by G. K. DeRosa
Hunter’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the puncture wound. A dribble of blood leaked out. “I’m carrying you.”
“The hell you are.”
He glared down at me, the gold in full brilliance. “Do you want to talk or not? I know you must have questions and I want to answer them, but I won’t do it out here. Besides the fact that your feet are filthy and the wound could get infected, your blood will leave a trail straight to my home. I don’t want whoever is after you following us. Can you get that through your thick head?”
I bit back another curse, this one infinitely more colorful than my last. “Fine,” I gritted out. One arm came under my thighs and the other cradled my back as he scooped me into his chest. His warmth enveloped me, and my body sagged against his strength. It had been a pretty hellish night, and my lids grew heavy against the steady murmur of Hunter’s heart. I started to drift as memories of the last time I was in his arms flitted to the surface. No. No. No. Forcing my eyes open, I shoved the warm and fuzzy thoughts away. Hunter had lied to me for years, he’d broken my heart. Now, I’d been in Moon Valley for over a week, and he hadn’t said a thing. He likely never would have if I hadn’t finally pieced it together.
I held my breath trying to avoid his heady scent. One sniff and I was sixteen-year-old Sierra back at the academy, insecure and pining over a masked apparition. I held onto the anger, cradling it in my gut, nourishing it so that it would grow.
I needed the anger because without it, I had nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When we reached the looming hillside, instead of the main entrance Vander had led me to, Hunter veered to the right and bypassed the wolf sentinels. Both furry guards twitched at our approach, but as soon as the beta cast his gaze on them, the pair relaxed.
Hunter carried me around the back of the hill to a small opening hidden within the verdant terrain. The entrance was snuggled between the two hills, and my broad-shouldered escort was forced to squeeze us between the grassy knolls surrounding it. A curtain of mossy greens covered the secret tunnel, similar to the one that led into my dorm. He pushed the hanging ivy to the side with his shoulder and a swell of moist air wafted over us, darkness closing in.
“No guards?”
He shook his head. “Anyone stupid enough to try would have to make it past the guards at the entrance and the back door. It’s never happened in the history of Silverstalker Lair.”
Cocky, much?
Hunter stopped and fumbled me in his arms, switching my weight onto his left side.
“You can put me down, you know.”
He grunted and gently lowered me to the ground. I stared into the dark tunnel trying to make out the path. He blew out a breath, and a flame ignited in his palm—showing off those special dragon powers. The dim light revealed a series of torches along the earthen wall. He placed the flame inside one, and the entire row lit up like dominoes.
“Neat trick,” I muttered. After hearing all about the sparkly unicorn Lunar Packs, I wanted some special abilities too.
Hunter started moving up the tunnel, and I trailed behind. I winced as the gravelly floor dug into my fresh cut. Biting my tongue, I forced myself not to squeal. After a few steps, my surly escort spun around, and I nearly smacked right into him. “We still have to walk up a few levels. You sure you can handle it?” He eyed my foot, surely noticing how I was walking on my tiptoes.
“I’m fine, Aristaeus,” I grated out.
“Suit yourself.”
“What’s up with that by the way? Is your real name Aristaeus or Hunter?” Of all the questions that circled my mind, I figured this was the safest.
“My given name is Aristaeus, son of Apollo and Cyrene, the great Greek god of hunters.” He grunted. “My father chose it, of course. My mom must have hated it as much as I do because she always called me Hunter, my middle name. So to my friends, I’m Hunter and to everyone else, especially in an official capacity, I’m Aristaeus.”
It was the first time he’d mentioned his mom. He’d never said a word about her before. I’d assumed they didn’t have a good relationship but now, the somber tone and his haunted eyes revealed something else. He’d spoken of her in past tense. “Got it.” It was all I could manage right now.
We trudged up the tunnel until the incline turned steep. While I appreciated not having to go in through the main entrance wearing only his t-shirt, I wasn’t sure how much further I could go. Weariness was setting into my bones, the cut on the bottom of my foot throbbed, all traces of alcohol gone and a fierce hangover setting in.
