Hunter Reborn

by Katie Reus

  * * *

  “Something seems different about you,” Brianna said from the front passenger seat of the SUV as she watched Larissa intently. The fae female had turned around in her seat as they waited outside the hotel to see if the two human males exited soon. Both Angelo and Aiden were inside keeping an eye out for the males.

  Larissa half smiled and shrugged. “I’m just starting to feel more like my old self, that’s all.” That wasn’t remotely it, but she couldn’t tell this royal member of the fae that she’d just discovered her amazing power. Some part of her subconscious had simply triggered it in the hotel bathroom. They’d needed to burn her belongings and she’d created that fire or whatever it was. She hated that she couldn’t remember this part of herself. It made her wonder what else she was forgetting. And she really wanted to try it again. It had filled her with the most amazing sense of power.

  “Hmm, or more like you’re starting to connect with Aiden.” Brianna’s blue eyes were kind and warm, so unlike the few fae Larissa had interacted with in decades past.

  Larissa was still unsure who she could trust about pretty much anything, but talking about Aiden was a safe enough subject. “Yes.”

  “He’s a good male. I watched him save a human who’d been on death’s doorstep without pause. He had nothing to gain for his good deed. He always steps up if anyone in his—and now my—pack needs anything. And Connor, even though his parents were killed by fae, has never made me feel unwelcome. Not even before I mated with Angelo.” The petite female snorted. “He was actually protective of me when I didn’t need it.”

  Larissa nodded, trying to figure out why Brianna was telling her this. “Okay.”

  “I love the entire Armstrong-Cordona pack. They’re my family now.” Something dark glinted in the female’s eyes. It was there so fast, then gone in the blink of an eye.

  But Larissa knew she hadn’t imagined it. And she knew exactly what Brianna wasn’t saying aloud. If Larissa hurt anyone in the pack, Brianna would be her enemy. “I might not be able to remember him, but I once loved Aiden enough to defy my coven and leave behind everything I’d known to be with him. I would never hurt him or any of his packmates.”

  A faint smile ghosted across Brianna’s lips at that. “You two rocked the supernatural world back then with rumors. I still can’t believe this Aiden is the same one who mated with a Danesti vampire.”

  “Do you think my parents are really dead?” Larissa blurted. Aiden didn’t know anything about their disappearance and she felt uncomfortable talking to him about them anyway. Not when they’d hated him enough to send assassins after him.

  “I honestly don’t know. Your father was very secretive when he wanted to be. Even with your own kind.” Her voice was soft, apologetic.

  Unfortunately it was true. Both her parents had been incredibly secretive, even with her. Sighing, Larissa shifted against the leather seat and looked out the tinted window. One of the human males she and Aiden had spotted from the stairwell going into her hotel room was exiting. He had something in his hand and was looking at it. A cell phone.

  Angelo and I are coming out. One of the males is talking to the front desk and the other just stepped outside. We’re going to follow them, see where they go. Make sure the SUV is running. Aiden’s instructions were rapid-fire.

  When Brianna reached across to the driver’s side and started the engine, Larissa asked, “Did Angelo just contact you?”

  “Yes.” Excitement hummed through the other female. “This might be the lead you need. Maybe they’ll lead us back to Magda.”

  Larissa could only hope.

  Moments later both Angelo and Aiden slid into the SUV. As they did, the other male she’d seen earlier from upstairs exited. He looked in all directions before joining his friend on the sidewalk. They talked a few seconds, then started walking briskly down the sidewalk.

  “Did they say anything of use inside?” Larissa asked the men.

  “Sort of. They seemed disappointed not to have found you, but they’re excited about going back to, and I quote, ‘tag-team her.’ One wants to gain access to the back door this time, as he put it,” Aiden said wryly as Angelo pulled away from the curb.

