Hunter of the Heart: Moon, Magic, Madness, Book 1

by Vanessa Jaye

  Nate had this response every time they found one of the Pithcus’s victims. Never this bad though…

  Something to do with the woman? He filed that thought away. He’d deal with her if he had to, but right now he had Nate’s condition to worry about.

  “Mitch,” Nate prompted just as Tessa started up again.

  “Let me in!”

  Both demands pounded at him.

  He turned abruptly, crossed to the door and yanked it open. “Shut up, and get in,” he growled down at the little slip of a woman.

  Her eyes, sparkling under the sheen of tears, widened, and her fist remained raised, ready to knock again. Mitch took in the dark crackled varnish of dried blood that coated her hand and grimaced before glancing quickly at the door where there were faint bloodied smears. Lord, help him.

  And now that the woman had gained what she’d raised such a ruckus about, she was staring at him liked she’d just lost her wits.

  Mitch tugged her into the room and pointed to the sofa. “Sit.”

  Then he went to the closet and got out his satchel. He took out a bottle of cleaning solution and a wad of gauze and removed all evidence of blood from the door. A quick scan of the passageway in the direction they’d come didn’t reveal any other traces.

  He closed the door to find Tessa still rooted to the spot he’d left her, staring at Nate’s shuddering form on the bed. Low, animalistic grunting only underscored the wolf’s torture.

  “What did you do to him?”

  “Undressed him. Put him to bed.”

  “He’s in pain.”

  “He was in pain before.”

  Mitch resisted the impulse to hustle her ass, and her attitude, back out the door. Instead he guided her over to the sofa.

  “Now why don’t you take a load off.” He gave her a tap of encouragement that sent her reeling back onto the cushions. “And I’ll do what I can to help him.”

  While Mitch returned to the small black carryall—one of those old-fashioned doctor’s bags—that he’d left open on the floor, Tessa turned her attention to Nate, naked, sweating, twisting, bones seeming to move beneath the muscles of their own accord.

  Even with all she’d seen, it was hard to believe that someone could survive the agony he was going through now. Her hands curled in her lap, one over the other, in frustration. More than anything she wanted to stop it. She wanted him to stop hurting, wanted him back to being the cocky, self-assured handsome stranger and not this poor tortured creature writhing on the bed. Her heart went out to him.

  He grasped the tendrils of her concern and she arched off the sofa, sharing in his blinding anguish. At Tessa’s cry, Nate’s eyes snapped opened, his gaze found hers and the circuit was complete. Suffering, concern and other deeper emotions flowed from one to the other. Tessa’s heart battered against her chest as if working for two. And she could actually hear his heart beat, erratic and racing, as they stared across the space at each other.

  “Oh God, Nate.”

  The words carried a wealth of feeling and bore through his pain. In increments, his pulse slowed until it kept pace with hers, till there were two hearts moving to one rhythm.

  The beauty of the moment brought tears to Tessa’s eyes. Exquisite, wondrous. It was the bond Nate had spoken of and she could see it, a rainbow streak of electric color through the air.

  “Beth…you came back to me.”

  Tessa recoiled. Something unplugged inside of her, leaving her bereft and she collapsed back on the seat.

  Nate held her stare a bit longer. Was that disappointment she saw? Another convulsion racked his body and when it was over he closed his eyes and averted his head.

  Bond or no bond, you don’t know me at all.

  She halfway expected a rebuttal from him. She got nothing.

  She’d been rendered invisible once again.

  Chapter Eight

  Tessa’s disappointment lumped in her throat and she turned her attention to Mitch. He’d moved the bag to the dresser and had his back to her, but she could see his reflection in the mirror as he measured out the contents of several vials into a glass. After rifling through the bag, he swore and his expression grew darker.

  Even with the resentment she was nursing, her concern for Nate increased as his hoarse moans grated on her stretched nerves.

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t call the doctor?”

  “What part of ‘I’m working on it’ didn’t you get?”

