Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Hunter
The drive to my house feels both endless and too short.
I need to clean these wounds and to have a longer conversation with Ava.
I need to make sure she understands what accepting the mate bond really means.
But I also want to stay in this moment. I won the fight.
Ava is beside me and the future stretches out ahead of us full of possibility.
My side throbs from where Marcus's claws raked across my ribs, and I can feel blood still trickling from the cut above my eye. Adrenaline is wearing off, leaving exhaustion in its wake.
"You're favoring your left side," Ava observes. "How bad is it?"
"Not bad. It looks worse than it is." I pull into my driveway and turn off the engine. "I heal fast. By morning most of this will be gone."
"That's... going to take some getting used to." She unbuckles her seatbelt. "Come on. Let's get you into the house and cleaned up."
Inside, I head straight for the bathroom, Ava following close behind. She's already in scientific mode, assessing my injuries with a critical eye.
"Sit," she orders, pointing to the edge of the bathtub.
I do as asked, too tired to argue. She kneels beside me, examining the wounds with gentle fingers.
"These need to be cleaned properly. Do you have a first aid kit?"
"Under the sink. But I'm fine. Really. I’m serious, these will be healed by?—"
"Humor me." She retrieves the kit and starts cleaning the cut above my eye with careful precision. "I know you heal faster than humans, but that doesn't mean we should ignore basic medical care."
I watch her work, this brilliant, stubborn woman who just watched me fight for my life and is now fussing over cuts that will be gone by dawn. The tenderness in her touch and the furrow of concentration between her brows makes my chest tight with emotion.
"You're beautiful," I say without thinking.
She pauses, meeting my eyes. "You just fought a brutal challenge. You're covered in blood and probably in pain. And you're calling me beautiful?"
"Especially now. Especially like this." I catch her wrist gently. "Ava, what you did tonight… Being there, standing with me, letting the pack see that you're not afraid?—"
"I was terrified."
"But you stayed." I release her wrist so she can continue cleaning the wounds. "That matters more than you know."
She works in silence for a few more minutes, cleaning and bandaging. The cut on my side is deeper, and I see her wince when she gets a good look at it.
"Marcus did this to you."
"With his claws. Right before I got him pinned." I watch her face. "It looks worse than it is."
"It looks like it needs stitches."
"It doesn't. By morning it'll be mostly closed. By tomorrow night, just a scar. By next week, nothing." I catch her hand again. "One of the benefits of being what I am."
She sits back on her heels, looking at me with those green eyes that see too much. "Does it hurt?"
"The wounds? Not as much as you'd think. The fight itself?" I consider. "In the moment, no. Adrenaline takes care of that. Afterward, yes. But it's manageable."
"And emotionally? How are you doing with... everything?"
Trust Ava to cut right to the heart of it. "I'm processing. Marcus is someone I’ve known my entire life. He’s always been an impressive wolf, even if we didn't always agree. Having to fight him, having to prove my dominance—" I break off, searching for words. "It's necessary. But it's not easy."
"I'm sorry." She resumes bandaging the wound on my side, her touch infinitely gentle. "I hate that this happened because of me."
"Ava, we've been through this. Marcus was looking for an excuse to challenge me long before you came into my life.
You just gave him a target to focus his resentment on.
" I wait until she's finished with the bandage, then pull her up to sit beside me on the edge of the tub.
"But there's something we need to talk about. Something important."
"The mate bond," she says quietly.
"Yes. What have you dug up and more importantly, what exactly has Rachel told you?"
"The basics. That wolves know their mates instinctively.
That the bond is permanent, unbreakable.
That it's different from just being in love.
It's something deeper, more fundamental.
" She turns to face me fully. "And that you've known I'm your mate for a while now, even if you haven't said it directly. "
I should be surprised, but I'm not. Rachel would have prepared her, given her the information she needed to understand what's happening between us.
"When did you figure it out?" I ask.
"Pieces, over time. The way you looked at me that first day by the creek.
The way you couldn't walk away even when it would have been safer for both of us.
