A Hunter's Challenge [The Hunters 3] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Suzy Shearer

  Her eyes widened but she didn’t pull away.

  “For now, I think it is time for you to sleep. It’s about ten o’clock but it has been a traumatic night for you. Rest now and I’ll watch over you.”

  Petulantly she said, “I don’t want to sleep.”

  “Well just lie here in my arms and relax.”

  He made her comfortable and settled his head against a pillow. She snuggled in.

  “Is it really dead?”

  “Yes, nîcimos, it’s gone. Anthan destroyed it.”

  He heard her whisper, “Good.” A few minutes later, he heard a change in her breathing and her body relax as she slipped into sleep. He grinned to himself, then shook his head. It had been a traumatic night for them all, especially coming on top of Erica being taken and then finding the man in the cave.

  He quickly spoke with Anthan.

  “Is Erica okay?”

  “Yes, we’re relaxing here together.”

  “I’m so glad she was able to touch Amy’s mind. I hate to think what might have happened.”

  “I know. Martin, you need to convince Amy to make an exchange.”

  “It’s okay. She has suggested it, so we will do it as soon as possible.”

  “Good.”

  “Meet us here tomorrow night when you wake. We need to wake our unknown guest.”

  “Okay. Will do. Thanks, Anthan.” Martin sent his thoughts directly to Erica. “And thank you, Erica, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “I’m so glad you found her, is she all right truly?”

  “Yes, a bump on her head and a bite. I’ve healed them all.”

  “Thank you.”

  Martin settled down to watch over his beloved for the night. His fear was finally settling, now she was safe and in his arms. He thought at times he dozed but then around eight he felt her stirring.

  “Good morning, nîcimos.”

  She yawned and looked up at him. He lent down and kissed her. She grinned.

  “Back in a minute.”

  She raced off to the bathroom, and he heard her brushing her teeth. Then she returned and climbed back into bed alongside him.

  “How are you?”

  She nodded. “Good. I was so frightened. I thought...” She shivered.

  “Hush, my love. It’s over, you’re safe.”

  Amy snuggled into his chest.

  “Anthan wants us to go over to his house tonight when I wake. We need to decide whether to wake his guest.”

  “Okay. Is Erica okay? She must have been terrified.”

  “Yes she’s fine. Tonight if we wake the stranger hopefully can find out who he is.”

  “That poor man! Will he be okay? How could anyone be alive that long? I was terrified for the few hours that it had me!”

  “I don’t know, nîcimos, we’ve no idea how long he was a prisoner. I honestly don’t know how he’ll be mentally when we wake him.”

  She was silent for a while.

  “Are there any more vampires around here?”

  Martin shook his head, “Don’t know. We’ll check the police computers and wait. It’s a large area, there is a possibility there could be more.”

  At that moment, all he could think of was how much he loved her. She surprised him.

  “I love you, Martin, I love you so much.”

  “Nîcimos. Mista heh kasakiyak, ke pisisikwâw ni pe mat tis si win e moway mis ka tan. Kisâkihitin, forever.”

  Amy cocked her head and looked at him. He grinned down at her.

  “I’ll have to teach you Cree.”

  She pouted. He kissed her. Amy looked at him.

  “Tell me please.”

  “Sweetheart. Beloved, my life was empty before I found you. I love you, forever.”

  “Oh.” She started to cry.

  “Oh, nîcimos, please don’t cry.” He grinned.

  “But that was so beautiful!”

  He kissed her again then looked at her ruefully.

  “I would love to make love to you but I can feel myself falling asleep.”

  Amy laughed out loud. She tweaked his ear as he pushed her onto her back and began to tickle her. She dissolved into girlish giggles. When Martin stopped, he looked at her. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her so tenderly.

  “We will never be apart. You will always be in my heart and my mind.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Erica threw herself into Anthan’s arms as soon as he materialised in the family room. Sobbing, he held her tight.

  “Hush, Iubită, she’s safe. She wasn’t badly hurt. A bump on her head, some bruises, and a bite. Martin will heal her and she’ll be fine.”

  “Why are they targeting us?” she cried.

  “Amy said one had been following her for a while. I’d say that was the one that took her. You were just unlucky and in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another strigoi who just got lucky.”

  Anthan led her to a couch and they sat together, his arm around her shoulders.

  “Do you think there are any more here?”

  “We’ve destroyed two. The one that took you, and the one that took Amy. Martin and I think the one we destroyed last night is also the one that kidnapped the guy downstairs.”

  “So maybe that’s it. How will you know?”

  “We’ll keep checking the police reports. If nothing shows in the next week then we’re pretty safe in saying there’s no more. But we won’t know until then. It’s possible there’s more, they could have taken people who haven’t been reported as missing. People who live alone.”

  Erica shuddered. “I hate to think of people being tortured. It sounds horrid but far better to die immediately then suffer through such horrendous agony.”

  “But then I would not have found you alive, we wouldn’t have found the man downstairs.”

  “Yes I know you’re right but I just keep remembering all the pain.”

  “Let’s just hope there are no more here.”

  “What will happen then? I mean will you go?”

  “Go? Heavens no! Sweetheart, I’m here for as long as you want to stay here.”

