Changed (The Hunters #1) (37 page)

Rosa could not be angry any longer
with Matt. She hated it when they argued, too. Matt was her best
friend, her brother. She could not stay mad at him, or lose
him.

She smiled at him weakly. “I don’t
want to lose you, either, Matt.”

“
I know.” He smiled at her
warm.

“
Then what had happened to
you when we had talked to each other?” Rosa asked.

He shrugged. “If I only knew, Rosa.”
His eyes looked honestly at her. “I don’t know. I have yet to
figure it out.”

“
Let me help you.” She
stroked his hands.

He smiled. “I would like to figure it
out on my own, Rosa.”

She nodded. She could only accept it,
although she would have liked to help him.

Rosa took her hands from his. “Do you
have any idea what it could be?

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, I
have nothing. But I’m working on it. Please be patient until I find
out.”

She smiled at him, and then they fell
in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence; Rosa could just sit
beside Matt and say nothing.

“
How did you get in here?”
she asked finally, breaking the silence.

The mischievous smile appeared on his
face. “I asked for a second key, and they gave it to
me.”

“
What does that tell you
about the hotel? They simply give the room key to others,” Rosa
said, shaking her head.

“
It wasn’t that simple,
Rosa. They had called Ms. Franklin and confirmed that I know you
and so on.”

“
Oh, yeah.
Okay.”

Rosa snuggled back into her bed. “If
you want to sleep here, you can,” she offered him.

Matt’s eyes wandered from her to the
bed. Then he shook his head slowly. “I don’t think it would be good
if I sleep in a bed next to you.” He stood up. Something had
changed in his eyes.

Rosa understood. “Yes, maybe it
wouldn’t be good.”

He gave her a kiss on the
cheek that lasted a little longer than necessary. Then he wished
her good night and left the room.

Her toothache increased
with every passing hour. It was as her heart was beating in her
jaw.

She clutched her jaw and
moaned. Her cheek was thick, like a small balloon. Although she had
suffered through torture or worse pain, the pain in her jaw was
driving her crazy. She could not eat anything, or speak. She had to
do something about it, and soon.

She crawled to the steel
door and pounded her fists against it. She wanted to shout
something, but only a croak came out.

Then the lights went on.
She would never get used to this bright light. She squinted and
looked away.

“
What is it, Jasmine?” the
voice asked her.

Since she could not speak,
she pointed with her hand on her swollen cheek.

The voice laughed. “Do you
feel the pain, Jasmine?”

She nodded.

“
And now you want me to
help you?”

Again, she
nodded.

“
All right. I will help
you.”

The light went off and a
little light went on. She stared dumbfounded at the light. She
found it odd that they wanted to help her without consideration.
There was something wrong.

The slot in the steel door
opened and something heavy fell loudly to the ground. Confused, she
went to the door and bent down.

She took the something in
her hand and held it into the light.

It was a pair of
pliers.

Pliers? What am I supposed
to do with these?

She turned them in her
hand back and forth until she understood.

She stared open-mouthed at
the pliers.

She
should have to pull out her tooth with pliers
.

“
Today we will visit the
sights of Vancouver,” announced Ms. Franklin and looked at the
sleepy faces of her students.

Rosa yawned, and rolled her eyes.
Sights! Who wanted to see them?

She did not want to visit the sights.
She would rather crawl quickly into her warm bed and
sleep.

“
Teachers and their
attractions,” said Jason quietly. “Inseparable.”

“
Why must they teach us on
every trip, too?” Philip asked.

Rosa put her head on Matt’s shoulder
and closed her eyes. She was tired, but today was the day to search
for the talisman.

When she opened her eyes, her eyes
fell on Ellen, who was talking happily with her friends.

Did she know that she would be
searching for the talisman with a hunter? Ellen didn’t seem to be
excited or nervous.

Rosa, however, was a little of both.
Maybe she would find a talisman. That would give the hunters a huge
advantage in the war against the archangels.

Maybe it would be another deadlock.
Tonight, she would find it.

She lifted her head and tugged at her
hair.

“
Tell me, Ice Princess,”
Jason said to her.

“
Hmm?” She looked at
him.

