The Hunters: Books 3 & 4

By Shiloh Walker

Ever Been Hunted?

Book 3

“Kit will want what she wants...”

Truer words were never spoken. The sleek, sexy shapeshifter knows what she wants. She wants Byron, the Master vampire she swore to serve.

Too bad he doesn’t want her...or does he?

Byron wants her, all right. But he made a promise to care for her. Caring for her doesn’t involve doing all the dirty, delicious things he imagines doing. Determined to keep his promise, he sends her away. But Kit will want what she wants...and what she wants is him...

Book 4

"You want a fairy tale prince. I'm the monster from the fairy tale."

Lori isn’t looking for a prince and sexy werewolf Jonathan isn’t a monster. Very often he can be pigheaded and he has more than his share of personal demons. But a monster? Not quite.

Of course, Lori, the local healer, knows he’s not going to believe that. He looks at himself and sees that monster from a fairy tale. He looks at her and sees somebody sweet and innocent.

When an attack on the local band of Hunters drive them together, Jonathan can feel his control shattering. He’s unable to keep his hands off the woman he’s wanted for so long, but at the same time, he knows he doesn’t deserve her.

Lori has her hands full, too...dealing with their enemies, dealing with him, dealing with his demons...trying to convince him to give their love a chance. Before it’s too late. Before both of them lose everything...

Warning: This book contains a wily witch, a stubborn werewolf who is nobody’s fairytale prince, sex, hurt feelings, unrequited love, bad guys, actions, more hurt feelings, sex, more unrequited love, and sex. Did I mention the sex? Don’t say you weren’t warned...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shiloh Walker
• Release date: Sep 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311520319

Shiloh Walker

Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more...ah...serious works of fiction. She loves reading and writing anything paranormal, anything fantasy, and nearly every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest. She writes paranormal and contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense.

Book preview

The Hunters Series

By

Shiloh Walker

Includes:

Declan and Tori

Eli and Sarel

Byron and Kit

Jonathan and Lori

Ben and Shadow

Hunter's Choice

Hunt Me

Copyright

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by Shiloh Walker

All Rights Reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you did not legally obtain a copy of this book, then you should purchase your own copy.

Please note that if you purchased this from an auction site or blog, it's stolen property. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Your support is what makes it possible for authors to continue to provide the stories you enjoy.

Warning: This book contains an old-fashioned master vampire, a stubborn werewolf, sex, misunderstandings, sex, unrequited love, and sex. Did I mention the sex? Don't say you weren't warned…

Table of Contents

Copyright

Byron and Kit

Jonathan and Lori

The Hunters: Byron and Kit

by

Shiloh Walker

First digital printing 2004

Please note: This is the original 2004 version—it has been edited. Some new material has been added, but the basic story remains the same.

The Hunters: Byron and Kit

© Copyright Shiloh Walker, 2004

Cover Art Angela Waters

Prologue

Byron stared down at the pain-racked body of Kristof Beauchamp and wasn’t sure if he could fight off his rage much longer. The man responsible was in this house and Byron would see to it that he paid. But his duty, through friendship, was here, by his dying friend’s side.

Katrine…will you take care of her? So young, she is, and now alone…

Byron held tight to Kristof’s hand and broke a promise. The Inherent was so battered in body, so injured—the vampire doubted the shifter would even notice. As Byron slid inside and separated the pain from the man, Kris was able to breathe and think without the pain caused by the silver and poison.

I’ll take care of the girl as though she were my own, Byron promised, smoothing back Kris’s sweat-tangled hair. The air stank of the poison that was eating through Kris’s body and Byron shoved his fury under control again. Silver and wolfsbane…a carefully made poison that served only one purpose, and it was exactly what it sounded like. It had been put inside a hollow silver bullet that had exploded on impact with Kris’s body and even now was eating away at him like acid.

She will not be a girl always. What then? Kris asked, his accent thick with his weariness.

I’ll see to it that Kit has everything her heart desires, Byron promised. She will want for nothing.

Kris laughed, and when he did blood leaked from his mouth. My Bella is telling me…da, you had best remember that. Kit will want what she wants. Da. His combined French and Russian upbringing made his accent, at times, difficult to understand. Bella? The lady had died in childbirth three years earlier. "Ah, my Bella. I see you now. But Katrine. To leave her, my bebè, my heart breaks."

