Page 12 of A Hunter Turned
Travis inhaled deeply through his nose and stood, his frustration with his impotence in this situation palpable. “She was a big fan of the showSupernatural.”
Jamie grinned. “Mm, Jensen Ackles,” she purred and then turning to look at the statue that wasn’t a statue, Jamie increased the volume of her tone and said, “You have good taste, Sophia. Once you wake up, we’ll have to do aSupernaturalmarathon.”
Lowering her voice once more, she prompted, “What else?”
Whatever Travis was about to say was cut off by the sound of Morgan’s phone ringing. “It’s Kane,” she told them with a frown as she connected the call and stepped outside.
Last Jamie knew Kane hadn’t been planning to head out of the territory, so why was he calling instead of barging in like a bull as he usually did? Kane hated calling, preferred short texts that were mostly comprised of emojis or single words if he couldn’t replace it with a picture. First Archer taking off and now Kane calling. Something was wrong. Jamie could feel it.
Morgan popped her head back inside a moment later, her expression tight as she motioned for them to join her outside, not wanting to share whatever was going on in front of Sophia and possibly set back the dragon’s healing.
Feeling like she shouldn’t just leave without a word, Jamie said, “It was great meeting you, Sophia. I can’t wait until we can hang out. You and I are going to be great friends, I can feel it.”
And she could. Something inside of Jamie that she couldn’t explain was absolutely positive that Sophia would come out of this and that the two of them would be fast friends. With one last look over her shoulder at the statue that wasn’t a statue, Jamie joined Morgan and Travis outside.
Chapter Nine
Archer would have preferred to run alone in an effort to banish his inner demons, but his howl had been heard by the pack and they’d responded to their alpha’s pain, a number of them flanking him to run alongside. The higher-ranking members that had been on patrol were still cleaning up after the mess the vampires had left or they would have joined him as well. No one ever stood alone when you were a pack, even were you to wish it otherwise.
It was one of the juveniles that saved Archer from drowning in his memories, a juvenile that smelled inexplicably like Jamie. Coming to a skidding halt that had some of his more inexperienced pack tumbling ass over teakettle to do the same, Archer approached the young wolf that was panting thanks to the exertion of the run.
Efrem Deeds, sixteen, and currently training under Archer’s second in command to be a future soldier. Personally, Archer thought the kid was still way too green and far too irreverent to accomplish much more than leaving Archer’s second, Jeremiah, pulling out his hair in frustration. Regardless, the pup shouldn’t be carrying Jamie’s scent, especially not this strongly, as if the boy had rubbed up against her – repeatedly.
A burning just under his skin that smacked of jealousy and an unmistakable possessiveness he had no business feeling had him wanting to snarl. Only the knowledge that Efrem was a pup and unlikely to have attacked the vampire had him biting back the urge. That didn’t, however, mean that he didn’t want answers.
Shifting back to skin, he stood with his hands on his hips in front of the juvenile. “Change,” he ordered, his tone pulsing with the power of his alpha status, and though he only required answers from Efrem, none of the others could resist the order either.
A few groans could be heard, accompanying the shift to skin that was still somewhat painful for the younger ones as muscle and bone transformed, but Archer’s eyes never left Efrem. Long-limbed and lanky, the boy was still growing into himself as he worked through that awkward stage between boy and man. He had a mop of sandy brown hair that fell into his eyes, the first hint of whiskers beginning to shadow his upper lip and chin, and a spray of painful-looking red acne bumps marring his cheeks and jaw.
“What were you doing with the vampire?”
The juvenile’s lips quirked in a smug grin, his eyes going to his friends that had formed a semi-circle behind Archer as he cheerfully announced, “She pet me.”
A few sounds of surprise tinged with awe and Archer couldn’t be sure if it was for the pup’s daring to so openly and proudly flout their alpha’s order to keep their distance from the vampires or for the bravery to approach one of those vampires and even go so far as to allow her to pet him.
The boy had balls, Archer would give him that.
Narrowing his eyes, he leaned forward and let a growl rumble up his throat. Efrem’s eyes shot immediately back to his alpha and his spine stiffened, that smug expression wiped clean from his face. Good. It was one thing to push boundaries – Archer had caused his fair share of mischief when he was the boy’s age, every juvenile did – but rules were in place for a reason. While Jamie and her team were, for the most part, friendly, his pack could never forget how dangerous vampires could be.
“She could have drained you dry in seconds, snapped your neck, and dumped you in the water where no one but the gators would ever find you.”
Efrem swallowed audibly, his Adam’s apple moving prominently in his throat. “She was nice,” he whispered, his voice cracking.
“You were lucky.”
One of the other juveniles, Sissy, spoke up to fearfully ask, “If they’re dangerous, why are they here?”
The question was a fair one and a simple ‘Because I said so,’ wasn’t going to cover it. Archer may be the alpha, but this was their home too. Turning to look at each of them, and placing a comforting hand on Sissy’s shoulder, he told them, “These vampires are Hunters. They’re not like the others, they police their own kind.”
He could see the curiosity and excitement bubbling to the surface and he was quick to add, “But make no mistake, they’re still vampires, still capable of acts of violence I hope none of you ever have the misfortune to witness.”
Catching each of their eyes, he tacked on, “I have no problem with you wanting to meet them, but only when I’m with you to ensure your safety. Is that understood?”
Heads bobbed in confirmation, but Archer could see the distraction in their eyes. Those young, curious minds were whirring with all the questions they planned to ask of the Hunters, the lore that surrounded the Hunters’ Society they hoped to have confirmed. His vampire guests, if they stuck around, were about to be inundated. He almost chuckled.
∞∞∞
Back at the house, Jamie, Morgan, and Travis met with a harried-looking Kane. “I don’t understand how they even knew where to find us,” Morgan grumbled. Unable to remain still, their leader began to pace around the living room. “You must have been followed at some point.”
