Hunter Mourned (Wild Hunt Book 3) by Nancy Corrigan

I’m not going to tell you. It won’t be a secret anymore.”
    “That’s cruel. You know curiosity will get the better of me, and I’ll have to find out.”
    “Which is why I’m not telling you. I need you to agree to sneak me out of the house.”
    “You’re not a prisoner here. Ask one of the Hunters to go. As long as it’s not at night, they’ll be happy to take you. Even if it is, they’ll make it work. Send their hounds out hunting for them or whatever. You live here. They want you happy.”
    After being pulled into the Huntsmen’s world, it was too dangerous for either him or Allie to leave. That was the official explanation he’d gotten. The Unseelie Court would hunt them down if only to hurt the Hunters. Here, on the estate, they were safe. Harley had erected a permanent magical cloak around their property that only allowed those living here to enter or leave. Her fairy skills had been growing every day.
    Allie glanced at the house. “I don’t want them to know I’m meeting anyone.”
    He frowned. “Who are you meeting? Last I heard, you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
    Actually, she’d never had one. The moment any guy showed any interest in her became the trigger for her to avoid them. Her parents had thought she was gay because of that habit. Trevor didn’t believe it for a minute. He’d seen the way she looked at some men when they weren’t aware, as if she wanted to devour them.
    “I don’t. I’m meeting with…” She pressed her lips together.
    “If you don’t want the others to know, that’s your business, but I’m your friend.”
    She laid her hand on his arm and stepped closer. “Which is why I came to you. Please. I don’t know who else to turn to.”
    Yeah, he would help her, even if he didn’t want to go with her. How was he supposed to say no to her when she had the pleading look in her eyes? “You’re asking me to break Calan’s rule about leaving the house without protection. You know how much I’m trying to earn his respect. I want to ride, hunt.”
    “I do, but…” She fisted the sleeve of his shirt. “I made a promise. I can’t break it. If you won’t help me, I’ll go alone.”
    “No way.” For one, she wasn’t strong enough to fight off an attacker, whether it was a human or one of the members of the Unseelie Court. “Forget it. You are not going alone. You threaten that again, and I’ll tell Rhys. He’ll never let you out of his sight.”
    The conflicted expression she wore sparked his instincts. She wasn’t the type of person to disobey rules unless she had a good reason.
    “What’s really going on, Allie? Does this have to do with Craig or one of the other redcaps? Have they been in touch? Threatened you?” Allie didn’t have any close relatives left—Raul had killed them—but she had friends. She also knew any one of them might be in danger. The only way to protect them had been to cut ties with them, at least on the surface. She still interacted with them on social media by means of a fake account, not ideal, but the best they’d been able to do.
    “No.” She didn’t hesitate in answering. Her body language didn’t change either.
    “Okay, then what?”
    She glanced over her shoulder and groaned. He followed the direction of her gaze. Rowan and Rhys were heading their way. Trevor should’ve known he wouldn’t have been able to escape the notice of his living shadow. She must’ve woken and noticed he was gone. How, he didn’t know. Zeph’s explanation about their senses not being much better than a human’s nixed Trevor’s worry she’d be able to hear him in his room. Or not hear him, as the case may be.
    “We’ve been found.” And he still hadn’t decided how he was going to act toward Rowan.
    Allie tugged at his shoulders. He bent his head closer to hers, and she lowered her voice. “My real mother works there. I found her contact info in my adopted mom’s phone. It was in the box of stuff Ian brought to me from the