Hunter Reborn (11 page)

She wasn't sure how much time passed but eventually Aiden's voice cut through her thoughts.
We need to leave soon.

I know.
She was definitely getting used to this telepathic thing with him.

He lifted his head then, his expression fierce. “We're going to find Magda and get answers. It might get ugly.”

There was no maybe about it, and even though she
couldn't remember Aiden she wasn't surprised by his attitude. Shifters and vampires were very similar in the way they handled justice. That woman had lied to Larissa and set her up to kill Aiden. A man who she was now coming to understand had meant everything to her. That witch was going to pay.

She still worried about Aiden though. She'd seen him in action, but Larissa wasn't up to her normal fighting self and they had no clue what this witch had in her arsenal. The unknown was the scariest of all. The thought of something happening to Aiden sliced her up. She didn't care that she didn't remember him. She knew that if she lost him, she'd never get over it. If she had to choose vengeance against Magda and discovering the truth about her parents and past or Aiden's safety, Aiden would win.

L
arissa ran her finger along the edge of the chipped ceramic plate sitting under her now-lukewarm cup of coffee. She'd ordered something to be polite and even though she could imbibe liquids, after having Aiden's taste still lingering on her tongue she didn't want to dilute it.

She stared out the window of the small diner attached to the gas station where he was currently buying cell phones. The entire setup of the place was strange to her, but everyone here had been friendly. Possibly because they didn't know she and Aiden were supernatural beings. Aiden had told her that while they might have come out to humans twenty years ago, they didn't go around advertising what they were. Apparently there were many hate groups who would love to see them dead. Not that she was exactly surprised by that. People often feared what was different to them. Some things never changed. It wasn't as if she planned
to show off her fangs, so unless Aiden shifted in front of everyone they should remain undetected.

A dark SUV pulled up right in front of the big window of the diner. The windows were tinted but she could see the passengers in the front seat clearly enough. Brianna O'Brien and an unknown male. Must be her shifter mate.

Larissa turned away from the window and leaned slightly out of the booth for a glimpse of Aiden in the attached gas station. There were no barriers between the two establishments, but with too many people in the way she couldn't see him. She could sense him though.

Your friends are here,
she projected.

Paying now, will be over in just a sec.

She turned back to the window to see Brianna and a dark-haired, bronze-skinned, lean but muscular male step out. Both of them looked at her through the glass, as if they sensed her presence. Or Aiden had told them where they were sitting. She didn't like being so exposed by the front of the restaurant, but there had been no other seating and Aiden had needed to eat.

Brianna half smiled and nodded at her before the male looped an arm around her shoulders and they headed inside. The bell jingled over the door a moment later. Out of respect, Larissa slid out of her seat and stood. She might not know her in a friendly, intimate way, but she was acquainted with the fae female.

And as another royal, it was only proper that Larissa stand for Brianna. The young blond female seemed almost amused as they approached the booth. “Larissa
Danesti,” she murmured, “it's good to see you alive. This is my mate, Angelo Medina.”

Larissa nodded at the male with the piercing hazel eyes and murmured a polite greeting as she motioned to the booth. “It's nice to see you looking so well, Brianna. Respectfully, I can't believe your brothers didn't have a stroke when you mated,” she said softly as they all slid into their seats. The humans from the two booths surrounding theirs had already paid and left dirty dishes behind, but she still didn't want anyone to inadvertently overhear.

She hoped Brianna and Angelo would take her statement the way it was intended. Larissa was curious about their relationship and how things worked with the female's royal family. Shifters and vamps had always been blunt and she hoped that hadn't changed in the last few decades she'd been in stasis.

The other female smiled and snuggled closer to her mate, her adoration for him clear. “Best decision I ever made, but yes, my family is still adjusting.
Especially
my brothers. My mother has been surprisingly okay with it. I can't believe that Aiden from Angelo's pack is ‘The Aiden' who mated with Vlad's daughter,” she whispered the last part before continuing. “It never occurred to me that he was the same male.” She shook her head slightly.

