A Hunter's Heart [The Hunters 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Suzy Shearer

  In the safety of her home, she opened the back door for Harley who pushed through the doggy door. She then stood braced against the kitchen counter as Harley gave her his “long-lost owner” greeting. It was hard to stay unsettled when a thirty-kilogram Boxer decides he needs to kiss you.

  “Okay Harley enough with the kisses, just let me put the shopping away and I’ll feed you.”

  Five minutes later all was done and Charlotte boiled the jug for a cup of tea. She really need to soothing fragrance of white tea to dissolve her lingering uneasiness. She carried a mug of tea into the living room and settled on one of the couches, sipping the tea slowly so as not to burn her tongue.

  The trouble was she still felt edgy, still felt something was watching her. It was not malevolent like before in the car park, but it was there, lurking. She glanced out through the blinds to the front yard but nothing was out of place, nothing moved except the branches blowing in the wind.

  She was tempted to reach out with her mind but was definitely frightened of what she may find. She sat a little longer then straightened her shoulders, her mind made up.

  “Okay Harley, I’m doing it. This is just craziness, I’ve got to check to make sure no one’s there.”

  Charlotte took a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly expanded her mind, taking in the sounds outside her window and slowly travelling outward.

  * * * *

  Matei was angry.

  Very angry.

  How dare an unclean one approach a woman in a crowded shopping center? Thank goodness he had been watching it for the past night, trying to determine who its prey was. The strigoi had been acting so out of character that Matei had chosen to follow it closely rather than destroy it as soon as he had found it. He knew where its lair was and would destroy it along with the strigoi, the vampire, as soon as he determined what it was doing. This strigoi was very young and inexperienced, it had no knowledge that a Hunter was watching it.

  As it was, he had been forced to destroy it in a public place but had used the cloud cover to disguise his use of lightning to cremate the remains.

  However, what was its interest in this woman?

  Granted, he had not paid much attention to her as he focused on the strigoi, but obviously, it has singled her out. He had only a very brief glimpse of her from behind as she was getting into her car. She appeared to be just an older female, yet the vampire had ignored everyone to concentrate on her.

  Matei had picked up its trail late the last evening, watching as it ignored easy prey. It had seemed to be focusing on this general area. Tonight he had followed it from its lair, then watched as it waited in a car park and sure enough, it had seemed to be waiting for someone in particular.

  Normally a strigoi will attack any human it can separate from others and drain its blood yet this one had ignored everyone until the woman had arrived. Then it had followed her silently into the shop, biding its time until she returned to her car before launching his mental attack on her. The only explanation was that she had some amount of psychic ability and the strigoi must have planted a marker in her. He had found vampires always liked to play with their food when they found a psychic mortal.

  The whole setup was so out of character that Matei had waited until the last moment before taking control and forcing the woman to leave. He had swiftly destroyed the vampire then followed the woman’s car until she pulled into this driveway. He quickly hid behind one of the many trees she had in the front yard and watched as she entered the house. He then crouched and settled to watch and wait. He would need to enter her mind and thought to wait until she was asleep. If there was a marker, he would need to remove it.

  He could feel her unease—it was heavy in the air.

  Suddenly he felt the tentative touch of a female mind, hesitant, fleeting but strong. It briefly brushed his mind and he brought down a heavy barrier to his thoughts.

  Strange.

  He followed the pattern back and found it was the woman inside. Her mind was still in fear but she was determined to ensure her safety by checking her surroundings. She was consciously directing her energy outward, checking her home, ensuring the sounds she was hearing were natural and normal.

  In that brief instant, he was amazed by her mind, and just as suddenly she was back pushing at the barrier and worming her way inside as she pounced on the alien feeling that she knew should not be there.

  Realising she was about to fully enter, he quickly erected an even stronger barrier but the damage was done, she was aware there was something not quite right, that he was outside. Matei cursed in several languages. He had made a mistake that even a yearling would not have but he had never expected that a human could enter his mind. He hoped she would think she had made a mistake but he was not hopeful. After all, she had purposefully pushed against him.

  In all his long lonely years, he had never come across a human who could enter his mind, break through his barrier, unless he had exchanged blood with them, yet this woman had pushed it aside easily. Granted he had not erected a strong barrier, thinking that no human would be able to pass, but the fact remained she had entered his mind and if she had persisted would have been through his stronger dam.

  From this moment on, he was forever changed. Matei rocked back on his heels, shaken.

  He was stunned.

  There was only one answer. She was the One.

  Chapter Two

  All at once, Charlotte felt it—something alien, strange, some type of mental barrier. She moved past it pretending she had not felt it then swiftly returned and plunged in. Without thought she pushed, catching a glimpse of darkness, pain, death and utter loneliness. Just as quickly, she felt a stronger barrier come down to force her out. She could push through it but decided not to take the chance so she retreated inside herself.

  Fear took hold of her again.

