Bounty Hunter

By A. J. Alexander

When Centriel roams the Earth in a dark mood and atypical despair, in a mountain clearing, far from humankind, he unexpectedly discovers a runner, followed by a petite hunter. The way the woman treats the giant fugitive amuses the Archangel, but he quickly learns that neither of them are what they seem to be.

Simin Arnatt is an extraordinary woman. Her occupation as a Bounty Hunter takes her all over the world, as she follows her prey to the most unusual places. She would have never expected to meet the famous Centriel while on a hunt. When he offers to help her, she feels the enormous attraction, but she knows, with the secret she holds, she could never dare to hope for love.

Neither of them could guess that with her next assignment, Hell is breaking loose...

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. J. Alexander
• Release date: Jan 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005035068

A. J. Alexander

I'm a romance author working on a paranormal romance/fantasy series, "The Council Of Twelve" series. The books are mainly suitable for young adult readers, but I heard there are quite a number of readers beyond their teenage years who enjoy them a lot. I'm very honored and proud to hear that.My rare free time I'm spending in extreme reading, excessive pool swimming, and playing monster-monopoly. My strongest support system is my sister, most of my family, my friends, and black MaineCoon cat.

Book preview

Bounty Hunter

BOOK FOUR OF THE COUNCIL OF TWELVE SERIES

by Aurora Jean Alexander

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright November 2019 by Aurora Jean Alexander

This book is dedicated to a very dear woman I grew up with.

You have always been an amazing family member, a friend that is dear to my heart and, of course, my cousin.

Thanks for the shared secrets.

Thanks for the laughter and thanks for so many amazing memories.

I have always admired you for your strength, your percussiveness, your quick wit and your golden heart.

Angelika, thank you for being a part of my life.

Centriel’s mood was, at one point, simply excruciating. It was unbearable for him to see Uriel, the Fire Angel, as happy as a youngster with a new toy. Uriel was madly in love with his consort, Zepheira, daughter of Pan.

Raphael, another one of the Council of Twelve, was happy with his wife. Even most of the other Archangels didn’t refuse to enjoy the occasional affair with some girl. There had never been a doubt in the head of another member of the Council of Twelve that he’d be doing the same thing.

Even though he was the youngest member of the Council of Twelve and was regularly teased by the others, he enjoyed each Archangel’s company. He didn’t deny, however, he was lonely at times. Some days were worse than others, and today he had a bad case of the blues.

Baby blues, he muttered and grinned secretly.

He was tall and slim, almost wiry. He would have killed for muscles like Tsechirel’s, but no matter how many workouts he completed, he still looked more like a dancer than a warrior. The light blue wings didn’t help. To support his friends’ teasing, he often wore light blue clothing. Besides, it was harder to spot him in the sunshine when he patrolled the sky wearing this stuff.

His hair was thick and brown; his eyes storm grey. When he was in a bad mood, his eye color turned to light grey, like transparent fog. The only one who knew this was Michael.

When he saw Centriel this morning, all he said was, Fly, wild boy. It’s not a good day for you.

And that’s what Centriel did.

He wandered the sky and pierced the clouds. He even went down to Earth to race through the mountains. He loved the cool shady canyons and loved to follow the flow of a river.

But today it didn’t make him happy. He seemed to fly mechanically like he had lost the ability to enjoy his wings.

Finally, he decided to land somewhere between the hills in a hidden place.

He sat down on a rock that was high enough to keep his wings off the ground and comfortable enough to sit on for a while.

He didn’t think it was necessary to hide in the rough mountain terrain as no human being could see him anyway.

He was sitting, watching some birds playing when a man unexpectedly broke through some bushes near the forest. He was breathing heavily. The man was tall and muscular like a male model. His clothes were torn and dirty. His elegant shoes were in shreds and his feet were bleeding.

Centriel looked up and watched curiously how the man turned halfway around to search the trees behind him. His eyes were wide and sparkling with fear.

Centriel wondered if the man was trying to escape some wild animal. If that was the case, the man needed help and of course Centriel would be there to support him. That was an angel’s duty.

But what happened then was not what he expected.

An amazingly beautiful woman stormed out of the forest. She wore a black leather outfit, had hair of silvery white and chocolate brown skin. She wore sunglasses and a tiny backpack.

In her hand, she held a crossbow which she pointed at the man.

