Page 6 of A Hunter Turned
Swallowing his frustration, Archer picked Cady up in his arms and, and settling her on his hip, kissed the top of her curly hair. “I was thinking about something else,” he assured her and then frowned as he finally realized his daughter shouldn’t be here at this time of day. “Why aren’t you with Marceline?”
The den mother had a way with children and was in charge of the small number of little ones during the day while the adults worked.
“We were playing hide and seek,” and then in a stage whisper that had Archer grinning, his daughter informed him, “She’s not very good at it.”
“Well, I’ll run you back there quick so Marceline doesn’t worry, and then I’ll bring these glasses over to Miss Wilson.”
“Can’t I come too?” Cady asked with a pout.
His daughter didn’t realize what Jamie and her team were. That they were the same type of creatures that had been responsible for her mother’s death. He’d debated telling her, warning her, but feared the knowledge would only scare the child. Cady had once overheard some pack members discussing what had happened to Kelsey, and while Archer had been furious at the lack of tact in which they’d openly discussed the tragedy, the damage had been done. His child still occasionally suffered nightmares from what she had learned. Telling his daughter that they currently had three vampires living in close proximity might well traumatize her further and he’d be damned if he’d hurt his daughter. But how did you explain that the seemingly nice lady his daughter had met today might be a danger without giving the curious child the details as to why? He hadn’t yet figured out a way, was still struggling with how to word things.
“Not today,” he settled on for now. “Besides, you don’t want Marceline to think you’ve fallen in the swamp, right?”
Cady’s face scrunched up adorably before she conceded with a disgruntled, “Fine.”
Archer’s relief didn’t last as his daughter tacked on, “Next time though. I like Jamie, we’re friends.”
It looked like he’d be having a conversation with his daughter tonight, and he silently prayed he didn’t mess it up.
Chapter Five
Having gotten her emotional sob-fest back under control, Jamie was browsing open contracts on the Hunter website, her face only about three inches from the screen as she attempted to read the annoyingly small font. The increase in the number of available contracts wasn’t a surprise, had been expected after the Court of Elders had decreed the territory of New York and all surrounding areas off-limits to Hunters. It was a powerplay to bring one of their own back in line. The Born that held New York, Thane Stroud, had apparently, been a very naughty boy and this was the Elders’ way of punishing him. By flooding his territory with runaway vamps that would likely gorge themselves in the absence of any supervision, and denying him Hunter assistance, Stroud would be forced to deplete his own assets to contain the threat and thereby weaken his empire.
It hadn’t been long since the order came down, and yet the number of reported runners was climbing exponentially, word having reached the population of the Turned that a potential safe haven was within reach. Jamie shook her head in disgust. There were rare cases of a human being Turned against his or her will, but for the most part, humans were approached because they had a certain skillset the Born vampires wished to acquire for their legion. It was handled as a business transaction, the terms laid out in writing in the form of a contract signed prior to the procedure to turn a human into a vampire. Most signed on for the chance at immortality and eternal youth, some, for the lifesaving benefits that existed within Born blood since vampires didn’t get diseases like cancer or heart disease and the process would eradicate any that might be present in the human. But whatever their reason for signing on, the Turned went into the agreement with eyes wide open.
In exchange for all the goodies that came with becoming a vampire, the human gave over their skills to the Born that controlled them for two-hundred years. It had seemed excessive to Jamie when she’d first been quoted that number. She was pretty sure her eyes had bulged as she’d practically choked on her tongue, but there was a reason behind the long term. Most humans-turned-vampire make it through their first century with no problem, the second century, however, was when some began to fray – psychosis, unexplained blood lust, homicidal rage – and if those Turned weren’t under the supervision of a strong Born capable of containment, monsters were unleashed on the world. Those that run, and there were always some who thought they could get away with it, needed to be dealt with quickly and quietly. Thus, why Hunters were so important.
“If these numbers keep climbing,” Morgan uttered from her place on the couch beside Jamie. “They’ll have to pull in Hunter teams from other countries to deal with the mess.”
“Especially since we’re pretty much benched for the time being,” Kane added.
Jamie grimaced, guilt creeping up her neck in a hot rush. She was the reason they were benched and she wished once again that her healing would supercharge. Granted, she was healing much faster than she would have had she still been human. Hell, had she not been a vampire, she wouldn’t have survived at all, but even with that vampire blood flowing through her veins, broken bones took time to mend, as did complex body parts like eyeballs.
As if Morgan had read her thoughts, the Born bumped her shoulder against Jamie’s. “Don’t look like that. This isn’t on you.”
“That’s right,” Kane chimed in. “I can’t officially hunt anymore now that I’ve taken control of this territory.”
True. Rule number one of being a Hunter was that a Hunter had no allegiance to anyone or anything but their team and Kane would now have to pledge that allegiance to his territory. He’d always be loyal to Morgan and Jamie to some extent, their friendship longstanding and solid, but a shift in his priorities was inevitable.
“And I can’t ask Travis to leave his sister,” Morgan added, referring to their newest team member. The dragon shifter had been searching for his missing sister, Sophia since she disappeared in this territory five years ago, had found her only recently in Olivier Rodolfo’s greenhouse of horrors. But though Sophia St. John was currently safe, she hadn’t woken from her stasis.
Fun fact Jamie had recently learned: if a dragon shifter is wounded seriously enough, they’ll encrust themselves in rock, becoming a living statue until their wounds heal and the shifter feels safe enough and strong enough to emerge. Thus far, despite Travis St. John’s best efforts, his sister had yet to break out of her shell.
“Is he with her now?”
Morgan nodded, her lips twisting with a grimace. Like Jamie, the Born hated feeling useless, but in this instance, there was nothing she could do to help the man she loved except be there for him when he needed her. With that in mind, Jamie shot the other woman a gentle smile and reminded her, “You don’t need to babysit me if you’d rather go sit with him. I fully intend to play on my computer for the duration.”
The other woman bit her lip in indecision but Jamie knew she wanted to go. Bumping their shoulders together, Jamie prompted, “Go on, and take that radio with you. Maybe some music will encourage Sophia to wake up if only to turn it off so she can get some peace and quiet.”
Morgan laughed but rose from the couch. “Good idea.”
“I’ll yell when the pizza gets here,” Kane added, which had Jamie’s head turning in his direction.
“Don’t you have better things to do as well now that you’re the big new boss man?”
Kane grinned widely, his soft brown eyes twinkling. “Not when there’s food on the way.”
Jamie snorted, “Always thinking with your stomach.”
