by D. C. Gambel
“Your bed is uncomfortable,” he whispered against my neck, placing a soft peck against my nape.
I chuckled rolling over in his arms to face him. “I don’t think you can complain when it’s in your house.”
“Hmm,” he grumbled brushing his hand down my side. “I need to know something.” My brow knitted noting the seriousness in his tone. “Why didn’t you leave, Isabel?”
His question surprised me. I hadn’t really given it much thought. Even while it was happening, I simply reacted. “I don’t know.”
His fingers traced over the bite on my neck. “Yes, you do. Stop trying to make sense and just tell me.”
“I don’t—”
“Stop thinking. Just say it.”
“I don’t—” I was getting frustrated as he badgered me.
“Just say it!” he insisted.
“Because I’m yours!” I yelled and the room fell quiet. My fingers quickly covered my mouth, but it was too late. I’d said the words, but they struck true. I was his. I was risking everything for him. That wasn’t something you just did aimlessly for good sex.
“Again,” he demanded after a minute of silence.
“Because I’m yours,” I said gentler, unsure how my statement would be met by him.
He nodded. “Mine,” he confirmed gripping me tighter against him.
“Does that mean you’re mine?” I was teasing. Gideon was an Alpha. Claiming ownership over things came naturally to him, but to give power like that to someone else was unexpected.
“If you’re mine then I’m yours.” I must have looked stunned because he smiled. “Do you really not know what you are to me?” His fingers continued to dance over my scar.
“You marked me,” I stated remembering Trey saying as much.
Gideon shook his head. “I claimed you. You’re mine, Isabel.” His eyes flashed amber as his wolf rushed to the surface. “My mate.”
The term was familiar to me. There was only one true mate for each wolf. Some werewolves could go all their lives and never find that one perfect match. Even after they found one another, unless they both accepted the bond, a true mating could never happen. Gideon had to be mistaken. We were completely wrong for each other. Both of us were stubborn and controlling. Plus, I wasn’t a wolf.
“I can’t be,” I stated feeling confused.
“Did you not feel what happened between us when we made love? Our souls connected. That couldn’t have happened if you weren’t. My wolf knew the moment we saw you. It’s why I was so hostile in the beginning. He knew but didn’t let me in on it. Those first full moons, he’d linger upstairs to keep an eye on you. The mornings after were the worst. He fought me to go to you. Sleeping with Carla was difficult and it made me hate you a little for it.”
I wanted his words to be true, but it wasn’t possible. “Gideon, I’m not a wolf.”
“It doesn’t matter. You just told me you’re mine, so I know if you got outside your head and stopped thinking of the reasons why it’s not possible, you’d see that you know it to be true.”
Was he right? Was I getting too in my head? The idea of leaving him had me going crazy. Thinking of him with another woman caused me physical pain. The piece that had been replaced inside me, felt oddly like Gideon.
“How long have you suspected?”
“Since I saw the bite on your neck. He wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t known and Isabel, since then, you smell like me.”
“The pack?”
“Knows that you’re mine.”
“Gideon,” I groaned mortified, burying my head into his shoulder. If what he said was true, then the staring and whispering I thought I noticed made a lot more sense.
“It’s nothing to worry about. I’ve given a gag order to the entire pack. They’re not to speak about it outside of pack members.”
I glanced up at him feeling my heart swell for him. “I thought gagging the entire pack wasn’t something you’d do?”
Gideon cupped my face. It was the first time outside of sex that he’d shown me real affection. “You’re not getting it. You’re my mate, Isabel. I’m going to make damn sure that you’re shielded. You asked that the Hunter Order not find out and I was making sure that happened.”
“I don’t know what this means.”
“I know it’s a lot. It’s why I didn’t bring it up before and if I hadn’t almost lost you today I might’ve still not. Let’s just take things slow. First thing, I’d like for you to move into my room.” I opened my mouth to rebuttal, but all my points were moot. Everyone in the house knew.
“What’s in it for me?” I smirked teasingly.
