11. Hunter
ELEVEN
HUNTER
“People, humans. It’s all the same.”
“Put me down.”
But I’d already carried him across the threshold and placed him on the sofa. Not the bed, though I’d considered it.
Despite the shabby appearance of the building outside, the apartment had been redecorated recently, and I wondered if whatever Matt had done to it had been the reason for the change in decor.
I grabbed two bags and began to unpack them.
“I can do that. You go and do whatever you have to.” Odell waved me away.
I froze, a hand on a packet of frozen mango which he’d told him not to buy because it was too expensive.
“I hate leaving you, but there will be someone on the street and outside the door.”
“Look.” He brandished his mating hand under my nose. “You said this would help protect me. And we’ve shared blood according to some ancient mafia tradition. Go, shoo.”
The phone rang as I was about to say I’d be back later. Flint. I couldn’t ignore it. I begged the universe that Draven had been found and the remnants of the Silverback pack contained. But it’d been less than two hours since we left the panic room. My brothers and our other pack members were excellent trackers and fighters, but I doubted they’d found our quarry so fast.
“We have a problem.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“Stop with those ridiculous sayings, Hunter. And no, we haven’t found Draven. He’s gone to ground.”
“That was what we did, Bro,” I quipped. We’d been deep in the ground, literally, “So unless he’s got his own panic room?—”
“Hunter. Stop.” That wasn’t Flint’s big-brother voice. He was speaking as my Alpha.
“Yes, Alpha.”
He got straight to the point, saying Draven had contacted the shifter council and lodged a complaint, explaining I had stolen his mate.
“He’s lying. Odell is mine, not his.”
But a hand wrenched the phone out of my grasp.
“Let me say this again. I belong to no one.” Odell gave me back the phone.
“One word.” That was Flint.
“Don’t say it,” I begged. I said it for him. “Feisty.” Just like Tony and Matt. But knowing my brothers and me, the universe had chosen our mates who were not doormats, but strong personalities who would fight for their freedom and principles and stand up to our alpha tendencies.
“I’ll speak to them. Can you arrange a meeting?”
“Hunter, Draven has recounted what happened at City Hall, and the council members ruled against you.”
That couldn’t happen. The men on the council were above reproach, they would hear both sides, especially as Draven’s pack had been driven out of shifter circles.
“That makes no sense.” The older men on the council were known for being measured and unbiased.
“Interesting fact. Turns out the changes we pushed for in the council, saying there should be term limits, backfired on us. More than half of the new appointees have an apparent grudge against La Luna Noir.”
Well, fuck.
“Hunter, what’s going on? Are my aunt and uncle okay?”
“They’re safe.” I put a finger to my lips, indicating Odell should shush, though he wasn’t the being shushed type, I’d learned.
“Here’s the bottom line. Stealing someone’s mate is a crime.”
“You don’t need to recite our law, Flint,” I snapped, not a sensible reaction when he was my older brother and my Alpha.
“Because of La Luna Noir’s standing in the community, the council has agreed not to mete out the…” Flint’s voice cracked, and talons of fear raked over my skin. “…the ultimate punishment.”
Shit! They’d considered having me put to death. This had to be a dream.
But Flint was still talking. “They’ve gone over my head.” Any punishment the council laid down would be carried out by the pack Alpha. Or that was the way it had always been. “You’ve been banished, and you have to hand over Odell.”
The expression “hand over” suggested he wasn’t mine to begin with. But as my mate had reminded Flint and me moments earlier, he wasn’t a possession. He was my mate.
It was all semantics, and I wasn’t giving my mate to anyone. He’d refuse to be with Draven, that much I knew, but could I convince him to come somewhere with me?
“Shit!” Rewinding what Flint had said, I focused on what banishment would mean. Not being a Beta in La Luna Noir. Not being a part of the pack and never seeing my family again. My brothers had their mates and families, so the blow would be softened for them. But for Dad to lose his youngest son, I couldn’t imagine how he would grieve for me. And I, for him.
And there was Uncle Arnie, Treyton and his siblings, my friends and pack mates.
And where would we go?
Flint must have read my mind. “Grandfather bequeathed an old cabin to Uncle Arnie in his will.” They were siblings, and Arnie had been a loyal brother and Beta.
My world was being torn away from me, and I sank onto the sofa.
“Today. Now! You have to go.” Flint wasn’t going to tell me how much he’d miss me or that it would be okay. What was unsaid was more important than what came out of his mouth. He switched from audio to video, and his anguished face appeared on the screen.
