by A. Vers
GHOSTS AND
HUNTER BOYS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
The outside of the house was old slats of wood, their color somewhere between gravestone gray and dusky brown. A chimney rose from one side of the aged roof, but even late summer in Salem was too warm to need a fire, and the smoke would draw attention we didn’t need.
There were numerous windows, some broken, some not. The old panes were framed in half falling shutters so decaying if you poked them they would crumble.
Morgan walked up to the door and pushed inward. It creaked loudly but opened onto a leaf strewn floor of tarnished hardwood. We slipped inside and dust and mildew assaulted my nose. I knew with Morgan’s heightened senses, it would be worse for her, but she did not complain. Did not, in fact, even bring it up.
The pride I felt for her was swift.
She had come a long way from the meek vampire I met a few weeks ago. But when the world you knew was snatched out from under you, you either changed to meet it head on or let it consume you. And Morgan was an apex predator.
She evolved.
ALSO BY A. VERS
New Adult Urban Fantasy
Lost Nights Series
Blood is Forever
Bloody Thanks
Fire & Blood
Hunt for Blood
Blood Lines
Requiem Codices
Grave Night
Young Adult Paranormal
The Covenant Trilogy
Witch’s Hammer
Veil of Midnight
Shadowed Fire
Fire Weaver
Fires of Eden
Adult Paranormal Romance
Dark Ties
Marked
Mated
Bound
Seven Hells
Circle of Fire
Cover Art & Design: Dark Wolf Graphix
Ghosts and Hunter Boys
Book 2
Misfit Academy
www.authoravers.com
Copyright© A. Vers, 2020
Full Moon Publishing
All Rights Reserved
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Dedication
To my readers with love.
Ghosts
and
Hunter Boys
MISFIT ACADEMY
BOOK 2
A. VERS
Chapter 1
Morgan
Outside the windows of the Jeep, dark water splashed onto the shoreline, the rhythmic slaps jarring and unfamiliar to me. The flag—on its pole—danced in a nighttime breeze, and cool air rolled through the open window, ruffling my long, midnight hair.
I shifted again in my seat, but it was hard to get comfortable enough for sleep to claim me. There was too much on my mind. Too many fears. Too many worries. I glanced over.
Ryder Hanlon’s eyes were closed and his seat all the way back to make room for his taller frame. The rise and fall of his broad chest was smooth and even as he slept away. Unaware of my turmoil. He, it seemed, had no problem resting inside a human vehicle.
With his burnished hair disheveled around his face, he reminded me of a sleeping lion, moments from waking and pouncing if the need arose.
His body, under the jeans and simple shirt, was toned and hardened with strong muscle for a male his age. When his eyes were open, they were a vibrant hazel; the color threaded with cunning, wit, and old anger.
Anger was something I now felt coursing inside me.
All the years of lies yawned wide, ready to swallow me whole. Everything my parents said was an untruth. And Ames was no better.
Pain ripped through me at the mere thought of my betrothed, tightening my chest until it ached.
My parents were killers, draining humans of their precious life’s blood, and Ames had helped to hide it. How many victims had they claimed? I still didn’t know. But even one was too many.
Their betrayal—their evil had caused a dark druid to come after me, forcing me to flee Lokworth Academy for Supernaturals. My home for the last four years.
Ryder had saved me. And when I asked, he whisked us away into the night, leaving the fighting and the blood staining my past far behind.
And now, it was just the two of us.
Sighing, I gingerly opened the old door beside me and climbed out onto the pavement of the small overlook.
There was an occasional chirrup of some nocturnal beast as I stepped past the hood and descended the path closer to the water.
It was not a terrible view.
Distant buildings lined the far shore, few lights illuminating their facets with the late hour. But the trees were lush, their colors more vibrant than the ones around Lokworth Academy.
It had taken quite a while to get to Salem. Even longer to find somewhere to hide and rest for the night.
Ryder was used to moving around. I had been in the same place for four years. And I was rapidly realizing the world was much vaster than I ever knew.
But I refused to go back. I would not willingly face my parents again. Not now, and maybe not ever.
A soft creak sounded. “Morgan?”
I turned from the softly rolling waves as Ryder climbed from the Jeep. His face was still languid from sleep, his eyes heavy-lidded. If we had not been running for our lives, I would have walked to him and kissed him.
But he had not touched me at all since we left Easthaven. I was beginning to wonder if he regretted bringing me along.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked wryly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he stalked closer.
Despite being human, Ryder moved like a shapeshifter. Graceful. Lithe.
