She didn’t want to do that. The idea of him leaving her behind made her chest tighten. Being away from him was not her favorite thing. “Okay.”
“Thank you. Orion will be just upstairs if you need him.”
A few hours later Renee explored the townhome to make sure Tegan was still tucked away in Orion's bed. The woman had slept the afternoon away. Orion had disappeared to take care of something for work and hadn’t returned yet. The silence began to eat at her nerves while everything Coran told her the night before ran through her mind. She had tried to read but even her favorite book wasn’t keeping her attention. She went downstairs and looked around the kitchen. It was pretty bare but that wasn’t a surprise seeing as it was the home of two bachelors. There were two bags of trash in the corner. She’d seen a dumpster not far away. Inspiration struck. It was daylight and she wasn’t going far. What could happen?
Renee took great care to try and be silent as she snuck out the front door of the townhome. Fear settled in the pit of her stomach as she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She made her way to the dumpster, lost in thoughts ranging from puzzling over Coran’s bi-polar mood swings to why people were after her for a piece of jewelry. She made it to the dumpster and threw the bags in. Task completed and still safe. She wandered around the complex, not ready to go back in just yet.
The sun sank behind the mountains as she walked through an open park on the property. Her finger twirled the chain holding the stone against her chest. Nothing came to mind when she tried to think of reasons why the package came to her. Other than the shadows, she lived an ordinary life; but then again her parents had always excused any talk of the strange and unknown. A rustle made her pause and close her eyes. Hoping nothing dangerous waited behind her, she turned like an actor in a bad horror movie.
A man stood there, his dark hair and green eyes shockingly familiar. She remembered holding his hand as they went to the movies together and ate ice cream, and then he disappeared from her life, leaving nothing but a note claiming his job demanded he move. "Cody?" She couldn’t keep the disbelief from her voice.
"Hello, Renee, surprised to see me?" He gave her the crooked smirk that she used to love. Now it sent a chill down her back. "Remember that crazy, top secret job I had that I couldn't tell you about?"
She nodded and took a few steps backwards, preparing to run. She’d always assumed he lied about the job and spent his nights in bars around town. He always looked ragged the next day without an excuse.
"Yeah, well now you're included in that. You need to come with me, the people you are with will kill you the moment they get what they want from you."
She swallowed and stared at him. "And what on earth would that be?"
"You don't know?" He laughed. "And here I thought you knew and could tell me, but what do you say, girly? I know a group of people who can keep you safe and teach you everything you want to know about all the creatures of the night. How to avoid them, how to spot them and, if you wanted, how to hunt them."
She studied the black military-style clothes he wore—a black muscle shirt tucked into black cargo pants with a gun at the waist, leather boots completing the outfit. "What are you?"
"I'm a Hunter, I'm the thing the vampires fear most. We kill those who step out of line."
Vampires? Then what the hell was he doing here? She shook her head. "Go away. You left me three years ago and suddenly you want back in my life, claiming you know more about it than I do? Why the hell would I trust you? You’re insane." That was the only explanation for him standing in front of her spouting nuts-o claims.
He grabbed her wrist. "The Hunting Society can protect you better than that wolf can." He tugged and she lost her balance, but managed to yank her arm away from him as she stumbled.
"Don't touch me." She growled and his hand went to the holster holding his gun. "You wouldn't dare."
"My job is to get you to safety, if I have to do it by gunpoint so be it. I can shoot you in the leg and drag you back to headquarters."
Her heart sped up and her breath caught. She tried to breathe to stem off the edging panic attack. "Don't pull it unless you intend on using it, Hunter." Tegan’s calm, familiar voice came up from behind her.
With a glance over her shoulder, Renee's panic attack almost hit full force when her eyes landed on the sword Tegan had. She blinked to make sure she saw right. Yep, Tegan carried a sword. Still in the sheath, it was long and skinny, but lethal. The look of determination on Tegan's face told Renee she knew how to wield it.