“Almost there,” he muttered as if he’d heard my inner grumblings. I wouldn’t put it past him either. I needed to ask Ransom if there was a way to block out a nosy beta.
We rounded a corner, and the ground finally leveled out. I nearly squealed with excitement as I caught sight of the wolves in front of Hunter’s door. Finally.
The guards parted as soon as their glowing eyes landed on the supreme beta. Hunter barreled by them, barely sparing them a second glance. Their piercing gazes ran over me as I squirmed between them. And I’d thought Aristaeus’s glares were intense… these two must have given him lessons.
As soon as I crossed the threshold of the freakishly modern apartment built inside a hill, I made a beeline for the couch. I sank onto the soft leather, and a groan of pleasure pealed out. Hunter eyed me from across the room, his heated gaze trailing from my lips down his oversized tee to my bare thighs. His hand wrapped around a bottle of whiskey, his knuckles white across the black label. He filled the glass tumbler with the dark caramel liquid and downed the entire contents in one shot.
Guess I wasn’t the only one strung tight.
He lifted the empty tumbler and ticked his head at me. “I’d offer you some but by the looks of it, you’ve had enough for the evening.”
Eff you! I glared up at him, my lids half-mast. “Don’t you dare turn this around on me. I’m the one that’s supposed to be pissed. Not you.”
Hunter served himself another generous pour and added ice this time, swirling it around the glass before draining it once more. Slamming the tumbler down, he stalked toward me. The blank expression from earlier was gone, replaced by seething anger. I could feel it across the pack bond. The deep emerald pulsated. What the hell was up with his mood swings?
I tucked my knees into my chest and tugged the big shirt over my legs as he neared. His eyes were murderous. I wriggled back into the plush leather, and my foot nicked a remote control tucked between the cushions. “Ow!” I squeaked as the hard plastic dug into my wound.
Hunter’s eyes met mine and the darkness waned, the scowl carved into his jaw softening. “We need to clean that,” he growled as he eyed my foot.
“Right. I wouldn’t want to stain your pristine couch.”
Grunting, he pivoted and disappeared through a door at the opposite corner of the room. Bathroom, perhaps? Speaking of, I’d kill for a shower about now. He was right, my feet were filthy and a fine layer of sweat blanketed my skin.
Despite that, my lids drooped as I waited for him to return. My need for a shower was quickly being overwhelmed by my utter exhaustion. I forced my eyes to remain open. I’d waited four years for this conversation, and I’d be damned if I fell asleep now.
I hugged my knees closer as a chill settled over my tired bones. My eyes must have drifted closed for an instant because the slam of a door snapped them wide open. Aristaeus marched toward me with some sort of first aid kit in his clenched fist and a towel over his shoulder. He folded down beside me and offered me the wet navy-blue cloth. “Clean your feet first, then we’ll disinfect and bandage it up.”
Tugging one leg out from under the t-shirt tent, I gently scrubbed at the crusty dirt, trying not to get it on the spotless white leather. “Maybe I should do this in the bathroom?”
He shrugged. “If you want me to carry you… Now that your foot is damp, it’ll leave muddy tracks across the room.”
Nope. One time in his arms
was enough. “Guess I’ll manage.”
Hunter shook his head and snarled, “Let me do it. I don’t want you to ruin the couch.” He ripped the towel from my hands and gingerly pressed it to my foot. I squirmed, the gentle touch ten times worse than tickling.
I clenched my jaw tight as a bout of giggles threatened to burst free. Just when I thought I’d explode, he released my foot and dropped the towel to the floor. I sucked in a much-needed breath. Phew. “Thanks,” I mumbled and reached for the first aid kit.
He swiped it out of my reach and began removing bandages and ointments from the white container. “It’s fine, I’ll do it. It’ll be hard for you to reach at that angle.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I never expected the supreme beta to not only clean my feet but also disinfect and dress a wound? My heart staggered as his rough fingers closed around my ankle. Gently, he applied antiseptic on the cut, blowing with each blot of the cotton ball. Goose bumps exploded over my legs. He glanced up, and our eyes locked over my knees. A swirl of gold flashed across the emerald depths, and my breath hitched.