  This was nothing natural, this was raw, and this was threatening to her. It was not threatening in the same way as previously this evening. Instead, this threatened to shake her life upside-down and change it forever. Without understanding why, Charlotte knew by that brief glimpse she had been forever altered, something beckoned to her, something that she craved. Something she had been seeking for without ever knowing.

  She raced quickly around the house, checking all the locks on the doors and windows. She started shaking again, terrified at what was lurking outside her door. It had definitely not felt evil. Nevertheless, what was it? All she knew was it was alien and did not belong in her neighborhood.

  She returned to the living room and sat. Harley picked up her distress and put his head on her knees, whimpering softly. Unconsciously she rubbed his ears between her fingers as she relived those dark feelings she has reached. Never had she felt such strangeness, such loneliness, such strength of honour. Charlotte could not believe that twice in one day, she would experience fear. This was ridiculous and unheard of.

  Even though this time it did not have the same evil taint as earlier this evening, it still frightened her. For some reason it reminded her of an incident that happened six years ago.

  She was with a group of pedestrians crossing the road when someone stumbled into her and their bag or something had scratched her wrist. She had no idea who it was but a very attractive man had been close by and looked at her funnily.

  After that, she was sure someone was following her.

  Just as suddenly as Charlotte remembered the following early morning six years ago when she had been frozen in fear, she realised the episode in the car park this evening was the same.

  The same fear, the same paralysing terror…She began to shake uncontrollably, felt herself screaming inside, plunging down into terror, losing control on reality. All she could hear was the voice saying, “You are a vampire,” and the cold clutching on her heart. Madness would follow if she listened.

  Then, tonight, that same fear and the images in her head of blood, death, and pain, much pain. She felt herself sliding downward. Although she had oft
en wanted to know the truth of that voice, she now finally understood that it was pure evil.

  She realised both times she had found a cut, a scratch on her arm. Then the horror. A silent scream was surfacing. She was struggling to survive.

  Harley began nudging her, trying to get her to come back, he instinctively knew she was spiraling away from him and he wanted her back. He began licking her face, pawing at her. She felt the scream coming from deep within her soul and knew if she released it, she would be lost in the terror.

  * * * *

  Outside her door, Matei could feel her, feel her terror, even smell her fear as she was losing control. He had to reach her but the only way was to enter her mind. The state she was in meant he would have to enter her torment to release her from whatever the terror was she felt. He pressed his hands against the wall of the house and sent his mind into hers, his voice caressing, soothing as he tried to grasp her terror. Tried to grasp what was sending her spiraling into horror and madness.

  He caught glimpses of something that had occurred years ago mixed with the events of this evening. He was right that the vampire stalking her tonight had placed a hidden marker in her mind. That must have been the reason for the vampire wanting to attack her this evening. He decided the time was right to take her. Well, it was vital he calm her and remove her fears.

  Now she was important to Matei, more important than his life—finally after thousands of years he had met the One. The other half of his mind, his soul, the One who would be peace to the chaos of his life. The One who would make him whole. He could not quite believe that this woman, this mortal, this older female could possibly be his One, yet he could not deny that she had entered past both barriers of his mind with such ease.

  When he had first accepted conversion to Hunter status at thirty and all the responsibilities that entailed, he had thought he would be one of the lucky ones. He thought he would meet his mate within the first one or two hundred years.

  Instead the centuries stretched into a millennia then two.

  Now after two thousand four hundred and twenty-two years of immortality he had almost given up hope. The temptation to give up, to walk into the sun, was beginning to have appeal. He could understand those Hunters who had done just that. Who could no longer cope with the isolation and loneliness.

  No one should live their life alone. Even a mortal with a mortal lifespan seeks company, a life partner. For a Hunter there was no one else, no one to share their bed, no one to share their hopes. No one to share their fears and to take away the pain of their loneliness.

  It was either find their one or spend eternity alone.

  Matei felt tears running down his cheeks. After all the lonely millennia he had finally found his One when he was least expecting to.

  When he had given up all hope.

  Already he felt overwhelming love for her.

  He wondered what she looked like.

  What colour her eyes were.

  What did she love to do to relax?

  He had only glimpsed her as she was entering her car and had not really taken notice except that she seemed older and he had an impression of a rich, lush body. It would be hard for her to accept him. He looked like a man of thirty despite being over two thousand years old.

  He pushed those thoughts from his mind and concentrated on removing the marker left by the vampire. He was surprised when he found a second marker, an old one, imbedded deep. Strigoi placed markers in their victims’ minds, it made it easy for them to locate them and to control them. It seems the old marker had been placed on her when she was crossing a busy road. She had been with a large group of pedestrians in the early evening.

  He could “see” her remembrance of the night. It was obvious a strigoi had discovered her and intentionally bumped into her, implanting the marker. She had thought the scratch on her arm was from someone’s bag.

  So two strigoi had marked her. For some reason she was attracting the strigoi. It had to be her psychic ability.

  He was amazed that she had survived so long.

