The Hunter appeared in a flash of cold white mist.
Terror seized her. She finally managed a deep breath, which she used to scream. She heard the Hunter screech. Its bony feet scrabbled on the floor as it ran toward the bed.
Where the hell was Reese?
“You have to go,” she cried out. “Run, babe!”
“No!”
Panic had her twisting on the bed. She saw the tiny flare of light before her ears registered the pistol’s report. In that brief flash, she saw the tattered face of the Hunter.
“A gun won’t stop it. Just… just let me go, you stubborn ass!”
“Never!” he yelled.
You’re right, Abigail. He is stubborn.
Don’t hurt him!
He made his choice.
The Hunter was nearly to the bed. Reese, naked and magnificent, fired directly into the creature’s face until his gun was emptied. The Hunter screeched and moaned, scratching at its face. Abby heard the metallic ring of bullets falling off of its skull onto the floor.
“Reese!”
“Get off the bed, Abby. Run!”
Abby heard the sickening crunch of fists meeting flesh, snapping bone. Reese’s thick cry of pain jolted her. Damn it! She rolled off the bed and onto the floor. She heard the vicious connection of fist against flesh. She flinched. Who’d gotten in that punch? The low groan was male. Reese!
Heart pounding and palms sweaty, Abby stood and snapped on the lamp.
The Hunter had Reese by the throat, and it was squeezing the life out of him. Reese struggled against the pressure crushing his neck, but she could see it was a losing battle. He tried to shift, but somehow the Hunter’s torment kept her husband in a half-changed state.
Please, Hunter! Please, spare him! I will go with you. You can have me, my soul, whatever it is you want.
Its sightless gaze found hers. The Hunter’s heavy sigh infiltrated her mind. You are both stubborn. You fight well. You love more than any I have known before. Such qualities benefit the colony.
I cannot have the alpha’s babies. I am barren. That’s why I offered my life for his.
I understand. It is too bad you do not have more faith in your mate.
I do! I do have faith in him. Please, please don’t do this. Let him go.
Do you trust him, Abigail? Do you trust that he made the right decision in choosing you as his mate?
Did she? She loved him fiercely. And the way he’d tracked her down, and the way he’d restaked his claim and renewed their bonds the night before, she believed he’d loved her just as much. She was willing to sacrifice herself for him, and he was more than willing to do the same. Maybe an afterlife together was the right thing. Better than no life together. That kind of devotion, it couldn’t be wrong.
It wasn’t wrong, damn it. “Yes,” she said aloud. “I trust that he made the right choice. I am the only woman he could have chosen. I am his mate, and if the Valiant line dies with us, than that is what is meant to be.”
The Hunter tilted its head. Then it released Reese, who fell to the floor like a bag of bricks. Her husband flopped onto his side and clutched his throat. His wide gaze was on her, fear and love colliding in his amber eyes, but he was obviously incapacitated. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“I love you!” she cried.
The Hunter pinned her against the wall, then it put one large, bloody hand on her stomach. Its skeletal fingers pressed against her flesh. She felt searing heat all the way to her spine.
She closed her eyes. This was it. She would be sacrificed.
You will let him live?
Yes, said the Hunter.
The heat flared, and she gasped. She hadn’t thought about how she would die. But death by this internal fire was … was terrible. When would it be over?
She choked back a cry.
The Hunter stepped back and removed its hand from her belly. When she opened her eyes she saw a grandmotherly figure standing where the fearsome creature should be.
“Hunter?” she asked.
The old woman rolled her eyes. “You kill a few bad guys now and then and suddenly,” she paused and waved her hands, “you’re the Hunter. Oooh.” She smiled. “I come in all forms, child.”
“Yeah, well that last one was really awful.”
“Look, when you’re running down a sacrifice, you have to be scary. You think anyone would take me seriously as a grandma?”
“Good point.” Abby swallowed. “That reminds me—am I dead?”
“Are you dead?” The woman laughed. “No, you darling idiot. The members of the colony, especially your moron Shaman, have forgotten that I am the protector spirit. Protection covers a lot of ground. And includes healing.” She pointed at Abby’s belly. “I have given you a gift. Now you can have the alpha’s babies.”
“What?”
“Sacrifice is not noble if it is not necessary.” The Hunter smiled then she tapped the spot where Abby’s heart beat like a primal drum. “Trust in love. Always.”
The Hunter offered her a final, regal nod … and then it faded into smoke and drifted away.
“Abby,” whispered Reese. He’d gotten to his knees and he looked as though the color had been bleached from his skin.
“It’s okay,” she said. She kneeled beside him and stroked the hair away from his sweaty brow. She took Reese’s hand and put it on her stomach. “The Hunter healed me.” She paused. “
Reese leaned in and kissed her fiercely. “Don’t ever pull this shit again,” he said.
“I won’t,” she promised. She glanced at the bed. “You want to make a baby now?”
“Yes,” he said, grinning. “Hell, yes.”
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Michele Bardsley writes about Oklahoma vampires, alpha werewolves, small-town romance, Las Vegas ghosts, curvy heroines, and super hot heroes. Obsessed with dark chocolate, "Supernatural," and all things yarn, she creates fictional worlds because, hey, it's a lot more fun than housework. She lives happily-ever-after in Texas with her husband and their fur babies.
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