“Orgasms,” he stated swiftly like he already knew what I was going to ask. My lips twitched fighting off a smile. “See,” he smirked. “I know what you want.”
“Persuade me.”
“How?” his eyes twinkled mischievously.
“With a preview.”
Smirking, he slipped under the covers and gave me the ultimate demonstration of what was to come.
Epilogue
The werewolf slipped from the Thorn Court without being noticed. The guards didn’t bother him as he exited the gate, and why would they? They knew him and would draw their own conclusion as to why he was out at this hour.
He’d seen his Alpha slip into the huntress’s room and not leave. They weren’t fooling anyone, not that he could talk about it having been gagged along with the rest of the pack to protect her. How a member of the Hunter Order could be the mate of the king among Alphas was ridiculous. He wondered if it was a ploy of some kind, but he’d never seen magic impersonate a mating bond. Even the werewolf had to admit, the signs pointed to the girl being the Alpha’s mate, but how? At least their bond wasn’t complete and hopefully it remained that way.
He stood under the broken streetlight and waited. It all felt very cloak and daggers, but the hunter he was meeting was running this encounter.
“You assured me you could get her to leave,” the werewolf called out the moment he felt the young hunter’s presence. He wanted to spook the human a little, pissed that the plan hadn’t worked. The price had cost him.
“I thought she would. How was I to know she’d pull that stunt?”
“Because you’re supposed to know her.”
The hunter grumbled. “I had half a mind to toss her over my shoulder and throw her in the car.”
“Why didn’t you? You might have spared her life if you had.”
“Wait?” The blonde haired hunter’s bright blue eyes widened with fear at hearing the wolf’s words. Perhaps he truly cared for the girl. If he only knew that at this very moment, she was off wrestling naked with the Alpha. “What do you mean?”
“I think it’s time she’s eliminated,” the wolf spoke casually, shoving his hands into his pocket. The air was brisk tonight and even his extra warm body temperature was nothing to the cool night air. He’d attempted several times to eliminate the girl if to only sever Gideon’s ties with the Order. With the Alpha under the huntress’s spell the task would be harder. He’d had opportunities but hadn’t wanted to be a suspect. It was to the point that it might not matter. He just needed her gone.
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“Deals change.” The wolf turned to leave.
“Wait, give me one more chance. I’ll get her out. I swear.”
“Do you have a plan?” the wolf asked over his shoulder. If this was a ploy, he didn’t want to waste the energy to turn around.
“I do.”
“When can you execute.”
“Immediately but it would work best if I could catch the pack at its weakest.”
“You mean to kill pack members?” The wolf didn’t sound offended, but just curious.
The hunter shrugged. “We could use it as an opportunity to get rid of those not loyal to you?”
The wolf nodded. “After the full moon, we’re tired from transforming. We need rest and time to gather ourselves. Make your move the d
ay after. The girl…”
“Isabel,” the hunter informed him.
“I know her name. There’s something you should know that might alter your plans.”
The pause lingered before the hunter grew agitated waiting. “Well? What is it?”
The wolf growled frustrated. “I can’t say,” he hissed through clenched teeth. The gag order wouldn’t let him tell of the huntress’s recent activities. “You just need to be prepared for surprises when it concerns her. She’s more than she appears.”
“I can handle her.”
The werewolf seriously doubted it.
To be continued…
Continue the World of the Hunter Order Series in book two, Huntress and the Splintered Court.
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Also by D.C. Gambel
The Edge of Forever Series
Fate
Blood Ties
The Return
The Prophecy
Complete Series Boxset
Mistletoe and Demons: A Christmas Novelette
The Horsemen Chronicles
Death Awakens
Death’s Legacy
Deadly Revelations (Coming Soon)
World of the Hunter Order
The Huntress and the Thorn Court
The Huntress and the Splintered Court
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author D.C. Gambel is a hopeless romantic. From Historical to Paranormal, she's either reading it or writing it. When she isn't lost in imaginary worlds creating the perfect happily ever after, she's a military wife, mother of two and connoisseur of chocolate and coffee.
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