Page 5 of Alien Huntsman

He studied the selection, feeling oddly self-conscious. “One of those,” he said, pointing to a ripe pear.

The vendor nodded, selecting a particularly large specimen and holding it out. “Good choice. Sweet as honey, this one.”

He reached for his coin pouch, but paused when the male chuckled.

“You’re the one who bumped into Tessa earlier, aren’t you?”

“Tessa?” he repeated blankly.

“Pretty girl with dark curls and blue eyes?” the vendor said, and his face must have betrayed his recognition because the old male laughed again. “She has that effect on people. Every unattached man in this village is half in love with her—and quite a few of the attached ones—and she never even notices. But she noticed you.”

“I am Vultor,” he growled, annoyed at his gratified reaction to the old male’s words.

“I’m pretty sure she noticed that,” the male said dryly. “But I don’t think that’s all she noticed.”

“Nonsense,” he snapped, dropping a coin into the vendor’s palm.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” the old male called after him.

The female—Tessa, her name was Tessa—was not his problem. The only human who concerned him was the one waiting for him in one of the big houses behind the market square.

He bit into the fruit as he walked, sweet juice flooding his mouth. Would Tessa taste as sweet?No.Humans weren’t sweet. He scowled at nothing in particular, annoyed at the direction of his thoughts. He was here on business, nothing more.

Following the directions in the message he’d received, he turned into the alley that ran between the back of the shops lining one side of the market square and the back of three large houses. Their windows gleamed with actual glass—a display of wealth in this backwater place.

He slipped in through the gate to the courtyard and crossed to the service entrance, noting the polished brass knocker and fresh paint on the door. Someone wanted to impress, even back here.

He rapped three times, sharp and deliberate.

Quiet footsteps approached from inside, then the door swung open to reveal a human female, tall and slender with pale blonde hair swept into an elaborate style. She was wearing an expensive dress that emphasized her figure and revealed the upper swell of her breasts.

She was attractive enough, but there was something cold in her beauty, something calculated that set his teeth on edge. His enhanced sense of smell picked up the scent of cosmetics beneath her heavy perfume. A closer look at her carefully made up face revealed that she would no longer be considered in the first flush of youth, especially out here in the settlements where females married young.

“You must be Korrin,” she said coolly, but her eyes trailed down over his body. He recognized the look—some human females were intrigued by Vultor males, even though they consideredthem little better than wild beasts. This one was definitely interested, a sultry note entering her voice as she continued. “I’m Lenora. Do come in.”

He stepped past her into a well-appointed kitchen. This room also emphasized the owner’s wealth, appliances that must have been imported from Port Cantor mingling with the more usual wood-fired stove and hand pump. But he also noted a few cracks in the wealthy facade—the paint was fading and one of the expensive appliances was clearly broken. Not that he cared, as long as she still had enough coins to pay him.

He kept his expression neutral as she led him up a narrow servants’ staircase. Here the paint was not faded, but chipped and scuffed.

“I apologize for bringing you the back way, but I’d hate to cause any… gossip about your presence.”

She smiled at him, but there was an artificial quality to her smile, nothing like the soft smile of the girl in the marketplace.Fuck.Why was he thinking about her again? He only grunted in response, uninterested in human gossip.

The parlor she led him to was ostentatious—overstuffed furniture, heavy curtains, and shelves cluttered with useless trinkets. Humans and their need to display wealth. Pathetic.

“Please, sit.” She gestured to a chair that looked too delicate for his frame, but he remained where he was.

“I prefer to stand. Let’s discuss why you summoned me.”

Her smile faltered momentarily before she composed herself. She moved to a small cabinet and poured amber liquid into two crystal glasses.

“A drink?” She offered one to him.

“No.”

Her nostrils flared slightly at his refusal. “Very well.” She took a long sip from her own glass. “I’ll be direct. I have a… problem. My stepdaughter.”

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

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