  Erica looked confused.

  “Usually when a Hunter meets their mate they stay in the area for a long time. Most partners want to stay around their family. If they convert, usually they stay in the area for fifty to a hundred years then move on. The Council then generally assigns them to a new area.”

  “Convert. Gram told us about that but now I’m wondering if she got that wrong, too. Tell me.”

  “I told you it takes five exchanges.” Erica nodded. “After the fifth exchange, the mate begins the conversion. It takes about twelve hours. Unfortunately the first two to five hours max aren’t pleasant but the Hunter will take as much of the pain away as possible. After that the Hunter will send his mate into a deep sleep while the conversion completes itself.”

  “So you’re saying the Hunter is there all the time.”

  “Heaven’s yes! There is no way a Hunter would let his mate go through it without his support. What were you told?”

  “Gram said... she said the Hunter left. She said it was painful and it took a whole day. She said the person had to deal with it all by themselves to prove they were a suitable mate. That they had no choice, if they didn’t the Hunter left them.”

  “Oh, Iubită, never! It is something that’s faced together. It’s something that the One decides on, never forced to do. There are Ones who have chosen not to convert. No Hunter would ever force his mate to do anything.”

  “So if I said I wanted to stay a human you wouldn’t leave me?”

  He drew her close and kissed her.

  “Iubită, I will never leave you, no matter what you choose. Never!”

  “Tell me what happens to your children?”

  “Our children? They are our treasure. We love them as much if not more than our partners, if you know what I mean. When a child is born to a Hunter family, they are mortal. They can play in the sun, ea
t food, except meat. They don’t feed on blood. When they reach adulthood, they then decide whether to convert to a Hunter. They have from ages twenty-five to thirty to make their decision. If they want to they can stay mortal and live a normal human lifespan. If they decide to become Hunter, they have two blood exchanges and are converted.”

  “So is that how you became a Hunter, two exchanges?”

  “I wish!”

  Erica felt him shiver

  “Remember there were no Hunters at all. My people had been praying to the gods for centuries. Finally the gods decided they would help. I remember this voice in my head. It was asking me if I was prepared to dedicate my life to hunting strigoi, to protecting my people.”

  Anthan sat quietly. Erica could hear him gathering his thoughts remembering how things had happened. He sighed.

  “I’d been fighting them since I was eleven. I was twenty-eight. My father had been killed by one when I was ten. I would do anything to protect my mother and my little brother and sister. It was an honour to be asked and I said yes. I was told to go to a special place in the woods. It was night time, I was worried that there may have been strigoi about but I dared not refuse the gods.”

  “I went and waited. Slowly other men came. They were those I hunted with. I was the leader and all of the men had accepted. I was so proud of them. There were twenty-five of us.

  “Twenty-five? I thought there were only twenty?”

  “Twenty-five were offered and twenty-five accepted. The gods then entered our minds when we had all assembled. It was painful but we withstood and at the end of an hour they sent two back to the village.”

  “Then we were told that the remaining twenty-three would be converted if we accepted the god’s terms. They told us we would live forever. That we would have to live most of our lives in darkness. They warned us about the sun, told us we would also need to feed on blood. One refused at that point, his wife had recently had a child, so that left twenty-two. Those left were all unmarried.”

  “The gods told us the good things then, how we would be strong, could heal ourselves and others. We would have heightened senses, the ability to transform, to vanish.” He gave a laugh. “Then they told us about giving us a special person. Our One. It sounded so wonderful to us. Then they told us to prepare. The following night would begin our transformation. We were told to fast. To meditate. To ready our bodies for the change that was to come.”

  Erica could feel fear. She held Anthan’s hand, dreading to hear what he would say.

  “The following night we assembled in the same place. There was a creature.”

  Anthan found it difficult to speak.

  “It was like a giant snake. One by one, we faced it. One by one, it bit us. One by one, we fell to the ground screaming in agony. I was the last. Because I was the leader, the gods told me I must wait until my men had been injected with the venom of the creature.”

  “It was torture to see them writhing in agony. We stood waiting our turn. I was proud of my men, only one faltered. He returned to the village. Finally it was my turn.”

  Erica felt a tear drop onto the back of her hand. She looked up at the man she loved. His face was deeply etched with pain.

  “Never in my life have I felt such agony. I lost count of time but later found out that it was five days that passed. Five days filled with excruciating pain. I was vomiting, retching up my insides. The pain never stopped. It was as if there were hundreds of burning knives hacking my body to pieces. I longed for death, I pleaded for it. Finally the pain began to lessen and then stop. When I opened my eyes, I was curled up on the ground amid my own vomit, blood, and wastes from my body. It was night again.”

  Erica had moved and now held him within her arms, his head cradled against her breasts. She could hear the grief in his voice as he continued.

  “One of our number lay dead. It had been too much for his body to handle. But the remainder lived. Twenty of us stood and looked at each other. We could all see in the darkness. On each of us, a tattoo wound around our torsos and onto our legs. We were now immortal. We were Hunters!”

