Hunting Tess by Kathryn Summers (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

closest cluster of trees and maybe one or two figures. It’s harder to tell with my human eyesight. Staying low I exit the frame and curse how this mess started. I better not be responsible for any bodies.

Feet sliding against the textured tile amplifies in the otherwise silent world. The night is usually humming with life and I miss its comforting calls.

A gasp snaps my attention behind me where Eliza grips Caleb’s arm for stability as she struggles to find her balance. Her arm swings precariously and I nearly leap forward to catch her before Caleb gets her stable. Though I’m not nearly as fast as in wolf form, my reflexes and speed are still faster than a human’s.

The screen door squeaks in ominous warning from below and I picture everyone getting into position. I don’t know what Samantha and Ben will do, but Leo will need space to shift.

A snap fills the air and everyone starts moving at the same time. Loading my crossbow at record speed I shoot the arrow into the blackened space where a vampire emerges. Enjoying the twang of the thick string, my deft fingers have a new arrow before the first one hits its mark.

Vampires are cocky, relying only on their claws and fangs to get the job done. Maybe if they branched out, they would win more than they lose.

“Left!” Eliza cries out, calling my attention to her face which makes my blood stop. Her eyes are faintly glowing blue as they swivel back and forth without focusing on anything. At her declaration I see Samantha raise her sword just in time for a vampire to impale itself. There will be time to dissect that odd event later.

Protecting the three on the ground proves challenging when two move with inhuman speed. Leo is handling his own remarkably well but Samantha is something else. She lacks finesse with the blade yet is doing damage with her bare hand, plus she is moving just as quickly, if not faster, than Leo. Definitely not human.

A short yelp claims my attention as I see a boy who wasn’t there a second ago attempt a mad dash across the driveway. What is he doing?

A vampire tracks the movement and reacts to the new target. My fingers reach for an arrow only to grasp at air and I have a gut feeling that the boy won’t make it. Though slowed from their wounds, too many of my silver arrowheads protrude from still active vampires, their hearts and heads intact.

The vampire swipes at the boy who flies several feet before crumpling in a heap only to be pounced on again by a different vamp with two arrows jutting from his back.

Something not commonly known is that vampires are unbelievably heavy. It doesn’t make much sense based on what they are made of, but heavy they are nonetheless. So when Samantha hauls the vampire off the boy with nothing but sheer strength, flinging him across the driveway like a sack of potatoes my jaw nearly drops.

Unable to cry out a warning as another assailant sneaks up on her, I watch as her blade is knocked from her hands before an inhuman snarl erupts from my chest.

Snapping bone and emerging fur completes my transformation before my paw even touches the ground. My hackles rise in anticipation of ripping apart the vampire that stands between me and Samantha.

I take one step before the vampire falls to the ground, headless. How she can fight with no weapon is near the top of my list of questions, right after demanding to know what she is. The din of battle grows quieter and somewhere in the back of my mind I realize we killed enough to warrant a retreat. The others will need to be hunted down. Preparing to bark my command to Caleb, Samantha enters the corner of my eye, quickly becoming its sole focus.

My legs stutter to a stop from the bellowing rush pulsing through my body, filling every crevice like a thundering waterfall. Pure, unadulterated happiness blossoms in my chest as my eyes drink in every detail of Samantha. My mate.

Potential mate.

Shutting off my emotions from Leo learning about the bond, I lope to the back of the house. The others can sort things out for a few minutes.

Shifting back to human form I dash up the stairs to my room as quickly as possible. This is why I only date human girls. This is why I don’t live with the rest of my pack. I don’t want a mate.

Throwing on clothes with reckless abandon I don’t stop to see if what I put on matches or even if I have two of the same socks. My head wars with my heart on what to do. The feelings this bond inspires is fake, clouding what I really want.

Besides, it’s not like she’s the one. I can walk away and no one will ever know.

“You were told to stay inside!” Samantha erupts at the blonde kid attacked by the vampire. My heart thumps wildly in my chest just from her nearness. He slopes into the couch in shock as she throws her hands in the air. “Do you not understand what can happen? They will kill you without blinking an eye!”

“Tess,” her friend says softly, too quiet for anyone else to hear. “He’s not Sam.”

Tess?

I don’t bring up the serious discrepancy because a sheen of tears forms in her hazel eyes, her dark hair quickly covering the display. My mind cries out in pain for my mate and it is a physical effort not to comfort her.

Raking my eyes down her form, my blood starts to boil when I see her bruised and bleeding knuckles. Balling my hands into fists I give a wide berth around the drama unfolding near the couch.

“We’ll need to go hunting later,” I murmur to Caleb who comes to stand beside me at the kitchen island. My eyes keep straying to Samantha, or Tess, before I realize what I