by A. Vers
I gritted my teeth. “I know.”
Maybe there was something in my voice or heartbeat because her head canted back so she could peer at me. “Ryder—”
“I need to go, Morgan.”
Those full pink lips of hers parted. “What?”
“He will keep coming for me. I chose a side I shouldn’t have. I went against family.” Her gaze was almost electric as she searched my face. “I need to give him time.”
It wouldn’t be the first time I was on my own. Dad had left me more times than I could count while he hunted. But this time, I would be the one leaving.
“Then I’m coming with you.”
Morgan’s words rocked through me and I stared at her hard. “What?”
Her lean frame shuffled a bit. “I need to go too. I need to …” She nibbled the side of her mouth. “Giroux is after me. He said I’m the final sacrifice after the humans.”
My gut went cold. “A sacrifice? I don’t—”
“He’s a dark druid.”
My jaw tightened so hard, I was sure it would break.
“He’s after my family. My parents.” Her sigh was tremulous. “They killed … They killed his wife.”
She peered up at me, and I saw the confusion in her gaze. The uncertainty. And in that moment, she appeared wholeheartedly human. Just a lost teenage girl with no one to turn to. “Ames knew. He has known for years.” She gave a small shake of her head. “I can’t trust him now, and I can’t stay here.”
Shit.
I reached for her then.
My hand slid down the smooth skin of her forearm to grip her small hand. She turned her fingers in mine and just gazed at our interlocked hands like the answers she needed were there.
I gripped her chin, tilting her head back so she would look at me. “I don’t know how to fight a dark druid, Morgan.” Her features twisted in a grimace. My thumb scrubbed over the silken line of her jaw. She blinked up at me, and the innocence I saw reflected in her eyes was my undoing. “But I will do everything I can to keep you safe.”
And I would.
So much had changed in such a short time.
It felt weird to promise to protect her when I was no longer sure I could protect myself. But I couldn’t abandon her. Couldn’t walk away.
And that was the problem. I should have. That first damn day I should’ve locked down every damn emotion inside me. But she would have crashed through them.
Hell, she already had.
She drew in a shaky breath and then glanced behind her at Dad’s still unconscious form. “I don’t want you to protect me, Ryder.” Her voice was small, but perfectly clear. When she faced me once again, her eyes were resolute. Almost fierce. “I want to learn to protect myself. And I think you can help me do that.”
I felt my jaw go slack.
Her eyes spun. “I want you to teach me to be a hunter.”
Chapter 43
Morgan
Ryder gazed down at me for several long beats of my heart.
I had no idea what he was thinking. He kept his expression almost stony. Blank. With a busted lip and one rapidly swelling eye, he looked like he had been in the mother of all fights. How he managed to stay upright, I could not fathom.
But that, more than anything, was why I had spoken the truth.
Ryder, for all his humanity, was as strong as one of my kind.
I did not know if I could ever get past what he was. Just as I was sure I could never get past Ames’ lies. But I could use Ryder’s knowledge if he was willing to share it. I could learn from him and make it so I never needed anyone to protect me again.
A trace of guilt and anxiety began to rise, but I squashed it fast.
This was the only way.
I needed time. Distance.
Training.
And I couldn’t have either with Ames or Giroux breathing down my neck.
The days of my being weak, of worrying what others thought, was now far behind me. I may have been a vampire, but I would never be the victim again. I would never be the scapegoat.
“Morgan!” Ames’ voice pierced the night.
My heart slammed in my chest, and I gripped Ryder’s hand tighter as he peered out through the trees.
He swore and turned back to me. “Okay. Fine,” he said fast. “But you have to listen to me, do you understand?”
I nodded.
I would do whatever he asked as long as I got far from Ames. Far from the deceit that weighed like blackness in my heart.
Ryder gazed around before pulling me into the tree line. We didn’t run, not quite, but I knew he was trying to put distance between ourselves and the transitioned vampire somewhere behind us.
I let him lead me without a word.
We traversed thickets of brush and dense copses of evergreens. He forced us straight through the boughs, releasing their pungent fragrance into the air like a cloud as it helped to hide our own scents.
I don’t know how long we ran or how far. But when he veered out onto a well-trodden path, I knew Lokworth was long behind us.
Ryder cautiously maneuvered us down the trail and out into what appeared to be a small, dirt-packed lot of empty cars.
He smirked. “Knew it.” Pulling me with him, he sprinted toward an older Jeep. “Get in.”
I moved around the car and opened the door.
The interior was just as aged as the outside, but clean. I climbed into the narrow seat as Ryder found his place behind the wheel.
