Hunter Forsaken (Wild Hunt #2) (8 page)

“About?”

“Minerva. You. Us.”

“Okay, I have questions for you too.” He slipped from her body and stood.

The loss of their physical connection left her feeling empty. She reached for him. The sight of the jagged black line stretching from between her middle and ring finger to her wrist caught her eye. Her air rushed out. So much for an easy answer to the mysterious riddle she had to solve.

He glanced over her shoulder. “You okay?”

She curled her fingers and nodded. No use sharing her disappointment. She also didn’t want him to think she only made love to him because she’d hoped to solve the Triad’s challenge.

He grunted and surprised her by using his T-shirt to wipe the evidence of their passion away before dragging her pants up. “Best I can do at the moment, angel. Next time, I’ll lick you clean, but Trevor is waiting. He’s probably got the stuff I asked him to find.”

Next time, he’ll lick me clean?
A fresh wash of arousal drenched her already damp panties. She blinked past the renewed desire and focused on the rest of his statement. “What stuff?”

He used the material to wipe himself, then pulled on his jeans. A white button-down shirt was draped over the back of a chair next to him. He slipped it on. “Police reports.”

She frowned. “Reports on what?”

He took her hand, linking their fingers, and led her across the room, dropping his dirty shirt in the trash can by the desk. “Redcap and sluagh activity. I need to locate another fairy ring and fast.”

She stumbled and flicked her gaze to his. “Why?”

“Raul had a camera at the warehouse. He lured Allie into it, and I promised Cynthia’s spirit that I’d bring her home safe.” He shrugged. “So I have to figure out how to get Allie out of the fairy realm.”

Chapter Ten

Ian released Tegan’s hand and followed Trevor’s voice to the kitchen. He took slow, steady breaths and tried to tamp down his lust. It did little good. His dick was as hard as a rock. After the explosive release he’d just had, he should be sated. He wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

He wanted to push Tegan against the wall and pound into her. Or maybe bend her over the couch and take her from behind. On her knees would work too. Hell, she could tie him to the bed and ride him, for all he cared, but he needed to come inside her.

He hungered.

He wasn’t sure for what, but he knew with certainty that sex with Tegan would give it to him.

She’d awakened the beast he’d felt inside him, the one that only ever stirred when he thought of her.

Except, he was the beast. He was also the son of a god. Well, a goddess, Minerva.

What the fuck was he supposed to do with that knowledge? Because he couldn’t understand how it could be true. Tegan had to be wrong. Some god probably knocked up his mom like Arawn did when he created the Huntsmen.

At the end of the hall, Tegan stepped in front of him and shoved against his chest, scattering his thoughts. He stopped, not because of her push, but for fear of knocking her over. He glanced at her. Fire lit her eyes, but her mussed hair and flushed skin stirred the part of him that wanted to devour her.

“You promised Cynthia’s spirit what?”

He tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “That I’d bring Allie home.”

She dug her nails into his biceps. “Why would you make a foolish promise like that?”

Fear. That was what put the angry glint in her eyes. He drew her against him. Screw her rule that she was only his commander. They’d just had sex in the living room. They were beyond the charade. She resisted him only a moment before settling into his embrace.

“I owe it to Cynthia. I used her in a desperate attempt to get over you. It wasn’t right, and if I hadn’t been with her, Raul never would’ve targeted her family. Seems only right I save her sister.”

She leaned back to meet his gaze. “But you can’t go into the fairy realm, Ian. Only fairies can transverse its borders.”

Yeah, that was a problem he didn’t know how to solve. He massaged her hips and let the issue play through his head. No answer came to him. He shrugged. “I’ll find a way.”

“And if you don’t, you’ll have damned yourself. Words have power.”

“So I’ve been told.” He pressed a closemouthed kiss to her lips. Any more and he’d be ripping off her clothes. “I didn’t know at the time I made it. Besides, Allie is a sweetheart. I don’t want to see her lose her mind in that place or die.”

Worry tightened the skin by her eyes. “And I don’t want to see you suffer. It’s…well, it’s bad karma, so to speak, if you break your word.”

He rubbed his thumb over her lips. “Guess you’ll have to help me then, huh?”

She stared at him a long moment, then dipped her head. “I’ll try but I honestly don’t know what we can do, other than to send Harley.”

“Calan won’t go for that.”

“Once he learns of your foolish vow, he might.”

He didn’t want his baby sister tromping around the fairy realm. Who knew what dangers lurked there? Instead of arguing with Tegan, he shrugged, a good noncommittal response. He’d have to be more careful about what he promised.

“Let’s worry about finding a fairy ring first, okay?” He stepped around her.

Once more, she blocked him. “No, let’s worry about you. If you are Minerva’s son and Arawn finds out, he’ll remove your Huntsman’s mark. You’ll revert to the life you led before joining our Teulu.”