Centriel watched the man fall to his knees, fold his hands behind his neck and sob like a little boy. I won’t move a finger, he cried. Please, don’t kill me. I promise I won’t do anything. He stood back up, stumbling.

The woman stared at him with pure contempt on her face. Without a word, she grabbed a pair of handcuffs from her belt and threw them to the man. Still crying, he picked them up and clicked them on his wrists.

The woman carefully watched him with her crossbow still in position.

The man secured the handcuffs slowly, almost too slowly. It seemed he still hoped for a chance to escape. The woman stood like a statue with no sign of impatience. Centriel found this remarkable.

When he sent out his senses, he realized, with some surprise, that the man was not human.

He also sensed something unusual about the woman but couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

When the handcuffs finally clicked around the man’s wrists, Centriel found out that they must have been magically strengthened. The man fell back to his knees, tears splashing down his face; a face that suddenly seemed to melt away. His entire form grew in length and width. His shoulders widened, his legs became more muscular, as did his abdomen. His biceps and triceps bulged, and his head widened. His face formed a kind of snout and wiry brown fur grew all over his head which sprouted enormous horns on the side and became a bull’s head.

Holy smoke, Centriel thought, a minotaur. No wonder the woman kept her distance. Human form or not, this hybrid kept his strength. If he had reached her, he could have broken her apart like a twig.

For some reason, this worried and annoyed Centriel at the same time. He looked at the slim features of the woman in question and frowned.

She looked fragile and still, she had recently hunted down a minotaur.

If Centriel hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he hadn’t believed it.

He wondered if he helped her if it would turn out to be a fight. Probably yes, he finally decided.

Well, I figure in that case I should thank you., the woman said dryly, frowning directly at him.

Centriel froze in shock. You can see me?

She snorted. "You’re hard not to see," she replied sarcastically.

Centriel grinned. I guess I was right. You are not human.

She didn’t reply. She held her crossbow in her small but strong hand, concentrated on the minotaur and made no sign of lowering her weapon.

Centriel got up and stepped a little closer. He needed to protect the girl. But what worried him was the disparity of the two opponents.

Also, he was curious. "How come you followed him? I thought minotaurs normally live quite discretely and stay among their kind, trying to keep out of trouble and the public eye.

The woman sighed silently. You’re right. Normally they do. But this one isn’t as decent as the others. For some reason, which I’m still trying to understand, he started to kill unpredictably.

What?

She nodded. I got the order from his father to hunt him. His dad is the eldest of the tribe. I’m afraid he’ll be paying for his crimes most unpleasantly. But he won’t be my problem anymore.

Centriel’s curiosity grew. You’re always this cold and without the slightest compassion, aren’t you?

The woman nodded. Yes, I have to be.

Centriel was about to ask another question when the minotaur in front of them groaned. "It is tons of fun to listen to you guy’s flirting, but could you please postpone your courtship dance until later? These handcuffs hurt."

Centriel hid a grin while the young lady unmercifully replied, You will have to suffer a bit more. We’re going to travel back to your place the traditional way.

What does that mean? the minotaur asked between gritted teeth.

I’ll wrap you up like a burrito, throw you onto my donkey wagon and walk, she replied, with a serious face.

Centriel almost laughed but held it in, when the minotaur screamed, You can’t be serious!

Centriel looked at the woman and politely offered his support. She began to think and finally asked insecurely, Would you do this for me?

The Archangel smiled. Why not? he responded and added, Of course there is a condition linked to my help.

Of course, she replied knowlingly, rolling her eyes. What do you want?

Centriel smiled. Your name.

She hesitated for a second, almost frozen, before snorting a little and shaking her head. Sure. Please forgive me for not introducing myself properly. That was very rude. I’m Simin Arnatt, bounty hunter.

Centriel studied her unusual yellow eyes for a moment and nodded politely.

It’s nice to meet you, Simin Arnatt. My name is Centriel.

Simin’s eyes widened. The Archangel?

Centriel nodded. Yes, the very same. Would you now permit me to hold you around your waist for transportation? As for your prisoner, it won’t be necessary to do the same. It will be sufficient for you to grab his arm. We’ll be there in a couple of seconds. Simin looked at him and replied. His arm? You must be kidding. With my tiny hand I would be lucky to grab his finger.

Centriel almost laughed. Fine. In that case, try his finger.

The moment she grabbed the