Hunter (A Dark Assassins Novel Book Five)

by Ullmer, Valerie

  “Good luck, motherfuckers,” Neri sneered.

  Her eyes moved from the screen when Hunter clicked the magazine out of his Glock, checking to see if it was full, before he slammed the magazine back in place and cocked the gun. He reached for her clothing and threw the garments toward her.

  She caught them with ease and slid on a hoodie and a new pair of jeans, but when she looked up, she noticed the heat in his eyes. He shook his head to clear whatever thoughts were whirling around in his head. After she dressed, he pulled out a sleek black cell from his pocket and glanced up to catch her gaze.

  “Do you remember how to get to Kai and Liv’s house?”

  She nodded.

  “Go there. I’ll call for reinforcements and when it’s over, I’ll come and get you.”

  Everything deep inside Neri screamed at her to stay. But reason kicked in at the last second. Hunter worried for her safety and his focus needed to be in the fight.

  So when she heard the click and someone spoke, she nodded.

  Before she gathered her thoughts completely, she stood in the next to a copse of pine trees in the dark. When she glanced to the right, she noticed Reaper and Kai, somehow remembering their names with the panic of the situation flashing through her mind.

  “Fuck. Fuck!”

  Neri hated herself in that moment. She had left Hunter vulnerable and alone.

  Reaper jumped and glanced at her. “Where the fuck did you come from?”

  She growled at him. “Questions later, but first, I need a weapon.”

  “Okay,” Kai said and pressed end.

  Reaper must have noticed her expression because he reached behind him and pulled out a blade. He held it out for her and she wrapped her left hand around the thick rubber handle.

  “It’s a tactical knife, nine and three-quarter inches long.”

  She nodded her thanks, not understanding what he said. “Are you two coming?”

  “Yes,” Both answered at the same time.

  Without knowing how she pulled it off, she sheathed the knife and shoved it in her back pocket before she reached for both Kai and Reaper’s forearms. She closed her eyes and pictured the woods near her house, far enough away they would be hard to spot.

  When she blinked her eyes open, she found herself, Kai, and Reaper a hundred yards from her home and they heard sounds of fighting behind the house, near her workshop. Without saying a word, she advanced toward where she knew Hunter would be.

  She scanned the area. Four shifters were already dead, and she unsheathed Reaper’s knife and removed each of their heads with precision. As she glanced up, she noticed Hunter standing there, feet balanced apart with his hands behind his back, as he waited for the three shifters advancing on his position.

  Were the others dead or were they laying a trap?

  Fury. Pulsing, red hot fury surged through her and she ran without a conscious decision to do so and jumped on the back of the first unsuspecting shifter. She pressed the knife to the right side of his neck underneath his ear and with heavy pressure; she cut his neck from ear to ear. Then she pressed her fingers into the gaping wound and ripped the shifter’s head from his body.

  That was easy.

  She pushed off the now decapitated body and found the next shifter in her sights. This one was a fighter as he shifted his stance and waved her on with a hand. Without knowing what she was doing, she walked closer, and he punched her in the face.

  She snarled as he made contact and her head snapped back.

  There was no pain, only violent rage. The snarl turned into a vicious growl as she stared at the shifter. The next moment, a bitter liquid flooded her mouth. She jerked in surprise. When she flicked her tongue to investigate the taste, it ran over one sharp fang and then the other.

  She launched herself at the shifter who had the nerve to strike her and sunk her teeth into his neck. The flow from her teeth sent a surge of triumph though her and she hung on as the shifter screamed and thrashed to get away from her. She ripped her teeth from his neck and leapt off the shifter, landing with ease several feet away.

  Neri glanced around, searching for the next threat, only to see all the shifters dead and decapitated around her. When she found Hunter, she almost flinched back because he, along with Kai and Reaper, were staring at her with an unreadable expression.

  She noticed blood on Hunter’s cheek and darted forward. “Are you hurt?”

  Hunter, with a stunned look on his face, shook his head and mumbled, “Not mine.”

  “Holy shit,” Reaper said.

  Neri jumped at Reaper’s deep exclamation. She turned to him and noticed his mouth was open in surprise.

  “We can send Neri and Ara on assignments from now on, because damn if I’m not obsolete,” Kai said.

  She shook her head, but Hunter explained.

  “Neri has no desire to become an assassin.”

  “Why not?” Reaper asked.

  “I like creating pieces with my own hands that are useful and I don’t want to kill, even with cause. Seeing these shifters attacking Hunter… well, it was necessary.”

  Kai cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, how did they track you here? Unless they had someone outside my house waiting to follow you.”

  “Yeah, they could have attacked us at Kai’s. They’ve shown from past actions they have no problem attacking us where we live. But since they waited until you two were alone, they want Neri,” Reaper said.

  She shook her head, disbelieving. “Why would they be after me?”

  The three men glanced down at the shifter she’d bitten and when she followed their gazes, she gasped and jumped back, slamming against Hunter’s hard body.

  Her gaze drifted to the dead shifter’s body. To her, it seemed as if the blood had burned in his veins before they had sunken into his skin. There were deep rivers of black carved on the surface, up to his neck, and looking grotesque over his cheeks and forehead. His mouth opened in a silent scream and she shivered and glanced away.