Go to Bella, Byron whispered roughly, feeling tears sting his eyes. He could hear the baby crying. The hearing of an Inherent child was sharp, and she had heard her father. One of his people should have taken her away. They’d be lucky if heads didn’t roll for letting the baby be upset this way.

I will take care of Kit, I promise. I will do everything in my power to see her happy.

Chapter One

Twenty-four years later…

"…that's it, baby girl…take it…relax…"

Kit gritted her teeth as she listened to that low, husky male voice.

She knew that voice.

Loved that voice.

Prayed to hear that voice murmuring to her, just like that.

But it wasn't happening. Right now, the rat-bastard was talking to one of his humans.

Fine. It was nothing new, she told herself. Focusing on the spreadsheet on the screen of her Mac, she continued with the paperwork, one of the many tedious jobs she was had to attend to as the second-in-command here.

All the while, the man she loved fucked another woman. And Byron wasn't alone. One of the other Hunters was playing with them. Bastards. The lot of them.

Groaning, she snatched her iPod off the desk and turned it on, plugging the earbuds into her ears and turning it up. The low, raw sound of Marc Cohn's voice blasted out, doing something to block out the sounds of sex and heat and everything she really, really wanted to have for herself.

She had four minutes of blissful respite.

And then she felt the vibrations of footsteps, heard somebody speaking. Scented the change in the air.

Looking up, she saw one of the humans that lived at the Enclave. The man had a note in his hand. He held it out to her, nervously. And as she took it, he whirled around and ran off.

Her gut clenched as she looked down and read it.

Come to my office. Immediately…Byron.

She frowned.

That was Byron's handwriting, alright.

It smelled like him.

Tugging out the earbuds, she shifted her gaze upright.

Heard the sounds of sex.

Carefully, she turned off the iPod. Stood up.

Why was he doing this?

Over the sound of Melissa's whimpering cry, he heard the sound of footsteps. Harder to smell as much, over the scent of her blood…he'd just fed. Add to that the scents of sex and sweat and it was just harder to filter through it all.

But when the door opened, his mind almost tumbled to a halt.

What the—

Kit.

He stilled beneath her, hands braced on Melissa's hips.

Ben, kneeling behind Melissa, continued to move, oblivious.

Oh, shit—

He waited for the door to shut, braced to pull away. Damn it, what in the hell—

But Kit sauntered inside and flung herself into the chair by the fireplace, her eyes flashing fire. Her lip trembled a little as she glared at him.

And then, without saying a word, she tugged her skirt up. Revealing blood red panties.

Blood roared in his ears as she slipped her hand inside that red silk.

Craning his head around to watch her, he jerked his hips, driving upward into Melissa's waiting pussy. Melissa whimpered, but he wasn't even aware.

As Kit's fingers disappeared, he bit back a groan.

She wasn't doing this…

But she was.

And as she started to stroke herself, he found himself staring at her hand. Unable to look away.

The one woman he wanted.

The one woman he couldn't have.

You!

Melissa finally managed to lurch to her feet. Ben stood in the background, watching in silence, while Byron leaned against his desk, still staring at Kit. She'd stroked herself to climax. Damn it, he wanted to go to her, catch her hand in his and lick the essence of her from her fingertips.

Instead, he stood there, trying to piece together just what had happened.

Kit hadn't come in by accident.

He couldn't read her mind.

The mind of a shapeshifter was a strange thing and he couldn't pierce it.

But Melissa was mortal. One he'd fed from, often. She was an open book. A deceitful one.

You fucking pervert! Melissa hissed, glaring at Kit who still lounged in the chair, her eyes heavy-lidded, her hand resting low on her belly, skirt rucked up, a smile on her mouth.

It wasn't a replete smile, though.

It was sharp-edged; jagged, like broken glass.

As Melissa lunged for her, Ben moved, coming up off the floor with the blurring speed of a shifter, catching her before she moved five feet.

Kit just laughed.

Oh, come on, Melissa. What did you expect me to do? Just stand there? Byron apparently wanted me to see this little show. I might as well enjoy it.

I didn't call you here, Byron said softly.

She slanted a look at him, her eyes narrowed.

Her nostrils flared.

She'd know if he lied. Scents changed with lies. But he wouldn't lie to her. Not to Kit. Not ever. He might not tell her how he felt, but he wouldn't lie to her.