“My mortal life, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“But you said I’m a demigod.” He frowned. “Doesn’t that make me immortal?”

She worried her bottom lip and looked at him with fearful eyes. “I don’t know. You still feel human.”

“And demigods feel differently?”

“Yes, there’s a trace of power twined into our bodies. It’s what ensures we regenerate, no matter how badly we’re injured.” An irritated sound escaped her. “Of course. That’s the reason. The bitch told me the truth. I just didn’t understand at the time what she meant.”

He raised a brow.

“She said she saved your
soul
and ensured it couldn’t be birthed until we could be together.” She looked imploringly at him. “Your soul. Do you understand? Not all of you. Somehow she placed your soul in a human body, one whose only link to immortality is your tie to Arawn.”

Her whispered confession hit him square in the chest. He staggered back.

“I fear if Arawn learns you’re his mate’s bastard child, he’ll remove your mark in a rash act of anger.” She laid a hand on his arm. “And once removed, it cannot be given again.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I can only say with certainty it can’t.” A haunted look settled over her, and the color drained from her face.

He placed the tips of his fingers on her arm. “Tell me.”

She stared at him for an endless moment, then dropped her gaze to the floor. “Arawn’s hounds led each of us to the Underworld on our seventeenth birthday. I was one of the first four born. We received our Huntsman’s mark and began our training together. In those early days, Arawn had grown frustrated with one of my brothers and removed his mark. Once Arawn calmed, he regretted his rash choice and attempted to rejoin him to our Teulu.”

She glanced at him from behind her thick lashes. Sorrow darkened her eyes. “Arawn wasn’t able to do it, and without a tie to him, my brother couldn’t be allowed to roam free. We are too powerful.”

“So Arawn killed him?”

“No. He didn’t die. Our father would never kill one of his children, but I know my brother wishes he’d killed himself before he matured.”

Whatever Arawn had been forced to do would come back and bite him in the ass one day. Ian was sure of it. “What happened to him?”

“My brother lives in the Underworld.” She exhaled roughly. “Confined on a level created specifically for him.”

“He’s imprisoned?”

“Yes, but not in the way you think. He has all the comforts he could want, and anyone in the Underworld can go there. He just can’t leave it.”

“And it’s made him bitter?” He knew he would be. Nothing free was satisfying. It only made you want more. The stuff you invested your blood, sweat and tears in order to get was what completed a person.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth and gave a single dip of her chin. “He blames us for what happened, saying that Calan, Rhys and I should’ve extended our unity to him, as we do for all of our other siblings. The truth is, we were shell-shocked during those early days. Living in Hell was not an easy adjustment for any of us. We learned, though. As our other siblings arrived, we were prepared to guide them. Unfortunately, we didn’t gain experience quickly enough to save him.”

Her avoidance of her brother’s name wasn’t lost on Ian. He considered asking her what it was, but pain and sorrow radiated from her. He wouldn’t add to it.

“I’m sorry.” And he was, for everyone involved. As close as the Huntsmen were, they no doubt suffered guilt over their brother’s fate. Then there was Arawn. Ian couldn’t imagine the remorse he probably felt.

“Thank you.” She gave him a wan smile. “But do you understand now why Arawn can’t find out about you?”

He cursed. “Yeah, and you think Minerva wants me to mate you because, as your mate, I’ll share in your immortality in case Arawn does toss me out.”

“Or for me to mate you.” She sighed. “I can understand her motivation, but it doesn’t change the fact that she manipulated us. All those encounters were her doing. She wanted us to crave each other.”

He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb over her soft skin. “It worked.”

She covered his hand. The look of regret on her face chilled him. “Lust is not a good enough reason to enter into an eternal bond.”

He dropped his hand. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying she used us, and I hate the fact that nothing about our connection is real.” She turned her back on him.

He linked an arm around her waist and tugged her against him. Her soft curves cushioned him. A guttural groan crawled from his throat. She felt good and so damn right. He didn’t care if they’d been tricked. His dick hurt, and her sweet core was so close. She wouldn’t resist. He was confident he could seduce her. It wouldn’t gain him her love, though. She’d said so. Lust wasn’t enough. That was what gripped him at the moment too, but it wasn’t the only thing.

He held her tight, his muscles vibrating as he fought his urges. Mouth at her ear, he whispered, “It is real, and I don’t care how or why we found each other. I love you, Tegan.”

“Oh, Ian.”

He heard the disbelief in her voice. Nope, he wouldn’t let it stop him. He spun her to face him. “Is that enough of a vow? I’ll tattoo it on my body, swear it with my blood, anything to make it real for you.”

She closed her eyes and breathed heavily but didn’t respond.

