Hunter's Claim: The Alliance Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

Hunter called out, sniffing the
air.
    “This human is pretty smart,” Saber
commented as he pushed aside the door he had broken off. “I feel
like we are running an obstacle course.”
    “I found more blood,” Dagger called out.
“She went this way.”
    Hunter looked at the bloody handprint on the
wall. They had spent the last two hours following the female’s
scent. It was taking longer than normal to track her because she
had woven in and out of the abandon ed buildings and back tracked through alleys forcing them to retrace
their steps over and over again.
    He reached out and touched the small
handprint outlined in blood. It was tiny compared to his hand. He
looked around the rubble of the collapsed
building. It was only the fact that she had left a trail of blood
that they had been successful in tracking
her. He was sure of that.
    “Her tracks have disappeared again,” Saber
bit out in frustration. “She must have doubled back again.”
    “No,” Hunter murmured looking at the pile of
rubble. “She is here.”
    “Yeah, but where is here?” Dagger asked,
running his hand through his long white hair. “There is a mountain
of rubble that she could be hiding
in.”
    Hunter moved forward, looking intently at
the ground. The slight indent of the heel of a boot showed in the
soft dirt. He knelt down and looked around. His eyes widened on the
narrow opening in between the huge slabs of concrete. Standing, he
walked forward, keeping his eyes on the ground.
    He paused when he saw another slight mark.
It would have gone unnoticed to most, especially at night. He
ducked under the huge slab and peered down the dark opening.
Sniffing the air, the smell of blood was thicker in the confined
area. She had gone down into the fallen building.
    Anger burned in him that the female would
place herself in so much danger. If the ground were to shift at
all, tons of concrete would collapse even further into the unstable
pile. He stepped onto the slanted sheet of concrete and slid down
it.
    A moment later, Dagger and Saber were
standing next to him. Both men looked around the area. Hunter could
understand their surprise and appreciation for the human’s
resourcefulness. He had not expected to find himself in a cavern
below ground.
    He held up his hand when he heard the soft
murmur of voices. He shook his head when Dagger and Saber looked at
him. He held up two fingers then a third. They nodded. There were
at least two others down here in addition to the female they had
been tracking.
    They spread out. Hunter took the front while
Dagger and Saber each took a side. They would come up on all sides
of the group. Moving silently, they stepped closer to the area
where a small fire burned.
    *.*.*
    Jordan held the cloth over her mouth to
muffle her cough before she lay back on the blankets. Her eyes were
glazed with fatigue, pain and fever. There wasn’t a part of her
body that didn’t hurt.
    “Where is Jesse?” Jordan asked as Taylor
brought her over some of the soup she had warmed up. “It shouldn’t
take her this long.”
    “She said she had a cut she needed to
clean,” Taylor said, helping Jordan to sit up so she could eat.
“She’ll be back any minute. You need to eat. This will help you get
stronger.”
    Jordan sighed tiredly. “I don’t think I’ll
ever be strong again,” she said in resignation.
    “Don’t!” Taylor said, holding the cup up to
Jordan’s lips. “We promised each other we would never give up. It
is okay to feel down. You deserve it after… well, you deserve it
but don’t ever give up, Jordan. We need you. I need you,” she said
fiercely.
    Jordan took a sip of the hot soup and moaned
in pleasure as the warmth filled her stomach for the first time in
days. She greedily sipped some more. With a shaky smile, she
reached to take the cup from Taylor.
    “I can do this,” Jordan whispered. “You need
to eat too.”
    Taylor reluctantly handed Jordan the
battered cup of soup. She brushed Jordan’s