The Hunter Chronicles : The Beginning

Chapter 15

We get back to the ranch just before the sun comes up. We are both tired and go to bed. I woke up twelve hours later still feeling tired. The next three months seem to go by in a blur. The training increases, we sleep during the day and train at night, it took some getting used to but soon I fall into a comfortable routine.

The s****l tension between us is becoming more intense with each day that goes by. I feel like I’m about to explode. I want him to kiss me and touch me. Judging by the way he dodges my touch every now and then it seems to be getting to him too. I must admit that I’m getting good at fighting. I wake up during the day feeling hungry so I make my way downstairs to the kitchen. Damn it! We will need to go and do some shopping again. I close the cupboards. I don’t want to leave the ranch again but I know it has to be done. Since we came back here I haven’t had anymore nightmares, I’m finally able to relax. I head upstairs to shower and get dressed. An hour later Jared comes out of the basement like he usually does when the sun goes down. He is only wearing his pants. No shirt. It feels like he is teasing me.

“Feels strange to be leaving here even if it’s just for a little while.” I admit a while later in the truck as we drive to the grocer.

“It does, never thought I would show this place to anyone until you came along.” He replies.

“So you’ve never brought anyone here?” 

“Never.” He smiles. I have learnt a lot about him in the three and a half months that I’ve known him. Every now and then I think about Melissa and Michael and if they have moved on with their lives. I don’t regret being here with Jared but I do miss my best friend.

“Let’s get going.” He says breaking my train of thought, after getting dressed we get into the truck and drive to the store. The drive felt longer than the last time, I keep having the feeling that something bad is going to happen but I shake it off as nervousness.

When we get out of the truck everything is quiet, too quiet. Jared must have also sensed that something was wrong because when he looks at me I can see the worry in his eyes. 

The parking lot is empty. I look around. I think I see something but it’s too quick for me to be sure. When I turn to look at Jared I see him fly through the air and land against the dumpster. I see a small chubby man standing a few feet away from me, he says, “You are one though cookie to find.” 

“What do you want from me?” I ask angrily.

“For you to change us, so we can walk in the sun.” 

Say what? “How am I supposed to do that?” 

“You don’t know?” The small chubby man asks confused.

“No. I have no idea what’s going on or what the hell I’m supposed to do.” I tell him.

“Then it’s too soon for us to be here.” He replies and disappears as fast as he came.

What the f**k just happened? I walk over to Jared when I’m grabbed and thrown back, I hit the ground hard. Oh, what now? My wrist hurts but I get up and dodge the man’s punch, I swing my leg like I was taught and the man lands on his back. He jumps up and grabs my arm as I swing at him and pushes me against the wall. I touch the back of my head and look at the blood on my palm. Now I’m pissed. I ran to the man and hit him in the face and he stepped back. He recovers and punches me in my gut. He knocked the wind right out of me. I see a pipe laying next to where Jared fell and I go for it. I pick up the pipe and swing as hard as I can, hitting the man across the face as he leaps for me. He falls down. Knocked out. Definitely human. Seeing no one else I drop to my knees next to Jared. He has been shot. I didn’t hear any gunshots. He wasn’t shot when I saw him flying through the air. I search frantically for something to gut myself with. I finally found a piece of hard plastic but it won’t break my skin. “Fuck.” I blurted out.

Jared groans and I drop the plastic, I lean in closer and ask, “Are you okay?” Knowing that’s it’s a dumb question to ask off course he is not okay he’s been shot.

He sits up and lifts his shirt up, “Bullets are still in there. I won’t heal.”

“What can I do?” I ask trying to keep it together. I see three holes in his chest.

“Take them out.” He says. Looking past me he shouts, “Watch out!”

The man I hit stirs and is going for the pipe. I jump up and kick it out of the way, the man turns on his back, “Just kill me.”

“I don’t want to kill you.” I say and spot the pocket knife tucked under his belt. I take it and walk back over to Jared, he watches the man while I start digging the bullets out, and with some effort I manage to remove all three.

“Do you need blood?”

“I’ll be fine. Bullets aren’t that bad but I won’t be able to fight until I’ve healed.”

I help him up and then hear footsteps behind us on the pavement. Give me a break. We turn round and see the bleeding man being picked up by two more and another standing there looking at us. He is old and wrinkly and has a cane that he puts in front of him, he then rests his hand on the cane and then places the other hand over the one on the cane.

“Just leave us alone!” I shout at him. I’m tired of all this s**t.

“We will not be sacrificed for those things. We will hold you to your destiny or kill you ourselves.” The old man says and walks away.

I feel dizzy. The adrenaline is fading. Jared takes my hand and I instantly feel stronger. What is it about this man?

“Let’s go before something else happens.” Jared says.

“Or…” I say turning to him, “We could just do our shopping. We came all this way.”

Jared nods and in silence we go into the store. The clerk doesn’t seem to be bothered by all the blood we have on us or about what happened outside. I’m glad. I don’t feel like trying to explain something that I myself don’t understand.

