Huntress and the Thorn Court: An Urban Fantasy Shifter Romance (The World of the Hunter Order Book 1)

by D. C. Gambel

  For half an hour, he kept the same deliberate speed, just contently enjoying my body. His hands were gentle as he traced every inch of skin, spending extra time enjoying the feel of my breasts. I felt my pleasure build. My body began to tremble with the anticipation. I reached between us to help myself along, but he growled swatting my hand away.

  “Please,” I begged not caring how wanton it made me sound. There was something different about being with him like this—part human, part wolf. I was uninhibited of my normal concerns.

  His hand stroked where mine had been heading. The pad of his finger was rough against my sensitive flesh, but he managed it without brushing his claw against me. When the waves fell on me, Gideon leaned down nipping at my shoulder. It was painful but in the midst of the orgasm I was experiencing, it only added to the pleasure.

  Something happened in that moment. I felt more connected to him than I had with anyone. Not his wolf but Gideon, like something truly magical had transpired.

  “Gideon,” I cried out arching off the bed. I clung to him as he drove himself in and out of me in a hasty cadence. My orgasm barely ended before he drove me into another. Thrusting once more, his body pulsed filling me with the evidence of his pleasure.

  “Mine,” he growled lapping at the bite on my shoulder.

  “Yours,” I whispered smiling completely sated. My lashes fluttered closed. I barely registered Gideon withdrawing from me or wrapping his body around mine as I drifted off to sweet oblivion.

  Fingers ran up my body toying with my nipple. I fought against the sleep that threatened to keep me even as my body awoke to the wonderful sensation. When those same fingers slipped between my thighs, I moaned.

  “Wake up, Isabel. I can’t fuck you if you’re asleep.”

  “Gideon?” I asked.

  “Should I be jealous that you were expecting someone else?” he nipped at my ear. I could feel his erection ready against my backside. I tilted my head over my shoulder meeting his lips hungrily.

  Lifting my leg, holding it in his hand, he drove into me. I gasped against his mouth, still tender from the night before. I looked into his eyes expecting to find them amber but green stared back at me.

  We watched each other with a burning intensity as he drove us both on with his thrusts. He fell over the edge first. Realizing I wasn’t joining, he slipped his hand between my thighs stroking me until I cried out.

  I laid there beside him breathing heavily, settling back into my skin. Gideon kissed me once more before withdrawing from me.

  “Morning,” he smiled.

  “Morning,” I grinned back.

  “Color me surprised when I woke up next to you.”

  My brow furrowed upon hearing his words. I rolled over to face him. When I did his eyes went wide.

  “Shit, Isabel,” his fingers fell to my shoulder causing me to wince. “What happened?”

  “You did,” I stated as he traced over the bite.

  “I…?” He shook his head. He dazed out like he was running through his memories. I saw the moment he remembered. “Oh?” His faced morphed into surprise. “Oh…” He quickly masked it noticing me watching him intently. “I don’t always remember what the wolf does until later. It’s like watching something on rewind.”

  “So last night…”

  “Was amazing. It looks like I got carried away though. Does it hurt?”

  “I’d forgotten about it until you touched it.”

  He crawled out of bed. Curiously, I watched him as he headed to the bathroom only to return with ointment and a bandage. “We should tend to it so you don’t scar.”

  I laid there on my side letting him do as he wanted. Covers hadn’t been necessary when I had him and his ungodly high temperature keeping me warm. Occasionally I’d watch his eyes drift over my naked form.

  “It makes sense now why the wolf wasn’t riding me this morning,” he said as he dabbed at the wound.

  “So sex wasn’t necessary?”

  “Oh it was necessary. I woke up next to a naked, beautiful woman who I enjoy fucking.”

  “You think I’m beautiful?” I smiled wickedly.

  He rolled his eyes ignoring my comment. “Figures him finally getting laid would chill him out.”

  “Finally?” That piqued my interest. “So he’d never…”

  Gideon shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say, he’s a picky bastard. He’s had his choice of she-wolves and he chooses a huntress.”

