Free The Soul Stealer by Maureen Willett Page B

best enchantment and failed. She had rejected him—something he hadn’t anticipated. He had no plan for that. His plan was to capture her and then go home. Falling in love with her was not a part of the plan. Love opened too many strange and mysterious doors, and created wild thoughts of rebellion against his father, something he had never considered before.
    He didn’t blame Malia for rejecting him, though. She was much too good for the likes of him and would be better off without him. He would be just some odd guy who came into her life for a few days and then disappeared—a memory. It tore at his heart to think she could so easily forget him, even though it would be better for her if she did.
    Then Hunter’s heart almost stopped as a terrifying realization hit home. If he went into hiding, they wouldn’t try to find him. Instead, they would go after Malia, use her as bait to draw him out. He put her in danger by fleeing.
    Hunter froze, suspending himself in time and space. A murderous rage began to fire through his body at the thought of any of those savages near his own beautiful girl. He turned around toward the Pacific Ocean. He would have to go back and try harder to make her love him, even if he had to do it without magic. And if he didn’t succeed, at least he would be near enough to protect her. He wouldn’t let them hurt Malia. It was better for her to die in his arms than at the hands of cruel strangers.
    It took no time at all to arrive back in Hawaii. All he had to do was concentrate on Malia’s house, and he was there. Hunter touched down at the bottom of the stairs, knowing it would seem an eternity until she returned. He sat down in the dark on the first step and tried to calm down to regain a composed mask of patience—one that looked more human. His rage had increased the sparkles in his skin, and the glitter was starting to seep from every pore. But if he calmed down, his skin would be back to human form before Malia got home.
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    Malia wanted to enjoy dinner with Ryan Green, but it was difficult to focus on him, or their conversation. All she could think about was Hunter. She smiled at Ryan, nodded her head when appropriate, and asked the usual first-date kind of questions, but inside her heart begged her to run from the restaurant to find the man who had captivated her before they even met. Malia took a deep breath and looked at the menu—a much safer, and saner, course of action. She looked around the traditionally decorated steakhouse, surprised she didn’t see anyone she knew since it was a favorite restaurant among local residents.
    Ryan was doing his best to charm her, and it was working—to an extent. Malia smiled as she listened to his tales of growing up in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, and how he had come to Hawaii to learn to surf one summer. Originally Ryan had no intention of staying, but now, after ten years, he didn’t think he would ever leave.
    “And people in the police department have accepted you, even though you’re not from here?” Malia asked.
    “For the most part,” he replied with an easy smile.
    The waitress came over and opened a bottle of red wine, and then poured them each a glass. Malia vowed not to repeat last night’s binge. She still didn’t understand what had gotten into her, but yesterday had been a strange day. It had been a strange couple of days, actually.
    “You seem lost in thought,” Ryan said.
    “Oh, I was just thinking about the last few days,” she said with a small shrug. “I haven’t thought about my mother’s death in a long time, and now I can’t get it out of my mind. Have there been any changes in that woman’s murder?”
    “No, not really. There aren’t any solid leads,” Ryan said. He looked away for a moment and then back to Malia with a question in his eyes. “Do you really want to talk about this?”
    “Yes, if there’s more to hear.”
    He hesitated for a moment. “Well, we have uncovered similar murders on