Aiden chose that moment to return to the table. With his exceptional hearing he would have heard their conversation from the gas station. He slid into the booth and promptly slung an arm around Larissa's shoulders as he nodded at his friends. She loved his immediate
possessive display. He was making it clear what she meant to him. It didn't matter that the others could scent her and Aiden's bond, even Brianna with her almost human senses, Larissa needed him to claim her publicly. Something she hadn't even realized she wanted until that very moment. “It's not something I advertise,” he murmured before sticking his hand out to Angelo.

The two males did some sort of hand clasping/bump thing that wasn't exactly a shake, but more complex. She wondered if it was a shifter thing she'd never known about or a new human way of greeting. Or maybe it was a male thing because Aiden didn't do it with Brianna.

“You guys hungry?” Aiden asked.

They both shook their heads as a waitress with a stained apron approached their table with a warm smile and a pad of paper. “What can I get for you guys?”

The lack of formalness in people amazed Larissa. Her world had been so very different. She found she liked it, just as she was getting used to the jeans Aiden had given her. They were snug, warm, and surprisingly comfortable.

“Two coffees, black,” Angelo murmured, obviously ordering to be polite. As he did, he laid a twenty-dollar bill on the table and slid it to her. “We're not hungry but this is for taking up one of your tables.”

Surprise rolled off the waitress as she smiled. “Thanks, y'all. I'll bring your coffees in just two shakes and I'll refresh yours,” she added to Larissa.

Larissa wondered if the “two shakes” was an idiom she'd missed in her reading and made a note to look it up.

“So what do you know about Larissa's coven?” Aiden asked quietly, his question directed at Brianna.

It appeared there would be no working their way into the conversation, something Larissa was grateful for.

Brianna gave her an almost apologetic look as she shrugged. “The Draculesti coven disappeared almost overnight. Obviously I don't mean literally, but in a matter of a year their property was sold off—most of it—and the coven just . . . ceased to exist for lack of a better description. I wish I knew more but you know how fae and vamps were and still are. We're a little more connected now because of technology, but back then I'd only heard rumors about the great Vlad's coven. Some said he decided to completely withdraw from the human world, which I always thought was a stupid theory because your kind need humans to survive. Some said they were killed by a rival coven, but no one ever stepped up and took responsibility for supposedly killing your family so I think that was a lie too. According to my mother the coven still owns a castle in Romania. It's owned under a shell corporation, but it's definitely linked to the Draculesti line. As a favor to me, she's sent investigators to the castle for in-person investigation, but other than that I don't know more. I apologize.”

Larissa wasn't sure what a shell corporation was, but had a pretty good idea. “Please do not apologize. You've given me more information than anyone since
my awakening. I would like to thank your mother personally at a later date.”

“Of course.” Brianna nodded. “I'll extend your regards for now.”

Larissa could feel Aiden's amusement through their bond and turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised.

I love how almost formal you two are with each other,
he said through their link. “Here,” he said aloud, pulling out a cell phone and setting it on the table. “This is your new cell phone. It's got a couple thousand minutes on it and I've programmed my new number and Brianna and Angelo's number into it. I've also programmed my Alpha's number in it just in case.”

Meaning in case something happened to him or all of them. Something Larissa refused to consider. Nothing would be harming Aiden. Not with her around. She might still be gaining her bearings in this new world, but that hadn't changed how deadly she was. “Thank you.”

“If you guys are done, we should get out of here,” Angelo said, watching the busy parking lot. He didn't seem stressed about anything, just observant of their surroundings. “I want to see if I can pick up that witch's trail at the hotel. The sooner the better.”

When Larissa had told Aiden that she and the witch had checked into a hotel and reserved two rooms for a week he'd been thrilled. Larissa had just assumed if Magda was a liar she'd have already taken their things and left, but a call to the hotel had told them that the rooms were still theirs. Aiden wanted to track Magda using scent and the only place he might be able to pick
it up was there. Larissa thought that was unlikely to happen, but they needed to start somewhere while Aiden's packmate Ryan did whatever investigations he was doing on the witch.

