Hunter, page 6
part #1 of Hunted Shifters Legacy Series
He’d be damned if he knew what.
Worry hit him when the noises didn’t stop, and he had no choice but to pick the baby up again—as gently as he could, terror clasping at every fiber of his being.
Worry turned to panic when Sidney peered in his direction, squirmed…and let out a wail, one that practically pierced through his eardrums.
Then the wailing got louder, louder, until the bedroom was filled with it. His panic grew louder, too, and Hunter desperately went for the first thing that came to mind.
“Sidney, hey, Sidney, what’s wrong? Are you hungry? Are you in pain?”
More wails met his questions, punctuating just what a dumbass he was. Deciding another tactic, Hunter glared at Sidney.
Sidney wailed even louder.
Helpless, he started rocking her—careful motions, something he’d seen in a movie or two. The surprise movement had her pausing…then, starting up again. Desperate, he looked around, gaze landing on her counter. A few bottles of milk sat in some kind of machine.
Hunter hurried towards them, snatching one of the bottles and nearly burning his fingers. He shook it around, refusing to let it go until hot turned warm. Tentatively, hoping it was good enough, he uncapped it, testing a few drops on his skin. Then he placed the nipple to her lips, dread filling him as he anticipated a scream…
The baby’s mouth opened, latching on to the nipple immediately. The wails died down as soft sucking noises filled the room, and Sidney now looked positively serene.
Exhausted, Hunter sat on the bed, then decided not to risk it to chance and began slowly rocking her again. This time, she was more accepting of it, snuggling in his arms and staring up at his face.
Complacent, almost angelic.
He smirked. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m on to you. You’re not an angel. I’m betting my ass you’re gonna cry again when this milk is finished.”
But Sidney remained quiet when the bottle was empty, her mouth opening and emitting a loud burp. She stared up at him, yawning. Her lashes fluttered, and her small head turned to his chest.
“You’re gonna be a heartbreaker when you grow up, aren’t you?”
He couldn’t imagine what a human-vampire combination would produce, but she was already showing two very distinct characters: beautiful and wily. That sounded about right.
Sidney’s rosebud mouth opened in another yawn, and her thumb plucked in to suck.
Fine. Maybe this human-vampire creature was an angel. For now.
Another hour later, Max finally arrived, and it was almost laughable how Hunter’s body sagged in relief. The boy looked exhausted but happy, and he began to pepper Hunter with questions. The sound of his voice had Sidney stirring again, but she settled right back into sleep when Max plucked her out of Hunter’s arms and began to make cooing, soothing noises.
Huh.
Hunter gaped at the sight, unexpected and slightly surreal. He tilted his head.
“Are you okay, Max?”
“I’ve been better,” Max admitted, crawling on the bed with Sidney and looking up. “You?”
Hunter’s mouth quirked. “I’ve been better. Will you be fine on your own?”
“Yep.” Shyly, the boy met his gaze. “Will you still be helping me on the next full moon?”
The first night came into memory, followed by the nights leading to the last full moon. Max had been miserable, uncontrollable…vulnerable to the moon’s call and his body’s instinct. It was a wonder he’d even survived the streets, and there was so much more that Hunter wanted to teach him.
So he nodded.
“Of course. Now stay here. I’ll be back shortly.”
Half an hour later, he was walking the halls with a direction in mind—but was put to a halt when he found Edmund’s office and sleeping quarters empty. A quick check of the premises determined the man wasn’t in his usual favorite spots, either, making tension creep up the base of Hunter’s neck.
That tension subsided when he bumped into one of the other shifter guards, Jessa Turner, who swore she'd seen Celine leave the office shortly after Edmund had left, too. That presented another dilemma as Hunter searched the mansion a second time around.
He hit the jackpot when he finally heard a muffled voice inside a storage room. Without warning, he yanked it open—found her inside, hunched in the corner and tears streaking down her cheeks.
Something cold went down his spine at the sight, at the vulnerability of it. She jerked back, shoulders turning rigid when she saw him.
“What happened?” he asked softly, an effort in itself when the need to roar was powerful. “What did the bastard do?”
Her expression crumpled, and her shoulders started to shake. She tried very hard to keep her voice steady, but it was close to breaking.
“He told me…he told me about the pockets you live in. About how I’m trapped here. About…my neighbors.”
“Your neighbors?”
“They’re dead. The vampires…”
She didn’t finish, her hand covering her mouth to muffle the next sob. He didn’t think. Hunter strode in the storage room, closing the door behind him. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring her initial protest.
That protest died soon enough, and she melted—no, sagged, the weight she carried on her shoulders falling as she leaned against him and finally sobbed her heart out. A part of him realized this wasn’t just about her neighbors. This was the accumulated tears of her time here, held in as she affected calm for herself, for Max…for them, a front of toughness that she couldn’t quite keep up with anymore.
A surge of protectiveness coated him, and he hugged her tighter as he sat down on the floor. She climbed into his lap, buried her head against his chest...clung on as if she trusted him enough for this.
It made him feel terrible for some reason.
