by M. D. Grimm
Hunter glanced at Glenn, asking for help. Glenn stared at him and then mouthed the words “Tell the truth.”
Hunter closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled slowly. He met Douglas’s eyes before speaking.
“I was an orphan,” Hunter said. He was defending himself, his very person, to this shifter, so he had damn well better make it good. “I don’t have any memories of my birth parents. They left me at an orphanage when I was three, and I was there for ten years. Then a woman came and adopted me. She was a knight.” Hunter’s throat went dry but he continued. “I wanted a family. Can you understand that? I saw other kids with parents, with families, and I always wondered why that couldn’t be me. Then I finally had one and—”
“Who were you to question them?” Douglas supplied when Hunter paused. Hunter breathed a little easier. The shifter was no longer looking at him as if he would attack—but he was still cautious.
“I did question them,” Hunter said. “I was thirteen. I did ask them why shifters were so evil. But I was watched closely when I disagreed with my mother. I started to keep my questions to myself.” Then he looked at Glenn. “I wanted to trust them. I wanted them to love me. But I was always afraid when I was with them. I always feared being kicked out or worse.”
“That’s not a family,” Douglas said.
Hunter looked back at him. “No, it’s not. But I didn’t know anything else. I never fully agreed with them, Douglas. I never really believed that all shifters were evil. That they were abominations.”
He didn’t know whether Douglas believed him, but the shifter nodded.
“I don’t know if Glenn told you, but—this is supposed to be my rite of passage.”
Douglas only stared at him, so Hunter continued. “My rite of passage, to become a full knight, is to kill a shifter.”
Douglas nodded slowly, his eyes hard.
“But I didn’t.” Even Hunter heard the plea in his voice. “I never wanted to. I saw Glenn and I just couldn’t. So I decided to learn about shifters. I had lots of questions and no answers.” Hunter’s palms began to sweat. “Glenn answered those questions, and I’ve finally realized who my family really is. Who the Knights really are.”
“You see, Dad?” Glenn finally spoke. He walked over to Hunter and slipped his arm around Hunter’s and met his father’s eyes.
“Hunter didn’t go through a sudden transformation. He’s been questioning the Knights for years. He’s not tricking us, Dad. I trust him.”
Hunter stood taller with Glenn’s unwavering support. He was proud and grateful to know Glenn—he felt so unworthy.
Douglas looked from one to the other slowly. Then he raised an eyebrow and looked at his son. “You have chosen him?”
Hunter felt Glenn stiffen, but his arm never left Hunter’s and he raised his chin. “Yes. It appears I have.”
Douglas turned away and he sighed long and heavy. Then he looked back, his eyes still shielded.
“Then I have no choice.” He eyed Hunter. “I have the inclination to believe you. But—” Douglas pointed at him. “If you are false and you betray my herd to the Knights, know that I will break you. I have other shifter allies, and I will not hesitate to call upon them. Many of them are predators, and they will shred and bleed you while I break you.”
If Hunter was planning to trick the shifters, he would have thought twice under the alpha’s fierce gaze and fiery voice. He swallowed hard and nodded jerkily.
“I understand. Sir.”
Douglas nodded sharply and gave his son a look that Hunter didn’t understand before he shifted back into the buck. He stared at them a moment longer before bounding away.
Glenn slumped beside him and Hunter did the same, taking a deep breath. He grabbed his canteen and took a large gulp of water.
“I didn’t think I would survive that,” Hunter said, looking at Glenn.
Glenn wiped his brow and gave a shaky smile. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure how this would go down either.”
“Thank you.” Hunter took Glenn’s hand hesitantly. “Thank you so much for your support. I couldn’t have gotten through this if you weren’t behind me.”
Glenn touched his cheek and Hunter leaned into his touch. “I couldn’t have done anything but that. You’re my mate, after all.”
Hunter jerked and his eyes widened. “What did you say?” he whispered.
“Don’t be like that,” Glenn snapped and his gentleness vanished. His eyes started to glow and his skin faintly rippled. “Don’t you dare hedge away from me now. I put my neck out for you and you’re damn well going to stay.”
