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Huntsman by Morgan Brice
Fox Hollow Zodiac, Book 1
A grieving wolf. A hunted fox. Fated mates, thrown together by chance, and the looming threat of a fabled Huntsman who might tear them apart forever.
Fox shifter Liam Reynard is running from a killer. He uproots his life to find sanctuary in Fox Hollow, deep in the Adirondack Forest in New York.
When his car breaks down, sexy wolf shifter Russ Lowe comes to the rescue, and one touch makes it clear they’re fated mates. Neither man was looking for love, and both are still mending from past heartbreak.
When mysterious fires and disappearances threaten Fox Hollow, Liam fears the killer is hot on his trail. Can he protect the town and his fated mate from the evil hunting him, or will an ex-lover’s betrayal cost Liam everything he loves?
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“The two hikers who just went missing—one was an ocelot, and the other was a lynx. Those would be rare shifters…valuable to the wrong sort of people.”
“Suppose you’re right,” Jeffries said slowly. “What do the fires have to do with anything?”
Liam shrugged. “Distractions. Tie up the first responders—the police and the firefighters—so they can’t spend as much time looking for missing people.”
“The Huntsmen—if they exist—aren’t hitmen. They’re more like traffickers who acquire supernatural creatures or people with special abilities for rich clients,” Jeffries said, and Liam realized his mentor was taking him seriously.
“Right. Foxes have always been popular hunting targets,” Liam replied, his lip curling in disdain. “The other two would be quite a prize.”
“It would take a lot of balls to kidnap shifters in a place like Fox Hollow,” Jeffries mused. “They’re not the minority, and they aren’t loners who have to hide. Not to mention that you’ve got a campus full of psychics.”
“I thought about that,” Liam replied. “You knew I was going to be in danger, but you didn’t know details about how or from what. Have any of the psychics here picked up warning signals that they haven’t been able to link to something? Or maybe a Huntsman knows how to block being seen by a witch or a psychic.”
“That’s not easy to do,” Jeffries said, brows furrowed like he was trying to make the pieces fit together. “It’s also not common knowledge.”
“But if Huntsmen exist, wouldn’t it stand to reason that they would have access to occult resources since they’re hunting supernatural beings? Maybe they have some abilities of their own. It wouldn’t be the first time someone turned against their group to make a buck,” Liam replied.
“You make a good argument,” Jeffries said. “But even if you’re right, we don’t have proof. From what I’ve heard about Sheriff Armel, he’s fair, but he wants evidence. If we go in there talking about Huntsmen and hired assassins with nothing to base it on, he’ll very politely toss us out on our asses.”
Liam sagged in his chair. “That’s what I was afraid you might say.”
Jeffries leaned back, drumming the fingers of his right hand on his thigh. “I know that some of our faculty have been called in to help find people who go missing in the woods. It’s pretty much standard protocol, at least around Fox Hollow. Let me do a little nosing around and see what they know. If it turns out that these last couple of disappearances aren’t trackable in some strange way, I’d bet that’s worth mentioning to the police.”
“Thank you,” Liam said quietly, suddenly feeling exhausted. “And thanks for not just laughing in my face.”
“You were always one of my best students,” Jeffries replied with a smile. “Your essays were well-reasoned, and you made a good case for your conclusions. Believe me, I’m taking this very seriously.”
“I’m scared,” Liam admitted. “I don’t want to get killed. But I also don’t want to be what attracts a Huntsman to Fox Hollow. Other people could get hurt because of me.”
Jeffries tilted his head, looking intently at Liam. “You’re wondering whether or not you should run away.”
Liam nodded glumly. “I don’t want to leave. I like the library and Fox Hollow.” And Russ. “But I don’t want to bring trouble down on your heads.”
Jeffries reached out to lay a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Please stay. You’re safer here among us than on your own. We’ll figure this out—together.” He smiled. “And I believe a certain wolf shifter would be terribly disappointed.”
Liam looked up sharply, then blushed. “That’s another reason I don’t want to leave.”
“Promise me you’ll give us a chance to deal with this?”
“I promise.” He debated with himself for a moment before he added, “Would you mind driving me home, please? I got creeped out walking across the parking lots.”
Jeffries got that assessing look again as if he understood what Liam really meant. “Of course. I was just wrapping things up for the night when you called. There’s never an end to the tasks if you know what I mean.”
“Thank you,” Liam replied. “For everything.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Jeffries assured him.
The drive back to Liam’s house took only minutes by car, but he felt relieved not to need to cross the empty parking lots on foot. Jeffries parked in his driveway and turned to him. “I’m going to wait until you’re safely inside. Someone meant you harm in Ithaca, and if there’s any chance that you’re right on this Huntsman thing, you need to not take any chances.”
“I promise I’ll be careful.”
“You might consider telling Russ what you told me. He’s a good guy, and you can count on him to have your back.”
“Thank you,” Liam said, planning to figure out when to tell Russ after he’d had a chance to sort out his thoughts. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Liam restrained himself from running from the car to his door. He had his key already in hand and felt grateful that his porch light was on a timer, so he had a good view of the area. Liam opened and slipped inside, quickly locking it behind him and then waving from the window to assure Jeffries all was well.
Tomorrow, we need to go talk to the foxes. Maybe they’ve seen something. And if they haven’t yet, maybe they will, Liam told his fox-self.
The dubious sniff he got in return let him know what his fox thought of getting to know the “locals.” Admittedly, the “real” foxes back in Ithaca had been wary, but otherwise not bad sorts. He hoped that perhaps those here in the wild state forest might be easier to approach.
Liam checked his phone, hoping for a text from Russ, without luck. Then again, he hoped Russ had slept the whole day, recovering from the fires.
If there is a Huntsman, and if he’s the one behind the arson, then we need to find him before someone gets hurt—or worse. And it looks like it’s up to me to find enough evidence to convince the sheriff that we have a problem.
Game on.
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About the Author:
Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.
On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.
Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!
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