“
Is this your real hair
color or colored?”

“
Colored.”

“
And why?”

She lifted her gaze. “Because I like
the color red.”

“
I also like the color
red, but I don’t dye my hair because of that.”

Rosa smiled. “The red color enhances
my eyes.”

Jason watched her, his eyes settled on
her face; his gaze was not urgent. He just looked at her, but his
eyes made her nervous and she blushed.

Damn it! Since when have I
blushed when Jason looks at me? What is the matter with
me?

“
You don’t need anything,
Ice Princess,” Jason said. “Your eyes shine anyway.”

Matt and Colin gave her constant
compliments that she was beautiful, but Jason’s compliment got to
her. It woke up so many emotions that she had never felt until
now.

The touch of a smile curled the corner
of her lips, and she said, with a grin, “I know.”

Pleased, Jason laughed a rich, deep
laugh that vibrated through her chest.

At the same time, Rosa was aware she
had to break whatever attraction was going on between them. Feeling
his gaze on her, Rosa turned around and chewed on her bottom
lip.

He was
her
enemy
! She
could not be attracted to her enemy. It was forbidden. This sin was
worse than a hunter simply saving the life of an
enemy.

It was impossible that she could fall
in love with a Nephilim. The hunter clan would find Rosa her mate
who she would marry, and spend her live with him.

That was her life.

There was no place for the wishes of
her heart; and there would never be. Rosa suppressed her feelings
and desires for years.

Her feelings for Jason, she would also
suppress.

Rosa didn’t know if she would
succeed.

After they had finished the sights
tour, Matt and Rosa had decided to go to a cafe and get something
to eat. Rosa couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten, but as
they passed the coffee shops, her stomach growled like a wild
animal. It did not take long for them to stop.

In the evening, the class was going to
a club to celebrate a little. Rosa was not in the mood to
celebrate, but she didn’t want to spend her evening sitting alone
in her hotel room, killing time, so decided to tag
along.

“
Do you want to go this
evening?”

Rosa took a bite of her sandwich and
nodded. “Think so,” she said with a mouth full.

Matt grinned. “A noble lady doesn’t
talk with a full mouth.”

She stared at him. “Since when am I a
noble lady, Matt?”

He nodded. “Since never.”

Rosa took a sip of her coffee and
gulped. “Are you coming?”

“
Sure. It’ll be
funny.”

“
And have you found out
what Jason and Philip are planning?” Matt asked, while he sipped
his Coke.

Rosa shook her head. “Not really. I
just know that they worked with the fire users. But no
more.”

“
And what would you do
now?”

If she only knew. With a sigh, Rosa
leaned back in her chair. Suddenly, her appetite was
gone.

“
I don’t know. I ask
myself that question often.” She rubbed her face. “Sometimes I hate
my life.” No, not just sometimes. Recently, she hated her life
every day.

Matt’s face was soft and he smiled at
her encouragingly.

“
You’re the best hunter,
Rosa. You’ll figure it out.”

“
You don’t know Lord
Constantine. You do not know what he is like. If I can’t figure it
out ...” She left the sentence unfinished.

“
You
will
certainly figure it out, Ice Princess,” Matt reassured her.
“You have the gift to fight. He would certainly not want to lose
you.”

Matt didn’t know Rosa had saved the
life of Jason, or that Lord Constantine had made her his enemy. She
wouldn’t tell him.

Some things had to be kept a
secret.

“
Yes, maybe you’re right,”
said Rosa to end the issue.

Matt pressed his lips together.
“What’s happening between you and Jason?”

Rosa blinked, surprised, and asked,
“What do you mean?”

He took a deep breath. A shadow
flashed over his face.

“
Well, he’s paying you
compliments, and he is looking at you, like he’s interested in
you.”

Rosa didn’t know what she should say.
It surprised her that Matt noticed the attraction between her and
Jason. She knew she had to convince Matt there was nothing between
them.

“
Don’t be ridiculous,
Matt,” she laughed a nervous laugh. “Jason is a Nephilim, my enemy.
He just wanted me as his toy and you know that I won’t fall for
him.”

Matt watched her in silence then he
nodded. “Okay.”