Hunter Mourned (Wild Hunt Book 3)

by Nancy Corrigan

  “Why did you do it?”

  Lucas let the curtain fall into place and ambled closer to her. Each step he took intensified the effect he had on her. Her body remembered his and wanted what he could do. Her heart, on the other hand, remembered Trevor and how he’d made her feel.

  Lucas tipped up her chin, and she closed her eyes to avoid his entrapment. He kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, her closed lips. She didn’t open them. Didn’t acknowledge him. She breathed through the lust and waited for him to speak.

  He dragged his open mouth to the spot below her ear. “Why do you care? Once you accept me, it will break my bond to her and reform it with you.”

  The brush of his lips against her skin sent tingles skipping down her spine. Her womb clenched. She fisted her hands until her nails dug into her flesh. Damn treacherous hormones. She gnashed her teeth. “That is the gift the Triad gave you? The ability to erase your mistake.”

  “Why do you assume it was a mistake? Or that my connection to her was unwelcome. It wasn’t. Minerva agreed to it. The only mistake I made was not warning her of what might happen because of her tie to me. After I returned to my duties and she to hers, Dagda found his way into her bed. The Seelie King got hooked on her too. That, unfortunately, was my fault. An angel’s allure is as strong as a sex demon’s. Her tie to me enhanced her already strong appeal. She was irresistible. She still is.”

  “But she mated Arawn.”

  “Yes, she loves him.” Sadness tinged Lucas’s voice.

  “Do you love her?”

  “I no longer want to talk about Minerva. I want to forget her and embrace you.” Lucas slid his hand down her spine to her ass and massaged her cheeks. “You want the same, don’t you? To move on.”

  She did want to move on. It was the only way she’d be able to function nightly. No matter what had happened to her or how much fate had screwed with her life, she had a duty, not only to mankind but to her Teulu.

  “How can you accomplish that?”

  He moved one hand to the back of her head and held her still while he traced her spine with his free hand. “You just need to accept me, and I will handle the rest.”

  “No. Explain it to me. You said you would help me forget.” She tried to turn her head, but his grip on her never wavered. “What will I forget?”

  “Your human lover in both this lifetime and the one before.”

  “I won’t remember Trevor or Kai at all?” He had to be twisting his words. There was no way to scrub those memories without leaving her with huge gaps in her past. Doing so would leave her at a disadvantage. She might forget the lessons she’d learned in battles during those years.

  “Not exactly. You’ll remember being with them, but it’ll be as if a veil had been cast over that time you’d spent with them. All you’ll feel is acknowledgment of the time. Nothing more. You’ll be free.”

  “No memories of my emotions. Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m promising you. A life where you’ll never be plagued with thoughts of them. No guilt. No regret. Nothing.”

  And no love. She wouldn’t remember how Trevor’s arms had felt around her. Wouldn’t remember his smile. Wouldn’t remember the way he’d worshiped her. She would sit on the swing he’d made for her and not be able to recall how he’d made her feel that day, as if she had a reason to live.

  “No matter what happens. Remember today. Remember me. Remember us.” Trevor’s words repeated in her head, reminding her of the promise she’d made to him.

  “I can’t do this.” She pressed her hands to Lucas’s chest. “I won’t allow anyone to strip my memories of Trevor. They’re all I have left of him.”

  Lucas yanked her close. “Exactly. Let them go. Your grief weakens you. You’re in no shape to fight the Unseelies like this. I can make you strong again. I can turn you into a Hunter that’ll strike fear into the hearts of your enemies. Don’t you want that? To be invincible?”

  Without her memories, she’d be heartless. It was the pain of losing Kai that sent her out onto the streets every night hoping to prevent tragedies, and it was the sheer happiness of being alive Trevor had shown her that would do so again. As long as she remembered love, she would fight for others to experience it. Without it, she wouldn’t be a woman she could respect.

  “Grief is not a sign of weakness. It’s the price of love.” She shoved away from the fallen angel. “I won’t take the easy way out. I will walk this path knowing my grief will never completely leave me, but I don’t fear it. Grief changes. It’s a passage. Not a place to stay. And each step I take along this journey, I will wrap my memories around me and try to be the woman Trevor loved. That is what will make my pain bearable. That is how I will honor him.”

  Lucas studied her for a long moment, then inclined his head. “At least you have memories. I have none, except for a couple of nights of sex.”

  She backed toward the curtain. “That’s not my fault, Lucas. That’s yours. You tied yourself to a woman who doesn’t love you.”

  Lucas grinned. “Is that what you think? Then why did Minerva harass you every time you ended up in my bed?”

  Rowan couldn’t answer that, nor did she want to try. All she knew was that she needed to get away from Lucas. Being in his arms stirred her guilt as much as it had her lust.

  “A word of advice, Lucas.” She gripped the heavy curtain. “Think carefully before you concoct any other plan against my father. No matter what your goals are, you can’t hurt him without hurting Minerva. I have a feeling you’ll regret that more than any other sin you might’ve committed.”