Larissa nodded, then nudged Aiden slightly in the side.
I'm going to find someone to feed. I'll be quick.
She wanted to drink a little more blood before they left in case they didn't have time once they reached Winston-Salem. Even though human blood was much weaker than supernatural blood and she didn't like the idea of drinking from anyone but Aiden, she had to. She couldn't depend on him too much and weaken him. Not when they would need their strength. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.

He frowned, those dark eyes of his going pure wolf for a moment.
I'll go with you.

No.
She wasn't a child. It was embarrassing enough that she didn't understand half the conversations going on around her or that she barely knew how to use a cell phone, she refused to have a babysitter while she fed.

His jaw tightened as he watched her. It was clear he wanted to argue, but eventually he relented, giving her a tight nod.
Find a female and take her into the bathroom. Then meet back here.

She glared at him.
I don't need you to tell me what to do. I might be behind on some things, but I can feed without instructions. I'm over five hundred years old and have been hiding what I am and how I need to survive for longer than you've been alive.
He jerked back at her words, but slid out of the booth, allowing her to stand.

She didn't care if she surprised him. Refusing to
look at him again as she headed toward the gas station, she started looking for a human to mesmerize. It didn't matter that vamps had come out to the world, she wasn't asking someone for their blood. Right now she was going to
take
what she needed so they could get the hell out of there. Annoyance filtered through her as Aiden's order rang through her mind. She couldn't believe he'd felt the need to tell her to feed from a female or where to go. Like she was that infantile? She was embarrassed enough by her lack of modern knowledge—she wouldn't let her mate baby her, and definitely not in front of others.

*   *   *

“Brianna and Angelo have made contact,” Connor murmured before sliding his cell phone back into his pocket.

Liam nodded, his expression tense as they headed across the yard to the parking structure. “Good.”

“Jayce said that human female's friends from last night were a dead end. Apparently they showed up at her place and his vamp contact questioned them.” At least it had saved Jayce a trip.

Liam grunted another affirmative as they continued. Their boots crunched over the icy ground. Even with the sun rising in a cloudless sky, the snow from the night before wouldn't be melting any time soon. He and Liam were meeting with two Brethren vampires in less than an hour on semi-neutral ground to discuss the male Natalia had killed.

Connor had already established a relationship with the Brethren a couple of weeks ago after a case Erin, one of his packmates and the newest enforcer in North
America, had handled in New Orleans. Shifters and vamps had needed to work together and his pack had learned about a sick fucking practice ancient vamps liked to engage in after pregnant shifters had started being kidnapped and eventually killed. Since it hadn't been condoned by the Brethren and the four ancient vampires had worked together with shifters to keep the peace among their kind, Connor was more than willing to meet with them about this issue. He knew Natalia had acted only in self-defense and he wasn't worried about her innocence, but he knew situations like this could get out of control. Especially when someone's relative was one of the deceased.

“Seriously, why did it have to be the brother of a Brethren member?” Liam muttered, mirroring his own thoughts.

Connor lips pulled into a thin line. “No shit.”

“She's taking this pretty hard,” Liam said, shooting him a quick glance as they reached his truck.

They'd decided to attend this meeting low-key, without a big show of numbers from the rest of the pack. He and Liam didn't need the backup anyway, but more than anything, he wanted the ranch protected. These were his people and he'd do anything to keep them safe. From the cubs to the strongest warriors. “Yeah, I know. Teresa told Ana and she told me.” At the thought of his mate, he smiled despite everything on his plate.

Think about me while I'm gone,
he projected to her.

A moment later, he heard Ana's voice in his head.
You're not even off the ranch yet.

How do you know?

Because Vivian is making me wait by the gate to wave you and Liam off and I haven't seen you two leave yet.

Vivian is making you, huh?

A slight pause.
Maybe it was my idea.

“You haven't even been separated from her for five minutes yet,” Liam said good-naturedly.

“What?”

“I know you're talking to Ana. You get a goofy look on your face every time you two communicate.”

Connor shrugged and palmed his key fob. After nearly fifty years separated from the one woman who had the ability to bring him to his knees, he didn't care what he looked like when he communicated with her. “Like you're any better.” If anything, his brother was worse over his little human bondmate.

His brother grinned. “Just wait until Ana's pregnant. Then you'll be—”