Hunter was awoken later by a voice in his mind. He groaned and buried his head into Freja’s hair. He’d just gotten a mind link from Sam, saying that he needed to come and deal with a rogue who had entered their territory. He had only just fallen asleep a couple of hours ago, since he and his mate had been awake and preoccupied, exploring each other throughout the night. He leaned up on his elbows and Freja’s eyes fluttered open, a small frown on her face in protest as he moved away from her.
A deep chuckle reverberated from his chest as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.
“Keep resting. I have to deal with some pack issues. I’ll be back to check on you when I’m done.” He brushed her hair away from her face, watching her as she closed her eyes and a content smile spread over her lips. He smiled at her softly as he fought off the exhaustion. He stood up from the bed and quickly got dressed. On his way out, he stopped by the door and looked back at his mate. He stared at her for a moment before he quietly left the room, leaving her to rest.
Hunter headed down the stairs. Chasen and Jin were waiting for him, along with Sam.
“Sorry for having to bother you, Hunter.” Sam felt bad having to interrupt Hunter’s morning with his new mate. He could feel the strong link with Freja now and knew that they musthave completed the mating bond. Hunter nodded to him in understanding.
“Where’s Freja?” Jin asked, glancing upward.
“She’s resting.” Hunter briefly looked up and then back to her. “She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, so she needs to rest now.” A small grin rested on his face before it turned more serious. “Alright, let’s see this rogue.”
It had been an exhausting morning. First, he had to deal with the rogue, who he let off with a warning. Then, he had to deal with training matters and how to fall into rank quickly. Next a tree had fallen over one of their main roads, and Hunter and Chasen had to pull it out of the way so that regular travel didn’t get backed up. He could feel the strain on his body from the lack of sleep. He finally made it back to the house just a bit before noon. Renee was inside with her mother, Merida, and Kristen, making sandwiches for the trainees.
“Has Freja come down?” Hunter asked as he rubbed his forehead.
“No, she hasn’t. I didn’t even realize she was still here,” Renee said, looking up briefly. She noticed a small smile creep over Hunter’s face as he looked toward the second floor.
“I need a proper introduction soon,” Kristen said, turning her head slightly to Hunter and continuing. “Maybe next time don’t keep your new mate up all night.” Kristen gave him a knowing wink before she turned back to what she was doing.
Hunter smiled, then slowly made his way back up the stairs. He was in need of a good, hot shower, and honestly, a small nap would be amazing. He crept back into the room to see Freja adorably curled up in bed. Her lips were slightly parted, one armlifted above her head. Her side was slightly uncovered, revealing her naked bottom and exposed breast. His eyes darkened slightly as he stared at the bountiful meal lying helplessly asleep. He was gross after the morning he’d had, though. With a longing glance at her, he quietly made his way into the shower. Maybe a cold shower would be better?
He walked out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist and looked back at his beautiful mate, who was still resting quietly. He walked toward the bed, discarded the towel, and dipped under the covers. He reached out and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. A soft purr escaped her lips and she opened her eyes with a smile.
“What time is it?”
“It’s afternoon.” Hunter gave her a tired smile as he looked at the small frown spreading over her mouth.
“And you’re just now getting back? You must be exhausted.” She laid her head on his chest and draped her arm over him.
“Mm-hmm, just a bit. We still need to go out shopping for you.”
“That can wait. You need to get some sleep.” Freja pulled herself up more, closer to him.
His eyes trailed down to her pink buds brushing against his chest. A low groan escaped his throat. “I don’t think I can take a nap. I want something else.” His eyes trailed over her and he licked his lips.
“Nuh uh. I want you to take a nap.” Freja reached up and played with his hair. “At least an hour or so. Then we can talk about what’s next.” Her tone was sultry as she twirled a lock of his hair between her fingers.
Hunter chuckled and wrapped her tightly into him. “Promise you’ll stay beside me?”
She smiled and cooed to him soothingly, “I won’t leave your side.”
He closed his eyes and relaxed under her soothing touch, her gentle, swirling motions through his hair allowing his body to ease. And beside his mate, he drifted back to sleep, exhaustion finally taking over.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Freja laid with him, threading her fingers through his hair, admiring her mate. After laying beside him for an hour, she figured out how to sneak away and take a shower. Finding a shirt of his, she put it on, tying it into a knot at her side. She also managed to find a pair of his shorts that had a drawstring, which she pulled as tight as it would go, since they were too big. Looking herself over, she shrugged. It was good enough. She wanted to get a bit of fresh air. Honestly, she was a bit hungry, too, but that could wait. She really just wanted a few moments on her own. Rather than leave through the house, though, she opted for another way. She knew she would run into someone for sure if she went through the pack house, so she walked out onto the balcony and glanced down. It was two stories high, but that was nothing for a werewolf or a vampire, and she was both. She hopped down, landing easily on her feet. She felt more nimble and was impressed by her increased agility. It felt like she was even stronger than she was the day before.
She grabbed her hair tie and pulled her hair up. Her auburn hair now out of the way, she looked out over her surroundings and headed toward the woods behind the pack house. There was a pavilion right behind the house, too, where it looked like thepack gathered at times. The area was fairly quiet. She could hear wolves training in the distance. Freja felt relaxed as she walked through the shade of the trees, birds chatting happily above her as the sunlight rippled through the leaves and danced over her skin. A cool breeze made the leaves rustle slightly and the sound of water trickling played on her ears. This place felt different, and she felt connected to it. She was their luna now.
“Hey, who are you?”
Freja turned and saw a couple of guys walking her way. They looked to be sixteen years old. They were young werewolves, but it didn’t seem like either of them had their wolf instincts. She realized they must not, or else they would be training with the others. Without their wolves, they weren’t able to sense who she was. She looked at them with little interest and redirected her gaze ahead of her, feeling slightly annoyed. They were her pack members now, but dealing with young, hormonal, territorial puppies was not her thing. Unless she was slitting their throats …
“Hey! He asked you a question,” the other boy said in irritation, noticing the woman ignoring them.
Freja let out an annoyed sigh, and her green eyes glared at the two boys. She didn’t want to give off a bad impression of their new luna, but she was still trying to adjust to being around people. She hated feeling annoyed.
