by R. Sullins
A sob tore from me at his words. The thought that we could have that together, such a rare find in the vampire world. But I felt the rightness of his words down to my soul. My vampire, my one true mate.
Tears fell at the happiness that was overflowing inside of me.
“I love you, Crispin. Now and always.”
My body started shaking as another orgasm tore through me. His growl in my ear and the stiffness of his body behind mine let me know he was letting go with me. He wrapped his arms tightly around my torso as he ground deep inside me and filled me with his warmth.
I let my head rest against his shoulder and murmured softly. “You didn’t drink from me.” I rolled my head sideways so I could look at his beautiful face. His eyes were a soft gray as he looked at me and then gently kissed my lips.
“Your body went through too much the last couple of days Hunter, it needs more rest.” He placed a finger over my lips and smiled. “Not to worry, I will be back at your neck by this time tomorrow.
I laughed at his cheekiness and snuggled into his hard chest. I held up my finger to admire the beautiful princess cut diamond and the band that looked like two delicate ribbons twined together and crusted with small diamonds. It was more perfect than I could have ever imagined.
“Thank you, Crispin.” I looked back up to his eyes and turned my body around so I could wrap my legs around him and placed my palms against his face and looked deep into his eyes. I wanted him to know I was speaking to both him and the beast that was apart of him. “Thank you for being you, thank you for loving me. I look forward to forever with you.”
We kissed softly for a moment before he scooped me up into his arms and carried me into the bathroom and started the shower. We made love again as the water came down on us. It was slow and perfect. Our commitment to each other had a newfound intimacy that I had not expected but deeply cherished.
Chapter 29
*****
Crispin walked with his mate down the stairs, admiring her beauty and the way her lithe body moved. She didn’t seem to have any lingering effects from her ordeal but he knew that she would be having residual negative impacts as the days went on. All he could do was be there for her and help her through the fallout. He was proud of her strength in body and character and knew, no matter how much the ordeal cost her, she would make it through stronger than ever.
He walked her to the dining room, knowing that the cook would have a meal ready for them. They sat at the table in their usual places and nodded his thanks to the woman that came in to pour their drinks and told them that the meal for the evening was roasted chicken.
He enjoyed the meal with her and took every opportunity to touch her and squeeze the hand that wore his ring. The pleasure of having her by his side was enough to put the need for finding Katerina and putting a final stop to her plans to the back of his mind, for the moment.
While sitting with her he knew that this would be the future for the rest of his life. He also knew that he had to get her in his home permanently.
“Hunter, we need to talk.”
*****
I turned my head to look at my mate. He looked serious and I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to talk about.
“I can’t let you live outside of my home any longer, Hunter. I need you here with me. And with Katerina on the loose, I need you safe. Your sister could be in danger more than we thought she could be as well.”
His words made goosebumps pop up along my skin and the small hairs on my arms stand on end. He was right and I don’t know why I hadn’t had a thought for my sister since I had been taken. It had been days since I had disappeared. She would be wondering what had happened to me. I squeezed his hand hard. “Crispin.” My terrified whisper had him kissing me softly on the lips in an attempt to calm me down.
“Let’s give her a call to check on her, okay?” I nodded my head and frantically looked around the room as if my phone would magically appear out of the woodwork.
“Your belongings were left in the car, let me call Rhys to see if they have been brought in, okay?” I nodded my head as he reached in the back pocket of his jeans for his phone. I sat quietly, worrying my lip while he talked to Rhys and looked at him expectantly when he hung up.
“Rhys is bringing your phone in. Your weapons are in my office and your clothes have been laundered and have been already taken up to our room and put away.” How efficient.
A moment later Rhys walked in holding my phone.
“Jared had it charged for you when he got back earlier in the day.” He looked at me, looking for any physical damage, I’m sure. “You doing okay, Hunter? We were all really upset that you were taken on our watch. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.”
I hated seeing him so upset. I got up and hugged him tightly. “Don’t be sorry, Rhys. It wasn’t something we could have anticipated happening. The good thing is that the plan worked and we found the missing Hunters as well as finding out who was behind all this mess.” Crispin growled.
“None of what happened was a good thing, Ivy! You could have been killed. I would sacrifice a hundred other Hunters to make sure you were alive and safe.”
Rhys patted my back and gently pushed me back in the direction of Crispin. “Best not remind your vampire of the danger you were in again so soon, eh?”
I sat in Crispin’s lap and put my arm around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Crispin,” I whispered. “It is a good thing. We accomplished a lot and I wasn’t seriously hurt. Yes, it was frightening for you and it was a horrible experience for me. I’m not downplaying that. I’m sorry that I put you through all that worry. I don’t know how I would have reacted if it had been me looking for you with you in danger. I love you.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. I needed to distract him from the pain that was written on his face.
