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I felt like a beast, my moaning indecent, but I didn’t care.

All I knew was his name, and his name alone, as I came down from my high. My identity his in this moment.

“I would have waited a hundred lifetimes for you, just to have this,” he said quietly, dipping his fingers so I panted one last time, before slowly removing them from me.

I hovered above myself with a smile on my lips. “I don’t know, that’s a long time to wait,” I whispered, thankful for his arm that anchored me to him as the last waves of pleasure left my body.

He kissed the top of my head before bending down to kiss my cheek. “I would wait forever for you, my queen. Never forget that.”

The stain of red across my cheeks wasn’t going to fade anytime soon. Especially with Leo’s fingers laced through mine. The same torturous fingers that had made me go limp with pleasure ten minutes ago.

Leo’s ability to portal on command saved us time in our search for Hunter. Something I was eternally grateful for.

We’d already checked up at the house, but there hadn’t been any sign of him. No sign that anyone had been there in a while.

Leo had assured me not to lose hope, that there was a good chance he was on base, cleaning up the mess of an invasion no one saw coming.

But there was still a pit in my stomach.

I felt like Hunter would’ve left something at the house just in case I went back there, a sign that he was okay.

Then again, after being gone for two weeks, he most likely thought I was dead.

Now we stood on the outskirts of base, Leo’s magic slipping over us as we walked straight through the front gates, invisible.

The scattered bodies from the night of the attack had been picked up, along with evidence of the creatures. But the damage to the buildings was extensive.

Leo was right; the base was heavily stocked with soldiers, more than normal at any given time.

Maybe Hunter would be here.

The command center was still set up in the auditorium, with soldiers crammed into the space running intercoms. The timer that had marked the start of the attack had been turned off, but workstations and checkpoints were still in operation, the soldiers shuffling in and out like ants.

The list of names divided into groups was still posted, but looked like it had been re-organized.

A new list.

That would be the quickest way to find Hunter. We could see where he was assigned and portal there.

I motioned to Leo, then to the board, showing him my plan.

He nodded and followed me, both of us careful not to bump into anyone.

Letting go of his hand, I approached the names with caution, scanning them quickly, my body riddled with anxiety.

My face sank when I realized these weren’t new assignments, but lists of the injured and casualties.

I steadied myself and started with the injured, telling my brain not to look at the casualty list yet. I needed to stay positive.

Three-quarters of the way down, I spotted Sarah’s name and my heart sputtered.

She was alive. Injured, but alive.

I didn’t see Connor’s name, or my brother’s. And I didn’t care enough to look for Kyle’s.

Hunter could still be okay, running around somewhere helping the injured or preparing for another attack.

My eyes went to the casualty list next.