I waited in the Porsche while Hunter checked in. Luckily he got a room along the back, so the car could be parked behind the motel. He didn’t seem to be worried that anyone would know who we were, but I kept expecting aliens and DOD officers to jump out of nowhere.
“The motel doesn’t look too shady,” Hunter said, grabbing our luggage from the trunk. “You should be able to get cleaned up and get some rest.”
Weary, I followed behind him, scanning the dusky lit parking lot. Something struck me then. “Do you sleep? I’ve never seen you sleep.”
“Yes. Sleeping is my third favorite thing.”
“What are the first two?”
Opening the door, he cast a look over his shoulder. “My second favorite thing to do is eat and I think you can guess what my first favorite thing is.”
I felt my cheeks redden. I had a good guess.
The motel room wasn’t bad. The bed linens on the queen-sized bed seemed clean and smelled fresh, not of disinfectant but a nice wildflower scent. There was one bed.
No couch, only an uncomfortable-looking, burnt orange chair in the corner beside a small desk. Hunter placed our luggage by the desk.
Tired, I started to sit down, but Hunter suddenly appeared in front of me.
“I wish I could move as fast as you,” I said. “You never did explain how you move like that.”
Hunter arched a brow. “It’s actually easier for me to move this fast. It takes more energy to move slower, at a human pace. Don’t sit down. I want to get a good look at you.”
I was pretty sure he’d gotten a good and intimate look at me before the night went to shit. “I’m fine.”
“Humor me.”
Too tired to argue, I let him lead me into the brightly lit bathroom. Sitting down on the toilet, I winced. “I think I bruised my butt.”
“I can take a look at that, too.”
I grinned, ignoring the tender pull on my lower lip. “I’m sure you could.”
Disappearing back into the room, he reappeared with a bottle of peroxide and a bag of cotton balls. Now I knew what he had returned to the cabin for.
He placed them on the counter and then knelt. Reaching down, he started to roll up the leg of my jeans.
“What are you doing?” My gaze flickered over the faint red marks on his cheeks and jaw.
He raised his brows as he pushed both pants legs up above my knees. “Cleaning you up. You’re kind of a mess right now.”
I felt like a mess. “You don’t have to do this.”
Picking up the bottle, he shook it. “Don’t argue with me.”
“God, you’re bossy.”
He smiled tightly.
“I’d never seen anyone fight like that tonight. When you fought the Luxen in my apartment it was nothing like that.” I focused on the top of his bent head. “I think I forget what you really are.”
He tipped his head up, his eyes locking on mine. “You should never forget that, Serena.”
“It’s hard. You’re so much like a human.”
“We’re very different. So are the Luxen.” Chin lowered, he inspected my legs. “I don’t really need to breathe, but it’s become a habit.”
Jesus.
“Feels strange when I don’t do it,” he added. “I eat a lot—need to. Our metabolisms, like the Luxen, are extremely fast.”
“Must be nice,” I said, fascinated.
Hunter dabbed at the angry skid marks on my knees. My skin stung, bringing fresh tears to my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. Done with my knees, he picked up my left hand. His hold was achingly gentle. My chest tightened.
“If I were a Luxen, I could just heal you,” he said, smoothing a clean cotton ball over my palm. “A lot easier than this. It’s one of the things the DOD studies about them. They can’t get sick. Think about what that would mean for all the human diseases.”
I tried to wrap my brain around that. No flus. No colds. No cancers. “What about your kind?”
“We don’t get sick , either, but we can’t heal like the Luxen. They try not to do it to humans. Apparently it can change the human DNA, depending on the severity of the injuries, or if it’s done multiple times.”
My gaze was latched onto his face. His brow was lowered in concentration. “What happens to the humans?”
“They mutate, take on some of the Luxen qualities.” Hunter lowered my hand to my lap and picked up the other one. “They’re called hybrids and some of them are stronger than the Luxen.”
“Jesus,” I whispered, reeling.
A small grin pulled at Hunter’s lips as he placed my other hand in my lap. His cool fingers found my chin next, tipping my head down. “This will probably sting more.”
I shivered at his touch, unable to reconcile how gentle he was being right now and how fierce and terrifying he’d been back in the woods. Those hands could kill in a heartbeat, but right now, they were carefully tilting my head to the light.
“How bad is it?” I asked.
His fingers slid away. “Not that bad. There’ll be some swelling. Ready?”
I nodded.
Eyes narrowing, he pressed the fresh ball under my lip, and it did sting like holy hell, but I remained still as he swiped it along my lower lip. The liquid fizzled a little, tickling my chin.
“Your cheek is a little swollen, too.” He reached for another ball.
I closed my eyes as he cleaned up my face. “It could’ve been worse.”
“It could’ve been.”
He continued playing doctor, and unfortunately not the fun kind. When he was done with my face, he put the lid on the bottle. “Hurt anyplace else?”
I ached all over. “No.”
He looked like he didn’t believe me. He was damn observant for a man…and an alien.
I took a shallow breath. “Why did they come after us? Was it because of the DOD?”
“Remember the day you were at the gazebo? They followed you, and I stepped in before they got to you, putting Raz down in front of the others. Our kind has to dominate. And to do so, you have to be stronger than everyone else. So he needed to prove to his friends that he was the alpha.”
“He barked up the wrong tree.”
“Exactly.”
Hunter was still there, kneeling in front of me. He was checking out my knees again, frowning slightly.
“You broke your tracking device, didn’t you?” I asked. “That’s what you were doing outside of the car?”
All he did was nod.
“Why? I don’t understand why you’d do this for me.”
He was silent for forever. “I don’t know.”
“You still don’t?” I shook my head. “When you broke the device, does it notify them—the DOD?”
“Yes, but they won’t find me.”
“But that’s a lot to risk if you don’t know why.”
Hunter’s lashes lifted. “I don’t know, Serena.”
I let out a breath. He didn’t know hours ago and I doubted he’d know hours from now. Did it matter? Yes, whispered a tiny voice. It mattered to me. “Thank you,” I blurted out. “Thank you for helping me and not letting them…well, kill me.”
Hunter stood swiftly. “You should shower. Then rest. You’ll feel better.”
In a daze, I stared at him. Wasn’t expecting a big your-welcome, but damn, he didn’t take a thank-you well. He disappeared again from the bathroom and then returned with a shirt of his that was long enough for me to wear. Without saying a word, he left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
A couple of minutes passed while I sat there, trying to process the additional stuff I’d learned. It felt like the wheels in my brain had broken, because nothing was happening between my ears.
Standing, I stripped off my ruined clothes and turned on the faucet. Stepping under the pelting hot water, I winced as the water sliced over numerous cuts and abrasions. I didn’t know what it was about those tiny licks of pain, but tears welled up and this time I couldn’t stop them. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying. Was it for Mel? Was it for me? Or was it just total overload?