The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) by Kelsey Jordan Page A

message was clear: Toe the line or it would be me making that call . My next assignment really sealed it in.” She shook her head softly, like she was warding off any potential comfort. “My parents sent me to Florida to clean up the mess, gather his personal affects, and deal with the house. He didn ’ t receive a proper burial. Hunters don ’ t bury traitors , not that there was enough to bury anyway.”
    Ronan stepped in front of her and kneeled by her bedside. Kyran and Jillian stepped behind him, ready to cosign whatever he said.
    Ronan reached out and touched her blanket covered shoulder. “Let me first say, I ’ m sorry for your loss. Second, your parents suck on a cataclysmic level. I doubt there is a word to describe the magnitude of their suckage.”
    She laughed and blinked back tears. “My parents are the way they are because of the Hunters. They know no other way. Torin’s story isn’t entirely unique, but it’s proof you can't save me. Even if I live today, I’ll be dead soon enough.”
    Kyran sat on the edge of the bed, mindful to avoid touching her.
    “No, you won’t, because I won’t let you die.”
    She sighed and sat up fully, being sure to keep herself fully covered in the blanket.
    “ I don’ t know what it is about your hero complex, but this is what I want. Deal with it.”
    Kyran sat silent for a few minutes before he gave her a reluctant nod. “It’s not a hero complex to not want someone to die in pain.”
    She studied him for a minute as if she didn’t believe him before she let a relieved smile trace her features.
    “You can take the dart out and give me pain medication,” she said.
    Ronan and Jillian finished their prep, which included donning hazmat suits like the ones the CDC would wear on infectious disease cases.
    They put her under before either of them turned to Kyran and gave him a questioning stare.
    He snorted. “Get the dart out, but make sure to keep her under. Prep her for hemodialysis as well as liver dialysis. I have to see if Ire will get me the equipment we need.”
    Kyran left to send a prayer to Ire, the goddess of health. He’d need all the divine help he could get in order to ensure that his Hunter lived.
    ***
    Alexis rolled over onto her side and groaned. She struggled to remain in the clutches of death, but its foggy grip was disappearing to the fringes of reality. She didn’t know what Kyran had done or how long it had taken, but she was alive.
    She pushed the several layers of comforters away from her naked body before she opened her eyes and scrutinized the room. The dark décor was unlike the room she’d previously stayed in.
    The room was decorated with the affectionate flair of monochrome black. Considering the fact that she was still living, the depressing color should have fit her mood. She rolled out of the bed, feeling better than she had any right to, and padded over to the sound of running water.
    Deciding that her questions couldn ’ t wait, Alexis pushed open the bathroom door, and narrowed her eyes on her wolf, who stood entrenched in the cascading waters of a temptingly hot shower. The water made rivers down his torso, flowing over the muscled ridges as he worked a bar of soap over his chest.
    What she wouldn ’ t give to be that bar of soap. He really should come with an X-rated guide and a whip. No man should be allowed to do mundane things and look so damn good doing it. Then again, he was a Lycan.
    With an inward sigh, Alexis figured that she could dream…that he was human.
    “Close the door. You’re letting the heat out,” Kyran said.
    He didn ’ t acknowledge her in any other way as he returned to working the bar over his body.
    For that, she wanted to kick him the shins, but it would be childish at best. She could shoot him. Maybe stabbing him would be better. That just might get how unhappy she was to be living across. Maybe.
    She walked over and opened the door to the shower and tapped him on the shoulder. When he