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“Y ou’re staring at me , aren’t you?” Jaxson asked.

Calliope couldn’t help but laugh, because she was. She had woken up a short time ago. Their fire was dead, and the sun was beaming down on them. It was not too hot, nor too cold. Neither of them had clothes on, but they were wrapped together in each other’s arms.

Last night, had come back to her, and she didn’t regret a thing.

“Maybe,” she said.

He opened his eyes and she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Morning,” she said.

“You’re still a morning person?”

“Always. I thought you were.”

“I don’t know. I think I’d rather it be forever night. Have you noticed nothing bad happens at nightfall?”

She nodded and then leaned over and kissed him. “True, but where is the fun in that? We had a lot of fun during the day.”

“Are you not freaked out? You were so close to sinking in quicksand.”

“But I didn’t, and I’m not going to freak out about what might be.”

He reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear. “You’re beautiful.”

“You don’t have to keep saying that, but compliments will certainly get you everywhere,” she said, laughing.

“Everywhere? I like the sound of that.” Calliope let out a gasp, as he suddenly lifted her up and settled her onto his dick. “Now, that is so much better.”

She felt the hard ridge of his cock beneath her. “You know what I was thinking?” she asked.

“I can dream and hope of what you were thinking, but I don’t have a clue.”

She chuckled. “That you and I make up for lost time by enjoying each other rather than leaving camp.”

“Really? That is what you want to do?” he asked.

“Spend the day having sex, exploring one another. We’ve got a long time to make up for, don’t you think?” She lifted up and touched his cock, feeling how hard it was beneath her grip. “Unless there is something else you would rather be doing?”

“No, sex is good. I like the thought of us having a lot of sex, and while we’re working on our mating, no one can stop us. No one can try to kill us, hunt us down, or scare the crap out of us.”

She laughed. “What do you think?”

“I’m ready.”

She didn’t know how she had gotten so bold, or even what she was doing. She lined his cock up to her entrance, and staring into his eyes, she started to sink down slowly, taking her time and watching him.

There was no pain, but she didn’t expect there to be. Last night, she had known Jaxson had somehow connected with her and felt everything she did. He didn’t want her to feel pain, and she loved that about him.

Inch by inch he sunk inside her, and they both cried out together.

They were once again joined. Jaxson held onto her hips, and they rocked together, finding a pace in time, working in unison.

They both moaned, and he seemed to swell even harder within her.

She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip and moaned his name. It felt so good.

He reached up and began to tease and play with her tits. He worked her nipples at the same time. Then, he let her breasts go and went to her hips, holding onto her, and driving inside her. They both gasped.

“This is perfect, Calliope,” he said.

She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. It was so sensual.

I just love everything about him, and that is not going to change. I love Jaxson, I always have, and I always will.

This was no great revelation to her. What was revealing was just how good this was between them.

They rolled over, and he drove inside her.

“Touch yourself, Calliope. I want to feel us come together.”

She looked at him, and even as her cheeks heated, she reached between her thighs and started to stroke her clit. She sunk her teeth into her lip, trying to contain her moans, but it was impossible.

One touch sent her higher. She felt him, she felt them, and it was deeper than just sex. This was a mating. This was driving one another higher and higher together, and then they both at once seemed to hit that peak and came together.

She felt the hard swell of his cock as he pulsed within her, at the same time her release came, taking her by surprise as well. They both cried out.

It was magical, but Jaxson didn’t mark her. She saw his teeth elongate, but they didn’t scare her.

“You didn’t mark me,” she said.

He lifted his head and tucked some more of her hair behind her ear. “You ... didn’t ask me to. Until you tell me you’re ready, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to mark you.”

“But we’re supposed to be mates, Jaxson. This is what is supposed to happen.”

“Just because it is, doesn’t mean it has to.”

“But...”

She didn’t get the chance to tell him she wanted to.

Something grabbed him. Calliope didn’t see what or who it was.

One moment he was inside her, and the next, he was taken from her.

He screamed her name, and she got to her feet.

That pull just kept drawing her closer. The only problem was, one moment he was within touching distance, and the next moment he was gone.

Calliope stood alone in the forest, shocked. Something had taken Jaxson from her.

None of this Hunt made any sense. He couldn’t have gone far, because they were not allowed to be without touching distance. Those were the rules, right?

She felt that panic, that fear.

“Jaxson!” she screamed his name.

This couldn’t be happening. After all this time, they had finally found each other and she was about to tell him she wanted him to mate with her, she wanted to have everything, and something had taken him.

She stood in that forest and looked around.

Did they expect her to panic, to freak out, to cry?

She didn’t. There was a new kind of anger settling within her.

One that was burning. She was done with this bullshit game.

Jaxson was never kidnapped in any of their games.

But, in their games there was an enemy pack that stole him away.

That had to be it, and it was up to her to save him.

She was pissed off.

Rushing back to camp, she saw the clothes lying there along with the crossbow, which she hadn’t seen, from the bear. There was also a key. This made her frown. She picked up the key, and the moment she did, it was like a magical door opened, and that was when she saw her home, right up ahead.

She didn’t have to continue with the mating. There was an exit, but she didn’t take a step toward it. There was no way she was going home without her mate.

Putting the clothes on, she picked up the crossbow and pocketed the key. It was time to go hunting.

****

J axson didn’t like this. He counted at least ten wolves, and it was like they were magically multiplying in front of his very eyes.

In their childish game, Calliope came to save him. But she was neither a wolf nor a strong human. She was just a woman, a human woman, his mate.

He didn’t know how this game was playing out. They were far from Calliope, he knew that, as her scent had gotten weaker.

The wolves didn’t talk to him, they just morphed from faceless people into wolves. No one talked, but they did howl.