Cody took in Tegan’s demeanor then glanced at Renee. "You know she's tied to a vampire somehow, right? No human in their right mind comes to a fight with a sword unless they have to play by politics."
Tegan snorted. "Maybe I just like things a little more up close and personal than I can get with a gun."
The thought terrified Renee. She backed away from the two. "Why don't you just leave, Cody? Tegan just came out to protect me, there's no need to make this a fight."
"On the contrary, her being here proves that there is a vampire behind everything. So, who are you working for?" He pulled his gun and aimed it at Tegan.
Renee bit her lip as she debated what to do. She could go with Cody, but she had no way to tell if he could protect her and the thought of leaving Coran behind made her heart ache.
Tegan drew the sword. "Lucius." She gave his name without hesitation and shock hit Renee, realizing it had never been a secret. "Now, why are you so interested in Renee?"
"The Hunting Society has been watching her, her parentage is very interesting. We want to protect her and keep her away from the Circle."
Tegan snarled at the word. "This is all getting too complicated. Renee is staying with us, she belongs here and she feels safe with us."
Renee tried to protest, but didn't know where to start with either of them. "Put your damn weapons down." Her voice carried over the two of them and they both stared at her.
Tegan started to lower the sword until Cody tensed and she moved faster than Renee thought possible. Not quite Matrix fast, but fast enough that the bullet hit her shoulder and not her chest. The force of it drove her back a few feet, but the woman was still on her feet. Not possible. Renee tried to remember how to breathe when Tegan rushed Cody and attacked with her sword. He used his gun to block it and push her away.
In and out, in and out, breathing was important here. This couldn't be happening. Tegan jumped back and roundhouse kicked, hitting Cody's wrist and sending the gun flying. Her next kick took him to his knees and in a move faster than Renee could see Tegan had her sword to his neck. Renee's vision went blurry when blood dripped from Tegan's arm. How could the woman move like that? And wounded? What was she?
"Get out of here and next time I find you sneaking around here, I will make sure to slaughter you." Tegan growled.
Cody gave a dark chuckle. "You need your master's permission for that, don't you?"
"Justifiable homicide. A Hunter was on our grounds without probable cause. Not to mention you fucking shot me, unprovoked."
"No one will believe that." He swallowed when Tegan pressed the blade tighter against his throat.
Renee started to count her breaths again when she realized that Tegan would kill him if need be. Tegan shot her a glance before turning her eyes back to Cody. "I have a feeling Renee would play witness." Tegan pulled away and snatched his gun from the ground. Sticking it in the waistband of her pants, she smirked. "Rookie mistake, only carrying one."
"I didn't think I'd need two against Renee, clearly there are more parties interested in her than I thought." He growled, climbing to his feet before marching away from the two.
Once he was out of sight Renee relearned how to breathe. "He lied to me the whole time we dated. He said he was military."
"The Hunting Society is considered military. If you survive to retirement you basically have all the perks of a retired officer." Tegan sheathed the sword. "You dated that ass?"
Renee tried to focus on Tegan’s words. "There's a branch of the government that civilians don't know about?"
"You think there's just one?" Tegan chuckled and examined the hole in her shoulder. "This is going to suck. I can't believe he shot me."
"You two talked like there are rules that must be followed." Renee began walking back to the townhome as sirens started to whine? through the air.
Tegan followed, holding her sword close to her side. "There are. The Originals laid them out long ago. The Circle members are supposed to uphold said laws and the Hunters were originally meant to destroy those who did not follow the laws."
"Seems to me that no one follows them anymore."
Tegan shook her head. "There are still rules that have to be followed and I can tell you if word gets back to the Hunting Society that Cody shot a human he'll be in trouble. The Circle however, bends their rules. They aren't above torture."
"Torture? You sound like you know that for a fact."
Tegan flinched and glanced back at Renee. "I do, they tortured me for two months."
