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

by Suzy Shearer

“Okay, I understand.”

  “I suggest you go now and feed. She will sleep and Milly is there to watch over her during the short time you are gone. When she wakes, let her eat a light meal to fill her empty stomach, then feed her.”

  Tomas took Michael’s advice. He made sure Julie was deeply asleep and swiftly dematerialised after telling Milly she must guard her mistress. He changed into his owl form and flew closer to the city until he found a lone man walking from a nearby railway station. Quickly he cloaked them both and fed, leaving the man with a pleasant memory of eating a delicious dinner.

  When he returned, Milly licked his face worriedly as he lay beside Julie.

  “She’ll be fine, Milly, when she wakes she’ll be able to play with you as I do. You will be able to let her know how much you love her.”

  Milly gave a little bark of pleasure and then settled down in her bed to sleep the night away. Tomas, on the other hand, spent the night watching Julie sleep. He found it impossible to take his eyes off her. Not only was she was his mate but now was an immortal!

  Chapter Nineteen

  Julie woke.

  Tomas knew she was awake but she had not moved at all. It was only her increased breathing that gave her away and the fact that Tomas was linked with her. He desperately wanted to hold her, kiss her, but he knew she needed time to explore her new abilities and feelings.

  Slowly she stretched. Just as slowly, she turned her head to look at him. He drew a gasp as she opened her eyes, they were even more beautiful—the blue was now so vivid, with tiny flecks of turquoise and grey. They widened as they looked at him.

  “Hello, iubită.”

  Suddenly she tore back the blanket, jumped to her feet, and looked down at her body. She started to turn and Tomas called in warning.

  “Don’t run!”

  She looked back him in puzzlement but walked into the bathroom to look in the mirror.

  The first thing that she noticed was that her skin was firmer, she was still nicely padded but she could see a layer of muscle instead of fat. Her large breasts were perkier, as if she had them lifted. Julie leaned in closer to the mirror and gave a gasp when she saw her eyes. She had noticed that the other four Hunters’ eyes were beautiful, their colour was enhanced and the diamond-like flecks of other colours made them almost mesmerising. Now her eyes were just as amazing.

  She laughed loudly with pleasure, twirling in front of the mirror before realising she now looked about thirty. Julie turned and went back into the bedroom, where Tomas was sitting on the edge of the bed looking nervous.

  She flung herself into his arms, kissed him, and felt him give a contented sigh.

  “I can’t quite believe it.” She giggled. “Look at me!”

  She cupped her breasts. Tomas gulped. “I’m looking, believe me, I’m looking! You are so beautiful.” He bent his head to kiss each nipple before once more pressing his lips to hers.

  Julie returned his kiss with as much passion as she felt, but the effect was spoilt by her stomach rumbling. Tomas laughed and set her on her feet in front of him.

  “You need to feed. You will need both food and blood after the conversion.”

  Julie pouted, she wanted to make love to Tomas, but her stomach was still rumbling and she knew she really did need to eat.

  “Merge with me and I’ll show you how to dress. It’s simple to do and a good place to start your lessons.”

  Julie complied. She soon got the hang of imagining clothing on her body and within a few minutes was able to dress with ease.

  “How can you change into an animal but still have your knives or the holy water when you change back into a person?”

  “It is just a matter of including those things in the image of the animal. That way they are included in the transformation and are available to us when we need them. I honestly have no idea how it works, but it does.”

  They walked into the kitchen. Tomas sat Julie on a seat and told her he would make her something to eat. She watched as he made a very professional looking Croquet Monsieur for them both. While they waited for it to cook, Tomas told her of the things she would now be able to do.

  “As well as dressing and transforming, you can now run very fast. You are now stronger, even stronger than human strongmen are. You will find your senses have all increased, hearing, smell, touch, everything will be heightened. You can see easily at night.”

  “All that? Oh, wow!”

