Chapter Forty-Three
Sherese
I blink up at Hunter. “Why are you carrying me like I’m some damsel in distress?”
His eyebrows rise. “I’m sorry. You were just dead a few hours ago, so carrying seemed easier than trying to get you to walk,” he says dryly.
Suddenly, everything comes back. I gasp and move, so Hunter will put me down. “What happened?” I demand. “And would you please put me down?”
“Rizo and Ajax are both dead, and we escaped. And no.”
I blink. “No, what?”
“I won’t put you down.”
I look around and realize we have an audience. “Put me down,” I try again.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t. I almost lost you, and my wolf and I are barely hanging on to sanity.”
I stare up at him. “Let me put it this way. Put me down, Wolf, or you’re going to be hurting.”
His lips tug up in a slow smile, and my heart picks up speed. “It’s good to have you back and threatening me.”
“You two are so weird.”
I turn at the sound of Ava’s voice. And now, I really want to be put down.
I reach out and pull on Hunter’s ear. Hard.
He makes a sound. “Put me down,” I growl in his ear.
He sighs and finally sets me on my feet.
Ava plows into me a moment later, knocking me into Hunter.
But he stands sturdy like a wall behind us.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispers.
I hug her right back. “It’s good to be back.” Memories assail me, and I stiffen and pull back and meet Bryce’s eyes. “Is it okay that I’m back?”
“Yes,” Hunter says from behind me. It doesn’t escape my notice that he’s really close, like his front is glued to my back, kind of close. “She’s not going anywhere,” he growls out from behind me.
Bryce doesn’t look at his moody enforcer. “Sherese, I already told you; you’re a member of my pack. You’ll always have a place here in our pack and with our family.”
His words literally gut me. I don’t even know what to say.
A hand snakes around my waist, and Hunter pulls me against him.
I find myself so grateful because everything is feeling really unsteady right now.
The alpha of the Northwoods Pack comes over to stand next to Bryce.
“I know this is really poor timing.” His gaze goes over my head for a moment, and I know he’s eyeing Hunter.
“We need to get back to our pack, but I’d like to talk through things while the events are fresh in everybody’s mind so we can make a plan moving forward. ”
Everybody seems to be watching Hunter and me. I shrug. “That’s fine with me.”
“You don’t have to if it’s too much,” Sage adds quietly. “I mean, you were dead just a little bit ago.”
Hunter growls fiercely behind me, and that hand on my waist tightens.
I wonder why he’s acting the way he is, and then I suddenly remember his words while we were in that room together.
I remember him telling me that he chose me.
My breathing speeds up, and I don’t know what to do now.
I realize belatedly that everybody is still staring at us, and I finally get that they’re waiting for Hunter’s approval.
“Hunter?” I ask. I don’t get more than a grunt from him.
“Is that good?” He says nothing, and I turn in his arms.
Those dark eyes lock on mine, and I am keenly aware that the arm that was wrapped around my stomach is now tight on my back. I see the almost glowing eyes and know his wolf is riding him hard. “How about we go and give you two a minute?” Ava asks.
“Thank you,” I call out to her without taking my eyes off Hunter. When it’s quiet, I stare up at him. Words suddenly fail me. This is the guy who came back for me. He risked everything...for me. Tears dot my vision, surprising me.
A hand cradles my cheek. “What is it, Love?” His voice is gruffer than usual, and I know it’s the presence of his wolf.
“You came back for me.” There’s awe in my voice; I’m not sure I’ll ever get over it.
“Always.” He leans forward slightly. “I will always come back for you.” Then he leans even closer, and I go still.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Shh.”
“I don’t think—” I start.
“Don’t think,” he says in a low voice. “Just feel.”
And then his lips touch mine. Shock rolls through me, and I don’t move a muscle. The kiss is soft and so incredibly gentle. And over fast. “What was that?” I demand as soon as I’m able to talk.
He smirks at me, that smirk that always turns my insides out. “We call that a kiss, Love.”
“Don’t get smart with me,” I warn him.
“Never,” he says right before he lowers his lips again. He kisses me gently. Once, twice, three times. When he pulls back, I stare up at him.
“You know, for as tough an enforcer as you are, I really thought your kisses would be more.”
He arches a brow. “More what?”
“I don’t know. More...aggressive, passionate, sexy—”
I don’t get to finish my thought before those lips are on mine again.
This time, it’s completely different. His kiss is rougher, and his arm behind my back pulls me tight against his chest. His passion ignites my own, and it’s impossible not to respond.
I finally kiss him back. He groans low in his chest and pulls me impossibly closer.
I reach up and wrap my hand around the back of his neck, allowing myself not to think.
..just to feel. And boy, do I feel. I feel his kiss all the way to my toes.
I'm not sure how long we kiss, but I lose sense of everything except being wrapped up in his big, strong body and arms and the feel of his lips on mine. Finally, he pulls back, and we’re both breathing hard.
“I have to stop,” he whispers against my lips.
“What if I don’t want you to?” I ask as I nip at his lips, feeling completely undone and put back together by him. He groans and kisses me again.
“You are going to be the death of me,” he says as he runs a hand down my spine, causing me to shiver.
