Page 36 of Hunter

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Willa crossed her arms. She turned toward the window and walked away, her thoughts drawn to Hunter.

Although she’d convinced him to release Julian, he refused to let him leave Jackson Hole. She hadn’t divulged the details of their relationship but simply told Hunter they were close, and that Julian would never hurt her, insisting she needed time to speak with him privately.

“I know that look. You’re in trouble. You can’t hide from me, Irmã.” Julian’s voice broke her contemplation.

Memories flooded back as he spoke their native tongue. “Irmão. It’s been too long, but with good reason.”

“What have you been up to, Willa? You haven’t texted in over a month. What are you doing in the States?”

“It doesn’t matter, Julian. What matters is that you’re here. Those rogues. They could’ve killed you.” Or he could kill the Alpha. His powers had always been lethal. If pushed, he’d lose control.

“They’d never be able to kill me, and you know it. What’s with the Alpha? How well do you know him?” Julian shoved off the bed and leaned on the dresser, inspecting the swelling on his face. “I’m gonna have to shift.”

“I met him a few days ago.”

“Moving quickly, aren’t you?”

“Whatever you thought you saw, you’re mistaken. You need to leave here.” She concealed her expression, concerned he’d suspect the Alpha was her mate.

“Your scent…”

“I’ve been to Hell. The Alpha rescued me and was kind enough to let me stay here a few days. I’ll be on my way soon, as should you.” The lie rolled off her tongue easy enough. Confident with her half-truth of a declaration, deflecting talk of Hunter, she turned to face him. “He doesn’t like rogues. Just tell him what he wants to know and I’m sure he’ll let you go.”

“Whoa, hold up. Willa. Why didn’t you contact me?” Julian strode over to her within seconds and took her hand. “I was up in Idaho when I heard about the explosion. Something about it didn’t sit right with me so I thought I’d check things out. I found that rogue just over the border. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you didn’t contact me.”

“We agreed not to contact each other often. It’s too dangerous. Besides, I didn’t have my phone and…” The air deflated from her lungs and she debated how much to tell him. “You know I haven’t been to the States in years. My work in Guatemala…I’ve been busy. I’m helping humans. Staying well hidden. Or at least I thought so.” Her lips drew into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Something happened. And before you say anything…I’m going to fix it.”

“Who put you in Hell, Willa?” he asked, his voice stone cold.

“I don’t have names. All I know is that they’re rogue. That guy today. He was one of them. But there were at least five, maybe six. They took me by surprise. But I swear before that it’d been safe. Quiet. No one was ever looking for me and if they were, I always knew hours before they ever showed their faces. The villagers often knew about strangers before I did.”

“You let humans protect you?” he asked with a smug air.

“Of course not, but I absolutely used them as a check as to who was in town. Besides, the jungle is a big place and if evil wants to visit, they can always orb in. I live in a pretty remote place. Aside from drug and human traffickers, I haven’t had to kill too many people. Just the bad ones.” Not sorry. “It’s been decades since I’ve detected any kind of real danger. The paranormal kind. Look, I don’t know how the hell these guys got past the villagers. There were no signs.”

“What did you do?”

“What do you mean, what did I do? I fought them of course. But they nabbed me with silver. I couldn’t get free. My wolf, she couldn’t fight them. The next thing I know I’m in Hell. I don’t remember much of it.” Vampires. Demons. Teeth ripping into her flesh, her skin flayed open. She shivered at the nightmarish thoughts, closing her eyes briefly and then reopening them, forcing her rapidly increasing pulse to slow down. “Hell doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Hunter saved me.”

“I’m not talking about that. What did you do? Something must have attracted them. Please tell me you didn’t…”

“I experimented with my blood.” Willa bit her lip, anticipating his wrath.

“Now why would you do that? You know full well that demons would like nothing better than to use you up. The wolves were just looking for a payout.”

“I’d discovered this plant that accelerates the regeneration of cells. I’d been experimenting just to see if I could duplicate the characteristics of my blood without drawing new samples. I used a drop of my blood. I extracted and manipulated it. I’d refined the technique, adding it to a serum I’d developed from the plant.”

Julian plowed his fingers through his hair, promptly scrubbing the scruff of his jaw. “This is not good.”

“There was this child.” She lifted her gaze to meet his; anger flared in his eyes. “Don’t judge me, Julian. There was a little girl. I couldn’t let her die. I attempted every human technique possible. The only other way someone with her injury could have survived is if maybe a vampire had been present…which there wasn’t. I’m sorry but it was the only way. You don’t know what it’s like with the humans.”

“You saved her?” His cold expression softened.

“Yes, it worked, but somehow the rogues found out about me. Or demons. You know how they are.”

“I can’t believe you did this. You’re going to be more exposed now. You’ll have to go into hiding again. Preferably somewhere off this continent.”

“No. I can’t go. Not yet.” Hunter. “I have to destroy the formula. I have to go back to the village. And then maybe I’ll go to New Orleans where I can blend in. I’m not leaving the States until I find every last wolf who did this to me and kill them. I’m going to make a statement to anyone else who thinks they’re coming at me. I’m not running anymore.”