****
Griffin stayed in my room for most of the night. We plotted the best way to make it seem we weren’t trying to get rid of them. Griffin had been respectful to everyone in the group, besides Hunter. I hadn’t spent any time with the twins, so I didn’t know them well enough to judge, but I didn’t like Jude. He was going to be the hardest to convince to leave. I felt guilty about lying to Hunter. I might not know him well, but we were mates.
I was still finding it hard to actually say that out loud.
“Griff, you need to get out of my bed,” I mumbled half conscious. We had eaten dinner together, but Hunter and his group had opted to go into town and eat at a restaurant. They were still staying here with us, but I hadn’t heard them come back yet.
“I’m sleeping,” he grunted back wriggling around on the bed. He moved right behind me. We had spooned in the past. It was nothing new. It had kind of become automatic for us. But things felt different now.
“Get the hell out of my bed, bed hog,” I said. I kicked him once for good measure, though I knew it wouldn’t even faze him.
I turned over so that I wasn’t facing him anymore. He let out a sleepy laugh. I thought I felt his weight leave the bed, but I was too exhausted to turn and watch him leave.
I thought I was dreaming, but a vicious growl rent the air and I knew that I wasn’t dreaming. My eyes shot open and my heart practically thumped out of my chest. I moved my head looking, but not really seeing. My eyes were still blurry from sleep.
“Griffin, Griffin?” I called out. My mind trapped in memories from the past.
“It’s alright, you are here now. No hunters. You’re home.”
Griffin’s voice was far away, but I breathed it in. I closed my eyes taking in the scents. It smelled like home. I could smell the aroma pine that he carried with him. A different scent overpowered all those that both calmed my mind.
My eyes opened. Hunter had Griffin against the wall, his arm against Griffin’s throat. I panicked for beat. He wasn’t looking at me, but he looked like he was seconds from shifting and ripping out Griffin’s throat. I had never seen someone so at the mercy of their wolf while still in their human form. I stood up, untangling my legs from my sheets. But I couldn’t quite manage it, tripped, and fell over.
“Son of a…ouch.”
I stood up to see that Griffin was smiling at me even with Hunter pressing his arm into his neck. Hunter hadn’t moved at all.
“Hunter, please calm down,” I said getting closer to them. Hunter’s snarl deepened in his throat. The gold in his eyes brightened, and his canines bulged under his lips.
“Do not tell me to calm down.” Hunter’s voice was barely recognizable. When he turned to me I could tell I wasn’t speaking to human Hunter. At least not completely. He was more animal now than human. I swallowed hard and tilted my head. His words affected me like an Alpha’s command. I had to react. I didn’t like knowing that he was already this dominant over me.
“Please, Hunter,” I said in what I hope was a soothing tone.
“No,” Hunter’s voice was still warped, and I could feel the fear begin to circle my neck. Griffin snarled back at Hunter at sensing my fear.
Griffin pushed ineffectually at Hunter’s arm that was pressed against his throat. Griffin gasped for breath when Hunter pushed a harder against his struggles. I moved forward and tried to pull him away. Hunter turned to me.
“Don’t move.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. I swallowed hard and watched as my mate turned back to my best friend. He slammed Griffin against the wall again. Griffin started to talk when Hunter cut him off again with a loud roar. I flinched holding in a scream that was building in my throat. I didn’t want to further upset Hunter.
I was still in my position when Jude and Hunter’s partners had come through the door. Isaac and Teddy followed. I wanted to move over to my Alpha, to the comfort I knew I’d find there, but I still felt trapped by Hunter’s command. Isaac let out a snarl at seeing his son pressed against a wall by another wolf.
“Let go of my son. The only reason you’re not dead is because Colette is one of my own. If you ever touch my son again, your pack, Alpha or even the Goddess won’t be able to save you from what I will do,” Isaac said.
“Jude take Colette to my room,” Hunter demanded, never looking away from Griffin.