Hunter was speechless. Glenn seemed to think he was in disagreement.
“Damn it, Hunter!” Glenn shook his shoulders. “Don’t you get it? Don’t you feel what’s between us? I know you have to. I felt it yesterday as we lay together. That’s how I knew.”
“Glenn—” Hunter felt elated, and he knew the truth: his entire life had been leading up to meeting Glenn.
“No, don’t!” Glenn was trembling and his eyes glistened. “You are not leaving. You just got accepted by my father, and you’re going to meet my mother, and my brother and sisters. You try to run and I’ll—”
Hunter kissed Glenn, cupping his face and thrusting his tongue deep inside his mouth. Glenn reacted instantly, and wrapped his arms around Hunter’s waist, kissing him back, moaning. Hunter continued the kiss, relishing it, pushing as much emotion into it as he could, showing Glenn just how much he loved him, how much he wanted to stay with him.
Only then did he let go. Glenn was slightly blurry-eyed and his mouth was swollen.
“Stop yelling at me now,” Hunter said.
Glenn laughed and hugged him. “I’m sorry. I panicked.”
“I know,” Hunter said. “I did too. I never considered, never hoped, that you would make me your mate.”
“Honestly? I never considered it either,” Glenn said. “Not until my father asked me if I had chosen you. And I realized—” Glenn pulled back and looked into Hunter’s eyes. “I don’t want to let you go. Can we see where this goes?”
“I’d like that,” Hunter said.
Chapter Eight
Glenn was exhilarated as he walked hand-in-hand with Hunter as they approached his home. He grinned at Hunter’s shocked expression and his dropped jaw.
“This house has been in the family for generations. I’ll get it one day.”
“You will?” Hunter said.
“Yes. I’m the oldest son. I’ll be the leader of the herd one day.”
Hunter glanced at him, saying nothing.
Glenn cleared his throat. “Well, I mean. It’s expected of me. I don’t know if that’s what you want—I mean, if we stay together that long. Or—”
How deep could he dig this hole?
Hunter squeezed his hand and Glenn reluctantly met his gaze.
“I love this forest, Glenn. I really wouldn’t mind living here.”
Glenn let out a large breath and felt excited once more. “Good. Okay.”
“You going to keep babbling, Glenn?” Rowan said from the porch. “Or are you going to let us meet the invader?”
“My sister,” Glenn said dryly. “Rowan. She’s the youngest.”
“Actually, that would be Oak,” Rowan said as they approached. She gave Hunter a once over very much like their father had. But she was surprisingly pleasant considering how snappish and rude she usually was.
She held out her hand and Hunter took it with a friendly smile.
“Former knight, huh?” Rowan said without preamble.
Glenn opened his mouth but Hunter touched his arm. “Yes. Emphasis on the former.”
The corner of Rowan’s mouth lifted. “Seems you have some sense. Come in.”
She led the way inside and Glenn felt slightly easier. Next to his father, Rowan was the hardest to please and the most skeptical. She appeared to have given Hunter the benefit of the doubt and had yet to make up her mind about him.
It was a
good sign. If she’d already decided against him, there would be no changing her mind and that would cause a large fissure in the herd. Hunter still had a chance to win her over.
“Welcome, Hunter,” Willow said, coming toward them. Glenn caught Hunter’s surprise as his mother hugged him. But Hunter recovered quickly and hugged her back.
“You look hungry,” she said. “I’ll fix you something.”
To his mother, everyone who came through the door must be hungry. She walked to the kitchen as Ash and his mate Jade came forward. Jade was heavy with their first child and since she was a petite female, it showed. Her eyes were big and brown, and her pale hair was pulled back in a tail. Ash looked at Hunter with open curiosity and held out his hand.
“It’s about time my brother found someone,” he said with a cheeky grin.
Glenn rolled his eyes as Hunter shook Ash’s hand. Douglas stood by the hearth, his arm resting on the mantelpiece.
