“Mm-hmm.”
“Don’t trust the stomach, she’s a liar.”
I looked away for a moment. Hunter moved in front of me.
“The way I understand it, is the stomach is the one least likely to lie.”
He bent his head as if he was trying to catch my gaze. I looked up at him.
“I…”
I didn’t have a response. I didn’t know what to say.
“Come on,” Hunter steered me back toward the island that was in the kitchen. He opened the fridge, and I for one, as much as I love food, never thought of a fridge as sexy except with him standing beside, grasping onto the handle of the door. Big, strong, hands. Capable hands. I was sure of it. The things they could do. I was drooling. Oh, jeez. I turned away and jumped when he set something heavily in front of me.
The cutting board was slate. The knife was sleek – sharpened to the keenest edge. Next he retrieved a green pepper, an orange pepper, a couple tomatoes, green olives, and lettuce. He pulled out hamburger next and turned to the stove. I guess I was cutting. I was okay with that.
“What are we having?” I asked peeking up at him through my lashes. His back was turned toward me.
“Tacos,” he answered quietly, a blush stealing across the back of his neck.
My lips quirked upwards. I was curious as to why he had chosen that. Did he know that it was my favorite food?
The next twenty minutes we worked in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It was a relaxed silence. It was that sort of silence you have only with certain people. One that you appreciate because you can learn more about each other through silence than in conversation.
I started to work on the tomatoes. I loved tomatoes, I would eat them raw as a child. And I had a thing about sucking up the seeds.
I bit into a tomato slice. I was enjoying the taste when the juice slipped from the corner of my mouth. I went to wipe it away but Hunter was there. He brushed his thumb underneath my lip. Suddenly, it was there. Bravery. I wasn’t sure where it came from when it overtook me. But I leaned forward and sucked the seeds off his thumb. I didn’t dare look up at him too nervous of what he must look like. Instead, I returned to my work.
I snuck a look at him when he was standing at the stove again. His shoulders were tight. Had I messed this up? Maybe yes?
We finished and made our tacos and ate in silence.
****
The next few days followed the same pattern. I would wake up, I shower, change clothes, and hang out in my room. Since the gathering I hadn’t spent much time with anyone. I was still feeling a little nervous about wandering around. Everyone in the pack who knew I was Hunter’s mate, but that didn’t mean it would help. I called Keith every day since I had arrived, but I had yet to talk to Griffin. I heard him in the background sometimes when I talked to Keith. I always asked Keith not to give him the phone, though. Hunter deserved a chance. I had to keep my word. I wouldn’t talk to Griffin. But feeling so alone, I knew that if I talked to Griffin, I would be tempted to go home.
I went over to my suitcase. I still hadn’t fully unpacked. It was stupid. I knew I would be staying here for at least six months, but I was hesitant. Maybe unpacking would sooth me. Maybe it would calm me.
I opened the second bag. I had left it completely untouched until now. I looked down and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
I started blankly at it. No way. I couldn’t help but chuckling, and soon a grin replaced the dark thoughts of moments ago. I pulled out the board game, almost starting to laugh again. I remembered the first time that Griffin and I found the game, and the first time we played it with Liam and Nick. I knew without a doubt that I wanted to play it again.
I devised a plan.
****
I needed to find the twins. I hadn’t ventured much farther than my room and the kitchen of Damian’s house. I would have to, eventually. No time like the present, after all.
I couldn’t stay hidden in this house, or even the room that was given to me. If Hunter wanted to get to know me, and I if I was honestly giving him a shot, then we had to do stuff together. Spend time together. I was determined to try, even if he seemed reluctant to do so. Maybe it dealt with what Molly had said about him not waiting a mate?
I was about to head outside when a voice stopped me.
“Where are you going?” Hunter asked from behind me.
I turned and almost squeaked when I realized that he was right in front of me. I hadn’t noticed him when I started out the door. He was even more feral than usual. It was hard to tell when I was dealing with the wolf and dealing with the man.
“Hey there growly voice, I haven’t even seen you in a couple days.” I got annoyed and pushed his chest.
“I asked you a question, Colette.”
“Calm down.”
Hunter let out a low growl. His top lip lifting, baring his teeth. The scruff on his jaw twitched, movement with his grinding teeth. My back grew tense with his own anxiety.
“Look, I was going to grab the twins and see if they wanted to come hang out with us tonight. I have a game I want to play. I think it would be fun. I was going to try and surprise you, but because you decided to finally show your face, I guess it’s ruined.”
I shrugged a shoulder, keeping my voice level and calm.
“You want to play a game?” Hunter’s brow furrowed as if he didn’t quite understand. Hunter was too serious for his own good. This was ridiculous.
“Yes I want to play a game,” I answered.
“We…” Hunter trailed off.
I realized almost immediately what he was going to say. It was the reason that Griffin and I started searching for different new fun games to play outside of monopoly, which was banned at our house anyways. Something about an incident. Keith and Isaac said no more. Weres typically liked to play in their wolf form. Most were-play occurred when shifted. I couldn’t. I had never been able to shift and, quite frankly, my wolf had quieted down in the last few days, and with her my hopes that I might someday be able to shift. I could feel her closer, but only when Hunter was around.