I grabbed my phone and looked at the display. I had a couple of missed calls and texts.
Sandy: I see you didn’t come home last night. Hope everything is ok and don’t worry, I’ve got Iris taken care of.
Sandy: Call me when you get the chance to come up for air. Iris has a date tonight and is really excited. They are going to have dinner here tonight.
I went to the voicemail and listened to Iris talk about her date, the excitement loud and clear in the tone of her voice and the squeals that made her sound like the 15 year old she used to be.
Hi Ivy! I wanted to let you know that I have a date tonight! I was hoping you could do my hair and meet Jim but I know you are probably busy with your own man. But if you do get this before tonight, can you come over and have dinner with us? Okay, I will talk to you later! I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
I looked at the time of the call and realized that it was for tonight. The time on my phone showed it was already after 11 pm. It was likely all over and Iris was in bed. I felt deep disappointment that I let her down. Not wanting to chance waking up Iris, I tried calling Sandy’s phone to get information on how the night went but it just went to voicemail. I knew she was probably already asleep too so I just sighed and hung up. I would have to go home in the morning anyway so I could let Iris know we were moving in with Crispin tomorrow. It could wait until then.
I turned back to Crispin and smiled, listening as he and Rhys were discussing the warehouse and what had been done during the day. The fire was kept contained and they managed to burn everything within the building. After the fire had been put out the human guards made their way inside and into the basement where the revenants had been holed up. It was impossible to know how many had been there since, when they die, they dissolve, but they were dead, every last one of them.
Unfortunately, there were no personal effects of the Hunters. Their belongings had probably been disposed of years ago. We wouldn’t know anything about them until they were able to talk to us and tell us who they were and which region they had been kidnapped from.
Rhys sat down at the table and winked at the woman that brought h
im out a plate. It wasn’t long before the other sentinels came in and filled in the table. It was the first time I had sat at the same table with them for dinner. The laughter and joking around the table had warmth spreading through my chest. This was my family now. Soon my sister would be sitting around this table with the rest of us.
I laughed as Alan threw a roll at Ariel which she caught and proceeded to butter and take a big bite of. I watched one of the sentinels that I didn’t know well wink at Alan and blushed when I realized they were together. There was so much I didn’t know about my new family but I was excited to find out more as the days and years went by.
I turned to Crispin and whispered in his ear. “I love you.” He squeezed my hip and kissed my temple. I had never been happier in my life. It was amazing to know that it was only going to get better.
The end… for now
Sneak peak of Book 2 in the Hunter series Hunter’s Promise
Chapter 1
After several minutes of being kissed breathless, I waved goodbye to Crispin as I stepped into the car. The sun was just coming up and I was eager to get to the small cottage that my sister and I shared. Cottage may be a little fanciful as it was really just a tiny two-bedroom house that I could barely afford with my waitress paycheck and tips after all the medical bills and upkeep that my paralyzed sister required.
Jared, my human bodyguard, and best friend chatted with me, recalling the events that had happened the day before after Crispin had rescued me and took me from the warehouse I had been trapped in. I had been kidnapped and strapped down naked to a metal table in a warehouse that we found 6 other Hunters in. Most looked like they had been imprisoned for years.
My mother was one of those women. The worst part of it was that I had thought my mother had abandoned my sister and me when we were 15 years old. We had just been in a car accident that killed my father on impact and kept my sister and I trapped in the backseat of the car. My mother told me that it was better if she left and then just disappeared. Because I had Hunter blood I healed quickly from the wounds I sustained in the rollover but my sister was 100% human and wasn’t so lucky. Her injuries were extensive enough that she had to spend months in the hospital and needed someone to care for her after being released.
That’s where Sandy came from. She was a wonderful surrogate mother. She had been the nurse on duty the night Iris was brought in. She fell in love with her and, in association, myself. She was as selfless as she was bighearted. All through Iris’ difficult attitude towards life she stayed true to her nature and kept Iris well-tended and turned the cheek at each curse hurled her way. No one was more admirable than Sandy.
Iris had a hard time accepting her new reality and instead of learning to live with her disability she became bitter and angry. I fought my guilt hard over the last 6 years. Most of the time I let it beat me and was sad and depressed that I survived whole while my twin didn’t. Sandy had assured me that Iris could have a wonderful life if she let herself but Iris’ pain and bitterness kept me from enjoying my life.
That was until Crispin came along. He rescued me from the revenants that had attacked me during one of my nightly runs. With his help and teachings, I learned about my heritage as a Hunter and what that means for the vampire world. During the time he trained me to become a HUnter we fell in love. The giant diamond on my finger was proof enough of his love for me if his touch and the look in his eyes was enough.