“I’m going to show Hunter around the place,” Glenn said, looking at his father for any signs of disapproval. But when he remained silent, Glenn took Hunter’s arm and they walked out of the house.
“Your father was quiet,” Hunter said as they walked down the porch steps. “I hope I didn’t cause any—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Glenn said. “He broods. He’s already given his approval. He just has to mull it over.” Glenn shrugged. “You’ll learn that my father’s silence is usually a good thing. He’ll let you know if he doesn’t approve.”
Hunter nodded. They walked down the porch steps and strolled around the house. Glenn talked about the acres of property they owned around the edge of the park, and he pointed to certain trees where special events had taken place. Also, where they kept their chickens.
“I thought you were vegetarians?” Hunter asked.
Glenn smiled. “Well, not all the time. Jade has a thing for chicken eggs, and we also sell most of the eggs in the next town.”
“Oh,” Hunter said.
“Are you okay?” Glenn asked, noticing Hunter’s silence.
“What? Oh, fine. I’m just—” Hunter paused, staring at the pecking chickens. “Overwhelmed, I guess. Your family is so different than what I’m used to.”
“I should hope so,” Glenn said.
Hunter smiled at him.
“They’ll warm up to you,” Glenn said, trying to reassure him. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you,” Hunter said softly. “You’re the one who made me understand what trust is.”
Glenn’s heart softened and he kissed Hunter deeply, slowly, sliding his lips seductively across Hunter’s mouth. Hunter’s large hands pressed against his back, and Glenn felt his mate’s enthusiastic response against his leg.
His mate.
Glenn pushed Hunter against the side of the house and pressed his body against his mate, lowering his hand to rub against Hunter’s bulge. Hunter groaned and gripped Glenn’s back, pulling him closer. His deer frolicked in joy inside his mind, urging him on, demanding more.
“I love you,” Hunter whispered.
Glenn stilled. His deer bleated. He’d wondered who would be the first to say it. Then a dark flush under Hunter’s ebony skin had him smiling. Hunter obviously didn’t mean to say that out loud, but Glenn was grateful that he did.
“And I love you,” Glenn whispered. Hunter looked delighted. Glenn rubbed Hunter harder and his mate trembled and pressed his mouth to Glenn’s neck, sucking his skin. Glenn moaned.
“Oh!”
Both of them froze. Glenn turned his head to see his mother, her face flushed a deep red, standing with her hands clasped to her chest.
He really wasn’t sure who was more embarrassed, them or her.
“Y—your food is ready, Hunter,” she said, barely containing a giggle. “Just—just come in when you’re ready.” Then she left.
Hunter groaned again, though this time it wasn’t from pleasure.
“Jesus Christ,” he said.
Glenn laughed, and Hunter hit his arm.
“Damn it, Glenn! This isn’t funny!”
“Like hell it isn’t,” Glenn said.
Hunter pushed away from him, and Glenn leaned against the house, still laughing. Hunter stood there, fuming, with an obvious erection pressed against his jeans.
“S—sorry,” Glenn said, trying to gain control over himself.
Hunter’s mouth quirked as if he was trying not to laugh himself.
“Come on,” Glenn said, after taking a deep breath. “Let’s go inside.”
Hunter looked down at himself. “I guess I’m presentable.”
Glenn grinned and took Hunter’s hand again to lead him back inside.
Hunter never knew such a peaceful and enjoyable day as the one he spent with Glenn’s family. Douglas and Willow weren’t around a lot, both of them doing rounds around the park. But Glenn’s siblings and Jade were entertaining and so—normal. He needed to remind himself that they were shifters, because they could have easily fit in among humans.
His family were the monsters.
And Glenn—sweet Glenn. He was always by his side, either arguing good-naturedly with his siblings or laughing at their jokes. Glenn always made sure he had enough to drink or to eat, or if he was comfortable enough. It was hard not to be comfortable in a house that was so much a home. Hunter could actually feel the generations that had come before him, the love and the laughter that had filled this house over the years.
It was hard not to be jealous of Glenn. But when he remembered the welcome he’d received from Glenn’s herd, he couldn’t hold onto it.
