Chapter 17
Mia
Warmth tingled across the back of my neck as something stirred behind my heart telling me Noah was here. Again.
For four days, I’d avoided him by focusing all my attention on cleaning Joan’s house. But he kept coming back.
I padded up the stairs to the window. The same window where I first saw Noah in wolf form, waiting in the forest for me. Pulling back the drapes, I peered at the spot. Thor stood there, waiting for me.
My heart cracked and I doubt it would ever repair itself. Every time I spared a glance out the window to the backyard, Noah or Thor stood in the same location. He’d left my house like I’d asked, but he hadn’t left me. He hadn’t given up.
Had I?
I didn’t know. Mating with me without my knowledge, I could probably forgive. We were both caught up in the moment and I was as much to blame as him. When I thought back to that night, he’d tried to tell me something, tried to slow things down, but I hadn’t wanted any of that. I’d only wanted him.
Now that bond connected us for life.
To say I didn’t feel any different was a lie. When I stopped and thought about it, an invisible thread drew me to Noah before we sealed our bond. Destiny pulled us together the moment I stepped into his bar.
No, even before that. His wolf. Fifteen years ago, that same invisible thread lured me to a wolf lurking in the forest behind this house. I mean, since when did a wolf and a teenage girl ever become best friends?
Thor’s head turned my way and his gaze held mine.
I mentally searched inside me for…something. Hatred, the desire to kill, a thirst for his blood. Anything to remind me that Noah had triggered the hunter curse. Did it awake instantly, or did it happen over time? Not knowing the answers to any of this frustrated the hell out of me. If I stayed, if I allowed myself to build a future with Noah, would I wake up one day wanting to drain his blood?
Until I was positive I wouldn’t, I couldn’t be with him. I couldn’t risk it.
No matter how much I loved him—Oh, God. The fluttering in my stomach when I thought of him, the deep yearning inside my chest to forgive him. Those feelings weren’t the result of our mating bond. I loved him. Despite his actions, despite our different worlds, and the curse that threatened to tear us apart, I damn well loved him.
How did I not see that?
I longed for a home and a family who loved me back, and with Noah, I could have all that. But I was a freaking hunter. A danger to them all. Staying in Woodland Falls put not just Noah in danger, but every other shifter. The Cole family. Ivy and Liam’s baby.
I focused on Thor. His front paws inched onto the grass. That dull ache in my heart intensified, consuming my lungs and every other half-dead organ in my chest.
My whole life I’d bounced from one situation to the next, living in the shadows of everyone else’s choices and expectations. I’d come to Woodland Falls aching to stand on my own two feet. To create my own path, not one forged on the choices of others.
Today, I took back control.
If Noah wouldn’t let me go, then I needed to make that choice for the both of us. I needed to leave. I refused to tear apart their family because of some ancient curse thrust upon mine. A family I no longer held ties with.
I couldn’t risk staying here any longer.
With one final glance at Thor, at Noah, I released the drapes and held my breath until they fell back into place. I turned from the window. Noah wanted me to meet him halfway, but this time I wouldn’t.
This moment wasn’t the start of our epic love story. This was the moment I ended the Whitcome hunters forever.
Noah
I sensed Ash approach from behind, but I didn’t bother turning to greet him.
“Has she come out yet?” he asked when he stood beside me.
I shook my head. She hadn’t peered out the window for forty-eight hours.
For six days, I’d parked my ass in the woods behind her house, alternating between wolf and human form. We both ached for her, so it was only fair that we took shifts. Each afternoon, I caught her peering down from her bedroom window as she had fifteen years ago, but unlike then, she never met me halfway.
Even though I hated myself for doing this to her, to us, I didn’t regret it. Not for one second. I would tear myself apart, a slow and miserable death, if it meant saving her life.
Ash squeezed my shoulder. “I thought she’d come out and tell you.”
I knew that tone and it wasn’t good. “Tell me what?”
“She came to see me today.”
My heart stilled. Seeing Ash was progress. Eventually, she’d see me, and I could apologize again. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d apologize every day for the rest of eternity.
But the look on Ash’s face, combined with the sudden churn in my gut, told me otherwise. “Is she okay?”
He didn’t answer.
“Spit it out, Ash.” I growled, growing more impatient by the second.
Ash glanced between the house and me. “She’s leaving. Tomorrow. She came to see me about the will.”
My heart bled out right there in the woods. “What did you say? I thought she had to stay until the end of the summer.”
I thought I had more time.
“Technically, she can leave. She’s not putting the house up for sale until the end of the summer and she did live in it while she was here.” Ash shoved his hands in his pockets. “I think given the circumstances…”
My fucking brother betrayed me. My own flesh and blood.
“You asshole.” Fist clenched, I spun and swung at Ash’s face.
He caught my fist in his hand, then shoved it away. “You need to get your head out of your ass and wake up.”
“How can I? I drew her into this. Before she came here, she didn’t even know about shifters, about me, about her family. If I hadn’t told her, she would’ve gone on oblivious to everything.”
