I know, Hunter. Please don’t beat yourself up. I’m okay.Hunter looked shattered. Her only thought right now was to make him feel better. She would figure things out somehow. Even if the worst-case scenario came to pass, she would just become Freja, the hollow killer again.
Where will you go? Where will you be?Hunter didn’t like the idea of not knowing where his mate was. He wanted her in the safety of his pack territory.
Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. I’m going to go for now. I …Freja closed her eyes tight.I’ll be back soon.She quickly dashed through the trees at lightning speed until she was out of the Black Ice Pack territory. Then she dropped to the ground andran, racing at an incredible speed, trying to escape the drowning feeling inside her.
She had one place in her mind, and that was where she headed … a familiar, dark tavern. An information post. If the information wasn’t at that tavern, then she wouldn’t be able to find it anywhere. If there was a solution, she would find it there.
Meanwhile, Chasen had sent out a messenger fairy for their parents and sent Jin to Rosa to send for her brother, Reed. He had asked for Jin to wait for him back at the pack house. And now, he’d been staring at his brother for the last hour. Hunter stood there, looking upward, just staring at the treetops where his mate had vanished.
“Hunter.” Chasen walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, man. Let’s get you something to drink. I’m sure Reed will get here soon. And hopefully our parents will be able to come soon, too.”
“I really tried to kill her?” Hunter said in a broken voice and turned to look at his brother, his eyes full of grief.
Chasen sighed angrily. “That wasn’t you. You would never hurt her. She knows that, too.”
“BUT MY HANDS WERE AROUND HER NECK!” Hunter shouted angrily as he brushed away from Chasen. He looked at his own hands in disgust.
“Hunter … we’re going to figure this out.” Chasen didn’t know how to comfort him. He tried to put himself in his brother’s position. What if he kept trying to attack Jin? The pain of that thought alone was hard, let alone knowing you actually put your hands on your mate. And you couldn’t even look for comfort in their arms. Why did this shit keep happening to Hunter?
Chasen walked in front of him and put his hands on Hunter’s shoulders. “Hey.” Hunter looked into his eyes. “I won’t letyou hurt her.” He gripped onto his brother’s shoulders. “I will protect her, Hunter. Even if it means from you.”
Hunter smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Chasen. You have my permission to do whatever you have to in order to protect her.”
“Alright! Free punches on the Alpha King.” Chasen grinned and pulled Hunter in a hug. “Come on,” he said as he pulled Hunter along with him, finally managing to get him away from the trees. “I can’t wait for dad to hear about you being the Werewolf King. He’s going to be stoked!”
Hunter nodded with a smile. He just wished he could introduce them to his mate, too. Hopefully his mother could figure it out. Deep down … he was depending on his mother to fix it.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Freja had stashes of clothing all over the place. The floral outfit she was wearing wasn’t exactly intimidating clothing. She put on her black pants, shirt, combat boots, and her hooded cloak, situating her daggers and stakes in her utility belt. It felt like forever ago, and at the same time, it was as if her life with Hunter had all been a dream. She felt her stomach roll at the thought.
The steps to the dark tavern felt heavy. She knew the type of scumbags that were frequent patrons, but she wasn’t scared. She had to forget about her life as a luna. She was Freja, the demon hunter. The soulless dhampir who wanted nothing but to slit your throat.
She pushed open the heavy door that creaked its old greeting. Her boots echoed on the wooden floor with each commanding step she took. She sat on a stool at the bar. She knew the game here. She would give them the cold shoulder. She released her dark aura over her … a fair warning to everyone there.
Already, she could see men slinking away from her, making sure they stayed low on her radar.
“Am I going to get a drink or what?” Freja growled at the barkeep.
The old man hobbled over, setting a glass in front of her. He had a patch over his eye and his hair was the color of salt and pepper. “Here you go. The usual. Haven’t seen you around lately.”
Freja’s dark, chilling eyes flipped up toward the man. Her lips curled up in a snarl and she took her drink. “Client problems,” she hissed, and downed the drink. Her green orbs pinned the man down. “I need information.”
The old man cackled. “I figured you did, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“I need to know how to remove a blood potion from someone,” Freja said, trying to be inconspicuous.
The man’s eyes narrowed on her in suspicion. “Why would you try to help someone?”
Freja scoffed. “I help myself, old man. I need information from someone. The damn witches made him a bloodhound. He goes feral every time he sees me. Easy enough to kill, but I need information that only he has.” Freja squeezed her shot glass, making it shatter between her fingers. Red droplets oozed from her fingers. She glared at the old man. “I don’t have time for games. I need answers so I can finish a job.”
The old man nodded his head. “There is a way, I believe. But there is only one who knows the answer to that question.” His lips curled up in a smirk.
Freja stood up and leaned toward the old man. “Stop the theatrics. SPEAK!”
“You want answers? Then you need to see the dark priestess.”
Freja’s jaw stiffened, the displeasure on her face evident. “And just how in the hell am I supposed to find her?” The dark priestess was hidden away somewhere. No one knew of her location.