Celine was soft, warm. She was a human caught in a world she didn’t fully understand. Lastly, she needed to keep strong for her daughter and Max. It must be sinking in for her right now, piling up until she needed to get some air, else she’d suffocate.
And it was a damn shame the only thing he could do was hold her, as he had no way of reversing everything back to normal for her.
It was too late for that.
* * *
Hours later, night had completely fallen, and Hunter was still out and about—a routine check of his surroundings, but also a nagging worry in his head as he kept on being reminded of Celine earlier. Broken, vulnerable.
Needing as much support as she could get.
Before he went to bed, he checked in on Max, who was fast asleep under the covers of his brand new bedroom. He checked on Celine’s room last, expecting to find her either asleep or rocking Sidney into sleep before she climbed in bed. Empty. Puzzled, he returned to Max's room...realized the lump under the covers wasn't the kid, but some pillows piled up.
They were gone.
Chapter 8
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Celine?”
No, she wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t even sure where they were. On top of that, the worry in Max’s tone was very clear, even while he competently covered her back.
In her arms, Sidney was deep in sleep, which was the biggest solace there was.
Around them, darkness was alive, the empty, abandoned parking lot surrounded by buildings with no lights in them.
“No, but I have to take my chances. Find a new apartment, check on my old neighbors…” At least, what was left of them. She glanced at Max, softening. “You don’t have to come with me. I understand if you want to stay there.”
But the boy shook his head, a stubborn expression sparking. “No, my loyalties are to you. They’re okay…well, some of them, but you negotiated for my life. You’re my priority.”
For a kid, he was a pretty mature one, reminding her he'd been a survivor of the streets before they'd met. He was wrong about one thing: her negotiating being his saving grace, because she was pretty sure there was someone else in that mansion who would protect Max with everything.
An image of that man gathering her as she cried her heart out hurtled in her mind, hands strong and competent…voice as soothing as velvet midnight. She shook it off, then focused her gaze on her surroundings, which she was pretty sure was already in her realm.
“So I guess this means we left their pocket?”
Pocket was the term Edmund had used to tell her of the tiny realms scattered all over the world, occupied by different supernatural clans who weren’t friendly with each other—who hid from each other. Edmund had calmly explained about the workings of their world, from how invaders could take over their little realm at any time, and if outnumbered, there was nothing they could do about it. They had different entrances and exits leading to this pocket of home they had in New York, though they were tough to find and access. He’d explained how her neighbors had died with the same calm, driving her crazy and wanting to rage.
There was something dangerously driven about that man, the charm covering it up.
Of course, it was that same charm and babbling that also gave her the clues she needed: about the easiest access being some parking lot entrance. It had been Max who managed to figure out this spot, located at the outer wall of the mansion.
“I guess so,” Max replied uncertainly. “Do you recognize this lot?”
“Not Queens,” was all she said. She looked for signs, but nothing was there. Shaking her head, Celine signaled for Max to follow her, and they hurriedly began to walk out of there. They eventually found themselves on the streets, the signs there finally answering their question: Brooklyn. Max took over, leading them to what seemed to be a crowded part of the streets, people out and about, grabbing food from street vendors. The crowd disappeared as they kept going, with Max finally stopping in between two streetlights and a narrower street filled with tall brick buildings.
“The train station is the last place we want to be right now, obviously,” Max said.
“Yes. There’ll be no people there now, and…”
She trailed off. Clamped her mouth shut, holding the baby closer to her and pulling the boy in at the same time. He tensed—not because of her, but because of the same thing that had made her shut up in the first place.
In seconds, what had once seemed like a decent, friendly neighborhood had turned into a too-quiet one, and the spotlight on them only made her more aware of it.
Not just that.
The niggling started up again. Now that she knew what it was, there was no time for worry, for doubts, because she knew what it meant.
Fear shot straight to her heart.
Claws grew out of Max’s fingers, his body braced for a shifting yet again. A low sound was poised in his throat, and he froze when Sidney made a soft, snoring sound in Celine’s arms.
She froze, too, her eyes locking in on a shadow ahead. That shadow approached, a blur of movement that climbed the streetlamp and leered straight down at them.
More shadows followed, climbing down from building walls. Climbing up the other streetlamp, dimming the lights so the other shadows could approach them.
They were surrounded.
Somehow, she got a close enough glimpse of one of them to understand they weren’t the same as the others she’d met. These didn’t look as beautiful as the one mentioned hanging out in clubs, and these didn’t look as put-together as the ones in her apartment and in that warehouse. These vampires…their skins were wrinkled, their faces weren’t properly formed, and there was a wildness vibrating off them that told her they wouldn’t ask her to come with them first.
And they wouldn’t spare Max, either.
It was just a matter of who jumped first, and she could tell the boy beside her was already braced to do so. Before he could, his hand tugged her down, willing her to crouch and protect Sidney.
There was a faint hiss—the only warning they got before three of the creatures moved in on them at the same time. The fear jumped up her throat when two locked in on Max, dragging him off her. The third—
The third didn’t make it to her, as another shadow dragged it back.
Celine gasped, watching helplessly on the ground before she heard the words growled in the air, vibrating with power.