“Yeah, so I’ll go grab them. Get a table ready.”
I started to head off to find them when Hunter grabbed my arm. He held it so I couldn’t leave, but his touch was gentle.
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”
Without warning, he cupped my cheek. My breath stuttered. Warmth filled my body. I wanted to lean into his touch as my eyes started to shut, but as I drew near I saw the change in his eyes. He was starting to close off again.
I pulled away before he could do the same.
“The twins live four houses to the right.”
I nodded and headed out. I huffed out of breath. It took minutes for my body to relax from my encounter with Hunter. I thought about his words, about his apology. I dawdled, thinking, but before long, I had arrived.
I found the twins easily enough. Billy was in his wolf form when I found them. He yipped and ran at me. Werewolves were bigger than normal wolves, but they weren’t monstrously big, as some fairy tales would lead you to believe. Billy came to about my middle of my stomach in height. Jameson came out of the house at his brother’s call. I watched Billy, whose wolf had a dirty blonde coat, run around me.
“Colette,” Jameson stared at me with a questioning look.
“You can call me Lettie. But I came over here to invite you guys to come play a game with me and Hunter.”
Jameson looked down at his brother. Billy nodded and headed into the house.
“Do you mind if we invite our sister?” Billy called from the doorway.
I looked over at him where Jen, there sister stood. She was blonde like her brothers and had pretty big brown eyes. I knew she was closer to my age. She was a little shorter than her brothers. And she was gorgeous, and I remembered from the party she was rather shy.
“Hi Jen, you want to play a board game with us?”
Jen nodded. We headed back to the house.
; Hunter eyed the twins and their sister as we came into the house. He led us to the back of the house to a den. There was a table with a couple chairs around it. It was be perfect! I grabbed the game, coming back to find everyone had taken their seat. The only seat left was sandwiched between Jen and Hunter. I moved forward and set the game box in the middle of the table.
Billy snorted first as they all leaned in to read the title of the game.
“Are you kidding?” Billy asked looking up at me.
I just smiled.
“I got it for my birthday a couple years back. It’s a favorite back home,” I said.
“Werewolf?” Hunter asked looking at me. He didn’t look impressed in fact he looked almost offended. I wanted to laugh because I knew it would only get better. I explained the rules of the game.
“This is stereotyping,” Hunter grumbled.
“So, we have to kill the werewolves because they want to eat the villagers?” Jen asked nervously.
“Yeah, well we have to figure out at least one of the two possible wolves in play.”
That earned me a smirk from Billy who then elbowed Jameson whose lips started to twitch into a smile.
“Maybe we should play it the opposite then, being there are more wolves here than human,” Billy joked.
The table got a little quiet after that. I looked down at my card face down. Ironic he should say that because my card told me I was a werewolf. I felt a hand touch my knee lightly until all its weight rested on my knee. I peeked up at Hunter who was watching me, worry flashing across his face, before he went back to neutral.
I touched the hand he had laid there. It was fine. I knew I was only half-were. I had known my whole life. At least now that I had found Hunter, I had found a comfort for my wolf’s spirit. And I could feel her. That was more than I had ever had before. I bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted to tell that to Hunter. To tell him that he gave me a piece of my wolf that I never thought I would have, but that was for a more private time.
“Where would the fun in that be then?” I winked and we started the game. The game had a phone application that announced when each player went.
The more we played the more I realized that Hunter was a talented strategist, unlike the outspoken and loud Billy. Hunter was the opposite. He was quiet and waited for the right moment to derail us all from finding out who was the true werewolf.
I found myself disappointed that after our first round Hunter’s hand left my leg. But I was hopeful. He seemed more open and relaxed the more we played. With each passing moment, he opened up a little more.
He still played a brutally strategic game, adding in dry humor here in there that had us in fits of laughter. I noticed that, the entire time, he never really smiled. Even when he was relaxed - his shoulders back, his hands unclenched, but he still never let a full smile spread across his face. And I knew right then what I had to do.
I had to make him smile.
We started another round of the game and I looked at my card at the start of the round. I was a villager, which meant I could look at any one person’s card and see what they were. I had gotten this card before, and I always looked at one of the twin’s cards because they seemed to be the ones that would be the trickiest. It was hard to tell with them. This time I looked at Hunter’s card and smiled. This was going to be fun.
“Everyone open your eyes,” the app announced.
We had five minutes to talk amongst ourselves about who we thought might be the werewolf. Usually when I played the seer, I would wait a bit to try and catch someone in a lie. But this time I was going to play a little differently.
“Hunter is the werewolf. I’m the seer and I saw that he’s the werewolf.”
Hunter turned to me his brow was furled with confusion. I just smiled at him. I knew that he was one of the villagers and it could lose this round for us, but I wanted to try to get a rise out of him.
The others looked at me. I could tell that at least one of them was the werewolf and was wondering what the hell I was doing.
“Well if she says she’s the seer, I believe her.” Jen agreed with me.
Hunter lips pressed together.
“That is a damn lie and you know it Colette.”
“Do I?” I joked, taunting him.
“You know just as well as I do that I am not the wolf.”