Luna, why did he have to be so gorgeous?
He lowered his gaze an endless moment later and continued his ministrations. This was the Hunter I knew. The one I’d met all those years ago, the one who’d carried me to the infirmary to tend to my fractured ankle. The very ankle his warm fingers were now wrapped around. As my thoughts flitted to the past, my lids drooped closed. Just need to rest for a second.
The scent of cedarwood and fragrant vanilla filled my dreams, the familiar perfume prying my weary lids open. Lifting my head from the soft pillow, I scanned the dark room. Where the heck…? I sat up and rubbed my eyes as the haze of sleep waned, and memories of the night before darted across my mind.
Ack, I fell asleep!
My fingers curled around the silky sheets, and my keen wolfy eyesight kicked in. The bed was massive. Like twice the size of a typical king. Shift! Was I in Hunter’s bed? Tugging at my shirt—no Hunter’s shirt, I checked underneath. Still naked. I glanced across the enormous mattress to find the other side vacant. Phew.
Shoving the comforter back, I sat up and my bandaged foot caught my eye. I’d fallen asleep while he was cleaning my wound. Then what? He’d carried me to his bed? So, where was he? The bright neon numbers of the clock on the bedstand read seven thirty. Damn, I’d slept here all night. I jumped off the bed and dashed toward the windows—or holes on the side of the hill, I supposed. Pushing back the thick curtains, brilliant gold and orange rays blanketed the horizon. Beautiful. And I’d thought there’d be no natural light within this modern cave.
Silently, I padded to the door and turned the knob. The hallway was quiet. The left side led up to an archway and the right dead ended at a wall. A vibrant painting adorned the nook, splashes of colorful paint on canvas. Not at all what I’d pictured as Hunter’s taste in art.
I crept down the corridor, through the archway and reached the open living area. Curled on the leather couch where I’d lain last night was Hunter. His massive form dwarfed the sofa, long legs hanging over the side. I tiptoed the last few feet, unable to keep from getting closer. He was like the North Pole, and I was a wolfish magnet hopelessly drawn to him.
His soft breaths filled the air, the steady rise and fall of his chest mesmerizing. For the first time in four years, I could really look at him without the threat of his intimidating stare. Asleep, the hard angles of his face softened. He looked younger than his twenty-four years. Without those glaring orbs scrutinizing, he wasn’t quite so foreboding, so overwhelming. He was my Hunter. The boy I’d dreamed about for ages.
My heart swelled and I drew closer, my fingers aching to touch him. My she-wolf awoke, her presence rising just below the surface. I could almost see her anxious pacing as she watched. My hand shot out, unbidden, and swept a lock of dark hair behind Hunter’s ear. He released a breath, and I froze.
When his eyes didn’t open, I pulled my hand back and clasped it behind my back. Dammit, Sierra, you’re supposed to be mad at him. No, furious. He broke your heart over and over again. And lied repeatedly. I took a step back, but before I got far, a hand shot out and jerked me forward.
I stumbled and fell on top of Hunter, arms and legs flailing. A pair of steel bands locked around my waist, pinning me to a hard body. He stared up at me beneath hooded lids, dark lashes fanning over golden orbs. His hand snaked around my neck and tugged my head down. His lips claimed mine with a fiery rage that sucked all the air from my lungs.
I pressed against his firm chest for only an instant before yielding. My soft curves gave way to his hard ones as he crushed me against his body. His tongue entangled with mine in a feverish dance, and each stroke was maddening. I nibbled his lower lip, his soft stubble grazing my chin. Hunter gripped my thighs, positioning me over his lower half and the proof of his arousal brushed against me.
Holy werewolf babies! My traitorous body rocked against his, thrilled in the response I’d elicited. He growled beneath me, and his hand tightened around the back of my neck. “Oh gods, Sierra,” he groaned against my lips.
Mate. Mate. Mate. The familiar chant tore me from the lusty haze, and I tugged my lips free of his mouth.