  A muscle ticked in Mitch’s jaw and Tessa immediately felt guilty. There was a closeness between these men that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

  In the corridor Nate had said to Mitch that he knew what to do. And judging by the deftness with which Mitch was mixing his concoction, he did. It couldn’t have gotten any easier to watch his friend like this, no matter how many times he’d done this before.

  She stood and shot another wincing glance at Nate. The tendons in his neck stood out like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree. Tessa looked away, swallowing repeatedly at the knot of emotion that surged from her chest. She approached Mitch.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just worried about Nate. I know you must be worried too.”

  He raised an eyebrow and handed Tessa the glass filled with a brackish mixture. She took it and stood still under his scrutiny as he fondled a pale object in one hand. Finally, he nodded, threw the thing in the air and caught it.

  “Nate needs folks worrying about him.” He held up the large bone-colored nut—a little larger than a walnut—between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m just not sure it should be you.”

  His other hand swept across his neck. When it came away a lethal-looking blade stabbed out from one of his rings and there was one less pendant on his chain. Tessa stepped back with a quick intake of breath.

  Mitch flexed his hand, modeling the evil-looking ring inches away from her unguarded flesh. “Some things aren’t what they seem. They have a hidden purpose.”

  He gored the nut, then covered her hand with his own, keeping the trembling glass steady as he poured the contents of the nut into the murky liquid.

  “Moonberry. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? And mysterious. But it can be poisonous.”

  Pale granules streamed out like finely milled confetti, sparkling with effervescence as they hit the drink. When the nut finally emptied, the dark liquid in the glass was crystal clear, as harmless looking as tap water. He touched his ring to the chain again and the pendant was back in place.

  “For some reason Nate is determined to protect you. But you’re a distraction and Nate doesn’t need any distractions right now. It could prove fatal.” Mitch’s gaze was implacable.

  “So save a little of that worry for yourself, Tessa, because I will be watching to see if you are like a Moonberry—beautiful and mysterious…but deadly.”

  “Me?” It came out as a squeak.

  Beautiful, mysterious and deadly? He was insane, crazy and, well, insane.

  “I would never hurt Nate.”

  He crushed the hollow shell with a sharp crack that made her jump, splashing liquid on her hand. Her flesh instantly started to tingle.

  “That remains to be seen.” He took the glass from her and went over to the bed.

  “I’m here, pal. I just need you to focus for a moment and drink some of this kwaja,” he said in a voice much gentler than she would’ve have thought him capable of.

  Nate’s trembling subsided as his eyes opened to feverish slits that focused on Mitch, then his gaze shifted to Tessa.

  She felt the pull of his will, he wanted her closer, and she rolled her lips in between her teeth, wanting to go to him. Yet she knew deep down that the first step she took towards the bed would signal the start of a more significant journey. As it stood she was already scuffing her toes against the boundaries of some weird emotional turf.

  Mitch sat beside Nate, breaking her line of vision. He eased his friend up so that Nate rested against his chest. A strong arm banded around Nate, holding him ste
ady as Mitch fed him the drink.

  With the last swallow came peace. Nate seemed to dissolve, his face suddenly slack. Tessa rushed forward.

  “What did you do? Is he dead? Why did he just—”

  Mitch warded her off with one hand. “Just calm the hell down for a minute.” He carefully shifted Nate’s body back on the bed. “He is gone into a deep, healing sleep. See? He’s still breathing.”

  She peered closely. Yes, Nate’s chest had assumed a more steady rhythm. But her misgivings weren’t completely put to rest. Not after the sudden change from torture to slumber.

  “There’s nothing you can do here,” Mitch said, spreading a light blanket over Nate.

  “I think I’ll stay just the same.”

  “Suit yourself.” He moved to the sofa and flopped down, deliberately stretching out his long legs on the cushions. Making it clear he didn’t want her around.

  But Nate did. He wanted her. Here.

  Or he wanted Beth, who he thought she was some sort of reincarnation of. Tessa’s mouth pressed into a tight line. What was she doing here?

