Page 9 of Alien Huntsman

Nothing.

“Just my imagination,” she whispered, but the unease lingered.

Need her gone. You understand?

She shivered and glanced up at the moon’s position through the broken roof. It was getting late, and her day would start before dawn. Not to mention she’d prefer to be back before Lenora returned.

“Time to settle down, little ones.”

She guided the pups back to their nest, making sure they were comfortable. They were growing so quickly—soon they’d be too large to hide here. What would she do then? She couldn’t bearthe thought of releasing them to fend for themselves, not when the villagers would shoot them on sight.

Storm nuzzled her hand, as if sensing her worry. “I’ll figure something out,” she promised, giving him a final pat. “I always do.”

As she rose to her feet, dusting straw from her skirt, the pups suddenly whimpered, their ears flattening against their heads as they stared past her toward the door.

“What’s wrong?”

She started to turn, but a strong arm wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. She opened her mouth to scream, but a cloth was pressed firmly against her face, smothering the sound. A sickly sweet smell filled her nostrils—cloying, overwhelming.

She struggled, kicking backward, but her captor held firm. The pups’ frightened whines grew distant as darkness crept in from the edges of her vision. Her limbs felt impossibly heavy, her thoughts scattering like leaves in a storm.

As the last of her consciousness slipped away, she caught a glimpse of her attacker’s face, illuminated by a shaft of moonlight. A pair of glowing golden eyes stared down at her.

Then everything went black.

CHAPTER 4

Korrin cradled Tessa’s limp body against his chest, her warmth seeping through his clothing. She weighed almost nothing in his arms, despite the lush curves hidden beneath her plain dress. The pups whined and pawed at his legs, clearly distressed by what he’d done to their caretaker.

“Back,” he growled, and they retreated, ears flattened.

He looked down at her face, peaceful in unconsciousness. The moonlight streaming through the broken boards painted silver highlights across her dark curls. Something twisted in his chest—an unfamiliar sensation that he immediately tried to suppress.

This was a job. Nothing more.

But the sight of her caring for the adyani pups had caught him off guard. Humans hated their kind, feared them. Yet here was this small female, secretly nurturing the orphaned pups that any other villager would have killed without hesitation. Touching them as gently as she’d touched the boy in the marketplace.

“Fuck,” he muttered, shifting her weight in his arms.

His beast stirred beneath his skin, rumbling with satisfaction at holding her.Mine.He clenched his jaw against the thought. She wasn’t his. She was just another human.

But he couldn’t shake the memory of her gentle hands stroking the pups’ fur, her soft voice as she spoke to them, the exhaustion evident in the slump of her shoulders as she’d trudged home earlier that evening.

He’d started tracking her as soon as he’d taken the assignment, watching as she worked quietly in the bakery despite her stepmother’s constant criticism. He’d seen how the village men looked at her, even though she didn’t notice their attention. Seen how kind she was to the inept young male working with her.

She’s different.

The realization unsettled him. It was easier when humans were just humans—greedy, cruel, untrustworthy. This one made him doubt, and doubt was dangerous in his line of work.

He’d been reminding himself of that when Lenora emerged from the house in a gown far too elaborate for the village. She’d painted her face and doused herself in a cloying perfume that made his nose wrinkle even from where he was keeping watch. He pressed deeper into the shadows as she passed, that triumphant smile still on her face.

Perfect. With the stepmother gone, he could enter the house, take the girl, and have her far from the village by morning. Once he figured out the best place to leave her, he’d tell Lenora the job was done and be rid of this whole mess.

So why did the plan feel hollow?

Movement in an attic window caught his eye. A softly curved figure pacing back and forth in front of the window. Tessa. Even better—he wouldn’t have to hunt for her. She paused at the window, and for a moment, he thought she was looking directly at him. His breath caught. Then she turned away, and the light in her room went dark.

He intended to wait until he was certain she’d be asleep, but he slipped from his hiding place and prowled quietly down the alley, testing the air for other scents. Finding none, he moved toward the back entrance of the house.

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