Page 11 of A Hunter Turned
Jourdain, who had knelt beside one of the victims, looked over his shoulder. “For your sake, you better hope you’re right.”
Kane’s jaw clenched. In less than an hour, and through no fault of his own, he’d managed to alienate the leader of the wolves and the leader of the witches – the two people who should have been his allies had he acquired this state in its infancy. Silently cursing Rodolfo and his arrogance, Kane stepped forward to offer his assistance in transporting the bodies.
His request, unsurprisingly, was denied as Jourdain pointed out, “You have vampires to hunt, Hunter. Best you see to it.”
Chapter Eight
Jamie had considered continuing her exploration of the bayou on her own. After all, Archer hadn’t said she was in any danger. But she still felt eyes on her and her weaponless state hadn’t magically changed in the last few minutes.Being watched by wolves when you had the biggest wolf by your side was one thing, quite another when you were alone and unarmed. She still couldn't believe she'd donethat, especially knowing she'd be with Archer Langley. Then again, perhaps subconsciously she’d known that if he provoked her too much she was liable to lose her temper and shoot him, so leaving her guns behind was probably a good thing. Not to mention she wouldn’t exactly be quick on the draw with the current state of her hands. Would she even be able to squeeze the trigger?
Deciding to play it safe for the moment, she headed back. That was when she had her first real look at the house on stilts she’d been staying in. The interior of the place was beautiful with its incredibly high ceilings, smooth slate floors, and comfortable furniture. She’d expected the outside to match. Instead, the place looked almost rundown, in desperate need of repair with its high roof covered with thick moss, and slightly crooked, weathered boards covering the exterior. Her confusion melted away as she realized what the dragon had done. Jamie grinned. Clever boy. He’d camouflaged his sanctuary to make it uninviting to any who might pass by. And speaking of dragons… instead of entering the house, Jamie turned to make her way to the new construction that housed a sleeping dragon. She was curious to see the statue that wasn’t a statue that was consuming so much of her steely leader’s concentration.
It was as she was pushing cautiously through a curtain of Spanish moss with visions of snakes dropping down on her head or biting insects swarming that she saw the wolf. Not Archer, the eyes on this beast were a vivid amber rather than silver, and its size, while still scarily large, was smaller than she imagined the alpha would be. Coming to a halt, she braced herself for an attack but noticed almost immediately that the wolf didn’t look threatening, just watchful, perhaps even curious as Archer had explained earlier.
She didn’t relax, that would be the height of stupidity. However, she did raise her bandaged hand in greeting. “Hello.”
The wolf’s face morphed into one of excitement like she’d seen on her own childhood pet’s face so many times when she would arrive home. Of course, this was no pet, was much bigger than her yellow lab had been, and he or she was currently loping straight for her. Jamie stiffened in preparation for anything but didn’t move. A moment later, she had a big beast nudging firmly at her hip with its nose.
Cautiously lowering her hand, she stroked it over the pale gray coat. She couldn’t feel the fur, thanks to the wrappings binding her injuries but she imagined it was soft, thick, and she couldn’t help but wonder how Archer’s pelt would feel under her fingers.
Shoving the distracting, not to mention highly inappropriate thought quickly away, she focused on her new friend. “You have me at a disadvantage, you know,” she murmured, moving her hand to gently rub behind the wolf’s ears. “Once you’re in human form, I won’t recognize you. You’ll have to be sure to introduce yourself to let me know who I’ve been petting.”
The wolf let out a chuffing sound that reminded Jamie of laughter and its tail began wagging furiously. She couldn’t hold back her own sound of amusement. “I’m not sure which you’re enjoying more, the scratches or the amusement of putting one over on a vampire.”
That big head nudged into her hip harder, the body leaning into her until she was almost unbalanced with the added weight. Jamie chuckled. “Ah, the scratches, is it?”
A howl split the air, the sound mournful and her new friend sat up in attention, its ears perked before the wolf gave her one last nuzzle with its nose and took off at a run.