Now I was on my way home after being gone for two days. We knew who was building an army of revenants but she got away before Crispin was able to find me with Katerina’s brother's help. Hopefully, he’d be able to piece together more about what she was doing. Crispin was sure he knew more than he realized.
“You should have seen that basement, it was disgusting and smelled awful.” Jared did an exaggerated shudder in his driver’s seat.
“I could imagine. They are pretty awful while alive and those puddles they leave behind are nasty.” I gave an involuntary shudder myself. Revenants, or ghouls as we sometimes call them, all nasty creatures that were once vampires that couldn’t make the complete change from human to vampire. No one knows the exact reason why some people can’t be changed but the consensus is that some vampires don’t have enough Power to properly change a human.
When vampires start to devolve into a revenant they become emaciated to the extreme. They lose all body hair and their eyes become red. They stink because their insides are basically rotting away. They stay alive only with the blood they ingest. The blood they desire above all is mine though. Which was definitely shudder-inducing. As a Hunter, my primary purpose was to be bait for a revenant. Luckily, nature also gave me super speed and strength so I would have the ability to fight and kill the revenants.
“You have no idea how many ghouls had been down in the basement?” I was sure it had to be dozens. Katerina had been preparing an army after all.
“Nope, but the size of the puddle of black slime would have filled a small swimming pool.”
“That’s so scary. I wonder how many hives are just as large, if not larger, in other areas?”
“No idea, but with any luck the Lords will be able to use the information we’ve gained to put a stop to it.” Jared was just stating what every single one of us was thinking. The vampire Lords were essentially Kings and Queens of territories assigned for them to rule and to keep the vampires following the rules that had been in place for centuries. At this point in history, it was still important to keep knowledge of the paranormal world a secret from the rest of humans. If they knew that the things that went bump in the night were real they would never be able to sleep and we’d see more torches and pitchforks being wielded than the hardware stores would be able to sell.
When the car pulled up to the curb in front of the cottage I jumped out, eager to see my sister and make sure that everything had been alright in my absence. According to the messages by both Sandy and Iris they hadn’t missed me and assumed I was happily shacked up with my boyfriend. But not laying eyes on them in two days had me a little on edge.
“I’ll just wait in the car for you, princess. If you need help packing or persuading your sister just let me know.” He picked up a book off the passenger seat and opened to a page that had a bookmark in it. My curiosity was piqued about his reading material but decided to save it for later. If it was something I could mercilessly tease him about later I was all for it.
Walking up to the door, I noticed it was cracked open and a smell was wafting from inside. My heartbeat picked up and sweat dotted my forehead as a sense of dread filled me.
I pushed open the door before I could think to ask for help from Jared or to contact Crispin.
The smell became stronger and struck me fast as being so, so wrong.
The first thing I noticed after the smell was the blood. Our house was so tiny that the kitchen, living room, and the hallway leading to the two bedrooms and one bathroom were all visible from the door. It was easy to see the gore from where I stood.
Sandy was strapped to a kitchen chair, food was still sitting on the table from last night’s meal, only partially eaten. Blood covered the food, the table, the floor. Sandy’s eyes were open, a greyish haze covering the irises. Her throat was shredded, the open gash exposing tendon and bone, her head lolled to the opposite side of the gash. Staring sightlessly at me.
I hadn’t realized I was screaming until Jared was behind me with a gun out, pointed at the room. My scream immediately cut off, the echoes of it ringing in my ears. My breath was coming so fast I was feeling lightheaded.
Jared grabbed my arm and started pulling me out of the room and pushing me towards the car but I planted my feet. “Princess I need to get you safe. Get in the car and call Crispin. Tell him that something happened at your house. I will look for your sister.”
“Iris!” I shoved past him, back into the house and ran down the hall to my sister’s room. One look told me it was empty. I turned around and slammed open my bedroom door, noti
cing my room had been ransacked. Every article of clothing I owned, every paper, book, picture, piece of jewelry, was destroyed. They were ripped to pieces and strewn everywhere.
I took only a second to look in the bathroom before running back into the living room, nearly running over Jared who had followed me. I heard his curse when he saw the state of my bedroom but couldn’t spare the time to think about what I had lost. None of it was important at the moment. I needed to find my sister.
It wasn’t until I looked back at the table that I noticed the empty wheelchair. Blood covered the surface but it was impossible to tell if it was Sandy’s or Iris’ blood. Forcing myself to look back at Sandy I noticed the bruising on her wrists and the broken fingernails from digging into the arm of the chair. She had struggled, a lot.
In the corner of the kitchen, facing the table was a camera with a piece of paper taped to it. In fancy scrawled handwriting were two words…
WATCH ME