The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (25 page)

“Kyran…”

Ronan wrapped his arms around Kyran and whispered that he
understood and that Kyran was forgiven. It didn
’
t help to know he had
forgiveness that he didn’t feel he deserved.

“Come, Mikko, lead your pack in prayer. Beseech the gods to bring
your mate home.”

And so Kyran prayed, his pack prayed, and their prayers echoed
in the hall. He hoped they echoed in the various halls of the gods, that
they heard his cry, his packs cry, to bring Alexis back to him. Ronan was right. Without her in his life, the agony he felt would never end.

When he could no longer hold his pack hostage, Kyran ended the
service and called for a pack meeting. He told them everything: His
desire to fulfill Othion
’
s prophecy, that he had Seen Alexis from the
first moment he laid eyes on her, and that until recently, he’d refused to acknowledge the link they shared.

For the most part, the pack accepted what he said, knowing that he would have never acted the way he’d been acting, had he been in
his right mind. He knew that they were still uneasy with the prospect
of
a Hunter in their ranks, but that was something about her that he couldn
’
t
change. The only thing that would ease their fears would be hear from
Othion, but judging from their prayer session, the God of the Sky had
no intention of gracing them with his presence. So for the moment, he
accepted their uneasy acceptance of the situation.

ALEXIS STOOD OUTSIDE
of the small, weathered hotel room she
’
d
reserved and scanned the horizon. She
’
d made it to Nowheresville,
North Carolina without a single Hunter sighting. Granted, it had taken
her three days to make it here, but that had more to do with the ridiculous
amount of energy she spent to stay away from heavily populated areas,
avoiding the areas that she remembered had past issues with Lycans, and trying to be mindful of her healing stomach.

She sighed and went back inside to stare at the horror-movie-ugly
tropical wallpaper and depressing furniture. All of it needed to be
updated. One look at the front desk clerk/owner, and Alexis had known
that the man
’
s beaten body wasn
’
t capable nor did it care for things
like twenty first century amenities. The room was missing a shiny new
flat screen mounted on the wall or nice faux marble counter tops in
the bathroom. The only TV she had to watch was a turn knob set tha
t,
when she checked, only had three channels. The bathroom was a beach-
bungalow-don
’
t. Overall, the décor was a clusterfuck of stuff that didn
’
t
make sense. The depressed beach atmosphere was at odds with the fact
that the hotel was over a hundred miles away from any beach. Maybe
it was to remind the guests of where they really wanted to be.

She collapsed on the well-worn bed and thought of her next move
.
She needed to turn in her rental and get a new one sometime soon.
Over the next few days, she would have to make it to New York, and
eventually she would make her way to Ireland. Flying to Ireland would
be both cheaper and faster, but taking a cruise would give her some time to decompress.

Ireland was the perfect place to go. Very few Lycans lived there,
and Hunters never stayed for long durations. Alexis was sure that
Ireland was one of the few places where she would be able to relax a little until Kyran pulled together whatever he was trying to do. That
was her plan, despite knowing that when the war did come to an end
she wouldn’t be around to appreciate it.

She was just getting comfortable when there was a knock at her
door. She drew her weapon and glanced through the peephole. It was
the front desk clerk. She cracked the door as far as the slip chain would
allow. It was a flimsy defense, but paranoia and overzealous defenses
would keep her alive.

“Yes?”

“Hi, ma’am. I just wanted to check and make sure you were cool
enough. These old AC units don
’
t work as well as they should sometimes.”

“Yes, I'm fine. Thank you.”

“Well, if you need anything feel free to let me know.”

“Thanks, will do. Goodnight.”

She closed the door, slid the deadlock in place, and went over to
the backpack Ronan had given her before she left. He had tried to give
her his credit card, but she refused. She didn
’
t need a way for anyone
to track her, but she also carried cash –
a hundred grand
–
on her at all
times. That paranoia and knowledge that her parents had been gunning
for her death for years made carrying cash a necessity.

Fifteen minutes later, she had finished cleaning, oiling and reloading
her guns when another knock sounded at the door. This time the clerk
wanted to know if she had enough towels. Ten minutes later, she
answered it to have him give her info on the local area. Another knock
sounded and Alexis rose from the bed and stashed away any hopes that she would get a restful night’s sleep.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I
’
m sorry, but I wanted to warn you that the local sheriff just called
to say there is a bear wandering around. He is notorious for rummaging
near city limits.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll be okay.”

“
Well, I don
’
t know if you are licensed to carry, but just remember
to shoot as fast as you are accurate.”

“I’ll remember that.”

She tried to keep the shock off of her face as he told her some
information on the continental breakfast she could get in the morning before he excused himself back to the front office. She closed the door on his latest interruption and began packing up her cleaning supplies
.

She wasn’t staying for breakfast. If the décor was any indication,
she might die from ingesting it. Not to mention the fact that there was
something up with the clerk.

No hotel, at least not one this unloved, would allow its clerks to be
so overly attentive. She felt like he was checking on her. Whoever he
was he knew the mantra about how to shoot that Torin had taught her.
Was it possible that the old man just happened to know it? Yes, but she
wouldn’t take any chances.

