I gulp hard when an alarming amount of awareness settles in the pit of my belly, but then my tummy rumbles and I gasp, startled by the sound.
A hand flies to my belly, my inner wolf whimpering in my mind and reminding me that I haven't eaten since before we left Portland. I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth, gnawing on the soft bud. I don't want to be a burden to everyone marching back to Portland.
“Here,” Hunter whispers, and I turn to find him unwrapping the foil of a protein bar. He passes it to me, and though I frown, I take it tentatively.
“You heard that, didn't you?” I murmur before biting into it. It isn't much, but at least it'll keep me energized until we reach Portland.
It's not the first time Hunter has passed me one.
He unwraps one for himself and chuckles lightly. “Hard to miss. I bet the others heard it too, but they're not gonna stop while we have the witch in custody.”
I nod tersely as I take another bite of the bar, watching Hunter from the corner of my eye and recalling the times we shared during black ops. Tonight feels awfully familiar, except I can't forget how he broke my heart.
“This also doesn't count, you know? As an apology, I mean.”
Hunter glances at me. “If you want me to apologize for kidnapping you, I'm sorry. But you wouldn't have been open to the idea if I approached you. You've been avoiding me ever since I got to Portland.”
I hum my listless agreement because he's right, but it seems he doesn't want to address the real elephant in the room.
Neither do I. What's the point of opening up a can of worms that'll just force me to relive the worst night of my life? It's not worth it. There's just too much to deal with right now, and I can't afford the emotional turmoil amid everything that's going on.
“You have a lot on your mind,” Hunter comments. It's not a question, but a statement that he can read on my face.
I hate that even after all this time, he's still able to read me like an open book.
Shaking it off, I steady my expression. “We have a witch to deal with, and whatever the dark lord is planning,” I nimblydodge the subject about us, our past, or our fake marriage. “That's all I'm thinking about.”
“Right,” Hunter replies, seemingly unconvinced, but he doesn't probe any further, eating the last bite of his bar and chewing in a way that amplifies the dimple on his cheek, and his sharp jawline fit to cut through glass.
No, Delilah, I mentally chide, trying to find my composure in the last leg of our journey back to Portland. Once the rapid river's gushing water fills the silence, relief washes over me as if I've just thrown myself into it.
The undeniable heat I feel in Hunter's presence barely subsides in the face of my hatred for him. I’ll be miserable if this is something I have to deal with for as long as we're in this fake marriage. I'm groaning again, restless and uncomfortable, but I know this is something I must follow through with because, truthfully, I can't leave my friends behind and become a European princess in the Lycan Kingdom.
Tonight's successful mission proved how invaluable I am to this group, and the satisfaction of the success in capturing the witch is fulfilling in ways that no kingdom can fulfill me. I was born to be a warrior, not a damsel in distress locked away in a castle for a royal's pleasure.
As we enter Portland, Tyler leads us through the shadows, navigating corners to keep us out of view from the Moonshine Pack members. My human bones ache from exhaustion, and Emily seems to share my sentiments as she falls back and waits for me to catch up.
Hunter continues in effortless strides until he joins Tyler and Nicholas near the pack den, hovering over the witch to keep a watchful eye on her.
“I'm tired,” Emily yawns. “And famished. Why don't we let these guys handle the witch and get something to eat from Arianna's place?”
I nod in agreement, feeling my belly rumble with hunger again. The protein bar only filled a tiny corner, but my wolf's quick metabolism burned it off within seconds.
Tyler comes over to discuss the next step in our plans. “We're gonna keep her in the dungeon until she's ready to speak. Do you guys wanna go get some rest?”
Emily nods. “We were thinking of going to your house.”
“Perfect. We'll meet you there when we're done.”
I turn toward Emily, whispering in her ear, “Let's go grab some of our stuff from the guesthouse on our way. I wanna check my phone.”
Emily nods, and we pass by the pack den on our way to the guesthouse, nodding at the guys when we pass. They're tending to the witch, opening the door that leads to the underground dungeon where they'll keep her for the night.
The guesthouses are on our way to Tyler's house, on the outskirts of the main town, where the quiet of the early hours of the morning remains settled over the pack territory. I steal inside the guesthouse I've been sharing with Emily, grabbing my phone off the charger and groaning when I see the five missed calls from my father, along with a text.
It's only been a few hours, and he's already breathing down my neck as if he sensed that I'd been away. I was only meant to go back to Scarborough in three days, but now it's like Shadow Fang can't function without me.
The moment I click on the screen to open the message, the color drains from my face, my heart sinking when I read the words.