  “I remember returning to my family. My mother was so overwhelmed, she was proud and fearful at the same time. We had a mirror of polished copper. My mother brought it to me and told me my eyes had changed. When I looked, I saw they were so bright. A much paler colour, almost gold with golden yellow flecks. All Hunters have them. It is now a way of recognising an immortal.”

  He looked up into her face. She smiled down at him and leant forward to kiss him.

  “Why did you not have a wife?”

  He shrugged. “When my father died I became the man of the family. I made it my duty to learn all I could about our enemy. I fought hard. I guess for me there just wasn’t time to find a mate. I was too busy staying alive and keeping others safe. Then when I became a Hunter… oh well the rest you know.”

  “And now you are my Hunter,” she whispered.

  “And now I am yours.”

  He sat up. Then stood. Before Erica could do anything he had lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Throwing her onto the bed, laughing he ran his hands down his body, removing his clothes.

  Erica looked at him. The man she had grown to love in such a short period of time. He was stunning. The pain had gone from his face, his eyes. His body was perfection. Muscles clearly defined over a firm frame, a six-pack many would give their eye teeth for. His long hair hung forward and she grinned when he began to climb onto the bed as if stalking her. She giggled and pulled herself further up the bed.

  Anthan grabbed her ankle and she gave a little scream. He tugged and she tried to pull away. He grabbed her other leg, then crawled up her body, one leg either side of it. Erica started to giggle until she looked into his eyes. She gasped. Raw emotion was there for all to see. All his love, all his adoration for her was showing.

  She shook her head in wonder as he reached for her face. His held it gently between his hands and lowered his mouth gently to her. Erica kissed him back, trying to pour all the love she felt for him in that one kiss.

  He deepened the kiss. It turned savage as they both wanted more. He was almost crushing her mouth against his but she gave back as good as she got. She held his head tight as their lips crammed tight together. They finally broke apart and looked at each other.

  “Iubită. I... I love you so much.”

  “And I love you. Somehow I knew there was someone special for me. I’ve waited for you, longed to find you and now you’re here.”

  He pressed his forehead to hers.

  “Now I’m here. You saved me, Iubită. Here I’ll stay safe within your arms forever.”

  She dropped a hand to his chest, marvelling at the strength, the muscle under her hands. She traced the tattoo, now fully understanding what it meant. She followed its twists and turns till she reached the point where it began to wrap around his upper thighs and his groin. She looked at him and her hands brushed across the thatch of hair. She heard him hold his breath as her hand swept passed his growing cock.

  Grinning, she ran one finger across the head, feeling a bead of moisture. She felt daring so wriggling down, she licked it. The taste surprised her. She had often wondered what a man would be like.

  Would it be sweet?

  Sour?

  Instead, she discovered it was salty but not unpleasant.

  She licked more. Holding his penis with one hand she licked from the base to the top. She heard Anthan moan, “Merge,” in her mind. She was almost blown away from the sensation.

  Anthan was excited, feeling her tongue running up and down. He gasped as she lowered her mouth onto the head of his cock and began to move up and down. She loved the feeling of it. It filled her mouth. Anthan was almost screaming in delight. She could feel his arousal as she moved faster. She wrapped her tongue around it, then felt the little eye. She grinned to herself as he almost came but quickly tried to hold back.

  Amy was determined to find out what it tas
ted like when he came. She gave an experimental suck. Anthan gulped.

  She was confused.

  Which were her feelings and which were his?

  It didn’t matter. She continued to move her mouth up and down, sucking and licking, using her teeth lightly as well. Anthan grabbed her head.

  “I can’t... I can’t stop,” he stammered.

  She felt him push his cock harder into her mouth, holding back a little so she wouldn’t gag. Suddenly she felt a gush of thick salty fluid in her mouth as his cock jerked. She swallowed. The taste was different. It was like the little bead she had tasted before but stronger, definitely not unpleasant. In fact, she loved it.

  Anthan was pulling at her, trying to lift her to kiss her. She allowed him to pull her up toward him. He pounced on her mouth with his then broke apart. Looking up she stared into his eyes. Anthan moved forward and kissed her forehead, her eyes, tracing down to her lips. They opened under the pressure of his. He forced his tongue between her teeth.

  * * * *

  Time stood still. Anthan could feel her heart beating faster as faster with each breath, matching his. He could spend the rest of his life lost in those lips. He drew back a little and sucked on her bottom lip. She pounced onto his. It was her turn to press her tongue into his mouth. They wrestle and danced together. Anthan’s fingers tangled in her hair as he pulled her tighter and tighter into him.

  She returned his kisses feverishly. Anthan’s hands were all over her body. She felt a hand between her legs, pressing and rubbing her clit. Deftly he pushed a finger, then a second into her hot channel.

  He could feel the sharp edges of her canine teeth as their tongues danced back and forth from one mouth to the other. Anthan ran his thumb across her cheek, the heat between them increasing. He dropped his hand to run it up and down her leg until he finally let it rest on the curly mound. She groaned a little into his mouth as he moved his fingers to let them stray into her slit.

  His erection was pressing hard against her leg. He was about to move when her hand brushed against it, then curled around it. She moved her legs apart and he pushed another finger into the hot wet channel. Their kiss broke.