Page 2 of A Hunter Turned
Smiling, Jamie confided in a conspiratorial whisper, “I like pink too.”
“It’s very dark in here,” Cady suddenly remarked. “Don’t you like sunshine?”
“Cady,” was growled in a familiar, and unwelcome baritone, making Jamie jump in surprise. She hadn’t sensed Archer Langley’s presence, and her heart was now beating a rapid tattoo in her chest.
“Oops! Got to go,” was shouted over the sound of little footsteps scurrying away, and then a final call of, “It was nice meeting you!”
“It was nice meeting you, too!”
Imagining that the cantankerous alpha was now escorting his errant pack member away, Jamie sank deeper into the pillows of the bed with a sigh and felt her heartbeat slow back to its normal rhythm. The company had been nice, a temporary distraction from her problems and the monotony of these recent, seemingly endless days with nothing to do but think.
“I hope my daughter didn’t disturb you.”
Jamie’s heartbeat ratcheted back up to full throttle. It would appear Archer Langley hadn’t left after all.
Chapter Two
Daughter? How could such a surly beast have sired that little angel? The child must take after her mother.
“She didn’t. It was nice having some company.”
“She doesn’t know what you are and I’d just as soon keep it that way,” the alpha growled. “My daughter is scared of vampires.”
Jamie’s lips twisted with a wry grin as she raised the bulky mitts that passed for hands. “I’m not exactly scary at the moment.”
“Irrelevant.”
Ah yes, how she’d missed that snarly tone, Jamie thought, wishing she could roll her eyes. “Well, then, I’m sure you’ll want to go after her to make sure she’s okay,” she said with a sugary-sweet smile.
He grunted but unfortunately, didn’t leave, nor did he say anything more, and the possibility that he might be staring at her, silently judging her, had Jamie’s hackles rising. “Was there something you needed?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“The healer was on her way but was detained by another packmate.”
She hadn’t even realized the woman was coming to see her today and it wasn’t like she could check the time if they had arranged an appointment. “Okay. Thanks for the update.”
His message delivered, her reply had held zero snark and still, he didn’t leave. Nor did he offer further conversation and the faint buzz of insects she could hear outside thanks to her enhanced senses was beginning to make her skin crawl again. “Could you turn on a radio or the TV please?”
“Any preference?”
“No.”
She could hear him moving, a faint whisper of sound that belied her mental image of him waddling about as he maneuvered his great girth from one point to another. The Beach Boys began singingWouldn’t it be Niceand Jamie realized her mistake in attempting to drown out the annoying sound of bugs. She now had no clue if Archer Langley was still in the room with her or had left without a word.
Inhaling, she attempted to pick up his scent but while her nose was better than it had been as a human, it was impossible to tell whether the scents she was picking up were because he was still in the room or remnants left behind from his departure. Man, she missed having her sight. The alpha could be practically hovering over her bed and she wasn’t one-hundred percent sure she’d know. The thought had her tensing, lifting her useless hands to see if she bumped into anything that shouldn’t be there.
“Do you need something?”
The squeak that left her throat as her body jerked in surprise was an embarrassing show of weakness that quickly morphed into anger. “Why are you still here?”
She could hear the amusement in his tone as he reminded her, “You said it was nice having company.”
“I didn’t mean you,” Jamie grumbled.
“All the same,” Langley replied, “I thought I’d stay to witness your unveiling. Marguerite believes you may be able to open your eyes today.”
The trill of excitement that ran through her system had Jamie sitting up with a grin. “Really?”
It was Morgan, her team leader, having entered on stealthy feet, that replied, “Really,” with a smile in her voice. “Kane and Travis are here as well.”
