Hunter: Volume 1 (The Lillian Rayne Series)

The Lillian Rayne Series

Volume 1: Hunter

Ella Price

This book is a work of fiction, and does not
represent real events. Characters, names, places, and incidents are works of
the authors imagination and do not depict any real event, or person living or
dead.

Copyright © 2014 by Ella Price

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or
distributed in any printed or electronic form.

First Edition: February 2014

Cover by AEPBOOKCOVERS.COM

I
crept through the ally trying to keep as quiet as I possibly could. I had seen
the vampire enter the alley with his unsuspecting victim. She of course was not
opposed like any sane woman should have been. I was sure it was due to the fact
that the vampire had her in a trance. It was how they worked. It was how they
got their prey to be cooperative and silent while they fed, and on most
occasions killed. It was my job to make sure he didn’t get to the second part.
I am a vampire hunter, and I am going to make sure this particular vampire doesn’t
make it out of the alley alive. I spotted him when I was patrolling the club. He
wasn’t one I recognized; then again there were always new vampires coming into
town.

The
vampire and his victim came into view as I crouched behind a dumpster. The
alley stunk, but it was a vampire’s haven. No one ever came down these alleys
at night unless they were up to no good, or they were hunters like me. I slowly
drew my stake. It was one of my favorites. I carved it myself from oak. I even
took the time to carve the hunters vows in it. I would not be leaving this
stake behind that was for sure.

I
moved quickly as the vampire went to sink his fangs into the clueless woman’s
neck. I would give him a chance to fight instead of just stabbing him in the
back. That wasn’t my style. I didn’t claim to be an honorable person, but there
were some things I didn’t do, and killing someone without giving them a chance
to fight wasn’t my thing. I knocked him sideways into the opposite wall. He
squared with me and looked at me a little startled. He looked me over then
smiled. “Well if you weren’t hunter I would definitely be interested,” he said
amused.

I
scowled. He was acting like I was trying to ask him out. He was good looking,
then again most of them were. It was unfortunate I was born to kill them. I
lunged at him and he quickly dodged me.

He
laughed. “You are really trying, aren’t you?” He was still smiling despite my
attempt to stake him. He obviously knew what he was up against, but he was
still teasing me. He knew random humans didn’t carry stakes around, and assault
vampires for fun. He swung at me and I dodged him, then swung around and kicked
him square in the chest. The girl, the vampire had, already regained her senses
and was running toward the alley opening. He landed with a thud against the
wall. I had him now, he was slightly disoriented. I took the opportunity and
lunged at him. He caught my wrist and held me at bay. He was smiling like I was
amusing. “You really are cute.” His turquoise eyes were dancing with amusement,
it was infuriating.

I
scowled. I was getting annoyed by the way he was treating me like I was playing
with him. I leaned into the stake, but he was strong. Now that I was closer to
him I could tell he wasn’t some ignorant vampire driven by bloodlust. He was
older; much older.

“Rayne
wait!” The sound of my cousin’s voice caught me off guard. I glanced behind me
and my cousin Tanner was running down the alley toward me. The vampire took my
distraction as an opportunity. He knocked me backwards into the wall then
disappeared.

I
looked where the vampire had been. It was rare for them to be able to
disappear. That vampire would have been an excellent kill for my record. I
cussed as I got to my feet. “What the hell Tanner! I had him and you fucked it
up!”

He
raised his hands in surrender. “A truce was called. You are the only hunter out
tonight. I was told to find you and warn you,” he said apologetically.

I
rolled my eyes. “A truce is always called. It lasts a week, then we go back to
killing them. Why waste the time?” I snapped. I hated when the council decided
to call truces it was irritating. I would rather be out hunting vampires, not
making nice with them.

“It’s
for real this time. There is a guy named Kai. He is part vampire and part
hunter. They are saying he is going to unite us,” Tanner said excitedly.

I
scoffed. “We are not supposed to be united. This is such bullshit!” I was
furious now. The night started out looking like everything was going to go
according to plan. I had another vampire bagged, and I was in a decent mood
until Tanner ruined the entire thing. I knew it wasn’t his fault, but that
wasn’t going to stop me from acting like it was. I placed my stake back in its
case on my hip, then stalked toward the street. Tanner followed me. He was
keeping his mouth shut which was smart. I was going to go to my uncle’s house
and find out what the hell was going on.

“You
know my dad is expecting you to be angry. He even had Luca and Damon stay in
tonight so they could be there when you get there,” he said amused.

“He’s
damn right I am angry. Why would he want a truce with them anyway? They kill
people. They use them as food and slaves. They would do it to us if they
could,” I growled.

