“What about Alicia?” I ask.
He stares at me. “You weren’t here.” The muscles in his arm flex for a moment. “Alicia was a vampire. She killed Cody, ripped his heart out.”
I stare at him in incredulity. “That’s,” I swallow, trying and failing to find words. “I’m so sorry, Hunter. How was she a vampire? I never sensed her, and I thought she was a wolf.”
“I don’t know.” His voice is low, and I can hear the restrained anger. “But she’s out there, and I know we haven’t seen the last of her. She wasn’t at the site in West Virginia, right?”
I shake my head. “No, but there are other sites. Or at least there were.”
He nods and pulls me close. “We’ll figure it out. And everybody is anxious to meet, but they all wanted you to have time to heal and rest.”
“Maybe we should just get it over with.”
He nods slowly. “As much as I don’t want to, it’s a good idea. The way I figure, the faster we get the meeting done, the faster we can come back here.”
“Smart.” I roll away from him.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
I stand up from the bed. “You just said we should get the meeting over with. Come on, Wolf. Don’t be lazy.”
He arches a brow. “You think I’m lazy?”
I let my eyes run over his bare chest. “No. Definitely not.”
“Keep looking at me that way, and we’re not going to get to that meeting.”
I smile at his words and make my way to the shower. My thoughts run rampant while I shower. There’s so much to process, and I know it’s going to take more than a day or two to sort it all out. I can barely wrap my mind around the fact that Sage healed me, and I’m Hunter’s mate, for real. When I get out of the shower, I get dressed and then take my hair out of the towel. I walk back into the bathroom and stand at the sink. It takes me an embarrassingly long time to finally look up at the mirror. When I do, I suck in a gasp, and a small cry escapes. “Sherese.” Hunter throws the bathroom door open, and I face him. His eyes run down me, like he’s checking to make sure I’m okay.
“What if I were naked?”
“I would have been a very lucky man. Now what’s wrong?”
I can barely keep up with him. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Why did you cry out? Did you get hurt?” His words have an edge to them.
“I was just working up the courage to look in the mirror.”
Understanding crosses his face. “And did you?” I nod. “And what did you think?” Words fail to come. And then he walks over, so he stands behind me. “Let me tell you what I see.” His eyes meet mine in the mirror. “First of all, I see the most beautiful woman in the entire world. She has long, gorgeous, dark hair. Every time I see it, I want to run my hands through it and see if it’s as soft as I remember. Then I see those chocolate brown eyes that make my heart beat faster every time I see them. Next, I see those lips that drive me distracted. You can’t imagine how many times I wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips.” He runs his thumb over my lips, and a shudder runs through me. “Your face is so beautiful, I lose my breath every time I look at you.” He runs his thumbs down my cheekbones. “And I don’t think I’ll continue down your body, or I’ll get us both into trouble. Just trust me when I say that being attracted to you is the understatement of the century.” His voice turns so gentle. “And I’m sure you’ve noticed, but you have a healthy glow to your face. The vampire part of you is completely gone. I think I’m going to miss that part, though.”
I frown fiercely. “Are you kidding? Why would you say that?”
He steps close. “Because that vampire is who I fell in love with.”
I suck in a breath at his words. I take a step forward and put my hand on his chest. “Willthismebe okay now? The one without fangs?”
“Better than okay.” Then he kissed me. We never did get to that meeting we were supposed to be at. They finally started it without us, which was probably a really wise idea. Hunter and Iwere stuck in our little bubble for a little while, and it was good. Really, really good.
At some point in the days following, Hunter asked me if I could change anything; would I change it? The question took me by surprise, but it didn’t take me long to answer. The answer was an easy no. To his surprise, I explained that the circumstances of my life led me to him, and I would never change that. He’s my safe place, my shelter after all these years. I wasn’t going to regret the path that led me to him, no matter how hard it was at times. Being with Hunter now is sort of like my redemption, my second chance at life. And you’d better believe I was going to grasp that life with both hands and hang on to it for all I was worth.
Epilogue
Sherese
I stare out the window of the airplane and take another guess. “Los Angeles?”
No.