“So—rite of passage, right?” Rowan said suddenly, late in the evening. Willow and Jade were making dinner, but Douglas hadn’t returned from his rounds yet.
Rowan lay on the couch, taking up the entire thing. He sat across from her with Glenn while Ash read a book.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Do the Knights know where you are?” she asked.
“I—” Hunter was struck dumb. Yes. Yes, they did know where he’d gone on his rite of passage. He reported to them before he’d entered the park, telling them the date and time of his entrance. He did quick math in his head and realized he only had one week left before he needed to return to Headquarters with his kill.
“Hunter?” Glenn touched his arm and Hunter jerked away.
“I—need to go outside.” He barely managed not to run. He jumped down the porch steps and ran his hands over his head, looking up at the star-strewn sky. If he didn’t return from his rite, they would come looking for him. If they came looking for him, they would find his new family. They would find Glenn.
“No,” he whispered. Then his vision blurred, he became dizzy, and images rushed before his eyes, too quick for him to recognize. A long line of images and colors swirled indistinct before they settled, and he saw Glenn’s house aflame. Unmoving bodies strewn across the ground. Douglas as a buck, fighting against men in black. It was night and Willow was cowering on the ground, holding a child in her arms.
Oak. Glenn’s niece. Hunter had seen pictures of her on the mantlepiece. Then he saw Glenn, his Glenn, as a buck, charging knights, for they couldn’t be anyone else. The scene was bloody and violent, and the cries filled his ears, making them throb. He pressed his hands over his ears, but the noise only became louder. He gritted his teeth and waited for the vision to end. It only lasted a minute, though it felt like an hour. He returned to himself lying on the ground in the fetal position, his hands clasped over his ears. He was shaking, sweaty, and crying.
He was also not alone. Glenn was patting his cheek, shaking his shoulder, saying his name.
“Hunter, Hunter can you hear me? Hunter!” Glenn sounded panicked, and he was pale and drawn when Hunter opened his eyes.
“I’m fine,” he said, voice croaking, and sat up, wiping his face harshly. He knew what he had to do. But he was loath to do it.
“What happened? Another vision?” Glenn grasped his shoulders.
Hunter stared at Glenn’s beloved face. The face he trusted more than any in the world. The face he loved. He’d never lied to Glenn, not once since they met. But he lied now.
“Yeah, but I’m okay. Sometimes they get really intense.” Hunter forced a smile and kissed Glenn’s cheek.
“You—you were crying and shaking. That’s not usual, is it?” Glenn asked, still trembling.
“It’s not unusual.” Hunter struggled to keep his tone light and he let Glenn help him stand.
“You sure—” Glenn clearly didn’t believe him.
“I’m sure,” Hunter said briskly. He took Glenn’s hand and they walked back into the house.
Glenn knew there was something wrong with Hunter. He didn’t believe Hunter for one minute about the vision. And that meant his mate had lied to him. But why? What did he see? Glenn planned on getting it out of him after dinner, when they all retreated to their bedrooms.
He led Hunter into his room and shut the door, and before he could get a word out, he was attacked. Hunter shoved Glenn down on his bed and tugged off his boots before starting on his pants.
“Hunter—wait, we need to—” talk was what he was going to say, but his mouth became busy when Hunter’s slammed down onto it. It was rough, fierce, and hardened him quickly. Glenn gripped Hunter’s shoulders as those hands delved beneath his pants, gripping his erection, stroking mercilessly. Glenn’s thoughts fizzled and he rode on the sensations Hunter was evoking.
His mate was relentless and it wasn’t long before they were both naked. Hunter’s body completely covered his own, pressing him tightly against the mattress. Hunter humped him, grinding his groin against Glenn’s erection, setting off fires in his stomach. Glenn dug his fingers into Hunter’s back, knowing he drew blood, not caring. Hunter was completely possessing him and Glenn didn’t mind. The need pumped off his mate and Glenn soaked it up, wrapping his legs around Hunter’s waist.
“How do I—I want to—” Hunter said, grunting nearly incoherently.