Chapter 4 - Hunter #2
“It is no joke, Nicholas!” Delilah scolds as she rose to her feet, straightening up and curling her fists at her sides.
“The dark lord isn't like anything we've encountered in ops. He was believed dead for many years. He caused the Blood War against the Golden Tree Sisters, the coven Arianna and I are linked to.”
Delilah and Arianna exchange glances, a knowing look passing between them.
“He killed my grandmother,” Arianna whispers with sadness in her quivering voice. “He's coming after us not because we're a wolf pack, but because we're linked to an enemy coven.”
“So what now? What was the vision about?” Sean's question is directed at Arianna.
“I saw him, along with four other cloaked witches, casting black magic on the town I used to live in. Humans…civilians…” Arianna shivers, her face far too pale for someone who just got married.
Not that Delilah’s any different.
“If he's after us, we'll have to fight. Find him, and put an end to this,” Delilah says with a curled fist.
I step forward, shaking my head when realization sets in.
A dark warlock who wields black magic is after my mate, and I can't let her anywhere in the line of fire.
“You're not fighting,” I say with conviction as I stare at Delilah.
She narrows her eyes at me. “You can't tell me what to do, Hunter!” she snaps at me, and I quickly catch the thorn coming to prick me before it stings.
“I'm not telling you what to do, Delilah,” I defend in a firm tone, shaking my head. “But it's dangerous out there. If this dark warlock is targeting your coven, you can't go looking for trouble.”
“He's already rallied mutated rogues against Tyler before,” Delilah objects. “All because Arianna is a witch, and their son is both. He's a child, Hunter. He's only four. If the dark lord is after him, after us, we can't wait around.”
“Delilah is right,” Tyler says as he places a hand on my shoulder when he steps forward.
“We're not gonna sit idly by and wait for trouble to come to us. Sean”—he turns to the other man—“Silverfang is the furthest from our vicinity, and they need to be briefed about this. Dom….” He turns to Dominic.
“Cecelia will be giving birth today, so you should return to Nightmist and take care of her.”
“Wait,” I stop Tyler, realizing he's taking the lead on this and making the decision. “What's going on right now?”
Tyler turns to me with a stern expression. “We're going on a mission, buddy. We're going after the warlock.”
“We? Who's we?’” I ask with a frown, my heart steadily beating faster as I realize the team hasn't quite retired from wanting to protect their people, and it's as if we're back in black ops again.
I didn't expect anything less from my group of friends, but the question of Delilah's safety hangs in the balance when she's tied to the very same coven the warlock is after.
It is my responsibility to take care of her now, as her husband and as her fated mate. I might have rejected our bond in the past, but in the face of adversity, I can't deny my natural instincts and inclination of my inner wolf to protect her.
The shift feels natural, and it's what prompted me to take matters into my own hands and sign the marriage license to ensure she isn't married off to someone who isn't her mate.
I clench my fists with that very same determination as I step forward and nod at Tyler.
“Fine,” I concede. “If we're doing this, I think we should form a small group and go after the warlock.”
Tyler agrees with a nod. “Arianna needs to stay in Portland and protect our son,” he says as he glances at his mate, who's still shaken as she nods in agreement. “Dom needs to be with Cecelia, and Sean has to protect Silverfang.”
“I'll join,” Emily says as she stands up from where she'd been sitting beside Sean. “I know I don't have combat skills to offer the group, but you're gonna need a medic around in case of emergencies.”
“Thanks, Em, we'll need you. Especially if Arianna isn't around, I'll need the support if I'm gonna use my magic,” Delilah thanks her, and I frown at the woman I just married.
“You're not coming with us on this mission, Delilah. I told you, it's too dangerous.”
Delilah ensnares me with furious eyes. “And I told you that you can't tell me what to do, Hunter. I'm going on this mission with Tyler, Nick, and Emily; that's final.”
The thorny rose pricks me with her sharp tone, but I'm too invested now to care that I'm bleeding internally. Delilah might think she can do everything on her own, but that's not true anymore.
We have to work as a team, even if she hates me. It's why I married her, despite rejecting our mate bond like a coward.
I was so wrong for feeling undeserving and feeling like I couldn't protect her before. She may be thorny, but her petals are delicate, fragile, and they need protection.
She needs me.
“And me,” I declare as I step forward. “I'll be joining this mission, too.”
“That's not necessary, Hunter,” Delilah protests with a glint of irritation in her eyes. “There are enough of us on this mission. You can accompany Sean to Stowe.”
I huff an equally exasperated breath. Is Delilah trying to get rid of me?
Pfft!
That's not going to happen!
An irritated growl rumbles deep within my chest, and it takes every ounce of self-control to stifle the need to let it out.
Holding it in with a gulp, I straighten up, my spine ramrod-straight as I pull out the folded marriage license paper from my pocket.
When I meet Delilah's hazel eyes, bewildered and glimmering with confusion, I know she's sensing what I'm about to do.
“Hunter! No!” she exclaims as her eyes widen, a hand reaching up as if she's trying to stop me.
Chuckling lightly under my breath, I unfold the paper and flap it out to straighten it, lifting it and smirking.
“I won't have a choice but to join this mission. I have a duty to protect you, Delilah.”
Tyler squints his eyes as he reads the marriage license, gasping in shock when he sees my name and Delilah's signed at the bottom.
“Marriage license…?” Tyler whispers out loud, to which I nod.
“That's right, Ty. Delilah is my wife, according to State law. As a wolf, I have the responsibility to protect the woman whom I married.”
An echo of shock reverberates through the Moonshine Pack den, but I'm only focused on Delilah's wildly disbelieving hazel eyes. Usually inviting, like warmed honey, her eyes throw daggers at me now, cold, icy particles like the thorns I was expecting.
She doesn't have to say a word to let me know how furious she is, her anger pulsing off her in waves of heat that radiate through me.
I can sense her anger because I'm her fated mate—and there's no more running from it. I just have to figure out how to tame her wild spirit and make her realize that we'll do better as a team.
I only have myself to blame for the way she shuns me now, but I don't doubt that I can change things.
Though looking around at all the shocked faces in the den makes me realize that I'm going to be in the dog house for a while, and I grimace.