Hunter (A Dark Assassins Novel Book Five) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Author

  Hunter

  A Dark Assassins Novel

  Book Five

  Valerie Ullmer

  Hunter (A Dark Assassins Novel Book Five)

  Copyright © 2019 Valerie Ullmer

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in either print or electronic form without written permission from the author. Quotes used in reviews are the one exception. No alteration of content is allowed.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places and locales, or events, is purely coincidental. All characters and events portrayed in this book are completely fictitious and dreamed up by the author.

  Cover Designed by Valerie Ullmer

  Half-vampire and half-shifter.

  The one definitive belief panther-shifter Hunter and the other immortals understood about shifters and vampires; vampire venom is deadly to shifters and vice versa. But Hunter never worried about testing the theory because he never wondered if he had a mate, even after a few of his family had found their own. As he and two others stumble upon and eliminate several rogue shifters, part of a larger group determined to kill each of the assassins, Hunter also stumbles upon the one woman destined to be his. There’s only one problem. She’s part vampire.

  All alone in the world.

  Despite everything, Neri made a life for herself after she escaped from a facility using her as a test subject. She has no past, no family, and no connections to the world as far as she can remember. She stays to herself and finds a routine, telling herself she isn’t lonely. But everything changes when she spots Hunter and her first true memory revealed. He was there the day someone injected her with an experimental drug and changed into this cold being.

  As Neri and Hunter navigate their newfound relationship, their journey becomes even more complicated when they learn Neri’s venom is deadly to shifters. But with help from the other immortals, Hunter and Neri reveal her past and realize the extent of the threat Dark Company has been dealing with for years.

  But can their relationship survive with so much stacked against them?

  CHAPTER ONE

  HUNTER

  Hunter trudged through waist deep powder, grumbling about the situation he was in and cursing whatever deity who made it snow four days into September. He was used to all weather, and the cold wasn’t the issue; it was the fucking drudgery of miles and miles of hiking through the stuff as he babysat Drew that grated on his nerves.

  It wasn’t as though he begrudged Jade her happiness at finding her brother after all these years, but they realized after Ghost had hired him as an assassin, the man never grew up. He pranked all of them although they threatened bodily harm if he didn’t stop. They would never kill him. But Hunter was thinking about breaking his jaw for the fact the crunch as his fist connected would satisfy for half a second before he healed.

  “You can’t begrudge me a little fun. I’ve been looking for Jade all these years.”

  That excuse lasted for about fifteen minutes and other than Jade and her mate Noah, the others avoided Drew as much as possible.

  Hunter blinked and his gaze darted toward the left when a movement caught his attention. Less than a second later, he bit back a smile when Kane took a header in the snow, sending up a puff of white into the air as he slammed down face first on the ground.

  When ginger hair, brighter than Jade’s, popped up and wiped the snow off his shoulders several feet from where Kane lay, Hunter cut off his laugh by clearing his throat and sending a disappointed look toward the ginger.

  Hunter and Kane didn’t have training duty, but after Drew tried to learn with Ax, Thomas and Isaac, Gunnar, and Reaper and Ara, Ghost had foisted Drew onto Kai. Hunter expected him to be dead by the end of the day.

  Kai was the most patient of the assassins and after two days of unrelenting training, he had given up on Drew and walked away without another word. Hunter hadn’t been there, but Drew still flinched whenever they mentioned Kai’s name. Kai had a similar reaction to the man, snarling whenever he came near.

  Jade and Noah refused train him. Jade would never endanger her brother, even to teach him the basic of hand-to-hand combat or even tracking. They would end up catching up on all the years they missed from each other’s lives. Noah, not wanting to do anything to hurt Jade, steered clear of Drew.

  Hunter didn’t mind the tiger shifter, for about ten minutes at a time. He knew the sooner he and Kane trained him to Ghost’s standards, the sooner he’d be away from him.

  Kane bent his arms to get up off the ground when all three of them sensed movement toward the west. They all stopped and opened their senses for a clue who was heading toward their position.

  Hunter scented the shifters, multiple, converging fast.

  I’m guessing three. Not bothering to cover the noise of their steps. I’ll be on point.

  Hunter cut through the snow with Kane on his right and Drew on his left. As he caught sight of his black glove and cursed. They were in their black tactical gear. Hunter chose it because Drew needed to get used to moving around with his weapons and ammunition, as most of his assignments would be raids and combat situations instead of stealth, which most of them specialized in.

  They hadn’t planned on running into any trouble so close to the mountain where most of the assassins claimed land and built homes of their own. Ghost had moved his base of operation to Snowfall from Denver and claimed his own piece of land close to all the assassins.

  These shifters should have realized they headed into dangerous territory. But if they were from Anzû’s group, they didn’t have enough sense or training to avoid a fight.

  Keep one alive. We need intel. Drew?

