A Hunter's Heart [The Hunters 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Charlotte could feel her eyes fill with tears at the thought. It felt as if she were being torn in two directions. She shook her head and concentrated on her driving, it would not do to run off the road at this point in her life, so she turned up the stereo and let the sounds of Queen fill the car.

  * * * *

  When she finally reached her destination, her client insisted on her having lunch with him and his wife as he gave her his check in payment. She could hardly refuse. It also gave her chance to rest after driving for so long. His wife was lovely and set her at ease quickly and before long, they were chatting like old friends. Her client was very happy with the painting and they discussed the best way of framing it. It was a large watercolour portrait of his daughter and Charlotte had been very pleased with the way it had turned out. She was very glad both he and his wife liked it. He told her he intended to show in the local gallery for a few weeks, so there was a good chance she may get some more commissions from it.

  Coffee finished, Charlotte pushed away from the table and took her good-byes from them both. It had been a lovely few hours and she felt she had made two new friends. They walked her to her car and her client promised he would keep in touch. Charlotte was in a very good mood as she drove away. A happy client, a great lunch and two new friends. Who knew where it would lead? She was very confident of getting a least one more job from the exposure.

  She tried to reach Matei with her mind but had no luck. Then she remembered he had said she needed to be close by. He had said that they needed one exchange of blood to be able to keep in contact over any distance. Then she laughed aloud. He would still be asleep. Charlotte wondered when she would be close enough to be able to reach him. Each time they had, the distance had only been a few metres. Close to the end of the Motorway, she noticed the traffic starting to get heavier and then slow down. Switching off the CD and tuning in the radio, she listened for the traffic update that usually came every fifteen minutes or so.

  She had dropped down to second gear and then came to a stop. Unfortunately there were no more exits until the end of the Motorway so she was stuck there along with everyone else, annoyed because she was so close to home. When the traffic report came on, she learnt there had been a serious accident involving a truck and two cars just at the exit only a few minutes ago and traffic was at a standstill. After sitting in the one spot for ten minutes Charlotte switched off her engine—it didn’t make sense to keep it running.

  She wound down her window and rested her head on the sill. It was getting dark, another minute or so and it would be night. Around her people were doing the same thing. Some were getting out of their car and stretching their legs and Charlotte thought that was a good idea. If she was stuck there much longer without moving she would get out and stretch too. After another ten minutes passed, Charlotte decided she would ring home. Matei would be awake now that it was night and she could tell him what had happened. She had expected to be home before five but it would be much later even when they managed to clear the road and let some traffic through.

  The phone went to message bank but it was beside the bed and if he were still in it, he would hear her.

  “Matei, if you can hear this pick up the phone, it’s me.” She waited then repeated his name.

  “Hello.” Matei sounded alert.

  “Matei, I’m stuck in traffic, there’s been an accident ahead and I’ve no idea when I’ll get through. I thought I’d let you know so you didn’t worry.”

  “Where are you? I can come to you now and we can travel together.”

  Charlotte gave him her approximate location and then wondered how he would manage to get to the car without the people around noticing him. Even though it was night, the road was lit well. She smiled to herself. It would be good to see him again.

  “I’ll put Harley outside and lock the house. I’ll be with you in about ten minutes.”

  “Okay, there is no rush, I’m not going anywhere. See you soon.”

  Another minute, still no movement.

  Surely it won’t be too much longer, she thought to herself. She knew the people at the scene would try to get part of the road opened as soon as possible.

  She yawned and stretched then it hit, that paralysing dread.

  That overwhelming fear.

  She realised there had to be a vampire nearby but all she could do was sit there frozen with fear.

  In front of her car, she saw a man approaching. He looked perfectly normal, about six feet and rather attractive but she knew he was anything but. The waves of evil flowing from him seemed directed at her alone and she was powerless to do anything. He reached her window and leaned in. All she could smell was the stench of a thousand dead things despite his handsome face.

  “Come with me.” He purred and waved a hand in her face. She fought with her mind but her body refused to obey and she opened the door to stand beside him.

  In the back of her head was the thought that she would die this night and would never see Matei again. She prayed that Matei would be able to find her before the vampire drained her body and threw her aside. Then she fought to close down her mind to the vampire. She did not want him to know that she knew a Hunter in the area, that there was a Hunter on his way.

  She could offer no resistance as she followed the vampire. He walked between the cars to the side of the road and led her off through the trees then forced her to sit on the ground. He began to fill her head with images of being tortured, of having her limbs broken and then hacked off. She could feel pain as if it were actually happening but when she screamed nothing came out, he was blocking her voice.

  He leaned forward and looked at her face. “You will suffer before you die. Maybe I will keep you alive for a few weeks and hack a piece of you off each day. I will force you to writhe in pleasure as I rape you and as I cut you into pieces.”

  His face changed and she could see it was decomposed and filled with maggots. She was unable to pull back as his grotesque features swam before her. The stench of him was making her stomach reel.

