine and I’m yours. I love you.”

  It was too much for Julie. She crawled quickly past Tomas and out the tent. She looked around wildly, this was madness!

  She ran to the edge of the clearing.

  She tried to pretend Tomas was insane and his words the ramblings of a madman, but in her heart she knew he told only the truth, already she could feel herself falling in love with him.

  Already she had seen his fangs.

  Already she had seen a vampire.

  Already she could not imagine her life without him.

  She felt him come up behind her, and he put his arms around her and whispered in her ear.

  “Julie, I know this is frightening, but believe me, it will be wonderful. I honestly love you. From the moment I opened my eyes and saw you.”

  Julie leaned against him. She knew she should move but she craved his touch.

  “So what happens now?” Julie surmised, “I’m going to crave blood.”

  He laughed. “No. No cravings for blood. It takes five blood exchanges and we haven’t made any. Yes, I have drunk some of your blood but I didn’t give you any of mine. So you are still fully human.”

  Suddenly Julie tensed. “Oh no! You didn’t have a condom on! Shit!”

  She felt him shake his head. “A Hunter cannot carry any diseases or sicknesses. I can’t get you pregnant, you are still human and I’m an immortal.”

  It was Julie’s turn to laugh, “I’m too old to get pregnant, Tomas.”

  “If you were immortal, you wouldn’t be. A Hunter woman can bear children for thousands of years if she wishes.”

  “Tho…thousands?” Julie stammered, “You look like you’re in your late twenties or maybe thirty. Just how old are you?”

  “I’m young by immortal standards. I have brothers who are almost three thousand years old. I’m only three hundred.”

  Julie felt her legs give way, she would have fallen if Tomas had not tightened his hold around her. He lowered her gently to the ground and knelt before her.

  She was giggling hysterically. “And I was worried because I’m forty-two. I thought you were too young for me. I thought you wanted to be my ‘toyboy.’”

  Tomas smiled at her and pushed a stray hair behind her ears.

  “Is there anything else I should know?”

  He shook his head. “No, that’s about it.”

  Julie just sat there, torn between laughing and crying.

  “I don’t know what to say. I mean, this is so crazy, except I saw that thing. I saw your teeth.”

  “Come back inside. It is cold out here for you. It is very late, too, you need to sleep.”

  As soon as Tomas said it, Julie realised she was cold and she was tired. Glancing down at her watch, she saw it was past two in the morning.

  She let him help her to her feet and lead her back to the tent. They both crawled in, lay down, and covered themselves with the sleeping bag.

  “What are you doing out here all alone anyway, iubită?”

  “Nothing, really. I’m a bit of a loner. I like to get away from people and often come camping for a week or so, I find it relaxing. I run a business from my home so I can do what I like when things are quiet. I have only been out here since yesterday.”

  “I’m so glad you were here. I think I may have died if you weren’t.”

  “What happened? Those wounds, they looked like claw marks.”

  “I fought with two strigoi, one I killed, the other got away, but not before they both wounded me. If I hadn’t stumbled onto your camp, I would have died without blood when the sun rose.”

  Julie didn’t say anything. She was shaken still but she was slowly coming to terms with all she had heard and, more surprisingly, believing it all.

  She repeated her old question, “So what happens now?”

  “I need to track down the other vampire. I have another Hunter and his mate coming, they’ll be here tonight.”

  “Is that the Michael you spoke of?”

  “Yes. He is an old Hunter, over two thousand years. I think he was born around two hundred BCE.”

  Julie felt her head spin at the words. She was glad she was lying down.

  “What about us?”

  He grinned down at her, “That’s completely up to you. If you wish to convert, then I’ll help you. If not, I’ll stay with you until you pass from this world. When that day comes, I’ll enter the sun.”

  It was too much for Julie to take in. She didn’t answer, just rolled onto her side, and she felt Tomas lying beside her, his arm coming over her to hold her safe through the remainder of the night as she slowly fell asleep.