  “Someone knows you’re a vampire shifter hybrid and they want to take advantage of that knowledge.”

  “Until tonight, I had no clue I had fangs. There was a bitter taste of venom on my tongue and I jumped on him. But if I have vampire venom and I’m a shifter, why am I not dead like him? And why would I be helpful to them?”

  The lonely hole that had grown over the years in her chest seemed to expand at the silence.

  Hunter moved closer to her, but she stepped away, holding her hands up and shaking her head.

  “You should fear me. Look what I did to him, he’s a shifter.”

  “I already had that internal debate for a split second but trust me, Neri, I’m not scared of you.”

  Neri’s chest throbbed in pain at his words. “What do you mean an internal debate?”

  “No, it’s not what you think.” He stepped forward and cupped her face.

  “Listen, you are not alone and I don’t care you are half vampire. You are still my mate and I’m not going anywhere. Liv will draw your blood and we will research until we find the answers, but this changes nothing between us. I’ll prove to you you will never have to be alone again. And I hope to erase that painful look on your face forever,” Hunter said.

  Kai cleared his throat. She tore her eyes away from Hunter to look at him. “We don’t care about your past, but we will do everything we can to find out about your life before you found yourself at Standard. It’s about time we found out about the players behind the scenes of that fucking place. You are family now, Neri, and we protect our own.”

  Reaper nodded in agreement.

  “Thank you.”

  Both men nodded before they disappeared through the trees, leaving her alone with Hunter. He reached for her hand and led her inside, securing the house, before they walked over to the couch and sat.

  “We have regenerative healing along with enhanced strength, speed, and stealth but it’s only within the past few years that the concept of mates became a
reality and some have abilities and strengths beyond the norm. And Frost, while an immortal, is the only one who can get pregnant. Silas is special in his own way, the first child born from two immortals.

  “But we never tested the fact shifters and vampires can’t mate. We know vampires have silver eyes. Your features are distinct, so is your scent. After being in your memory and getting to know you, I don’t care you’re a vampire.”

  Hunter’s words rang truthful, and he wouldn’t lie to her, even if it hurt her. But she had thousands of questions running through her head, but one stood out.

  “What if I bite you, injected you with my venom?”

  Neri held her breath as she waited for Hunter’s answer. There was a pain, maybe something more, spreading through her chest.

  “After years of observation, fate does not make mistakes. Kai was the first to find Liv. Until we learned from experience, there was one person made for us and us for them, it was a theory.”

  Hunter squeezed her hand and warmth rushed through her.

  “Kai fought his feelings for Liv, to the point he almost lost her. Reaper knew Ara was his the moment he laid eyes on her, but she disappeared from Standard during the rescue. She admitted her need for Reaper, but all her instincts told her to run and she followed them. Seth was young and human when he met Aubrey in class and although she hesitated to change him because her transition was horrid and she didn’t want to hurt him, he didn’t care as long as he could be with her forever. Xander, he is the exception to all of us. While we, including me, believed we weren’t as lucky as the others to have a mate of our own, Xander wanted a mate and never stopped hoping he would find his. Jade was like me, not actively looking for her mate, but knew Noah was hers the moment they met.

  “All the mates were brilliant in their own way, but Frost was born half shifter and half human. When she transitioned, her body kept the human ability to bear children. When they had Silas, something wondrous happened to change everything we believed, because Silas is special. He shifted within a few months of his birth, he can mind link with everyone, and he’s strong. When you meet him, you’ll see.”

  Hunter took her by surprise by leaning forward and kissing her. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lost herself in the new and exciting sensation of Hunter’s mouth on hers. As they broke the kiss, their breathing choppy, Hunter held her close. She relaxed against when he ran his fingers through her long hair, letting go of the tension that racked her body since the alarm.

  “There is no rhyme or reason for how or why we meet our mates when we do, but all I know is that the reasons don’t matter because I found you. Every cell in my being tells me you are mine. I want to protect you. And despite knowing your half vampire, the fact doesn’t make me hesitate to touch you, it makes me proud you are my mate. Every other thing we will maneuver through together by trial and error, but I think that’s typical of most relationships.”

  Neri, despite Hunter’s words cracking the shell of fear, the image of the shifter dying from her venom wouldn’t budge from her thoughts. She must have sent the image through their mind link because his hold tightened, bringing her out of her spiraling thoughts.

  “Death is an aspect of my world that hasn’t bothered me for a long time. But that will not happen to us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Both shifter and vampires inject venom into their mates to start the transition and we mark our mates with a bite on their neck where the shoulder meets the collarbone. There is a way for you to mark me and me to mark you without introducing our venom.”

  Hunter paused and Neri bit her bottom lip, waiting.

  “Do you feel our connection?”

  “Yes,” she breathed out. “I want to touch you, hold you close, and I’ve never felt such pure rage when I saw those shifters surrounding you, trying to hurt you. Lying in bed, in your arms for that short while… well, I’ve never felt so relaxed and happy.”