  “It could be Magda they’re referring to. When we first arrived here I caught her having sex with a vampire in a dark corner of the hotel bar. Some witches crave sex like vampires crave blood.” As Larissa understood it, it was a power thing. Magda hadn’t even tried to hide what she was doing from Larissa. If anything, it had almost seemed as if the female wanted her to join them.

  They followed the two males a couple of blocks until they slid into a two-door sports car. Larissa wasn’t familiar with the make or model, but guessed it was newer. Angelo used impressive driving skills to follow the humans without making it seem as if he was following them. They drove for over twenty minutes in the more commercial, downtown district until they reached a residential area.

  The homes were large and beautiful and looked older than many of the modern type of architecture she’d seen. When she saw a sign that proclaimed this was a historic area it made sense.

  “I’m getting out,” Aiden murmured as Angelo pulled up to a stop sign.

  “What?” Larissa asked, but he was already out the door.

  I’m tracking them by scent. Tell Angelo to park somewhere close. If I need you guys, I’ll let you know. We can’t afford to be seen right now and it will be easier for me to track on foot. I want to see if I can pick up Magda’s scent.

  Though Larissa was frustrated he’d left so abruptly, she responded and then relayed the message to Angelo and Brianna. After that Aiden went silent and Angelo found a quiet place to park under a large oak tree in front of a two-story home that seemed to be unoccupied. The longer the silence stretched between her and Aiden, the more frayed her nerves became. She could still feel their bondmate link in place, but it didn’t negate her worry for him. Since she didn’t want to distract him she didn’t reach out. If she inadvertently caused him harm she’d never forgive herself. But she feared this was all part of a larger plot. What if Magda wanted to hurt Aiden? What if—

  Larissa nearly jumped out of her skin as Aiden slid into the backseat, a huge grin on his face. “I have an address and I think Magda lives there,” he said as he held out a handful of mail.

  All of the envelopes were addressed to Magda Petran.

  Chapter 17

  Magda resisted the urge to break her phone into pieces. That would make her even more agitated than she already was. Sending Perry and Donovan to track Larissa had been a long shot, but she’d needed humans going after the female, not vamps. They hadn’t even gotten a glimpse of the vampire or her mate at the hotel. Just a hotel bathtub filled with ashes.

  She wondered at that, but figured the female had destroyed all her belongings so Magda couldn’t spell something of hers. Well, too late for that. Even without the tracking spell working, the other spell she’d cast on the beautiful vampire was still holding.

  For the most part.

  Closing her eyes, Magda leaned back against the rocking chair on her back porch and focused on the extra hex her master had demanded she cast. These types of things took so much blasted energy that it was beyond frustrating to do. When she concentrated like this she could almost see her spells in the physical sense as well as feel them.

  Right now the memory loss spell she’d cast on Larissa had tiny fissures in it. Which meant Larissa was regaining some of the memories Magda had blocked. It had to be because of the shifter Aiden. He was an unfortunate snag in her master’s plans. His presence seemed to have unlocked something inside Larissa.

  Taking a deep breath, Magda focused on the biggest of the spiderweb-like fissures and chanted low in her throat as she tried to mend it, but it started to widen even more. Immediately she opened her eyes and pulled all her concentration from the fissures, not wanting to agitate them even
more.

  She would just have to leave it be for now. Because if it broke completely, there was no telling what her master would do. While she might not know why he’d wanted that spell on Larissa, she knew it was very important to him. There had to be something in her grimoire that would help her to mend the spell.

  As she thought of her master, she decided to call him. He’d been gone almost all day with no word of when he might return. Her annoyance flared at that. She had to tell him everything she did, yet he told her absolutely nothing. He just made demands and didn’t even give her good sex anymore. In the beginning things had been so different between them. She’d thought he cared about her. Now she wondered if she was just another tool for him to use. It was hard to believe considering how beautiful she was, but maybe he’d found someone else. Even the thought made her see red.

  He picked up on the third ring. “What?” he asked impatiently.

