Page 45 of A Hunter Turned
Jamie leaned up, her hand braced on his chest as she looked down at him. “I swear, I don’t have the ability to manipulate anyone, that’s not in a Turned vampire’s wheelhouse.”
Consciously smoothing the angry response toward those females from his features so that Jamie didn’t mistake them as being directed at her, he sunk his fingers into her hair and held her gaze. “I know that. I know you aren’t doing anything but being yourself.”
Tapping his chest, he told her, “My attraction to you was a surprise, I admit, but it was all me. I tried to deny it at first, and then fight it, but the more time I spent with you, the more I liked you. You made me happy, you made me laugh. I wanted to be around you. I fell in love with you because you’re easy to love, Jamie.”
Her eyes welled with tears as she leaned close and kissed him sweetly before saying against his mouth, “I love you so much,” and then with a sad shake of her head, “but how can we be together if your pack won’t accept me? I can’t put you in that position.”
Cupping the back of her head, he pulled her close and nuzzled his face into her hair. “I put myself in this position and I’ll deal with it, but I refuse to lose you because of this. Do you understand, Jamie? I can’t let you go.”
“You’re alpha.”
“And as alpha, I’ll handle it.” He’d already been working on how he would approach the issue fairly, what he would say. He couldn’t demand his pack’s loyalty, but he could certainly work on changing their minds.
Chapter Thirty
As it turned out, the speech he’d been mentally preparing didn’t need to be used. After a bit more cuddling, they’d grudgingly dragged their bodies out of bed, thanks to rumbling bellies, dressed, and satisfied their need for food, laughingly feeding each other slices of apples and cheese topped crackers. It was only once their appetite for something other than each other was satisfied, that Jamie glanced at the clock and asked, “Is it too late to go see Nedra?”
Archer raised a brow in surprise, “She should still be awake. Why?”
Grabbing the amulet that was beneath her shirt, Jamie pulled it out and told him, “Because this worked.” She shook her head, her eyes widened with disbelief. “I don’t know how, but I’m not going to question it. As the sun rose, this baby started heating up and glowing. It was protecting me.”
Well, that explained the glow he’d seen.
“I owe that swamp witch my life.”
Archer let out a bark of laughter. “Whatever you do, don’t call her that to her face. She’s liable to turn you into a frog and then where would we be?”
A few more joking comments were made as they walked hand in hand toward the pier, about Archer setting up a habitat for her, and he and Cady feeding her only the best bugs if Nedra put a whammy on her when their way was blocked by a group of females, all of them in their human forms.
Archer let out a warning growl as they halted and Marceline stepped forward with a look of shame on her face. “We wanted to apologize.”
Her gaze went from Archer to Jamie and then back again. “To both of you. Efrem was right, we let our prejudices against vampires keep us from seeing anything beyond that.”
Sissy’s mom stepped forward to join Marceline, her gaze on Jamie. “My daughter confronted me tonight. This is a girl who’s afraid of her own shadow yet she stood her ground in defense of you. She likes you, and I realized, I never even tried to know you, and for that, I’m sorry. But if you’re willing, I’d like to have that chance. I’d like to get to know the woman who brings out the fighter in my Sissy.”
“We’d all like to get to know you.”
Several heads nodded in agreement, and Jamie let out a whiffling sound that suggested the sincerity of the females’ apologies had made her emotional. Nodding her head vigorously, her voice cracked slightly as she said, “I’d like that. And tell Sissy I like her too.”
Marceline and the others drew closer, laying a hand on Jamie’s arm and then his before departing. Touch bound a pack, and it was through touch that they displayed their acceptance. Archer felt his chest clench with pride as Jamie murmured, “Well, that was unexpected.”
He had to agree. Grinning, he said, “I told you you had a champion in Efrem.”
“Remind me to hug him the next time I see him.”
“Honestly, I’m thinking I will too.”
∞∞∞
Nedra was indeed awake when they arrived, though Jamie had to wait for a commercial break to actually speak to the woman. She’d been shushed most adamantly when she’d tried to open her mouth during the program, some reality TV show that Jamie wasn’t familiar with, but one which Nedra seemed fully engrossed.
As soon as the program took a break, Jamie opened her mouth only for Nedra to cut her off with a request for Archer. “I have a leak in my bathroom sink. The constant dripping has been keeping me up all night. Could you take a look for me?”
Archer stood with a nod. “Of course I will.” Bending down to kiss Jamie on top of the head, he left the living room.
Jamie cleared her throat, fiddling with the amulet under her shirt. “Did you see what would happen?” Jamie asked. “Did you know?”
“Ah. You’ve tried it out, then.” With a nod, Nedra pulled the TV’s remote control from one of her pockets and muted the volume on the set. “I’ve little foresight to speak of, child, but I’ve always been a good judge of character.” Settling deeper into her recliner, Nedra turned her eyes from the commercials playing and held Jamie’s gaze. “Did you know that I’ve known Archer since he was a boy?”