  She let the curtain swoosh closed and hurried to the corridor leading to the human realm. She was in the mood to swing.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  No folders or papers were scattered over the desk Arawn had used. The fire had been banked. The tumblers had been washed and stored on the shelf above the wet bar.

  Arawn had returned to his library. That was the only conclusion Rowan could come up with. After talking to Lucas, however, she couldn’t help but wonder if her father had been right to worry about his reaction to seeing Lucas and Minerva. Her father was strong, though. As long as he held his humanity close, he’d survive. His children would help him.

  Rowan turned for the doorway. Minerva stood there in one of the silver gowns she’d always favored.

  “You know of my secret.”

  Rowan approached her. “I doubt I know all the details, but I know of your lies to Arawn.”

  “I didn’t lie to your father. I simply didn’t tell him of my connection to Lucifer. There was no need. The deal I made with him guaranteed the bond we shared would remain sexless.”

  “What deal?”

  “After I gifted the angels with the ability to choose a soul mate, Lucifer found me crying and in pain. He promised a way to ease my suffering.”

  “By mating my father.”

  “Yes, but I was banned from the Underworld. Only angels could enter it. By tying my soul to Lucifer’s, I was able to circumvent the Triad’s rule and still mate Arawn. Nobody was ever supposed to know of my deal with Lucifer, not Arawn or the Triad. The deity found out, though, when it learned who’d fathered my son.”

  Minerva balled her hands. “I don’t think the Triad even cared which angel had disobeyed its order by allowing me to find Arawn. The deity was only upset because I had managed to hide it. The Triad prides itself on thinking it knows everything, but it doesn’t. If it had, it would’ve stopped Dagda before he turned his court into monsters.”

  Rowan glanced at Minerva’s left hand, the one displaying the bond she shared with Arawn. “You hurt my father.”

  “I know. It wasn’t my intention. I love him.”

  “Then go to him. At least you can.”

  Minerva pulled Rowan into a hug. “I cried for you and Trevor. I do not know if it did any good, but I mourned his loss.”

  “Thank you.” Rowan swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I should
go.”

  “Yes.” Minerva released her and stepped back. “Hunt well, daughter.”

  She would. It was all she had left besides her memories.

  Rowan hurried to the corridor leading out of the Underworld and stopped dead in her tracks. The man striding toward her wasn’t a sight she’d ever thought to see. She stepped back. She had to be confusing her memories with reality, but that was impossible. Trevor had never walked in the Underworld. As a human, he was banned from it.

  “Trevor?”

  “In the flesh.” He grinned. The smile slammed into her, leaving her unbalanced. She braced an arm against the wall to support her weak legs. Her mind was playing tricks. It had to be, but hope bloomed with each step he took toward her.

  He settled his hands on her hips. “Did you succeed?”

  “In what?”

  “Your challenge.”

  She didn’t care about her challenge. Trevor was here. Understanding why was all that mattered. They weren’t supposed to get any more chances.

  She traced his jawline. A slight brushing of stubble tickled her fingertips, exactly as it had the evening after they’d made love in the hotel. “How can you be here? You died.”

  “I had a little heavenly intervention.” The smile she loved lit up his face again.

  A matching one spread over hers. Her heart lightened, and tears filled her eyes. Happy ones. Trevor was alive. She couldn’t explain it, didn’t understand how he could be in the Underworld, but couldn’t deny it.

  She threw her arms around him, holding him tight. After a moment, she glanced into the brown eyes she loved. He was beautiful, her very own knight in shining armor. She traced his features. Couldn’t stop touching him. Trevor was here. Alive! She wanted to shout for joy, do a little dance, get down on her knees, and thank the heavens. Instead, she slid her fingers to the back of his head and drank in the sight she never thought to lay eyes on again.

  “Don’t tease me, Trevor. You need to tell me more than you had a little heavenly intervention. Humans can’t come back from the dead.” They could only be reincarnated.

  “They can when their soul is tied to an angel.”

  “What?” She couldn’t help the shocked squeak that accompanied the question.

  “I met the angel Michael at the hospital after I woke up as a ghost and convinced him to help me get back to you.” Trevor shrugged. “This is the only way.”

  Rowan tugged Trevor’s shirt from his pants and pushed it up, exposing his chest. The entry point from the bullet wound that had taken Trevor’s life was a shiny white scar. She ran her fingers over the puckered flesh. “You’re alive.”

  “And I’ll stay exactly as you see me now no matter how many times I die. Michael will just keep bringing me back to you.”

  She kissed his eyes, cheeks, nose, and finally his mouth. The passion he stirred ignited within her, but her giddiness tamped down the powerful drive to be joined intimately with Trevor. She stood on her tiptoes and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “I can’t believe we have another chance.”

  “We have eternity, baby. We won this round of the Triad’s game.”

  “My challenge.” She jerked back and reached for the edge of her right glove. “I don’t know if I did, I—”

  “You did.” He covered her fingers, stopping her from removing the lacy glove. “Why else would you be standing here hugging me?”

  “I refused Lucas. He wanted to scrub memories of you from my mind. I would never allow that. I love you too much.”

  He kissed her. “Exactly. That’s why we won. We both fought for our love.”