I looked frantically from Isaac to Hunter. I wanted to protest, but I was shocked. Jude moved over to me. I shied away from his touch. He steered me away from Hunter and Griffin. Teddy started to move to intercept us, but Isaac held him back and gave him a small shake of his head. I looked at Isaac. Why he was letting this happen? For the first time since that day I was freed from my cage, Isaac turned away from me.
Griffin started to really struggle when we made it to the door way, but Hunter remained firm. The twins finally separated, the shorter one following Jude and I, the other staying behind with Hunter.
“Here,” Jude said, opening the door to one of the guest rooms. It smelled like Hunter, and I knew that it was his. I was swimming in fear for Griff and for Hunter. I couldn’t breathe correctly.
“I need to go. I need to go see if they are okay,” I said.
“It’s just best that you stay here. You’ve caused enough problems for Hunter, as it is,” Jude said.
His tone almost sounded indifferent, though I could hear annoyance. I breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth. I tried to control the rapidness of my heartbeat, and the overwhelming need to run. Running was easier. Safer.
“I’m Billy,” the shorter blonde put his hand out for me to take. His voice was soft, his demeanor made me feel safer. Jude was unpredictable and dangerous. His threats had shaken me, and I had learned from an early age you couldn’t underestimate anyone.
“Colette,” I answered looking around him. I stared hard at the wall hoping that if I thought hard enough about having x-ray vision it would happen. Because, you know, magic. Nothing happened.
Footsteps sounded in the otherwise quiet room. My palms grew sweaty, I wiped them against my shorts. My body warmed. And there was a strange humming sensation. It was a strange sort of warmth. It wasn’t like my body heating up. It was like I was cold before, but I hadn’t realized it. Not until this warm blanket feeling started to cover me.
Without a doubt I knew it was Hunter.
“Get out,” Hunter grouched, he was sporting a black eye. He caught me staring. “I don’t regret what I did. I would do it again for you.”
Jude and Billy left as soon as he entered the room. He shut the door turned the lock with an audible click. I was in for it now. My body seemed too heavy. I shifted, my hands twisted and turned.
“I get it. You’re pack-mates. You have lived with each other for years. I really do get it. But passing touches are different. He held you in a way only meant for me. I’ve thought about holding you like that... I am your mate, Colette.”
I could feel the frustration tremble up my muscles, ending at my nose in an angry scrunch. I stood as tall as I could, still only coming to his nose in height. I tilted my head and stared into his yellow eyes.
“No. Not yet. Maybe never. You might be able to take me from here, but you cannot force me to give up my heart.”
We might be meant for each other on some level, but we would still have to fulfill the mating ritual for him to claim me as fully his. Right now he had the ‘right’ to take me away. Until the mating ritual was done, I could be claimed by another. Not that it would do much good unless, their true mate was dead.
The witches curse made sure of that.
“Never,” he moved his arm. It circled around my waist like steel, “say that again.” His voice was penetrating.
Hunter moved down and claimed my lips. The kiss wasn’t meant to be passionate, or loving. It was demanding. It was a reminder that even though my mind might reject him, my body melted under his remarkable lips. My knees went weak my body bowed forward. I tried to regain control when he p
ulled back.
“Don’t leave,” he hesitated. Hunter’s gaze flickered to the door back to me and he pressed his lips together.
He backed away still watching me, his wolf was near the surface. His movements were a little too fluid, his canines bulged against his mouth. He slipped out the door.
I was beyond exhausted. Worry for Griff surrounded me, but I was scared of the consequences of me going to him. I headed to the bed and ignored, or at least tried to ignore, the overwhelming scent of Hunter. Sleep came easier than it should have. I slept with the hope I could patch things up tomorrow and continue with my original plan.
****
An arm tightened around my waist. I was pulled back and snuggled the back of my head to the solid body behind me. A moment of contentment flushed through me as I let out a quiet sigh.
Then it hit me.