There was a set of keys still in the ignition and I watched silently as he started the vehicle. With deft movements, he eased out of the lot and slipped out onto a dirt and gravel road.
I watched the sign for Easthaven Park speed past the window and had to swallow hard.
We were really doing this. We were leaving.
Ryder glanced sidelong at me. “Where to?” he asked.
In the shadowed interior of the car, his jaw was darker than normal. As was his burnished mane of hair.
“I don’t know,” I said, honestly.
I had never been anywhere except Lokworth, home, and my single trip to Easthaven.
And where did one go when they were running away?
He pursed his lips. “I hear there are no vampires in Salem. It’s a two-hour drive, but …” His hazel eyes dipped over. “It may be a bit quieter. We could rest for a few days. Figure something else out.”
I stayed silent for so long, he lifted one hand from the wheel and extended it to me. I clasped his hand like it was a lifeline.
And in a way, it was.
His grip was the only thing keeping me tethered. Grounded. I had never been away from my kind. First the colony. Then Lokworth. In both places, vampire kin surrounded me. I was protected. Sheltered.
Or so I thought.
But maybe Ryder’s dad had a point in hating my kind.
Even my own parents had given in to their bloodlust. They were monsters.
I didn’t want to be one, too, but I had no idea how to stop it.
Would I eventually wind up just like them?
Would I hurt him?
No.
I wouldn’t let myself hurt him. No matter the cost to me.
Ryder would stay safe if it was the last thing I did.
Shaking silently and trying not to vomit, I pressed the back of Ryder’s arm to my quivering stomach and wrapped my other hand over his knuckles. His touch soothed some of the fear. But not nearly enough. When I spoke, I was careful to keep the quiver from my voice. “Then we go to Salem,” I breathed, and his fingers tightened around mine. “Anywhere is better than here.”
To be continued in Ghosts and Hunter Boys.
GHOSTS AND HUNTER BOYS
Misfit Academy II
Bonded by blood and a passion neither expected, Morgan Read and Ryder Hanlon are on the run. But with hunters, a dark druid, and the local supernatural populace chasing them, they have nowhere to hide. Nowhere to go.
Except maybe a haunted building on th
e edge of Salem.
But a vampire and a hunter should be more than a match for a few ghosts, right?
All seems to be looking up for the pair when a chance occurrence leaves them in the hands of an ancient organization known simply as the Horn of God.
Now, Morgan and Ryder will have to use all their wits to get themselves free. Because this group wants more than just answers. They want Ryder to join their secret ranks.
Fighting for freedom and maybe the chance to be together, Morgan and Ryder will be tested in ways they never imagined.
But no one ever said school was easy.
--See Ghosts and Hunter Boys on Amazon--
WITCH’S HAMMER
YA Paranormal Romance
Sinna Westbrook had it all. Family, friends, and a prestigious future as an art prodigy.
Until the accident. The one that killed her parents and left her life in shambles.
Now, forced to live with her estranged Aunt in the small town of Breland, Tennessee, Sinna soon realizes that she is outmatched and in grave danger.
Because Breland High is home to more than just a prize football team. It’s the practicing grounds for a coven of witches who may not be as good as they say.
--See Witch’s Hammer on Amazon--
VEIL OF MIDNIGHT
YA Urban Fantasy
There is only one rule at Midnight: Never consort with the guests.
Sayah Nieddu lives a sheltered life as a guardian for Midnight: a haven for all races seeking protection in the Void. But despite her innocence, she knows better than to grow attached to the guests.
Until a hot fleeing prince and his equally gorgeous dark guard ask for Asylum, that is.
Sayah knows she may not be able to protect the pair from what's waiting beyond Midnight's walls. But she can damn sure protect her heart from them.
Right?
After a deadly attack leaves the trio on the run, Sayah is forced to hide more than her own lethal secrets. Because there is something about her new friends that makes her want to risk it all.
And in the end, that may be worse than what they are running from...
--See Shadowed Fire on Amazon--
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A huge thank you has to go to my husband. You endured nearly a week of my moodiness and endless plot discussions before this novel was complete. I honestly don’t know what I would do without your support.
And to my editor for another spectacular pull through.
Any errors are my own.
Though our team is vast, for any mistakes found, please submit an email to [email protected].
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A. Vers currently resides in Central Georgia with her husband, son, and their menagerie of pets. But she could be bribed to move if there were mountains or oceans involved.
Vers is a self-proclaimed fitness junky with a love for long distance kayaking, coffee, and heavy metal.
When not writing or reading, you can normally find her on one outdoor adventure or another.
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