Hunter's Curse by Ginna Moran Read Free Book Online

her off, she flips me on my stomach and cuffs my hands behind me. I’m no match to the skilled agents. I’m a dead man.
    I struggle and kick at Agent Janie as she pulls me to my feet. My mom stands a foot away and stares at me with narrowed eyes. She looks more annoyed than sad, and her steeliness buries deep into my bones. This woman, she’s not my mother anymore, she’s a board member, and she doesn’t care about me like I thought she did. If she loved me, she wouldn’t do this.
    “I’m sorry, Hunter. I really am,” my mom says.
    I charge forward, but Agent Chris steps between us, not letting me get close to my mom. “I’ll never forgive you for this!”
    Agent Chris forces me to move and I lock eyes with the super standing quietly across the room. Fear washes over me and I feel like I’ll be sick any moment. I was just starting my life. I graduated early, started preparing for my agent training when I turn eighteen, and now—it’s all being ripped from me. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Mason again. He’ll never know what my mom did either—I’m sure she’ll have a cover story.
    I yell as Agent Chris pushes me forward. “Please,” I beg the creature. “Don’t do this. I’m not important. Please.”
    Jacqueline raises her hands up. “I promise this won’t hurt.”
    I struggle until Jacqueline touches her cool fingers to my cheeks. I stare into her lavender eyes for a moment before squeezing my eyes shut. There’s nothing I can do to stop this. Heat washes through my veins and the air shifts.
    I open my eyes in pitch blackness and an emptiness like nothing I’ve ever felt before settles into my mind. My life is over. I’m now only a soul trapped in the mind of a monster.
    I wish she had killed me instead.
     
     
    JACQUELINE
     
    Hunter’s life flashes before my eyes. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. There’s a light in his soul that is pure and good, and nothing within him has been touched by evil or bad intention.
    I watch as a young boy with dark, curly hair scoops mounds of ice cream into a bowl. When he’s through, he carries the bowl and walks down the hallway of a quaint house filled with tons of family portraits on the walls, and to a room where another boy lies in bed. The child version of Hunter hands the boy the bowl of ice cream and hugs his sick brother. So much love and caring fills my soul. I wish I could watch Hunter in this moment forever.
    Another vision flashes in my mind and I watch as Hunter squats on the ground and snaps his fingers, calling for a fluffy, white dog. The dog dashes away and into the street. Hunter rushes to stop a car before it can hit the dog. He scoops the dog into his arms and hands it to a woman with a cane, and she hugs Hunter and kisses his cheek. His kindness overwhelms me. I’m only used to the selfish souls.
    Lastly, I watch as Hunter hugs Dr. Sullivan. He tells her he loves her and how he wishes the world was safe for everyone. His devotion to his mother was so strong, it was tangible, and I wonder how her actions will affect his love for her. A person can only take so much.
    After the visions stop and I can focus on the world around me, I realize what I’ve done. Nana warned me long ago that I can’t redeem a pure soul. She told me the consequences of doing so and I didn’t really believe her until this moment.
    I don’t have control over Hunter’s soul like I would have if he’d been evil. I can’t redeem him. Hunter’s cursed to share my life and body and I’m cursed because even if I manage to rid myself of the HPA without having to come back here, I’m stuck with Hunter until I return him back to his body or he chooses to release himself.
    I blink my eyes a few times. I’d never let anyone know that. I want Dr. Sullivan to be afraid for her son. I want her to think his life truly lies in my hands and I can destroy him if I want to.
    I take a deep breath and pull Hunter from the void in my mind. His presence sits