The way you fought tonight. Like you had everything to lose.
More than the pack." She reaches up to touch my face, careful of the cut above my eye.
"And what you said in the clearing. The way you claimed me in front of the entire pack. "
"I should have talked to you about it first. Before making that kind of public declaration." I cover her hand with mine. "But I needed them to know. Marcus had to know that threatening you was the same as threatening me."
"I'm not upset, Hunter. But I need to understand what this really means. Not just the romantic version or the Wikipedia summary. I need the truth."
I take a deep breath. This is it. The conversation that will determine our future.
"Okay." I stand and hold out my hand. "But not in the bathroom. Let's go somewhere more comfortable."
We move to the living room. I light the fireplace—more for ambiance than warmth—and we settle on the couch, Ava curled against my side despite my protests that I'm still bloody.
"Tell me," she says simply.
"The mate bond is... It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't felt it." I stare into the fire, gathering my thoughts. "It's an instinctive recognition. The moment I saw you that first day, my wolf knew. It wasn't about logic or choice. It just was."
"Knew what?"
"That you were mine. That you were the one I was supposed to protect, to cherish, to build a life with." I turn to look at her. "It sounds possessive when I say it out loud, but it's not about ownership. It's about belonging to each other."
"And you knew this immediately? That first day?"
"I knew something was different. The pull I felt toward you was stronger than anything I'd experienced before. But I tried to ignore it, tried to convince myself it was just attraction or curiosity." I laugh without humor. "That lasted about two days before I had to admit the truth."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wanted you to choose this. Choose me.
Not because of some mystical bond, but because you actually wanted to be with me.
" I cup her face gently. "The mate bond doesn't force feelings, Ava.
It just recognizes compatibility, potential.
You could have walked away. Many humans do when they learn what their wolf partner is. "
"Has that happened before? In the pack?"
"Years ago. Before I was Alpha. Daniel, one of my predecessors, had a human mate.
Sarah." I run my thumb along her cheekbone.
"They barely knew each other when he told her what he was, what the bond meant.
He thought the bond itself would be enough, that she'd just accept it because it was fated or destined or whatever romantic notion he had in his head. "
"What happened?"
"She couldn't handle it. The reality of pack life, the supernatural nature of it all, the weight of being bonded to someone she'd only known a few weeks—it was too much.
She left. He had to have her memories modified by witches to protect the pack's secret.
" I drop my hand. "It nearly destroyed him. And it taught me something important."
"What?"
"That the bond isn't enough on its own. You have to build the relationship, earn the trust, give the person time to know you as a person before asking them to accept something this huge.
" I search her eyes. "That's what I was trying to do with you.
Let you get to know me, let the relationship develop naturally, before throwing 'by the way, you're my fated mate' at you. "
She's quiet for a long moment, processing. "That's why you waited. Why you didn't tell me even when you must have wanted to."
"Exactly. I wanted you to choose me for me, not because some instinct told you we were meant to be together.
" I take her hands again. "The bond is real, and it's powerful.
But what we've built over these past weeks—the trust, the partnership, the love—that's what matters. That's what makes this work."
She's quiet for a long moment, processing. "What does the bond feel like for you?"
"Like gravity. Like you're the center that everything else orbits around.
" I struggle to find the words. "When you're near, everything is clearer, sharper, better.
When you're away, there's this constant pull, this awareness of you.
Your emotions bleed through sometimes. I can feel when you're stressed or scared or happy. "
Her eyes widen. "You can feel my emotions?"
"Not read your mind. But yes, when they're strong enough, I can sense them. It goes both ways, though. When the bond is fully accepted, you'll be able to sense mine too."
"When it's fully accepted," she repeats. "Meaning it's not fully in place yet?"
"No. The bond exists—has existed since the moment we met—but it's not complete until both parties accept it consciously. Acknowledge it. Choose it." I take her hands in mine. "That's what I need to ask you. What I should have asked you before making any public declarations."
I slide off the couch to kneel in front of her, still holding her hands.