I opened my eyes and my stomach tightened. I didn’t know if he was awake or not. I tried to twist around to look at him, but I was scared that he was awake. I tried to pull away from his grasp, but he pulled me to him and held tighter.
“I have to go to the bathroom.”
If he wasn’t already awake, he would be. But he didn’t even budge, his chest expanded against mine lazily. So he was asleep, I huffed causing my bangs to fly upwards. I looked down to the arm around my waist. Thick veins bulged under his tanned skin, his body lightly coated with dark hair. I twisted my lips.
Last night was my fault. I should have made sure Griffin had gotten out of bed. I should have made him leave earlier. I wasn’t trying to cause problems but it was a pattern, it was natural for Griff and I.
I was scared of how Hunter made me feel. The mate-bond did not secure our feelings for each other, it was a gift that had been bestowed upon the wolves in order to give us the best chance at finding the right person for us. Before the witches curse, if there wasn’t love, it was possible to move on. Rare, but it happened. Though we might find peace in one another, it didn’t mean true love.
I had to try to make amends. I should do it today. But…
Hunter terrified me for a different reason entirely. Lowe pack were known for hating witches and had been known for killing them at times. If I was part witch, I knew they would never accept me. No matter how absent my magic was.
I gently twisted so that I was facing Hunter. His face looked so much younger as he slept. The lines of worry, and general grumpiness that surrounded him disappeared. While he wasn’t the most handsome man in the world, he definitely wasn’t something to complain looking at.
A nice strong jaw, his nose with character too. It was a little too big, but I found that endearing. I was amazed that even asleep he had a firm set to his lips. I moved my hand up and gently traced his bottom lip. I moved my fingers up to his dark hair, pushing the strands that lay on his face. While he slept I wasn’t as afraid. Men who were asleep tended to be much safer than awake.
“What am I going to do with you?”
I breathed feeling an infinite sadness plague my heart. Things hadn’t started off well for us. I hoped things would be better if I could get someone to bind my other half.
Staring off into space, I hadn’t noticed him wake. His voice jarred me from my thoughts.
“So you lied.”
I made a quiet, startled noise in the back of my throat.
“What?”
“You didn’t have to go the bathroom, obviously.”
His voice was quiet here. It was like the tension was finally beginning loosened.
“You would have risked me going for it here, in the bed?” I asked jokingly. He searched my eyes for a moment. I wasn’t sure, but for a second, he looked to be searching for a deeper meaning to my simple statement.
“Letting you go would be the hardest thing I ever have to do. Even if you just needed to use the bathroom,” Hunter said.
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore how his words affected me.
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” I said. I felt like I was drowning. He didn’t know me. He didn’t know what I was. He would hate me if he knew I was part witch. I could already imagine the disgust I would see in him if he ever found out.
“I am not doing this again,” He said, frustrated. He might believe in us one hundred percent, but I was still wary. And he didn’t know. Though I was hoping he would never know.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
I pulled out of his arms cautious of our proximity. He made me nervous in a way that I had never been before. This was so new to me, someone wanting to be with me, someone who had no restraint. He watched me closely as I pulled away and I realized my shirt had ridden up during sleep. I pulled it down before he could see my tattoo. It was very personal to me, and I rarely showed it off.
“You were about to ask me something,” Hunter said. He climbed out of bed. That is when I realized he was shirtless and mostly naked. He only wore boxer briefs, and it had me feeling like I was thirteen again. I turned away after letting out an audible “eep”.
He was gorgeously tanned and wrapped in thick muscle. It felt too personal staring at him. Well, what I was doing was more gawking...
“Why are you here? In our territory I mean,” I asked still looking in the opposite direction.
“Pack business.”
I turned towards him.
“Well it’s not a secret to Isaac. I guess I could go ask him, but I rather you have told me.”
“What does it matter? Me being here now doesn’t change that we would have eventually found our way to each other someday,” Hunter challenged. I wasn’t going to back down.