“I don’t believe that, and I doubt you do either. Joan left her the house for a reason. She wanted her to come back here. Why else include the condition in her will?”
“I’ve done nothing but break her trust. I wanted to atone for failing Joan, but more than that, I wanted my mate. I fell in love with her before I knew what the word even meant. Now I’ve ruined everything.”
“Instead of moping around in the forest hoping she’ll come to you, go fight for her.”
“She’ll never forgive me, no matter what I do.”
“Do I need to punch you? Of course, she won’t forgive you while you’re hiding out here like a stray pup.”
Ash glanced toward the sky, then back at me.
“You told me she was your mate. You’ve known that for fifteen years.”
I scoffed. “That’s rich coming from someone who doesn’t believe in mates.”
“I never said I didn’t believe. I just don’t believe there’s one for me. But I’ve witnessed the connection—with Mom and Dad, Ivy and Liam. I know it exists. And from what I’ve seen, nothing breaks a mating bond. Not even an ancient curse.”
He paused and my rage simmered.
“I think Joan knew that as well. After she stopped taking the blood, why do you think she still made that god-awful concoction to protect us? Because it also protected you. We all saw how she drove herself crazy trying to break the curse and I think when she realized you and Mia were fated, she finally discovered a way. Think about it. A hunter mated to a shifter. Joan made sure the Whitcome curse ended with the two of you.”
I kicked the dirt with my boot and thought for a moment. Joan did stop taking blood, but I assumed she did it because Dad died. Which happened around the time Mia came to stay with her. Did she sense the connection? Did she really believe Mia and I mating would break the hunter curse?
Ash squeezed my shoulder.
“You know what you need to do. Go do it.”
I stared at the house as the lights came on in the upstairs bedroom. I held my breath, waiting. A
heartbeat later, the drapes pulled back and Mia peered out the window. Our eyes locked and, in that moment, I knew Ash was right.
What was with my brothers always being right?
I needed to fight for Mia. Regardless of everything that happened between us, and our two opposing worlds, and what our future held, she was my mate.
I’d die before losing her again.
Chapter 18
Mia
I grabbed my jacket and took one final glance around the living room. I’d packed most of Joan’s things into three separate boxes: donate, trash, and keep. That last box came with me in the car because I’d never return. It contained keepsakes like photo albums I’d found under the stairs, some of Joan’s jewelry, other odds and ends, plus the wolf sketch. I also kept Joan’s grimoire because one day, I dunno, maybe I’d want to explore my heritage. Maybe I’d try to be more like Joan. If I could fit the whole house in my apartment back in the city, I’d probably take it all.
I guess I tried to hold onto the past, to the small connection that gave me a family. Holding onto a life I’d never have.
More than a thousand times, I’d questioned if I’d made the right decision. I originally came here to sell Joan’s estate and start over, but so much had happened since. I’d reconnected with my wolf, met and fell in love with a shifter, and became a hunter. I didn’t know which part shocked me the most. The fact that I’d given my heart away when I never thought I would, or that I belonged to an ancient magical world.
And amongst all that, I’d freaking married a guy by having sex.
Deep inside, I suspected we were kindred spirits or lovers in a past life, from the beginning. Was it so farfetched to believe that by having sex, we sealed the bond between us? No. And that bothered me the most. The fact I believed it when Noah said our night together sealed our bond. I couldn’t deny it. I felt it.
Then along came the whole ancient curse thing.
Gah!
The house was clean, tidy, and presentable. I’d decluttered the rooms as best I could, donating some furniture to the local charity. At one stage, I considered burning down the shed of horrors, but chickened out. I didn’t want to trigger any more curses.
Would the house sell for a reasonable price? I had no idea. All that mattered was the agent suspected it’d sell quickly.
I just wasn’t sure how I felt about it anymore. That pang inside my chest wouldn’t go away.
No more doubting.
With a heavy heart, I composed myself before walking out of the house for the final time, closing the door behind me.
I drew up short.
Noah sat lengthways along the top step with his legs crossed at the ankles.
He stood and I backed against the front door.
In a heartbeat, he closed the distance between us and took my mouth with his. The kiss punched me right in my heart, breathing life back into it. Full of not just longing and desire, but hope, love, and something I’d begun to associate with our mate bond. As his tongue teased mine, my heart burst into a million petals floating up to the clouds.
I wish he’d stayed away. Saying goodbye only made it harder to leave.
He drew back, leaving me gasping for breath, cradling my face between his strong hands.
I stared into those mesmerizing ice-blue eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m coming with you,” he whispered, a smile hinting on his cheeks.
My heart skipped, but I shut it down.
I closed my eyes briefly. “What if I don’t want you to?”
“Too bad.” His thumbs stroked along my cheeks, stirring all those sensations in my belly. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to sit here and wait another fifteen years for you to come home. We’re in this together.”
I wasn’t so easily convinced. “I…we, have a lot to sort out. Including the fact I might wake up one day and want to kill you. What then?”