  Julie was amazed at how much her body must have changed. Tomas set a plate of food in front of her and she got her first taste of her new senses when she realised she could smell every part of the sandwich. When she had a mouthful, she looked open-eyed at Tomas.

  “Oh my goodness! The taste! This is amazing.”

  He grinned at her as he bit into his own food. Julie ate with relish, savouring each mouthful. She thought it was almost orgasmic as each flavour merged on her tongue.

  Curiously she asked, “Why did you tell me not to run when I got up?”

  Tomas began laughing, “When Charlotte first changed she raced into the bathroom to see what she looked like but instead ended up in another room. Matei had forgotten to tell her that she now could run super fast. I didn’t want you running into the wall.”

  “Ouch! That would hurt,” she exclaimed. “I’ll remember to go outside when I want to try running for the first time.”

  They finished their meal and together cleaned up. Tomas took her hand and led her back into the bedroom. They climbed onto the bed, Tomas showing Julie how by just imagining she could remove her clothing.

  “The sun is beginning its daytime journey and we must sleep, iubită. Then tonight we must finalise our plan to destroy the strigoaică.”

  “I’ll be so glad when she is gone.” Julie shivered, “Too many people have died because of her.”

  Tomas kissed her forehead. “At least we have destroyed all her suitors. Tonight or tomorrow night we will complete the task and destroy her.”

  Julie felt his hand running up and down her arm. It felt very sensual and she moved her body slightly so his hand brushed against her breast. Her nipple immediately pebbled as his fingers lightly touched it as his hand continued its journey up and down. She had thought his touch was sensual and amazing before her conversion, now it was almost orgasmic.

  She heard his breathing increase as his hand made another pass, lingering a little against her hardened point. She knew her own was faster. She glanced up into Tomas’s face and gasped at the passion she saw in it. Tomas lowered his head to capture her mouth. Her arm went around his head, her fingers tangling in his hair.

  “Dragostea mea.” His voice was husky with his own arousal as his hand ran down her arm and settled in the wet thatch between her legs.

  If Julie thought the sex was amazing before, now she was almost blown away as she merged with Tomas. Every sensation was even more heightened. His hand between her legs was sending ripples of energy through her body, his lips on hers seemed to be on fire. She could only moan in delight as he pushed a finger into her.

  Julie began to run her hand up and down his erect cock. She wanted to taste it and went to move down his body, but Tomas held her back. He twisted his body until he was positioned between her legs and slowly, sensually began to thrust in and out of her.

  Of their own accord, her fangs broke out and she leant forward to bite just above the swell of his left breast. She felt Tomas almost come as soon as he felt her fangs puncture his skin, and he groaned in pleasure at her drinking. She knew he wanted to bite her but was waiting until she had drunk her fill.

  The joint pleasure of feeling his cock thrusting in and out and the taste of his rich blood sent her over the edge and she grabbed tight on his cock with her muscles and came hard.

  Dropping her head to the pillow after licking the bite, she sighed as Tomas continued to pump into her. Now that she had stopped feeding, he lowered his head and sank his fangs into her breast. It was now Julie’s turn to feel arousal and pleasure
at him feeding.

  She was stunned at how much more erotic it was now that she had fangs. Just feeling him pierce her skin had given her another orgasm, and merged as she was with him she could feel his climax building. He thrust hard into her, his back arched, hips pushing as he stopped sucking to let out a shout of pleasure as he came.

  Tomas fell weakly against her, licked the wound on her breast, then rolled to the side, pulling her with him, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She ran her fingers against her fangs. They felt sharp and long.

  “How do I make my fangs go back?”

  “Just imagine them away, imagine normal teeth.”

  With her fingers still touching, she felt her fangs recede into her gums until her teeth felt normal again.

  As they lay together in contented silence with Tomas’s hands lightly caressing her, Julie felt Tomas tense slightly, then a few minutes later, he spoke.

  “Viorel Nicolescu is coming tonight, Michael just told me. He will meet him at the airport.”