  His intense green eyes searched her face before he nodded. She knew he would understand.

  “That is why I sent you to Kai and the others. It’s too painful to think someone is out to get you, but I get murderous when I realize I brought them to your doorstep.”

  Neri shook her head. “It was only a matter of time. I was searching for them first, and I would rather know why they are after me and face the problem head on than wait around to see what they have planned for me.”

  “I’m tired of this shit, so yeah, I agree with you.”

  They grew quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts. The impact of finding her mate, of having someone with her for the rest of her life, brought a small smile to her lips.

  “There is no rule book, but you and me, we are in this together from now on. You are my mate and I am yours. Answers to all of our questions will come in time.”

  Neri trusted Hunter and wanted everything to work out between them.

  Without hesitation, she whispered, “Okay.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  HUNTER

  Despite the second relaxing shower to wash off the blood and sweat from their fight and laying in bed listening to Neri’s soft breathing as she slept in his arms, Hunter couldn’t shake the rage at the shifters coming after her, invading the space where she built a life for herself. Every time he closed his eyes, he pictured the shifters advancing on him, searching the area and trying to scent her nearby.

  Why are they after her?

  He tried to understand their advantage if they kidnapped Neri, knowing she’s half vampire. They made their disgust obvious whenever they fought the assassins, zeroing in on Kai, Kane, Thomas, and Isaac and doing their utmost to stay out of their path whenever they fought. The vampires had never contemplated biting the shifters they fought against because of the unknown effects if they ingested shifter blood and they never left themselves vulnerable to attack. The assassins were anything but stupid.

  Did they want to study her? Dissect her? Why?

  Neri, to any immortal who was to look at her, would realize she was a vampire. Her silver eyes were as distinct as Liv or Kai’s and after tonight, there was no doubt she had vampire venom. But she ate human food, had no craving for blood, and she had no aversion to the sun, which wouldn’t be obvious unless you watched her. Hunter remembered Kai telling him it took several decades before he stood in the sun and even now, two hundred and thirty-three years later, he avoided it most of the time.

  The obvious conclusion; someone ordered them to find her. It would have been easy to track Kane, Drew, Neri, and himself back to Kai and Liv’s after their earlier fight. They needed only to wait several hours until Neri emerged from the house to follow the two of them back to her place. Again, which led to questions about why they wanted a vampire, wanted Neri.

  Unless they understand something we don’t. How?

  Xander had found nothing on Anzû’s old crew and why he wanted Frost. A connection between the former scientists at Standard and the shifters loyal to Anzû was tentative. But it was all they had.

  Hunter had thrown himself into the fight because they were there to harm Neri. He knew how to fight and kill, but when he watched her walk around the side of the house, his heart stopped.

  For a moment, he’d missed the fierce determination etched on her face as she dove headfirst into the fight. Although everything inside him screamed for him to defend her, to protect her, he watched in awe as she flew onto the first shifter’s back and dispatched with him and his head within seconds.

  Without taking his eyes off Neri as she went after another, he turned some of his attention to the fifth shifter of the group. With two well-placed stabs to the heart, he then removed his head as he watched Neri sink her teeth into the shifter she was fighting. He held his breath as the shifter screamed and dropped onto the ground, still writhing in pain until he took his last breath.

  Neri’s abilities hadn’t surprised Hunter. When she ran from the house, his enhanced sight caught a blur of silver h
air as she darted up the stairs and outside as he followed. Although Liv checked and Neri confirmed she had no fangs, he knew what an immortal could accomplish when someone threatened their mate.

  And he knew she must have accepted him as her mate to protect him with such fierce determination. Her concern for him after the fight warmed his heart, and he was proud of her. She defended herself with ease. But it didn’t make him any less protective of her. He wasn’t so much stunned by her actions, but that she’d come back at all.

  Earlier in the shower, Neri explained how she found herself right next to Kai and Reaper when she thought about Kai’s house. Thinking she had to get back to him, she somehow brought both men back with her to the fight.

  Hunter relaxed as he replayed their conversation until her mouth pressed against his. He reached to cup the back of her head and tilted his head to deepen the kiss, loving the sweetness of her mouth.

  He blinked when, with ease, she climbed over his legs and straddled his thighs, all without breaking the kiss. A deep, grumbling moan escaped his chest when her tongue licked at his lips, teasing. His hands wandered up her thighs to her hips, giving them a brief squeeze before he snuck them underneath the white tee she wore to bed. Her silky skin heavenly under his rough hands.

  Neri smiled against his lips, nipping at the corners as her hands traveled over his stomach with slow, deliberate movements. He shivered as she teased his lips. The scrape of her teeth as she captured his lower lip in between them shocked pleasure to his cock. But when he watched as she rubbed her thumbs against both of his nipples, he bucked up and his hard cock throbbed against her heat.

  Unashamed, he moaned into her mouth as their kisses became more desperate and demanding. He had kept his almost constant state of arousal hidden for most of the day and night, not wanting to scare Neri or pressure her into more than she was ready for. But as his cock thrust against her hips as she pressed down, a low, deep growl erupted from deep in her throat.