“Nice to meet you,” Jamie called after it and hoped the wolf would do as she had asked and introduce itself to her properly once he or she was back in human form.
Continuing on her original course to see the dragon, Jamie’s ears picked up a low conversation as she reached the door. Taking a moment to listen, so as not to interrupt at an inopportune moment – shedid notneed to see Travis and Morgan getting busy – she heard Morgan’s whispered words. “Can’t we like, chisel her out or something? Maybe she’s just stuck.”
Followed by Travis’s equally quiet, “We would barely make a dent. We were able to free the barbed wire embedded in the crust only because it wasn’t part of her. Otherwise, only dragon fire would have any effect, and that could very well kill her.”
Deciding she wouldn’t be interrupting, Jamie attempted to rap on the door, grimacing when her bandaged hands barely made a sound. They may no longer be giant mitts but she’d be glad when the things were finally healed and she could shed the dressings completely. Still, despite the softness of her attempted knock, Morgan’s ears had picked up the sound, for in the next moment, the door was being opened and Jamie was being greeted with a wide smile.
“Hey. What’s up? Did you need something?”
“No. Archer had to cut my tour short. Alpha business I guess. So, I thought I’d come to meet Sophia.”
Stepping back, Morgan opened the door wide and made a motion for Jamie to enter. “Come on in.”
Travis, she noted, was sitting on a blanket that was spread out on the floor, his back against the wall, knees bent, his forearms balanced on those raised knees, with his hands hanging lax. The dragon was a good-looking man, rugged in features rather than the symmetrical beauty possessed by the Born vampires like Kane and Morgan. His hair was sun-kissed brown, slightly rumpled as if he’d been running his hands through the short locks and his skin was deeply tanned, attesting to his time out in the sun. He was also well-built, with a strength that Jamie guessed, had come from hard physical activity rather than acquired in a gym.
The first time Jamie had seen Travis St. John when she and Kane had crashed Morgan’s date to size up the man that had caught their leader’s attention, he’d struck her as wary, yet good-natured, even happy. Currently, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days, dark circles shadowed his eyes, and lines of tension bracketed his mouth. The reason for which, stood in the center of the room and had Jamie sucking in a sharp breath in astonishment.
She’d heard about Sophia St. John’s state, but seeing it first-hand… She stood a good ten-feet tall and had Jamie not been told that there was a living creature sleeping within, she never would have guessed. Sophia looked like a meticulously carved statue of a writhing, injured dragon, complete with wings – one of them torn – created from glittering black stone. It was both beautiful and horrifying.
Jamie shook her head in a mixture of awe and disbelief. Clearing her throat, she smiled even though Sophia probably couldn’t see it, and raised her hand in a wave. “Hi, Sophia. I’m Jamie.”
“She’s made some progress,” Morgan quietly uttered as she stepped up beside Jamie. “When I first found her, she had bleeding wounds that looked like rubies.” Morgan’s hand lifted to indicate a few spots that were now seamless black like the rest of Sophia’s form. “They’ve healed, but still she sleeps.”
“It takes time,” Jamie uttered, matching her tone to the same low volume Morgan had used. Raising her own injured hands, she added, “Even with super healing.”
“And no one knows exactly how deep her injuries go.”
Rodolfo and his thugs were sick pricks, Jamie could attest to that and she’d only been in their custody for less than twenty-four hours. Sophia St. John had been missing for five years. There was no telling what they had done to her, physically, mentally, during that time. How many times had she awoken, thinking she was safe, only for her torture to resume, forcing her back into stasis?
Sophia needed reassurance that only her brother’s love and knowledge of the woman she had been might provide. Wanting to help, Jamie glanced in Travis’s direction. “What are some things that your sister likes? Her favorite foods? Hobbies? Maybe a favorite movie or show?” Horror and pain had driven Sophia to encase herself, so perhaps things that brought her joy and comfort might lure her out.
