Seizing Fionn’s arm, Hunter asked, “Youwillbe right back…right, my pet?”
Nodding, Fionn said, “I promise. It’ll only take me a few minutes to find the rings.”
Releasing his mate, Hunter leaned in, giving him a hard kiss. Then he said, “Right back, pet…or else.”
Grinning, Fionn stepped into the portal and vanished.
Chapter 25
Staring at the spot where his mate had disappeared, Hunter clenched and unclenched his fists, fighting his wolf who was snarling at him for letting Fionn go without him. He understood his wolf’s anxiety because he felt the same way. In his gut, though, he knew he needed to give his mate a semblance of independence, but that didn’t mean he liked it or that it was easy. Unable to remain still, Hunter rose and started pacing, avoiding the place where the portal had appeared. Each moment his mate was gone felt like forever and the only thing keeping his wolf under control was the knowledge no one but Fionn could go to his hoard.
Deep in thought, Hunter didn’t hear the knocking on their door until someone called out Fionn’s name. Striding over, he pulled the door open, frowning at the two bear shifters. “What do you want?” Hunter growled.
Norm quickly shoved Theo behind him. Then, holding up their friend’s backpack, he said, “We’re looking for Fi. Can you tell him we’re here?”
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?” asked Norm.
Peering around his fiancé’s shoulder, Theo said, “He has to be here because he asked me to bring his backpack to him.”
“He’s at his hoard,” Hunter said, grabbing the pack from Norm. “I’ll let him know you were here…oh, and thanks.” Shutting the door, Hunter tossed the backpack on their bed, resuming his pacing, trying not to think about how long Fionn had been gone.
~/~/~/~/~
It was taking Fionn longer than he thought it would, but he finally located two matching gold rings that were the right size. Lifting his shirt, he held them up to his nipples, admiring himself in a mirror. Smiling, he couldn’t wait until he was wearing them.A fantasy of mine comes to life.Lowering his shirt, he called for the portal, walked in…and out into his mate’s bedroom where he found a very agitated Hunter pacing, causing a shiver of fear to run through his body. “Mate, is everything all right?”
Turning at the sound of Fionn’s voice, Hunter rushed to him, giving his mate the once-over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Sighing in relief, Hunter replied, “I’m fine. Did you find the rings?”
Extending his right hand, Fionn opened his fist to reveal two gold rings. “Sorry it took so long, but you can’t believe how many rings I have; these should be the right size.
Selecting one of them, Hunter held it up to his mate’s chest. “Perfect. Do you want to see if Ian’s available now or do you want to do it later?”
“Now, please, if you don’t mind.”
“Now it is.” Handing the ring back to Fionn, Hunter grinned. “Do you know where the hospital is?”
“All the way downstairs according to Ki.”
“Hmm…well, hopefully there’ll be someone who can point us in the right direction if we get lost.”
Giggling, Fionn said, “Maybe Jackson should hand out a map of the pack house when someone new joins.”
“Good idea. Let’s go and get your nipples pierced.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Fi went to his hoard again!” Theo exclaimed, wringing his hands in distress as he looked up into a tree where Quin was hanging jar lights.
“Oh, no! What happened?”
“I don’t know! Fi asked me to bring his backpack to Hunter’s room and when I got there, Hunter answered the door and told me Fi was at his hoard.”
“Did my brother say why?”
“No, but he was frowning,” Theo said.
“Darn it! I just knew my brother would mess up. Now what should we do?”