  Her indecision dissolved with the next heartbeat. With each breath he took, Nate’s lips trembled slightly. Big bad wolf he might be, but he looked merely human right now, younger than his usual self and more vulnerable—she hesitated to say lonely, because only his eyes told that story.

  Beth wasn’t here. She was. Tessa went to him.

  She stroked the hair away from his damp forehead, then stroked again just because she wanted to. When she sat in the space between the edge of the bed and his body, he immediately turned to her, his face pressed against her hip. She leaned back against the headboard, drawing her hand lightly over his hair again and again. She liked touching him, so she continued doing so for a long time and didn’t remember stopping…

  Tessa woke with a start, heart thudding, the sensation of strangulation still very real. She raised a shaky hand to her neck, looking around the room wildly.

  Her gaze clashed with the watchful eyes of Mitch.

  “Bad dream?”

  She nodded once, then winced as pain stabbed into her skull. Mitch got up from the couch and went to the open bag he’d left on the dresser.

  Tessa tried to shift from the awkward position she’d fallen asleep in but her muscles refused to cooperate. Her legs in particular felt numbed and heavy.

  She looked down and her belly dipped. Nate’s head was in her lap, his face pressed to the apex of her thighs, his breath blowing warmth from slightly parted lips and one arm was flung possessively across her hips. The blanket that had been covering him was now bunched around his waist, revealing a raw expanse of powerful back and shoulders.

  But what made the heat that suffused her finally settle in an ache around her heart was the sight of the long, dark, spiky fan of lashes on the taut skin of his cheekbones. They were an incongruous bit of softness. One he couldn’t hide.

  “Here.” Mitch held a glass filled with clear liquid in one hand and two white tablets in his other.

  Tessa’s gaze was drawn to the barbaric rings on his fingers. She looked up, pausing at the tribal necklace strung around his neck with its knife-edged pendants. She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

  “It’s just aspirin and plain old water.”

  Tessa shook her head again.

  Mitch shrugged. He placed the glass and tablets on the bedside table. “There’s no reason to fear me.”

  “Excuse me? You all but threatened me before.”

  “I’d like to think of it more in terms of an incentive. Nate’s passion may override his better reasoning. My instincts don’t share the same handicap.”

  “And your instincts tell you I’m out to hurt Nate somehow?”

  “You show up. The creature shows up. Now Nate can’t seem to give you up.”

  “I didn’t even know about that thing—or you or him—before today. And I wish to God I still didn’t.”

  Even as she said it, Tessa felt the sting of the lie. Did she really wish that she’d never met Nate? She looked down, and again her heart wrenched at the sight of him.

  “It may not be your intention, but it could very well be the result. You’re a distraction.” He looked her over appraisingly. “Got Nate thinking some crazy-ass shit.”

  After the last few hours, and all that she’d seen and heard, funny how she knew exactly what crazy-assed shit he was referring to.

  “Beth?” she choked out, bitterly.

  “Yes, his life-mate.” Voice softened, Mitch’s gaze rested briefly on Nate, but when those golden eyes turned their attention back to Tessa all signs of softness was gone.

  “The love he had—has—for his mate sustains him, but it’s also his greatest weakness. Nate can’t afford to be vulnerable.”

  He winked and pointed at her, his thumb and finger making a pistol. “If I see you becoming a problem, I’ll deal with you myself.”

  Even with her gut clenched from his warning, she was ticked enough to stop him as he headed for the door. “If I’m such a threat, aren’t you afraid of leaving me here alone with him?”

  “I’ve got to go scout out the situation. See if the alarm’s been raised yet. And I think Nate can deal with you for now.” Tessa followed his gaze and looked down. The gleam of Nate’s eyes was evident through the thick fan of his lashes.

  “But if he can’t, I’ll be waiting. Better wish that he can, girlie, ’cause I don’t like or trust you half as much as he does.”

  Nate sat up more swiftly than should have been possible. “You’ll leave Tessa alone.”

  Tension crackled in the air. Mitch spoke with slow deliberation. “We’re friends, Nate, but I don’t take orders from you. I’ll do what I have to.”

