The Hunter’s Mate: Paranormal Hunters, #1

By Elizabeth Dunlap

When things go bump in the night, it's paranormal hunters that destroy them to keep humans safe.

Ten years ago, Meredith thought nothing could shake her conviction to hunt magical beasts into the ground, until she crossed paths with two Lycan brothers, and fell in love with monsters.

When a raiding party goes awry, she finds herself the unlikely protector of a Lycan baby, and their only refuge is with the Lycans she lost her heart to. Can their hurt feelings be mended after so long, or has too much time passed for them to rekindle their love?

When Meredith sides with the very monsters she's been trained to destroy, she'll discover just how monstrous humans can be.

 

Disclaimer: This story is a novella with insta-love. If you want a book with plot, it's not this one. If you want an intense short read with high heat, please keep reading.

This novella has an 18+ warning and is intended for mature audiences. M/F/M

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth Dunlap
• Release date: Apr 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224643394

Elizabeth Dunlap

Elizabeth Dunlap is the author of several fantasy books, including the Born Vampire series. She's never wanted to be anything else in her life, except maybe a vampire. She lives in Texas with her boyfriend, their daughter, and a very sleepy chihuahua named Deyna.

Book preview

PREFACE

There are beings on this earth that should not exist. With fangs, fur, and magic, they have little regard for human life.

There is only one line of defense to protect against their savagery. The paranormal hunters, an ancient consortium who serve a single purpose.

Find the monsters, and end them.

CHAPTER ONE

My stomach felt sour. It could've been the greasy fries I was eating that had strewn all over the front seat of my ancient Camaro. It also could've been the fact that said greasy fries were the first meal I'd eaten in over a day, and gas station food wasn't exactly the best thing to be eating on an empty stomach. Or it could've been that I'd just had a sour taste in my mouth for the past ten years.

Either way, I felt like vomiting.

Good thing I wasn't pregnant, a fact I was absolutely certain about. You can't get pregnant if you're not riding dick, and it had been quite some time since I'd done that.

Rubbing my hand against my shorts to get the grease off, I pulled into the parking lot of a local pub. The markings on the sign meant it was one of ours, a Hunter bar. I'd be safe to go inside and have a few drinks without fear of a vampire or witch showing up and ruining it.

I grabbed my purse, enjoying the way my holographic nail polish glittered in the sunlight, and picked up my rifle too, just in case. I locked my car, slinging both my purse and rifle over my shoulder before going inside the bar. The Hunter bar was about as standard as they come, with paint chipped walls, wooden floors rubbed smooth from decades of Hunter boots walking across them, and the sweet smell of gun metal mixed with beer.

The barkeep, a stout woman with dozens of Hunter tattoos on her arms, gave me a smile as I walked in, and she pulled the tap handle to fill a large glass with beer. Afternoon, sweetie. What's your poison?

Tap is fine, I told her as I came up to the bar. A sign was posted beside the register that said, 'Human currency only.' If you picked a dead beast's pocket, good luck trying to spend their money. The barkeep slid a full glass of beer to me as I removed my rifle and sat on one of the stools. My drink basically tasted like watered down tea, but it had alcohol, and that was the important part.

You must be one of Faith's girls. A weathered old man sat on the other side of the stools. He had a scraggly beard, black painted nails, and every inch of his leathery skin appeared to be covered in Hunter tattoos. Never saw another girl with that shade of golden hair, but yours is just like it.

Guilty, I told him, taking a large gulp of beer. The mention of my mother had that sour taste coming back in my mouth. I washed it down with more beer. I'm her daughter, Meredith.

She was one of the good ones.

Oh, she was good. But not at hunting. She was good at reminding me of my failures.

Ugh, god, I really was going to throw up.

The bulletin board behind the bar was mostly empty. No tips about potential nests, or invitations to join a raid, just a few pictures of Hunters who had gone missing. Slim pickings. I'd have to keep driving to find something to do, it seemed. Still, it wouldn't hurt to stay for a bit. I could get really wasted, and just fall asleep while watching tv. Normal human things.

Sadly, or happily, my plans were interrupted when a group of young Hunters came into the bar. They were hooting and hollering about something while the barkeep got them