Odell, who’d put away the groceries, peered over my shoulder. “Something’s happened and it’s to do with me. Don’t hide it. Spill.”
“Go now. I’ve put two bags in the car and a few other necessities. Before they come looking for your… for Odell. Destroy this phone now. Stay safe, little brother. I… I love you.”
Oh, it was bad, because I couldn’t recall Flint saying those exact words to me or Ranger. We did love one another, but we didn’t say it! I’d figure out why during the weeks ahead in the cabin.
After ending the call, I pulled my mate onto the couch and gave him a condensed version of what had happened, but instead of pack, I said it was mafia rules. Odell wondered out loud about a ruling mafia body, but I couldn’t get into that.
“I understand we’re not really married, in the eyes of the law, yes, but you’re not in love with me.” I deliberately left out me being intoxicated by him.
“True, but where are you going with this, and Hunter, I’ve been a pain, I know, but the last twenty-four hours have been a bitch. Sorry, they have.”
“I can only imagine.”
“But you’ve been banished from your family, so where does that leave me?” He put up his hands in surrender. “Yes, I know I’ve been trying to get away from you all day, and now I’m scared that me and my family will have no protection.”
“Your aunt and uncle will be looked after. Flint doesn’t break his promises.” They couldn’t stay in the panic room forever, but for now, they could hide out there. In the coming days, I’d assign guards to them and they could go to a cabin on our pack land. “But if you stay here, Draven will try something.”
“To get the marriage annulled.”
I nodded. Draven didn’t give a shit about marriage. If he really wanted Odell, he’d need me dead. But his aim was to hurt me, and that would involve killing my mate. Odell and his family were pawns in Draven’s game of checkers. I had to be smarter and play chess.
And getting me banished? That was to separate me from my family, leaving me without resources so it’d be easier to harm my mate. Draven now had a legitimate reason to track us down, and he had the Shifter Council’s blessing.
“Two weeks. Come with me and give me two weeks. There’s an underlying reason you’ve been caught up in this.”
“Give you? Give you the time to do what?”
“To ferret out what’s behind Draven charging into your life and put an end to it.”
“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”
“That’s not for me to decide.” I fudged that answer. After removing the chip from the phone and destroying it, I got the shopping bags and filled the coolers with what we’d just bought.
“I have to let Aunt Louisa know. She and I made all the family decisions together once I reached eighteen.”
“My brothers will let her know you’re safe.”
Odell stood in the middle of the room, a pained expression on his face. “I hate this. I hate everything about it.”
Taking both his hands, I asked, “This may be a silly question, but do you trust me?”
He removed his hands from mine and stared out the window. “Do I trust my kidnapper?” He swung around on his heel. “You’ve done nothing to hurt me, you protected me and my family in a tiny claustrophobic space, and maybe it’s bonkers, but I do. More than Draven, though that’s not really saying anything, is it?”
We shared a laugh. “Not exactly.”
“But no more underground bunkers.”
“Agreed.”
“Bodyguards?”
“Nope. Anyone who accompanied us would also be banished.”
“Is there electricity?”
“There should be.” The cabin was pretty basic and small. Only one bed, but I could sleep on the sofa. Uncle Arnie only visited a couple of times a year. It was up in the mountains, and even though the weather in the city was warm, it’d be cold and picture-postcard perfect.
“Okay. Fourteen days. Two weeks. A fortnight. No longer.”
“Scout’s honor, but now I need you to promise me something.”
“What’s that?” He hefted one of the shopping bags over his arm.
“I need your ideas on how to solve what has happened and put an end to it.” He’d be missing a heap of information because I couldn’t tell him we were shifters, but he was smart and could ferret out details about relationships and objectives.
“Agreed. We’ll be super-secret squirrels together.”
Flint had called the bodyguards off, as technically I’d been expelled from the pack. We were on our own.
Growing up I’d sometimes dreamed of running off to live my own life, free from pack and family rules. But the crushing pain I’d experienced, imagining my life not being tethered to anything or anyone, put a damper on those fanciful ideas.
Now I was faced with the reality, and I didn’t like it one bit.
Odell was coming with me, the man I’d mated and married. But his feelings toward me were only a smidge above hatred. Not exactly a recommendation for a happy, fulfilled life.
Armed with the groceries, we lugged the food down the fire escape stairs. I wanted as few people as possible to witness our escape.
I took one last look at my surroundings, knowing I was headed to obscurity.
And so was Odell.