I look at the heap with longing while Grant takes me there. The alpha places me on the blankets before joining me. We settle in and hold each other close as the fire heats us up.
“Hmm, this feels nice,” I confess.
I hear steps behind us, but I'm far too comfortable to turn around. It turns out to be Molly who appears with a large turkey.
“How are you, Leena?” she says, placing the plate between us and the fire.
“I'm okay,” I reply, returning the smile she has on her face.
“Please, eat as much as you can to gather your strength back.” Molly leaves us alone after her words of advice.
“I could get used to just living in front of this fire, you know.”
Grant chuckles. “I'm sure you could. Right now, you need it to get better. Go on, eat.”
I take a quick bite, an intense rush of hunger comes over me the second the food rests on my tongue.
I begin to devour as much as I can while Grant just lets me go crazy. He keeps himself close to me, though, rubbing my back.
After eating an embarrassing amount of food, I settle back into his arms, slowly watching the fire. Grant holds me close, occasionally kissing the back of my head. Our scents mix, and it's so intoxicating to me.
“Is this how it always feels?” I ask.
“Yes,” he replies without needing me to elaborate. “I've been learning about fated mates, and I kinda see the appeal now.”
I giggle in response. “Me too. I can't believe I rejected this.”
I turn around, bringing my nose close to him. I keep sniffing Grant, especially his neck, unable to stop myself as our scents mix even more.
“What is this?” I ask with my eyes closed.
“Go on,” he responds. “You're supposed to keep scenting me until our scents fully merge.” He kisses the side of my neck, making me moan a little before stopping.
I'm about to argue when everyone in the house suddenly walks into the living room to check in on me.
Nate supplies me with medicine while the rest try to make sure I'm okay. Grant doesn't take his hand off me even once, showing that I'm his as much as he is mine.
Chapter 24
GRANT
Graham points in front of us, making a signal along the trail. I turn back to see that Nate is already in position, with all of us in our wolf form.
The attacks have already begun all over the country, with hunters already being rounded up.
My two most trusted soldiers and I are in the woods near the city, hiding under the cover of darkness as we wait for our targets to pass us.
So far, we know that there's still one hunter hiding out here, looking for shifters to kill. That ends tonight.
“He's coming,” Nate states. “I smell him.”
The scent of gunpowder that had been vague a few seconds ago quickly becomes prominent. We maintain our positions as I hear footsteps getting closer. This is followed by very bad whistling.
“I'm so fucking hungry,” the hunter groans. I can clearly hear it’s just one man, which means this job is going to be a quick one.
He keeps moving before suddenly stopping when he gets close. The hunter stands in the middle of the trail, unmoving, his head cocked.
“Who's there?” he asks, carefully looking around. I see Graham's eyes widen in surprise, and I know exactly what he's thinking.
