The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (3 page)

A sudden increase in noise forced Alexis to turn from her locker
and her beloved crossbow, only to find the women of her sector falling
all over themselves in classless fashion for the man who just entered the
unisex locker room. Suddenly, once secured towels fell like hammers on an anvil, all in the name of garnering his attention. Unfortunately for them all, he reserved it for one woman.

Alexis came from a long line of top-ranked Hunters, and at twenty-
four, dodging claws and teeth was more important to her than changing
diapers. Regrettably, the man with the seemingly intoxicating gait wanted
her for marriage, sex, and children. Not necessarily in that order.

She scowled as he came to a stop by the bench on which she sat at
and stared at her body, covered only by a towel. If lust had fingers, they
would be tearing the towel away under his piercing gaze.

“Alexis, we need to talk.”

“We always talk, Theo. I
’
m going to start praying to God for fewer
talks.”

“Come on, Lexi. You can’t keep telling me no.”

She grimaced. “First, only my mother calls me that. Second, yes, I can. See, watch.” She paused. “No.”

Theo leaned into one of the lockers, crossing his legs at the ankles.
“Think about it. As the top Hunters, we could—”

“Ugh, be still my heart.” Alexis rolled her eyes. “Theo, I know all
of that, and yet I still find your proposal lacking. Just do me a favor
and stop asking.”

“Why won’t you marry me?”

“Do you want the long or short version?”

“Am I really that bad? I mean look at me.”

Damn her, but she trailed her eyes over him. Theo didn
’
t offer her
anything that would make for a long-lasting relationship. Though if she didn’t think too hard about what he lacked, she could admit that she couldn’t go wrong with the creamy pale skin that stretched over his gym-carved body.

At twenty-eight, he was the perfect specimen of a man, with his
light dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose and his closely
cropped brilliant red hair that clashed violently with the lockers he
leaned against.

She caught the spark of amusement in his pale green eyes, as if he
was aware of her thoughts as her gaze raked over him. He was a god in dark washed jeans and a ribbed t-shirt that displayed his body for her more indecent impulses. If only he wasn’t so…Theo.

An expression, something between seductive and a leer, passed over
his chiseled features. Her face heated, but she held his gaze.

After a rough mental shake to dislodge the images of what his body
could do if given the chance, Alexis filtered through possible responses
to his arousing presence.

“Theo, I’m not ready to get married. And before you ask again, yes,
I have observed you. If that
’
s all you have to offer, then you might want
to save it for someone who wants less in a spouse than I do.”

He pulled away
from the l
ockers
and sat next to her on the bench –
closer than she liked– so she put a little distance between them. Even
though they were seated, she was forced to look up at him. At five-one
,
she was short by societal standards. As a Hunter, she was like a miniature
pony, only taken seriously when she trampled over her victim.

“We could always do what Carla and Shawn are doing if you don
’
t
want to get married.”

Alexis cringed at the mention of the procreation-only relationship
that those two shared. On their best days, Carla and Shawn hated each
other. On their worst, they were nuclear. The only thing that they agreed
on was the love that they had for their twin boys, Jordan and Tristan.

The need for new Hunters bordered on desperation, as they were
down to only two hundred to protect the entire planet. It was a shame
considering that the ranks once topped over ten thousand.

She shuddered. “I face the threat of death every day. You want me
to be miserable, too?”

He ran his hand through his hair, frustration coming off of him in
waves. “I was only using them as an example.”

She already knew the reasons that he pursued her so relentlessly
,
and none of them had to do with love. Theo
’
s attraction to her was
linked to the fact that she was the next choice for the soon-to-be vacated
female slot on the Edict Council.

Theo loved nothing more than to be associated with those in power.
The mention of potentially having his children did nothing to ally her
suspicions regarding his offer. Plenty of less defective females were
more than willing to give him the attention he wanted. Granted, none
of them were nearly as adept in the field as she was.

The Council, made up of twenty-five former Hunters, was equivalent
to the Hunters management. They were responsible for everything from
acquiring property to assigning hunt missions. She wasn't likely to be
a welcome addition, but the selection of the next member of the Council
required a top-ranked, active duty Hunter of the same sex to replace
the former councilmember. Despite months of inactivity, Alexis was the
most successful female Hunter, which might explain why her more
recent missions had been so deadly. They wanted to kill her before
the Councilwoman Annabelle’s retirement.

“Then you should pick a better one if you want to increase your
already slim chances with me. Not that it really matters. The answer
’
s
still no.”

“You’re lucky I even pay you any attention, Lexi.” He pointed to the women at the front of the room. “I could have anyone in here. Do you think you have those same options? Especially after your failure of a brother,” he sneered and rose from the bench. “I’ll let you think about it. You know where to find me
when
you change your mind.” He left the room, his groupies swooning after him.

She snorted. Thinking about it wouldn’t change her mind. Alexis
didn
’
t share the need to procreate like most Hunters. All relationships –
happy or otherwise– were expected to result in potential Hunters. She
was an anomaly, defective because of her height, and her handicaps were not something she wanted mirrored in her offspring.

