AHuntersDream by Viola Grace

Iris has used her ability to dream her target’s location to gain recognition and to be the most efficient hunter she could be. The psychic knives that appear at the ends of her hands help her to stun rather than kill prey when a death is not necessary. Nothing escapes her, not livestock, not lost people. Anything that runs, she can hunt.
    When the Citadel calls on her to help find a lost object in an alien jungle, how can she resist the urge to test her skills on another world?
    Venin is a throw-back shifter of the Azon variety. He has the ability to embrace his peoples’ most ancient form and use the instincts that accompany it to his advantage.
    Partnering with Iris is not his first inclination but once he gets to know the hunter, he wants nothing more than to sprint with her in the wild and test out both of their basic instincts to the max.

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    This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
    A Hunter’s Dream
    Copyright © 2012 Viola Grace
    ISBN: 978-1-77111-195-9
    Cover art by Martine Jardin
    All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
    Published by Devine Destinies
    An imprint of eXtasy Books
    Look for us online at:
    www.devinedestinies.com
    A Hunter’s Dream
    Tales of the Citadel Book 5
    By
    Viola Grace

Chapter One
    Iris watched the beast circle its target. The beltharo was a predator of the highest order and yet, it always chose the weakest targets. The current object of its hunger was a young woman who huddled, trembling, against a rock.
    “Galria? Please stay still and don’t try to run. I will draw its attention, but if you move, it will turn to attack you. Do you understand? If you cannot bear the sight, close your eyes and cover your ears the moment that I engage it.”
    The woman stared at her, wide-eyed at her appearance. “I understand.” Her voice was a low whisper.
    Iris fought a smile. She had been attending a formal event in her town, receiving an award for being the prime hunter of the region. Her hair was up in elaborate curls, her best boots rose to mid-thigh and her matching vest covered her in the softest leather.
    She looked like she was about to attend the most formal of hunts and as she engaged her psychic knives, she felt like it.
    Concentrating on the business at hand, Iris let out a harsh groan to draw her prey. The beltharo whirled and lashed its scaled tail inches from the young woman pinned against the rock.
    A peculiar calm swept through her as it always did when she hunted. The beast charged and she sidestepped, slashing at the animal with her psychic knife. It screamed and arched violently away and she pursued it.
    The beltharo curled away and tried to attack her once again. She leapt into the air and came down on its neck, burying her knives into its spine. The animal collapsed and whimpered as it shifted slightly under her.
    When she felt consciousness leave the beast, Iris got to her feet. She retracted her psychic knives and went to rescue her target.
    “Galria? We can go now. I have a rhesh waiting for us.” Iris put her arm around the girl and