  “Is that the council Hunter?”

  “Yes, you will like him. He has a dry sense of humour and is much liked by everyone.”

  “Does he have a partner?”

  “No.” Tomas looked thoughtful. “I can’t imagine what his life is like. He is 2937 years old and to live that long without a mate must be so lonely. I was feeling lonely after just a few hundred years.”

  Julie sat up, shocked. “2937 years old? You’re joking!”

  Tomas shook his head, “No. His father is one of the original twenty. He has an older brother and a couple of younger ones, also younger sisters, all with mates.”

  Rather than deal with the way they spoke so casually of thousands of years, Julie changed the topic.

  “He was lucky to get an evening flight.”

  “No, council has its own planes. They are all equipped with block-out window shades and so we can travel anywhere in the world easily. The crew are all mortals who have been with us many years and are trustworthy.”

  “Oh, I guess that makes sense. How did you travel before the advent of planes?”

  “Flew, the hard way. We would take weeks, months to fly from one place to another. Sheltering in caves, isolated places, and friends’ homes along the way.”

  “Oh wow, I’m glad I wasn’t around then.”

  Tomas joined her laughing, then told her, “He is on his way back to Europe but decided to stopover here. Probably wants a full report on what we found. All the information we gather about strigoi makes it easier for us to destroy them. The fact that this is a female and the amount of suitors she gathered is even more important. We need all the information we can get.”

  “Tomas, my eyes feel really heavy,” Julie confessed. “Is that normal?”

  “Yes, iubită, remember the sun has been up for a while now. We both will sleep until late this afternoon.”

  “Oh, thank goodness, I thought something was wrong for a moment. What about the chickens? We haven’t let them out.”

  “Lay there, I’ll do that now and feed Milly.”

  Tomas dematerialised and fed and watered the chickens, leaving them free to roam. He gave Milly fresh water and food, then walked back into the bedroom.

  “When will you teach me how to do that?” Julie demanded.

  “Tonight will begin your first lessons, but now you need to sleep.” He leant over and kissed her, then pulled the bed covers over them both. Julie snuggled into him and laid her head on his chest as they both drifted off, Julie into her first proper sleep of an immortal.

  Chapter Twenty

  “How do you feel like learning how to change into a wolf?”

  “Now?” Julie excitingly asked. “We can try it now? Oh yes please, I’ve really wanted to ever since I saw you all playing.” Julie was almost jumping with excitement.

  Tomas pulled her into his arms. “It is easy but I’ll be in control the first few times until I’m sure you can hold the image.”

  Julie was nervous but excited as Tomas led her outside, Milly following, sensing that soon it would be playtime.

  “The most important thing is to keep the image of your wolf in the forefront of your mind. Movement will just come naturally, you will still think as a human but you’ll also think as a wolf. Your senses will feel different. The sense of smell and of hearing will be strongest.”

  Julie listened attentively as Tomas spoke.

  “Merge with me and watch what I do in my mind as I change back and forth.”

  Swiftly Tomas became a wolf, then a man, then slowly back to a wolf. He changed once more into a man, standing alongside Julie.

  “This time when we are merged, give me control. You will be able to feel all I do. Ready?”

  She nodded, too nervous to speak. She felt Tomas in her mind, felt him take control and she “saw” the image of a wolf as he slowly began to transform. She felt her limbs alter as she also transformed until she was standing on four legs beside Tomas, glancing down her body and delighted with her lovely wolf shape.

  “Try walking.”

  She trotted back and forth then sat in front of Tomas.

  “Okay, now I’m going to change back. Watch and feel.”

  The next fifteen minutes were spent with Julie learning how to change between forms, until she could finally complete and hold the transformation easily. Once Tomas was sure it had become second nature, he told her it was time to play. All the while Milly had been sitting patiently but as soon as Tomas said “play” she was off. Julie transformed.