  His tone was like nails on a chalkboard. “Where are you?”

  A long pause. “Why?”

  She gritted her teeth. “I’m curious.”

  “Have you found Larissa?”

  “No,” she said quickly.

  “Then you have no reason to contact me.” His tone was annoyed more than cold.

  “I want to know what you’re doing.” And who he was doing it with. Magda wondered if he’d found someone else to fuck. He didn’t seem to care that she slept with humans, but she didn’t like the thought of him fucking anyone else. Not when she wanted to be the female who ruled by his side. She was all that he would need.

  “Turn on the news in an hour and you’ll see what I’m up to.” His voice had taken on that lower tone she recognized. The one she feared. He wasn’t quite himself when he sounded like that.

  It was clear he wasn’t going to tell her anything else. “Fine,” she snapped.

  “I’ll be back to your place in a few hours. Be ready for me.” A soft demand.

  “No.” She sounded braver than she felt. She wasn’t going to just wait around for him anymore.

  “What did you say?” His words were a bare whisper.

  “I’m not going to wait around for you to do with me as you please. You can return or stay away; I’m not going to be here regardless.”

  He went silent again, this pause seeming to stretch on forever. “You will be there for me, naked on the cellar floor, ready to please me.”

  “Why don’t you find a whore to fuck?” she spat, letting her anger unleash. Without seeing him face-to-face she found it much easier to lash out. Besides, if he punished her it would likely just be rough sex.

  Now he chuckled softly. “Is that what this is about? Are you jealous, sweet Magda? There’s no one else for me but you. I allow you your human dalliances because it pleases you, but I will not take anyone else’s body but yours. You belong to me.”

  Her nipples tightened at that. She belonged to no one, but she still liked the possessive note in his voice. “If that’s true, you’re doing a poor job of showing me lately.”

  He sighed, sounding more like the male she’d originally fallen for. “I will make it up to you tonight. Until then, no fucking your humans and no touching yourself either. Your next orgasm will come from me.”

  “Fine.” She didn’t care what he said though as she slipped her hand down the front of her pants. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath and immediately stroked her pulsing clit.

  “If you do, I’ll know and you won’t like the consequences.” He sounded darker again, that tone sending a shiver snaking through her.

  “I won’t,” she said before disconnecting. But she didn’t stop pleasuring herself. She needed the release. A self-induced orgasm wouldn’t give her the burst of power one from a lover would, but it still fed her. He wouldn’t know and the truth was, she wasn’t sure she cared if he did. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe it was time to cut her losses and run. He might be powerful but he wasn’t omniscient and she was very good at hiding.

  * * *

  His annoyance faded as he ended the call with Magda. The little witch had just about outlived her usefulness. But not yet. Every time they fucked he siphoned power from her. She was just too stupid to realize it. That was the only reason he allowed her human lovers, not because he cared about what pleased her.

  For a while he’d been able to fake his infatuation with her to gain the knowledge he needed, but she was growing tiresome. Still, he needed Larissa, and Magda could be useful in finding the vampire. Larissa was the key to what he needed, but the witch had that grimoire hidden and he needed that as well. Witches always kept their spell books well-guarded. Magda was the first witch he’d come across in centuries whom he’d been able to charm enough to give up some of her spells and knowledge. Her youth had a lot to do with it. She thought she was so special and powerful, but she wasn’t using a tenth of what she could be.

  Not like him.

  Darkness rattled inside him, threatening to take over completely, but he shoved the growing blackness back down. He was in control of himself. Not . . . them.

  The price of wielding so much power was a high one, but one he’d been willing to pay. Sacrifices to the darkness helped feed his power but he had to give them something truly worthy. He had to give them Larissa. They’d demanded it of him so many times. Once he drained all her blood and drank it himself, he would be unstoppable. If he’d been able, he’d have siphoned everything from her before she’d come out of stasis. But her blood had been virtually useless then. Like dead, rotten blood for someone like him. He needed Larissa at the height of her power, not weak and pathetic. Unfortunately that was a double-edged sword. She’d be much harder to kill once she regained her powers. But not unstoppable, especially if Magda’s memory-loss spell held. That was the key. If the vamp couldn’t remember what she could do, he could destroy her.