He was trained from a young age to be a hunter of the supernatural races. That was no easy feat, hunting beings more powerful than yourself. But it was a prejudice that was born when vampires killed his mother in front of him, and a hate his father had stoked like adding wood to a fire.
For some reason, he chose to help me instead of kill me. I regretted the wedge it had driven between him and his family, leaving him in nearly as much danger as I was in. But I was grateful for an ally.
I shook my head. “Thinking too much, I guess.”
He drew to a stop beside me, and his masculine fragrance floated to me on the wind. For several long beats of my heart, he was quiet. “I know the Jeep isn’t the most comfortable spot in the world right now,” he murmured, not meeting my gaze, “but you need to rest while you can.”
“I know,” I told him. “And I will. Later.” I glanced at him under my lashes. “You should go back to sleep.”
His square jaw blanched in the moonlight, and I wondered if he was grinding his teeth. “I
will when you do.”
My face flushed. I was glad for the dimness as I dropped my gaze to my shoes. Sleep was not forthcoming as of late. “Sorry.”
I could feel his gaze on the side of my face as he peered sidelong at me. “Why don’t we walk?” His voice was softer. “Maybe it will help you sleep.”
I gave a jerky nod but followed him away from the Jeep and past the benches lining the shore.
The waves splashed and played over the narrow strip of damp sand. In the moonlight, they were almost silver, shimmery and foaming. I had never been so close to the ocean, but even the expanse before me was breathtaking. Humbling.
Ryder paced at my side, his long legs measured to mine. “There’s a lighthouse farther down,” he told me as we walked. “It’s not as big as some of the ones I’ve seen, but we can walk out to it. If you want …” He trailed off.
“I’ve never seen a lighthouse in person,” I said and his bright gaze dropped to mine before he turned his head away.
We continued down the shoreline in silence, picking our way over sparse grass, the cloying sand, and rock. Before long, the moonlight picked up an oblong shape off the shore.
The structure was tall with a white base and dark, midnight top. A single light was visible just inside, and as it whirred around, the shaft of amber light danced over the rocks before us.
Ryder stopped. “See? Not as big as some of the ones I’ve seen.” His tone was trying for light, but everything he said was gruff with the rasp in his voice.
Wrapping my arms around my waist, I took a few steps closer to the lighthouse, marveling at the panels of steel, the jagged rocks beneath it, and the way the light illuminated the dark.
“It’s amazing,” I said honestly.
He was quiet.
I peered over my shoulder to find him in the same place. The light cast over his face, brightening his tan skin, his beautiful eyes, and finding the blonde highlights in his thick, dark hair.
“I forget that there is so much you haven’t experienced,” he said, his voice like a husky whisper. Only my enhanced hearing made it easy for me to make out each word. His shoulders sagged and he moved closer. “Morgan, I—”
A rock tumbled loose behind me before plunging into the water with a thunk. My heart skipped several beats as the quiet reined once more. I gave a nervous chuckle.
I was still jumpy.
Ryder ran a hand through his hair, the strands already tousled from the breeze. “Come on,” he told me. “You should try to sleep. I’ll take watch for a while.” He turned on his heel and started back the way we came.
For a moment, I watched him go.
It wasn’t a dismissal. More of a soft plea.
We both needed sleep and the overlook was as safe as anywhere else. I forced myself to breathe, to calm. Sleep was necessary.
I would sleep.
I had to.
Turning, I took one last look at the lighthouse before jogging over the sand to catch up.
Chapter 2
Ryder
I pulled the Jeep around the abandoned house and parked. Morgan was quiet beside me, her lilac eyes already surveying the old colonial structure with that curious air of hers.
In the gray light of an overcast dawn, her raven hair was braided and draped over one lean shoulder. Still clad in her Lokworth uniform of a purple blouse and that infuriatingly sexy black skirt, she looked like a college girl home on break. From a distance, she could almost pass as human. A very hot, human model, but still.
She shifted a bit, raising up in her seat to look around, and I knew eventually I was going to have to find her some clothes from somewhere.
It was already taking all my focus to keep from staring at the smooth expanse of her long legs. Or her full lips. The ones I could still feel under my own.
Turning off the stolen Jeep, I peered at her. “This isn’t permanent either, but we can make a trip into town. Grab some gear,” I said.
I don’t know why I felt like I had to validate my choice. She hadn’t disagreed with anything so far.
She glanced shyly at me, a faint gleam in her irises as she smiled. I would never get used to that. Her smile. “This is fine, Ryder.” She opened her door and climbed out, leaving me in the quiet.
My hands clenched around the steering wheel and the leather groaned. Taking several deep breaths, I opened my door and trailed her.