  She revelled in the speed, the freedom, the scents of the night as she chased after Tomas and Milly. With growing confidence, she caught up to the pair and proceeded to nip at Tomas’s tail. He turned and easily bowled her over. She was laughing but all she could hear were funny little growls and barks.

  Milly joined in the fun and the three of them were jumping, rolling each other over and nipping softly. Julie couldn’t remember when she’d had so much fun just playing, but she was starting to get tired. Tomas told her it was time to go back into the house and she followed him as he went through the dog door.

  When she had turned back into human form, she was still giggling. Laughingly, Tomas reminded her she was naked by ogling and leering at her. She blushed then clumsily dressed herself in the way of all immortals.

  “I still can’t believe I can make my clothes.”

  “Mm, maybe I shouldn’t have taught you that, I much prefer seeing you naked.”

  She looked pointedly at his erection. “I can see you do.”

  He just winked. Dressing, he went into the kitchen, returning with a glass of juice for each of them. They sat on the couch with Milly lying exhausted at their feet.

  “Is transforming into a bird the same?”

  “Yes, it is all just a matter of holding the image. When flying you need to take into account wind, but basically it’s the same. We’ll do that later, I have other plans for now.”

  “And what would that be?”

  His voice became husky with passion as he responded, “You need to feed. For the first few weeks your body will need more food, then it will adjust.”

  Julie would never have believed that those few words could fill her with heat. She drew a heavy breath and looked into his eyes as he stood and lifted her into his arms to carry her into the bedroom.

  Unfortunately, just as Tomas threw her onto the bed with a laugh they both “heard” Louisa.

  “I’m on my way, just thought I would give you warning in case you were doing something interesting.”

  Tomas threw his head back, then shook it. “Wow, talk about bad timing!”

  “Can I talk to Louisa like that now?”

  “You should be able to easily. Just think only of her when you ‘speak,’ it should come naturally.”

  “Louisa?”

  “Ha Julie, how do you feel? How was it? Did it hurt badly?”

  “I feel absolutely amazing! But it was horrid and it hurt so much but I’m so glad I
did it.”

  “Michael is meeting up with Viorel, so I figured I would just come directly to you. I’ll be there in about five minutes. Martin and Avril will be there soon, too.”

  Julie had a silly grin on her face as she and Tomas went back into the family room. Louisa materialised. She grasped Julie’s arms and gave her the formal Hunters greeting.

  “Live şi lupta cu onoarea, Julie.” Then she quickly wrapped her in a hug. “This is so exciting!”

  Tomas moved to Louisa and kissed both her cheeks. Julie was about to ask her if she wanted a cup of tea when they all heard the doorbell ring.

  “You will need to give him permission to enter, Julie.”

  “Can’t you do it now we are together?”

  “No. It is still your home. When we start the renovations and I hand over money, it will become ours.”

  “Oh. Okay. I’m nervous.”

  Tomas laughed at her and reassured her that Viorel was just the same as any other Hunter as Julie walked to the front door.

  But it didn’t ease her nervousness. Not only was Viorel a council member, but the fact he was 2937 years old was doing her head in. That, plus his father was one of the original twenty Hunters, made her worry she would say or do something wrong.

  It was hard enough to believe and accept that Tomas was three hundred, the fact that Michael was over two thousand was surreal and now she was about to meet someone who was almost three thousand years old!

  When she opened the door, Michael stepped aside and Viorel stepped forward and formally asked her for permission to enter. Julie gave a little gasp. She had no idea what to expect and realised that common sense meant he would look similar to the other Hunters.

  He was as tall as Michael, around six foot nine, a delicious-looking thirty, and he had the same muscular build. His hair was glossy black, straight and loose. It hung almost to his waist. He had five o’clock stubble and his eyes were dark brown with bright golden flecks. Julie now realised those bright flecks were a characteristic of all Hunters.

  He stepped toward her, the aura of power that surrounded Michael was about him, but he had almost a regal presence. He grasped her arms and in a deep melodious voice greeted her.