“I like the tattoo idea. You can get it right above your dick. That way any other lovers you take will know who owns your heart.”

He glanced over his shoulder. Zeph, the Hunter who’d told him about the bastard who’d broken Tegan’s heart, leaned against doorjamb of the library. His gaze focused on the room, not them. No doubt he noticed the scent of sex lingering in the air.

Tegan shoved out of Ian’s arms. She rushed Zeph and threw a punch, cracking his face to the side. In the next breath, she dragged her clawed hand down his chest. Four lines of red blossomed on his white shirt. Another swipe of her deadly nails, and she marred his face, leaving deep furrows in his cheeks.

Zeph didn’t move to block her or stop her. He stood completely still while she lashed out at him.

Well, Ian had seen enough. He grabbed her wrist before she dug her talon-tipped fingers into her brother’s neck. She jerked her head Ian’s way and growled. Sharp teeth filled her mouth. Red bled into the whites of her eyes, and the thin arm under his palm thickened. With a mixture of shock and desire, Ian watched her angelic face lengthen into a pale snout.

He lifted her and pressed her against the wall. She shoved at him. The power behind her push broke his hold. She slipped under his arm, but he tugged her back. Hands on her hips, he lifted her and nudged his knee between her thighs.

Her widened eyes locked on to him. He took advantage of the moment and caught her wrists, pressing them into the wall at her sides. “Rein it in, Tegan.”

“No, I deserved her fury.” Zeph stepped next to them. Although as tall as Ian, the other Hunter reminded him of Arawn. Zeph had the same white-blond hair as the Lord of the Underworld, but his lavender eyes made him unique, to say the least.

Zeph dipped his head. “I was out of line. I’m sorry.”

Tegan closed her eyes and breathed deeply. After several moments, her Hunter form receded.

“Trevor was impatiently pacing. It annoyed me. I thought I’d come find you myself. I hadn’t expected that—”

“Don’t, Zeph.” She leveled a hard glare on him. “You and I will discuss later what happens to those who betray my trust.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment before Zeph nodded. “You want a punching bag? So be it. I won’t apologize for telling the truth. The human is part of our Teulu. Only right he knows our secrets.”

“My past lovers aren’t secrets.”

Zeph laughed. “Really? So what was Bjorn?”

“A mistake.”

“One that broke you.” Zeph purposely glanced at her hand, the one marked by the Triad. “Don’t you think it’s time to heal the wound he left on you?”

Ian knew what Zeph implied. The Triad had instructed each Huntsman to make a sacrifice in order to mend the barrier between the realms. Ian had heard the words given to them too. From the little he knew of Tegan, he couldn’t help but wonder if her challenge involved him.

A sacrifice didn’t have to be a physical loss. Calan’s hadn’t been. His had been an emotional one. He’d tried to protect his mate, Harley, who’d been tainted by the same disease her father, Dar, carried. The only way he’d known to do that was to ask the Triad to break his mate bond to Harley. He’d thought to spare her the curse meant for her, even if it meant shouldering it himself and singlehandedly holding the barrier to Hell closed. She beat him to it.

It had been the willingness of each to sacrifice themselves so the other didn’t suffer that had freed the Huntsmen, at least from their prison. The curse, on the other hand? The Triad spread it among the remaining Huntsmen, demanding they each make a sacrifice too.

To heal themselves, not just the barrier to Hell.

Ian didn’t understand why they didn’t get that. After a millennium of unspeakable agony, it was a miracle they could function at all. He’d heard the other riders complain about their treatment. Maybe Ian was reading into the Triad’s words. Maybe he was being philosophical. Hell, maybe he was naïve. But he simply knew the Huntsmen were ticking time bombs. If they didn’t come to terms with their pasts and their failures, they’d go off the deep end. That couldn’t happen. They were too powerful to roam free without their communal bond tethering them to good.

“I think it’s none of your business, little brother.”

Tegan’s low, threatening words pulled Ian out of his thoughts. He glanced between her and Zeph.

Zeph shook his head. “I beg to differ. Our fates have always been tied together. You fail at solving the Triad’s challenge, we all suffer.”

Tegan shoved against Ian’s chest. He set her on her feet, knowing she’d want to confront her brother on her own, not in his arms. The idea didn’t sit well with him. He wanted to protect her. The truth was, she didn’t need him.

“So do you want me to mate Ian? Then what? Abandon him? Maybe rip my tie from him the way Calan had with Harley?”

Zeph shrugged. “I don’t know what’ll heal you. You’ve kept your secrets from us, but I’m warning you, sister, figure it out soon or lose your chance.”

She huffed. “We don’t even know if I’m the next one to face my challenge.” She curled her fingers into a fist, hiding the thick mark she wore, while a wicked smile spread over her mouth. “It could be you. The Triad didn’t say who would be next.”