  “Wow,” I sneered. The way he said the word huntress was with such disdain. Was I really so horrible a choice for his wolf to make?

  He balked at me confused. “Isabel I meant that as a compliment.”

  “It sure sounded like it.” Climbing out of bed I started gathering my clothes. “This has been fun, but I think I’m going to go.”

  “Isabel,” he called out drawing my attention to him. I stood there waiting for him to say something. “You should probably take a shower before you go.”

  That was it? Pursing my lips, I nodded. If I hadn’t been worried about being discovered, I’d have told him to fuck off.

  As I enjoyed the hot spray washing all the evidence of what had transpired the night before and that morning, minus the wound on my neck, I was jolted from my serenity by loud voices coming from the room.

  “Her!” A woman yelled. It took me a moment to realize it was Carla. “I can smell the little bitch on you. I can’t believe you mated h—” her words were cut off suddenly. I slipped from the shower, leaving the water on so no one would be alerted. Cracking the door, I glimpsed Gideon pinning Carla to the wall blocking her air supply with his grip. The aggression stunned me a bit. Werewolves handled things a bit more combatively, but Gideon had been sleeping with her just weeks ago. It surprised me that he held no remorse for her.

  “You will not utter a word about anything you learned here to anyone. Am I clear?”

  Carla turned red and I didn’t think it was from the lack of air. She was beyond pissed. She nodded curtly. When he released her, she muttered, “Her, Gideon?”

  “Not a word, Carla; or a letter, a picture, text. You will not communicate it.”

  “If you’re that ashamed…” she began.

  “I’m not. As long as she’s here, you’ll be relieved of your duties to me.”

  “Gideon,” she paled.

  “Go. This is my space and you were not invited here.”

  Gritting her teeth, she shot daggers at me somehow knowing I was watching. Gideon escorted her out the door then slammed it behind her.

  “Gideon?” I whispered, cracking the door wider.

  “She won’t say anything. She can’t.”

  “How are you so sure?”

  “I gave her an order and she has to follow it.”

  16

  “Isabel?”

  I startled as Eric took the seat across from me. After running late all morning I was surprised when I arrived first. We opted for a public place, which was how I found myself sitting at the food court in the mall. A few tables away was Adam, acting as either my bodyguard or jailer.

  “Eric,” I breathed trying to slow my racing heart.

  “On edge?”

  If he only knew. After Carla’s unearthing, I swore that every wolf I passed in the house was eyeing me knowingly. I hadn’t touched Gideon after my shower, still upset with his comment, and his bath products were the same unscented ones I had in my room so nothing should have been out of the ordinary. I trusted Gideon’s gag order on Carla. No one could have known. I told myself I was just being paranoid, yet the lingering gazes made it hard for me to dismiss the notion.

  “It’s fine. Now what was so important that it couldn’t be done on the phone?”

  “This.”

  He slid a manila folder across the table to me. It was all very top secret agent, I chided internally. What I saw when I opened had me spewing profanities.

  “That’s what I thought you’d say. Carlos owes me fifty bucks.”

  “This
is Drake,” I stated pointing to the picture clarifying for Eric in case he was unaware, which of course was obtuse. It was why he was showing me. Drake was to vampires what Gideon was to the wolves. He kept himself hidden, paranoid that everyone was out to get him. I didn’t know if paranoid was the right word since he was right. He was a horrible leader to the vampires. He let them run amuck doing whatever they wanted, forcing us to police them. Most behaved, understanding that Drake’s way wasn’t the best way to stay alive.

  “I know.”

  “And Reed,” I stated seeing my fellow hunter in the images.

  Eric nodded curtly. I glanced back in the folder. There were several pictures, each time stamped. Reed had spent fifteen minutes with Drake and Eric had somehow caught it.

  “You understand why I needed to give them to you in person. You’d have never believed it otherwise.”

  “I still don’t believe it. If anyone but you had showed me, I’d think it was a joke, but you don’t have a sense of humor.”