As Ben turned to look at him, puzzled, Byron focused on Melissa's face. Melissa, why were you in my office earlier today?

She whipped her head around, staring at him.

And he pushed inside her mind.

Saw the answers for himself.

Pulling back, he closed his eyes. Melissa, you're no longer welcome here. Kit, my apologies for this…deception. Ben, escort Melissa to her rooms and let Nick know to start preparing for her departure.

Melissa started to cry.

And Kit…she just stared at him.

Stared at him, while the rich, ripe scents of her arousal perfumed the air, teasing his hunger.

Chapter Two

Kit tapped her pen on the table and stared at the disheveled woman in front of her. I warned you, Melissa. Byron made himself clear on this issue. You're leaving. I can't intervene for you. Nor would I.

Seriously, what was this woman thinking?

Although Kit had done this many, many times, this was a first.

Melissa had intentionally set that debacle up, something Kit now knew.

Although, in truth, Kit had done this thing a number of times in the past few years. Too many times.

Byron discarded women the way she discarded shoes, it seemed. He wasn't unkind with it, but he also couldn't keep women around for more than a few months. Especially mortals.

Mortals who spent too much time around a vampire, for feeding, for sex, sometimes got addicted to it, and that wasn't good for either party.

It wasn't any help that Byron was just plain addictive period and Kit didn't think it had anything to do with the vampiric pull, either. The sexual pull a vampire exuded was always intensified after he’d touched one particular woman. Byron would have been intoxicating to a mortal, she knew it.

For a little while, Melissa had been his favorite and now…well. She was just shit out of luck.

Studying the unhappy blonde in front of her, she figured they finally had something in common.

After what had happened, Kit figured she had every reason to hate the woman in front of her. And she was pissed off. Miserably jealous. Hell, Melissa had shared Byron's bed. Shared his affections.

But then she'd screwed up. And Byron was pissed. So very pissed.

Byron wouldn't trust her again, and if Melissa thought Kit was intervening on her behalf, she was messed up.

This was one mess Kit wasn't responsible for, a mess she wasn't cleaning up.

She'd had him, Kit thought, disgusted. Had Byron all to herself, for all that time. And then she'd started thinking maybe she could keep him. Or whatever crazed idea had gone through her head. Kit just didn't know.

For more than a year, Melissa had shared Byron's bed. A year. Then Kit had slipped up.

It had all started because of Kit's inadvertent watching. Maybe it was fitting that was what ended this, she mused.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Melissa whispered, staring at Kit, eyes swollen, nose red.

No. Kit turned her head, staring out the window as she thought back.

A year ago. It had only been a year.

She had walked into his office thinking he had business to discuss, and instead she had been audience to a blowjob. Granted, somebody had given her the wrong fucking time. He had wanted to talk to her in a couple of hours, but for crying out loud.

Well, it really wasn’t his fault.

She could still remember it, how Melissa had sucked on Byron’s cock, and how much Kit wanted to be the one doing it. Byron had opened his eyes—he had known she was there—and glared at her. Do you mind, Kit?

Not at all, Byron. I like to watch, she had drawled. Well, she hadn’t ever really watched anything like that before, but she hadn’t really been able to leave either. Her eyes were drawn to the length of his cock as Melissa slid her lips up and down, pulling back to stare at Kit with wide eyes before resuming what looked to be a very pleasant task.

His fangs flashed and she suspected part of him wanted to tell her to get the fuck out. But another part was aroused. He had gripped Melissa head’s tightly and started to rock his hips faster, forcing his cock farther and harder into her mouth until he came. Kit’s sharp sense of smell caught it in the air and she stared at him, so hot she burned.

He’d made his human pass out. That’s the bad thing about humans, Byron. They just can’t handle as much, Kit said, tsking a little, clucking false sympathy.

That was when things had started to change, at least on his end. And for Melissa.

Things had been changing on Kit's end for a long time. Byron was her soul mate. She knew it. She had told him so when she was nineteen, which had been a mistake. Apparently. He had taken her for a love-struck kid and he had laughed, patted her on the head, and sent her off to college. Six years ago. And she still felt the same.

After her little peep show, Melissa had resorted to petty insults. Stupid jibes and quips. And Byron…well, he had gone out of his way to antagonize her, and she couldn’t figure out if he was angry at her or trying to tease her.

