Page 7 of Haunting the Hunter
I bolt from the bathroom, my bare feet padding against the cool hardwood as I rush toward the kitchen. The sensation of something right behind me fuels me to move faster. My heart hammers as I turn the corner—and slam into a solid body.
I scream, the sound ripped from my throat, my heart slamming against my ribs.
“Shit, Calli! It’s just me,” Jack says, gripping my arms to steady me.
“Damn it, Jack!” I snap, trying to catch my breath. “You scared the hell out of me.”
He raises his hands in apology. “Sorry, I couldn’t sleep…”
I flick the kitchen light on, and as his voice trails off, his gaze drops to the towel clinging to my body.
“Next time, turn on a light if you’re up,” I scold, brushing past him to grab a glass from the cabinet. “Unless you want to give someone a heart attack.”
“Yeah, right. Got it,” he mumbles, eyes darting anywhere but at me.
I fill the glass at the sink, gulping down the cool water in an attempt to calm the heat still crawling over my skin. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch him sneaking glances, but he does that withany woman with a pulse, a hopeless flirt. Something I easily fell for when we were young.
We don’t talk about it, knowing Cade would murder Jack if he ever found out I lost my virginity to him when we were teenagers. We were isolated, bored, and left alone. And I wanted to know what it felt like to be the center of someone’s attention. Jack was more than willing to provide that attention. Though I know he wouldn’t do anything now.
We have evolved. He’s the closest thing I have to a friend, and both of us decided it was better this way—friends.
“Cade will be back later this afternoon,” he says, breaking the silence.
“For how long?” My voice is sharper than I mean it to be, but Jack just shrugs.
“Not long. I found Allen White. He’s not going to miss his chance to get to him.”
My stomach twists. I get why Cade is doing this, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The Covenant is no joke—they have a literalGodon their side. I haven’t seen it myself, but my parents did. And for all their neglect, they never lied to me.
I drift back to the night Cade found out I was meant to be sacrificed. Deep down, I had always known, and I had accepted it. But not Cade—he refused.
His rage was explosive.
Our parents said I should feelhonored, like I had been chosen for some grand purpose, but Cade didn’t buy their bullshit. Ever since, he’s been obsessed with tearing the Covenant apart, but he doesn’t understand the supernatural side of it. He has no clue what he’s really up against.
“I’m worried about him, Jack,” I admit quietly.
“Don’t be,” Jack says, leaning against the counter with a confident smirk. “If anyone can take down the Covenant, it’s Cade. Your brother’s a badass.”
He isn’t wrong. They trained him in hand-to-hand combat, made him a person capable of tracking, hunting, and capturing people. They had unknowingly built the perfect weapon against them. Cade never trusted our parents—and he never stopped protecting me. In his own fucked-up way, he’s the only one who’s ever really had my back. Though for many years I didn’t realize it.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I say, setting my empty glass in the sink. I turn and start back toward the bathroom, but Jack catches my arm before I reach the hallway. His deep blue eyes burn into mine, an attempt to calm me.
“Trust him, Calli. We know what we’re doing,” he says, his voice steady. I lift an eyebrow at him but nod.
His mouth curls into a teasing smile. “By the way, what the hell are you doing walking around in a towel at three in the morning?”
I roll my eyes. “None of your business,” I snap, but after a beat, I sigh, his hold still firm on my arm. “Fine. I had a bad dream and woke up sweating. I felt gross and needed a bath.”
“Need any help with that?” he jokes, his eyes glinting with mischief.
I glare at him, about to fire back, when I see the cabinet behind him swing open. A glass flies out, hurtling across the room. The sharp sound of it breaking shatters the moment.
“Shit! Calli, get back!” Jack moves between me and the mess, and I step away from the scattered shards. My breath catches as I attempt to put logic to what I just saw.
He kneels to clean it up. “Go on,” he says without looking up. “I’ve got this.”
That wasn’t me. Iknowthat wasn’t me. My feet stay rooted for a moment too long—any doubts in my mind have been quelled; this is full confirmation to me. I’m being haunted. My eyes dart around the room, trying to see whatever is clearly trying to get my attention, but I find nothing. Gripping my towel to my chest, I back away. I’m used to weird shit, but this is ridiculous.