  “You smell of a Hunter. Interesting. Well, he will not find you, at least not alive for a while. I will make you do every degradable thing I can think of but you will do them with pleasure because I say so. You will give me blood with joy until I tire of you and then I will throw you by the roadside.”

  He grabbed her arm and she saw his nails lengthen like claws. He slashed against her wrist. She felt his mouth on her wrist and then felt him tear it open even more with his fangs as he began to drink. It burnt and he filled her head with pain, such pain. Charlotte heard herself whimper but she still could not make herself scream aloud.

  Instead, she shouted as loud as she could in her mind, “Matei!”

  She heard the vampire hiss, “You call to him. There is a Hunter nearby? Yes, I can sense him but he still searches.” He wrenched her to her feet and dragged her off further into the trees.

  It had to be Matei. However, was he close enough to save her?

  Chapter Nine

  Charlotte felt weak as the vampire dragged her through the bush, her wrist ached and she could feel blood running down her hand and leaving a trail through the trees. She wondered how much longer she would live, she had an overwhelming sense of loss. After finding the love of her life, she was now going to die!

  Her arm felt like it was popping out of its socket as he pulled her along. The vampire did not seem to care when she fell to the ground—he continued to drag her. The underbrush was scratching and tearing at her face and ripping her jeans, and she lost all will to try to resist. He turned and hissed at her to stand then noticed the blood running from the jagged tear on her wrist. He grabbed it, lifted it to his mouth then licked it with his vile tongue, and the bleeding stopped but not the agonising burning. She had lost much blood. She hoped the blood trail left through the bushes and trees would help Matei find her body.

  Charlotte was too weak to move so picking her up, the vampire threw her over his shoulders and raced f
aster. Her face bumping against his back, the foul odour of him filling her nostrils, she had no strength for anything but to hang limp against him. Charlotte wondered if he would leave her if he felt Matei closer or if he would try to make a run for it with her. She doubted it would risk being caught.

  So this is what it feels like to die, she thought.

  The pain was so intense in her wrist and from the vampire projecting agony into her mind that she felt she would soon lose consciousness. Suddenly he threw her to the ground and began to rip at her wrist again.

  “Blood, I need more blood, you will give me all you have.” And he stared into her eyes forcing her to comply. “The Hunter can have your empty body.”

  He read her thoughts of Matei. “So he is your mate. He will enter the sun once he finds his precious One dead.”

  He laughed cruelly.

  So this is it, resigned to her death, she thought. He will leave me here to bleed to out if he doesn’t drain me first.

  Suddenly in her mind, she heard Matei. “I am nearby, dragostea mea.”

  Weakly she thought to him even though she knew the vampire could hear her, “Matei, help me.”

  Snarling, the vampire flung her away from him. “Hunter!”

  She hit her head and for an instant lost consciousness. She tried to crawl away into the bushes in the hopes he would forget her but he grabbed her ankle and, sinking his claws into her, dragged her toward him so she could not escape.

  Then suddenly Matei was there, standing in front of the vampire.

  “Leave her, evil one!”

  His voice was so unlike him, filled with loathing, strength, and authority.

  The vampire cowered but kept hold of her ankle. “Ah, Matei, I thought I recognised your scent on the food. Do not worry, I left some for you.”

  With that, he twisted suddenly and took to the air, still holding her leg. Once a few feet from the ground, he released her leg and she fell back among the ground cover, heedless of the sticks and rocks stabbing into her.

  Charlotte could see Matei wanted to give chase to destroy the vampire but one look at her and it was obvious she was more important. He knelt beside her and saw the blood pouring from her wrist where the foul creature had torn it to feed. With infinite tenderness, he leant forward and licked the ragged wound. The blood stopped flowing but the pain for Charlotte was still intense.

  She knew the vampire must be destroyed. She tried to tell Matei to go, to leave her, but he placed a finger against her mouth.

  “Hush, beloved, you are more important to me than the creature. I know this one and his foul stench, he is ancient and cunning, but I’ll find him and I will destroy him.” Charlotte was too weak to argue.

  “Iubită, you need blood. I must give you enough to get you to safety and treat your wounds. The strigoi has poison in its fangs which must be removed from your body.”

  Charlotte felt herself blacking out, his words not making sense to her, and she lay quiescent in his arms.

  * * * *

  Matei was glad as she slipped into unconsciousness. He would be able to enter her mind and get her to drink from him without any resistance. Using a sharpened fingernail, he cut his wrist and held it to her mouth at the same time entering her mind and commanding her to drink. He only allowed her to take enough to enable him to get to her house and once there he could begin to treat her. She would probably need more blood but at least she was safe.

  “Rest, Iubită, I must get you to the car. No one will see you in my arms.”

  He knew she could not hear him but if he allowed himself to think of her condition, he would lose all control. A Hunter without control was something all feared. He could take her directly to her home, becoming a large eagle and carrying her. Still, that would mean her car would be found. The local authorities would then investigate and when they found her at home would be suspicious as to why she had left her car in the middle of the road and how she had returned to her house.

