The Hunter In Me

19 - Violet

Owen's indistinguishable yelling rivaled the ringing in my ears as I cracked my eyes open. With my chin propped on my chest, the angle made my neck ache. We were inside, and the hot, stale air seemed too thick to breathe, like trying to inhale cotton.

Sharp pain flashed through my temples. I groaned, reaching for them before stopping short, in a cloud of confusion. Rough rope cut into my wrists with every movement and sweat rolled down my back. Where was I?

Owen's voice sliced through the haze. "Bash! Damn it, answer me! Are you okay?"

Everything hurt as I shifted and tried to decipher what was happening. "What the hell happened?"

Owen chattered on, and I knew the situation should've alarmed me, but disorientation and my pounding headache distracted me from panicking. I recognized the dust covered desk across from me as the one Owen had been leaning on when I first met him. Someone had tied me to the leg of his brother's bunk bed.

"Oh yeah. Hit with a shovel," I grumbled.

"He's waking up." A man I hadn't noticed spoke from the doorway, and a woman strutted into the bedroom, swinging her hips. She turned away before I saw her face, but I already knew I'd never met her—she'd be hard to forget.

"Switch," Owen said.

As she pivoted toward me, her pretty smirk widened into something unsettling as she studied my vulnerable position. She was a panther stalking wounded prey. My skin crawled, and I repressed a shiver.

"Hello, Bash." She knelt in front of me.

"Catriona!" Owen gasped.

My mouth dropped open, and my blood pressure spiked. The ropes burned as I tugged against them, unable to move more than an inch.

They'd kill me, and I'd vanish just like Mom. My picture would be spread around town on flyers. Dad would never quit searching. He'd drive himself insane.

I tried to force those thoughts aside but it was impossible. My chest tightened, and I couldn't get enough oxygen.

"Settle down," Owen whispered. "Let me handle this."

I squeezed my eyes shut and gasped. Switching was out of the question unless I relaxed.

"We got this." Owen's voice was calm. "Can you hear those footsteps downstairs? And I think someone's on a phone."

"So?" I wheezed.

"Just listen. Do you hear the guy talking?" Owen asked, and I stopped panting and strained my ears for the sound. "Because that's two. I don't have a third, but I'm in here, and you hear me. Does that count?"

He was going through my steps; grounding me, and I'd held my breath to listen. I released it with a relieved huff. My pulse slowed. The imaginary weight lifted off me.

Catriona lifted my chin. "You're an interesting one. I assumed we'd identified the new hunter that's been killing my family, but you're more than that, aren't you? It's lucky you saved those remains, or I might not have found you."

Owen said something unintelligible, and Catriona leaned close. Her mouth curved into an innocent smile as she studied me. The pad of her thumb traced across my bottom lip to my jaw.

"You're exceptional." Her tone was velvet feathering over my skin, and I craved more.

Owen spoke, but her humming drowned it out. Or was she purring? I couldn't tell. It was so loud; it reverberated through my bones, and felt fantastic. Shifting back, I grinned at her, letting Owen's voice drift away.

Catriona was gorgeous. Midnight black hair tumbled past her shoulders in thick waves like a dark waterfall. If my hands were free, I'd touch it. I needed to feel the silky strands slide between my fingers.