Renee hesitated. After seeing Tegan move like a ninja and deal with a bullet wound with nothing but a tightened jaw and a cringe every now and then, she had started to doubt the woman's humanity. "Right." Time to get off that subject. "How did you know where I was? You were passed out in Orion's room before I left."
"I have my ways." She smirked and opened the door. Both of them froze when Orion’s voice thundered through the house.
"Where the fuck have you two been?"
Tegan glanced over at Renee. "Would you like to explain?"
She didn't have much of a choice. She crossed her arms and met Orion's gaze. "I went for a walk, Tegan saved me with her mighty sword, we lived happily ever after. The end."
Orion shook his head. "She took her sword out, which means vampire. Who was it, Tegan?"
"Wasn't a vampire. That was my first thought." She motioned to her arm. "First aid kit please. There's a bullet still in my arm and it hurts."
Renee sat down and closed her eyes. "It was an ex-boyfriend of mine."
"An ex?" Orion laughed and he dug under the kitchen sink for the kit. "Did he think you were having a lesbian affair or something?"
Tegan made a noise. "He was a Hunter."
"A Hunter? And he shot you? Is he a rogue?"
Renee opened her eyes and saw Orion coming back with the kit. He met her gaze and raised a brow. "Are you okay? You look pale."
"I don't like the sight of blood, nor the fact that you are going to have to pry a bullet out of her arm." Renee snapped. "Not to mention that I just found out my ex is part of some military corporation that wants me to join them. There are too many people interested in me and no one will tell me why."
Tegan's eyes slid to her. "They invited you to join?" She winced as Orion touched the wound with tweezers, digging for the bullet. More blood dribbled out and Renee swallowed against the bile in her throat.
She turned her back, unable to watch anymore. "He said they could protect me."
"They would try to turn you into a soldier and make you hate all supernatural creatures. They detest anyone that has a tie to our world." Tegan ground out.
Renee tried to think of something happier than a bullet being removed from Tegan. "He was pretty determined to get me out of here, so I guess that makes sense."
"He said something about your parentage, do you know what he meant?"
"No idea." She believed her parents were normal. Sure, there was gypsy blood or witch blood or something way back in her bloodline, but that didn't mean much.
Tegan made a noise. "Great, another dead end."
"All of this started when I received the stone." Renee swallowed, remembering what had happened the last time she'd mentioned it.
"You can turn back around now." Orion's gentle voice came from behind her. "I'm finishing patching it up now."
Tegan took a deep breath. "That stone is the reason the vampires are interested in you. I think they would back off if you surrendered it."
"I can't do that and you know it. I don't even know how you knew to send it to me. It's like a part of me." She touched it and Tegan flinched.
They all jumped when the door opened then crashed shut. Tegan bolted out of her chair. "Not dealing with him." She ran up the stairs.
Renee leaned back in her seat and looked at Orion, who shrugged. "Coward." She muttered.
Coran walked into the living room and froze. The glare on Orion's face stopped Coran from even cracking a smile. "What did I miss?"
Orion motioned to Renee. "You have a brave human. She went out for a walk alone this evening."
Coran's heart skipped a beat and his beast rose up in anger and protectiveness. "What? What happened?" He was having a hard time resisting the urge to run to her and check her over for damage. He walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, keeping his arms crossed and away from temptation.
"Tegan took care of it, don't worry." Renee closed her eyes and leaned her head back.
"You're pale, what happened?"
"Demanding tonight, aren't you?" Renee opened her eyes and cocked a brow. "I was attacked by a Hunter and Tegan scared him off. It's not a big deal, lesson learned, not going out alone. This whole being kept inside thing is annoying, not to mention I'm going to fail my finals."
"Ask her who the Hunter was." Orion stretched. "And don't worry about your finals, I e-mailed all your teachers and came up with a family emergency that you had to go to. The dean of students will contact you to arrange times for the finals. I also called your work, so you don’t have to worry about that."
