Primal Desire (Heart of the Huntress #6) - Terry Spear Page 0,1

them could talk Fenimore down when his brothers and friends couldn't or wouldn't.

Instead of ceasing his attacks on her, he appeared to be controlled by bloodlust like some kind of berserker of old. When he cut her sword arm, she knew she wouldn't survive this if she didn't fight back. She thrust her sword as he swung his sword back to strike her and stabbed him straight through the heart.

It seemed everything was in slow motion at that point. He looked shocked to the core that she would fight back. She pulled her sword out of his chest, feeling no victory, the other hunters finally reaching them before Cliff and his friends could retaliate against her. She felt horrible about killing a hunter, no matter that he'd turned rogue and was trying to murder an innocent vampire. She was still a hunter like him. She felt terrible when she heard Charlene crying her heart out, broken up over losing the hunter, the father of her unborn child, even if he had intended to murder both of them.

"What the hell happened?" Mack MacPherson asked. He was one of her brother, Daniel's friends, so he knew she'd always been honorable in her fights against rogue vampires.

She'd never expected to fight a hunter to the death.

Selena explained what had happened and Charlene finally gathered her composure to corroborate her story. Which was a good thing because if Cliff and his friends had been the only ones to witness the fight, she was certain their version would be a hell of a lot different from Selena and Charlene's. She realized then that Cliff had his sword out and he was giving her the evil eye.

He had looked up to his brother in all things, and she was afraid she would have to watch her back whenever he was around now.

"We'll have to take this to the League of Hunters Council now." Mack looked sympathetically at Selena, but with disdain at the vampiress, as if it was all her fault.

Charlene said, "I will speak on your behalf with the Council, Selena. Thank you for saving my life."

Two more hunters arrived, though Selena thought they had seen the action, but were just farther away than Mack and Donovan when she killed Fenimore.

"Take care of your brother," Mack said.

Then her brother came running to the scene of the fight. Great. Daniel looked at Fenimore lying on the pavement dead, and Selena's sword dripping with blood. He might not have seen the action, but he could put two and two together. She hadn't had time to process all of it—and realized she could even be put on a rogue hunter list—scheduled for termination, worst-case scenario, or be ostracized by the hunter community for killing a hunter instead of just letting the whole matter slide. In other words, allowing Fenimore to kill the vampiress and pretend none of it had ever happened.

Which she would never have done.

But now she had to face the League of Hunters Council, her parents, her disapproving brother, and who knew how her sister would feel about it. One little act of kindness had turned her world inside out.

Chapter 1

Six weeks later, Portland, Oregon

Atreides, prince of the vampire clans on the west coast, had seen his brother, Daemon, and his mate, Tezra, off at the airport to go on a well-deserved vacation a week ago. He couldn't be more thrilled to be in full control of the clans instead of serving just as his brother's subleader. Daemon was even taking his bodyguard, Voltan, and Maison, his advisor, so they could also have a vacation. Atreides was in seventh heaven. As long as no other trouble presented itself, he would prove to his brother that he could be in charge and not screw things up. And then Daemon and his mate could take more trips away from home without any worries.

But what he couldn't believe was when a huntress showed up at Tamblyn’s Dance Club—walking through the vampires who had been laughing, conversing, drinking and dancing prior to that. A hush fell over the whole crowd. Even the band stopped playing, everyone looking to Atreides to deal with the huntress.

No hunter entered a vampire club ever. Just like no vampire in his right mind would enter a hunter club. Most hunters and vampires stayed clear of human clubs too.

Was the huntress crazy? A rogue? She wasn't armed at least, which was good, or he would believe she was here to terminate a rogue vampire who might