“Ya,
but dad said this guy Kai is the real thing. He is from both sides. He thinks
we can unite. Of course it doesn’t include all vampires. There will just be new
rules so we can’t just kill any vampire we see.” Tanner reminded me a lot of my
uncle. He was so optimistic and confident in what he was saying. It was both
annoying and comforting. Tanner didn’t understand because he had a family. His
family wasn’t slaughtered by vampires like mine was. He obviously didn’t
understand my hate for them.

We
walked the rest of the way to my uncle’s house in silence. My uncle was the
head of the council. His house was the meeting place for all the hunters in the
area. The house was surrounded by a huge iron fence. It was just on the
outskirts of downtown Wilmington. Riverfront was walking distance, and the bars
and dark alleys was where I did most of my hunting. It was a huge place that
housed several hunters; mainly ones that didn’t have homes or families of their
own like me. As I approached the house I could tell there was something going
on. There were cars everywhere; the house was packed.

I
walked into the house and the foyer was packed with hunters. Most of the faces
I recognized. They quieted as I entered the room. I had earned a reputation
among the hunters. For my age I had the most kills on record. I had several off
record, but I kept those to myself. I had turned eighteen a few months ago and
since then I was able to decide when and where I wanted to go. I had been
hunting since I was thirteen and training since I could walk. I was one of the
hard core hunters. There were fewer of those these days. I ignored the quiet
murmurs as I stalked toward my uncle’s study. Tanner stayed close on my heels.
He obviously didn’t want to miss anything. I didn’t bother knocking; I never
did. My uncle sat behind his desk. A small smile played at his lips when I
barged in. He thought it was amusing. He knew I was going to show up. I
disregarded everyone else in the room. I wasn’t here to talk to them, I wanted
to talk to my uncle.

“What
the hell is going on?” I asked angrily.

“Kai
this is my lovely niece Lillian Rayne,” he said glancing at someone behind me;
then he looked back at me. “I thought you would be here sooner,” my uncle said
amused.

“I
just found her on the south side. She is hard to track,” Tanner said
apologetically.

“Yes
thank you for ruining my kill by the way,” I growled glaring at Tanner. He
stepped back looking a little startled by my sudden outburst.

“There
are new rules Lillian. We are trying to make a truce, and in order to do that
we all have to follow certain rules,” my uncle said firmly.

I
scoffed. “I was doing my job. He had a girl.”

“I
am afraid all of this is my fault,” a male voice said from beside me. He was
the man my uncle addressed, and he had been there the whole time I just didn’t
bother to really acknowledge him.

I
was caught slightly off guard by how good looking he was. He was tall and tone.
He had the body of a hunter, but the looks of a vampire. His gray eyes were
even similar to a vampires. His dark brown hair was messy, but it looked like
it naturally fell that way. “Who the hell are you?” I asked even though I had a
feeling I already knew.

“My
name is Kai. I am…” he started, but I cut him off.

“You
let a vampire in the compound?” I snapped as I glared at my uncle.

“He
is part vampire, and more importantly part hunter. We have to start somewhere,”
my uncle countered.

“I
can’t believe this,” I growled then turned and stormed out.

People
cleared a path for me. They obviously didn’t want to annoy me anymore then I
was. “Lillian we have to end the war at some point,” my uncle chided as he
followed me.

Once
I reached the second floor landing I turned to face him. “How could you of all
people want a truce? They killed your brother!” I said angrily.

“No
they didn’t. One vampire did. You cannot blame the entire race for one act. If
that is how things were done there would be so many races that would just be
out of luck because of one person’s actions. What if the vampires judged us by
what you have done?” My uncle was arguing his point like he always did, and
like always he was right; but I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“I
would love it if they would give up on this whole truce nonsense. It would give
me a lot more of them I can go after instead of ones on a damn list!” I
countered.

“I
know damn well that you don’t stick to the list so don’t treat me like I am an
idiot,” he growled in a lower tone. It didn’t matter. Any vampire could hear
him. They had crazy good hearing. I knew if Kai was part vampire then he would
hear every word we spoke.

“Yes,
and now you are tightening my leash even more. How the hell am I supposed to do
anything?” I snapped.

“You
aren’t! That is the point. We can coexist with them if both sides put in the
effort,” he said lightening his tone a little.

“I
don’t want to coexist. I want them dead,” I growled then turned and hurried up
the next flight of stairs. He didn’t make a move to follow which was a relief.
I was tired of arguing. I wanted to be alone.

