CHAPTER FOURTEEN || HUNTER #3
Both of them studied me for a moment longer. Then understanding flooded into Reed’s expression. Harris’s lips twitched, as if he was already fighting back a smile. He’d clearly gotten there first.
“And Lee will be okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s great,” Harris said. “Good news all the way around. You ought to get back to them.”
“Right,” I agreed, relieved. “Let us know if you need us for anything in the morning.”
“We won’t,” Reed said immediately, giving me a knowing look. “You three ought to take some time to… rest.”
I nodded sharply at that. “Yup. Will do.”
When I turned to go, Reed added, “Arden’s old cabin has a king-size bed. You can swap it out tomorrow. He’s not using it anymore.”
Arden was one of the wolves who left the pack after Jeremy, the former alpha, tried to force us to turn a human man named James into a werewolf against his will.
He’d been a fixture in the pack long before Lee and I had arrived—having grown up a wolf, raised in the pack—but he’d been gone for almost two years.
“That is, if you guys need a bigger bed,” Harris added, much too innocently.
Nodding at him sharply, my cheeks warmer than usual, I turned and left.
I scowled the entire way back to our cabin. But we would absolutely be swapping out the beds.
Daniel was sitting cross-legged on the mattresses when I returned, his fingers threaded with Lee’s. Then both looked up when I walked in.
Lee gave me a weak smile and Daniel’s expression lit up with genuine pleasure at seeing me.
My heart did a little flip in my chest. Yeah, I loved him. I loved them both. This was home. The only home I could imagine wanting.
“We were talking about those things,” Lee told me, when I kicked off my shoes and came to join them on the bed. I felt bone-deep exhausted. “The monsters.”
“What about them?” I asked, yawning. Then I patted the bed between Lee and me, shooting Daniel a wolfish grin, wagging my eyebrows. “You could come over here and tell me all about it.”
“The way they ignored us and went for Daniel,” Lee said quietly, his eyes dark with worry as they met mine. “We think they’re drawn to magic.”
Alarm surged through me at his words. I looked at Daniel and saw that his expression was shuttered and unhappy.
“Which means you’re a target,” I said numbly. “The monsters might come for you.”
“Yeah.” Daniel’s gaze dropped to the bed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” I said flatly. “Don’t apologize. That’s not your fault. Sorry, but no.”
The ghost of a smile curved on Daniel’s lips. “Is that your version of reassurance?”
“Take it or leave it.”
“You missed your calling,” Lee said solemnly, his eyes dancing with amusement as they met mine, some of the worry banished. “With your keen people skills, you ought to be a therapist.”
“Hey now,” I said playfully, determined to lighten the mood. “Don’t think you two can start ganging up on me now.”
“But it’s so much fun,” Lee said brightly.
“Speaking from experience, I didn’t mind getting ganged up on,” Daniel said, too innocently.
Lee laughed at that, his eyes crinkling at the edges, while I flashed Daniel another wolfish smile and wagged my eyebrows suggestively.
But then Lee winced in pain. “Ow.”
Steeling myself, I glanced down and saw, to my relief, that Lee’s bruise had lightened significantly and was now yellowing at the edges. It looked days old. That meant it was healing quickly. But it was probably still painful as hell.
“You’ll be fine,” I assured him.
“Gee, thanks. Nurse Hunter to the rescue,” Lee said, rolling his eyes.
Daniel and I traded an amused look.
After that, the three of us sat in silence for a while.
I realized that—for the first time since I’d gone from being Hunter Lee Jameson to just Hunter—I was happy. Genuinely happy.
“I need to say something.”
“What else is new?” Lee teased.
“No, I’m being serious,” I said. “Listen, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am right now.”
Daniel and Lee both stared at me, visibly shocked.
“But we just almost died!” Daniel protested, incredulous. “And those things—plural, by the way—might be super interested in snacking on magic! Which means that I and everyone else in the pack are probably monster-bait. Because the pack is suddenly way more magical than they were before.”
“Even so,” I said, deciding then and there that if I was determined to do this—to let myself be vulnerable with Daniel and Lee—I was going to do it right. “Even with all of that, there’s nowhere else I’d ever want to be than right here, right now.”
Lee didn’t say anything, but he nodded slowly. The look in his eyes told me that he understood exactly what I meant.
Daniel’s expression wavered, becoming suddenly wide-open and vulnerable, his defenses completely gone. But through the bond between us, I felt a flare of something unusual. Dread.
My brows drew together and I studied him. That was an odd thing for him to feel. Wasn’t it?
Was there… was there something he wasn’t telling us? No, impossible. He’d sworn to be honest.
“I’m kind of terrified,” Daniel admitted, his dark eyes searching mine. “And I’m maybe even a little bit convinced I’m going to screw this all up.” He paused. “But I’m happy, too.”
Oh. Well, that explained things, didn’t it? I felt a flash of guilt at having doubted him. And his fears made total sense, even if they weren’t ever going to come true. Not under my watch.
“You won’t screw anything up,” I assured him. “I know that’s what you tell yourself, but it’s not true. You were the reason—the only reason—that we got through tonight intact. You’re magic, Daniel. In more ways than one.”
Daniel’s expression softened and his lips parted, his gaze not leaving mine for a long moment. “Thanks,” he said, swallowing. “I want to trust this.”
“You can,” I told him. “Trust us. Trust me. I know I haven’t earned that yet, but I’m going to. I promise.”
Daniel nodded, blinking back wetness. He swallowed hard, seeming momentarily unable to speak.
Lee’s eyes filled with more warmth and devotion than I’d ever seen in them before. He looked from Daniel to me and then back again, a mix of wonder and softness on his face.
“For the record,” he said slowly. “Even though someone has obviously body-snatched Hunter, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, too.
” His eyes danced when they locked with Daniel’s.
“Even with my many, many injuries.” He grinned and then added, “To be honest, I’m pretty sure they’d heal faster if you kissed them better. ”
“Nice try,” Daniel said thickly, shaking his head ruefully at Lee and smiling. “But you need rest.”
“Seconded,” I said firmly. Then I beamed at my twin. “Who’s getting ganged up on now?”
“Me, hopefully,” Daniel said brightly, while Lee scowled back at me playfully. Then, when we both looked over at him with sudden interest, he amended that to, “Tomorrow, though. Tonight is for rest, recovery, and very big feelings, apparently.”
Lee laughed again and then winced. Seeing his happiness—and Daniel’s—made my heart feel freer than it ever had before.
Could this really all be so simple? So easy?
“I want this,” Daniel said quietly, reaching across Lee with his free hand and taking mine, so all three of us were holding hands. “I’ll always want this.”
“Me too,” I promised, meeting both of their gazes in turn, before locking eyes with Daniel. “I’ll always want this, too.”