The house sat on the outskirts of Salem. Like many of the older properties, this one had quite the backstory, complete with fables of magick and ghosts.
Considering Morgan was a vampire, I knew the supernatural world existed.
But I had also spent the better part of my life hunting it, and ghosts didn’t scare me.
The locals on the other hand …
I doubted they would be coming out here and shooing us off the property. Which made it a great place to squat in.
The outside of the house was old slats of wood, their color somewhere between gravestone gray and dusky brown. A chimney rose from one side of the aged roof, but even late summer in Salem was too warm to need a fire, and the smoke would draw attention we didn’t need.
There were numerous windows, some broken, some not. The old panes were framed in half falling shutters so decaying if you poked them with a finger they would crumble.
Morgan walked up to the door and pushed inward. It creaked loudly but opened onto a leaf strewn floor of tarnished hardwood. We slipped inside and dust and mildew assaulted my nose. I knew with Morgan’s heightened senses, it would be worse for her, but she did not complain. Did not, in fact, even bring it up.
The pride I felt for her was swift.
She had come a long way from the meek vampire I met a few weeks ago. But when the world you knew was snatched out from under you, you either changed to meet it head on or let it consume you. And Morgan was an apex predator.
She evolved.
“There are several small heartbeats,” she said as her thick heels clicked over the floor. “But nothing human.”
“Rats, more than likely,” I said, scanning the place. “The more noise we make, the faster they will leave.”
I brushed past her, my arm skimming hers. The coolness of her skin was nice in the early morning humidity. There was a storm building on the horizon, and I wanted us sheltered in long before it got to town.
“We should consider staying toward the rear of the house,” I said as I walked down the wide hall. “Fewer chances for someone to see us from the roadway.”
There were so many overgrown bushes and trees that I wasn’t sure it would be a problem. But with the druid after her, and my own hunter father looking for me, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Okay,” she said from behind me.
At the end of the hall, two archways gave way to an old kitchen with steel counters, and an open square room that overlooked the small side yard and the trees. The room was large enough for two cots and there would still be room left over. I wanted Morgan close in case we had to bail fast.
“It’s warm enough that if we open the windows, it may dry out some of the dampness in the air,” I muttered, taking in the wood-paneled walls and the dust clinging to everything.
“The sashes may be swollen from the same moisture,” she told me, stepping up beside me.
“Then we both have to push,” I teased her.
Another small smile was my answer.
Tattered curtains obscured both windows and I walked over, pulling them down. Dust flew. Waving my free hand to clear the air, I took the crumbling fabric through the kitchen and opened a window. Chunking it outside, it fluttered to the ground.
Walking back to the open room, we each grabbed a side of the thick wooden sill and heaved. Though it screeched from lack of movement, it rose enough to allow in a small breeze. We made quick work of the other window too.
In the kitchen, I scanned the cupboards, verified the stove, and frowned.
Food was going to be interesting. But there was an open, scree
ned in back porch. Plenty of room for a camping stove.
We explored the rest of the house, taking in the single bathroom, the grand parlor, another square room, and a slim doorway that led upstairs to an attic.
Morgan laid her hand on the knob and I stopped her. “May not be a good idea,” I admitted.
“Why?”
“There is a reason this place is empty,” I told her and strolled backward down the hall. “It may be haunted.” I tried to grin, to show her I was only teasing. But my eyes kept falling to her lips.
A faint flush of color tinged her cheeks, and I wanted to run my thumb over the pink hue until she flushed all over.
Clearing my throat, I let my smile slip. “Now that we have a basic layout, we need to get some supplies.” She nodded solemnly. I wanted to smile at her again. Anything to get some of the life back I had just glimpsed. But it was too late.
Her mood seemed to stay in melancholic worry more often than anything else. Every time I glanced her way the last few days, she seemed deep in thought. So deep that sometimes I wasn’t sure I could bring her out.
I exhaled and hated our situation a little more. “Then come on,” I told her. “Let’s go to the store.”
The downtown sector of Salem was not what anyone would call modern. But in a town rife with such rich history, who could really blame them? I wouldn’t want to crowd it with chain department stores either.
However, it also meant our choices were limited on places to shop.
The money I had was linked to the family. A family of hunters that wanted Morgan’s head on a platter as much as they wanted me back in the fold.
I had stopped outside of Easthaven to fuel up the Jeep and get food for the road. While Morgan had washed up in the gas station bathroom, I disabled the GPS on Dad’s Jeep and took out my daily limit at the ATM. Then I tossed my debit card in the trash.