He was so…skilled with women, but he was acting so crudely toward her. He was her boss, signed her paychecks, but he was also her Master. She had gone into service to a Hunter, and sworn to abide by the Council law. That meant something, damn it. She not only was a Hunter in her own right, she was his first Lieutenant, his guard, his servant, the highest honor a Master vampire could afford a member of his enclave.

Kit guarded him while he slept; she ran the household and his people while he was away.

She owed fealty to him until she decided that she was going to leave, or he decided to send her away. It was still her decision—although one hundred years ago, it wouldn’t have been. A hundred years ago, she would have been Byron’s until he was tired of her, or until she died. But times changed.

If she chose to leave, she could. She'd have to appeal to the Council, but they wouldn't deny her, she knew that. She would have to appeal to them and they would allow her to leave, providing she did things appropriately. All she had to do was state her case, basically her unhappiness with the situation, and they would let her leave. The Council didn’t like any of their people being unhappy.

Kit just couldn’t seem to make herself do it. Yet.

She couldn't leave him.

And now she had to find a way to deal with another woman who he had left heartbroken.

Her job really, really sucked and she wanted to go tell him to clean up his own messes.

Sadly, this is was her job. Byron was her Master and although she wasn't anything resembling subservient, if he gave her an order, she must follow.

She actually had a position of power in his enclave. All obeyed her as they obeyed him. Nobody could question her orders, for her orders came from Byron. She acted as his second, and if she expected others to follow his orders, then so must she.

Which was how so many damned messes ended up on her plate. One right after the other.

If she could just get this one off her plate, though, she had some downtime. She had two days off a month, the day before the full moon and the day of the full moon, and she'd get the hell out of dodge. It was the one time of the month she could get away, and just breathe.

Kit's abilities as a shifter had nothing to do with the moon, but sometimes the pull of it made her edgy and she preferred not to be around during that time, if she could. For the past few years, it was routine that she take those two days away from the Enclave and sometimes, she hated it.

Now she needed it.

But first…she had to get Melissa out of here.

Melissa, there's nothing else I can do. You're set to leave by the end of the week and if you don't leave on your own… Kit let her wolf show in her eyes as she leaned forward and added, I'll make you leave.

Chapter Three

Byron heard Melissa crying in Kit’s office, and he fought the urge to break the door down and drag the little bitch out.

Why wasn't she gone already?

He thought back, mentally checked the days.

Yes, she had another day left.

Damn it, he should have sent her away weeks ago.

He'd heard all the catty whispers. Maybe he shouldn't have ignored those. But he'd…shit. He'd screwed up, that's what he'd done. Using Melissa to keep Kit at bay, but it had been a mistake.

When the petty insults had spiraled, gotten worse, he should have known she'd take it a few steps farther. The disaster in his office a few days…

Mentally groaning, he wished, for the thousandth time, he'd done something, anything to prevent that.

Acted sooner. Realized it was Kit outside his office. Sent her away. Shit, sent Melissa away.

She was leaving now, but it wasn't soon enough. It had taken him a few minutes to figure out what had happened, but once he knew…Yes. It was done.

Arrangements had already been made.

She'd be set up in an apartment, a job had already been found and one of the older vampires was going to wipe her mind.

She wasn't going to be given the option to go to another Enclave, not after what she'd done.

She'd hurt Kit.

Damn her.

He had wanted her, yes.

But he craved Kit.

Kit thought he was blind, as well. Thought he'd forgotten what she'd told him all those years ago. No. He'd forgotten nothing. He knew how she thought she felt. She was still a child though, and she hadn’t really experienced life outside his territory. How could she know if she was in love with him?

Even when he had sent her off to college, she had done it in her own way. She had completed in less than thirty months the courses it normally takes four years to do. She had stalked back up to the house one late summer night, on a full moon, wearing that beautiful wolven form. She had thrown back her head and bayed at the moon, and she had been laughing at him.

But he had made a promise that she would have what she wanted, and he wasn’t it. No matter how much he might want to be.

The tiny little dark-haired child had grown into a woman he wanted more than he wanted to see another sunrise. After almost a century of darkness, he would never have thought anything would beckon to him more than that. But if he could chose between being able to walk in daylight again without harm, or having one night with Kit?

No contest.

He forced himself to walk past Kit’s door.

She would handle it. She handled everything. Every fucking thing he threw at her. And he hated himself more each fucking day.