  “And I’ll do what I have to,” Nate said with equal menace.

  “Don’t. Both of you stop. This is my fault. I’ll leave—”

  “No!” Nate grabbed her wrist. “Stay.” He gentled his hold. His hand slipped down, fingers slotting between hers. “Stay.”

  Her mouth went dry. The sound of the door closing hardly registered as Nate held her enthralled with the barely banked need in his eyes.

  She felt a blush crawl over her chest, neck and cheeks. Her gaze slid from his to his naked torso. Then her mouth dropped open in surprise at the change in him since she’d woken up. “Your bruises are almost gone.”

  Nate shrugged. “I’m okay now.” He shielded her from the knowledge that the last few hours hadn’t been about healing, as bad as his injuries had seemed. It’d been about fighting for control as the beast within him raged to spring loose. He clenched his teeth. He would not give in.

  “Are you sure?” Tessa rested her fingertips along his jaw, soothing the taut muscles. He inhaled in a hiss, and when she jerked away he almost groaned with regret.

  Her reflexes were no match for his own though. Nate recaptured her hand and pressed it against his chest as if that fine-boned appendage could shield his heart from the waiting darkness.

  Fear flitted over her face, not of him—he sensed that—but of them…together. He wanted to pull her closer, bring back the memories of a past life and past happiness and of an eternal love. Instead he tempered his emotions.

  “I’m sure.”

  “You should get cleaned up. Wash the blood off.”

  Tessa’s gaze slid down over his abdomen and settled briefly where the sheets draped over his hips. Her hand trembled beneath his.

  “Would you like to help?”

  Her thoughts were so easy to read. She was imagining herself in the shower with him, soap in hand, and touching him. Everywhere.

  More heated images flew around in her head, multiplying exponentially. His hands, wet and firm, returning the favor. His mouth, greedy and hot, on her body, kissing the need away. Him, inside of her. Filling her. Moving hard and fast—

  Tessa squeezed her eyes shut. “No.”

  “No?” Nate couldn’t hide his amusement.

  “No.”

  S
ilence.

  But his scrutiny was like a lover’s touch—soft, persistent, demanding.

  “And stop looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  She opened her eyes. “Like…that. I don’t like it.”

  Nate laughed. What a little liar she was. Even now, right this minute, there were some very intriguing thoughts still flitting through her head.

  He smiled as one particular image stood out crystal clear. So she liked that, did she? He could accommodate her. It would be his pleasure.

  “And I don’t like the way you’re looking at me now either. You’re practically drooling.”

  Nate grinned wider in response, gave her a little flash of the canines and felt the tiny thrill in her response. His senses expanded to explore her reactions more, the rush of blood through her veins, the increased pulsing of her heart, and the faint scent of her arousal. Intoxicating.

  “Do you like this better?” He leaned closer, his lips almost touching hers, but he delayed the moment by turning his head slightly aside. A predator by nature, he understood all about the hunt, about timing and how it could sharpen the appetite and make the feast to come all the sweeter.

  “You’re a woman of many dislikes, Tessa,” he whispered against her ear. “I’ll have to work hard at discovering what delights you.”

  She jumped up as if scalded by his open desire. Definitely afraid of her own. “Make that a cold shower. I think it’s time for me to leave.”

  Like some ancient god rising from the mist, Nate rose from the bed. He gave no sign he cared the sheets fell away, completely revealing his nakedness. “I can’t let you do that.”

  Tessa backed up and his expression hardened, turning him into a stranger.

  What was she thinking? He was a stranger. And she was alone with him. Could she fight him off? Stupid! A little too late to be thinking about stuff like that now, wasn’t it?

  Nate’s expression became even more remote, his anger nipping at her senses. Tessa pressed her hands to her skull, wanting him out of her head.

  “I’d never force you. I wouldn’t need to.” He kept the connection between them open, even as she fought to shut it down. “I told you I would come to you, Tessa. When you asked,” he said with supreme confidence, as if it was simply a matter of time.