  * * * *

  Tomas knew Julie was overwhelmed by all he had told her, but she had accepted most of what he said. For once, he was thankful for the strigoi. Seeing it, knowing it existed, made it easier for Julie to accept all he had told her, although he had been told “Ones” seemed to accept things very quickly. It was part of the deal the Gods had given Hunters.

  He settled beside her and listened as she finally drifted off to sleep. He “snuck” into her mind and saw although she was fearful, she was no longer frightened of him.

  She was confused more than anything else, confused at her reaction to him, confused by the statement that he loved her and her own feelings toward him. Confused by the knowledge that vampires were real.

  He watched as she slept, occasionally touching her hair, drinking in her scent. He knew he would never tire of looking at her. His heart was filled with joy and love for this precious gift from the Gods.

  Just before sunrise, he rose and went outside. He contacted his parents, his brothers and sisters, and told them his news. They were ecstatic. Matei and Charlotte were so excited. They told him they were thrilled to be able to meet her when they came home in a few months.

  With his family’s good wishes ringing in his mind, Tomas gave one last search around the campsite, then crawled in to settle beside Julie. The sleep of his people would soon overtake him but he knew when he woke his beautiful Julie would be beside him.

  Chapter Five

  When Julie woke and checked her watch, it was just after nine thirty. She looked at Tomas sleeping beside her. He seemed so deeply asleep. Julie really looked at him, and she didn’t notice him breathing. She thought something had happened and he had died. For a moment Julie panicked, then she laid her head on his chest, there was no heartbeat. But then, just as she was about to scream, she softly heard one beat and a rise in his chest.

  Amazed, Julie stayed with her head on his chest listening and watching. It seemed as if his heart beat once every five minutes, in time with his breathing. She gave a sigh of relief but stayed there for about fifteen or twenty minutes, just listening and watching.

  Sitting up, she wondered what to do.

  It was obvious from all Tomas had told her, and from what she had seen, that he was some sort of immortal Hunter. The whole idea overwhelmed her. While she was near him, she could not think straight. His nearness filled her head with images of making love, of spending the rest of her life with him.

  Even now, while he was asleep, she wanted to run her hands across his body, to trace the tattoos that wound across it. She wondered if they held some special significance. They were almost like some ancient script. They wound across his torso and then down eac
h thigh.

  Still she felt she had to get away from him so she could think clearly. He had told her his people slept most of the day. The sun wouldn’t set until around six thirty tonight. That would give her just over eight hours.

  Julie knew she was being silly running away, but to stay meant accepting everything Tomas had told her. It meant believing there were monsters in the world. Even though she had seen one for herself, she wanted to pretend she hadn’t. She wanted everything to be as it was two days ago. She wanted to close her mind and her eyes to thoughts of immortals—both good and bad.

  She picked up her rucksack, stuffed in the first aid kit and some bottled water. Her clothes were already in it. She would leave the tent and sleeping bag. There were dried fruits and nuts, and some dried food packets already in her rucksack. It should only take her seven or eight hours to walk back to her home in the rural outskirts of the big city.

  Julie knew she was running away. Knew she was turning her back on something wonderful. She would never see him again but she knew she could not stay. Knowing there were scary things in the world terrified her, she would rather live in a world of ignorance than know about vampires and immortal Hunters.

  She took off, making good time through the trees. While she walked, she thought and she talked aloud.

  “I can’t believe how crazy I am. For goodness sake, I had sex with a stranger! I keep thinking I’m in love with him! Hell I even keep planning our life together and becoming immortal!”

  She shook her head, normally she was so level headed and sensible. Yes, she had had boyfriends, although none had really meant anything to her. In fact, they could not satisfy her, yet this man had ignited such passion with his words and his touch. Julie steered away from thinking the reason for the attraction was the fact she was literally meant for him alone.

  Julie stopped a few times to rest and drink. Then around two she stopped to eat. Throwing the rucksack on the ground, she settled with her back against it. She should be home by five or five thirty at this rate.