  He lifted her into his arms and cradled her to his chest, cloaking her from sight. He strode out from among the trees and back to the car. The traffic was moving in the single lane that had been opened. Her car was in the middle lane blocking the traffic. Drivers were shaking their fists and honking their horns as he appeared. He did not care as he dodged between the cars and placed her on the passenger seat. Walking around the car, he got behind the wheel and drove off, the traffic back to full speed once past the accident site, and it was only five minutes to her house.

  Charlotte drifted in and out of consciousness, Matei’s anger was palatable and he kept glancing her way as he raced through the traffic. Her blood covered her, her clothes torn and dirty where she had been dragged through the bush. He thought he would have to give her more blood to replace what she had lost. He would also have to get the poison from the strigoi from her body. If it were left within her body, it would eventually kill her. The strigoi also would have placed a marker in her mind and would use it trace and control her, even from a distance.

  He was so angry. He felt so useless that he had not been there to save her from this torture. He vowed to himself that she would never leave his sight again no matter what. Then realised how impossible that would be. Instead he intended to make one exchange so that they would always be able to communicate no matter what the distance. He would face her wrath when she discovered what he had done but he did not care, her safety was paramount.

  Charlotte came to, groaning. He entered her mind. The pain was coming in waves, her wrist and ankle burning. They were a minute or so from home. She was wondering if she would make it without being sick. Then she lost consciousness again.

  Matei thumped the steering wheel in frustration. He could stop and give her more blood now but it would be better if he could get her home first. At a set of traffic lights, he risked another quick glance into her body to see if she would last until they reached her home and was reassured to see that although the vampire had taken a lot of blood she would be safe, she was very pale but her heart still beat strongly. It was better that she was unconscious, at least the pain would not be as bad and he was blocking it as much as he could. He wanted to take all the pain from her but he needed to concentrate on driving. The distraction of too much pain could cause him to have an accident.

  After an agonising rush, he finally drove into her driveway. Gathering her into his arms and dragging the keys from the car he rushed her into the house and laid her on the bed. Harley began barking incessantly. He knew something was wrong and Matei realised he would have to let the dog into the house to stop the neighbors from being concerned. He practically ripped the back door open before rushing back to Charlotte.

  She felt hot as the poison wound through her body. Matei would have to make sure he left no part of the foul stuff in her body. Even though the vampire had only drunk, his fangs would have injected poison into her as part of his control. Matei would need to remove the marker as well.

  Charlotte began groaning and thrashing as it spread throughout. He knew she was drifting in and out of awareness but somehow knew she was safe with Matei. The room felt so cold. With Harley pacing alongside the bed, Matei began the task of cleansing her blood. He had decided that was foremost, then he would give her more blood. Her wounds, scratches and the marker he would leave until last.

  Matei centered himself and bowed his head. He placed his hands on either side of her head and closed his eyes. He released his spirit into Charlotte’s bloodstream and went in search of the strigoi’s poison.

  With painstaking care, he travelled throughout her body, destroying each canker as he found it. He was meticulous, ensuring not one trace was left, searching ever corner of her body. When he finally finished, he withdrew exhausted. He would need blood himself before giving her any.

  Harley had jumped up on the bed and was lying beside his mistress. He lifted his head to look at Matei.

  “She will survive, my friend. Don’t worry. I will not let anything happen to her again. But
I need to feed so I can finish healing her.”

  He sent a command into her brain to sleep and not to wake until he instructed her to, then he went in search of the closest person from which to feed. He was in luck as a man a few streets away was getting groceries from his car and no one else was in sight. Matei quickly cloaked them both, blocked the man’s mind, and drank before returning to Charlotte, giving her a command to wake.

  Charlotte slowly became aware of her surroundings and realised she was home. She tried to reach out for Matei but her arm hurt and she remembered what had happened. She panicked but Matei soothed her with his hands and his voice.

  “Cara, I have to replace the blood you have lost, otherwise you will be weak and it is dangerous for you. You need more blood.”

  “Knew you’d figure out a way to swap some blood.” Her voice was weak as she tried to joke but the sight of Matei’s face made her realise the seriousness of her blood loss. She was so pale.

  “It hurts, Matei. I could feel him ripping my skin and sucking my blood and it hurt. It still burns and yet I feel so cold,” Charlotte realised she was weakly crying.

  “The pain will be gone once I heal your cuts. But now I must give you blood.”

  “I can’t do it! I can’t suck blood! I can’t taste blood! Don’t make me do it!”

  She sounded hysterical and he realised she was tipping over the edge. Matei wrapped his arms around her and rocked her as she wept.

  “Hush, iubită mea. You must be brave for me to save you, Cara. I can make it so you do not know what is happening. Please, you must do this. I know I promised I would rarely take control but this is one time when I must.”

  He did not tell her that he had already given her blood when he had found her.

  Charlotte pressed her face into his chest, her voice muffled by his body. “Do it, do it now,” she whispered and before she had the chance to change her mind Matei took command of her mind and gave the compulsion to drink and not taste.