Addict (Hunter #2)

Addict (Hunter #2)

Lexi Blake



Chapter One



“You look really good, Kelsey,” Zack Owens said with a small smile of satisfaction.

My uncle sat across from me in the limo that drove us toward the downtown Dallas building that housed the Council. It was a massive, modern building and it was going to be my new home.

“Thank you. I think it’s the bangs.” I sat back in the plush seat. The stylist at the salon in Venice had assured me that the bangs softened my face. I was getting used to seeing the world through a fringe of brown hair. Bangs notwithstanding, I was sure I did look better than the last time Zack had seen me. It wouldn’t take much. It had been three months before and I’d been pretty messed up. The last time I’d seen my uncle, I’d been covered in blood, and a whole lot of it had been mine.

It had been the night I’d discovered I wasn’t what I thought I’d been. I’d spent the first twenty-six years of my life in the false belief that I was human. That night three months before had taught me I was something different and given me an entirely new family. Some of them, like Zack and little Lee Donovan-Quinn, were awesome, and some, like the King of all Vampire, were a major pain in my ass.

Zack Owens had been on my doorstep a full thirty minutes before I’d been told to expect him. Luckily, I’d gotten up early. I was still on Italian time. It would be days before my body rearranged my internal clock, or so my boyfriend told me. We’d taken an overnight flight from Venice two days before I was supposed to report to the king. I’d taken the time to pack up my small house and get things ready for life in the Council’s compound.

“Italy agreed with you.” My uncle was an attractive man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was dressed casually, but for him that meant a pair of tailored slacks and a cashmere sweater. He was eight years older than me, but he looked my age or younger. Zachary Owens is a werewolf and the servant of the king of the supernatural world. His master is a vampire named Daniel Donovan, and serving him is apparently the family business. I’m the king’s death machine.

My proper title is Nex Apparatus. It’s the title held traditionally by a vampire, but I’m not a vampire. I’m something even rarer. I’m a Hunter, the love child of a lone wolf and a human. I was born with the spirit of a wolf in my body, but without the wolf’s aversion to silver, nor am I tied to the cycles of the moon. According to the King of all Vampire, I was born to track and kill demons on the Earth plane. The king wanted to change the title of the office I held to something a bit more innocuous. He, himself, had been the Nex Apparatus at one time and I was sure he would prefer to pretend he wasn’t forcing another person into the role he’d hated. He wanted me to refer to myself as sheriff.

It had been months since I last saw the king, and I was a bit nervous at the thought of our reunion. We hadn’t parted on good terms. I’d shot him the bird and promptly run as fast as I could away from him. Despite the fact that I’d been ordered to wait in my well-appointed jail cell for the king’s chosen trainee, I’d run off with Marcus Vorenus. My trainer was in a small feud with Donovan and his partner, Devinshea Quinn. Marcus and I had run all the way to Venice where we’d set up house and he’d begun my formal Hunter training. It might not have been wholly Council approved, but it had proven effective.

“You seem much more confident,” Zack commented.

Training will do that for you. So will really amazing sex with a hot Italian. “I suppose I am. I’m much more in control.”

Zack leaned forward, and for a second I thought he would reach out and touch me. Werewolves tend to be tactile creatures, especially with their families. I smelled like his long-lost brother. It would most likely be comforting to Zack to be able to touch me. My uncle hesitated and then moved on to more business. “Your rooms are ready. I think you’ll like them. We set up everything according to Marcus’s specifications, right down to the type of towels you prefer. Marcus seemed very thorough.”

I wasn’t particular. If a towel was fairly clean, it worked for me, but Marcus believed in having the best of everything. Apparently when you’re a billionaire you don’t settle for hand-me-down towels.

“Is this really necessary? I have a perfectly good house.”

Zack had picked me up at my small suburban house. It wasn’t anything special, and my hot Italian boyfriend had commented on the need for additional space and a maid. But it was mine and I was comfortable in it. The thought of being forced to live in the Council’s compound made me anxious. It pointed out the fact that I was still basically on probation. A Hunter is considered a dangerous creature in the supernatural world. The training process can take years. I’d finished the initial three-month schooling in mental discipline and I felt perfectly in control in a way I never had before. Long hours of focused concentration and working on emotional honesty and balance had given me self-confidence. Yeah, I hadn’t really had that before. I usually sought confidence in the bottom of a tequila bottle.

The werewolf shrugged. “I think you’re stuck with us for a while, Kelsey. It won’t be so bad. The building is actually really nice. I’ve lived there for years. Once you’ve convinced the king you have control, he’ll let up.” He cocked a curious eyebrow. “We were informed that you weren’t coming back alone.”