Hunter’s eyes snapped open and he jerked up, sending me scrambling off his lap. I tumbled off the couch and smacked onto the hard floor. “Ouch,” I muttered.
“Shit.” His eyes wide and completely back to green, he offered me his hand and helped me up. “Sorry. I can’t control--” Raking a hand through his disheveled hair, he blew out a breath as I perched on the cushion on the opposite side of the couch. “I—I shouldn’t have done that.”
Samesies! I wanted to scream. Crossing my arms over my chest, I swallowed down the growing lump in my throat. How did we always end up here? “Just talk now so I can get the hell out of here. Explain what all those years were so we can both move on with our lives. And please tell me what this uncontrollable thing is between us.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Let me see if I can help you get started.” From what I’d pieced together. “You showed up at the academy for initiation and snuck into the masquerade ball. No idea why. Then you found me and that knight in shining armor thing you’ve got going must have kicked in. So you helped me get away from those bullies and then what? You pitied me?”
“No,” he snarled. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I felt a connection.”
“But you were wrong? Because you took it back less than a year ago as I recall. You said you were mated to someone else.”
He nodded, his jaw clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grinding. “Everything I said to you was true at the time. I wasn’t a warlock, I didn’t belong there. If the headmaster had caught sight of me on academy grounds without approval, I could’ve started a war. The Coven and the Dragos Pack don’t have the best history. Every time I went to see you I risked everything. My father would’ve been furious, the pack would’ve mutinied. I’m the supreme beta of the Dragos Pack, my mate must be a wolf.”
“You didn’t know what I was back then?”
He shook his head, dark strands whipping across his haggard face. “I thought I felt something, but I wasn’t sure. The first time we met you were only sixteen, Sierra. I was twenty. I had to ignore my feelings for both our sakes.”
While all of this made sense, it didn’t make me hurt any less. “What about the third year? When you told me we were mates, that you were falling in love with me and you promised to come back. What happened then?”
He grunted, and a rueful smile slid over his lips. “I returned home, and the curse kicked in.”
The curse… How could I have forgotten? I’d been so torn up, I’d tried to block out everything from that wretched day. “What exactly is the curse?”
Again, his lips thinned. A vein throbbed on his forehead and he cracked his knuckles, the pops echoing across the room. “I can’t say,” he gritted out.
Oh, right. It was all coming back to me now. “
You could’ve at least told me. I waited and waited—” I chomped down on my lower lip to keep the welling tears at bay.
“I did! I went to see you a few months later. Once I’d come to terms with…everything. I had to see you, had to understand it for myself.”
“No, you didn’t.” My head whipped back and forth.
“I did. You just didn’t know I was there.”
“When?”
His dark brows furrowed, and a scowl darkened his features. “You were on a date with some warlock, Tristan, I think.”
My eyes widened. The one time Cass had convinced me to go on a double date with her and Rafe.
“I wanted to talk to you off academy grounds, but you rarely left. When I found out you were going off property, I followed you. I was hoping I could catch you, but you seemed pretty preoccupied with the warlock.”
My mind swirled back to that date, to the copious amounts of alcohol I’d consumed to blot out the pain Hunter had caused. I’d needed a distraction and found it in Tristan. It had meant nothing, but had he seen our sloppy make out session?
The anger in his eyes said yes.
“I figured you weren’t waiting for me, and my explanation didn’t matter. I resolved to leave you alone, like I should’ve done all those years ago.”
“But you came back, the night of the ball.”
Again, that rueful grin. “I was on campus for initiation as Aristaeus, and I couldn’t help myself. I knew it was your last year, and I had to see you. Even if you had moved on, you deserved an explanation.”
Only I hadn’t. Not at all. “So you lied and said you found your mate. Which obviously you haven’t, or all the females wouldn’t be circling like piranhas before the start of the trials.”
He frowned. “I see you’ve been talking to Ransom.”
“I have. You can’t forbid me from having a friend.”
Hunter snorted on a laugh. “I’m sure Ransom wants many things from you, but friendship isn’t one of them.”