  “Thanks.” He didn’t say it sarcastically. Eric prided himself on his cool behavior. “I didn’t catch much of the conversation. The paranoid old goat had blockers interfering with the chip in Reed’s phone, but what I did decipher is in there.”

  I flipped to the page he mentioned and read over it. Gideon was referred to, along with a no name spy wolf.

  “Shit. Reed’s in on it.”

  “Playing devil’s advocate but he could be pretending to…” I cut him off with a glare. If he was undercover, I’d have known. “Yeah, that didn’t sound true even as I said it. Look this isn’t enough to move against Reed, especially with you away. He’d simply claim just as I was saying. I’ll keep following him. Keep my guys on his crew and we’ll see what comes up.”

  In the car on the way back to the manor, Adam tried probing me for information. Apparently the food court had been too rowdy for him to eavesdrop. The folder I left with Eric. Not only was I helping Gideon, but I was also going to attempt to bring Reed down a peg.

  “I’d rather just say it once.”

  He let it go after that, but silently stewed.

  Leading me into Gideon’s office where the Alpha and Trey already waited, I didn’t fret even though just hours ago I had been lying naked beside one of them. I reminded myself I couldn’t get twitchy after each session if we continued. I was still pretty pissed about his snub at me being a hunter and didn’t see myself spreading my legs for him any time soon.

  The moment the door clicked shut sealing me in with the three wolves, I laid out almost everything I learned, keeping just a smidge to myself. Trey roared while Gideon sat oddly still.

  “The hunters and vampires are against us too,” Trey bellowed.

  “No,” I stated. “It’s only a small fraction of the hunters.”

  “How can you be sure? Maybe you’re in on it and that’s why you were so eager to offer help.”

  “Offer help…Are you nuts? He,” I jabbed my finger in Gideon’s direction, who sat quietly in his chair steepling his fingers, “dragged me here, locked me in a cage and said if I helped then I could get out.”

  “Likely story. You seem to have it well here. So well that you found your way into the Alpha’s bed.”

  Blood rushed to my face and I wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or fury. How he knew was irrelevant. The fact that he threw it in my face was uncalled for. “Fuck you, Trey.”

  “No thanks. Unlike Gideon, I have standards for where I put my dick.”

  I lunged for him, but Adam grabbed me before I could make contact. Trey snarled flashing yellow eyes and showing his teeth.

  “Enough!” Gideon bellowed so loudly I swear the walls shook. “Isabel is not our enemy, Trey. Why would she make us aware of the betrayal from the hunters if she were?”

  “Perhaps to weasel her way further into your good graces. Wolves keep dying around her, another just last night.”

  Somehow in the midst of everything I’d forgotten about the wolf that had attacked. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “I killed Howard,” Gideon made clear.

  “Only because of her. How do you know she didn’t welcome him into her bed?”

  “Because it was MY BED!” Gideon yelled. Quickly taking a deep breath he reined in his temper. “Do you think I’m a stupid man, Trey?”

  Trey’s eyes went wide. I could almost see the fear wafting off of him. “Of course not, Alpha.” He was suddenly being formal, even bowed his head for good measure. Gideon’s calm demeanor was even more terrifying than his anger.

  “You must think I’m stupid or you’d never second guess my decision on who I bed.”

  “It’s not that Alpha, but your relationship with this hunter affects us all. You know how the pack feels about her, how the hunters feel about interspecies relationships, and now your wolf has gone and marked her.”

  Marked me?

  “Enough!” Gideon bellowed silencing the room. “This topic is not up for discussion and will not be mentioned again, to anyone.” He turned flashing amber eyes at Adam aiming the order at him too. Both wolves bowed their head to their Alpha. “Now everyone out. I need to think.”

  The three of us headed to the door. Trey glared at me as he passed. How had he known? I thought I’d been so careful. Was it the wolf Gideon killed that tipped him off? And what the hell had he meant by marking me?

