Changed (The Hunters #1) (53 page)

Breathing heavily, Rosa looked at Lord
Constantine. He was still fighting against the two
Nephilim.

Jason had spread out his wings, with
Jasmine in his arms. He looked at Rosa. In the darkness, she
couldn’t see his face. She gestured him with her hand that he
should finally fly away. He obeyed, and rose into the
air.

Rosa ran to Lord Constantine to help,
when the Nephilim spread their wings and flew away.

“
Come back, bastards!”
Lord Constantine shouted angry. “I will get you for that!” His body
trembled with rage.

“
Are you all right, Lord
Constantine?” Rosa asked breathlessly. He turned to her. If looks
could kill, then Rosa would be dead right know.

The moonlight shining on his angry
face, and his eyes burned like fire.

“
How could you let them
escape?” he shouted at Rosa.

She flinched and stepped back. “I had
to fight against a Nephilim,” she said.

He waved his hand. “Do not try to
explain yourself! You have failed, and all other hunters also. Look
at the academy! It lies in ruins, just because I have the worst
hunters in the world.”

Rosa’s patience snapped. She had
enough of his allegations.

“
We have not failed!” Rosa
yelled. “We are not bad hunters! We work hard every day to make you
happy, but what do you do? Tramping around it with your feet! How
about if you would fight, and train every day instead of giving
orders and criticizing us?”

She was breathing heavily. She had
screamed the words, every word to him in his face. She did not
regret anything she said, in fact, she felt better and
stronger.

Lord Constantine responded quite
differently than Rosa had expected.

He nodded. “I did not know that you
were thinking like that, Rosa,” he said with quiet and daunting
voice. “Thank you for sharing your opinion with me.”

Then he walked away,
leaving a confused Rosa standing there.

Rosa couldn’t sleep. Dawn set in and
turned the sky orange and red. Soon the sun would rise.

Three days had passed after the
events. Colin was in the hospital. He had lost a lot of blood, and
still hovered in critical condition. She hadn’t heard from Jason,
nor had she seen Lord Constantine at all.

Rosa wondered what his calm behavior
meant after she had yelled all those things at him. She asked
herself constantly if she had made the right decision and behaved
properly.

Yes, it
was right, Rosa. You have freed a girl, who had been imprisoned
without proper reason
, she told
herself.

But the doubts remained.

Do not think about. It’s
all over. You’ll probably not see Jason and his sister ever again.
You are now a full member, and are pursuing your career as a
hunter. Everything is just fine.

Things were always easier said than
done.

Rosa sighed deeply, and threw her
blanket aside. She didn’t want to sleep anymore. When she slipped
off the bed, someone knocked on her window.

She frowned and turned around. Rosa’s
mouth almost fell open when she saw who stood there.

It was Jason. He waved at
her.

She
hadn’t expected him. Her heart made a joyful jump. Secretly, she
had hoped that he would visit her. Jason knocked a second time
against the window. His mouth formed the words ‘
Open it!’

She stood up and walked slowly to the
window. Jason stood on her balcony and rocked on his feet,
impatiently back and forth.

Rosa opened her balcony door. A cool
breeze blew over her face and her hair flew over her
shoulders.

“
What do you want?” she
asked harshly. Seeing him just not only woke her feelings for him,
but also her disappointment. She hadn’t forgotten that Jason’s last
girlfriend was a huntress, and she could not help but feel as if
she were just a temporary replacement.

“
Isn’t there a good
morning?” Jason questioned.

Rosa rolled her eyes. “We skip
that.”

He
smiled. Immediately, Rosa’s knees were weak.
Don’t show how much affect he has over you,
she told herself.

Jason had his own kind of smile. His
smile was always something seductive, amused, sexy, and
affectionate.

“
Can I come in, and maybe
we can talk. You know, it’s pretty fresh and it’s cold out here.”
He shook his shoulder, to show her that he was cold.

“
Then close your jacket,”
Rosa suggested. He wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a jacket over
it.

Jason shook his head. “Nope. Then my
outfit would look like crap.”

Rosa had to smile involuntarily. “You
prefer freezing, rather than closing your jacket, because your
appearance is important to you?”

He winked. “You could say
that.”

“
Come in,” she sighed. As
he walked past her, his arm touched her arm. Immediately, alarm
bells rang in her head.

She hadn’t taken a sip from her magic
potion! Inwardly, Rosa cursed her gift and wished, for the first
time, that she didn’t have her gift.

Jason sat down on her bed and lean his
elbows on his knees. Then he looked at Rosa.

I must
certainly look awful,
she thought. She was
wearing sweatpants and a loose T-shirt. Luckily, she had renounced
her princess Pajamas. She didn’t even bother thinking about her
hair.

