Page 9 of A Hunter Found
“Or, you can find a quiet place on pack lands,” Archer suggested as he fixed a cheeseburger. “Somewhere you feel comfortable.”
“And we’ll be there with you,” Morgan added, while Travis finished with, “So you don’t have to do it alone.”
Inexplicably, Sophia felt her eyes prickle with tears. Before her captivity, she’d known she had her brother’s support, yes, but it had been a distant thing. They’d both been busy with their own lives, he with work, she with her studies and her friends. They’d gotten together on holidays, had fun, a good laugh as they shared stories, but then they’d always gone their separate ways. Dragons weren’t pack creatures like wolves who stayed close to their family throughout their lives, they needed space, but she couldn’t deny that this felt good. Even the friends she’d had, while great to hang out with and gossip with, hadn’t been like this, so quick to drop everything for someone in need. These people barely knew her, had every right to be leery of her, and yet, here they were, circling the wagons so to speak. For her. It was enough to make a dragon want to weep.
∞∞∞
Technically, Kane wasn’t allowed on pack lands. He’d been booted out when some rogue vampires had decided to challenge Kane’s leadership by way of a rather macabre message in the form of dead witches left right on the pack’s doorstep. He agreed with the decision, had willingly left, but should Archer dispute his right to be here now, he’d simply argue that while his files were on pack lands, so too would he be. And it wasn’t like he was planning to move back in.
As it turned out, Archer only gave him a narrow-eyed glare of warning, a gaze clearly stating not to make a habit of visiting, before he verbally welcomed him. Perhaps, before Kane left, he’d attempt to open discussions of a collaboration.
During his time as a Hunter, he’d met most of the Born territory-holders in the country. He had witnessed several different models as to how they ruled, but the strongest territories, the ones with the fewest issues, tended to be those like his father’s territory where the Born firstly, set up their Turned with legitimate careers where they felt useful rather than treating them as slaves. And secondly, those territory-holders also had alliances with any pack alpha’s in the area as well as any coven leaders, working together to nip any problems in the bud before they got out of hand.
His predecessor had been too arrogant to contemplate any such alliance. Rodolfo had seen both shifters and witches as weaker species beneath his notice. Kane didn’t agree.
And speaking of witches, Kane needed to contact Destin Jourdain. Not only did he want to begin talks with the leader of the Order of Witches as well, but the man might recognize the woman in the video from the bar. She might even be the missing Evangeline that Jourdain had been searching for unsuccessfully.
With that in mind, Kane pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts.
“Mister Fletcher,” Jourdain drawled in that booming bass voice of his. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I have a bit of video I thought you might be interested in seeing. Jamie has confirmed that the woman in it is the same witch that helped the vampires with her abduction, but we’ve yet to get an identity on her.”
Jourdain let out a rather nasty sounding growl before he said, “Send it to me,” and immediately disconnected the call.
All righty then. So much for potentially setting up a meet while he had the guy on the line, but Kane would do as Jourdain bid, and hope that the man would at least be forthcoming with the witch’s identity.
Chapter Seven
Sophia chose the clearing created by her and her brother’s crash landing to look at the files. Mostly because, should she inadvertently shift, triggered by a memory, there wasn’t much left to destroy in this section.
She could feel the others close by. There if she needed them, but giving her space to do this which she appreciated. Settling herself cross-legged on a blanket she’d spread on the ground, she opened her laptop and inserted the thumb drive.
The files she opened were way more detailed than what she’d expected. Each one included an image, date of birth as well as immediate family, where they grew up, what jobs they held as a human, and what skills they possessed that qualified them to be Turned. Following that, there was the date they were Turned, the date their contract would be complete, what job they held within the Born’s territory and any promotions received as well as punishments earned. Also included, was the date of death if applicable, and by what means, as well as a link to view the complete contract the person had signed before the transition.
Handily, all the files were alphabetized, so Sophia was able to begin with the one name she knew, assuming it hadn’t been an alias. Taking a deep breath, she scrolled down until she found Nathaniel King and clicked on his file.
The memories hit her hard as soon as his image appeared. She had been at Café du Monde with her friends, laughing and having a good time as they tried their first sip of chicory coffee and ate beignets. She’d just sent a text off to her brother when one of her friends nudged her. “You have an admirer.”
Sophia had looked up and just caught the man’s eye before he’d shyly glanced away. The man had been nice looking. Not gorgeous or beautiful, but his face had had a quiet handsomeness that had appealed to her, so the next time he glanced up, she’d made sure she was looking at him with a smile of encouragement. Her friends had teased her unmercifully when the man stood up and approached, but they’d also taken their cue and had given Sophia some privacy.
His smile had been a bit bashful, and he’d stuttered slightly when he’d asked if he could join her. Sophia had found him absolutely adorable. They’d spent the entire night simply walking around the city, talking, getting to know each other as much as two supernaturals could without admitting what they were, and before Nate had left her at her hotel just prior to dawn, they’d arranged to meet again that evening. The nights that followed, were more of the same.
Sophia had thought she was in love, and maybe she had been, maybe they both had. She had told Nate that she was just visiting New Orleans, would be returning home to Washington soon, and that she’d miss him when she was gone. Nate had admitted that he wanted to keep seeing her, that he might even be able to get a transfer. “I don’t want this to end,” he’d told her. “You’re special. This, between us, it’s special.”
Hope had bloomed in her chest. She’d even considered telling him what she was, admitting that she knew what he was, but lessons drilled into her brain as a child were hard to break, so she’d kept silent. They weren’t there yet, but someday…
Her final night in New Orleans, Nate had been excited when they’d met up, gripping both of her hands in his. “I talked to my boss and he’s willing to consider a transfer for me,” he’d told her enthusiastically. “He wants to meet you.”
The suggestion had made Sophia leery. She didn’t know exactly how the hierarchy within vampire society worked, but she knew that the Born were at the very top. Of course, that didn’t mean that Nate didn’t report to a vampire further down the chain. He’d told her he worked in the kitchens, so perhaps his boss was the head chef. Surely, someone who worked as a lowly dishwasher wouldn’t have the ear of someone who ruled an entire territory, right? A head chef, she could deal with, a Born? No. She’d never met one of the Born, but she’d heard stories as a child, had been told that if she ever found herself around one, she should run away as fast as she could. “I don’t know about that,” she’d said with a little shake of her head.
Nate gave her one of those shy smiles that melted her and put his arm around her, his voice laced with excitement. “Please. I want you to meet my boss. I’ve told him all about you, and he can’t wait to meet you. He’s a great guy, you’ll see.”
To make Nate happy, she’d agreed.
When they’d arrived at the Garden District villa, the sheer number of vampires she could sense on the premises had made her uncomfortable, a discomfort Nate had mistaken for nervousness, and he’d attempted to reassure her with a squeeze to her hand he was holding and a murmured, “He’s going to love you. Wait and see.”
Her hopes that she was meeting someone on the kitchen staff were dashed when they entered through the front doors instead of the service entrance and strolled through an opulent foyer. She considered backing out, making her escape, but one look at Nate’s excited face and she couldn’t bring herself to disappoint him. She’d even mentally reassured herself with ahow bad could it be?