Both Coran and Renee blinked at him. Orion laughed. “Yeah, I’m good, I know. Okay, I’ll go pester Tegan and let you two love birds talk it out.”
Coran turned back to Renee. "Who was it?" He uncrossed his arms, waiting for an answer.
"An ex-boyfriend."
Coran clenched his fists once, twice, three times before he could speak. "You dated a Hunter? How the hell did he explain his job?" Could she have been any deeper in the world without realizing it? He was starting to think this went further than the stone. "I take it he wanted you to go with him?"
"He threatened to shoot out my knee and drag me if I didn't go willingly."
Oh yes, that made him feel much better. The violent emotions pumping through him right now were familiar. He recognized the fear from so many years ago. That feeling of not being able to protect his mate. Of watching her die. His beast was pacing the surface now. Coran may have issues with taking Renee as a mate, but his wolf did not. He wanted to claim what was his and keep her safe whatever the cost, but just the thought sent panic coursing through him. If there was just a way to keep her safe, away from him and this world. He turned and braced his hands on the sink. His head hanging down, he took a deep calming breath for him and his beast.
“Renee, if something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” He turned and met her eyes across the kitchen. “You are...precious...in every way. And not just because of the stone or that you need protecting. You are human and fragile yes but I—” he paused and tried to search for the right words. “I’m attached to you.” That was putting it mildly.
Renee was silent for a moment, her eyes locked on his. Standing, she took a deep breath and walked towards him, not stopping till she stood in front of him. "I'm attached to you now too, Coran. But I'm tired of vague answers and everyone trying to skirt around the truth.” She placed her hand over his heart.
He could feel the warmth of it through his shirt. A part of him wanted that warmth to consume him, to fill in all those parts of him that had been empty and scared since Trisha was ripped from him. But the other part of him wanted to lock her away from every danger facing her right now, including him.
“Coran, if you want me to be a part of this world, to listen to you and your demands, then you have to be open with me. I want to understand why everyone tiptoes around you. I wan
t to know your story, what you are hiding.”
She continued to meet his eyes, moving her hand down to his and holding it. She hadn’t left him a whole lot of options at this point. But how was he supposed to tell her that he would never age while she grew old and died?
“I’m immortal.” He blurted out.
“Like you can’t die?” Renee asked with wide eyes.
Coran nodded, carefully following the emotions playing out on her face. “I can be killed but I won’t die from sickness or old age.”
“Are you sure you’re not some kind of vampire?”
The innocence and actual curiosity in her tone and expression undid him and he laughed. “Yes, I’m sure I’m not a vampire.” His smile faltered as Renee’s brows drew together as she processed this information.
She turned and leaned against the counter beside him, mirroring his pose. “Well, that’s interesting to say the least. Why were you so concerned about Cody suddenly showing up?”
"Because it means that this goes deeper than the Circle."
Renee let out a frustrated growl. "I've heard them mentioned before, but who or what are they?”
Coran sighed. "They are like the boogie men that are supposed to help rule the vampires. They are corrupt and cruel. I'm surprised Tegan hasn't said anything about them."
"She said she was tortured by them." She glanced up and met his eyes. "You're scared of them, too?"
"They took my mate from me, Trisha. She was human. When Tegan was captured Trisha was captured with her. When they found out that it wasn't within their laws to kill Tegan because she was bound to Lucius, they tortured Trisha to death."
Renee was silent for a moment. "Did you see it happen?"
"I held her as she took her dying breath. We were too late to save her, and like you she was new to our world. She didn't understand what could happen." He ran a hand through his hair and pushed the memories away from his mind.
He glanced down at her and saw she had paled. He could hear her pulse doing double time. He had wanted to scare her. Wanted her to see the true him. That this couldn’t work between them, but he couldn’t stand the sight of her fear and insecurity, it made his beast want to howl. He turned and stood in front of her.
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