Chapter Forty-Four
Sherese
I wake up the next morning feeling warm, hot even.
I can’t remember the last time I felt warm; I’m always cold.
The source of my warmth makes sense when I open my eyes.
Hunter lies only a few inches away from me.
I watch him for a moment, taking in the details.
I’ve never allowed myself to stare at him for an extended period of time like this.
His face is relaxed, and I realize I’ve never seen him fully relaxed.
“If you take a picture, it will last longer.”
His voice startles me. I can’t even deny that I was staring at him. I roll towards the edge of the bed. “You wish.” Just before I can get off the bed, he snags my wrist and pulls me back towards him. I end up right next to him...like right next to him.
“I’m just teasing. You can stare at me any time you want.” He smirks, and I know he’s going to say something smart. But he surprises me when his smile goes soft. “Heaven knows I stare at you all the time.”
I laugh and push on his chest, but he doesn’t budge an inch. “No, you don’t.”
“Do you know that when you’re sleeping next to me, it’s the only time this furrow right here goes away.” He touches my forehead in between my eyebrows.
“That’s not true.”
He slides his hand down my face and tucks my hair behind my ear. “It is. I’ve watched you sleep many times.”
“Yeah, that’s not creepy, Wolf.”
He chuckles. “I’m just saying; I’ve watched you enough times to know.”
I decide to just be honest with my feelings. “Next to you is the only place I feel safe, so I guess that tracks.”
He blows out a breath and leans his head towards me, while simultaneously pulling me closer. “You will always be safe now. My wolf and I will see to it.” He leans back but doesn’t release his arm from behind my back.
I roll towards him, thinking about what I’ve been wanting to talk to him about.
“Hunter,” I pause and don’t meet his gaze.
“The reason I did those things to the healer…” I swallow.
“Ajax showed me a picture of Ava standing in her kitchen. She was by herself, and he knew she was pregnant. They told me if I didn’t do what they wanted, something would happen to Ava and the baby.
And I couldn’t…I just couldn’t….” Strong arms wrap around me.
“I’m sorry.” He sounds gutted. “I should never have doubted you. They were pitting us against each other. They gave me pictures of you with the healer, and I should have just asked instead of accusing.” He pulls back and looks me in the eye.
“I get it; I would have done anything they asked me to as well.”
“I tried to help her as much as I could.”
“You got her out. That’s what counts.” He’s quiet a moment, and I can tell he’s communicating with Bryce. He scowls a moment later.
“Bryce isn’t happy, is he?” I’m not even sure why I ask. Of course, he’s not.
“No, but I’ll deal with him later. We’ll do a sweep of his house and pack lands again and see what we can find.”
His phone dings a moment later, and he rolls over and grabs it. “It’s for you,” he says, handing me his phone. I look at the text from Ava.
Ava- This is for Sherese. Thank you for protecting me. I never believed for a moment you were helping the vampires when you went back.
I hand Hunter’s phone back to him. “You okay?” he asks as he puts his phone back on the side table. I nod. “Will you do me a favor?”
“Sure.” I’m wondering just what I agreed to, though.
“Will you tell me about your mom?”
His shift in conversation startles me, and it takes me a few minutes to get my thoughts together. “She was amazing. She was strong and independent and fierce.”
“So that’s where you get it from,” he interjects.
I smile at his words. “If you’re comparing me to my mom, that’s a compliment that I’ll take any day. Anyway, it was the two of us against the world. I never met my father; he died in an accident before I was born.”
“What did she do?”
I smile. “She was a nurse.”
He reaches up and runs a thumb down my cheek. “And you’re a healer.”
“Must have been something in our blood.”
He watches me carefully. “What happened? Only if you want to tell me. If not, I understand.”
The urge to tell him fills me; I haven't talked about her in over seven years.
And so I do. I tell him about growing up with her, about our life together.
It was hard for her, being a single mom, but she always loved me.
I finally tell him about that fateful day.
“Everything happened so fast. One minute we were singing songs at the top of our lungs, the next the bus was flipping. It was so loud. There was glass everywhere. And blood.” I shake my head, remembering. “There was so much blood.”
“And that’s when you healed your friend?” he asks softly. “I heard you tell Sage.”
I nod. “Yes. I had no idea I had healing power. It sort of just happened. The bus accident made national headlines, and so did the girl who was covered in blood but didn’t have a single wound on her.” I fall silent.
“That’s what drew the vampires.” It’s not a question.
I nod. “Yeah. Two days later, I walked into a crime scene in our home.”
He pulls me close against his chest. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too. I don’t know if they couldn’t find me, and they went after my mom to find answers.
I really have no idea what all went down that day.
I just know that was the day my mom died, and that night, the vampires took me.
I was supposed to be placed in child services.
Before I ever made it to the car, they nabbed me. And you know the rest.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “They grabbed you because they knew you could heal.”
“That’s why they took me, but I never healed again.
They made me try over and over and over again.
I kept telling them it wasn’t me that healed the girl—self-preservation and all that.
They tried so many tactics for the first year, but Rizo finally accepted it.
That’s when he turned me. I was with them for seven years, and you know the rest of the story. ”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to keep you safe.”
“Hunter, you would have been like what, fifteen? Sixteen? There’s nothing you could have done.”
He doesn’t respond, and I tuck my head against his chest. Not gonna lie; I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite safe place. “Can you tell me about your mom?”