  “Shouldn’t we check to make sure?”

  “If you want to, but I kind of like these gloves on you. They’re sexier than any of the others you’ve worn.” He looked from her hands to her face. Hunger burned in his eyes, sparking hers. The lust Trevor stirred left her feeling alive, not manipulated as she had with Lucas. “You wouldn’t happen to have stockings to match them, would you?”

  She chuckled. “No, but I can get some.”

  “Good. Do that.”

  “I’ll get long white gloves to match the stockings I’ll wear under my wedding dress, but…” She peeled the black lacy glove down, exposing her unmarked right hand and proving Trevor right. She had won. She grinned and met Trevor’s gaze. “But right now, I want to feel your skin against mine.”

  He parted his lips on a slow exhale. “Then we need to strip off more than a single glove. I want you naked.”

  She looked over her shoulder. “Do you want to see my room in the Huntsmen’s home here in the Underworld?”

  “Does it have a bed?”

  “Yes, but it’s old and—”

  “It’ll work.” He tugged her hand and led her down the corridor. “I doubt we’re going to even make it to your room anyway.”

  She stepped in front of him before they rounded the corner. “Trevor?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” He swung her into his arms. “Now, let’s get you into the house before I lose control. It was bad enough your brother caught us. I don’t need your dad to see us too.”

  She ran her fingers over the light growth on his cheek. “Neither do I, but…”

  He stopped at the ledge overlooking the valley. “But what?”

  “I want him at our wedding.” She motioned toward the fields surrounding the Huntsmen’s sanctuary. “I want to become your wife here, surrounded by my family, our hounds and horses, and the souls we have saved.”

  He swept his gaze over the valley, then met her eyes. “I can’t imagine a better place to become your partner. It’s beautiful.”

  She laid her fingertips against his cheek. “And I couldn’t have asked for a better man to walk by my side for eternity.”

  Trevor covered her hand. “I told you we make a great team.”

  They did, and love was the thread that bound them, stretching the centuries and pulling them back together.

  Thanks to Minerva.

  “Is that Minerva?” Trevor asked, respect in his voice.

  Rowan glanced over her shoulder at the doorway leading deeper into the Underworld. Minerva stood there with her hands clasped in front of her and a smile on her face. Rowan returned it, and the goddess inclined her head slightly. Then, she was gone, slipping through the door and leaving them alone.

  “Yes. It was.”

  “She looks sad.”

  “Sad? She was smiling.”

  Trevor made his way down the sloped path. At the bottom, he set her feet on the lush grass and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “It never reached her eyes. Your smile was the same way before we got together.”

  “True.” She nodded. “I had nothing to be happy about, but in certain situations, one was called for, so I faked it.”

  “You’re not faking anymore, right?” He posed it as a question, but his grin was confident.

  She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips over his. “No. I’m happier than I ever thought possible.”

  “Good.” Trevor twined their fingers and urged her to walk with him. “And as soon as Arawn lets go of the past, Minerva will be too.”

  “I don’t know if that’ll happen. Some sins can never be forgotten.”

  Trevor opened the door to the house and ushered her inside. “True, but they can be forgiven.”

  Rowan stared at the empty desk where a pile of rejected sinners’ reports had been stacked not long ago. “I hope so, for all our sakes.”

  The Wild Hunt continues with Rhys’s story,

  Hunter Burned ~coming soon

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  Sometimes the greatest finds are unexpected.

  After five centuries, Rafe Alexander knows what to expect from life—boredom broken by the occasional call from Shifter Affairs. No matter how mundane the job, he always accepts their plea for help. He knows what it’s like to lose loved ones to the shifter trafficking rings decimating their species.

  But the task that takes him to West Virginia changes everything. A human is dead. A shifter child is missing. And the human female connected to both tragedies is hiding a secret.

  Unraveling the mystery surrounding her is a must. But the felines he houses—lion, tiger and jaguar—want him to get close to her for another reason. Jasmine is special. His.

  And as danger mounts, he’s left balancing his desire for revenge and his need to protect. But the line between them isn’t always black and white, especially where his family is concerned.

  CHAPTER ONE

  A bar. He brought the kid to a damn bar.

  Rafe Alexander gripped the steering wheel. The tips of his fingers burned from the press of his sharpened nails against his skin, and his jaw ached from the pressure of his fangs sliding into place. He wanted to beat the human for exposing a preschooler to a world of drunks and illicit behaviors.

  But if it saved her? Yeah. If the human kept their cub from falling into the wrong hands, Rafe would be thanking the guy, right after he explained with his fists that a bar in the backwoods of West Virginia wasn’t the right environment for a little girl.

  He slammed the SUV’s door and strode across the bar’s parking lot. A few males tucked their dates closer and turned in the opposite direction. Others dropped their gazes to the pavement underfoot. The familiar reaction to his presence annoyed him, but it wasn’t their fault. Humans might not know what he was by looking at him, but they sensed the danger—the predator in their midst—and reacted accordingly.

  He tightened his control over his primal side. He didn’t need any attention directed his way, not with the shit that had gone down here a few hours ago: a fire that resulted in a fatality.