I grin up at him, feeling more lighthearted than I have in a long time. “But what a way to go,” I say, using the words he used when I sat on his lap in that room.
He smiles, and it’s so dark and sexy, my stomach clenches. “Yeah, Baby.”
I glance over my shoulder in the direction everybody went. “We should probably get inside.”
“Yeah. I guess, but only because I have plans for after the meeting.”
I stare up into his eyes. “Plans?”
“Yeah.”
“What do these plans involve?” I ask.
His eyes darken. “Me getting my mate naked.” And just like that, the lightheartedness leaves me. My heart hurts so much, I rub at it. Hunter, who never misses a thing, frowns. “What is it, Love?”
I shake my head. “I just...”
“What?” he prompts when I don’t finish. I stare up at him.
He’s the epitome of everything I would want in a guy.
He’s literally perfect, my perfect kryptonite.
And yet, he’s not mine. He might think he wants me now, but someday, his mate will show up.
And I’ll just be a distant memory. I take a step back, and he frowns.
I decide to be gut-level honest with him.
“Hunter, you are everything I never knew I wanted. If I had such a thing as a mate and I could design him, it would be you. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.
You are,” I pause. I swallow hard. “You’re amazing, Hunter. ”
“You’re pretty amazing yourself,” he says quietly.
“But you’re not mine.” Those words hurt more than anything in my life.
I don’t think it even hurt this much when my mom died, and that blows my mind.
“I wish you were.” I harden my emotions and smile up at him.
“One day, you’re going to meet your mate.
” I smile bittersweetly and manage to force out the words. “And you’re going to be so happy.”
“Sherese,” he tries, but I’m not done.
“I can never say thank you for everything you’ve done for me.
I…” I pause and wonder if I should even say the words.
But then I remember how short life is and how I would give anything to be able to tell my mom one more time.
“I love you,” I tell him simply. When he opens his mouth, I put up a hand.
“Don’t say anything. I just wanted you to know. ”
He reaches out and grabs my arms and yanks me against him.
“Sherese, you crazy, stubborn woman. Stop. You’re breaking my heart.
” He releases my arms and reaches up to palm my cheeks.
“Listen to me very carefully, so you don’t miss this.
You. Are. My. Mate.” Each word is slow and distinct.
He continues before I have a chance to say anything.
“Listen to me, Baby. Please.” I stare up at him.
“When you stabbed yourself, it killed Rizo. It also killed the vampire part of you, whether that’s because of your healer blood or simply because the connection to Rizo died.
You are no longer a vampire; that part of you is gone.
I can’t smell any vampire on you anymore.
But you know what I do smell?” He smiles, and it’s so gorgeous, it hurts my eyes. “I smell my mate.”
I go still and stare up at him. “Are you sure?” I whisper.
“Positive. There is no doubt in my mind. Your scent is enough to make my wolf lose his mind. We both recognize it as our mate’s scent.”
“Really, Hunter? You’re not messing with me?”
“No. This is it. It’s the real deal. You're my mate. I would never lie about something like that.” A sob escapes me, and I suddenly can’t keep myself together anymore.
Another sob catches in my throat, and he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close.
“It’s okay,” he whispers against my hair.
“I’m here; I’m yours. And you’re forever mine. ”
The tears come, and I’m helpless to stop them.
Like a tidal wave, my emotions roar to the surface.
Things I’ve pushed away for years come to the forefront, and I cry for all of it.
I cry for the loss of my mom and my childhood and my dreams, for everything that I endured with the vampires, for those who have lost their lives to the vamps.
It all comes pouring out. I didn’t even know I was capable of crying like this.
The tears come for what seems like hours.
I’m not even aware of anything else except Hunter literally holding me together, so I don’t slip away in this flood of emotion.
Sometime later, I realize we’re in bed, and he has his arms around me. The tears finally slow, and exhaustion so deep comes over me. “Just rest now, Love. I’ve got you. I've got you tonight, and I’ll have you tomorrow and the day after that.”
“What about the meeting?” I ask in somewhat slurred speech.
“Don’t worry about it. I told Bryce. We'll try again tomorrow. Before you fall asleep, though, I do need to tell you something.”
There’s something about his tone that makes me instantly alert. “What is it?’’
Those dark eyes fasten on mine. “After you stabbed yourself, which we are going to talk long and hard about at some point—”
“There was no other option.”
His eyes darken. “You hurting yourself is never the right option.”
My heart softens even more. “Agree to disagree.” He frowns, and I have a feeling he’s going to argue again if I let him. “What did you want to tell me?”
“I bit you.”
I stare at him for a moment. “Come again?”
“I knew you were dying, so I bit you. I didn’t know if it would work, but I bit you.”
“Sooo, what does that mean exactly?”
“Well, since you survived, it means we’re mated.”
“How do you know?”
Because I can do this.
My eyes widen because I knew this existed; I watched Ava and Bryce do it all the time. I’d seen the wolves communicate through their pack link, and yet nothing in the world could have prepared me for hearing Hunter’s voice in my head. “Teach me.”
“Imagine you’re talking directly to me and you’re putting that thought in my head.”
Hey, Wolf.
The smile that comes over his face is blinding. Hey, Gorgeous.