Theo didn
’
t earn any favors when he threw her brother
’
s recent
death –a death she was forced to mourn in silence– in her face. She
was already living a life wrought with battle after battle just to prove
she was a valuable asset to the Hunters’ cause. Now she was being
tormented with her beloved brother
’
s failures. The fact that Theo desire
d her for nothing more than her familial legacy and her potential for a
council seat, despite the many covert ways the council tried to get her
killed, was just another reason that they could never be anything more
than competition.

At one time in her life, lost somewhere in her shattered childhood,
she had believed in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters. Now she only knew how to kill or be killed, bring death or roll over and die. She’d
lived and thrived in the face of those who sought to crush her. She had
no choice. Her brother's death should mean something, even if she had
to spend the rest of her life killing the ones that caused such a drastic
change in his perspective. She'd avenge him if it took her dying breath.

Turning her attention from her depressed musings, Alexis dressed
as she always did for a Hunt – cargo pants, a plain shirt, and comfortable
boots – everything solid black. She pulled her waist-length hair, its color
and sheen closely resembling licorice jelly beans, back into a single,
unyielding braid. When she was done, she grabbed her small bag of clothes and weapon bag and went to meet Nigel, the council member responsible for her assignments.

At thirty, Nigel was the youngest member of the Council, but he
didn
’
t act like it. He preferred books to people; thus she knew she would
find him in the library buried behind a desk cluttered with tomes in
various languages.

Nigel lived a reclusive life that held him apart from others save
for his duties regarding the Council. He had messy, shoulder-length
chestnut hair, rugged features, intelligent blue eyes, and a vicious kill
count. While he was moderately attractive, it was his brain that she foun
d sexiest. It really was a shame that he wasn’t married. They could use more brilliant Hunters.

“Hey, Nigel. Where am I going?”

He pushed his long hair away from his face before he turned his gaze away from his book and the furious scratching of his notes.

“One minute, AJ. I have to…” His voice trailed off as he went back
to his notes.

At first glance, Nigel could easily be mistaken for a nerd. His wiry,
unkempt appearance didn
’
t add an air of malice to his seemingly weak
presence, but hidden under the bulk of his ill-fitting clothes were corded
muscles that rippled over his lanky frame. Muscles that he kept honed
for a fight through weights and various forms of martial arts.

Alexis drifted around the room, glancing at the several stacks of
books in the seemingly random piles, and let him work. Getting impatient
and trying to force a conversation out of him was useless. Nigel was among the best she had ever encountered at the tune-out strategy.

Under normal circumstances, waiting for Nigel to finish his thoughts
was no big deal. With the exception of one nightmarish assignment,
Alexis had been off rotation for months. It only took ten minutes before
she found herself stalking around a room made too small by its floor
to ceiling bookshelves. Nigel
’
s bony fingers cracked, and he stretched
his lean frame before he rose from his seat.

“Alex, sorry, that was research for a pending Hunt.” He handed her
a file and gestured for her to open it before he continued. “You
’
re going
to Suches, Georgia.” He gave her a knowing look. “I wouldn
’
t have
given this assignment to you, but the higher-ups demanded it.”

She nodded, knowing that it was yet another test that the Elder
Council – the Hunter’s governing council and the true ruling body of the Hunters – was handing out to her. Yet another task that she had
to do to prove she wasn’t like her brother. She was tired of the tests,
but she
’
d been submitted to them since the day she started training
to be a Hunter.

She turned her attention to the file and flipped through the photos
inside.

“That,” he said, pointing to one of the photos, “is the work of a
rogue in the area.”

The bloodbath in the photos was almost the worst she had ever
seen, training videos included. The exception was her last clean-up
mission. If she thought too hard about it, she could still smell the blood
that caked the walls.

She stared at the photos, absorbing the details and applauding
herself on not redecorating the carpet with her lunch.

“Lycan rank and species?”

He looked down at his desk. “It
’
s a Tala. Alpha if the damage is
any indication.”

In most lore, there was only one Alpha. For the Lycans, however,
alpha was a denotation to all dominates while omegas denoted the
submissives.

Alexis studied the photos and tried to assess how a wolf had
managed
to create so much carnage from only two bodies. She would
have assumed the Lycan was feral, but research on Lycan text said that
feral Lycans had no control. They slaughtered all in their paths. This
Alpha Lycan was just a rogue, meaning he slaughtered with purpose
. Not that he’d get a pardon from the Hunters.

Giving up, she met Nigel
’
s tired gaze. “Is there anything else that
I should know?”

“There is a pack in the area, supposedly a large one, so take some
precautions. As of right now, I am still gathering some intel on the pack
, so don’t actively hunt them. The driver is ready whenever you are.”

Alexis gave Nigel a nod, which he missed because he had already
turned his full attention back to his book, and headed for the door. A
blacked out SUV with its engine running was waiting for her. Assuming
it was her ride, she opened the hatch, loaded her bags inside, and
climbed into the back seat.

The driver turned around gave her a nod. He told her that he was
waiting for one more just before the rear door opened, two solid bags
landed in the rear, and the door opposite of her opened.

“What are you doing here? It
’
s one freaking rogue. I think I can
handle it.”