Alexis tensed as a soft rustling brought her attention from slipping
on her holster. There was a slight chance that the sound came from the
room adjacent to hers, but walls weren
’
t that thin. Were they? She shook
her head, because from what she remembered, there had only been one
other car in the parking lot, and it was in front of one of the rooms
towards the other end of the lot. The only logical place the sound could
come from would be from the back of the hotel where a tree-lined field
was located.

She rolled to the floor as silently as she could, keeping her body
below the low lying window. It wouldn
’
t matter if whoever was outside
had infrared, but she had to assume that they didn’t.

She grabbed her bag and slung the straps over her shoulders just as two shots fired.

The rounds entered low on the wall and buried themselves in
Sheetrock next to her.

Shit, high powered rifles with barrel silencers.
Fan-fucking-tastic.

Alexis rolled towards the door and tried to figure out how to open
it without standing up to reach the simple lock and slip chain set up.

Two more shots fired, but they hit farther away. She risked it,
jumped to her feet, and slid the chain free before she undid the lock. She paused, cursing her situation. The shooter in the back was likely
not the only one. He could very well be there to draw her out into a
hail of gunfire, but she didn’t have many choices.

She could get lucky going out the front, but –
Oh, fuck it
. She
’
d
known this situation was a possibility when she checked into Death Trap Hotel.

Alexis flung the door open wide and waited for gunfire. When
none sounded, she inched forward, keeping low to the ground. She
rounded the corner and still nothing. She picked up the pace, keeping
her gun drawn, and headed toward the front office. The clerk had a
reasonably new car that she could steal to get away, which would also
keep him from being able to follow her since she planned on reporting
her rental stolen ASAP.

She put her gun away and made quick work of unlocking the car.
She was opening the door when a gun cocked behind her.

“You could have just have asked, girlie.”

She swung around to face the old man. He waved her away from
the open door.

“Not that it would matter. I gotta say, your brother trained you well
. No one thought that you would come out this far.”

God, this decrepit man was a fucking Hunter? Alexis had been
fucked since she stepped into the office, all because she neglected one
simple rule. Suspect everyone.

“So what do you get for killing me?”

He let out a rusty cackle. “Nothing.”

Wow, she wasn’t worth the slightest reward.

A disappointed frown creased her features. “I have to say the lack o
f a reward makes me feel a little unappreciated.”

“Don
’
t be. You should feel special, girlie. I mean, you got two Elders
out of their stuffy offices to hunt you down. I’m not allowed to kill
you. Your head belongs to them.”

She should have known her parents would take it as a personal
responsibility to rein her in. What better way than putting a bullet in her brain? Though she suspected they had something more inventive in mind for her.

Death couldn
’
t be easy, could it?

“Take the harness off and toss it over here,” the old man said.

He had to be feeble minded in his old age, because he had just told
her to put her hands in reach of her wea –

A shot rang out, and something lodged itself in her thigh. Alexis looked down and saw a dart protruding from her jeans.

“Don’t think my old age has made me that sloppy.”

Alexis smiled.
“Sorry. That
’
s exactly what I thought. Really fucking
sucks to be wrong.”

“For you maybe. Now, vest off.”

“What’s in the dart?”

“Something new they’ve been working on for rogue Hunters.”

Well, that told her nothing. She felt like crap, both sleepy and
nauseous. Her skin became clammy as she tried to focus on the clasps
that held the holster snuggly against her body. Alexis felt herself sliding
to the ground, and the world came to her through a hazy lens.

“You really should listen to me when I tell you stuff,” a familiar
voice said.

A strangled noise preceded the sight of the old man's blurry body
dropping to the ground. She slowly craned her head up to see Lykil in
all his carved glory staring down at her.

“What you doing here?”

“What about ‘When you find yourself in strife, call me and I might
save your life’, don’t you understand?”

“Tha
’
doesn
’
e
’
plain why y-you are here. I didn
’
call y-you. I don
’
even know how.”

“Your brother is threatening my TV, and your Lycan is threatening
to beat me. Until he dies. Of old age.”

She snorted. “Y-You’re a g-god.”

“Do you know how crazy a nearly rogue Lycan looks? Trust me, he
meant it.”

“Rogue? Wha’ the ’ell?”

“Come on. We’ll go see him, and my TV will be safe.”

Alexis mumbled something about assholes and priorities that made
him laugh, but she stopped caring about her words. A wave of nausea
was followed by wave of sleep. Sleep won out, and she got to keep her
sparse dinner on her stomach.

***

When Alexis woke up, she found herself lying in the infirmary. She
was really beginning to hate the place. Now she would have to find a way to reimburse Kyran for his wasted medical supplies. Saving her must be costing him a small fortune.

Movement in the corner of her eye dropped her gaze down to
the floor.

Piercing blue eyes peered at her from a shadow colored coat.

“Oh, god, Kyran, are you okay?”

Something that sounded like a growled snort came out of his muzzle.

“Needed to shift. Had to run. I was too agitated.”

Alexis sat back, processing the fact that he could talk in that form,
which was something that never occurred to her. The fact that he was
in his Tala form was weird. Full moon or not, Lycans weren
’
t required
to shift, which was something the Hunters still didn’t understand. It
might have something to do with the fact that she was such a murderer
that she didn’t spend any time trying to understand those she killed. Vili was right. She was in desperate need of his wisdom.