We put our bags in the truck. The man I fought earlier jumps out from the bushes holding a knife, he stabs Jared in the heart and limps off before I am able to do anything. I ran to the other side of the truck. Jared pulls the knife out of his chest and slides down the side of the truck.

“Now can I give you blood?” I ask him desperately.

He nods and drinks from my wrist that I slid open with the knife he dropped. After a few seconds he lets my arm go.

“Are you sure that is enough?” 

“More than enough.” He replies and I hug him tightly.

“I thought I lost you.’ I whisper and release him. He isn't pale anymore. I kiss him. It is better than our first kiss. I’ve been waiting for months to kiss him again.

“We better get out of here.” Jared says.

On the way back to the ranch I keep thinking about what the chubby man asked me to do. I look over to Jared and it would be great if I could do it for him. If only I knew more about what I am or what I can do. We take a different route Jared wanted to make sure that we weren’t followed. He turns off the engine and we get out. We pack our groceries away in complete silence. When we are done I head upstairs to take a shower. I watch the dirt go down the drain and I feel cleaner. Two separate groups are after me now and it makes me nervous. I head into the bedroom and see that I have only one night shirt left. I made a mental note to do some laundry tomorrow. I get downstairs and see Jared has a fire going. He must have also gone to take a shower. The lounge feels warm and cozy. I curl up on the couch and Jared comes and sits down next to me and asks, “Are you scared?”

“Not for me.” I reply. “There are too many people after me now and you keep getting hurt because of me.”

Jared takes my hand and looks me in the eyes, “Don’t worry about me.”

“I don’t want to lose you.” I say close to tears. What happened tonight really scared me.

“You’re not going to.” He smiles then goes to the kitchen he comes back handing me a cup of hot chocolate. It smells delicious and tastes even better. I keep my eyes on him as he sits down on the couch opposite me. All I want to do is to be close to him. I drink the last of my hot chocolate and put my empty cup on the coffee table. Jared gets up and takes our empty cups into the kitchen. I get up and go to stand in front of the fire. 

Jared stands closely behind me. I want him badly but he has to make the first move. He is so close to me. “It’s so hard to be close to you and not touch you.” He whispers.

I don’t dare say a word. He lifts my hair from my neck with his cool fingers and I can feel his mouth on my neck, he kisses my neck and I feel sparks shoot through my entire body. I can’t speak or move. He turns me around and I can feel his body against mine. I stand on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, he bends a little and kisses me. I want him. The kiss deepens and he picks me up, I wrap my legs around his waist and he slides his hand under my night shirt and moves them up to my thighs. Oh god this feels so good.

“Where?” He asks his voice unsteady.

“Your bed.” I breathe. He carries me downstairs to his day room and puts me down in front of his bed, he cups my face and starts kissing me again. Every bone in my body is trembling with anticipation. He picks me up and lays me down on the bed gently, “Are you sure?”

All I can do is nod. He gets off the bed and stands in front of me, I lean on my elbows watching him undress. I know I have to do the same but I’m still so embarrassed. He would be the first man to see me naked. I sit up on my knees and clumsily pull my night shirt off and toss it on the floor I’m naked except for my panties. He looks at me and then climbs back on the bed pushing me down on my back, his mouth claims mine again sending desire throughout my entire body, my hands brush over his muscular arms as his mouth moves down my neck as he trails kisses down my neck and keeps moving down, he takes my panties off and tosses them on the floor. His hands drift over my body touching me in places that I’ve never been touched before. I jerk with surprise and open myself up to him. I reach down and touch him; he makes a deep incoherent sound and slowly pushes into me. Oh my! It stings and I bite my lip. He gasps and begins to move faster, I feel dazed but I catch my breath and begin to move meeting him as he thrusts. I dig my nails into his hips filled with pleasure. His rough breathing along with his movements makes me moan loudly then a small shift in our alignment allows him to press deeper into me. I feel my stomach tighten he pushes in and out a few more times then stills. I feel liquid spill into me and that sends me over the edge as I feel my body stiffen. He slowly pulls out of me then lies down beside me, he pulls me to him as I lay my head on his chest trembling from time to time with little aftershocks. I will remember this night for as long as I live. I will never forget the feeling of him inside me. My first time. He kisses the top of my head pulling me closer. The fact that we are both still naked is arousing to me. Do I want to do it again? I do.

“Will I be sore?”

“For a day or two, I think.” He says and gets up. I prop myself up and watch him as he walks to the fridge completely naked. He opens the door and asks, “Do you want some water?”

“Sure.” I reply unable to take my eyes off of him as he walks back to bed, I am enjoying every moment. I sit up and take the bottle from him after taking a big sip I put it down on the nightstand. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was. Jared gets under the covers and I curl up to him. I open my eyes knowing I had fallen asleep, I look up at him and he is awake, “What’s wrong?”

“Just thinking. Go back to sleep.”

“Tell me please.” I say. Is he regretting what we did?

“Just wondering if you still had your gift.” He replies.

“Honestly, whatever it is that people want from me, I really hope that I don’t have it anymore.”

“We still don’t know what it is.”

“Hopefully it won’t matter anymore.” I say, snuggling up closer to him. I am completely relaxed and content at the moment.