His eyes got a dangerous glint to them.
I was pretty sure I was the only one that could rile him up this fast. The others tried to goad him, but he never bit. For me, it appeared, he was rising to the occasion.
“You are digging yourself a bigger hole there, yellow eyes,” I whispered, watching him, waiting for him to make his next move. Hunter shocked me when he leaned back in his chair and a small smirk spread across his lips. His canines had lengthened.
“I know you’re lying because I am the seer, and I know what you are.”
The table went quiet and watched us. I didn’t know how to backpedal without digging myself into a hole.
“That is exactly what a wolf would say,” I answered feeling proud for all of two seconds before he leaned close to me.
“And that is exactly what a wolf would say as well,” Hunter whispered.
“Time’s up.”
We all pointed at the person we thought was the wolf the twins and Jen sided with me and pointed at Hunter while Hunter pointed at me. Hunter flipped his card over which was a picture of a simple villager with no special powers. His eyes shifted to me. I could plainly see what was going to happen next. I knew that look in any wolf’s eyes.
The chase was on. And I was the prey.
In my experience, there were a few critical seconds before he made a grab at me. I slipped out of my chair and ran out of the room. I heard his low growl and I laughed. I ran up the stairs about halfway before I turned around to go back down. I was hoping to misdirect him. I wasn’t sure how well it would work, but when Griffin and I were younger and played tag it worked on him sometimes. I heard Hunter marching from the den toward the front room while I ran into the kitchen and started for the door that led outside. As soon as I hit the back porch I stopped.
The sky had darkened while we had been playing and I could see the tell-tale signs of rain. Of thunderstorms.
I hated thunderstorms. The night I was abducted by that warlock, it had been storming. My father was nowhere to be found. I was certain he was out hunting. I remembered the wide-eyed fear of that night. The crashing sounds, and in the utter darkness. And a face illuminated by pale lightning.
I had been in my father’s room, startled by the storm, to sleep with him when I found he was gone. I cuddled into his blankets, inhaling his aroma. It was the night that the warlock had come…
I pushed away the bad memories and looked into the wild sky.
Regardless of my uneasiness, I wanted to keep the game I had started with Hunter going. Every wolf I knew loved the chase, which was why tag was such a popular game for us when we were younger. But I was frozen in fear.
Hunter found me some time later. I could hear him at the doorway. I turned to look at him. He stalked forward and grabbed me by my waist. His eyes for once shining with delight, changed rapidly to worry.
“What happened?”
He held me close to his body. Hunter checked the surrounding area, his nose tipped up as he breathed in deeply. When he didn’t see or smell anything out of the ordinary his attention turned back to me.
“Nothing, I’m fine. I guess you didn’t fall for my running up the stairs trick,” I joked, reluctantly pulling out of his arms. Really I didn’t want to be anywhere else. This was safety. His arms were beginning to feel like home.
My wolf was so close to the surface that I could practically feel her fur against my skin. I basked in her warmth, and in the warmth of Hunter. He was what she wanted. He had been with me whenever she started to play. She loved the idea of making him chase after us. She loved our game. But she cowered at the sight of those skies. At those memories.
<
br /> “Something scared you. What was it Colette?”
He tucked his chin so he could look me eye to eye. I avoided his gaze, trying to avoid this subject. It was silly, but I didn’t want him to know about my fear of thunderstorms. I didn’t want him to think that I was weak.
“It was nothing,” I tried to reassure him with a smile. “Did you want to go back to the game?”
“The others left,” he sounded guarded again. I had thought they might have. Play time for wolves, almost mated wolves was border line sacred.
I flinched at the sound of thunder, turning away from Hunter.
“I had fun today, but I’m feeling a little tired. I’m headed to my room for a bit. I’ll see you at dinner, kay?”
I moved pass Hunter after taking his hands from my waist which, was harder than I expected. It wasn’t hard because he wouldn’t let go, I just didn’t want to. He offered me a comfort that I had never known, not even when I was with Keith. This was different. I was scared to admit that existed.
Going upstairs I hoped that the storm would hold off until after dinner. It had become a sort of routine for us to have dinner together. Though sometimes Damian joined us. I found our nightly dinners a refugee. We didn’t speak much, but we worked well in the kitchen together. It was nice to be around him without feeling all the expectations being mates added. I am not sure why in the kitchen things felt natural with him.
I went downstairs an hour later to start dinner. Coming down the stairs I noticed the storm was fairly quiet. I lucked out. If it was only rain, I could handle that. But when I entered the kitchen, the lights were off and no one was around. Oh well, I’d wait until he showed up.
Thirty minutes and two bowls of cereal later, I left and headed back to my room. I was disappointed by Hunter’s absence for the rest of the night.
****
The thunder shook the house. Fear diffused through my blood. I saw lightening through the huge window and I whimpered. I hid under my blankets, but the thunder was everywhere. It was a constant reminder the storm was out there.
I snuck out of my hidey hole and grabbed the phone Keith had given me before I left. I told myself that I was going to call Keith. I told myself that I just needed to hear his voice and have him talk me down from my fear. It would be enough.
Hexed Hearts Page 16