He should have mated Calliope when he had the chance, but he wanted her to make that choice.

This was not about what he wanted. He had already been the monster in their tale, the bully.

He had pushed her aside, rather than admit he had developed feelings for her.

He was the asshole, not Calliope, and now there was a chance he might never make it right for either of them.

He watched as the wolves lifted their heads as one and sniffed the air. Jaxson couldn’t smell anything.

He attempted to scream out to Calliope, to tell her it was a trap, only no noise came out. He was screaming and making words, but there was no fucking sound. What the hell was this?

Was The Hunt trying to kill Calliope? He didn’t get it. She was human. She didn’t stand a chance against all these wolves. It was doomed to fail.

He needed to get out of the ropes. The more he wriggled and tried to break free, the tighter they got. He had to get to Calliope. She had to know this was a trap.

And then, like in a horror movie, he smelled her seconds before he saw her. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, a shirt, and she held the crossbow in front of her. She looked magnificent.

“You took my mate,” she said.

That was all she said, and then she fired that crossbow. The first wolf she hit turned to dust. In the shock, the wolves didn’t move, and then they started to work together.

She fired a second time, and it made connection with a second wolf. He didn’t know how she was able to reload it, but she kept firing, even as the wolves set to attack. He had no choice but to watch as they rushed at her.

There were explosions of dust, and he felt sick to his stomach. He continued to fight the tight confines of the rope, but it was getting tighter.

“Get the fuck off me,” Calliope said.

He watched as she was taken down, and as they went to scratch at her, Jaxson channeled that connection they had. If he could feel her pain, he was going to allow her to feel his strength.

She snarled, growled, and the wolf landed on top of her. He watched as she gripped its throat and tore it out. No blood. Just dust.

He focused on Calliope, and for every attack, he had a counterattack.

He had to protect her, save her, and make sure she made it out alive.

Jaxson was so focused, it took him a second to realize that together they had ended the pack.

There was no wolf lurking, nothing. He didn’t even have that funny feeling he’d been getting.

It was over.

The ropes suddenly disappeared and Calliope rushed to him and sank into his arms.

“It’s over,” she said. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No, no, they weren’t real.”

“I felt you,” she said, and laughed. “I felt you inside me, helping me, guiding me to do what was right.” She cupped his face.

“I never want to go through that again. I never want to see you get pulled away from me like that. It’s not going to happen again.

We’re mates, Jaxson. You and me, like it always was.

I want you to mark me. I want to be yours.

No more waiting for the right moment and no more fighting this.

We could have lost each other multiple times down here.

I’m done fighting this with you.” She pressed a kiss to his lips.

“I love you. I want to be with you. In everything.”

They were magical words.

“I love you too.”

She kissed him.

He took possession of her lips. The kiss deepened, and then he had no choice but to break the kiss, and he trailed his lips down toward her neck. She let out a gasp.

His teeth elongated. “My mate,” he said.

“My mate.”

“Forever.”

“Forever.”

“And for all eternity.”

“And for all eternity.”

He sunk his teeth against her neck, branding her with his essence, marking her as his. She wrapped her arms around him, and there was no pain. When it came to a marking, there was never any pain.

That connection had awakened fully, now he was able to feel her, sense her, and he knew her feelings were true.

All too soon, there was a sudden flash. He pulled away from her neck and then held onto her, as The Hunt had served its purpose.

They were pulled out of this world and he felt the real world.

The scent of home, the forest, and then the round of applause that happened as the dust seemed to settle. They were back home.

He was dressed in a pair of pajama pants, and she was in her own pajamas as well. Exactly as they had been the night they would have been taken.

They were surrounded by the pack. He spotted their parents together, and they rushed forward. They were pulled apart by their parents hugging him. He didn’t want to let Calliope go.

“Well done, son,” his father said.

He looked at his dad, and the truth was, he was a little pissed. That was fucking scary. On multiple occasions he had nearly lost his woman, his mate. He didn’t find this to be a celebrating matter.

They had pulled Calliope from his arms, and he nodded at his dad. He looked through the crowd and there was Calliope. The mark on her throat was still raw.

There were so many people, and with everything they had been through, he didn’t want to deal with any of them. He didn’t know how long he and Calliope were alone in The Hunt, but he knew he didn’t want to be parted from her right now.

“Enough,” he said, but he wasn’t quiet. He was loud enough for them all to hear, and for silence to fall.

He pushed past his dad, through the crowd, and then took Calliope’s hand.

“You have no idea what we just went through. Yes, Calliope and I are now mates. We found each other, but you have no idea what happened to get us to this point. We’re back, and I am glad we are back, but you have to give us some fucking space. ”

“He’s right,” Calliope said. “It’s ... not been great.”

Jaxson expected his father to argue with him, but no one did.

He took Calliope away from the crowd and to his apartment.

There were times he still slept at his parents’ place, but for the most part, he lived on his own.

He didn’t think she would want to go to the place where they had played their childish games.

Once inside his apartment, he didn’t let her go. He continued to hold her hand, even when he moved them both toward the shower, in their clothes.

“The shower,” she said.

“I ... I just want to be with you, and I had a feeling you’d want to get clean before we go to bed, and I mean to sleep. It would be nice to just fall asleep and not worry about where we’re going to wake up. You know?”

“Yeah, I know.” She touched his cheek.

He saw the tears in her eyes. “Don’t cry.”

“I was so scared. I was just about to tell you I wanted to be mated to you, and then you were snatched away from me, by nothing. You were gone and I couldn’t sense you, and I panicked. I don’t want to feel that way again. I love you, Jaxson, and I don’t regret what we had to do.”

“I love you too,” he said.

Under the spray of the shower, he held onto her, loving her, kissing her, and he was not going to let her go. Not now, not ever.

They were mates, through and through.