I
walked into my room and slipped my hoodie off. I hesitated when I saw Damon
laying on my bed, flipping through a magazine. He and I were on again, off
again boyfriend and girlfriend, and we had been for a while. He was a great
looking guy. He had the perfect body, he was a great hunter, and he had curly, dark
chestnut hair. On any normal day I wouldn’t mind coming home to him in my bed,
but I wasn’t in the mood for him, and I knew he was aware of it. He just didn’t
care.

“I
can see you met Kai,” he said amused.

I
don’t want to talk about it,” I countered as I stood in front of the mirror and
unpinned my hair. My black curly hair fell around my shoulder. My hair went
well with my blue eyes and pale complexion. I was tall and tone like a hunter
should be, but I was still feminine thanks to my large breasts and curvy body. I
cursed as I examined the tattoo on my arm. It was a white lily with small
raindrops falling off it. There was a small cut across the tattoo that I must
have gotten in a fight. It was the same tattoo my mother and father had. They
got their tattoos when I was born. I got it when I was sixteen in memory of
them.

 Damon
put his arms around me and I closed my eyes as he gently kissed my neck. “I can
make you feel better,” he said playfully.

“I
bet you can,” I said amused as I felt the tension start to leave my body. I
turned into him and pressed my lips to his. His tongue touched mine and I felt
my body heat up. His hands went to my ass, and he lifted me off my feet. I wrapped
my legs around his waist enjoying the feel of his lips against mine. There was
a loud knock on the door. I broke the kiss and sighed. “What?” I growled.

“I
need to talk to you Lily,” Luca said from the other side. He sounded annoyed
which wasn’t unusual for Luca.

I
looked at Damon apologetically. He knew I would kick him out to talk to Luca.
Luca and I had a special relationship, and Damon hated it. Damon rolled his
eyes and set me down. “Come in,” I said smiling slightly.

Luca
opened the door and hesitated when he saw Damon. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,”
Luca said not really sounding serious. Damon and Luca didn’t get along very
well. Luca would be more than happy to irritate Damon. Luca was also very good
looking which annoyed Damon. Damon was hot too, but Luca was gorgeous. Luca
could have been a model if he wanted to be. He had curly blond hair, and
gorgeous green eyes. His features were a perfect combination of masculine and
feminine.

“You’re
not,” Damon muttered as he stalked out of the room.

Luca
watched him leave then looked back at me. “I don’t like him. I don’t know why
you even see him. He is arrogant and stuck up.”

I
sighed and sat down on my bed. I had heard this speech repeatedly from Luca.
Luca was very protective of me. He was about ten years older than me, and he
was the one that rescued me the night my parents died. If it wasn’t for Luca I
would be dead. He was like a big brother to me. “I know, you have said it
before,” I said trying not to sound too annoyed.

He
ran his fingers through his hair as he watched me. “Are you ok?” he asked
softly.

I
nodded. “I am hoping this all blows over in a week like it usually does.”

He
frowned. “It’s not going to. This is it. Kai is a hybrid. You uncle has decided
to hold a challenge to find a master hunter.”

I
straightened a little. “We haven’t had a master hunter in years. The council
has been enough to control everyone,” I said confused.

He
shrugged. “He thinks people aren’t going to be happy. So the council is holding
the challenge. Every hunter over eighteen is allowed to fight. I am going to
fight, even though everyone already thinks Damon will win.”

“That’s
just what we need,” I muttered and flopped down on the bed so I was looking at
the ceiling.

“Damon
does not need to be the master hunter, but I don’t think I can defeat him,” he
said softly.

I
sat back up and looked at him confused. “Why not? You are just as good as he
is.”

“He
wins every challenge. He is already too arrogant. He will do nothing, but cause
havoc if he is put into power. Your uncle feels the same way, but there is no
way to stop him from competing.”

I
laughed. “You can win.”

He
watched me for a second. “I would like to think that, but I don’t think so.”

I
scoffed. “You have to try,” I countered as I stood and turned away from him. I
didn’t want Damon being the master hunter either. Everyone was right, he would
be impossible if he won. Luca didn’t even ask me if I was going to fight. He
knew better. I never took part in the challenges; they were a waste of time.

“I
will,” he said quietly.

I
could tell he had no confidence. He never did. He was a much better hunter then
he led people to believe. “I’ll be there to support you.”

He
smiled. “Great, the challenge is tomorrow night at midnight.” He walked toward
the door obviously ready to get out of the awkward situation.

I
was a little startled it would be so soon. “Why so soon?”

He
turned back and looked at me. “Like I said, things are about to change quickly,
and not everyone is going to like it.”

I
didn’t say anything, and he turned and left. I hadn’t been paying attention to
the politics of my people. Now everything was changing and I wasn’t sure I
liked it myself.