  Drew, without taking his eyes from the target’s position beyond the pines and evergreens, nodded once.

  Hunter knew the kid had skin in the game because of Jade and the threat to her earlier that year. A warrior replaced his normal laid back and teasing personality.

  Knowing Kane was always ready for a fight, Hunter turned his attention toward the tree line as three shifters stumbled through before two more followed. They stopped in their tracks and their eyes widened as they took in three immortals, all decked out in black.

  Hunter wondered for a split second if they would run, making the assassins chase them through the fucking mountains. A growl escaped his throat and the new additions seemed surprised by them and the hostility coming from him.

  The shifter in front gave a war cry before all five of them charged.

  “Someone’s seen too many fucking movies. Who the fuck warns the enemy before you attack?”

  Kane growled. “That motherfucker will die first.”

  Hunter laughed but Drew’s lip raised and he roared a split second before he shifted into his tiger form and launched himself at the man closest to him. It was a sight to behold. There, in the mountains of Colorado, a tiger, twice the size of a normal cat, running through the snow at full speed toward a shifter
who squeaked at the incoming onslaught.

  Drew landed on the surprised shifter’s chest and rode the momentum all the way to the cold, hard ground. Drew removed the shifter’s head by opening his jaw wide and clamping down on the other shifter’s vulnerable neck. He spit it out and batted the decapitated head away from the shifter’s body and glanced around to see what his other prey was up to.

  A small shifter who looked to be a teenager, leapt at Hunter and grunted when Hunter caught him around the throat squeezed.

  “Ew, he’s a fucking vampire. Let’s do the world a fucking favor.”

  Kane laughed and moved so fast, the largest shifter of the pack had no chance to react. The blond vampire jumped onto his shoulders and twisted his head off, tossing it over to Drew, who slapped it away, growling when he spotted blood coating his chest from Kane’s kill.

  The vampire sighed as he tracked the other shifter run toward the trees to make his escape. He chased him, waiting until he was back in the clearing before he split the shifter in half, discarding the bottom, before he removed the head and tossing it through the trees.

  Drew, keep him alive.

  Hunter threw the shifter at the surprised ginger, who had to shift back. He stood naked in the clearing, a shifter positioned in front of him, and a bright blush on his cheeks.

  “You’re a fucking asshole, Hunter. If you haven’t noticed, I’m fucking naked.”

  “And who’s fault is that? If you stayed in human form to kill, then you’d be fine. Instead of thinking things through, you barreled into the fight by shifting into your tiger. Now, deal with the consequences.”

  Hunter turned fight with the last two shifters. He leapt between the dumbasses who stuck around for their deaths. They snarled at him, reaching for him as soon as he landed, which he dodged.

  “Who do you work for?”

  “Fuck off—”

  The guy froze the moment Hunter locked eyes with him. The other, thinking he had the jump on him, moved behind Hunter to pin his arms to his side. Without missing a beat, Hunter slammed his head back and heard the satisfying crack of the shifter’s nose breaking. Another snarl and the first shifter jumped onto Hunter’s shoulders, baring his teeth, ready to clamp onto Hunter’s throat and rip it out.

  His hand shot out and wrapped around the shifter’s throat. With a tight squeeze around his neck, Hunter brought him face-to-face.

  “Hey, no fucking biting,” Hunter growled.

  Hunter hauled back and aimed for the jaw. He punched the other shifter hard enough for him to drop to the ground and lay there as he groaned at the pain. He turned his attention to the other who’s bleeding had slowed, but not stopped and instead of righting his nose, it was still off-kilter. For such a break, it should have healed within seconds. Instead a minute later, the injury was fresh. He made a note to tell Liv when he saw her next.

  “Do you work for a company by the name of Nightfall?”

  “I won’t tell you shit.”

  Before Hunter could punch the fucker in the face or growl at the shifter, he sensed movement toward the west. He gripped the shifter’s throat tighter as he choked on his words, something about being a weak poser and turned his gaze west.

  A gorgeous woman, dressed in a long-sleeved hoodie and worn jeans with white snow boots that matched the color of her hair stared at him with wide eyes. There was something familiar about her. Something tugged at his chest until he passed the shifter over to Kane and stepped forward.

  “I need to…”

  “Yeah, man. I know.” Kane laughed as he tugged the shifter under his arm and squeezed when he spoke.

  Ignoring the scene behind him, he walked toward the woman, who had yet to move from the position she was in when she spotted them. After a few steps, Hunter froze when he scented her fear and he could see her body quaking as she stared at him.

  In a quiet, non-threatening voice, Hunter spoke. “I would never hurt you, angel. I promise.”

  His eyes caught inconsistencies that battled with his understanding of shifters and vampires. He wanted to rush over and comfort her while the overwhelming sensations screamed at him. She was important to him; she was his.