  Those from the darkness had shown him the truth of what he could be once he killed the last Danesti and took the rare gift prevalent only in her line. Someone like Larissa had never appreciated what she’d had before she’d gone into stasis. She’d kept her gift a secret just like her mother. He’d killed her parents and he would kill her.

  Taking Vlad and his wife’s lives had been not only the biggest gamble of his existence, but the hardest thing he’d ever accomplished. But everyone underestimated him, looked right through him, thought he was a nobody. He’d relied on spells and poison to incapacitate them. After he’d poisoned them, killing them hadn’t been exactly easy, but he’d pulled it off. Some still wondered if Vlad and his coven were actually alive. He snorted. Supernaturals and their rumor mill. Of course he’d been feeding the rumors for years, keeping everyone wondering. And he still owned the last castle belonging to the Danesti line. Technically it was Larissa’s since it was linked to her family, but soon that wouldn’t matter. Soon he would make everyone respect and fear him. The world would be his. No more pandering to these weak humans.

  Placing his hands on the giant round stone in the middle of the dank, deep cave, he let their power flow through him. The stone was slick from the leftover blood of his many sacrifices. Those from the darkness tugged at his control, trying to wrest more of him away, but he yanked back.

  Magda had taught him that he was the owner of his soul and no one could take it unless he allowed them. He fed the darkness blood, but his soul was his. As long as he retained it, he retained himself. It was one of the useful bits of knowledge the witch had given him.

  His entire body hummed and vibrated as he concentrated on the three vampires he planned to control. He imagined their blood running through their veins, focused on it as if it were the only thing in the world.

  Surrender more to us and you’ll rule everything. You won’t need the Danesti female. The voices from the dark rose up in unison inside him.

  He shoved them back down and continued concentrating on the sweet, red blood flowing th
rough his three targets’ bodies. He didn’t need the powers of the darkness to control these vampires. Grasping tight, he did as Magda had taught him and guided the vamps into action. He whispered thoughts in their minds, telling them exactly what they wanted to do.

  Dusk had fallen, but because of the time of year it was still early enough for most businesses to be open. The bank would be open and these three, while not daywalkers, were still powerful in their own right.

  All he needed was for them to rob two safe deposit boxes, then leave their spoils in a place he’d designated. Then he would have them kill themselves. Easy cleanup for him and he would get what he wanted.

  Watching through their eyes, he found it almost impossible to distinguish which male was which as they parked in front of the bank. They moved in unison, not bothering with masks or disguises. He ordered them to release their fangs and claws.

  On the sidewalk humans screamed and scattered in all directions. He looked up at one of the video cameras on the way in and ordered one of the males to flip it the bird.

  The moment they entered, chaos ensued. All three pulled pistols from their waistbands and started firing randomly. He didn’t give a shit about anyone who got in the way. The recon he’d done personally told him this little bank wouldn’t react well to a robbery. Especially not one like this.

  Screams filled the air and he smiled as he watched people falling left and right from their wounds. A fat human wearing a suit and tie attempted to cower behind a potted plant. With his big belly he was doing a piss-poor job of it.

  Him. Grab the one with the key card hanging around his neck, he ordered one of the males while simultaneously ordering the other two to stand guard.

  The shriek of the alarm bounced off the vaulted ceilings, the shrill sound cutting through his oversensitive hearing. Since he was controlling these males he heard and felt everything they did.

  Shaking himself, he tried to ignore the distraction of the noise as he directed the lone vamp to the safety deposit boxes. He’d learned that a wealthy human kept two at this bank, both filled with uncut, untraceable diamonds.