“I wasn’t trying to,” I groaned in the back of my throat frustrated. I hadn’t been asking to accuse him of anything. I didn’t think there was any way to fix that so I moved on.
“There is obviously a reason your Alpha would send a group of enforcers up this way.”
Hunter stayed quiet with this arms crossed in front of him.
“I was just wondering because… you know about my past,” I said quietly purposefully looking down.
Hunter unfolded his arms and rubbed the back of his neck.
“What are you trying to get at Colette?”
“I am not trying to get at anything.”
He made a noise of disproval before walking to the dresser. He started to rummaging through his bag of clothes that sat on top of the dresser. He hadn’t actually unpacked the bag, which meant he wasn’t planning on staying very long. That made cold fear course through me. I was running out of time and I knew it. I could feel the clock ticking in my head.
“Seriously, you are too untrusting,” I tried to sound playful but he had every right to be suspicious of me.
Hunter didn’t say anything as he pulled on his jeans, but I could feel he was going to say something else. I remained quiet as I watched him. He stood at his full height. Looked down at me still in his bed. A blush stole across my cheeks. I wanted to get up but not while he watched so closely.
“I’m being cautious.”
“I am trying, Hunter. But think about it from my point of view. You crashed into my life quicker than I ever expected. I didn’t think I would have a mate. I am a halfling, after all.”
I rose while speaking. And started walking toward the door. I had every intention of leaving the room.
“Think about it in my point of view, Colette. You crashed into my world just as suddenly and unpredictably.”
Hunter had moved so that he stood in front of me. I didn’t dare look up at him. I was scared. Scared that I would look up at him and my resolve would melt away. He put me off kilter when he was this close. That weakness terrified me. I was conflicted with what I thought I wanted, and what my wolf needed.
He bent closer, his breath feathering over my eyelashes. I could kiss him. My heart skipped a beat or two. Instead I ducked my head and left the room. I headed straight for the kitchen.
I walked in the kitchen Keith was cooking while Isaac sat with Rose at the table. Bi
lly and Jameson were standing chatting with some of our other enforcers, slapping each other on the back like they were old friends. I moved over to Keith. He gave me a side hug when I arrived at his side but said nothing. We worked together as we had many mornings.
Keith always made sure that I knew how to take care of myself. I was grateful for the lessons he taught me in my teenage years. Keith was gone a lot working with Liam, or helping around with the pack. I often found myself alone in the mornings because he’d already be gone. But he always made sure he made it home for dinner at least 4 nights a week.
We made the works. Pancakes, eggs and the morning meats. Soon we got into our normal routine, and even joked around a little. I enjoyed my time with Keith, it felt normal. It felt like something I could hold onto. Like I could live in that world. I didn’t have to think about anything else and I didn’t have the crushing weight of my worries on my shoulders.
I was smiling more than I had in days. I sensed something approaching. Out of instinct I stopped, glancing curiously in the direction of the door. Hunter had just passed under the frame pausing there to it in. Though his arms were crossed, his jaw tightened and strained, his eyes almost looked relaxed. Those lips that I loved so much, though, were relaxed.
I turned away from Hunter and helped Keith plate everything. We took it over to the table where the wolves were. They talked about the usual. Weather, the government. I shifted feeling impatient as they spoke. I was waiting for my peaceful bubble to pop. As Keith and I moved towards the table, Griffin had joined the table. Normally I would move over to sit by him. But if I was going to prove to Hunter that I was trying to do better, I should stay with Keith.
Griffin looked disapprovingly at me when I sat down next to Keith instead of him. I looked away. The chair next to me pulled out, and Hunter slipped into it.
“Lowe called me,” Isaac said after our small group had grabbed their food. I bit the inside of my lip nervously.
“He was wondering where the hell his enforcers were at, seeing as they had not called him to update on the status of their retrieval mission.”
My eyes went to Jude, expecting him to answer as he was the eldest of the wolves from Lowe’s enforcer group. Instead the voice next to me spoke up.
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