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CHAPTER ONE

HUNTER

Hunter trudged through waist deep powder, grumbling about the situation he was in and cursing whatever deity who made it snow four days into September. He was used to all weather, and the cold wasn’t the issue; it was the fucking drudgery of miles and miles of hiking through the stuff as he babysat Drew that grated on his nerves.

It wasn’t as though he begrudged Jade her happiness at finding her brother after all these years, but they realized after Ghost had hired him as an assassin, the man never grew up. He pranked all of them although they threatened bodily harm if he didn’t stop. They would never kill him. But Hunter was thinking about breaking his jaw for the fact the crunch as his fist connected would satisfy for half a second before he healed.

“You can’t begrudge me a little fun. I’ve been looking for Jade all these years.”

That excuse lasted for about fifteen minutes and other than Jade and her mate Noah, the others avoided Drew as much as possible.

Hunter blinked and his gaze darted toward the left when a movement caught his attention. Less than a second later, he bit back a smile when Kane took a header in the snow, sending up a puff of white into the air as he slammed down face first on the ground.

When ginger hair, brighter than Jade’s, popped up and wiped the snow off his shoulders several feet from where Kane lay, Hunter cut off his laugh by clearing his throat and sending a disappointed look toward the ginger.

Hunter and Kane didn’t have training duty, but after Drew tried to learn with Ax, Thomas and Isaac, Gunnar, and Reaper and Ara, Ghost had foisted Drew onto Kai. Hunter expected him to be dead by the end of the day.

Kai was the most patient of the assassins and after two days of unrelenting training, he had given up on Drew and walked away without another word. Hunter hadn’t been there, but Drew still flinched whenever they mentioned Kai’s name. Kai had a similar reaction to the man, snarling whenever he came near.

Jade and Noah refused train him. Jade would never endanger her brother, even to teach him the basic of hand-to-hand combat or even tracking. They would end up catching up on all the years they missed from each other’s lives. Noah, not wanting to do anything to hurt Jade, steered clear of Drew.

Hunter didn’t mind the tiger shifter, for about ten minutes at a time. He knew the sooner he and Kane trained him to Ghost’s standards, the sooner he’d be away from him.

Kane bent his arms to get up off the ground when all three of them sensed movement toward the west. They all stopped and opened their senses for a clue who was heading toward their position.

Hunter scented the shifters, multiple, converging fast.

I’m guessing three. Not bothering to cover the noise of their steps. I’ll be on point.

Hunter cut through the snow with Kane on his right and Drew on his left. As he caught sight of his black glove and cursed. They were in their black tactical gear. Hunter chose it because Drew needed to get used to moving around with his weapons and ammunition, as most of his assignments would be raids and combat situations instead of stealth, which most of them specialized in.

They hadn’t planned on running into any trouble so close to the mountain where most of the assassins claimed land and built homes of their own. Ghost had moved his base of operation to Snowfall from Denver and claimed his own piece of land close to all the assassins.

These shifters should have realized they headed into dangerous territory. But if they were from Anzû’s group, they didn’t have enough sense or training to avoid a fight.

Keep one alive. We need intel. Drew?

Drew, without taking his eyes from the target’s position beyond the pines and evergreens, nodded once.

Hunter knew the kid had skin in the game because of Jade and the threat to her earlier that year. A warrior replaced his normal laid back and teasing personality.

Knowing Kane was always ready for a fight, Hunter turned his attention toward the tree line as three shifters stumbled through before two more followed. They stopped in their tracks and their eyes widened as they took in three immortals, all decked out in black.

Hunter wondered for a split second if they would run, making the assassins chase them through the fucking mountains. A growl escaped his throat and the new additions seemed surprised by them and the hostility coming from him.

The shifter in front gave a war cry before all five of them charged.

“Someone’s seen too many fucking movies. Who the fuck warns the enemy before you attack?”

Kane growled. “That motherfucker will die first.”

Hunter laughed but Drew’s lip raised and he roared a split second before he shifted into his tiger form and launched himself at the man closest to him. It was a sight to behold. There, in the mountains of Colorado, a tiger, twice the size of a normal cat, running through the snow at full speed toward a shifter who squeaked at the incoming onslaught.

Drew landed on the surprised shifter’s chest and rode the momentum all the way to the cold, hard ground. Drew removed the shifter’s head by opening his jaw wide and clamping down on the other shifter’s vulnerable neck. He spit it out and batted the decapitated head away from the shifter’s body and glanced around to see what his other prey was up to.

A small shifter who looked to be a teenager, leapt at Hunter and grunted when Hunter caught him around the throat squeezed.

“Ew, he’s a fucking vampire. Let’s do the world a fucking favor.”