The Hunter's Fated Child (Book 2 in the Hunter series.)

CHAPTER 7: A NEW DEVELOPMENT.

ALLY

I was relieved when Holly gasped, sucking in as much air as she could in greedy gulps. I had healed many people now, but I still worried that it wouldn’t work each time. She sat up and threw her arms around me. “Thank you.” She said. I hugged her back. I was just happy that I could help. Now that she was ok I wanted to know what the f**k had happened to her.

Jake told me his theory, and I was horrified to hear that a vampire had been here in the citadel. I sniffed the air. The scent was faint now, but I could still smell it. Ugghh, vampires smelt disgusting. It wasn’t surprising, though, as they were technically dead. Council Leader Parker interrupted my thoughts. He wanted Jake and Holly to move to another room. “Why don’t they just come and stay with me? I’ve got the room.” I suggested instead. Holly looked at me gratefully. “That would be great. Thank you, Ally.” She replied instantly before Council Leader Parker had a chance to object. Jake gathered their things, and they left with me. Holly was still a little weak, and Council Leader Parker had accepted Jake’s request to have the citadel doctor check on the baby. He told us that he would send her to my house to meet us.

When we reached my house, I showed them to the spare room and got them an extra blanket. There was a knock at the front door, and I hurried off to answer it while Jake got Holly comfortable. It was the doctor. She had brought a portable ultrasound machine with her. I took her up to the room where Holly was resting and watched impatiently as she began scanning Holly’s stomach. I audibly breathed a sigh of relief when the fuzzy black and white picture showed a baby moving it’s hand around. The doctor’s face creased up as she looked at the screen. Her expression worried me.

The doctor cleared her throat and asked how far along Holly was. Jake told her, and she sat quietly looking at the screen. Jake asked what was wrong, and she said that Holly was further along than that. She was at least a month gone, possibly more. Jake shook his head. He stated that that wasn’t possible. They had already had a scan back at Dawn Sky, which had confirmed that Holly had fallen pregnant during their honeymoon at the cottage. The doctor looked at us all. “I don’t know what to tell you, but this baby is more advanced than that. So unless the child is growing at an abnormal speed, your doctor got it wrong.” She said, gathering her things.

She told us that the baby was doing well and was definitely a boy. Sher left, and we all just sat there in silence. Her words, which were meant as a snide dig at the Dawn Sky doctor’s abilities, rang in our heads. The baby was growing faster than it should be. This would mean that he would be here sooner than expected.

Jake and I had left Holly to get some rest and gone down to the kitchen to have a cup of tea. I had just finished pouring the water when there was another knock at the door. I was surprised to see Council Leader Parker standing on my doorstep. I invited him in and led him through to the kitchen, where I offered him a cup of tea. He declined, saying that he had just stopped by to check on Holly.

He asked about the doctor’s visit, and Jake told him what she had said. I was surprised that he had volunteered the information so quickly. Then again, Council Leader Parker had probably already spoken to the doctor himself before his visit to us. It would have been pointless trying to keep it from him. Council Member Parker nodded, not looking particularly surprised. Seeming to confirm my suspicions. He didn’t stay long. I popped up to check on Holly and see if she wanted tea, but she was fast asleep, so I just quietly closed the door and went back downstairs to relax with my big brother for a while.

HOLLY

I was dreaming about my baby. He was beautiful. He had a head of fuzzy black hair and grey green eyes. The shade was a perfect mixture of mine and Jake’s eyes. He was gurgling happily in my arms. I felt serene. We were outside in the gardens of the Dawn Sky pack. The sun was shining and birds singing. It was idyllic. Jake had come to join us, and we sat there playing with our child. A ball flew towards us and caught me in the shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but it did make me jump.

A young teenager came running over to get his ball back and apologise for it hitting me. Before I could tell him that it was fine, he suddenly dropped to the ground, gasping for air. His face was turning purple. I was frantically looking around, trying to figure out what was causing this. Jake was trying to save the boy. I looked down and realised with horror that the baby was doing it. He was hurting this poor boy. His tiny face was scrunched up in concentration ass he stared at the boy. I picked up the baby and tried to distract him, but it was no good. I heard the boy make a strange gurgling noise, and then there was silence. Jake looked at us with fear in his eyes. “What is he?” Jake asked. The sky turned dark, and thunder crashed above us. Rain began to pour down on us. Just like that, my wonderful dream had become a nightmare.

I awoke in a cold sweat and rushed to the window desperate for some fresh air. I threw it open and saw a movement down in the street below. I saw Council Member Harper walking quickly towards the main building. Why had he been watching Ally’s house? I felt my fear turning to anger as I realised what had just happened. Council Member Harper’s ability was dream manipulation. He could make you dream whatever he wanted. Or he could enter your dreams at will.

Well if he thought that a bad dream was going to make me give up on my child then he waas a f*****g i***t. I found myself wondering if he was doing this by himself or if other Council Members were working with him. I also wondered what his goal was. What did he want? He hadn’t said much during today’s talks, just sat there listening to the others. I didn’t feel like going back to sleep. Even though I knew that the dream had been Council Member Harper’s doing, I was still struggling to get the image out of my head. I decided to go down and join Jake and Ally. I didn’t want to be alone right now.