He rubs his hand down my spine. “She sounds similar to yours; I bet they would have been good friends.” I smile at that.
“She was a wolf, so she was tough. But she was depressed a lot. I know it had to do with my dad’s death.
Eventually, I guess her body just couldn’t hold onto the grief anymore.
But I’m grateful for the years we had together.
” We lay in silence, content to just be near each other.
“One of the things we need to figure out pretty quickly is what you need to eat.”
I pull back and look into his eyes. “You think I’ll be able to eat regular food again?”
“I don’t know. But either way, we’ll figure it out.”
I take stock of my body. “I don’t feel like I need blood, but I don’t know about food.”
“We’ll take it easy. Even if you can do food, we still don’t want to overdo your system too fast since it’s not used to processing food.”
I take all this in. “I’m surprised you’re still here.” He frowns. “I just mean I figured everybody would be eager to talk to you and figure out what all went down. I mean, I’m eager as well. Are Rizo and Ajax really dead?”
“They are.”
I shake my head. I’m not sad either of them is dead; they had it coming.
It’s surreal, though, and I think it will take me some time to get used to it.
“That’s really good. Without the two of them, things will really be a mess for a while.
I have no idea who would step up and lead.
And maybe they won’t be able to. Maybe this is the crushing blow they need. ”
“That would be good,” he agrees.
I study his face. “But you don’t think so.”
He blows out a breath. “No. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them. We still don’t know where Alica is, and that concerns me.”
“What about Alicia?” I ask.
He stares at me. “You weren’t here.” The muscles in his arm flex for a moment. “Alicia was a vampire. She killed Cody, ripped his heart out.”
I stare at him in incredulity. “That’s,” I swallow, trying and failing to find words. “I’m so sorry, Hunter. How was she a vampire? I never sensed her, and I thought she was a wolf.”
“I don’t know.” His voice is low, and I can hear the restrained anger. “But she’s out there, and I know we haven’t seen the last of her. She wasn’t at the site in West Virginia, right?”
I shake my head. “No, but there are other sites. Or at least there were.”
He nods and pulls me close. “We’ll figure it out. And everybody is anxious to meet, but they all wanted you to have time to heal and rest.”
“Maybe we should just get it over with.”
He nods slowly. “As much as I don’t want to, it’s a good idea. The way I figure, the faster we get the meeting done, the faster we can come back here.”
“Smart.” I roll away from him.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
I stand up from the bed. “You just said we should get the meeting over with. Come on, Wolf. Don’t be lazy.”
He arches a brow. “You think I’m lazy?”
I let my eyes run over his bare chest. “No. Definitely not.”
“Keep looking at me that way, and we’re not going to get to that meeting.”
I smile at his words and make my way to the shower.
My thoughts run rampant while I shower. There’s so much to process, and I know it’s going to take more than a day or two to sort it all out.
I can barely wrap my mind around the fact that Sage healed me, and I’m Hunter’s mate, for real.
When I get out of the shower, I get dressed and then take my hair out of the towel.
I walk back into the bathroom and stand at the sink.
It takes me an embarrassingly long time to finally look up at the mirror.
When I do, I suck in a gasp, and a small cry escapes.
“Sherese.” Hunter throws the bathroom door open, and I face him.
His eyes run down me, like he’s checking to make sure I’m okay.
“What if I were naked?”
“I would have been a very lucky man. Now what’s wrong?”
I can barely keep up with him. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Why did you cry out? Did you get hurt?” His words have an edge to them.
“I was just working up the courage to look in the mirror.”
Understanding crosses his face. “And did you?” I nod.
“And what did you think?” Words fail to come.
And then he walks over, so he stands behind me.
“Let me tell you what I see.” His eyes meet mine in the mirror.
“First of all, I see the most beautiful woman in the entire world. She has long, gorgeous, dark hair. Every time I see it, I want to run my hands through it and see if it’s as soft as I remember.
Then I see those chocolate brown eyes that make my heart beat faster every time I see them.
Next, I see those lips that drive me distracted.
You can’t imagine how many times I wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips.
” He runs his thumb over my lips, and a shudder runs through me.
“Your face is so beautiful, I lose my breath every time I look at you.” He runs his thumbs down my cheekbones.
“And I don’t think I’ll continue down your body, or I’ll get us both into trouble.
Just trust me when I say that being attracted to you is the understatement of the century.
” His voice turns so gentle. “And I’m sure you’ve noticed, but you have a healthy glow to your face.
The vampire part of you is completely gone.
I think I’m going to miss that part, though. ”
I frown fiercely. “Are you kidding? Why would you say that?”
He steps close. “Because that vampire is who I fell in love with.”
I suck in a breath at his words. I take a step forward and put my hand on his chest. “Will this me be okay now? The one without fangs?”
“Better than okay.” Then he kissed me. We never did get to that meeting we were supposed to be at. They finally started it without us, which was probably a really wise idea. Hunter and I were stuck in our little bubble for a little while, and it was good. Really, really good.
At some point in the days following, Hunter asked me if I could change anything; would I change it?
The question took me by surprise, but it didn’t take me long to answer.
The answer was an easy no. To his surprise, I explained that the circumstances of my life led me to him, and I would never change that.
He’s my safe place, my shelter after all these years.
I wasn’t going to regret the path that led me to him, no matter how hard it was at times.
Being with Hunter now is sort of like my redemption, my second chance at life.
And you’d better believe I was going to grasp that life with both hands and hang on to it for all I was worth.