  Once he destroyed both markers, he linked his heart and lungs to hers and concentrated on bringing her breathing back down. He imagined his arms around her and softly caressed her shoulders, pulling her into his chest, stroking her hair. He murmured senseless words, using his voice to bring her back from the black abyss in her mind.

  * * * *

  Charlotte felt something fluttering in her mind, digging deep into it. Then the events of that awful night faded away along with the terror she had felt both then, and tonight. She started the long climb back to reality. She could feel Harley’s breath on her face as he licked her, feel his paws on her arm. She could also feel something gently brushing against her shoulders, a hand in her hair, soft meaningless words in her ear.

  Opening her eyes, Charlotte was surprised to see she and Harley were alone. The feeling of being in someone’s arms was so real and she reached up with one hand to touch the hand on her shoulder.

  In her mind, she could actually feel the strong long fingers touching her. She turned her head but there was no one there. She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate again and just as quickly, she could hear a deep masculine voice, rich, throaty, and very sexy, telling her to relax, to breathe. For some reason she was not afraid, even though she should be. Slowly she regulated her breathing, her heart rate to match his.

  Harley was staring at her, and then he gave a little whimper. He got up and jumped onto the couch under the front window, looking back at her then out the window. Strangely he was not stressed, instead it seemed like he thought a friend was outside and couldn’t understand why she had not let them into the house.

  “What is it, Harl? What’s out there? Who is it?”

  Charlotte felt the hands quickly retreat from her shoulders. She felt bereft of their warmth and comfort. Charlotte got to her feet and knelt on the chair alongside Harley. She looked out through the blinds of the window into the evening’s darkness but could not see beyond the light that spilt out from inside, so she closed the blind and pulled the drapes closed then settled down with her arm around Harley.

  Charlotte sat there feeling the comfort and warmth of her dog. She took stock of what had happened. In the back of her mind, there was a blur of some older event, something that had scared her, but it was gone now. She looked at the events of the evening, the fear in the car park and then the way she had touched a strange mind—a mind that felt as old as time and powerful but with strength and integrity. Even that did not seem frightening. Instead she had a sense of belonging, a sense of finding something she had been unconsciously searching for all her life.

  Then she looked at the way she had lost control and the way that other mind had bought her back and comforted her.

  Charlotte was not normally a nervous person. She was a loner but she was never alone. Since early childhood, for as long as she could remember she had lived inside her head. She was always able to retreat there if things overwhelmed her. She also was able to know things before they happened, things like knowing who was calling on the phone when it rang, or who was at the door before she opened it. Whether a person was good or bad.

  Sometimes she would get strong feelings to go somewhere or to call someone. She always accepted them and knew she was different from others. She kept silent and did not tell others the things she knew. Her son always thought it was funny that Mum knew things. Even her daughter-in-law was used to the way she got things right—even up to predicting the sex of her grandchildren correctly.

  However, tonight was different. Never before had she felt arms around her or the breath on her cheek. She even thought she caught the masculine musky scent of the man as well as the delightful perfume of frangipani as she leant into him. Yet there had been no one there except for the voice in her head.

  “Nuts, it’s happened, Harley. I’ve finally cracked all the way through! I guess if you’re going to go mad it is a good idea to take a sexy voiced male with you.”
She laughed out loud. “I hope he looks as good as he sounds.”

  Charlotte leant back on the couch and tilted her head back. Funny, it felt as if she could rest her head on her mystery man’s shoulders. It felt right and natural to her, that sense of belonging getting stronger with each passing minute.

  Harley lay on the couch beside her and slowly she felt him drift off to sleep. She reached over for her tea and was amazed to find it still relatively warm. It seemed like hours had passed yet it was probably only ten minutes. Taking a relaxing mouthful of the tea, Charlotte found her thoughts straying to the mind she has felt, and knew instinctively that it was he who had comforted her and bought her back from the brink.

  “Who are you? What are you?” she whispered a little shakily. “What do you want of me?”

  * * * *

  Matei knew the dog could sense him as well as the woman as he retreated from the window, sending a calming thought to the dog. Matei had caught a brief glimpse of her face and he gasped—she was so beautiful!

  She appeared to have short-cropped blonde hair with what looked like bright-coloured streaks but it was hard to see for sure as she pulled the blind closed. He had to see her, had to speak to her, had to hold, had to make love to her.

  She was his forever.

  Outside Matei glowed as he heard her laugh and her comment about his voice. He walked back onto the veranda and slid down with his back against the wall under the window where she sat.

  With only the wall between them it felt as if he was sitting back-to-back with her. He heard her speak again, this time she seemed a little frightened.

  Immediately Matei sent her calming thoughts, running a finger down her cheek softly. He heard Charlotte sigh and Matei fought with the desire to compel her to open the front door and give him entrance to her home and her heart.

  Matei threw down every barrier he knew trying to isolate himself from her and wrapped his arms tightly around his body. The urge to force her to open the door was so strong within him that he did not trust himself. He rocked back and forth, struggling with the demons inside.