The Hunter

Chapter 7

It has been 30 minutes after the first guest arrived. Fairies were always timely guest. The representative of the fairies was a petite woman named Titania. She had unnaturally blue eyes, very pale almost translucent skin. She wore a moss-colored lace dress and no shoes. Her platinum blonde hair fell in waves down to the small of her back with intricate braids that were dressed in small flowers. The two guards that accompanied her were dressed in brown fitted pants and white shirts that hid no muscles on their arms. They held their spears in their strong hands and one carried a bow. I contemplated momentarily if I wanted a bow. I shook that thought out my head, my guns were a quicker choice to put an enemy down, and if my gun didn’t do anything, my knives sure as hell came in handy. Would be cool to have a bow though.

“Humans have arrived.” I heard in the hallway. I looked back in an attempt to get a view of the humans. After my phone call, I was not in contact anymore with whom would arrive. I’m sure Daniel was going to email them after I called. He just wanted me to contact them first, so they knew the severity of the situations. Luna came beside me, a wine cup full of blood.

“Who is the representative?” She asked taking a sip. I rumpled my nose at the cup. No matter how long I’ve been in the company of vampires, the sight of watching them drink blood like I drank water gave me the willies. That is why if I were in Luna’s company for long periods of time, I would step out of whatever room she was in to avoid watching her feed. She preferred to drink from a fresh source, and Daniel always had that prepared for her. Half the hotels he owned, he made sure vampires were content. There was only one time I had to get food for Luna, and never again did I want to do that. This happened in the beginning of my contract, but telling Daniel of my past, he made sure to never put in that situation.

“Don’t know.” I mumbled. Titania stood as we heard footsteps approaching. I subconsciously stepped behind Luna, knowing how off-putting it would look to be in front of the princess in such formal settings. The only time I ever put myself first would be to protect her. The first human stepped forward and my breath caught in my throat.

“Oh.” Luna stated.

There he stood just as I last saw him, only aged in the time we last saw each other. His chestnut hair was slicked back in his trademark undercut. The one eyebrow was split, no hair growing from the large scar the graced his face. The scar I had given him when we had our falling out. His muscles bulged as he shook the hands of Daniel. He was dressed in his typical dark washed jean, tee, and combat boots. I guess the maid had long taken his worn-out jean jacket, because I knew he never left the house without it. His pale green eyes landed on me.

“Princess,” he said bowing slightly in Luna’s direction. Luna stepped forward, I followed just a step behind. She lifted her hand up to meet his outstretched hand. She graced him with a pleasant smile.

“Raymond, how was the trip here?” She questioned. He smiled at her.

“Long, but otherwise uneventful.” He replied. She nodded and went to give her pleasantries to the other humans, ones I did not recognized. I nodded at him, going past him to follow my vampire. I was not going to converse with him, not when I was on protection detail for Luna. My work came first, one that he understood because he just walked away to greet Titania. I let out the breath I did not know I was holding. The tension in the room could be felt. Was it because of our past, or because of the seriousness of the meeting? I don’t know, nor do I care to entertain that notion. Luna came into my line of vision.

“Well, that was not awkward at all.” Luna said under her breath. I grunted at her. She knew everything about Raymond and me. That was in the past and I care not to bring up that memory. She gave me a quick shove and gave me a small smile. She sauntered over her chair, the one next to Daniel. She hated these types of functions, and I knew she was tired of being formal. I went to stand behind her a couple of feet away, leaning on the wall. This position gave me a good view of the entrance and the whole board room. While I was deep in thought, I heard the front door close and Daniel speaking to someone. Luna straightened out in her chair. Wolves had arrived.

The first thing I noticed when the man came to view was his scent. Every creature had a different scent and I always made sure to use my scent before my eyes. But his scent puzzled me. It was woodsy, mixing in with a certain husk. Was that coffee I could smell? I gave him a once over and I could feel the world melt away the moment we locked eyes.

He had the most vibrant gray eyes I’ve ever seen. They were rimmed by thick black eyes lashes. His face was chiseled, and I saw his jaw muscle twitch a little. He stood a few inches taller than Daniel, dominating the room. His chocolate brown hair fell in messy waves. He wore a fitted dark red crew neck t-shirt, black jeans, and a classic leather jacket. I noticed a small scar that graced his top lip. Wow, his lips were delectable. I frowned. When the hell do I describe a man’s lips to be delectable? His beard graced his face, hiding what I knew was a chiseled chin. Man, did I want to rub my face on the beard.

What the f**k?

What kind of thoughts was I having? Rubbing my face in a stranger’s beard? He walked towards Luna, leg muscles contracting deliciously in his jeans, biceps straining under his jacket as he shook hands with Luna. I could not pay attention to what they were saying because I confused. I have never felt strongly by a man’s looks before. Hell, I lived around vampires! They were always considered the most handsome creatures, falling under the fairy’s ungodly good looks. I was unfazed by good looks, I never really had time to even check anyone out. Was I having a stroke? I had to be because I was smelling things for sure. He turned around, that movement sending yet another wave of that intoxicating scent.

“Malakai is very handsome for a wolf.” Luna pointed out, snapping me out of my very confusing thoughts. I heard the sounds return, noticing that everyone was talking amongst themselves at this moment.

“Malakai.” I uttered. That name just rolled of my tongue. Luna gave me a quizzical look.

“What is up with you?” She whispered. Maybe she noticed how I was rooted in place, eyes trained on the man walking around the room. Or the fact that I was breathing rather rapidly. Maybe she could hear my heart race? I finally tore my eyes from his form to stare into Luna’s eyes. I opened my mouth, but I closed it rather quickly. She frowned. “Are you ok?”

“I don’t know.” I said, my voice barely audible. She placed her hand on my arm.

“Dude, you’re burning hot!” She whispered harshly. I blinked a few times, finally focusing on Luna’s brown eyes.

“I’m fine.” I dismissed.

“The f**k you’re not!”

“Luna,” I said my voice harsh. “I am fine.”

“Ok?” she questioned. Daniel cleared his voice and motioned for everyone to take their seats. Luna gave me one last look before she stepped away and took her seat. I leaned into the wall; thankful it was there. I steeled my nerves and let my face go emotionless. I roamed my eyes over the room. A few vampires had been posted in the room as the doors closed.  

“Let’s begin.” Daniel announced.