Page 34 of A Hunter Born

“Is to their team,” Kane returned, finishing the Hunter motto before he slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair and rose. “There’s nothing for it then, is there?” he asked. “I need to take the reins if only to broker a peace with Jourdain.”

Morgan’s smile stretched wide. “Look at you,” she said, nudging his shoulder with her fingers. “All grown up and taking responsibility for our future safety. It looks good on you.”

“I expect you and Jamie to stay and help. Build that base as you promised. I don’t want to do this without you guys. We’re a team.”

“Always,” she confirmed, clapping her hand against his before pulling him into a back-cracking hug that lasted a bit longer than absolutely necessary as they both pondered the enormity of what they were about to face.

When they broke apart, Kane cleared his throat as he flopped back in the chair and eyed Morgan for a moment. “A dragon shifter, hm?”

As usual, the thought of Travis sent a pleasant shiver through her. “I love him, Kane. And he loves me. It feels…” she hesitated as she searched for the proper word to describe the sensation, finally settling on, “amazing.”

“So, how’s that going to work when you piss him off? Will you need to start wearing fire-proof gear?”

“Har-di-har-har.”

“No, seriously. Morgan, the man breathesfire. He took out one whole side of Rodolfo’s villa, in what? A matter of seconds? Not to mention, he has to be huge. I saw his sister, and if she’s the smaller female version of the species, I can’t imagine how big he must be. No wonder he trips my kill trigger, talk about a threat.”

Morgan frowned. “He’s no threat to us, he’s part of the team, a Hunter like us, and a Hunter’s –”

“Loyalty is to their team,” Kane once again cut her off to finish the motto, tacking on, “Yes, yes, yes, I get it. But what about when his sister wakes up and wants to set the world on fire in revenge for what was done to her? I don’t particularly want to find myself on the wrong side of that barbeque.”

The point was valid. And worrisome. The last thing Sophia St. John would most likely remember when she woke up was being tortured by the Born and his thugs. Rodolfo might be out of the picture, but Travis’s sister didn’t know that. She may very well go after any Born or Turned vampire that happened to be in the vicinity.

They’d cross that bridge when and if they got there. For now, Sophia remained encased in stone despite her brother’s best efforts to wake her. In fact, Travis was with her even now. Nodding, Morgan headed for the door. “I’ll mention it to him.”

“Morgan?” Kane waited only long enough for her to look over her shoulder before he shot her a smile. “I’m happy for you. Love looks good on you, boss,” he added with a wink.

Her smile bright, Morgan acknowledge the compliment with a small dip of her head and set out to find Travis.

The wolves had managed to construct a shelter around Sophia in an incredibly short period of time. The wooden structure situated such that the environment of the bayou provided a natural camouflage to protect the enclosure from curious tourists that might wander out this way – unlikely with the pack in close proximity, but not impossible.

When Morgan made her way through the door of the building, heavy with the scent of newly cut lumber, her eyes immediately lit on Travis. He was sitting on a blanket in front of his sister, his head down, a defeated slump to his shoulders and Morgan immediately had the urge to snarl and go into battle to slay his demons. Unfortunately for her, his current demon seemed to be his sister’s unwillingness to wake.

Sitting down in a cross-legged position beside him, she wrapped an arm around him and laid her head against his shoulder. His arm came immediately around her as well, his fingers tangling in her hair. There was nothing she could say that he didn’t already know, no great wisdom she could offer when he knew more about his own species than she ever would. So, she simply remained quiet, offering her support, her company, her strength, and her ear should he wish to talk.

Several moments passed before Travis broke the silence. “I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured.

“There’s no place I’d rather be,” she told him honestly.

“She’s most likely been in stone for the entirety of the years she’s been missing, suffered unspeakable torture before her body crusted…” his voice cracked with emotion on the last and she squeezed him a bit tighter. Clearing his throat hard, he pushed through to say, “It’ll take time.”

“However long it takes,” was Morgan’s heart-felt response. “We’ll be here. We’ll bring her home.”

“God, I love you,” he rasped. His hand cupped the back of her head as he kissed her forehead and both of her cheeks, before claiming her lips in a scorching kiss that curled her toes in her boots.

When they finally broke the kiss, Travis rested his forehead against hers with a sigh. “I’m so grateful I met you. So beyond thankful that your instincts didn’t force us apart.”

Morgan grinned. “You’ll always make me tingle, Travis St. John. I like it.” Pecking his lips with a kiss, she added, “And I love you.”

She’d never get tired of saying those words, never stop being amazed that, despite their species’ instinctual animosity for each other, she’d somehow won the heart of a dragon.

Epilogue

It took three days of sleep and steady feedings from both Morgan’s and Kane’s pure blood before Jamie felt strong enough to leave her bed. She still couldn’t yet see, and her hands pained her mightily, but with assistance, she was able to move around the cabin, shower, and sit in the living room with them, insisting that she be brought up to date on what was going on. Her pain coupled with her lack of sight had made her cranky and demanding, a fact that amused them all, but especially Kane as Jamie barked at them to read the latest news to her from certain online sites.

The pack, for the most part, kept their distance, with the exception of Archer Langley who had stopped by to visit Jamie several times, most likely hoping that the vampire’s healing would see them leaving the pack’s territory the sooner. His methods, however, left something to be desired in Morgan’s estimation. He frequently taunted Jamie, sneering at her that her insistence on babying her injuries was a sign of weakness, adding that he should have expected as much from avampire– the moniker being said with enough derision that Morgan would have yelled at the male if Jamie hadn’t beaten her to it. The verbal lashing the Turned vampire had given Langley was enough to scorch his ears. Surprisingly, instead of snarling in true predator fashion, the alpha had thrown back his head and laughed heartily, remarking that perhaps Jamie wasn’t as weak as he had assumed.

Kane, in the meantime, had taken full control of the territory, the announcement spreading far and wide among the Turned that called Louisiana home. All of them were on their best behavior as they waited to see the mettle of their new leader. His first order of business, to call off the hunt on the witches, promising severe retribution to any that ignored his mandate. Second, was a meeting with Destin Jourdain. The leader of the Order had made no promises, insisting, as he had with Morgan, that he would wait and see, but there was hope.

Rodolfo’s greenhouse of horrors was emptied out, those vampires still savable were given a second chance and nursed back to health, the unheard-of act of compassion cementing their loyalty to Kane.

Not wanting to be seen as filling Rodolfo’s shoes, Kane insisted that the Born’s villa be torn down despite there only being fire damage to the one side. It was also a final act of revenge done on Jamie’s behalf that they waited until she was finally able to open her eyes and watch as the building crumbled under the pack’s heavy-duty construction equipment.

The new home base that Morgan had imagined was currently in the planning stages, the pack offering to help – again, most likely in the hopes that they would be seeing the last of the vampires in their territory faster if Morgan and her team had a place to go. Jamie, Kane, and Travis offering opinions on the layout and design, even Archer Langley added a few helpful suggestions.

Morgan and Travis spent as much time as possible together, frequently walking hand in hand through the bayou or around the city, enjoying the music, the food, and the ever-festive atmosphere that lived and breathed in New Orleans.

Spirits were high, a sense of contentment in all of them, and Morgan was adamant she would enjoy it while it lasted. The threat of war was still an ever-present specter casting a shadow over their happiness… and a sleeping dragon had yet to wake.