“For as long as we knew Joan, she never stopped trying to break the curse. Ash and I think by us mating, we finally did. Think about it. When the hunter stabbed Ash and he was on the ground, you didn’t drink his blood or try to kill him. You tried to save him.” He smoothed the back of his hand along my cheek. “Do you have the urge to kill me now? A hunger for something you can’t identify?”
“No.” Deep inside, all I had was a yearning to be with Noah.
“I don’t think you ever will. And if you do, we’ll work it out.” He smiled as though he’d solved all our problems in one move. “Now, do you still want to leave?”
I don’t know. I knew fear drove my decision to leave, but I felt like it was the only option, at least until I figured all this out. I couldn’t see any other path. “Yes.”
“Then it’s settled. We leave.” His smile widened as though he won some imaginary war between us, even though I was the one to invade his territory and threaten his people. “I just need to drop by the bar on our way out to give Liam the keys.
“Hang on. You’re serious?”
He brushed his thumb along my bottom lip. “I love you, baby. For me, there’s only ever been you. I can’t imagine existing without you in my life. I’m coming with you.”
My pulse quickened and tiny butterflies fluttered in my chest. “What about the bar? Your brothers? Your home is here.”
He thought for a moment, and I almost held my breath waiting for his response. I wanted him to come with me, of course I did, but I’d never ask him to leave his family. No one should give up their family for the one they loved. Family was everything.
“My brothers understand. Liam’s buying the bar from me.” He swept a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Some wise person once said home is where the heart is. Mia, my heart is yours, it has been for fifteen years, ever since I sensed you in the backyard of this house. Where you go, I go.”
Could it be? The thought of leaving him made my chest ache, but the thought of staying freaked me out just as much. I was a hunter, his sworn enemy. But…what if by mating with him, we achieved what Joan couldn’t? I so desperately wanted to be happy, to have him by my side as I figured all this out.
He bent, eye level with me. “Say yes, baby. Tell me you want this too.”
I stared into those impossibly bright blue eyes, full of familiarity, comfort, and love. Was I still scared about becoming a hunter and what our future held? Absolutely. But I made a vow long ago that I’d take life into my own hands and make it my own. I wouldn’t let my screwed-up childhood shape me into the woman I wanted to be. The woman I was meant to be.
And that woman wanted to be with Noah.
My heart fluttered as I smiled. “Yes.” I placed my hands over his on my cheeks. “Yes. Okay. Let’s do this.”
He kissed me deep and hard, like he resealed the bond between us so it would never break. This kiss was more than a mating bond, this felt stronger, as though he not only vowed his protection and love for the rest of his life, but he also gave me his heart.
His full heart.
He eased back and smoothed his hands along my face to rest at the nape of my neck. His thumbs idly stroked my jaw. “Ash said he’ll bring your car up one weekend if you want me to drive.”
“I’d like that.”
He kissed my forehead, lingering for a moment. “Let’s get outta here.”
With one hand, he grabbed my suitcase by the door and my hand with the other and led me to his truck. While he secured my belongings in the truck bed, I grabbed the two boxes of keepsakes from my car. The sight of Noah’s packing boxes next to mine made my breath hitch.
He was really doing this. We were really doing this.
He paused glancing at me over the hood. “You ready?”
I forced a smile. “Yep.”
Was I though?
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything further. Instead, he hopped into the truck and I did the same. A few minutes down the road, we pulled into the parking lot of the bar.
“I just need to give Liam the keys.” His
lips rolled in. “And a stern talking to about not running my…his…bar into the ground.”
Something heavy pressed against my chest, squeezing air from my lungs.
“I can give him your car keys too if you like?”
I nodded. “Sure.” I fished them from my purse and handed them to Noah.
His fingers stilled around the keys clasped in my hand.
“Baby, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” I let him take the keys. “I’ll send Ashton a text to thank him.”
He nodded. “I’ll be back in a second.”
He jumped out the truck and jogged into the bar. Mid-morning, the bar and grill wasn’t open for business yet, but I presumed Liam was there setting up as Noah had each day.
It all started at this bar. I first met Noah here. I came with such a clear plan and once I stepped into that bar, my world fell off its axis.
If I’d met Ashton somewhere else, would I have run into Noah? Probably. I suspected not only destiny, but Joan had a hand in ensuring Noah and I reconnected. A plan fifteen years in the making.
What if Noah’s theory was true? What if by mating with him, we broke the hunter curse? I still had no urge to kill him or his brothers for their blood. Was this what Joan planned all along? Was this why she left me the house and not my mom?
I stared out the windshield to the road leading out of town.
What awaited me back in Seattle? Nothing. I’d lost my job. I’d almost burned through my savings by paying my share of the rent on my tiny apartment. I had no idea where my mother was, somewhere, with someone, most likely hunting shifters.
Nothing awaited me back in Seattle.
Everything that meant something to me was…right here in Woodland Falls. Everything Noah loved and cherished was here, too.
He told me wolves valued family above everything else. Yet, when it came down to it, he chose to leave his family for me. He chose to walk away from his life to be with his mate.
Warlords, Witches and Wolves: A Fantasy Realms Anthology Page 91
