IrinaALL MY LIFE, I had believed that the supernatural world existed. I believed that at some point everything people considered as magical or strange had to have existed. Actually, seeing it come to life … My mind spun into overdrive for the umpteenth time. I hadn’t seen Hunter in days. My body was screaming for him in ways I never could have imagined, but I just couldn’t bring myself to call him.Hunter didn’t make any attempt to contact me, which was even more confusing. With everything I knew about werewolves, I was sure he would contact me at some point. Droning on through my days, I felt as though I was growing weaker. I convinced myself that I was getting sick. One week turned into two, and then three, and then the fever hit me again.Exactly one month after the first fever, the second one put me in the hospital. I was delirious. I was sure I was seeing things each time I woke up. Hunter was there, and so were my parents. Everything was so fuzzy and all I could really think ab
IrinaI TOOK TWO DAYS to regain my strength and just think everything through. I wanted to be sure that I was doing the right thing and not just rushing into this relationship because of the strange fever I had. I was dressed and ready when Hunter arrived and although my mom wasn’t entirely happy that I was pursuing this relationship, she was friendly enough. We said an awkward goodbye and Hunter put his hand on my lower back as we walked out. Images of what I dreamed about during the fever rushed through my body and a shiver ran down the back of my spine.“Are you cold?” Hunter pulled me closer and I smiled as I shook my head. How did you tell your possible future boyfriend that you had wet dreams about him while you were sick?!“No, I’m okay.” I felt the blush creep over my cheeks as he opened the door for me and we got into his beautiful classic sports car. When he slipped into the driver’s seat, I just had to say something. “I love the car, but it’s a bit cliché, don’t you think?
IrinaI could almost lift my arms and feel as if I were flying if Hunter wasn’t running so damn fast. The wind blew through my hair and kissed my face and I wished I was like them. To be this free. To live without boundaries and just running barefoot in the forest must be the most amazing experience of all time! The trees were whizzing by and a couple of times, I thought we were going to run right into one, but Hunter would just side step quickly.When he finally started to slow down and came to a halt, I was completely out of breath with excitement. My cheeks were completely flushed, and adrenaline had flooded my body. Hunter stepped behind a tree and came back wearing only a pair of shorts. I almost swallowed my tongue at the sight of his tanned, naked upper body.“Like what you see?” He grinned and I rolled my eyes.“Well, for an old guy, you look pretty okay … Ish.” I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest the second I felt my body respond to him. He put his arm around my should
IrinaHis warmth was so inviting that it felt right to be in his arms. Our kiss deepened, and it almost felt as though I was losing something when we finally pulled apart. His cheeks turned red and he smiled when he stepped away from me, but he still held onto my hands.“I better go before …” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. I giggled slightly and I knew exactly what he meant. I nodded and watched him run down the stairs and to his car. He waited until I was inside and drove off and I leaned my back against the door breathing in deeply. If you asked me what my idea of the perfect date was, I would never have imagined that.“Hi, honey.” My mother’s voice pulled me out of my memories of the night and I looked up to find her standing at the top of the stairs smiling. “I take it the date went well?” She tilted her head to one side and I giggled again, pushing away from the door. I walked to the kitchen knowing she would follow and my dad probably wasn’t far behind. Switching on the
IrinaHunter was the first to break the kiss and he pulled away sighing.“I’ve actually come to tell you I need to go out of town for a couple of days. Can we go out again on Friday? I should be back by then. Say around seven?” He looked a little worried, but as soon as I nodded, he smiled again. “Great, pick out the best bouquet you have in the shop for yourself. I will send Emily to come and settle the bill this afternoon.” He winked and I grinned at him. I felt a little speechless. I met Emily when I visited their place the first time.She seemed to be Hunter’s assistant or something. Hunter gave me a soft kiss on my forehead, and he was gone. It felt as if someone had sucked the air out of the room for a moment. Was this what he meant when he said we had a mate bond? Was this what he felt each time he left me? The shop door opened and I had to shake my head to clear it of all thoughts of Hunter so I could work.I spent the day taking care of customer orders and attending to the wa
IrinaAfter they all greeted me, Hunter disappeared and when he returned, he was also in his wolf form. He bent down in front of me and I climbed on his back. I was nervous, but excited and when he howled into the night air, I felt something primal awaken inside of me. I howled and all eyes turned to me, making me giggle before he took off.There was something freeing in howling. It wasn’t something I had ever wanted to do before, but I had seen people on television do it, and it always seemed to break the chains that bound us. The pack ran just a couple of steps behind Hunter and I could just imagine how dangerous it could be for anybody who walked into the forest right at that very moment.When Hunter told me not to come here, I thought of wild animals. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine werewolves lived so close to our town. They ran like the wind all the way to the lake where they disappeared again, a group at a time to shift and change. When Hunter reappeared, he explained
Irina“Irina, there is something serious I need to talk to you about.” Hunter’s voice suddenly filled with emotion. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what it was he had to talk to me about, but I nodded and we walked into the forest away from the pack. “Being the mate of a werewolf is dangerous enough as it is. Being the human mate of a werewolf …” I held my breath. Was he going to ask me to … “I need to appoint gamma guards to protect you whenever I’m not around.” I felt both relieved and disappointed at the same time! Deep down, I was hoping he wanted to turn me. I could just see it play out exactly the way it did in the movies. I was being seduced by a powerful beast. I could feel my body starting to respond and I pushed the thoughts out of my mind instantly!“I don’t know, Hunter. I know I don’t know much about your world, but it’s going to look very strange not just to my parents but to Miss Sally if I suddenly start walking around with bodyguards behind me.” I couldn’t imag
HunterI KNEW THE MOMENT I realized Irina was my human mate, things weren’t going to be easy. We had a wonderful evening, and I wasn’t planning on playing the girlfriend card, but when I returned from my Alpha meeting, Emily informed me that Irina only picked her flowers the day before I arrived. It made me realize I would have to pull out all the stops to win her heart, and that was when I changed our date plans from dinner to a moonlight picnic with the pack.I was hoping that by showing her how amazing our lives were, I could … I sighed deeply. I had no idea what the hell I wanted to prove to her. She was a human and I was a werewolf. We led completely different lives. Hell, we didn’t even live in the same solar system, come to think of it, but I thought that if others could do it, why couldn’t I?I loved that she was trying, but it actually infuriated me when she wouldn’t just accept what I wanted to give her. No, that wasn’t what was going on. I couldn’t lie to myself. I wasn’t t