Page 4 of The Wolf Guard’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #3)

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OLIVE

I spent the next two hours wandering the mansion.

There was a movie theater room.

A massive gym.

A bowling lane.

An indoor pool.

It was kind of ridiculous, but also, kind of incredible. Or a lot incredible.

Everything was decorated and designed so well that it didn’t feel too big or uncomfortable—it was actually really cozy.

When I stopped at one of the tablets built into the wall to control the lights and who knew what else, I only managed to press a few buttons before a message popped up on the screen.

DON’T TOUCH MY EQUIPMENT

I didn’t know if Hunter could hear me, but I yelled back, “You definitely weren’t saying that last night, Honey-bun!”

Another message popped up.

FIND ANOTHER NICKNAME

I yelled back, “Find another mate!”

I waited for a snarl or another message, but I had legitimately no idea where in the house he was, and no messages came through.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he had a secret lair or something.

Then again, I hadn’t found his bedroom yet, so he could just be in an office connected to it or something.

The tablet was unresponsive when I tried to hit a few more buttons—thanks, Hunter—so I gave up and went back to wandering. I was pretty sure I was walking in circles. I needed a map or something.

I didn’t walk for much longer before exhaustion had me choosing a furnished but unclaimed bedroom. I took a one-minute shower to clean myself off before curling up beneath the blankets on the bed. My stomach rumbled, but I was tired enough to ignore it. I couldn’t have gotten more than three or four hours of sleep between the hotel room and the drive to Greenview. I fell asleep fast, surprisingly comfortable in the unfamiliar place.

I had no idea how long I’d been out when a pair of gigantic, delicious-smelling arms eased me off the bed and carried me out of the room.

It took a solid two minutes for me to convince myself to open my eyes a little.

My stomach growled loudly, and Hunter growled back, much quieter.

“What are you doing?” I mumbled.

“Taking you to our bedroom.” His voice was gravelly. It made goosebumps break out on my arms.

“I don’t remember agreeing to share a room.”

“You bit me. Agreement was implied.”

“I don’t think it was.”

“My wolf won’t sleep without you, and I made you food. We’re sharing a room,” he growled.

“Fine.”

I closed my eyes and stopped trying to stay awake, dozing until Hunter eased me onto a mattress.

His scent was so thick there, I couldn’t stop myself from rolling over and pressing my nose to the sheets, inhaling deeply and groaning at the smell.

It took me a minute to regain control and roll back over. When I did, I found him staring at me. His gaze was so intense, I could almost call it feral.

It took a moment after I met his eyes before he finally stepped back. He grabbed a bowl off the nightstand. I hadn’t noticed it sitting there, but I wasn’t going to complain when he handed it over. It was a mixture of rice, beans, vegetables, and chicken—and smelled absolutely incredible.

“Fajita bowls?” I asked, as I lifted a bite to my mouth.

He grunted, but didn’t move.

His attention was so laser-focused on me, I wondered if he could move.

“Wow, you can cook,” I said around a mouthful of delicious food.

The tension in his shoulders seemed to ease slightly.

He stayed where he was until I was scraping my bowl clean, then plucked the dish from my hand and disappeared. I’d seen a luxurious kitchen during my self-guided tour, but he definitely hadn’t been working or cleaning up in it, so there must’ve been two kitchens.

Weird.

Who needed two kitchens?

Then again, who needed an indoor pool and a bowling alley, either?

Whatever.

I curled up on the bed, rolling to my side again. Hunter’s scent flooded my senses, and I sighed.

It shouldn’t have been legal to smell that good.

I was half asleep when Hunter came back. I didn’t hear his feet on the tile, but I was too attuned to him not to notice his presence. Guess the mate bond was to blame for that.

He settled on the bed beside me, though he left plenty of space between us.

When I was nearly out, he rolled over. The noise was impossible to miss.

The next time I almost fell asleep, he moved in bed again. The blankets were quiet, but the motion woke me.

The same thing happened a few more times before I finally mumbled, “Just go to sleep.”

“I’m trying.”

“You said your wolf wouldn’t sleep without me here. I’m here. Sleep.”

“He wouldn’t. But I don’t sleep around people.”

I frowned. “Why not?”

He ignored the question, and turned over again.

I was going to have to intervene if I wanted to get any rest, so I rolled toward him and wrestled my eyes half open. “How do you usually sleep?”

“What?”

“How do you usually sleep?” I repeated. “On your stomach? Sprawled out like a starfish on your back? Curled up in a ball?”

He didn’t answer.

I waited.

My eyes started to close.

“On my side, holding a pillow,” he finally grumbled.

I didn’t know why sharing that small, random fact about himself was so difficult for him. I was too tired to care, though.

There was an extra king-sized pillow behind the one I was laying on, so I grabbed it and plopped it down between us. “Here. Now you have a cuddle pillow, and a wall between us.”

“I already tried that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

He growled in frustration. “The pillows smell wrong.”

Oh.

I guess if I was having an intense reaction to his scent, it made sense for him to have one to mine. And his sense of smell was a hell of a lot more sensitive than mine.

I shoved the heavy pillow back over me and scooted closer to him.

“What are you doing?” His voice was lower.

“Solving the problem, Hun.”

He started to complain about the nickname—but the sound cut off quickly when I turned so my back was to his chest.

His body was incredibly stiff. He grunted when I moved around a little, trying to find the most comfortable place to lay against him. His chin was against the top of my head and his erection was against my ass when I settled.

I didn’t bring up the erection.

Considering we were mated, and I was still half-naked and in his arms, I didn’t think it was going anywhere.

I pulled the pillow closer and tossed a leg over it, resting as much of my body against it as I could.

Hunter still hadn’t budged. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

“When we wake up, the pillow will smell like me so we don’t have to cuddle next time,” I mumbled. “We’ll figure out how to deal with the mate bond. Eventually, we’ll be able to live apart again.”

The growl that tore through him was all animal.

“In separate rooms,” I revised.

The wolf snarled.

“We’ll figure it out later. Anyway, don’t feel weird about snuggling. It’s not a big deal. Make yourself comfortable. I’m obviously not afraid of being touched, considering the way last night went.”

Hunter let out a slow breath.

He didn’t reply to me.

As I fell asleep, I heard him inhale deeply and felt his chest rumble softly. His arm went around my waist, and he carefully pulled me closer.