  But his need for her warred with his knowledge that their relationship would be impossible when his bright green eyes landed on her silver ones. Familiar silver ones.

  He had a half second of hesitation before he realized she called to him and those instincts were never wrong.

  “I’m Hunter. I only want to talk to you.”

  Her eyes darted over his shoulder to the scene playing out behind him. “The men; Kane, the tall blond, and Drew, the annoying ginger who’s naked, are my friends. Those other shifters are trying to kill us.”

  Relief washed over him when Drew, aware of the delicate situation, stayed silent at the insult. Maybe because he called him a friend in the same category as Kane.

  His words, instead of reassuring her, had her eyes widen as her pupils became blown. She clenched her fists against her chest. But his concern turned into worry when she dropped to her knees. Unable to keep his distance from her any longer, he rushed to her side and kneeled in front of her to match her stance. He didn’t touch her, afraid she would freak out if he did.

  “I will never hurt you and will protect you with my life. I promise you with all I am.”

  “Black… black… guns. Uniforms. I know them from somewhere. Where?” She kept mumbling the same words over-and-over.

  Hunter almost shivered from her deep, scratchy voice, as though her throat became raw from screaming and never healed.

  “Angel, you need to breathe. Listen to my breathing… in and out. In and out.”

  Hunter met her eyes and all his instincts screamed that his attraction, his need for her shouldn’t have existed. He couldn’t help think all he understood about immortals was wrong. But he couldn’t concentrate on that, he needed her to calm down first.

  After several minutes, her breathing evened out and Hunter felt the tension in his chest relax. She glanced up at that moment and he became captivated by her beautiful silver gaze.

  He pushed his words out of his tight throat. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded but he could see she was shaking.

  Unable to refuse her comfort, he ran his fingers through her long, loose strands. Hunter thought she was beautiful; flawless skin, clear silver eyes, curvy body he wanted to explore for hours, and he craved her addictive scent. While he recognized it as part shifter, there was also something sweeter, and not all vampire.

  She allowed his perusal as she performed her own over his uniform, the exposed skin on his neck, up his face and into his eyes.

  “You don’t have to fear me. You’re safe.” Hunter reiterated his promise and cupped her face.

  Hunter’s vision blackened around the edges and a second later, he plunged into a darkness. He didn’t understand when he heard her quiet voice.

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  The next minute, Hunter sensed his surroundings changed. He blinked his eyes, getting used to the darkness after the bright, blinding light of the snow. He still found himself on his knees and as he moved his fingers searching for the woman who had been right in front of him, he found she wasn’t there any longer.

  Hunter closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings.

  There was a low hum from a computer fan somewhere in the room and there was breathing, deep, as if the person was asleep. Before he could investigate further, a desk lamp clicked on and his eyes moved toward the arrogant looking man seated, cross-legged, on an uncomfortable metal chair. He had a smug look on his face and Hunter wanted to break his face.

  Hunter pulled his gaze from the man and took a quick glance around and to him, something about it seemed familiar. The sterile coldness, the clear glass that looked out into the hall, the white formica tiles on the floor. Sterile and clean. The place gave him the creeps.

  When he turned his gaze to the man in the lab coat, his gaze wasn’t on H
unter but on a woman laying on the exam table he hadn’t seen until that moment.

  Hunter took a deep breath, trying to examine the scents in the room and looking for a familiar one, but there was nothing. He should have scented the sterile environment, the blue liquid on the counter along with wooden sticks and cotton balls, but there was nothing.

  He growled in frustration but neither the older gray-haired doctor, nor the woman strapped down with her mouth covered to muffle sound, reacted to the sound escaping from his throat.

  Without another thought, he lunged for the doctor but he passed through the figure.

  Okay, I’m not here. Can’t scent, can’t touch.

  Hunter turned toward the table and sucked in a deep breath as the familiar features of the woman in the mountains came into focus. Her face looked gaunt, but it was the dark brown hair and matching eyes that took him by surprise because she looked familiar. Her body looked starved and despite the bruising on her limbs and the dark circles under her eyes; she looked back at the doctor in defiance.

  Hunter jolted when the man spoke.

  “So, Nerissa… it appears you’re an utter failure as a shifter.” His eyes glanced down as if he were ashamed by her lack of abilities. “But you are a prime candidate for an experimental drug my colleagues and I have been working on.”

  Her gaze narrowed as he continued to speak and he noted her body shook with the continuous growl that emitted from her throat.

  “You had such promise. Oh, well.”

  As if waiting for that statement, a nurse walked in and handed a syringe to the man. “Here you go, Dr. Stevens.”

  There was something about her tone that set Hunter’s teeth on edge. He noted her long dark brown hair braided down her back, almost reaching her butt and olive skin that didn’t look healthy. But when he looked into her eyes, he shivered at the anger directed at Nerissa on the table.