Page 47 of Orion: Galaxy Huntress

Chapter 21

Reznor

“Take the shot, Little Star.”I peeled back my shirt to expose my pale chest, the slight pulse that stuttered within her presence. “I know you’ve been dying to stab me here. Do it. End me like you promised. It will be a welcome relief”

She frowned at me and lowered her weapon. “I can’t kill you if you want it. That defeats the point.” Face firm and wary, she pushed forward through the dense trees. “But know that I really want to. You deserve it after what you did.”

God, I wanted to claim those lush, rosy lips, push her up against the nearest tree, and spank her for daring to point that tip at my heart. Quell the insubordinate fire in her brown eyes that burned to see me dead for hurting her. But the stiffness in her body, the way she’d stuck close to the wolf and demon conveyed her unease with me, as if she sensed I might streak her again away at any second.

It wasn’t just me that she remained wary of. When the shifter offered to accompany and protect her, her quick and sharp no had said she wanted to be alone. I’d seen the way she looked at him and the demon, reverent and lustful, as she cared for their injuries. The extra little touches, sly slides over their stomachs and chests. Her sweet, little, pink blushes and lowered eyes when the intensity of locked gazes got too much. Three bonds that overwhelmed and frightened her. One was enough for me, and I couldn’t begin to imagine how it felt to have three appear simultaneously, confusing her emotions and clouding her judgement.

“Fair point.” Respectful of her, I trailed behind her, wanting to sooth her discomfort. I’d made a mistake. Should never have brokered a deal with her. Consuming her starlight had made me see the truth.

My gaze fell to her perfect, voluptuous bottom, swaying with every nimble step. Mine, my heart growled. Mine to claim. Mine to punish. Mine to protect.

Observant for any movement, she proceeded over a fallen trunk, bow stiff and ready for any kill. Ever the primed huntress. Her footsteps were heavier than mine, crunching on leaves and twigs, whereas I barely made a noise, thanks to my vampire abilities. My predator ears picked up every sound… foraging animals, pecking birds, and scuttling bugs.

Kidnapping her wasn’t on my list of admirable achievements. Desperation had me sink low and discouraged me from sourcing alternative means to gain my freedom. Or maybe I’d just spent too long as a predator that I lost my compassion, my human spark, and didn’t care about the lives I stole from innocents. That, at first, she’d just been another innocent, mine to trade, a life that meant nothing to me. Until it meant everything to me. That theory made the most sense. I hadn’t given a shit in a such a long time. Villains took what they wanted, when they wanted, not respecting the consequences. I’d been one for so long, I’d forgotten what it felt like to care for another and have any regard for anyone but myself.

After tasting her, discovering the mark on her breast, I couldn’t bring myself to send her to death. The moment she tasted me, scored me with her mark, I’d not been able to think of anything but her, and I wanted nothing but her safety, survival, seduction and absolute surrender. Little Star had made me feel for the first time in a long time. Emotion entered my chest and shaken me to my core. Restarted my dead heart, made it beat for her, warm for her, want to live for her. I thought I wanted freedom, to get as far away from the coven as possible, but really, I’d been searching for her. The cure to my loneliness.

An arrow whooshing from her bow snapped my attention from my thoughts. A bird squawked in the distance and thudded on the ground. The shifter, demon, and Little Star would be eating well tonight by the looks of it. She plucked arrow after arrow and brought three more birds hurtling from the sky.

Based on her skill, I wondered how many vampires she could take out from a distance before they reached her. Hopefully Vexlel, so he was no longer my problem or hers. That idea sat with me for a few moments. I’d never contemplated killing my leader. Dishonorable to my kind. No more immoral than I’d been in taking Orion. Freedom came at a price and killing him might be that price.

A filthy, dirty scent hit my nose, and I shifted my gaze west. Rabbit hopping through the bush. My muscles flexed as power filled them, and my gaze narrowed the way they did when I targeted prey. Primal need for blood spiked in my veins.

I glanced up at Orion in the distance, collecting her prizes, holding the birds by their feet. Feeding from her was out of the question when I’d broken her trust. To do so would erode any confidence I’d hoped to build with her. Before the mark, I had no intent with her besides making her the sacrificial lamb. After the mark, I wanted her, body and soul, despite my vow never to fall in love again. This left me a tangled mess of confusion because I felt like I had betrayed my one love for feeling anything for the little star.

Even if I wanted anything more with Orion, she’d made it clear that I’d hurt her and wanted vengeance for it. Repairing our tattered relationship was paramount, and that meant respecting her wishes, staying away, and rectifying any injustices done to her. At least then my conscience could be clear.

Hunger gripped my insides, a feeling that wouldn’t be eased unless I drank blood. A soft hiss left me as my eyes fell back to the rabbit. Leaves whisked into the air as I tore after the creature. It didn’t sense me as I swept it up, snapping its neck, lifting it to my lips, drinking. Muddied blood with the flavor of dirt. Far from clean or tasty like human’s blood, and nowhere near as decadent as Little Star’s. Finished with the animal, I held onto it, still feeling hollow and hungry. Always fucking hungry.

I carried the animal to Orion and offered it to her. “For your collection.”

Her eyes narrowed at me. “Why are you being nice all of a sudden, vampire?”

We were back to vampire. Back to the suspicious gazes and wariness when all I wanted was for us to be close once more, united in flesh, lapping at each other’s bleeding throats, devouring each other.

“Take it.” I shoved the rabbit at her again. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Thank you, but I don’t need your help.” She marched off into the brush in search of her next prey, the birds bumping against her legs as she strode.

No, she was fierce, capable, and very determined. She didn’t need a man’s help. Had fought them all her life. That much I’d read from her blood. Men disrespected her, besmirched her good name, sabotaged and stole from her, leaving her heart as jaded and dark as mine. Fuck, my actions had solidified that viewpoint in her mind.

I didn’t know why I’d offered my soul as a trade for her life and that of the shifter’s and demon’s. Guilt, perhaps. Disgust, more like it, realizing how low I’d sunken to use her as an exchange for my freedom. She was right. There was another way. I’d been too blind, desperate and lazy to find one. Little Star was innocent in all this and never deserved any of it. I put her in danger, and it was my responsibility to get her out of it, make right what I’d done.

Where my world was once grim and lonely, her starlight had extinguished the darkness. Hope blossomed in me for the first time in centuries. Pure light coursed through my veins, chasing away my loneliness and broken heart, and for the first time ever, I felt free despite the tie to the coven. I wanted to do the same for her. Change her cynical view on men. Renew her faith in our sex. Heal that wounded heart of hers. Chase away the darkness inside of her that hid amid her starlight.

Despite declining my offering, I caught her another rabbit, found some native peaches, mushrooms, and tuber vegetables to bake. Bush food that I learned to collect through drinking from a former fang banger. Amazing what you could learn through blood.

‘What are those?” Little Star gestured to my full arms when she brought back a fourth bird.

“Fruit and vegetables.” I lifted each to show her. “You can’t just eat meat.”

“Says the blood drinker.” She said it with a smile, but I sensed the sass behind it, pushing me away.

“I don’t have the stomach for other foods.” I met her stride back in the direction of camp. “Otherwise, I’d be dining on roast beef, crusty bread and cheese.”

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