  The two wolves cleared the throne room, but I lingered behind in the quiet space. I leaned against the wall, allowing it to support my weight. My head fell back thumping against the sheetrock. Inhaling deeply, I struggled to rein in my emotions. Just when I thought I had them tamed, the door adjacent to me opened and Gideon appeared on the other side. He didn’t seem surprised to find me there. He watched me and I stared at him in return. Then with a tilt of his head, he asked me inside his office.

  I had a choice to make. I could go to him and continue whatever was brewing between us or I could refuse which might be the end of things. What he said had hurt. Perhaps he did think less of me because I was a hunter.

  Seeing the decision on my face, he nodded and closed the door between us. I wanted to go, but I couldn’t bring myself to forgive what he said. Even if it was just sex, I needed someone who wasn’t regretful about me in anyway. The thought bristled me because I realized the way he felt about me being a hunter was the same way I felt about him being a wolf. It would be so much easier if he wasn’t. Did I have the right to be upset? Regardless, I didn’t know if my pride would allow me to absolve him.

  Things grew distant between Gideon and I with each passing day. I spoke to him during our meetings but didn’t linger when they were over. Extending an olive branch, Gideon had agreed to give me access to a laptop so I could communicate at will with Eric. Shockingly there was no catch. When I asked about this he reiterated, “How can I claim Trey is wrong about you if I still treat you as an enemy.” It wasn’t meant to give me warm, fuzzy feelings, but it did and that surprised me more than the Internet access.

  I fell into a routine. After enjoying breakfast, I contacted Eric. Most mornings he was just getting off patrol when I video chatted. Then I had a meeting in Gideon’s office with Adam and Trey present, where I presented what I learned, if anything.

  Once the meeting concluded, I’d grab lunch then head to my training session with the Omegas. My afternoons were free time I spent in the gym, library, or playing on the computer Gideon had allotted me. After dinner, I’d sometimes receive a call from Eric if something had occurred that day.

  When the call came in one night, I was so stunned by the contents that I found myself in Gideon’s office along with Trey. Adam had headed out that morning and wasn’t back yet, but what I learned couldn’t wait.

  “Reed is attempting to gather a following in secret. He needs enough support that if my father decides to side with you,” I spoke to Gideon, “he’ll be persuaded to refuse or perhaps removed.” That would happen over my dead body. “We need to do something. The werewolf faction isn
’t working alone. They have a growing number of hunters supporting them who are too worried about job security to see the bigger picture and if Drake is supporting them too, then they could have the whole vampire community.”

  “Why not put coming out on hold for a while?” Trey offered.

  “It won’t be enough,” Gideon stated. “We’d be right back here in a few months when we broach the subject again.”

  “It’d also make you look weak,” I stated causing two sets of eyes to bore into me. I shrugged. “It’s true. If you go back on your word, the pack might think you weak and then you’ll have a whole new set of problems on your hands.”

  “Then what do you propose we do, princess?” Trey spat.

  “I think the time has come to involve my father,” I told the wolves. A round of protests echoed through the room. The wolves wanted to keep the hunters out of the situation as long as possible. “He deserves to know what Reed is doing. He might even be able to put a stop to it. I can give the order to Eric—”

  “Isabel,” Gideon stated firmly to quiet me. “It’s not happening.”

  “Why? It makes sense.”

  “Because I forbid it.”

  “You forbid…” I gaped at him, which slowly morphed into a smile. If he thought he could dictate to me what I did with my own men, he’d lost his mind.

  “Leave us,” he stated, knowing he didn’t need an audience for what I was about to say. “And don’t just linger out there either.” His green eyes stayed glued on me until the door clicked closed. I exhaled sharply before speaking.

  “You don’t give me orders, Gideon.”

  He snorted. “Your sense of freedom seems to have gone to your head or have you forgotten why you’re here. You’re here as retribution for the life you took. So if I tell you no, then the answer is no.”

  I glared at him so strongly that I thought at any moment lasers were going to shoot out of my eyes. “Right, I’m your prisoner. Is that all the time or only when we’re not fucking?”