Page 28 of A Hunter Turned
“Prepping an art project.”
Jeremiah nodded. “Can we talk?”
Lips pinching with understanding, Archer strode quickly down the hall to Cady’s room and poked his head inside to see his daughter adding items to a pile that already contained paper, crayons, markers, stickers, and glitter glue. With a fond smile, he said, “Jeremiah’s here and needs to talk with Daddy for a bit, so you stay in here and figure out just how to word the invitation, okay?”
Seeing her happy nod of agreement, Archer closed the door, grateful he’d never gotten around to oiling the squeaky hinges. He’d hear it and be forewarned should curiosity get the best of her and she emerged while he and Jeremiah were discussing things best not heard by little ears.
Returning to the kitchen, he saw Jeremiah had helped himself to some coffee. “What’s up?”
“Scented vampires last night,” his second informed him. “They stuck to the perimeter, didn’t come onto pack lands, but the scents were the same as the ones on the dead witches from the other night.”
Archer growled low in his throat. Obviously, kicking Kane out of the bayou hadn’t done what he’d hoped. “Did they leave anything behind? More bodies?”
“Nothing but their stench as far as we could find.”
“With so many of us at the Garden District site last night, they may have assumed they’d find a soft target to cause some havoc, realized they’d made a mistake once they sensed the number of strong wolves still patrolling.”
Jeremiah raised his eyes from his coffee, the piercing blue holding Archer’s gaze in what many alphas would consider a challenge had Jeremiah not proven his loyalty many times over. “Or maybe those Hunters are drawing them,” he pointed out. “The injured one is healed. Why are they still here?”
“They’re guests of the dragon,” was Archer’s answer. “They’re staying in his house, on his turf.”
“With your permission,” Jeremiah pressed. “And I’m not the only one who’s noticed you’ve been spending an awful lot of time with the blonde vamp.”
The snarl that erupted was vicious. “Jamie. Her name is Jamie.”
Jeremiah’s brows shot nearly to his hairline as the male rocked back in his chair with surprise. “You’re into her.”
It wasn’t a question and Archer growled as his friend let out a humorless laugh and shook his head. “Man, I’d hoped you’d one day find someone again, I really did, but her?”
Archer’s voice was a low rumble, his wolf close to the surface, his eyes gone silver. “Why not her? She’s smart, brave, strong, beautiful –”
His second cut him off with a raised hand as he stood and gave another sad shake of his head. “She might be all of those things, Archer, but she’s also a vampire and that’s what the pack sees every time they look at her.”
Jeremiah’s hand clapped down hard on Archer’s shoulder and gave him a little squeeze. “Are you sure you want to try to jump that hurdle?”
Meeting his friend’s eyes, he admitted, “I’m sure that I can’t bear to watch her leave.”
His second sighed and shook his head. “A wolf wants what a wolf wants. We’re all slaves to that.” A pat of that big hand before it slid away. “I’ve got your back, my man, but I don’t envy the position you’re in. Tough road.” Another sigh and then Jeremiah was back to business as usual. “We’ll continue with the heavier patrols. As long as the vamps keep to their side, they’re not breaking any rules, but man, I got to tell you, I’m not loving how close they’re creeping. Makes me twitchy. They’re planning something. I can feel it. I just hope we’re ready when it happens.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Gah!” Jamie yelped as she opened her eyes. Morgan’s grinning face was less than a foot above her own. “Jeez, give me a heart attack why don’t you?”
“I came in to give you some news and found this slipped under the door.” Still grinning like a loon, Morgan held up a piece of paper that released a cloud of pink and purple glitter all over Jamie’s blankets.
Her own face split into a smile since the missive could only have come from Cady. Taking it, her smile widened as she read the words that had to have been penned by Archer, and imagined him holding the pink crayon in his big hand while his daughter supervised his progress, probably showering glitter all over her father while doing so.
Nearly giddy with excitement, Jamie turned her smile on Morgan. “It’s an invitation to dinner. A date.”
Morgan’s return smile was just as bright. “I saw that. I also see that you didn’t need to put glasses on to read it.”
Jamie’s mouth formed an O as Morgan’s words sunk in and she looked around the room, the lines and curves of each object crystal clear. “Hot damn!”
Testing her fingers, she was mildly disappointed that they weren’t back to one-hundred-percent like her eyes apparently were. Her digits were still slightly stiff and sore, but all that meant was that her vampiric healing had prioritized and since her eyes were fully restored, her fingers should now get all the attention. Another few days and she’d be back to her old self – physically speaking.
But enough about that, she had a date to prepare for. “Oh, my God. I have nothing to wear!” Jumping out of bed, Jamie looked around her as if the answer to her dilemma was lying on the floor for her to find. “What if he takes me somewhere fancy?”
Morgan’s lips quirked with amusement as she leaned back on the bed where she was sitting and braced herself with her elbows. “Relax. You have plenty of time. The invitation says eight and it’s only five-thirty.”