“
So, what do you want?”
Rosa repeated her question, and folded her arms across her
chest.

Jason took a deep breath. “I wanted to
say thank you for helping me. I want you to align Jasmine’s
gratitude, too. We, also, get the book back.”

Rosa nodded.

“
And I just wanted to see
you,” he added.

“
Why?” Her heart beat
faster.

He looked at her for a while in
silence. His golden eyes were so beautiful and Rosa realized that
she was gaping at Jason. She quickly lowered her eyes.

“
I felt the desire to see
you, Ice Princess. I wanted to hear your voice, lose me in your
beautiful eyes.” He shrugged, and smiled innocently.

Rosa didn’t know what to say. She
wasn’t very good about expressing her feelings, so she just
nodded.

His desire to see her, Rosa could
understand very well. She also wanted to see him.

Since Rosa said nothing, there was an
uncomfortable silence between them. She bit her lower lip. There
was so much that she wanted to ask Jason, but now that he stood
before her, she wanted to ask him just one question.

Rosa finally cleared her throat and
asked him, “When were you going to tell me that you were with
another huntress?”

He winced almost imperceptibly, and
pressed his lips together.

“
Actually, never,” Jason
replied, finally. “And I don’t know why this is important?”
Frowning, he looked at Rosa.

“
Hasn’t it crossed your
mind that I might feel like a temporary replacement?” She cocked
her head. “I am always the first prize, Jason. Never the second
win.”

Jason shook his head firmly. “Don’t
think something like that!” He stood up and walked toward Rosa.
When he wanted to take her hands, Rosa stepped back and shook her
head. Jason understood and dropped his hands.

“
You and Tasha… you both
are so completely different people. The only thing you have in
common is that you both were hunters, nothing else.” Sadness
crossed his face. “She was my first love, and losing her was the
worst thing that could happen to me. She died because of me!” He
shook his head. Rosa had a strong urge to take him into her arms
and comfort him, but she held herself back.

“
I thought I could never
love again. My feelings had died with Tasha, but then I met you.”
He looked at her. In his eyes, there was so much pain, love, and
hope that it broke Rosa’s heart.

Suddenly, Jason laughed a bitter
laugh. “It’s now just like in the movies. Man loses the love of his
life, and thinks he could never love again. Then another woman
shows up and he falls in love with her.” He smiled. “I’ve always
laughed when I saw those movies, but the same had happened to me. I
am in love again, and with a girl, who is wonderful in everything
she does and says.”

Rosa’s knees were shaking. Jason’s
honesty touched her and made clear his feelings were
genuine.

She opened her mouth to say something,
but nothing came out.

“
I will always love Tasha.
A part of my heart will always belong to her, but she’s my past,
and you’re my future, Ice Princess.” Jason was standing very close
to her. Only a few inches separated them. Rosa wanted a step back,
but her legs wouldn’t obey her. Her breathing was fast, and Rosa
just couldn’t take her eyes of Jason.

“
I love Tasha, but I’m in
love with you,” he continued, his eyes sparkling. “I want you. I
know we have only known each other for a month, but it feels like
forever. In these few weeks no woman had touched my heart like you,
you go under my skin. You’ve driven me crazy, melted my heart with
your beauty and strength, and the most important thing, you have
showed me how love feels again, that love is worth it, even if it
can destroy you.”

Tears welled up in to Rosa’s eyes. She
was speechless. Never had she believed that Jason would tell her
all these things.

She wanted to say so much, but the
words that came out of her mouth were, “We cannot be
together.”

He nodded sadly. “I know, and I hate
it.” His face was hard now. “I won’t put you in danger, even if it
will be painful not to see you.”

Rosa swallowed then nodded.
It was best if they didn’t see each other anymore. She didn’t want
to end up like Tasha.

Jason took a step back and
smiled. “Another reason why I’m here, I’d like to thank you, thus
fulfilling your wish.”

A crease appeared between her brows.
“Wish?”

“
Yes, your wish. You’d
told me in Vancouver that you wished to be able to fly, and I’ve
made the offer that you could fly with me.”

Rosa remembered, but with
all the stress, she’d completely forgotten. But Jason remembered.
She felt flattered.

“
And, do you take me up on
my offer?” Jason looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Say
yes
, her inner voice said to her.
When was the last time you did something you
wanted?

Yes, when was that? Rosa couldn’t
remember. In her life, there was no space for her needs. Normally,
her desires and wishes took back seat to the needs of the hunter
clan, but tonight she would let her own wish come true.

Rosa said with a smile,
“I’d like to fly with you.”

After she’d taken a sip of
her magic potion, and had changed in to other clothes, Rosa
followed Jason onto her balcony.

Boston was just waking up. The sky was
bright and the birds were singing their morning songs. Below the
traffic began.