“Stay inside the car and protect Sidney!”
It snapped her to attention, the sight of Hunter transforming into beast one she would never forget. Then she frantically looked around until she spotted the black SUV with the passenger window rolled down. Celine shot back up and ran for it, diving inside the back door and staring at the driver, who gave her a nod.
“I need to help Hunter,” the man said, voice calm and tinted with a slight accent. “Don’t open the doors for anyone.”
He got out, slamming it shut behind him. She watched in stunned fascination as the man quickly shed his clothing, leaving him only in loose black pants. Those stretched, too, as he leaped in the air—as he landed on the pavement no longer in man form, but that of a bear that was brown and sleek and just as huge as Hunter’s wolf form. The bear charged the vampires holding on to Max, then put himself front and center as he mauled the rest that were trying to attack him.
It was a bloodbath, but one that Celine couldn’t take her eyes off. Her gaze flew from one shifter to another in a daze, repeatedly checking on the three to be sure they were still up and standing. At one point, Max was completely surrounded as more vampires came out of the shadows ready to tear them apart.
The wolf yanked them all off, and now they were surrounding Hunter, the intent to kill ripping out of their hissing throats.
Blood filled the streets, and body parts flew. It was sordid, and yet she continued to watch. A sound of dismay burst out of her when the bear was thrown on his back, but she fought off the rest as Sidney stirred in her arms.
Something bumped against the side of the car, jostling it out of place. Then the glass was being pounded on, fangs filled with blood scraping against the shield as the vampire tried to get to her. A second later, it was dragged down, and she heard silence.
The two front passenger doors were yanked open, Max’s naked form scrambling to the back. The other two hurtled their bodies in, slamming the doors shut.
“Go!” Hunter growled.
In an instant, the car was moving, leaving behind the shadows running on the pavement after them.
It all became a blur after, as clothes were tossed, they re-dressed, and directions were barked out in the getaway. Beside her, she felt a head lean in, Max closing his eyes but still tense. The car stopped in the same parking lot they’d come from, where the other man led them to the wall that she and Max had crossed.
A hand settled on her waist, gently ushering her in. She looked up at Hunter, a hundred words compounding the guilt she felt when she saw the scratches all over his human form. But they were already crossing the boundary, and a few seconds later, she was in a familiar side field.
Beside the entrance point was Edmund, a far contrast from their worn-out appearances as he approached them in full party wear. There was a mild distaste to his voice when he spoke, and plenty of disapproval.
“You’re one stubborn and stupid little bitch, aren’t you?”
There was a low growl, followed by Hunter stepping in front of her. The other man stepped to the side, obviously not wanting to involve himself in this.
“She’s tired, and the baby needs rest,” Hunter said, an edge to his tone. Not quite disrespectful but filled with steel. “How about we seal this place up?”
Dark eyes stared back at Hunter, unreadable, and with the same edge. Finally, Edmund nodded, holding up a lighter. When he clicked it, a blue flame appeared.
“I was just about to do that,” he said, flicking the flame at the wall they’d come from. It caught fire, a short spark that charred the whole spot before it returned to its normal color. “Congratulations, Miss Peach. You just cost us one entrance point, and we can never get it back.” Edmund gave Hunter a threatening look. “You can rest your guard now. I’m not about to risk my only asset by killing her now. It's too late for that.”
The guilt only intensified. She watched as Hunter’s jaw clenched, right before he nodded and stepped aside, too—a sign of deference to his boss. Finally, Hunter took hold of Max, leading him out of the way. Hunter shot her a look, then shot the other man a look. The latter stayed behind with Edmund and Celine, a quiet background.
But she knew he was listening in to every word.
“That was my fault,” she began.
“Yes, yes, it was all your fault.”
“Yes. I know. I take full responsibility.” A pause, as she looked Edmund in the eye. She fought off the shudder that simple eye contact demanded, his deadly aura telling her how pissed off he was and how good he was at hiding it. “That was a lesson learned, and I’m not running away again. I’ll make it up to you. Just tell me how.”
Silence.
“I’ll think about it,” he clipped out, British tone very nearly frosty. “Stay away from our access points for now, unless you want to bring all those bloody vampires here to massacre my whole clan.”
With that, he turned around, leaving her staring at his back. After a moment’s hesitation, the other man turned, too, following the boss. It confirmed her thought on why he’d remained behind: to protect her from whatever Edmund might’ve done.
Probably choke her to death, if it was fully up to him.
Belatedly, she glanced at the man who was probably the only one who didn’t want to have her killed right now. Hunter was turning the corner with Max, hand in quiet support on the boy’s back as they spoke in low tones. When Max swayed on his feet, the older man didn’t miss a beat, swooping down to carry the boy as he fell into unconsciousness. Her chest squeezed at the sight, realization dawning as to why Hunter had somewhat been in a hurry to go.
Edmund was right. The kidnapping and the pregnancy might not be her fault, but the rest was based on her actions—this one was on her. He hadn’t been kidding about the enemies after her, and right now, this clan was the lesser of all the evils.
